Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 70 Secret Key

Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Secret Key

Li Mu looked a bit disheveled at the moment, but his mental state seemed fine, with not a hint of negative emotion in his eyes.

"Let’s get out of here, it’s getting dark." Li Mu nodded to the two and said.

"But... Teacher Yu hasn’t come out yet..." Su Qian looked worriedly into the depths of the forest. Since parting ways, Yu Hanzhou had not been seen again. Now that the sky was dimming, if he hadn’t made it out of the woods, it was almost certain death.

However, reality was even more cruel than Su Qian imagined.

"No need to wait any longer."

Li Mu’s voice was somewhat somber.

"What?"

Su Qian seemed not to have heard clearly, or perhaps she just couldn’t believe it.

"Li Mu, what... do you mean by that?"

Li Mu looked at Su Qian. Everyone in Fog Gathering knew about her feelings for Yu Hanzhou. Although Yu Hanzhou had always kept a polite distance from her, Su Qian had never given up.

"He won’t be coming back."

Li Mu said seriously.

A simple set of six words shattered Su Qian’s last psychological defense. Her vision turned black, and she staggered, about to fall to the ground.

Bai Yanliang quickly reached out, supporting her, though she was already unconscious.

"Parting and death... for those of us in Fog Gathering, we experience them far more easily than ordinary people. It’s like a child hiding around the corner that suddenly jumps out, catching you off guard." Li Mu looked toward Sacrificial Blood Village, his emotions slightly low.

For Su Qian, for Yu Hanzhou, and for himself.

Bai Yanliang glanced down at Su Qian, whose pretty cheeks were already marked with tear stains.

"Mr. Bai." Li Mu suddenly turned his head to look at Bai Yanliang: "You’re a very rational, very smart person, and quite like someone I’ve met before..."

Bai Yanliang’s gaze changed, his heart suddenly quickened, and emotions began to stir.

"May I ask... who is the person that I’m so similar to?"

Li Mu looked in surprise at Bai Yanliang at this moment, smiled, and said: "I thought Mr. Bai might be one of those rare people without much feeling... Let’s walk and talk."

With that, Li Mu already started leading the way into the village.

Bai Yanliang, holding Su Qian, followed, saying: "I’m sick and have nearly lost all emotions."

Li Mu looked at him again in surprise, but whether it was true, a brush-off, or sincere, Li Mu could tell clearly.

But it was precisely because of this that he was even more surprised.

When Bai Yanliang first entered Fog Gathering, Li Mu had already noticed him.

Zhou Li wasn’t wrong back then; just three people didn’t show unease or fear upon entering Fog Gathering.

Even Yu Sheng couldn’t be counted among them, as anyone could see she only wore a mask labeled as strong on her face.

And excluding Bai Yanliang, those two had already shown a unique and powerful charisma, only their later entry into Fog Gathering placed their names further down.

Li Mu originally thought Bai Yanliang was like them, but unexpectedly, he was absent of emotional perception and expression due to illness.

However, Bai Yanliang did not let Li Mu down either. He paused and said: "There’s no need to worry too much; human emotions entwine with others. What you think is lost may just be buried too deep, or perhaps... due to some reason, you’ve sealed those emotions yourself, and one day, they’ll come back bit by bit."

Bai Yanliang nodded, thanking Li Mu for the kind words.

He heard the comfort in Li Mu’s words, but what he wanted wasn’t just those words.

"Mr. Li, you mentioned earlier that you’ve met someone quite like me. Can you elaborate?"

Li Mu looked at Bai Yanliang in surprise. He had only said it in passing but was unprepared for Bai Yanliang’s apparent interest in the matter.

"He... well, how to describe him, he wasn’t someone from Fog Gathering, but a criminal, a very frightening criminal." Li Mu said simply after some deliberation.

Bai Yanliang was stunned, which was completely different from what he expected.

"A criminal? Is he still alive?"

Bai Yanliang asked.

Li Mu nodded, not understanding why Bai Yanliang would be interested in the criminal.

"Not only is he alive, but he’s also doing well. He commits extraordinary crimes every now and then, and we still haven’t caught him."

"Is Mr. Li a policeman?"

"Yes, a criminal investigator."

Bai Yanliang fell silent. Among those he knew, Yang Wanlong, Gao Fei, Li Mu... most of them turned out to be policemen.

"Could you... elaborate on him?"

This time, Li Mu shook his head, refusing his request.

"I can’t reveal much about him, only that he’s highly dangerous, and the police have given him the codename... Secret Key."

Bai Yanliang’s heart pounded heavily. Secret Key... that codename instantly reminded him of the... silver-white key around his neck.

Could this person be related to Yanren?

...

When Su Qian awoke again, it was completely dark.

She propped herself up with the bed frame, clutching her chest, her heart faintly aching.

She knew that someone... would never return.

"Good that you’re awake. The dead are gone."

Li Mu’s voice sounded from the side.

Only then did Su Qian realize that everyone was in this room, the village chief’s house.

"Xiao Su, don’t be too sad, we still have to live on." Lin Yan, who was ten years older than Su Qian, said comfortingly in a plain tone.

Su Qian looked around at everyone, shook her head slightly, and smiled: "I’m fine, I... knew this day would come, whether it was him or me."

This sentence applied to everyone in Fog Gathering.

This terrifying place seemed endless; no one knew what it truly was, nor did anyone know how to escape this curse. Perhaps... even the strongest will to survive could be eroded away amid endless fear and strangeness.

In Fog Gathering, several people had already taken their own lives...

Choosing death over fear and despair.

Yet more people didn’t dare to, for in a world with fierce ghosts, was death really the end...

Perhaps, if they cowardly took their lives, their souls would still be tormented.

"Well then... let’s continue. Tomorrow is the last day. The village chief disappeared, and they didn’t dare to go out searching for him at night. As soon as daylight breaks tomorrow, we should find some clues." Li Mu said.

"I discovered a drawer at Lu Bingyan’s house. Maybe mentioning the drawer instantly dragged me into an almost hallucinatory environment. That ghost... should have the ability of folded space." Yu Sheng’s words were shocking.

Even the distracted Su Qian looked towards everyone.

However, two people simultaneously denied this possibility.

"It’s not folded space."

"It’s chaotic time-space."

The first sentence was said by Li Mu, while the second was by Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang’s perspective was something even Li Mu hadn’t considered.

Three pairs of eyes, filled with various complex emotions, turned towards him, but Bai Yanliang confidently stated:

"The time-space of this village is wrong, layered."