Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 74: Being a Person

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Being a Person

Li Mu’s method of opening the door was surprisingly similar to Bai Yanliang’s; the only difference was one used his leg, the other his shoulder.

As a detective, breaking down a door by force was nothing new to him.

"Bang!"

A loud noise suddenly echoed in the quiet room, and the door opened.

The setup was very ordinary for a rural farmhouse, nothing particularly special about it.

If anything, it was a bit dim, mainly because the windows were sealed.

Li Mu looked around briefly and without delay started searching thoroughly.

The Old Village Chief had many miscellaneous items, most of which Li Mu had seen before—very ancient utensils, calligraphy, and paintings.

He seemed not to be lying about these; it appeared the Old Village Chief’s ancestors were indeed illustrious.

Li Mu moved all these things aside and finally found a box under the Old Village Chief’s bed.

This box was wooden, dark yellow, with a lock on it. Its overall design didn’t fit the style of this era; it seemed to be an antique as well.

Without any hesitation, Li Mu grabbed the box and smashed it against the corner of the bed.

Once—

Twice—

Three times—

After nearly twenty hits, the locked wooden box finally broke open.

Li Mu brushed off the wood shavings and finally saw what was inside the box.

"Are these... letters?"

Li Mu took everything out of the box, blew on it, and dust flew into the air.

They were indeed letters.

Given the current era, there should be almost no letter exchanges, but in these deep mountains where transport is inconvenient and signals are non-existent, having letters isn’t entirely unreasonable.

But this contradicted another claim.

This village... isn’t it supposed to be impossible to leave?

The existence of these letters indicates that someone must have been coming in and out of this mountain, delivering them, but how did they manage it?

And one more thing...

All these letters were covered in dust, suggesting they hadn’t been touched in quite some time.

Does this mean that communication with the outside... had suddenly stopped?

Was contact intentionally cut, or did something happen to the person delivering the letters?

Li Mu pondered as he opened one of the letters.

As he quickly skimmed through, the contents of the letter caused Li Mu’s expression to change dramatically for the first time.

"Beasts!"

Li Mu cursed aloud and opened another letter; the contents were all strikingly similar.

The veins on the back of Li Mu’s hand bulged as he crumpled the letters in anger.

He could hardly suppress the rage boiling inside him; finally, he understood why the village only had male villagers and why all the female villagers were insane.

This village... is full of nothing but beasts!

Having figured this out, Li Mu’s expression changed abruptly—Lin Yan was in trouble!

He quickly got up, stuffed all the letters into his coat, and prepared to leave.

But as he turned around, a chill swept over him.

Wait... did I close the door just now?

Li Mu looked at the tightly closed wooden door, his forehead slightly sweating.

It couldn’t be... he definitely hadn’t closed it.

Moreover, the door had been forced open earlier, but now... it was intact.

There was no other way out but this one.

Li Mu stared intently at the door handle and gripped it.

The handle moved, but... the door wouldn’t budge!

Li Mu tried several times, but the door still wouldn’t open!

Li Mu’s face turned deathly pale.

The ghost is nearby...

The village chief’s room wasn’t large, and it had no windows, and despite the risk, Li Mu made a bold decision.

Once again, he used his body to slam against the door!

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

But this time, no matter how hard he slammed, the wooden door remained unresponsive.

Damn it!

Could it be... I’m really going to die here?

At that moment, Li Mu suddenly heard a voice from downstairs.

"Mr. Li? What’s wrong?"

Yu Sheng, it was Yu Sheng!

She was right next to the village chief’s house at Lu Bingyan’s House!

She must have heard the loud noise from Li Mu crashing into the door and came over to ask!

Li Mu sighed with relief. It couldn’t be opened from inside, but from outside?

However... before he could speak, he heard a familiar voice right outside his door.

"It’s okay, wait for me."

It was his voice! It was his own voice!

Just beyond the door was a ghost!

It was holding the door, preventing him from opening it!

Li Mu was chilled to the bone, a strong fear surged up.

It must be due to the resentful’s identity...

It’s targeting me...

At that moment, it was mimicking his voice to respond to Yu Sheng!

It wanted to send Yu Sheng away!

"I can’t open Miss Lu’s house door, Mr. Li, can you help me?"

Yu Sheng’s voice rang out again.

This time, Li Mu’s eyes widened in shock.

No, you must leave now!

It’s a ghost... it’s a ghost!

Li Mu suddenly felt a wave of despair.

But he dared not make any sound.

This ghost had closed the door; the next step would probably be to kill him, and making any noise would just make his death quicker!

However... if he did nothing, he’d die, and Yu Sheng would be deceived. If Yu Sheng took it to open Lu Bingyan’s door...

Just thinking about that scene chilled Li Mu to the core.

Li Mu was trapped in a painful decision.

He might die soon.

If he called out to warn Yu Sheng, the ghost would very likely kill him immediately.

If he didn’t warn Yu Sheng, he’d still die... and Yu Sheng would be implicated...

He was trapped, stuck in this dimly lit room.

The ghost lurked outside; he couldn’t get out, but it could definitely come in.

Li Mu’s usually calm and composed face displayed extremely complex emotions, his hand clenched tightly, his common face looking somewhat frightful from the tension and conflict.

Li Mu’s memory began to fragment...

Recalling the first time he entered Fog Gathering, it had been more than two years ago.

No one knew Li Mu had been struggling to survive in Fog Gathering for nearly three years...

He watched waves of people come and the names slowly disappear one by one.

His name, from the last, gradually became the first.

And since then... always remained the first.

If the people in Fog Gathering still had the will to live, then Li Mu... was that belief.

Not him as a person, but what everyone believed in... was that name at the top that never faded!

Its existence allowed those near despair to see a glimmer of hope; as long as it didn’t fade, there would always be a day they could leave alive.

But no one thought about it.

He was human too; he was a young detective who also felt fear, tiredness, and could also... die.

Li Mu looked down at his palm, and he seemed to hear a voice in his ear.

"...I volunteer to become a police officer... loyal to my country... loyal to my people... strictly obey the discipline... keep secrets... act impartially... fulfill my duty... not afraid of sacrifice..."

"I am... a police officer."

Li Mu raised his head, a trace of an indescribable expression on his ordinary face.

He straightened up and frantically banged on the door, shouting loudly:

"Yu Sheng, leave now! The person who just responded to you is a ghost!"

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