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Frightening Joke: Above the Mist-Chapter 336: Murder
Chapter 336: Chapter 336: Murder
Qingyi Street.
Yu Wenxuan and the other three were still waiting.
With Du Shangjing’s case as a precedent, no one could be sure of the exact start time of the task.
They all kept a close eye on the time.
The rain continued to pour, and Yu Sheng occasionally looked up toward the street corner, yet Bai Yanliang was still nowhere in sight.
They could only hope that this task wouldn’t start tonight.
"It’s almost midnight."
Gu Pingsheng said.
Feng Xiuxue glanced at the time; it was just one minute to midnight, and Bai Yanliang still hadn’t arrived...
Despite any personal feelings, at the very least, Bai Yanliang had never betrayed his companions during a task, and instead, he had often been of help.
So, even Yu Wenxuan was somewhat hoping that Bai Yanliang would show up on time or that tonight wouldn’t be the start of the task.
However, a psychological effect known as Murphy’s Law objectively existed.
As long as there was a possibility for something to go wrong, no matter how small that possibility, it would always tend toward a bad outcome.
And now, it happened.
The surroundings suddenly became extremely quiet, the rain abruptly stopped, and the sky seemed to darken significantly. Even the surrounding buildings appeared to have undergone some subtle changes.
"Time and space are shifting," Gu Pingsheng said solemnly, "The start time of Fog Gathering’s task has indeed been affected."
"Bai Yanliang didn’t make it." Feng Xiuxue said as she turned to glance at the street entrance.
However, she saw a familiar figure walking toward them.
"Look, is that Bai Yanliang?"
Feng Xiuxue’s eyes lit up. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
The other three turned around simultaneously to look; the person walking from the street entrance was drenched, as if just fished out of the water, looking extremely miserable.
"Be careful, the task has already started. Whether that’s a ghost or Bai Yanliang, we don’t know yet."
Yu Sheng opened his mouth but said nothing, just watching Bai Yanliang with concern.
"Stop!" Yu Wenxuan was the first to shout at the shadow resembling Bai Yanliang.
The figure had just walked under a streetlight, and with the light illuminating him, he lifted his head, revealing a face familiar to everyone.
It was indeed Bai Yanliang!
"Bai Yanliang?" Yu Wenxuan asked suspiciously.
Bai Yanliang glanced at the four of them and nodded, "It’s me."
"Why are you only arriving now?" Yu Wenxuan’s suspicion didn’t lessen in the slightest, still not letting Bai Yanliang approach, "What’s with the water on you? The rain just now couldn’t have drenched someone this thoroughly."
Bai Yanliang looked at the four and said, "It’s the rain, much heavier than in the city. I just got back from the outskirts."
His explanation prompted mixed reactions among the four.
"What do you think?" Gu Pingsheng consulted everyone’s opinion.
"It’s him," Yu Sheng confirmed.
"I also think it’s him and not a ghost," Feng Xiuxue agreed.
But Yu Wenxuan remained silent.
"Do you think there’s something wrong with him?" Gu Pingsheng asked, noticing Yu Wenxuan’s shifting expression.
"Yes." Yu Wenxuan immediately replied.
"What is it?" Gu Pingsheng pressed.
"His eyes and overall demeanor," Yu Wenxuan stared intently at Bai Yanliang under the distant streetlight, "He’s become a lot gloomier."
Gu Pingsheng, upon hearing this, also took a careful look at Bai Yanliang, "I think this change is normal because if it were a ghost in disguise, it wouldn’t make such a basic mistake."
His reasoning made sense too. After thinking it over, Yu Wenxuan, driven by some motive, shouted to Bai Yanliang, "Come over!"
Bai Yanliang, drenched from head to toe, looked at the four of them before approaching.
Although they let him come over, the four were on high alert, ready to scatter at the first sign of anything amiss with Bai Yanliang.
Fortunately, their judgment seemed correct, as Bai Yanliang approached them without any abnormalities.
"How did you end up like this? Did Dark Abyss get you again?"
Yu Wenxuan said with some discontent.
"Yes." Bai Yanliang replied concisely.
"Hah," Yu Wenxuan chuckled lightly.
"Save your words," Gu Pingsheng said, being the oldest of the five, knowing it was best not to create discord as the task had already begun.
"What do you all think about this?" Gu Pingsheng’s gaze swept across the group.
"When they came back, they said the wiped-away abnormal events were gradually recovering due to Fog Gathering’s diminishing power, so I looked into major events on Qingyi Street over the years." Yu Wenxuan glanced at Bai Yanliang and then illuminated his phone.
Gu Pingsheng took the phone and showed it to everyone before reading aloud:
"April 24, 2017: A male corpse was found on Qingyi Street, the victim’s head and limbs were all severed, the scene was horrific..."
"May 24, 2017: A female corpse was found on Qingyi Street, the victim’s head and limbs were all severed, the scene was horrific..."
"June 24, 2017: A male corpse was found on Qingyi Street, the victim’s head and limbs were all severed, the scene was horrific..."
"July 24, 2017: A female corpse was found on Qingyi Street..."
"..."
"January 24, 2019: Qingyi Street..."
The more they read, the more the air around them felt cold.
"How could... this street have witnessed so many murder cases?" Yu Sheng’s body shivered slightly. From April 2017 to January 2019, each month saw a murder on Qingyi Street! Despite living in Ye City all this time, she had never heard even a whisper.
"Previously, there was no news of these cases, and those murdered just vanished as if erased, even their families lost all memory of them. Those killed by the ghost were completely wiped from existence..." Gu Pingsheng said with some emotion, "If not for Fog Gathering’s power weakening, this information might have been blocked forever."
"That’s not our concern. What’s important now is to witness the murder about to happen and find the true culprit before dawn," Yu Wenxuan stated.
"But isn’t that contradictory?" Feng Xiuxue folded her arms, "If we can see the murder scene, how can we not find the culprit?"
Yu Wenxuan glanced at Feng Xiuxue, "The task asks us to find the culprit, but what counts as finding? Seeing them with our own eyes? Or catching them with our own hands?"
Yu Wenxuan’s question sparked thought among everyone. Indeed, what counts as finding the true culprit?
"What if... the murderer is a fierce ghost? How are we supposed to catch it?" Yu Sheng timidly asked.
All five fell into deep thought.
Gu Pingsheng, staring at Yu Wenxuan’s cellphone, furrowed his brow tighter and tighter, suddenly looked up at the group, "Wait a minute."
The four turned to look at him simultaneously.
Gu Pingsheng’s voice was laced with a chill, "If Fog Gathering’s power erasing the influence of supernatural events, then who compiled these reappearing pieces of information, appearing again due to Fog Gathering’s weakening power?"
As he finished speaking, a night breeze blew through, permeating everyone’s core with a stinging coldness.
It was as if a giant hand or a pair of giant eyes hovered over, watching everyone all the time.
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