Zuo Zhu nodded. “That should be the case.”
Lin Tianming, overjoyed, practically set his meal aside. “Then I’ll go ask Huo Fu how we can leave.”
“He’s busy right now, probably preparing for this afternoon’s departure. We can just follow him then,” Zuo Zhu said, not wanting Lin Tianming to see anything inhuman.
Lin Tianming hesitated. “Are you sure Huo Fu really knows we can leave?”
Zuo Zhu frowned. “What’s the matter? You doubt my Huo Fu?”
Seeing her return to this tone, Lin Tianming shrugged. “Fine, I’ll go tell Liu Minmin.”
Because of the illusions from the Female Water Ghost, Liu Minmin had stayed inside the whole time, still shaken and unable to recover.
“There’s one more thing,” he hesitated, “what about Zhao Siyu?”
Zuo Zhu suddenly remembered Zhao Siyu.
The problem was that no one knew whether Zhao Siyu was still alive. The Female Water Ghost had taken her two days ago, could she still be alive?
Lin Tianming’s heart sank. He sat down on a wooden chair, speaking gravely, “When we first came here, there were nine of us. Now only three remain. Zhao Siyu’s fate is unknown, and Li Fang disappeared as well.”
Speaking of Li Fang made him gnash his teeth in anger. “We shouldn’t have listened to his ghostly nonsense! ‘New projects to explore’—maybe it was his illegitimate brothers feeding him false info, and now it’s ruined everything for us!”
“I thought he was missing, and then yesterday he inexplicably reappeared, only to disappear again!”
Lin Tianming felt a deep ache. Among the nine who came, some were his childhood friends, others people who clung to them—but now all were gone.
Seeing his distress, Zuo Zhu said nothing.
Though they had only spent a few days together, she could read Lin Tianming’s character.
He had come along because of Li Fang’s urging, had never given up looking for clues, and most of the time tried hard to protect everyone.
He was upright and principled.
Zuo Zhu suspected Huo Fu had recognized this and chosen him as a living conduit to leave the village, indirectly saving his life instead of letting him die in the haunted village.
“Stop thinking so much,” she said dryly, trying to comfort him. “Maybe we won’t get out either. Maybe we’ll all die here, and as ghosts, we could reunite. Then you won’t have to grieve for them.”
Lin Tianming: “…”
He couldn’t help sneaking glances at Zuo Zhu, wondering how someone like her had ever flirted with a playboy like Li Fang. How could she not have infuriated him?
He was even more curious how she had captivated Huo Fu. Growing up in wealth and fame, Lin Tianming considered himself discerning.
After spending a few days with Huo Fu, he still couldn’t fully read him, but he could tell he wasn’t the greedy, lustful man Liu Minmin had assumed.
So how did Huo Fu end up drawn to Zuo Zhu?
Lin Tianming couldn’t fathom it.
Perhaps it was Zuo Zhu’s own kind of magic; once she intervened, sorrow and gloom couldn’t settle in.
After sitting a while and realizing he couldn’t find Huo Fu, he went to Liu Minmin’s room to tell her about the impending departure.
After learning they were leaving, Lin Tianming and Liu Minmin waited in the courtyard after lunch for Huo Fu.
Their tension made Zuo Zhu’s casual demeanor stand out.
Liu Minmin, still pale from the Female Water Ghost’s illusions, didn’t hesitate to scold Zuo Zhu.
“How can you be so calm? Don’t you want to leave this cursed place?”
Zuo Zhu smiled shyly. “I trust my Huo Fu can get me out, so I’m not nervous.”
Liu Minmin snorted disdainfully. “Li Fang disappeared, so you’ve already moved on? You’re fast! I wonder if your Huo Fu knows how fickle you are?”
Zuo Zhu frowned. “We were only friends. At most, close enough to chat a bit more. Don’t make it sound so dirty!”
Liu Minmin drew in a breath, nearly choking.
She had always thought Zuo Zhu was vain and unworthy of notice. Now, after this visit, she seemed shameless beyond measure.
Just then, Huo Fu walked into the courtyard.
Lin Tianming stood excitedly. “Huo Fu, can we really leave now?”
Huo Fu simply nodded. “Follow me.”
Zuo Zhu ran to his side, naturally looping her arm around his, handing her luggage to Lin Tianming.
“Can you hold this for me?”
Liu Minmin fumed. “Why don’t you carry it yourself?”
Zuo Zhu replied confidently, “I can’t carry it.”
“Then let your man carry it! Why ask Lin Tianming?”
“Huo Fu is taking us out. I can’t let him be overworked.”
Lin Tianming sighed. “It’s just one bag. Not heavy.”
Zuo Zhu, comfortably leaning on Huo Fu, walked ahead. Acting the part made her effortlessly dramatic.
She was about to rise from a minor comic cannon fodder to a fully-fledged malicious supporting female!
The last time Lin Tianming had tried to leave the village, ghostly walls and mists trapped them, with apparitions emerging from the fog.
This time was different. Huo Fu led the way, Lin Tianming and Liu Minmin followed, and the path out was smooth.
No ghostly walls, no mists, no apparitions.
Lin Tianming felt both joy and unease, fearing this might just be a calm before the storm.
After a while, they finally left the village bounds and reached a rough dirt road.
Lin Tianming’s eyes brightened—until a cold wind blew from behind.
He shivered, goosebumps rising.
“T-Tianming… look behind us…” Liu Minmin’s voice trembled as she tugged on his sleeve.
Lin Tianming turned. Thick fog had risen around the village, obscuring everything.
Within the fog, terrifying apparitions emerged, their deaths twisted and grotesque, clawing toward them like zombies.
Liu Minmin nearly cried.
Lin Tianming drew in a sharp breath, trembling as he tried to calm her. “Don’t be afraid. They seem trapped in the fog. They can’t get out.”
It was obvious. None of the apparitions managed to escape; all were trapped.
Lin Tianming glanced at Huo Fu, suspecting it was his doing.
Just as he tried to focus ahead, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure.
“Zhao Siyu?! She’s still alive!”
Zuo Zhu turned, curious.
The Female Water Ghost also appeared in the fog. Unlike the others, she remained eerily still, dead-eyed, watching them leave.
In her hands, she dragged Zhao Siyu by the hair like a corpse.
Zhao Siyu was mangled and barely recognizable.
Yet she still had consciousness, her eyes fixed on them, her lips moving incessantly.
Liu Minmin covered her mouth. “She’s asking us to take her with us!”
Lin Tianming swallowed, looking at Huo Fu. “Huo Fu, can she really—”
Huo Fu sneered. “Are you sure she’s still human?”
Lin Tianming froze. Zhao Siyu now emanated black mist, her eyes glowing red like a vengeful spirit as she crawled on the ground.
“She’s already been assimilated,” Huo Fu observed, intrigued. “Do you know why everyone else disappeared but not you?”
Lin Tianming shook his head. “Why?”
“Because this evil ghost village favors those who harbor evil spirits in their hearts.”
Like Qin Shou, like Li Fang, like Zhao Siyu.
None of them were innocent.