Chapter 303: Perspective

On the way back, Shi Liaozhi explained the situation to everyone. The ghost suddenly appeared behind him. Due to the urgency, he charged through the window and jumped out. Even though his arm was sprained, he thankfully still had his life.

“Mr. Shi, you are lucky.” Jiang Cheng said, “A normal person wouldn’t have survived what you encountered.”

The travellers’ expression shifted. They had suspicions about Shi Liaozhi’s identity, but this was such a direct probe… Wasn’t he afraid of being targeted by the ghost?

Even Fatty, who walked beside Jiang Cheng, became nervous.

Thankfully, Shi Liaozhi didn’t react strangely other than being scared. He glanced at the lake as if wishing to say something. An Xuan noticed this and asked, “Mr. Shi, did you remember something?”

Shi Liaozhi rubbed his arms and whispered, “When the ghost was hiding behind me, I believed I saw something. It was a strange feeling.” He paused to gather his thoughts. Then, he raised his head and continued, “It felt like a shift in perspective. The surroundings were suddenly so dark. It was not complete darkness. There was a bit of light coming from above, but it was not clear. My chest felt congested, like a stone was placed on it. I could only breathe slowly. There was a light suffocation.”

Shi Liaozhi’s memory brought a new perspective. You Qi thought about it and scratched his chin, “You are describing… the feeling when diving!”

“You were probably influenced by the ghost and temporarily sensed things from her perspective,” Xia Meng added.

“More precisely, it was her corpse’s perspective,” Zuo Qing’s tone was reserved. She seemed to have understood something but she didn’t clarify it.

Fatty nodded. “So the female ghost’s corpse is indeed submerged underwater, at the bottom of the lake.” Everyone suspected the validity of this hypothesis before.

“Mr. Shi,” An Xuan sincerely told Shi Liaozhi, “I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you to look around the lake. If we can find the ghost’s body, things will be simpler.” This was a valid reason. Everyone stared at Shi Liaozhi, not giving him the chance to say no.

Shi Liaozhi looked frightened. He turned to look at the lake frightfully. After all, he had just escaped the ghost’s attack. By returning to the lake… However, in the end, he conceded. “Fine.” He grumbled, “But I can’t guarantee I can find anything.”

An Xuan answered politely, “Thank you, Mr. Shi.”

“I don’t think… it’s here.” Shi Liaozhi walked along the shore. He paused intermittently, “Not here either.” The others maintained a safe distance from him. Thankfully, Shi Liaozhi’s focus was entirely on the search. He didn’t notice the anomaly behind him.

The weather was perfect. The lake’s surface was clear as a mirror. The water clearly reflected Shi Liaozhi’s shadow. The travellers studied the shadow silently. They paid special attention to his back. They didn’t notice anything out of place.

Fatty looked better. Before he could say anything, An Xuan whispered, “A few should stay to keep an eye on him. The rest will follow me back to the room to take a look.”

Zuo Qing frowned, “Do you mean the painting?” An Xuan’s intention was not hard to grasp. He still suspected Shi Liaozhi. If Shi Liaozhi had been possessed, the painting might have a clue.

“Mr… An.” You Qi suddenly spoke. He looked at everyone and said awkwardly, “I’ve covered the painting with a red cloth. It was too scary. I was scared…”

“You covered it?!” The way An Xuan looked at You Qi changed.

You Qi licked his lips. He said worriedly, “Didn’t you notice the woman in the painting changing? When I first saw the painting, I remembered her face was facing away from us. Only a little was shown, but now, almost half of her face has already been shown!” When he said the last sentence, he shivered uncontrollably. It could be confirmed that the woman was the ghost, the ghost bride who Young Master Huang missed dearly.

A scary but rational thought appeared in everyone’s mind. When the woman fully turned around, she might walk out of the painting. Then, everyone would die.

“This appears to be the final leg of the mission,” Zuo Qing sighed. Just as You Qi opened his mouth, they heard a scream. Shi Liaozhi fell down beside the lake. With two arms on the floor, he crawled backwards. “No!” He shouted, “Please. Don’t come for me!” His eyes were overwhelmed by fear.

“What’s wrong?” An Xuan ran over but he stopped when he was two meters away from Shi Liaozhi.

“She’s here! Right here!” Shi Liaozhi’s voice changed, “I had a strange feeling when I walked past this place. So, I looked down and…” His eyes narrowed to a slit.

Staring at the murky water, Zuo Qing had a bad feeling. The water was clear earlier, but it had suddenly turned cloudy. “And then what?” She asked Shi Liaozhi.

“There was a rotten face under the water!” Shi Liaozhi said between sobs, “She was looking at me. She even smiled. She was staring at me!” There was no trace of acting on Shi Liaozhi’s face. At least Xia Meng couldn’t see any flaw. Shi Liaozhi was not a newbie. Then again, one’s reaction after being targeted by the ghost could be predicted. Either they transferred the danger within the range allowed by the rules like Jiang Cheng, or they waited for death’s arrival in extreme fear.

Actually, there was a third path. That was to find the clues and leave the mission before the ghost caught you. However, based on the current situation, the last path was not realistic. They had limited clues about the mission.

Jiang Cheng took careful steps forward. This was a small dam made using rocks. It was about one meter up from the water’s surface. He glanced at the water. The water looked a dim green.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read