"What exactly is the Fog Gathering?" Bai Yanliang suddenly asked.
"Fog Gathering?" Kangkang looked at him puzzled, and then, as if he understood something, looked at Bai Yanliang and shook his head slightly: "I can’t say."
It means he knows but can’t speak about it.
Is it a restriction of rules? Or is there some entity that has been watching them?
"Then can you tell me how you were born?" Bai Yanliang asked again.
Kangkang continued to shake his head: "I can’t say..."
However, even though Kangkang didn’t answer, Bai Yanliang was able to confirm something.
That is, the Fog Gathering and the fierce ghost... are not on the same side.
Just as Bai Yanliang was somewhat distracted, Kangkang suddenly spoke:
Bai Yanliang looked at him and said, "Everyone will die."
Kangkang nodded at this comment: "Yes, everyone will die."
Kangkang repeated his words, but this time, Bai Yanliang heard a different meaning in his voice.
"By the way." Kangkang’s voice suddenly rose a bit, "Has your abnormality not been discovered by your kind?"
Bai Yanliang shook his head, then nodded: "I’m disguised, but some people can always see through."
For example... the one hiding behind him right now.
"Then... won’t you be purged once you’re discovered?"
Kangkang’s voice was full of doubt.
Bai Yanliang was even more puzzled.
"Well... abnormalities shouldn’t exist. My existence... will soon be purged too."
Kangkang said in a low voice.
This time Kangkang didn’t respond. He looked at Bai Yanliang and said, "Some things you have to discover for yourself, I can’t tell you."
Bai Yanliang nodded, indicating his understanding.
This strange conversation between a man and a ghost had been going on for quite a while.
Perhaps both of them needed time to digest it.
"I am very glad," Kangkang looked at Bai Yanliang and said sincerely, "You are not afraid of me, nor did you hide anything from me, even though we... are inherently opposed."
Bai Yanliang’s heart stirred, those four words—"inherently opposed"... had already revealed too much.
Bai Yanliang looked at him and nodded.
Kangkang said no more, his eyes fell on Bai Yanliang’s arms.
Although Bai Yanliang said "alright," his hands did not move at all.
Kangkang stared at Bai Yanliang and extended his hand.
Bai Yanliang was silent for a few seconds, then sighed: "You’re right, Kangkang, we’re inherently opposed... so I can’t trust you."
"Can I interpret the current situation as... because I am holding your body, you cannot act against me?" Bai Yanliang stared defiantly into Kangkang’s eyes.
Kangkang’s expression remained unchanged, although a trace of helplessness seemed to flash at the corner of his lips: "You’re overthinking, if I really harbored malice towards you, you wouldn’t be able to stop it."
"Perhaps." Bai Yanliang shrugged, "But the possibility I mentioned does exist, don’t you think?"
The calmness and gentleness slowly disappeared from Kangkang’s face, and he tried to show a not-so-terrifying smile: "I can let you leave safely, but first... you have to give it to me."
Bai Yanliang responded very decisively, and this time, he directly laid out his conditions.
"First, give me the key. Second, tell me where her body is."
Kangkang’s complexion suddenly changed!
His young face was full of ferocity: "I told you... I have Self-awareness, but that doesn’t mean you can negotiate with me, human."
Bai Yanliang ignored him entirely and held the ghost baby in his arms tightly, speaking without looking back: "Xu Zhifei, go to the ancestral hall, your body is that enormous female ghost."
When he said this, Bai Yanliang kept his eyes on Kangkang, and upon hearing the words "ancestral hall," he seemed to notice a flicker in its eyes.
It seems that a ghost with Self-awareness... indeed also has weaknesses.
Although Bai Yanliang had suspicions, he couldn’t fully confirm it. But now, he was able to affirm that the female ghost was indeed Xu Zhifei’s body.
The initial doubt was because the appearance of that female ghost felt completely out of place with this entire village.
The villagers weren’t ghosts; they were just turned into monsters by the ghost.
And the appearance of that female ghost wasn’t limited to either day or night; she was a real ghost or, let’s say... a supernatural being.
The other point was because not long ago, Bai Yanliang had Xu Zhifei go into the ancestral hall to observe those three portraits, and Xu Zhifei came out unscathed, unharmed by the female ghost.
Kangkang, as a ghost, could see Xu Zhifei, so there was no reason the female ghost couldn’t see Xu Zhifei.
The only explanation... was that she couldn’t appear in front of Xu Zhifei, or let her see her.
Combined with Kangkang’s earlier reaction, the mystery was solved.
Soon, Bai Yanliang felt a gentle touch on the back of his hand, Xu Zhifei had greeted him and seemed to have left.
That was good, making it easier to deal with Kangkang.
"You say it is you, to be specific... it should be... it is your power, a kind of supernatural source."
Bai Yanliang said calmly.
"I am curious, why did you disappear in the village chief’s house, and appear by the well waiting for me? I thought about it, and I only arrived at one explanation."
Bai Yanliang looked at Kangkang and suddenly stepped forward.
"You are not some ghost that suddenly gained Self-awareness; you are... someone who has shared a body with ghosts for many years, already becoming a half-human, half-ghost... Village Chief Kang, right?"
Bai Yanliang halted his steps, now just one step away from Kangkang!
Kangkang’s eyes suddenly widened, and countless human faces abruptly emerged on his face and head!
This time, Bai Yanliang could clearly feel a strong fear pouring down like a bucket of ice water, igniting a cold shiver in every corner of his body.
Yet his mind remained as clear as always.
"The previous Village Chief Kang couldn’t speak, but I could see he was desperately trying to say something... I think it was the incomplete soul within the body you occupied."
"But this time, Village Chief Kang is talking, with complete clarity, explaining the ins and outs entirely, why? Because... you need to let that aged soul and the decaying body die together; perhaps it is a necessary ritual to reincarnate into the next body; you must leave a part of your soul in that body, to die with it."
Bai Yanliang stared at him, and compared to the grotesque, terrifying child before him, his voice sounded more like the sinister murmur of a demon.
"With each reincarnation, you have to sacrifice a part of your soul, and the missing part of the soul is replaced by that ghost, Village Chief Kang... are you now a human? Or an ancient fierce ghost..."
"Not saying anything?" Bai Yanliang stared at him. Kangkang’s limbs were frantically mutating; his face and torso were utterly rotten, a strong stench wafting towards Bai Yanliang.
But Bai Yanliang was unmoved, holding the ghost baby, lifting it high above the well, and quietly releasing his grip under Kangkang’s predatory gaze.
A piercing ghost wail erupted beside Bai Yanliang, black smoke suddenly billowing out of Kangkang’s body, not only from it but also surging from the dismembered corpses scattered around.
They seemed to be drawn by some force, continuously converging towards the well.
"You... should... die..."
Kangkang’s flesh and blood were wildly disintegrating, an old yet familiar voice appeared on his body.
"Three hundred years, isn’t that enough?" Bai Yanliang faced Kangkang, despite its menacing appearance as though wanting to drag him into the well too, spoke softly. Original content can be found at NovєlFіre.net
At this moment, a cold voice suddenly sounded behind Bai Yanliang.
Turning his head, Bai Yanliang saw Xu Zhifei standing quietly among the dismembered limbs and blood, clad in a black long dress, looking at him.
Bai Yanliang smiled and took a step forward: "Let’s go."
With those words, Kangkang’s flesh and blood rapidly decayed, countless black worms crawling out of its body, disappearing into the ancient well along with streams of black smoke engulfing the area.
An ancient man who had lived for three hundred years and a village that had long since died, now vanished completely in the river of time...