Chapter 17: Fallen into Mist

Gu Yunqing?

Isn’t he dead?

Who took his phone?

Who was on the other end of the call—a man or a ghost? Several thoughts flashed through Zhang Yangxu’s mind; he decisively turned off the screen and hung up.

Outside the wall, the sound of footsteps grew increasingly dense.

Zhang Yangxu had learned a bit about this large mansion bearing the sign “He Family Residence”; it was occupied by a wealthy household, employing many servants and maids, and the old master always went out surrounded by a retinue and returned with an even larger crowd.

Hearing the crowd’s footsteps move toward the main gate, Zhang Yangxu held his phone and walked along the wall toward the side gate. He was not the type to stubbornly press forward until hitting a wall; since he couldn’t find Ye Miaozhu, he wouldn’t look for her—this impulsive woman, even if willing to cooperate with him, would likely bring more harm than benefit.

He hadn’t walked far when his phone vibrated again.

This vibration was short and sharp—not a ringtone, but a new message alert. Zhang Yangxu unlocked the screen and looked down; he had just received a new text: sender: 【Gu Yunqing】

Message content: 【Do you really think I’m dead?】

Immediately after, another new message arrived:

【You’ve been fooled by Ning Zhe.】

“Gu Yunqing isn’t dead?”

“I’ve been fooled by Ning Zhe?”

Looking at the two text messages on his screen, Zhang Yangxu’s expression darkened.

Knowing that a ghost within He Family Village could steal others’ identities and impersonate the living, Zhang Yangxu naturally wouldn’t easily believe such brief messages—he remained highly alert.

Yet while staying wary of the unknown entity claiming to be Gu Yunqing, Zhang Yangxu also tried to recall his interactions with Ning Zhe and the others.

“These two messages are suspicious, but isn’t Ning Zhe suspicious too? I’ve never actually seen Gu Yunqing’s corpse. Everything I’ve heard—that Gu Yunqing is dead, that he died by the river like Xie Sining—I never witnessed any of it myself.”

Once the seed of doubt was planted, it immediately began to take root.

Zhang Yangxu held his phone in one hand and trailed his other along the wall as he walked, recalling every detail of his conversations with Ning Zhe and the others.

“Ning Zhe is untrustworthy. He’s suspected of killing Lin Zhiyuan and hiding his body. Even if I try my best to assume the best about his character and believe Lin Zhiyuan wasn’t killed by him, Ning Zhe is still at least a madman with no reverence for human life—he’ll use others’ deaths without any moral limits to achieve his goals. He’s a lunatic.”

And a terrifyingly intelligent one.

“Feng Yu, I know this woman somewhat. Raised in seclusion since childhood, sheltered by her husband after marriage, she’s never known hardship. A pampered golden cage bird who’s never left her prison, she’d easily submit to real violence. So Feng Yu’s words can’t be trusted either—this woman has already been tamed by Ning Zhe into unquestioning obedience, even unaware of his subtle conditioning, like training a dog.”

Neither Ning Zhe nor Feng Yu is trustworthy—what about Ye Miaozhu?

Ye Miaozhu’s intense reaction to Gu Yunqing’s death didn’t seem feigned; such grief would be utterly genuine if it came from the loss of a loved one. But the problem is…

“Were Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu really that close? Close enough that she’d abandon her own life over his death?”

Zhang Yangxu couldn’t be sure. They were merely strangers who had met by chance. According to what he knew, Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu were merely classmates who had come together from the same medical university to do their rural internships.

They might have been lovers or something else, but if they were only lovers or classmates, Ye Miaozhu’s extreme emotions seemed overly exaggerated—like a delicate young man crying for an emergency room appointment after a minor scrape.

So…

“Trust Ye Miaozhu? Or trust this ‘Gu Yunqing’?” Zhang Yangxu hesitated.

He knew clearly the voice on the other end was likely the ghost skilled in wearing human skin to lure others to death—or even Ning Zhe himself using Gu Yunqing’s phone to set a trap. But he couldn’t deny the possibility, however slim, that this was truly Gu Yunqing.

At that moment, his phone vibrated again; a new message arrived:

【I can guess what you’re worried about—that I’m the ghost who stole Gu Yunqing’s identity.】

【Your concern isn’t unfounded, but time is running out—we can’t afford to stall any longer.】

【Ask me some questions to test my identity—but hurry.】

【Because the Snake God is about to go mad.】

“What?!” Zhang Yangxu’s nerves snapped taut. He quickly typed back: 【What do you mean? The Snake God is going mad again?】

The other side fell silent for about two minutes; finally, a new message arrived: 【Let’s first confirm each other’s identities.】

【You suspect I’m a ghost pretending to be Gu Yunqing—but don’t I have the same suspicion of you?】

Zhang Yangxu wasted no time and quickly composed several questions to send.

Drawing from his prior experience with the ghost impersonating Xie Sining, Zhang Yangxu sent questions that met this criterion: “I believe Gu Yunqing should know the answer, but I myself do not.” When impersonated by the ghost, Xie Sining had exhibited behavior like a computer program crashing.

Zhang Yangxu asked several clinical medicine questions; Gu Yunqing replied with several real estate questions.

Both sides answered quickly.

Though Zhang Yangxu couldn’t judge the accuracy of Gu Yunqing’s answers due to lack of expertise, the fluidity of the responses alone was enough to confirm the other’s identity.

“He’s probably the real Gu Yunqing.” Zhang Yangxu exhaled, then sent: 【What does “the Snake God going mad” mean? Tell me exactly what’s happening.】

Gu Yunqing: 【Let’s talk in person.】

Zhang Yangxu: 【Okay, where are you?】

Gu Yunqing: 【Outside the wall of the He Family Mansion. Walk a bit further—you’ll see me as soon as you open the gate.】

So close? Zhang Yangxu felt puzzled. If they were this near, why had Gu Yunqing used phone calls and texts instead of simply meeting face-to-face? That would’ve been far more efficient.

But then he thought again: of course—just as Gu Yunqing said, he suspected the other was a ghost, and didn’t the other suspect him too?

With that thought, Zhang Yangxu stepped lightly and cautiously walked along the wall to the side gate of the He Family Mansion, then gently tapped three times.

Thud-thud-thud—

Three taps echoed back from outside.

Zhang Yangxu exhaled in relief, opened the gate, and saw a young man standing before him, his entire outfit soaked through, holding a phone equally drenched in water.

“Master Zhang, I’m glad to see you again,” Gu Yunqing smiled.

(End of Chapter)