Chapter 364: Chapter 312: Dark Peach Blossom_2
"Don’t kill me, let’s talk, spare me!!" Manager Zhao was so scared that his hair stood on end, and his attitude took a 180-degree turn; he had never seen anything like this.
"I’ve said it was a misunderstanding. I’m really angry today, don’t provoke me." Yang Xiao forcefully patted Manager Zhao’s face and then slowly withdrew the gun.
The woman sitting not far away saw the gun in Yang Xiao’s hand, instantly bit her lips and fell silent, tears swirling incessantly in her eyes.
Yang Xiao wasn’t in the mood to comfort her; he ordered Manager Zhao and the two security guards to go to the wall, raise their hands, and stand facing it, then he sat down to wait for the police.
About 10 minutes later, several police officers entered, pushing the door. Upon seeing the police, Manager Zhao immediately sprang to life, loudly asking the police to subdue Yang Xiao, claiming he had a gun.
However, the next second, Manager Zhao fell silent because he saw the leading police captain extend his hand with a smile and shake hands with Yang Xiao, "Captain Yang, we have already received the message. We will handle the situation here; you can go attend to your other matters."
"Thanks, appreciate the hard work." Yang Xiao left, glancing back at Manager Zhao, who immediately stepped back a few paces in fear.
No time to waste on such people, Yang Xiao had barely exited the room when he met the worried-looking Zhao, who provided a random excuse about having drunk too much and entering the wrong room; after this explanation, Yang Xiao left.
Arriving at a secluded spot outside the hotel, Yang Xiao immediately replied to the unknown number, requesting to meet Mo Daidai.
A moment later, a phone call came through. As soon as he answered, he heard Mo Daidai’s voice, direct and concise, saying it wasn’t convenient to meet now as the Patrol Defense Office had many informants. Yang Xiao shared the recent events with Mo Daidai, who after a brief silence, delivered some disconcerting news: Tong Han had also received the Ghost Script but encountered an accident mid-way, hence she hadn’t seen the contents of the script box either.
In other words, all they knew was that the mission was named Extinct Village, nothing more.
"How could this happen?" Yang Xiao was also experiencing such a situation for the first time and inevitably panicked.
"Entering the Nightmare World using the Resentment Eye Fragment is always fraught with uncertainties, not that I intend to conceal anything, but this is also a first for me," Mo Daidai spoke, his voice somber, not seeming to lie since this matter was very important for him as well.
"Don’t worry, I will explore all possibilities to find clues about Extinct Village. Be careful in the coming days; I suspect this matter is not so simple," Mo Daidai said.
With things as they were, Yang Xiao had nothing more to say. He suddenly thought of Tong Han and asked, "How is Tong Han’s leg injury?"
"She’s doing well, her mobility has recovered to about 70%. I have a whole rehab team working for her here, but it can only be maintained for a while," Mo Daidai spoke with confidence.
"How long can it be maintained?" Yang Xiao needed to confirm the condition of his teammate.
"No problem within three days, possibly five days with good luck. We can only use some special methods to repair it, a full recovery is impossible," Mo Daidai explained.
Yang Xiao with his own eyes had seen Tong Han’s leg break. To think that in just a few days it could recover suffice to support her for three to five days was incredible, only someone as financially powerful as Mo Daidai could achieve this.
"Notify me immediately if you find any clues about Extinct Village; I will also file a report with the Patrol Defense Bureau and use their resources to search," Yang Xiao said before hanging up the phone.
The next morning, Yang Xiao was awakened by a series of urgent phone rings; it was Huang Qiang from the Patrol Defense Office, asking him to come over immediately.
Once Yang Xiao arrived, he was directly taken by Huang Qiang to the director’s office, where Nalan Shuo was already waiting; the atmosphere felt off as soon as Yang Xiao walked in.
Nalan Shuo looked somewhat displeased and after a long moment, suddenly asked, "What were you doing last night?"
Yang Xiao thought it was about the misunderstanding from last night, but just as he began, Nalan Shuo interrupted him, "I didn’t ask about that, I’m asking what did you do after you went back to your place last night?"
"I slept, didn’t do anything else." Yang Xiao said, puzzled.
"But Yan Shiyi, she’s gone missing." Nalan Shuo’s voice was low, "The police just called me, there are some things you’d better discuss with me alone."
"Who is Yan Shiyi?" Yang Xiao was confused, as he was hearing this name for the first time. After a moment, he suddenly had an ominous feeling, "It wouldn’t be the woman who had a misunderstanding with me yesterday, would it?"
"Yes, that’s her. She’s missing." Nalan Shuo stared into Yang Xiao’s eyes as if trying to gauge whether he was telling the truth.
"What does her disappearance have to do with me? I really was just at home sleeping, and you can check the surveillance if you don’t believe me."
Nalan Shuo took a deep breath, picked up some papers from the desk, and threw them to Yang Xiao. They were interrogation records from the police, involving a woman named Su Qianxi, who was presumably Yan Shiyi’s friend judging from the tone.
It turned out that last night, halfway between sleep and wakefulness, Su Qianxi received a call from Yan Shiyi. Yan Shiyi was extremely scared, her voice trembling as she told her she’d had a nightmare, and... and it was a very strange one.
In the dream, she met a man. Shortly after seeing this man, Yan Shiyi felt herself fall in love with him, unable to explain why.
This man took her far away, away from home, familiar streets, even the city itself. They walked further and further, into more and more remote areas. Later, Yan Shiyi stumbled, not knowing what she tripped over, and then woke up.
At first, Yan Shiyi didn’t think much of it, so after getting up for a warm glass of water to calm down, she went back to sleep. However... she dreamt again, and it was about the same man, leading her on, walking endlessly, until they reached a village.
It was an ancient village, a kind Yan Shiyi had never visited before. Her feeling about this place was extremely unsettling, as if countless eyes were hiding in the shadows, watching her with naked, malevolent intent. She woke up frightened not long after.
This time Yan Shiyi realized something was wrong, felt scared, and dared not sleep again. Alone in her house, she turned on all the lights in the house and then moved her laptop over, planning to watch a light-hearted Korean drama to ease her mood. Unexpectedly, she fell asleep again, and the dream continued.
This time the man took her away from the village, into a dense forest shrouded in mist. The twisted branches appeared and disappeared in the fog, terrifying Yan Shiyi. She could only follow the man instinctively.
After an indeterminate period, they came upon a dilapidated building, and Yan Shiyi didn’t know how to describe it. It was somewhat like a temple, but not exactly. The place gave her a sinister, horrifying feeling.
Yan Shiyi woke up scared again, then couldn’t bear it anymore and called her friend, telling her everything. Her friend lived nearby and could reach her in about fifteen minutes. Although Su Qianxi was skeptical about these occurrences, concerned for her friend, she immediately dressed and rushed to her friend’s house, keeping the phone line open, urging her friend to stay awake, not to sleep.
Yan Shiyi, crying on the other end of the phone, promised that she wouldn’t sleep because... because if she fell asleep again, the man would take her into that odd building, and she was terrified. She was sure that building was strange.
But just when Su Qianxi reached the friend’s apartment complex, the call suddenly cut off. When she tried calling back, no one answered. Su Qianxi frantically knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside the room. Calling the phone again, she could hear the ringtone inside, and so she decisively called the police.
When the police arrived and forced the door open, Yan Shiyi had already disappeared, and the surveillance cameras in the apartment complex hadn’t captured her leaving.
After reading these, Yang Xiao finally understood why the director suspected him, since the Drama Robe he held possessed the ability to induce ghostly dreams and had triggered a similar supernatural event in a hotel before. This was an incident Nalan Shuo had helped cover up for him at the time. Coincidentally, a few hours ago, Yan Shiyi had a conflict with him, and putting two and two together, he was the perfect suspect.
Immediately, Yang Xiao thought of the Ghost Script and explained it in detail to Nalan Shuo. Unexpectedly, upon hearing it, Nalan Shuo’s expression changed instantly, "Zhuwang Village?"
Yang Xiao was startled, "What, Director, you’ve heard of this place?"
Nalan Shuo looked at Yang Xiao with a strange expression, "Remember how Yan Shiyi tripped in her dream? What tripped her was a broken stele, and on the stele were the words ’Extinct Village.’"
