It's late at night.

Chapter 21: Retrieving the Lantern

Xia Yao's pupils trembled, her heart pounding like a tsunami.

I can't believe I'm so unlucky. I just got out of the water, and now I'm being thrown back in.

Unfortunately, he couldn't open his mouth; the sound was stuck in his throat. Otherwise, he would have cursed the ghost as well.

Several burly men held him down, and he couldn't struggle at all.

With a forceful flick, he was thrown a great distance due to inertia.

"thump--"

A loud bang was heard, and a large amount of water splashed up.

And so, Xia Yao sank into the lake.

After being soaked in the icy lake water again, Xia Yao had calmed down considerably.

The surrounding lake water was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Swim fast, with all your might!

Afraid of bumping into that rotting corpse again and having to play the role-playing game once more, Xia Yao swam with all her might.

But this time, the resistance that was holding his head down and preventing him from floating upwards disappeared.

"Whoosh—"

While Zhou Ze'an was still trying to retrieve the lanterns, Xia Yao's head emerged from the dark lake surface.

"Holy crap! Is this a human or a ghost?"

Ignoring Chen Qi, who had just climbed onto the boat, Lu Qifa quickly pulled back his oar and was about to run away.

Zhou Ze'an also began to doubt Xia Yao's identity. After being hidden for so long, was she really a person?

Could it be a ghost in disguise, trying to deceive and infiltrate their ranks?

Xia Yao had already swum to her boat and was carefully climbing up.

"I am a human being."

Xia Yao rolled over and lay on the boat, breathing heavily.

However, the others still looked at him with distrust.

Xia Yao got up and found that Liu Lili was gone.

The surrounding area was shrouded in mist, and once you walked a little further away, you would lose sight of it.

Noticing his gaze, Zhou Ze'an explained.

"You were terrifying when you fell into the water; she doesn't want to stay here."

While it was meant as an explanation, it also indirectly revealed his teammates' wariness of him.

The water is the ghost's domain, and now that it's shrouded in mist, even if Xia Yao is a ghost, they might not be able to escape.

Zhou Zean just wants to play it safe right now. It's good that Xia Yao is human, but even if he is a ghost, he can still get away unscathed by sacrificing a little idiot.

"Won't there be any problems if she doesn't bring the lanterns back?"

Xia Yao raised a question, as this seemed different from what they had said before that not completing the mission would result in death.

"In most cases, yes, but it's still less risky than encountering a ghost directly."

Zhou Ze'an's words were loaded with meaning as he observed Xia Yao.

To allay his teammates' suspicions, Xia Yao had no choice but to simply recount what he had seen.

Of course, he only said that he felt like his head was being held down and he couldn't swim up no matter what.

Then I entered a ghostly illusion, took on the role of a reporter, and was thrown into the water.

Skip the part where you clearly see the floating corpse and it gets touched, to avoid having the opposite effect.

Xia Yao was forced to stay afloat, a situation clearly mirrored by the reporter's experience.

He went up the mountain by himself, got lost in the rainstorm, wandered into the overgrown lakeside, and finally fell into the water. Everything seemed so reasonable.

Those bad guys were well-prepared and well-covered, leaving not even a fingerprint or a hair behind, and the torrential rain washed away all traces.

Coupled with the testimonies of villagers who accepted bribes, the crimes were covered up, and the wronged souls had nowhere to seek justice.

"Good heavens, these beasts are so wicked, they're all sons of bitches," Lu Qifa cursed.

"With such wicked deeds, it's no wonder the ghosts' resentment lingers."

Zhou Zean pursed his lips and made a comment, then changed the subject.

"What the reporter is hiding must be evidence of this criminal group's crimes, which is why they are so eager to find it, even to the point of killing him to cover it up."

"Since you were able to communicate with him, did you see where the thing was hidden?"

This is a test. If Xia Yao knows, then he is definitely a ghost who wants to lure them to their deaths.

Xia Yao shook her head, "It only flashed by for a moment, I didn't see the scene of hiding anything."

Zhou Ze'an breathed a sigh of relief, only then remembering the important matter at hand.

"Give me the camera, let me see if it still works, let's hurry up and retrieve the lanterns and go back."

The camera, which was hanging around Xia Yao's neck, fell into the lake with her. It's still dripping water, and we don't know if it's broken or not.

Xia Yao hesitated; he wasn't really keen on handing over the props.

But at this moment, he is suspected by his teammates and could easily be isolated.

Even if you have to back down, you must first protect yourself.

Xia Yao tried to tinker with the camera and found that it was quite waterproof; the outer casing was a little wet, but it was still usable.

He took a picture of the side of his boat to pinpoint the location of the drifting lantern.

"I'll lend you the lantern after I get it."

I borrowed the money so that I could complete the task smoothly without causing too much trouble with my teammates.

Judging from the current speed, Xia Yao reached out to intercept the boat and quickly touched several lanterns.

Finally, among a pile of pure white lanterns, he found one with the number 7 written on it.

They also managed to snag a 6, which was exactly what Chen Qi needed.

The camera was given to Zhou Ze'an, and the lamp was given to Chen Qi.

While waiting for the lanterns to be retrieved, Xia Yao carefully examined them.

The burning candle was only half left, and it looked only as long as a pinky finger.

Xia Yao keenly recalled what the woman had said before she left: the lamp she brought back had to be lit.

What if the candle burns out completely?

What happens if you take back a light that isn't working?

Xia Yao didn't hide anything and directly revealed her discovery.

"This candle is only half full; I don't know if it will last until we get back."

At this moment, Zhou Ze'an retrieved a lantern from the empty lake surface.

I glanced at the candle inside the lampshade, and it was indeed as he had said.

"Could we put out the candles and relight them before we get ashore?"

Zhou Ze'an was just saying it casually, but he wanted others to test the waters.

Looking at several lanterns with no numbers on them, just pure white lampshades, Xia Yao suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"Could we leave one main light on, turn off the others, and take out candles so we can relight them when they burn out?"

Like a lottery, once you get the light you want, there will always be some other numbers.

Zhou Zean worked quickly and soon found the 9 he wanted, as well as the 8 that Lu Qifa wanted.

The candle is so short, it'll probably go out halfway through.

"Follow Brother Su's advice, keep one candle, but not more?"

Lu Qifa looked at the short section of his lantern and hesitated before speaking.

Of course, they can continue to fish, but judging from the state of the lanterns...

The time that the released lanterns can stay lit will only get shorter and shorter; leaving is the only way to survive.

"Okay, but we'll all be wiped out together." Zhou Ze'an made his decision.

While waiting, others were also trying to catch the fish, but their positions were uncertain, and they only managed to catch two or three cups.

The extra lanterns were distributed, and after deducting the numbers in their hands, each person still had four or five extra lanterns.

"blow."

The group blew out the extra lamps and took down the candles.

To prevent the extinguished lanterns from undergoing any abnormalities, they released the wickless lanterns into the sea.

After finishing all that and preparing to row back, Chen Qi let out a scream.

"Ghost! The ghost is there!"