Chapter 3447: Might As Well Continue Holding Hands

Xie Jiling and Han Zhuofeng couldn’t bother with anything else. They focused on avoiding the staff members and the two great masters.

Because Xie Jiling didn’t know their backgrounds, she decided to temporarily refer to them as great masters.

Because Ghost Town was big enough, Xie Jiling and Han Zhuofeng were able to continue walking to the deeper parts of this place.

In addition, they were trying to hide.

The strange rocks in Ghost Town would be their best cover.

Therefore, the staff member, despite having checked the entire area, did not notice them.

Han Zhuofeng sighed and said, “This shows that it’s really difficult for the staff member to find a person who is really trying to hide. Checking the area every day does help, but it is really difficult to find a person who really intends to stay.”

Xie Jiling nodded and said, “Let’s go. We will look around. Maybe someone stayed as well.”

Han Zhuofeng looked at the watch on his wrist. At this moment, the hour hand of the watch had moved past 5 pm.

It was 5:03 pm.

Honestly, this was quite marvelous.

pm was considered evening.

But even though the sun was setting and the view was still clear, there was no sign of a fog building up.

But as soon as five o’clock came, a faint mist rose from the ground to the air.

But at this moment, the fog was still really thin. It was even thinner than when they arrived in the morning.

The thin layer of mist was like a thin veil over one’s eyes.

Xie Jiling took out a red string from her bag.

She then took out two small bells.

She tied one end of the red string along with the small bell on Han Zhuofeng’s wrist.

She then handed the other end of the string to Han Zhuofeng. “Tie this bell and this red string on my wrist.

Han Zhuofeng tied it just as he was told.

After he tied the string, he even admired it for a while.

The red string on Xie Jiling’s wrist made her skin look even fairer.

Xie Jiling moved her wrist, and the bell on the string made a clunking noise.

Han Zhuofeng tried to tease Xie Jiling. “Don’t you think this red string of ours looks like the red thread tied by the God of love?”

Xie Jiling looked at Han Zhuofeng like he was dumb and explained, “This is to prevent us from losing each other when it’s completely dark, and the fog becomes really thick.”

“I know.” Han Zhuofeng said awkwardly.

He felt a little awkward. When he mentioned the thread of love, he had some anticipation.

But who would have known that Xie Jiling would react that way?

Han Zhuofeng awkwardly raised his hand and shook his wrist. The bell on his wrist started ringing along with his movements.

But Han Zhuofeng noticed something different.

“Shake your wrist.” Han Zhuofeng said to Xie Jiling.

Xie Jiling then shook her wrist.

Han Zhuofeng shook his own wrist and said in realization, “Eh? The ringing of our bell sounds different.”

“Yes.” Xie Jiling nodded and said, “That will make it easier to distinguish between the two.”

“If it becomes so foggy at night that we can’t see anything, we can only use the sound of the bell to confirm each other’s presence. If the bell sounds the same, we will get confused easily, and we won’t be able to figure out whose bell was ringing. What if we lose each other and I thought you were still here because the bell on my wrist was ringing?”

“Therefore, even though these two bells are together, we can differentiate them because they sound different.” Xie Jiling said.

While they were talking, it became foggier.

Han Zhuofeng started feeling nervous.

“There’s no need for it to be this troublesome,” Han Zhuofeng said and immediately held Xie Jiling’s hand. “We can just do this.”

“The red string is a little long. What if I was taken away without making a noise and you didn’t notice? We might as well just hold hands,” Han Zhuofeng said and held Xie Jiling’s hand tightly.

Xie Jiling felt a wave of electricity on her palm.

Xie Jiling couldn’t help but retract her hand.

But Han Zhuofeng held her hand tightly, and Xie Jiling couldn’t move her hand back.

Han Zhuofeng then turned and said to her, “Don’t dodge! I am scared!”

Xie Jiling was speechless.

But she felt really uncomfortable having her hand held by him.

And because of Han Zhuofeng’s words, she couldn’t retract her hand anymore.

She could only allow him to hold it.

She didn’t expect Han Zhuofeng to say this. “Don’t worry. If you encounter a vengeful spirit later, I will let go of your hand so that it will be convenient for you to counter it with both hands.”

Xie Jiling didn’t know what to say.

That was so considerate of him.

Han Zhuofeng held Xie Jiling’s hand happily and said, “I feel really safe. I won’t have to worry about a vengeful spirit kidnapping me.”

While the two were walking, the fog gradually thickened. It was as thick as the fog they had seen in the morning.

And it was still getting foggier.

Because it was almost nighttime, the sky was darkening at a quicker speed as well.

Soon, Han Zhuofeng couldn’t see anything that was a meter away.

Thankfully, he could still see his hand.

He turned his head around and saw that Xie Jiling’s side profile was still visible.

Han Zhuofeng felt really nervous, and his heart was beating really fast.

He held Xie Jiling’s hand and even leaned close to Xie Jiling’s shoulder.

His shoulder was touching her shoulder.

“Where are we going now?” Han Zhuofeng asked, “We really can’t see anything now.”

They could see the nearest strange rock appearing like a grey silhouette in the fog.

Because the rocks were shaped weirdly and would occasionally appear in the thick fog, they did look a little scary and frightening.

Han Zhuofeng couldn’t help but say, “If this is what it looks like at night, why would people choose to stay? Even if they stayed, they wouldn’t see anything.”

“I have inquired about that,” Xie Jiling said, “The fog isn’t this thick in the beginning. After the first missing case, the fog here started getting thicker. But even back then, it wasn’t as thick as it is today. It’s similar to mists at beaches or in mountainous areas. The fog did not affect one’s vision.”

“Back then, it does get foggy before the sky darkens, but it doesn’t affect one’s vision or movement. Therefore, there were still people who stayed until nighttime.”

“But after the second missing case, the fog here thickened. It’s just slightly thinner than right now.” Xie Jiling shared her analysis.

“And so, since the beginning until now, the fog has been growing stronger. The growth is gradual, and based on the rate of growth, if it weren’t because of the missing cases, the fog would have needed a lot more time to grow to this level.”

“Therefore, the missing case or the lost life had increased the speed of the fog’s thickening.” Xie Jiling said.

Xie Jiling wanted to get something from her bag, but her hand was still being held by Han Zhuofeng.

Considering the current situation, it was inconvenient for her to let go of this hand.

Xie Jiling was worried that the moment she lowered her head, Han Zhuofeng would be gone.

And so, she said to Han Zhuofeng, “Help me unzip my bag.”

While saying that Xie Jiling gripped one end of the bag, holding it firmly for Han Zhuofeng.

Han Zhuofeng used his empty left hand and unzipped the bag.

Xie Jiling fumbled something out of her bag and handed it to Han Zhuofeng. “Help me hold it.”

Han Zhuofeng took it and held it in his hand. He saw that it was a small stick.