Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 383: In the Painting

Chapter 383: Chapter 383: In the Painting

Banquet hall.

"Who are you, and how did you get here?"

The gothic skirt woman looked at Yu Wenxuan and asked softly.

"Is that how you treat your savior?" Yu Wenxuan looked down at her.

For some reason, Yu Wenxuan felt her face was somewhat familiar.

He had a good memory, but he searched every corner of his mind and could not find such a gothic skirt woman in his past life.

Moreover, this time’s Fog Gathering had no idea which year’s time fragment it was from.

She avoided Yu Wenxuan’s gaze; if it weren’t for him, she would have indeed been smashed to pieces by now.

"My name is Lin Xiaohui."

She stated her name first, her voice low and indifferent.

Yu Wenxuan looked at her with interest, her behavior and attire were quite unique, but her name was rather simple.

"I..." She hesitated, looking at Yu Wenxuan, "You wouldn’t believe it, you’d think I’m a madman..."

"Is there anything crazier than having ghosts here?" Yu Wenxuan interrupted her.

Her eyes slowly widened, seemingly surprised that Yu Wenxuan would say such a thing.

And when Yu Wenxuan saw her dark eyes, a yellowed image flashed through his mind.

I have seen her...

Yu Wenxuan finally confirmed it.

But how could it be?

This woman was from the Fog Gathering time fragment, theoretically, she shouldn’t exist in the real world anymore.

Could it be... this strange familiarity with her is related to this time’s escape route?

"There are indeed ghosts here," Lin Xiaohui, seeing that Yu Wenxuan had mentioned "ghost" before she did, finally sighed with relief, composed herself, and said, "It’s hard to believe, but I must tell you, you are not truly alive."

Yu Wenxuan was momentarily stunned, it was rare for him to show an expression revealing his true thoughts, but this shock was indeed genuine.

"You all... are people in my painting."

After taking a deep breath, Lin Xiaohui revealed the truth she knew.

"Hmm." Yu Wenxuan nodded.

This time, it was Lin Xiaohui’s turn to be stunned.

"You... you..." Her personality was reclusive and eccentric, she didn’t talk much and was also inscrutable, but she was surprised by Yu Wenxuan, "Don’t you find it strange?"

"Strange, so what?" Yu Wenxuan feigned wide-eyed incredulity, "What exactly happened?"

He was completely acting and did not intend to hide that he was acting.

However, his attitude somewhat eased Lin Xiaohui’s nervousness.

"One evening a month ago..." Lin Xiaohui fell into memories and recounted her story.

She was an artist, Lin Xiaohui loved the seaside at dusk, and had gone there at that time more than once.

The twilight sky, the coastal line at the junction of light and darkness, were her favorite "materials."

That day was no different.

Lin Xiaohui brought her painting tools and went to the seaside at six in the evening.

Arriving at the familiar place, she set up her canvas and began seeking inspiration.

The coast felt livelier than ever that day.

She looked towards the direction of the dock, and in the dusk, everything was vague and indistinct.

Lin Xiaohui vaguely recognized the huge shadow at the seaside seemed to be a cruise ship, people on the shore were boarding it.

A question arose in her mind.

Wasn’t this dock abandoned long ago?

When did it reopen and have such large passenger ships coming and going...

Despite the confusion in her mind, completely engrossed in the scene, Lin Xiaohui suddenly picked up her paintbrush.

On the blank canvas before her, she made her first stroke.

She was painting out the massive silhouette of a ship she saw on the sea.

Yes...

That huge shadow could only be a ship.

Otherwise, where were those people at the dock queuing to go?

If not, what could be such a massive presence in the sea?

Even though... the more she looked, the less it seemed like a ship...

The sky grew darker, Lin Xiaohui’s thinking slowed, and all her energy was devoted to this painting.

The moon quietly appeared on the sea.

Lin Xiaohui could no longer see her canvas, nor what she was painting.

Indistinct murmurs appeared in her ears, she couldn’t make out what was being said.

Her arm was tired, yet she had no intention of stopping.

Lin Xiaohui’s eyes widened, she trembled as if soulless, zombie-like, painting what she saw.

She watched as a huge bright moon emerged on the sea, illuminating the dark ocean with a deeper fearfulness.

And in that moment, the silhouette of a ship revealed its true form!

Lin Xiaohui couldn’t remember what the true appearance of that massive ship-like silhouette was, her sanity was destroyed, her body only unconsciously continued to paint...

Under the pale and silent moonlight, the surrounding air flowed in an abnormal manner.

Rustle—rustle—

It seemed like the sea breeze, but it was more pungent than the sea breeze, a chaotic wind blowing Lin Xiaohui’s coat, the vegetation by the shore made the same rustling sound as always, yet it somehow sounded different.

She... seemed to be carried into another world by this moonlight.

Though she didn’t see anything frightful, an inexplicable fear quickly rose between the giant full moon and the black shadow on the sea, uncontrollably occupying her heart.

Her hand was painting at an incredible speed, while Lin Xiaohui herself felt more like an observer, a half-dreaming, half-awake observer.

In front of a strange, cold, eerie will, Lin Xiaohui was completely unable to control her body.

She merely watched... the massive ship-like shadow moving slowly and silently in the moonlight.

When she regained consciousness, it was completely dark.

Lin Xiaohui looked at her canvas in horror, there... a complete, bizarre, twisted painting had appeared!

What terrified her more was that in the next moment, she was entirely sucked into the painting.

The sea breeze blew through, leaving only a bare canvas, no person, no painting...

————

After quietly listening, Yu Wenxuan asked, "So, you’ve been here for a month now?"

Lin Xiaohui nodded.

From initial breakdown to later calmness, she had adjusted her mindset, and conducted many investigations.

But... she still hadn’t escaped the painting.

"The ship will sail into the deep sea in the middle of the night, then the moonlight will shine on every corner of the ship, and every time that happens... I will enter the next day, returning to the time of boarding at dusk, and repeat again with a different identity."

Lin Xiaohui looked at Yu Wenxuan:

"This is already the thirtieth time, and the first time, in its first shudder, in its heart... there has been someone."