Chapter 20 - 20 After the fog clears

Words : 1310 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

20: After the fog clears 20: After the fog clears The quiet room was deathly silent. The only sense of safety came from the bright trio of lights and the star-like sprinkles of light outside the window. The office window faced the mountain, not the port, and Lu Li had no way of knowing when the creeping darkness would reach here. Time ticked by second by second, and at some moment, the brightness in the room flickered a few times. All three lights flickered simultaneously, and before Lu Li could discern the reason, the room darkened at a visible rate. The flames on the candlesticks and oil lamp remained unchanged but no longer emitted heat, their range of illumination began to shrink, growing smaller and smaller, barely maintaining a circle less than a meter around. The candlestick with the smallest flame quietly went out. Dimness once again became the dominant theme of the room, the air filled with an obscure aura. Lu Li understood that the darkness had enveloped this place now. Picking up the oil lamp beside him, Lu Li walked closer to the window. The window reflected Lu Li’s calm face and his eyes as dark as night. The outside world was covered with a thin veil, as though a tangible presence was swirling outside—it was fog. A strange fog enshrouded the entire port and Belfast. It seemed to dim the lights further, but because of the mysterious bell sounds over the city, every household added brightness and thus was not swallowed by darkness. The hazy scenery of Belster Port flickered dimly like stars. Occasionally, a scream cut through the night sky, echoing without a known origin. Lu Li stepped back, moving away from the window. He vaguely felt that on the street below, some presence seemed to appear with the fog. Having been in this place for five days, Lu Li finally faced the world’s bizarreness and grotesqueness directly. Lu Li silently contemplated whether to cancel today’s plans, but just as the thought emerged, the room suddenly brightened slightly. Lu Li stared, shifting his gaze to the oil lamp, and after watching for several seconds, realized this was not an illusion. The flame regained its warmth, the light spreading outward. With a moment of realization, he looked outside. The hazy fog had vanished, the continuous buildings on the mountain appeared clearer and brighter. From the engulfment by the black fog to its departure—perhaps it lasted less than a minute. The mysterious fog eerily emerged from the deep sea and just as eerily dissipated or, perhaps, withdrew. Six bell sounds for sixty seconds? Lu Li did not know and could not ponder it further because a new change occurred in the gallery. Step—step—step— The sticky, wet footsteps, came from the room next door, separated by just a wall. The wooden walls had very poor soundproofing, terribly so. A few seconds later, the footsteps ceased, and as he listened intently—one second, two seconds, three seconds... Bang— The loud echo of a door being kicked resonated through the hallway. The office seemed to shake from the impact, originating from next door. Step—step—step— The footsteps resumed, and Lu Li could even distinguish the wet, bare feet slapping against the wooden floor, the distinct dull thud. Step—step—step— The sticky, wet footsteps from the room next door extended into the hallway. It could be foreseen that in about ten seconds, the office door, like all the doors on this floor, would violently crash open. Rustle— A subtle sound beside him, Lu Li turned his head, the statue in the corner was still standing there, only now one arm was raised, pointing towards the cabinet by the wall. The hint was obvious. Interestingly, after the appearance of the fog, the statue had unexpectedly quieted down. “No need, but thank you,” Lu Li said. Hiding until being found was not his style. And the ghost was already outside the door. Tap—tap—tap— The damp footsteps neared the door, and even without reaching for the handle of his gun, Lu Li could sense a cold, sinister presence spreading from outside. Suddenly, a chilling cold spread from his calves. Lu Li lowered his head, only to see a dark red fetus, its features not yet fully formed and still attached by the umbilical cord, clinging desperately to his trouser leg. The leg it had grasped felt numb from the cold. It had noticed Lu Li’s awareness of it—it opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, poised to scream. A hand moved faster than the creature, covering its mouth, muffling all sounds back into its throat. Tap— The footsteps outside abruptly stopped. Lu Li looked down at the fetus, thought of something in a flash, quickly scooped up the infant, kicked off from the floor, slid to the window, threw the infant out, wiped the blood from his hand with a window cloth, and finally closed the window. All of these actions were executed in one fluid motion. Bang! A loud noise reverberated through the entire floor, the door transforming into just an impression, blasting open with a gust of wind, teetering on its hinges. A figure in a long white dress floated at the doorway, her brownish-red hair obscuring her face, and her resentful eyes flashed momentarily. A swollen intestine emerged from beneath the skirt between her legs, dragging along the ground. A voice that quickly dropped the surrounding temperature spoke, “Have you... seen... my child...?” “I haven’t seen anything,” Lu Li replied, his dark eyes unblinking, calmly staring at her. He shifted his gun holster to his back and his hand grasped the handle. “Have you... seen... my child...?” the ghost repeated eerily. “No,” Lu Li’s tone was even, his expression calm. His gaze briefly passed over her dress—this type of white dress was not suitable for work, but ghosts always seemed to retain some ghostly attributes; he could understand that. “Have you... seen... my child...?” the ghost asked hoarsely once more. Lu Li’s lips pursed slightly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. The envelope had said nothing about this spirit repeatedly asking the same question like a broken record—in fact, it hadn’t mentioned encountering a baby ghost either. Had the situation become different from before...? “I’ve seen him,” Lu Li suddenly nodded and said, “Is your child this tall, this big, with a dark red skin tone still attached to an umbilical cord?” Liu Li described the baby ghost he had thrown out the window, the red glow in the female ghost’s eyes intensified as he spoke. Lu Li pointed to the ground, maintaining his composure, “Walk out of the door, turn right, and keep going straight past two blocks—I saw your child there not long ago.” Before this exorcism session, Lu Li had made a note of the nearby Police Station just in case. The ghost turned around blankly, unaware of Lu Li sitting behind the desk; her figure disappeared at the doorway, the damp footsteps receding. He hoped she would never come back. Lu Li let out a heavy breath, tilted his head slightly, and noticed a sculpture shrinking into a corner, its body faced inward, immobile. He slightly opened his mouth to ask it something; Lu Li suddenly widened his eyes and quickly turned his head towards the door, A nauseating malice and chilling cold drifted into the office from outside, a young girl ghost in a green lace dress appeared at the doorway, her eye sockets hollow. Her lace dress was stained with a swath of blood, a pungent bloody smell wafted from her dress. Without a doubt, another one had arrived. Lu Li held his breath, keeping quiet. He hoped that just like the envelope had said, this ghost still couldn’t see. Lu Li’s luck couldn’t be that bad. Probably.

Chapter 20 - 20 After the fog clears

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