Kelong's death cast a shadow over everyone's hearts, suggesting that the night would not be calm.
After some time, Yang Xiao, resting in bed, was suddenly called awake by Su Tingting, who nervously told him it was foggy outside. The fog had come on suddenly, enveloping the entire backyard.
Holding his breath, Yang Xiao hid behind the window and peered through a crack. The other room had vanished, as if erased by an invisible force.
Gradually, strange sounds began to emerge from outside. Xu Su, leaning against the wooden door, swallowed nervously, "Is that damn thing here again?"
Kwong Hongyi frowned, confused by the situation. The sounds outside were different from the voices they had heard the night before; they were rhythmic knocks mixed with gongs, drums, and shouts.
As the sounds grew closer, torches flickered in the fog. People rushed toward them, their voices merging with the cacophony. Suddenly, someone banged on the wooden door, shouting, "Dear guests, it's bad! My third young master is gone!"
"When did it happen?" Kwong Hongyi called back, refusing to open the door. Given the strangeness of the ghost fog, they had good reason to be wary.
The voices outside grew more insistent. "Just now! Everyone is searching for the third young master. Come out and help!"
Xu Su sneered, seeing through their intentions. "Of course we'll help, but let your housekeeper Liu speak. We were brought in under different circumstances."
Peering through the crack, they saw unfamiliar faces outside, and the ghost fog clung thickly around them. The absence of the ghost boat and the singing woman only heightened everyone's unease.
A few minutes later, another group approached, led by the mean-faced housekeeper Liu, followed by a strange papermaker.
"Guards, my third young master is missing, along with the two paper-man stand-ins prepared for him. We just discovered it."
At that moment, Shi Dali and Shi Guanming rushed over from another room. Housekeeper Liu's expression darkened. "Why are just the two of you here? Where's the rest?"
Shi Guanming's face was ashen. "Dead."
After quickly grasping the situation, the papermaker looked shocked, then began calculating with his fingers. He took a deep breath. "No wonder. Tonight's stand-in was recognized and angered the evil, putting the third young master in danger."
The group hurried to the lake under Housekeeper Liu's direction, but when they arrived, Su Tingting was left stunned. Only ashes from the paper man remained; Kelong's body was missing.
"Where is he?" Shi Guanming exclaimed, panic rising. "No, where's the corpse? Who moved it?"
Just then, a servant lowered a lantern near the ashes, revealing a row of footprints on the ground. The prints were initially messy but became straight and stiff, leading into the lake.
Yang Xiao imagined Kelong's frantic escape, the indentation in the ground from where he had fallen. The straight tracks leading into the dark water painted a haunting image in his mind—of a corpse rising and walking into the lake step by step, swallowed by the depths.
Housekeeper Liu, however, seemed unconcerned about the corpse. His focus remained solely on the third young master, his eyes cold as he addressed the group. "Fortus, although your companions have died, tonight's events are your responsibility."
"What do you need us to do?" Kwong Hongyi asked, knowing they had to comply.
Housekeeper Liu, with a stern expression, replied, "I've searched everywhere in the house but can't find the third young master. Only the lake remains. I believe he may have rowed out alone."
Shi Guanming paled at this, realizing how dangerous it was to venture out into the foggy lake.
Everyone could feel the cold wind blowing from the lake, yet it did nothing to clear the mist. The fog seemed like a heavy veil, swallowing everything in its path.
"Housekeeper Liu, it's dark. We shouldn't wait until morning when visibility improves…" Xu Su began, but Liu cut him off. "No! We can't wait; the third young master is in danger!"
"But how do we search without a boat? Are we to swim?" Shi Guanming was afraid, haunted by the thought of Kelong's corpse lurking in the water.
"Ha ha, you don't need to worry about that. We're prepared," Housekeeper Liu said, as a servant beside him raised a gong and struck it hard.
The sharp sound echoed in the still night, signaling something. A low trumpet soon followed, and bare-chested strong men emerged from the fog, dragging something heavy behind them.
To Yang Xiao and the others' astonishment, they revealed a large wooden boat.
The boat resembled an old-fashioned black tent boat, with a square cabin and a black mast large enough to hold all six of them. But they soon saw that more than one boat had emerged; three in total were dragged from the fog.
"Dear guests, as I mentioned, I must ask for your help to find the third young master. Upon success, I'll be most grateful," Housekeeper Liu said, bowing to Yang Xiao and the others.
The Fengfu servants followed suit, bowing simultaneously, while the papermaker stood aside with a sly smile.
Yang Xiao felt a chill. This scene felt less like a plea for help and more like a march toward doom.
"Housekeeper Liu, it's an ancient rule that we must be compensated for our efforts. Finding the third young master on this vast lake is no small task, and how can we bring him back?" Yang Xiao countered, trying to reason with him.
Housekeeper Liu narrowed his eyes, dismissing his concerns. "We're prepared. Once you set off, we'll erect a long pole on the shore and hang a red lantern on top. Follow its light back after you find the third young master."
"You really have thought of everything," Yang Xiao thought bitterly, feeling trapped.
Seeing Liu's impatience grow, they reluctantly boarded the boats. Xu Su and Kwong Hongyi were placed in one boat, Shi Dali and Shi Guanming in another, while Yang Xiao and Su Tingting were paired together.
Su Tingting's discomfort was evident; she had preferred the company of the more experienced Xu Su and Kwong Hongyi but dared not protest.
"To ensure your safety, the master has provided life-extending incense. Light it and place it on the bow of the boat; no evil will notice you. But remember, you only have one stick. You must find the third young master before it burns out," Housekeeper Liu instructed, handing them incense burners.
He also presented a white lantern for communication and a red sky lantern to signal when one of them found the third young master.
Yang Xiao noted that the sky lantern was just a simple Kongming lamp wrapped in red paper.
Taking the incense burner, the lanterns, and a bamboo basket filled with short knives and fire starters, the teams boarded their boats.
With the support pole on the shore, the three boats slowly sailed into the fog, the bamboo baskets raised high.
While navigating, Yang Xiao remained alert, instructing Su Tingting to light the life-extending incense and hang the white lantern at the bow.
But as he scanned the surroundings, he noticed Su Tingting seemed lost in thought, holding the white lantern.
"What are you doing?" he urged softly.
She turned, her pale face troubled, then raised the lantern for a closer look. Yang Xiao noticed two small paper men cut from the lantern's surface.
The paper figures were white and featureless, and a sense of unease washed over him.
They were the same size as him and Su Tingting, confirming his suspicion that Liu had orchestrated their placements. The other boats must have similar paper figures.
As the three boats sailed side by side, the fog thickened, obscuring everything but the outlines of the opposite boat and the faint glow of the white lantern.
Yang Xiao caught sight of a figure swaying on the left boat, a man holding a white lantern, signaling to him.
Without hesitation, Yang Xiao recognized it was Kwong Hongyi, using the paper figure to communicate in the fog.
They returned the signal by shaking their lanterns.
Although they were steering their boats, it was mostly an awkward back-and-forth motion to maintain balance. The lake was calm, pushing them gently forward.
Turning to glance back at the shore, Yang Xiao saw a bright red light—Housekeeper Liu's lantern, their guiding beacon.
Suddenly, the hull trembled violently. The sudden jolt nearly threw Yang Xiao and Su Tingting from the boat.
"What's happening?" Su Tingting cried, scrambling to her feet, her knees and arms scraped.
It felt as if the boat had struck something underwater, a force strong enough to cause such upheaval.
Su Tingting instinctively leaned over the edge to look. Yang Xiao yanked her back, covering her mouth, and they both crouched down in silence.
In that moment, Su Tingting realized something was amiss. The fog seemed denser, and the other boats had vanished, along with the red lantern on the shore. They were surrounded by an impenetrable mist, visibility reduced to mere meters.
"Don't talk," Yang Xiao whispered urgently, gesturing to the water beneath them.
They held their breath, and after a tense few minutes, the water surged violently, rocking the boat side to side before calming again.
Slowly, they released their breaths. Yang Xiao was drenched in cold sweat, refusing to linger.
They were lost in the fog, unable to discern direction, bumping aimlessly. Thankfully, the life-extending incense still burned on the bow.
After what felt like an eternity, a strange sound broke the stillness. It was a haunting cry, eerily out of place on the water.
"It sounds like someone is crying," Su Tingting said, visibly shaken.
As the fog began to thin, they spotted a small wooden boat moored in a patch of reeds.
"Found it," Su Tingting exclaimed with relief.
A man squatted on the boat, trembling with his back to them. The strange cries emanated from him.
From behind, a burst of red light flared. Yang Xiao turned sharply to see Su Tingting had raised the Kongming lantern.
"Who told you to turn on the light?" he hissed, gripping her collar.
Before he could continue, both of them froze, eyes widening as they spotted two red lights flickering in the fog ahead.