PD -Chapter 179 The Misty Forest

“Do you feel like… that man was acting strangely?” Tang Shanshan suddenly asked as we drove along the road.

Keeping my eyes on the road, I nodded.

“At first, he seemed unwilling to let his niece tell you anything about that couple. But after he saw me, he suddenly decided to reveal the truth himself.”

“I doubt it was because he thought I was handsome and felt inspired to be honest,” I said with a grin.

“Stop grossing me out. I’m being serious!” Tang Shanshan rolled her eyes. “Do you think there might be something suspicious about the road they pointed us toward?”

I shook my head.

“We’ll only know after we take a look ourselves.”

“That couple… could the guy at the gas station have killed them?” Tang Shanshan speculated after a moment.

I shook my head again.

“You saw it in your dream too. Whatever killed that couple didn’t look human. When we were at the gas station, I already used my spiritual sense to investigate the place. There wasn’t any yin energy there, and none of the people around showed signs of possession.”

“Then why was he acting so strangely…” Tang Shanshan frowned in confusion.

To be honest, I hadn’t figured that out either.

Following the mountain road downhill, we soon arrived at the fork in the road that the girl from the gas station, Zhenzhen, had mentioned. I turned onto the northern path and discovered that although it was only about half as wide as the main road, it was indeed just as she had described—not difficult to travel at all.

The surface was paved with concrete, and it looked as though the road had been built only recently.

The narrow road ran along the foot of the mountain. On one side was the mountainside itself; on the other stretched an overgrown wasteland filled with weeds taller than a person. Those fields clearly hadn’t been cultivated for many years.

What really concerned me was the mountain to our left.

Within the dense forest at its base, countless tree branches extended over the road like the clawed hands of evil spirits reaching out from the darkness.

Although it wasn’t evening yet, the moment we entered the side road, I felt as if the entire world had grown dim.

It wasn’t simply because the mountain blocked the sunlight.

Compared to the main road, this place was far more humid. The weather seemed to be gradually turning overcast, and a thin layer of mist began to spread across the road, creating an intensely unpleasant atmosphere.

At that moment, Tang Shanshan frowned and instinctively rubbed the injury on her leg, which had only recently begun to heal.

Glancing at her, I knew the damp environment was probably aggravating the wound.

I could also feel a dull ache coming from the gunshot wound on my left shoulder.

As we continued forward, the fog grew thicker and thicker. Eventually, I had to switch on both the fog lights and the high beams just to make out the road ahead.

We had traveled only about halfway down the side road when I sighed and brought the vehicle to a stop.

Staring at the dense mist surrounding us, I sensed a trace of yin energy hidden beyond it.

“With fog this thick, it’s no wonder that couple crashed into a tree back then,” Tang Shanshan muttered while peering out the window.

“Stay in the car. I’m going to take a look,” I said.

Only after she nodded in agreement did I push open the door and step into the fog.

Something about this mist gave me a bad feeling. At first, I instinctively covered my nose with my collar.

Then I realized how pointless that was.

A shirt collar wasn’t a gas mask. If there was something wrong with the fog, I had probably already inhaled it. Covering my nose now wouldn’t accomplish anything.

Lowering my hand, I slowly approached the forest beside the road and began trying to sense the conditions in the area.

Although my spiritual power had greatly diminished after my injuries, the spiritual-awareness skills I had honed over time had not weakened.

Even without using any detection equipment, I could still keenly sense the source of yin energy.

Passing through the mist, I reached the foot of the mountain on the left side of the road. Crossing the drainage ditch beside the pavement, I noticed a tree ahead with a large section of bark stripped away from its trunk.

Something had clearly slammed into it.

Frowning, I walked closer to inspect it.

Judging by the height and the damage, I was certain it had been caused by a recreational vehicle.

I looked around.

Despite the heavy fog, I could tell that this place was remarkably similar to the location where the tragedy in Tang Shanshan’s dream had occurred.

My gaze drifted deeper into the forest.

In her dream, the woman had been attacked there and dragged away by a hooked weapon.

Just as I was about to head inside, I heard a car door close behind me.

Turning around, I saw that Tang Shanshan had gotten out of the vehicle after all.

She walked to my side, clearly just as concerned about the mark on the tree, and stared at it intently.

Her lips trembled slightly.

“This is the place.”

I frowned and shot her a reproachful look.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay in the car?”

Ignoring my scolding, she looked deeper into the forest, her eyes widening. Then she pointed ahead.

“It looks like there’s a house over there!”

Startled, I immediately turned toward the direction she indicated.

Sure enough, through the shifting curtains of mist, a triangular roof could be seen appearing and disappearing atop a nearby hillside.

“Get back in the car. Lock the doors. Sit in the driver’s seat. If anything happens, turn around and drive back immediately.”

As I spoke, I tossed her the car keys.

“No!”

Tang Shanshan caught them, then immediately threw them back to me.

“I’m going with you.”

My brow furrowed, and I was about to refuse firmly when she continued:

“Compared to staying alone in this fog, I think the two of us are safer together.”

I paused.

Looking around at our surroundings, I had to admit that she had a point. At least if we stayed together, we could watch each other’s backs.

If I left her alone in the car and something happened on the road, there was a good chance I wouldn’t make it back in time to help her.

The thought inevitably reminded me of Liu Xiaopeng.

If he were here, one of us could stay behind to protect Tang Shanshan while the other investigated.

But there was no point dwelling on that now.

With a sigh, I reminded Tang Shanshan to stay close to me. No matter what happened, she was not to leave my side for even a single step.

Then I took her hand, and together we headed deeper into the forest.

There was no path through the woods, making the climb extremely difficult.

Along the way, I noticed several drag marks on the ground, as well as patches of dark red stains scattered across the fallen leaves.

They looked disturbingly like blood.

The image from Tang Shanshan’s dream—the moment the iron hook pierced the woman’s chest—surfaced once more in my mind.