Chapter Forty: The Blood Moon

This was the first time Zhuo Yan had ever seen someone rushing to their own death.

"I am not joking with you," Zhuo Yan reminded him seriously.

If Lu Yuan were not still of use to her, she would have abandoned him long ago. There was no reason for her to die alongside him just because he insisted on throwing his life away.

Lu Yuan clearly understood that Zhuo Yan was not joking. "I must go to Mingzhi Elementary School. If you are afraid to step outside, I will go alone."

The gravity on Lu Yuan's face showed he was not joking either.

Zhuo Yan’s eyes flickered. "Then I have nothing more to say."

Lu Yuan changed the subject. "But before we head to Mingzhi Elementary School, can we go somewhere else first? I need to get my own body back."

Lu Yuan was very dissatisfied with An Shi’s body. It was frail and aging, incomparable to his own.

"Where is your body?"

"At the psychological clinic in Peace Plaza, East District."

Zhuo Yan made a quick estimation. The distance was roughly the same. Since An Shi’s villa was located on the outskirts of S City, returning to the city center would inevitably take considerable time.

"If we do that, our arrival time at Mingzhi Elementary School will be significantly delayed. Are you sure you have enough time?" Zhuo Yan also wanted Lu Yuan to retrieve his body—she felt disgusted every time she looked at An Shi’s face—but the detour would only increase the danger.

There were only two days left.

It should be enough!

Lu Yuan nodded. "Getting my own body back will make things easier later on. I have enough time."

With that decided, Zhuo Yan stood up and walked back to the bathroom. After the sound of flesh being sliced, she emerged carrying An Shi’s head in her hand.

"Carry him with us. I don't feel safe otherwise." Worried that An Shi might recover once she and Lu Yuan left the villa, Zhuo Yan decided to simply take his head along.

Lu Yuan walked quickly back to the bedroom, rummaged through the wardrobe, and changed out of his pajamas. He had nothing else he needed to take.

Once finished, Lu Yuan opened the villa’s front door once more. Outside, the world was filled with thick, gray fog.

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment, then asked softly, "Is the entire Dream of Terror world shrouded in this black fog?"

Zhuo Yan, holding a kitchen knife in her right hand and An Shi’s head in her left, shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't been in this world for long; I have no idea what it looks like outside."

From within the gray mist, the occasional sound of crunching and tearing echoed, only to vanish as quickly as it appeared. The unknown spelled endless danger. Lu Yuan could not help but clench his fists.

"Let’s go!" Lu Yuan no longer hesitated and stepped into the gray mist. Zhuo Yan watched his back with complex emotions, then followed without a moment's hesitation.

*Creak.*

The villa door slowly closed. The warm, soft light that had illuminated the interior suddenly extinguished as Lu Yuan and Zhuo Yan departed.

The entire building sank into darkness.

As he walked, Lu Yuan began to feel that something was off. *Wait a minute!* He was a living human; Zhuo Yan was a supernatural entity. If they were to encounter any danger, it should be Zhuo Yan leading the way.

Lu Yuan slowed his pace, moving shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhuo Yan, who was walking behind him. She glanced at him but said nothing. Soon, however, even Zhuo Yan noticed something strange. As they walked, Lu Yuan had drifted behind her.

Zhuo Yan stopped and looked back at Lu Yuan, her expression unreadable.

Lu Yuan said with a straight face, "Why did you stop?"

Zhuo Yan wanted to say a lot, but the words turned into a sigh. He was a living human, after all; she couldn't demand too much from him.

"Stay close to me," Zhuo Yan said in a low voice. She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she felt that ever since they left the villa, countless eyes had been watching them from the shadows. Every move they made was exposed to those eyes, and she didn't like the feeling at all.

Lu Yuan felt it too. There seemed to be many invisible horrors hidden within the gray fog, but strangely, they did not attack; they simply watched him and Zhuo Yan in silence.

Lu Yuan’s palms were sweating. This tension and thrill of the unknown was a new experience, yet he had to admit, it was exhilarating. He was perhaps even over-excited. In this state of extreme stimulation, his vision and hearing sharpened significantly.

Just in case, he pulled a fruit knife from his "storage." This small movement did not escape Zhuo Yan's notice. Her eyes flickered, but she didn't ask. Lu Yuan was truly not simple. She hadn't even seen where he pulled the knife from; in the blink of an eye, it had simply appeared in his hand.

Zhuo Yan looked away. Lu Yuan had secrets. This was exactly why she was willing to cooperate with him. If he were just an ordinary human, he would have no value to her, nor would he be worth protecting.

About half an hour later, the surrounding fog began to dissipate.

Lu Yuan looked surprised. "The fog is clearing."

Zhuo Yan was also taken aback. Like him, she had assumed the black fog covered the entire Dream of Terror world, but it appeared that was not the case.

After a while, the mist cleared completely. Their surroundings became clear. The Dream of Terror world was not entirely dark; it was just the area around An Shi’s villa that had been shrouded in the black fog.

Lu Yuan looked back and could no longer see the villa at all. If one were to enter that fog, they would almost certainly get lost. His heart sank. It was easy to leave, but returning would be extremely difficult.

*So that was it!* The villa was a safe house, and the eternal black fog was likely a defensive measure protecting it.

"Don't look back. You can't go back even if you want to," Zhuo Yan said coldly. They had no choice but to move forward.

Lu Yuan nodded. "If I weren't forced to, I would never have left the villa. It was so comfortable there." He sighed. It was all forced upon him!

Zhuo Yan looked up at the black sky. Without the fog to obscure her view, the blood-red moon hanging above appeared exceptionally piercing. Because of this moon, the world was not in total darkness; a faint red glow spilled onto the ground, bathing it in a coat of blood.

"A red moon?" Lu Yuan squinted slightly. Staring at it for too long made a sense of irritation and rage bubble up within him, and unpleasant memories from his past surfaced, dominating his thoughts.

He hurriedly lowered his head to look at the ground. After a moment, the negative emotions subsided.

*This is bizarre!* Lu Yuan felt a jolt of alarm. He could sense intense unease from this moon; it seemed like an evil entity formed entirely of hatred.

If the moon had such a profound impact on a living human, what did it do to supernatural entities?

Lu Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he cast a subtle glance at Zhuo Yan. Just one look, and his heart turned cold.