Mysterious Revival

"You... are you, Yang Jian?" Wang Bin looked at the person in the ghost hunter's uniform with disbelief.

He had never expected Yang Jian to suddenly appear at this time, hadn't he disappeared for several days already?

He even thought that Yang Jian might have died.

After all, his daughter's life was tied to his own.

Yang Jian turned and said, "It's me, Uncle Wang, where are you going with Wang Shanshan on your back?"

Wang Bin looked around and, seeing those terrifying figures had disappeared, finally calmed his nerves; "Shanshan she... has passed away, her body has been lying at home for several days now, I planned to take it out to be cremated."

"Wang Shanshan is dead?" Yang Jian pondered.

Right, he had died once, and it was possible for Wang Shanshan to have died as well, but he was still alive, so logically, Wang Shanshan should have been able to come back to life as well.

"Let me take a look."

Wang Bin nodded and set down the body he was carrying.

Yang Jian lifted the white cloth and saw Wang Shanshan's body, still looking just as she had in life, pale and devoid of color, but there wasn't even a hint of the stench of decay on her, and no signs of rotting.

She was now a very special being.

Yang Jian couldn't tell whether the current Wang Shanshan was his ghost slave or something else.

Rising from the dead through the Ghost Mirror, having fully controlled the Headless Ghost Shadow, had brought about a series of strange changes, and no one knew what impact it would entail.

"She doesn't look as though she's dead, but rather like she... has just fainted." Yang Jian touched the back of her hand.

Cold, but not stiff, the skin was still soft, retaining its elasticity.

If Wang Shanshan died at the same time as him, her body couldn't possibly look like this after seven days.

"Really? Could my daughter possibly not be dead? Can you save Shanshan?" Wang Bin suddenly became very agitated.

Yang Jian pondered, "Though she's not dead, she now resembles more a living dead, existing between life and death, a special existence. But logically, she shouldn't be in a coma like this, unless..."

Connecting to something in his mind, he glanced at the half of the still twitching ghost infant corpse on the ground.

"Unless what?" Wang Bin pressed.

Yang Jian said, "She seems to be missing a force to keep her alive, a force that might have vanished with my changes."

Ghost Slaves and the ghosts spawned from them share a characteristic.

They live by relying on the Source Ghost and survive through the power of the Source Ghost. Previously, when Yang Jian died once, the source was lost, and so Wang Shanshan passed away. But she and the ghosts derived from her do not share the exact same characteristic; she herself was a living person, not a ghost.

Even if the source vanished, she still had her own life traits, so she should have just fainted instead.

Now, it was necessary to reintroduce the fierce ghost's power to her body to wake her up.

With that in mind, Yang Jian quickly grabbed her wrist.

The pattern of an eye on Wang Shanshan's wrist was so faint it had almost disappeared, a mark left by Ghost Eye previously.

The next moment, a red light emerged from Yang Jian's hand.

When he let go, the eye pattern became clear again, emitting a faint red light.

A part of the fierce ghost's power remained within Wang Shanshan's body.

Indeed.

Yang Jian's conjecture was correct.

In less than a moment, the once-dead Wang Shanshan suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight.

"Ah~!"

Faced with this sudden resurrection, Wang Bin jumped in fright.

"She has come back to life, no need to panic," Yang Jian said.

"Daughter, is it really you?" Wang Bin could hardly believe his eyes, his daughter, who had died seven days ago, had actually come back to life.

Wang Shanshan's eyes shifted slightly; she looked at Wang Bin and then at Yang Jian, "Weren't you dead?"

She seemed to be able to sense Yang Jian's condition.

Yang Jian said, "I was dead, but I luckily came back to life. How do you feel now?"

"The same as before, yet somewhat different," Wang Shanshan said.

"Everyone who comes back to life feels that way. It's good that you're alive. Go back with your dad; rest well. Stay at home these next few days and don't go out. I need to go out and resolve the matter in Dachang City," Yang Jian stood up and said.

Wang Shanshan said, "That 'Seven'"

"What seven?" Yang Jian, about to leave, paused and asked.

"When I died, I seemed to have seen some strange things. I think I saw a person, no, it should be a ghost. I know where that thing is," Wang Shanshan said.

Yang Jian's face showed a hint of surprise, "You saw it?"

He hadn't seen anything, yet Wang Shanshan had—what changes had occurred within her?

Wang Shanshan nodded, "The number 'seven' you mentioned earlier refers to No. 7 Middle School. That ghost is at the entrance to No. 7 Middle School. It seemed like I saw that thing standing there while I was dreaming."

No. 7 Middle School?

That would be Dachang City's No. 7 Middle School, the school he, Zhang Wei, Wang Shanshan, and others had attended in the past.

Yang Jian shivered slightly, then woke up to the reality.

Right, Zhou Zheng died at No. 7 Middle School, and the Ghost Infant was born there. It's highly likely that the Ghost Infant sees that place as its birthplace, so it lingers there all this time.

So the message that Ye Feng wanted to send before he died was about No. 7 Middle School, but he didn't get to send the full message, only a "seven."

This caused many people to overlook this important information completely.

"Are you going?" Wang Shanshan asked again.

"Your information is very useful, of course I'm going." Yang Jian said.

Wang Shanshan said, "You might get eaten."

"..."

Yang Jian said, "If I don't go, everyone will get eaten. I have no choice, and there's also something very important hidden at No. 7 Middle School. I'll take care of the rest, you rest well."

"I'm off."

Without any further hesitation, he immediately controlled the Ghost Domain, forming a path of condensed red light, traveling across the residential complex, over rivers, and directly into the downtown area.

He took just one step forward.

The next moment, Yang Jian disappeared from the Guanjiang Residential Complex, and by the time he reappeared, he had already reached the vicinity of No. 7 Middle School in the city center.

He did not recklessly enter the school with the Ghost Domain, as to not abruptly fall into a death trap within the haunted territory.

Caution and prudence were maintained at all times.

"As expected, this place is very strange. The gloom here is denser than anywhere else, and my Ghost Domain is being suppressed." Yang Jian frowned.

In this environment where gloom gathered like thick ink, the red light around him was being suppressed.

Normally he could easily cover the entire No. 7 Middle School with his Ghost Domain, but now it was being suppressed to just around ten meters.

"Unless I continue to increase the number of Ghost Eyes, just one Ghost Eye can only maintain a ten-meter Ghost Domain. But this should be enough." Yang Jian was not in a hurry to confront the unknown Source Ghost.

He decided to first locate the bathroom.

The entrance to a Supernatural Space.

Only by finding that Coffin Nail could he possibly pin down the Source Ghost. Even with his current strength, he was not confident in containing such terror.

Currently, he could easily deal with Ghost Infants from the first to the third stage. The fourth-stage Ghost Infant should not be too difficult either, but when it came to the Source Ghost, that was uncertain.

"However, this complicates things. The Ghost Infant is in No. 7 Middle School, and the Coffin Nail I'm looking for is also there. If the Source Ghost targets me first, my plan might not be very successful." Yang Jian said.

However, at that moment, his satellite-located phone rang.

"Yang Jian, it's me, Wang Xiaoming. Where are you right now?" It wasn't Liu Xiaoyu's voice but Wang Xiaoming's. Discover more stories at empire

"I'm at the entrance of Dachang City's No. 7 Middle School. The 'seven' Ye Feng left behind refers to No. 7 Middle School. The Source Ghost is here." Yang Jian said.

Wang Xiaoming paused for a moment before saying, "The message meant that? I'm sorry, I overlooked it. Don't act recklessly. Although you've been resurrected, you probably can't solve that thing. I don't recommend direct contact. Follow the plan.

Have you completed your second step yet?"

He didn't want Yang Jian to become overconfident and go straight for the Source Ghost due to his newfound strength.

The Hungry Ghost had already devoured many ghost handlers, and its level was definitely beyond Yang Jian's. Even if Yang Jian had grown stronger, he was only qualified for direct contact.

"Unfortunately, the thing I'm looking for is also in No. 7 Middle School. I've sworn I'd never enter No. 7 Middle School again in my life, but here I am, back in this haunted place." Yang Jian said.

"Is that so?" Wang Xiaoming furrowed his brows deeply.

This meant the success rate would drop significantly since the target and the conditions coincided. If they encountered the Source Ghost first, it would complicate matters considerably.

"I've come up with a plan. Come back first."

But after just five seconds, he had a plan ready.

"What plan? Tell me about it first." Yang Jian said.

Wang Xiaoming said, "Take Zhang Han with you, and use him as bait to draw out the Source Ghost while you go for the item you need. If you succeed, then come back and regroup."

"You're sending Zhang Han to his death." Yang Jian said.

"This way there's more than a seventy percent chance of success." Wang Xiaoming said, "You're our last chance, the lives of millions hang in the balance, we can't afford to fail."

Yang Jian said, "Will Zhang Han agree?"

"He must agree." Wang Xiaoming said.

Yang Jian said, "No need for that. Once the plan succeeds, he's dead for sure. Even if he controls two ghosts, he cannot withstand an attack from the Source Ghost. The terror of a fourth-stage Ghost Infant is such that you should be well aware. And if Zhang Han dies and his ghosts are taken by the Hungry Ghost, I don't know what other changes might occur. I reject your plan, that's final."

"Don't get conceited. The Source Ghost's Terror Level is extremely high; you have no chance of winning if you encounter it." Wang Xiaoming said.

"If the situation goes south, I'll run. There's no need to send someone to their death. Do you know why I dislike you? Because you enjoy taking the moral high ground and use the interests of the public to pressure individual benefits. Thinking that because it's for the country, for the people, whatever you do is correct, and individual sacrifices are justifiable.

Everything must give way to you." Yang Jian said.

He knew that no matter if Wang Xiaoming's plan succeeded or not, Zhang Han was doomed. He wouldn't be able to withstand the attacks from first to the fourth-stage Ghost Infants, let alone the Source Ghost.

His sole purpose was to be bait, a way to buy a bit of time.

Wang Xiaoming said, "This is a battle of life and death, and necessary sacrifices are justified."

"If you weren't genuinely selfless, without any personal agenda, I would make you be the one to sacrifice first." Yang Jian said, "It's decided then, have someone prepare a container for containing this thing. Preferably forge a coffin weighing several tons for this creature, seal it completely, so the Hungry Ghost can never be released."

With that, he turned off the communication and stepped into the school campus.

The gloom in front of him was dispelled by the red light, rippling to the sides.

But as Yang Jian entered, the surrounding gloom gathered once again, quickly refilling the place, and soon, Yang Jian's silhouette completely vanished from sight.