Mysterious Revival

"Really, has anyone made it out alive?"

On the silent highway, devoid of traffic, Nagase couldn't help but mutter to himself as he gazed at the scene before him. Everything was the familiar scenery of before, but without the Ghost Slaves surging from all directions, the terrifying Dead Man's Head floating in the sky, and most despairingly, the Corpse Spot Elder.

The eerie phenomenon had vanished, and Nagase knew he must have left Kobe City—or rather, that dreadful place.

Because this was still Kobe City, just without any malevolent spirits wandering around.

However, at this moment, the woman named Mishima was still huddled in a corner, sobbing and talking to herself, seemingly having an emotional breakdown and unable to recover.

Keiko was doing slightly better, eyes shut, trembling in fear, refusing to look or concern herself with anything, placing all her hope in Yang Jian. She was very clear that as long as Mister Yang took care of her, she wouldn't die; if he didn't, struggling to survive would be futile.

Three people had survived, while the middle-aged man named Sakai had died in the Door Knocking Ghost's Ghost Domain.

The Ghost Child was still circling nearby, unaffected by the recent events.

"The Corpse Spot is spreading, and it's a terrible curse. Those who have come into contact with it will be eroded by the ghosts' power and become decaying corpses. I haven't officially come into contact with the Door Knocking Ghost; I was just near it, although my hand was grasped. But even though it was through the Gold Glove... Still, even with that protection, my body is continually deteriorating."

Yang Jian's face changed abruptly.

He didn't pay any mind to the object he had just acquired but immediately started to check his own body. He discovered that the Corpse Spot on his arm was spreading, reaching his shoulder without any signs of the color fading after the spread.

If he didn't find a way to deal with it, his body would turn into a corpse once again.

Like the Door Knocking Ghost, covered in Corpse Spots, decaying, becoming foul.

"The Corpse Spot on the other hand has disappeared."

Then, he noticed the other arm, the one that belonged to the Ghost Hand, didn't have any Corpse Spots, or perhaps they had appeared but then vanished.

The Supernatural Power of the Ghost Envoy had preserved Yang Jian, but only to a small extent—just one arm.

Clearly, the puzzle of the Ghost Envoy wasn't complete, which had led to this outcome. If Wei Jing had come here, he wouldn't have been affected by such a curse at all. He could suppress all things supernatural because he was a ghost himself.

"This curse is more terrifying than I imagined, even the nearby flowers and trees have withered." Yang Jian glanced over; the cold, decaying aura emanating from him now affected his surroundings.

The greenery by the roadside had rotted away.

This was merely the result of indirect contact. If he had been actually touched by that old man, Yang Jian wasn't sure if he could have withstood this state. But he had a feeling that, in his current physical condition, he wouldn't be able to resist. After all, his body was still that of a normal human, not entirely otherworldly.

This was because he used to have the protection of Ghost Porcelain but before escaping, his Ghost Domain had become very clear to him—Ghost Porcelain had shattered.

This meant that Ghost Porcelain's protection had reached its limit and couldn't completely block the Door Knocking Ghost's erosion.

Yang Jian couldn't afford to waste time. He quickly allowed the Ghost Shadow to return to his body.

The chilling black shadow invaded his body, merging with him. Since the Headless Ghost Shadow was in a non-responsive state, Yang Jian wasn't worried that his body would be dismembered due to the Ghost Shadow's uncontrollable state.

"I rarely let the Ghost Shadow merge with my body, because doing so only worsens my condition unconsciously. After all, it's not easy to control the power of a fierce ghost. But now, it should be fine for resisting this Corpse Spot Curse."

Yang Jian thought to himself.

His skin gradually darkened as if it had been sun-scorched for too long, losing the previous pallid, unhealthy complexion.

The invasion of Ghost Shadow made Yang Jian's body feel as if it had turned into that of a fierce ghost, an odd sensation.

After his senses were affected, his emotions changed too. In that moment, Yang Jian seemed to become a conscious ghost, indifferent, devoid of any human emotion, and with a latent urge to dismember living bodies, like how a child longs for a fascinating toy.

This was the instinct of a fierce ghost.

Once he died, such instincts would awaken and take control of his body, adopting this innate behavior.

Killing would become the norm. That was the essence of a fierce ghost's revival.

So, the biggest problem in becoming otherworldly isn't having a ghost's body, but overcoming the instinct to be controlled by a ghost. Even if the ghost was non-responsive, the instinct remained. The more ghosts he controlled, the more intense the instinct became. It wasn't too bad with incomplete puzzles, like arms or legs, but once he wholly succumbed to becoming a ghost, he too would transform into one.

"The Corpse Spot is fading; the curse has been resisted."

At that moment, Yang Jian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Corpse Spot on his chest fading and then gradually disappearing.

The rotten stench emitting from his body also began to vanish.

But this dispersal was slow.

It took a full ten minutes, using the power of the Headless Ghost Shadow, for Yang Jian to nearly clear the Corpse Spots from his body.

This result made Yang Jian's expression darken.

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Before being officially cursed by the Corpse Spot Curse, it took ten minutes just to clear the curse. If one was fully cursed, could Ghost Shadow really hold it off? Or would it be necessary to switch to a new body to escape the curse?

Yang Jian was contemplating countermeasures.

It was essential to consider the worst-case scenario, and not harbor the slightest hope of chance; a quality every top-tier ghost manipulator should possess.

But after pondering for a while, he temporarily shelved the issue.

Because now was not the time to relax.

"Originally, I could have used Ghost Domain to take away that rotten Dead Man's Head, but the suppression on my Ghost Eye also exists, preventing Ghost Domain from covering it, and now it has resulted in the loss of the Dead Man's Head... The critical puzzle piece for the balloon made of heads seems to be now complete."

"At the same time, the terrifying level of Door Knocking Ghost is also confirmed. Although it hasn't reached the degree of an S-class specter, I believe it far surpasses ordinary Level A supernatural incidents, and with the balloon made of heads incident added on, it has become even more troublesome."

"Fortunately, I got what I wanted, and also ascertained some crucial information. The first wave of the confrontation had gains and losses."

"In summary, this round was not a loss."

Thinking thus, Yang Jian felt he had been too greedy before, wanting to lure ghosts with a Ghost Candle to solve everything in one fell swoop, completely underestimating that Corpse Spot-ridden grandfather.

It was somewhat presumptuous.

After all, without the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, he also dared not exploit the full capability of a fierce ghost's power.

The stagnation of the six-layer Ghost Domain, the dismembering ability of the eerie kitchen knife; he dared not, nor did he want to, play his two trump cards.

He wasn't going to go all-out for the Exorcism Club. Yang Jian hadn't become so noble. His visit this time was just going with the flow, aiming to make a bit of money while taking away the secrets of the Door Knocking Ghost. Moreover, he wanted to maximize the value he could get before the half-day of the Ghost Cabinet's trading time was up, not wishing to waste it.

Previously accustomed to a life of poverty, this calculated way of living had also become a part of Yang Jian's character.

If it were regular life, Yang Jian would definitely be a miserly little character, but after becoming a ghost manipulator, this trait turned out to be very suitable.

"Mister Yang, now that we have pulled out, what do we do next?" Nagase, having calmed his emotions, came over and asked.

Although the matter wasn't resolved, Nagase truly admired the man before him.

He dared to confront so many fierce ghosts on his own and even managed to leave unscathed, and even Keiko, an ordinary person, didn't suffer any harm. What did this imply?

It implied that Yang Jian still had plenty of strength in reserve and had not gone all out. Perhaps the recent action was part of his calculations, a reconnaissance to gather intelligence.

"First, let's rest nearby. I need to seriously contemplate a strategy. The ghost is not so easily dealt with – you saw the situation earlier. It's much more complicated than imagined," said Yang Jian straightforwardly.

"Wait, you speak Chinese?"

Suddenly, he realized that Nagase was speaking Chinese.

Nagase said with a smile, "I can speak at least four languages, but I really can't boast about my linguistic talent in front of Mister Yang."

"It's due to distrust," Yang Jian said calmly. "Concealing that you can speak Chinese might help you extract some important information from me, which could increase your odds of survival. It's a smart move, and it's normal for someone as cautious as you to have survived till now."

"I am really sorry to have made Mister Yang laugh," Nagase quickly bowed in apology.

"No need to apologize, I don't blame you. After all, this operation was indeed filled with danger," Yang Jian said.

"You have a broader mind than I imagined, Mister Yang," Nagase smiled again. "It's really good that we survived this time. I know of a nice hotel nearby where we can rest temporarily, it's just..."

He said, looking around.

The unease in his heart had not dissipated.

Yang Jian said, "There's no danger near here, lead the way. If any danger arises, I'll handle it."

"Alright," Nagase nodded.

"Can you still move?" At that moment, Yang Jian walked over and patted Keiko.

Keiko jumped, startled, and at that moment, she finally opened her eyes. When she saw the calm scenery around her, an expression of relief seemed to spread across her face, "Thank goodness, it's finally over."

"Mister Yang, I can move. Please don't leave Keiko behind," she said.

"Call over that woman named Mishima, and get ready to leave," Yang Jian instructed.

Soon, the group arrived at a nearby hotel.

The brief rest was for the purpose of reformulating a plan and also to allow these people to relax a bit. After all, they had just been through a horrifying scenario. They, including Yang Jian, were no longer suited to continue without rest.

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