Arc 23Ghost Painting and the Captain Plan

Yang Jian contained the Ghost Painting at the school, uncovered a threat from the Circle of Friends, and negotiated a contract that gave him team-forming rights instead of the captain position. The arc ended with Jiang Shangbai reporting Yang Jian’s demands to Fang Shiming, who planned to kill him at six.

  • Yang Jian attacked He Tianxiong, but a substitute-death doll took the fatal blow, and he left when Miao Xiaoshan called about the ghost painting at her dormitory.
  • Yang Jian evacuated Miao Xiaoshan and investigated the dormitory with Wang Quan’s team, where the Ghost Painting distorted the building and released a woman in red.
  • Yang Jian suppressed the woman in red and the Ghost Painting, ending the Ghost Domain and allowing Wang Quan’s team to rescue the trapped students.
  • Yang Jian restored Li Yao’s memories of his supernatural influence, then left her as a ghost attacked her.
  • Jiang Shangbai investigated the Circle of Friends’ missing members, while Yang Jian recognized that his Ghost Eye had reached its limit.
  • At Headquarters, Yang Jian confronted Jiang Shangbai with a recording of the Circle of Friends’ plan to kill him, and Jiang withdrew after Yang Jian threatened him with his Ghost Domain.
  • Cao Yanhua presented the Captain Plan and assigned the Ghost Tamers three days to find the Ghost Painting’s source, while Yang Jian declined to pursue the case and negotiated other terms with Headquarters.
  • Yang Jian traded the captain position for team-forming rights and other concessions, then Jiang Shangbai told Fang Shiming about the deal, and Fang ordered the Circle of Friends to wait until six so he could kill Yang Jian.
Chapters 552–576 Vol. 6 Read

Ch. 552A Substitute Death

Yang Jian tried to kill He Tianxiong with the fifth-layer Ghost Domain, but a substitute-death cloth doll saved him. Yang Jian’s Ghost Eye neared revival, while He Tianxiong took shelter behind a reinforced door with only two minutes left in their agreement.

  • Yang Jian engulfed He Tianxiong in the fifth-layer Ghost Domain, but a substitute-death cloth doll took the fatal attack in his place.
  • He Tianxiong fled into a room as Yang Jian’s Ghost Eye began to revive, forcing Yang Jian to end the unstable Ghost Domain.
  • Yang Jian concluded that he could not safely use the Ghost Eye again soon and would need his Ghost Shadow or Ghost Hand to kill He Tianxiong.
  • He Tianxiong hid in the room and hoped Yang Jian would honor their five-minute agreement, while the ghost’s withered feet remained perched on his shoulders.
  • Yang Jian battered the reinforced door, and He Tianxiong prepared to fight, exposing his decayed body and the ghostly flesh replacing him.

Ch. 553The Crucial Phone Call

Yang Jian nearly killed He Tianxiong with his ghost shadow, but stopped when Miao Xiaoshan called to report a missing dormmate and a suspicious oil painting. He rushed to investigate, leaving He Tianxiong alive and shaken.

  • Yang Jian's ghost shadow invaded He Tianxiong's safe room and began taking control of his body.
  • He Tianxiong pleaded for his life while Yang Jian waited for the promised five minutes to pass.
  • Miao Xiaoshan called Yang Jian about her missing dormmate, who had brought an oil painting back from an art gallery.
  • Yang Jian told Miao Xiaoshan to stay away from the painting and wait somewhere open, then hurried away.
  • Yang Jian's ghost shadow withdrew, and He Tianxiong realized the call had saved his life.

Ch. 554Roommates

After Miao Xiaoshan called Yang Jian about Zhang Xia’s disappearance and the suspicious oil painting, he arrived at the dormitory and took her away. Liu Zi finally believed the danger might be real and fled too, while the other roommates remained behind.

  • Miao Xiaoshan urged her roommates to leave after Yang Jian warned her that the oil painting was linked to a supernatural incident, but they refused to believe her.
  • Yang Jian kicked open the dormitory door and told Miao Xiaoshan to leave with him, warning the others that they could stay if they wanted to die.
  • Yang Jian led Miao Xiaoshan out while she kept her eyes closed, refusing to risk looking at the painting.
  • Liu Zi realized Yang Jian could not have reached the dormitory so quickly by ordinary means and hurried after him.
  • Liu Zi found the corridor empty, became convinced the haunting might be real, and ran away.

Ch. 555Something's Wrong

Yang Jian warned Miao Xiaoshan that the ghost painting was deadly and called Liu Xiaoyu to arrange an evacuation of the women's dormitory. Back in the dorm, Sun Yujia discovered the painting had moved beside Wang Yue's pillow, confirming that something was wrong.

  • Yang Jian explained that the ghost painting's killing pattern was unknown and warned Miao Xiaoshan not to risk her life trying to save everyone.
  • Miao Xiaoshan pleaded with Yang Jian to evacuate her roommates, and he asked Liu Xiaoyu to have the school clear the dormitory building.
  • Yang Jian told Miao Xiaoshan that he feared dying but could not escape his fate as a Ghost Tamer.
  • Sun Yujia and Wang Yue discussed Yang Jian's strange arrival and began to fear the dormitory was haunted.
  • Sun Yujia realized the oil painting had vanished from Zhang Xia's bed and found it beside Wang Yue's pillow.

Ch. 556Murderous Painting

The haunted oil painting appeared beside Wang Yue’s bed and pulled her into its frame as Sun Yujia watched helplessly. Liu Zi searched for Miao Xiaoshan and Yang Jian, then called Miao Xiaoshan for help.

  • Sun Yujia and Wang Yue found the oil painting beside Wang Yue’s bed, though neither of them had moved it.
  • Sun Yujia and Wang Yue decided to leave the dormitory, but Wang Yue went back for her bag.
  • Sun Yujia saw pale hands emerge from the painting and tried to warn Wang Yue, but fear left her unable to speak.
  • The painting grabbed Wang Yue and swallowed most of her body; her legs eventually stopped moving beneath it.
  • Liu Zi failed to find Miao Xiaoshan and Yang Jian near the sports field and called Miao Xiaoshan for help.

Ch. 557Preparation Work

Li Yao confronted Yang Jian over letting He Tianxiong escape, while Yang Jian stayed with Miao Xiaoshan to make sure the ghost painting had not targeted her. As the school alarms rang and a convoy arrived, Yang Jian prepared to act on the ghost painting incident.

  • Li Yao drove into the villa complex, where He Tianxiong attacked her, threatened her, and then fled after leaving Yang Jian the house and its gifts.
  • Li Yao called Yang Jian to criticize his decision, but he said He Tianxiong posed little threat and faulted her for failing to gather information on Fang Shiming.
  • Yang Jian told Miao Xiaoshan that he had delayed his plans to protect her, and they joked about her earlier offer to be his girlfriend.
  • Liu Zi arrived at the basketball gym and told Yang Jian and Miao Xiaoshan that Wang Yue and Sun Yujia had stayed in the dormitory with the ghost painting.
  • Yang Jian explained that he had brought Miao Xiaoshan to the empty gym to check whether the ghost painting had targeted her.
  • The school's fire alarms rang, and Yang Jian saw a convoy arrive; he said he was going to start work.

Ch. 558Falling

Yang Jian brought a special response team to the school after the ghost painting appeared and arranged protection for Miao Xiaoshan while sending Liu Zi for observation. At the dormitory, he waited for Sun Yujia to fall from a window, caught her, and entered the building with Wang Quan to investigate the danger inside.

  • Yang Jian ordered Miao Xiaoshan to stay in the basketball gym and told Liu Zi to leave, then Wang Quan’s team arrived and took Liu Zi for observation.
  • Yang Jian gave Miao Xiaoshan a red ghost candle and lighter, then warned Wang Quan that the school art gallery might contain the ghost painting’s source.
  • Yang Jian and Wang Quan reached the dormitory and ordered the remaining students evacuated, but Sun Yujia climbed out of a window in terror.
  • Yang Jian waited until Sun Yujia fell from the fourth floor, caught her with one hand, and entered the dormitory with Wang Quan and two others.

Ch. 559The Affected Floors

Yang Jian and Wang Quan entered the dormitory building to search for students and investigate Ghost Painting’s influence. They found the fourth floor trapped in a Ghost Domain, and Yang Jian led the team onward despite the danger.

  • Yang Jian found the first three floors clear of Ghost Painting’s influence, while Wang Quan sent personnel to inspect them for students.
  • At the stairs to the fourth floor, Yang Jian’s Ghost Eye became suppressed, and Wang Quan ordered everyone to stay away from the affected floor.
  • Yang Jian decided to investigate the fourth floor, and Wang Quan prepared his personnel with gold-plated equipment.
  • On the fourth floor, the stairwell behind the team appeared endless, but Yang Jian used a gold bullet to confirm that reality had not been completely altered.
  • Yang Jian led Wang Quan and the others onward, while a pale-handed figure waited in the darkness near phones abandoned on the stairs.

Ch. 560Mistaken Path

Yang Jian and Wang Quan searched for the ghost painting, but its Ghost Domain had already distorted the dormitory building and led them to the wrong room. Yang Jian realized the fourth and fifth floors had overlapped, leaving the group unsure where the painting was hidden.

  • Yang Jian refused to search the fourth-floor dormitories for survivors and continued toward the fifth floor with Wang Quan and two accompanying personnel.
  • Yang Jian noticed that the fourth floor seemed ordinary despite Sun Yujia having jumped from a window there, then led the group upstairs without finding the extra red door hidden on that floor.
  • Yang Jian went to the dormitory he remembered as Miao Xiaoshan's, but found an unfamiliar room and realized the ghost painting had altered the building's layout.
  • Yang Jian removed the dormitory number plate and saw it change from 503 to 603, revealing that the group was on the sixth floor.
  • Yang Jian concluded that the real fourth floor and the fifth floor inside the Ghost Domain had overlapped, making it impossible to tell which floor they had entered.

Ch. 561The Figure That Appeared

Yang Jian and Wang Quan returned to the real fourth floor and searched for the point connecting it to the hidden fifth floor. While they searched, a blurry woman in red emerged from the stairwell and headed down the corridor, unnoticed by them but spotted by observers below.

  • Yang Jian used his headless ghost shadow to make stairs down after the original staircase vanished, then led Wang Quan and the staff back to the fourth floor.
  • Yang Jian explained that they needed to find the Ghost Domain's point of connection to reality, and he and Wang Quan split up to search the dorm rooms.
  • Yang Jian searched rooms while Wang Quan and the two staff members cautiously checked the opposite side of the corridor.
  • A blurry woman in red with painted-looking feet emerged from the dark stairwell and reached the corridor fork without Yang Jian or Wang Quan noticing her.
  • Observers downstairs spotted the figure and called for someone to notify Captain Wang and Mr. Yang, but the woman walked away and disappeared behind a wall.

Ch. 562The Person in the Painting

Yang Jian found the ghost painting hidden as a dorm room door and saw that a ghost was missing from its image. Meanwhile, the ghost appeared in Room 402, and Wang Quan alerted Yang Jian to its location.

  • Yang Jian found two frightened students in a dorm room, told them to stay put, and continued searching for Miao Xiaoshan's room.
  • Wang Quan and his staff searched the other end of the hallway and found several stranded students but no abnormalities.
  • A staff member spotted a red-clothed ghost entering Room 402, and Wang Quan ordered the team to retreat and warn Yang Jian.
  • Yang Jian discovered that a dorm room door had become an oil painting depicting Miao Xiaoshan's room and a dead student.
  • Yang Jian noticed a blank human-shaped space in the painting and wondered whether the missing ghost had walked out of it.
  • Wang Quan contacted Yang Jian to report that the ghost was inside Room 402.

Ch. 563The Familiar First Glance

Yang Jian waited to confirm Wang Quan's report while deciding whether to restrain the ghost or secure the Ghost Painting. When the red-clad ghost emerged from Dorm 402, he recognized similarities to several supernatural objects and incidents, but forced aside his speculation and faced the choice of which threat to handle first.

  • Wang Quan warned his inexperienced team members to stay still while Yang Jian assessed the danger and protected the Ghost Painting.
  • Yang Jian waited for the ghost to appear rather than trusting the team's report and leaving the painting unattended.
  • The ghost walked out of Dorm 402, revealing a blurry face, red clothing, pale hands, and painted-looking legs.
  • Yang Jian connected the ghost's appearance to the dried corpse bride, the Ghost Cabinet photograph, and the embroidered shoes, and wondered whether they were pieces of the same ghost.
  • Yang Jian dismissed his speculation and prepared to choose between containing the ghost and securing the Ghost Painting.

Ch. 564Complete Restriction

Yang Jian tested the Ghost Painting’s killing pattern and discovered that the ghost inside it could be suppressed but would reform because the painting was the source. He suppressed the complete Ghost Painting, ending its Ghost Domain for now, but the incident remained difficult to resolve permanently.

  • Yang Jian waited to see whether the ghost would move, then asked Wang Quan to bring a storage bag so they could deal with the Ghost Painting.
  • Wang Quan risked passing close by the motionless ghost, but it turned and followed him toward Yang Jian.
  • Yang Jian grabbed the ghost’s pale hand and suppressed it, causing its body to crumble into paper ash.
  • The Ghost Painting vanished into a wall and then reappeared with the woman in red painted inside, showing Yang Jian that it could recreate the suppressed ghost.
  • Yang Jian suppressed the complete Ghost Painting, making its reaching hands disappear and restoring the lights and sounds as the Ghost Domain vanished.

Ch. 565Speculation

Yang Jian contained the ghost painting at the dormitory and tried to determine what triggered its attacks. As Wang Quan escorted it to Headquarters, Yang Jian left with a golden glove that helped isolate his ghost hand’s influence.

  • Yang Jian suppressed the ghost painting, and Wang Quan’s team packed it up while rescuing the students trapped in the building.
  • Yang Jian questioned Wang Quan about why the ghost had attacked him, but Wang Quan could only speculate that fear might be involved.
  • Wang Quan’s team received orders from Headquarters to transport the painting, and Yang Jian asked Wang Quan for a glove.
  • Yang Jian put on the golden gloves and confirmed they isolated the influence of his ghost hand before leaving the dormitory.

Ch. 566Petty Schemes

Yang Jian confronted the staff for gathering students exposed to the ghost painting in one place, then escorted Miao Xiaoshan toward her dorm. Before leaving, he struck Captain Yao for arranging the students as a way to manipulate him, and Captain Yao realized the ghost’s power might be affecting his body.

  • Yang Jian ordered the staff to bring him the person responsible for gathering the students exposed to the ghost painting in the basketball gym.
  • Yang Jian reassured Miao Xiaoshan that the immediate danger had likely passed but warned that the ghost painting’s pattern remained unknown.
  • Yang Jian told Miao Xiaoshan to return to her dorm and said Liu Zi could stay with her, while he continued with his other business.
  • Yang Jian confronted Captain Yao and struck him with his ghost hand for using Miao Xiaoshan to pressure him into protecting the gathered students.
  • Captain Yao refused to report Yang Jian to Headquarters and discovered that his body had become increasingly uncoordinated after the slap.

Ch. 567Departure

After resolving the Ghost Painting Incident, Yang Jian prepared to leave the dormitory and was summoned to a headquarters meeting. Miao Xiaoshan stayed behind with Liu Zi and Sun Yujia, who learned that she had survived an earlier haunting that killed nearly everyone at her school.

  • Yang Jian told Miao Xiaoshan he had to leave and learned from Liu Xiaoyu that headquarters wanted him at a meeting about the Ghost Painting Incident the next morning.
  • Two staff members brought Liu Zi and Sun Yujia to the dormitory, and Yang Jian told them to keep Miao Xiaoshan company and stay near her for safety.
  • Yang Jian warned Miao Xiaoshan to keep the protective items he had given her, then vanished before she could catch him in the corridor.
  • Liu Zi asked about Yang Jian, and Miao Xiaoshan explained that he was her high school classmate and that most of their classmates had died in a haunting.
  • Miao Xiaoshan described the corpse-spotted old man who had appeared at her classroom, and Sun Yujia realized the ghost she had seen was different, meaning there was more than one ghost.

Ch. 568Memories Returned

Yang Jian confronted Li Yao and revealed that her feelings for him came from memories he had altered with a ghost’s influence. After he used a trigger question to restore her memories, Li Yao remembered how he had manipulated her and broke down.

  • Yang Jian called Li Yao and ordered her to wait for him, then met her after she had waited in the cold.
  • Li Yao confronted Yang Jian for letting He Tianxiong escape, but Yang Jian told her that he no longer needed her.
  • Yang Jian pointed out that Li Yao’s sudden affection for him made no sense and that she could not truly remember the file she claimed to have read.
  • Li Yao realized that a ghost had affected her memories, and Yang Jian asked her, “What is one plus one?”
  • Li Yao recovered her memories of meeting Yang Jian beneath a streetlamp, having her memories altered, and helping him because she had been made to fall for him.
  • Li Yao screamed in distress as Yang Jian asked whether she remembered.

Ch. 569Choice and Regret

Li Yao struggled to choose between death and having her memories altered while Yang Jian held her at gunpoint. After Yang Jian left, a ghost killed her in front of two strangers.

  • Li Yao remembered that Yang Jian had altered her memories and broke down, cursing him and threatening revenge.
  • Yang Jian pressed a golden pistol to Li Yao's forehead and offered to kill her or let her live with unfamiliar memories.
  • Li Yao hesitated, so Yang Jian withdrew the gun and walked away, telling her he would choose for her.
  • Li Yao called after Yang Jian and agreed to live, but he had already disappeared.
  • A ghost strangled Li Yao and twisted her body as two strangers watched, then one of them fled in terror.

Ch. 570Noticing

After a series of attacks on the circle of friends, Jiang Shangbai suspected Yang Jian and feared he was the next target. Yang Jian stopped his operations and assessed his ghosts’ condition, while the coming Headquarters meeting threatened to bring more trouble.

  • Jiang Shangbai learned that Manager Fei had died, Zhang Jian had vanished, and He Tianxiong could not be reached, so he began investigating.
  • Jiang Shangbai found evidence that He Tianxiong had fled his villa, leaving his assets behind, and inferred that he had gone into hiding.
  • A manager showed Jiang Shangbai surveillance footage of Yang Jian at Zhang Jian’s bar, leading Jiang Shangbai to suspect Li Yao had betrayed the circle of friends and that Yang Jian had targeted them.
  • Jiang Shangbai took the footage and left, fearing Yang Jian might attack him, though Yang Jian had already stopped because his Ghost Eye had reached its limit.
  • Yang Jian examined his condition and concluded that the Headless Ghost Shadow was essential to controlling his other ghosts and that his body had to stay healthy to keep it dormant.

Ch. 571A Plan Half Successfully Carried Out

Wang Xiaoming reviewed the Ghost Messenger operation and blamed its failure on the team’s inability to adapt, while Yang Jian arrived at Headquarters and argued with Cao Yanhua about his actions and pay. The meeting had yet to formally begin when Jiang Shangbai entered, already angered by the previous night’s events.

  • Wang Xiaoming explained that his plan had failed because Li Jun’s team could not contain the Ghost Messenger and Guo Fan’s mistake prevented them from luring away the Ghost Painting, though Wei Jing survived.
  • Cao Yanhua tried to reassure Wang Xiaoming, who criticized the team’s shortcomings and reflected on how Yang Jian had handled the Starvation Ghost Incident differently.
  • Liu Xiaoyu brought Yang Jian into the meeting, and Cao Yanhua scolded him for nearly killing someone the previous night.
  • Yang Jian defended beating the man for gathering people connected to the Ghost Painting, and Wang Xiaoming said the man should have been killed.
  • Yang Jian pressed Cao Yanhua about overtime pay and suspected the Deputy Minister had a favor to ask of him.
  • Jiang Shangbai entered with several Ghost Tamers, and Yang Jian traded insults with him.

Ch. 572Attitude

Yang Jian confronted Jiang Shangbai over the Circle of Friends’ attacks and exposed a recording of its plan to kill him, shifting Headquarters’ anger onto Jiang. Yang Jian nearly escalated the dispute into a fight before other meeting attendees arrived, and Jiang recognized that the Circle of Friends had suffered a major setback.

  • Jiang Shangbai accused Yang Jian of killing Circle of Friends members, while Yang Jian denied the charges and threatened to fight him.
  • Yang Jian played a recording of Manager Fei and Jiang Shangbai discussing a plan to kill him during the Ghost Painting Incident.
  • Cao Yanhua condemned the Circle of Friends’ plan and threatened to shut down its businesses and end cooperation.
  • Yang Jian filled the conference room with signs of his Ghost Domain and challenged Jiang Shangbai to fight.
  • Liu San, Brother Leg, Feng Quan, and Old Qin arrived, and Yang Jian withdrew his Ghost Domain as Jiang admitted defeat for the day.

Ch. 573Team Formation

At Headquarters, Cao Yanhua finalized the Captain Plan after presenting the candidates’ incident records and scores, with Yang Jian ranked first. As the meeting turned to the Ghost Painting Incident, Yang Jian considered forming a team and Jiang Shangbai worried that Yang Jian’s growing support would make him harder to oppose.

  • Yang Jian tested Cao Yanhua’s stance toward him and Jiang Shangbai, while the two sides avoided further confrontation at Headquarters.
  • Feng Quan asked Yang Jian about Tong Qian, who had not attended the meeting, and Yang Jian agreed to keep an eye out for her.
  • Cao Yanhua presented the Captain Plan’s candidate list and score rankings, explaining Yang Jian’s leading score and addressing objections from Xu Yiping and others.
  • Zhang Lei, Huang Ziya, Feng Quan, and Xiong Wenwen expressed interest in joining Yang Jian’s team, prompting Jiang Shangbai to worry about Yang Jian gaining allies.
  • Cao Yanhua finalized the Captain Plan after hearing the remaining objections, then shifted the meeting to the Ghost Painting Incident.

Ch. 574Background in the Painting

At a meeting about the Ghost Painting Incident, Yang Jian explained how a Ghost Painting could produce another ghost, while Wang Xiaoming proposed that the paintings might connect to one another and lead to the source. The group was given three days to investigate, and Yang Jian decided to avoid the incident where possible and focus on the Friends Circle.

  • Cao Yanhua described how two ghosts escaped the operation to contain the Ghost Messenger and later appeared to be connected to the Ghost Painting Incident.
  • Yang Jian explained that the ghost and its painting were separate, so containing the painting was necessary to stop more ghosts from emerging.
  • Yang Jian discovered that Li Lepeng could not be remembered unless he stated his name.
  • Cao Yanhua gave the group three days to find the Ghost Painting's source and offered a captain candidacy to whoever resolved the incident.
  • Wang Xiaoming proposed that the different Ghost Paintings might be connected and that investigators would need to enter one to search for the source.
  • Yang Jian judged the incident too dangerous to pursue and chose to focus on Jiang Shangbai and the Friends Circle.

Ch. 575Demanding

As the Ghost Painting operation began, Cao Yanhua tried to mediate the conflict between Yang Jian and Moments Circle. Yang Jian demanded the Ghost Scissors and negotiated compensation for relinquishing the captain position, leaving Cao Yanhua to prepare a contract.

  • Cao Yanhua ordered the Ghost Tamers in the city to find the source of the Ghost Painting Incident within three days, then asked Yang Jian and Jiang Shangbai to stay behind.
  • Yang Jian rejected a simple reconciliation and demanded that Moments Circle hand over the Ghost Scissors; Jiang Shangbai requested half a day to respond.
  • Yang Jian told Cao Yanhua he would give Jiang Shangbai until six that evening and warned him not to interfere if Moments Circle refused.
  • Yang Jian offered to give up the captain position in exchange for team-forming rights, a say in choosing Dachang City's next person in charge, exemption from the Ghost Painting Incident, and supernatural resources.
  • Cao Yanhua negotiated the terms, agreeing to several concessions and allowing Yang Jian to refuse most future assignments, while Yang Jian demanded that their agreement be written into a contract.

Ch. 576Decision

Yang Jian rejected the captain position but considered forming a small team, then went with Xiong Wenwen to meet his mother. Meanwhile, Fang Shiming rejected Cao Yanhua’s attempt at mediation and ordered the Moments Club to kill Yang Jian at six o’clock.

  • Yang Jian told Feng Quan and the others that he had turned down the captain position but retained six slots to recruit teammates.
  • Yang Jian gave Feng Quan an address for Tong Qian and asked him to tell her what had happened and invite her to join them.
  • Xiong Wenwen’s mother asked to meet Yang Jian, and Xiong Wenwen persuaded him to go home with him for lunch.
  • Jiang Shangbai briefed Fang Shiming and the Moments Club members about Yang Jian’s demands and Cao Yanhua’s pressure.
  • Fang Shiming ordered everyone to remain at the meeting until six and said he would personally kill Yang Jian then.
Arc 23 of 65