Yang Jian stared at Cao Yang beside the bonfire. He had not expected Cao Yang to be hiding in this inconspicuous little shop to avoid a vicious ghost—and to have stayed here for several days.
When asked for the specific reason, Cao Yang refused to say, insisting on keeping it secret.
Although everyone had their own secrets and Yang Jian did not like prying into other people's privacy, this was not the time for Cao Yang to use that as an excuse.
"I understand some of your special circumstances, but Headquarters sent me here, which already shows that this meeting has to be held. Before coming to find you, I had already spoken to Liu San, Li Lepeng, and He Yin'er. Like you, they all had reasons not to come, but they compromised in the end."
"So I hope you can deal with things here as soon as possible and head to Headquarters."
Cao Yang said, "If I don't resolve my problem properly, I'll die horribly. Even if I go to Headquarters, that vicious ghost will follow me there. No—even before I get there, it'll stop me halfway."
"You won't be discovered if you hide here?" Yang Jian asked.
Cao Yang said, "I will be discovered, but another vicious ghost wanders around this county town. For certain reasons, the two have formed a mutually restraining balance, which is why I can hide here safely. As long as I endure seven days, the ghost following me will leave. There are only three days left now. I don't want to give up halfway."
"Since the ghost following you is in this county town, I'll deal with it. That solves everything." Yang Jian frowned.
"That ghost is very unusual. I can't determine how dangerous it is. If I were to create a file