Communication with the Ghost Cabinet
Some clues left by the previous owner of the haunted wardrobe gave Yang Jian a hint, and although the hint was insignificant, it was enough to break the deadlock and allow him to begin to understand the haunted wardrobe.
Ghost!
On the paper, a crooked black character, written with an unknown material, exuded an ominous aura.
It's hard to imagine that something in the ghost closet actually responded to Yang Jian.
"Can this thing really communicate?" Yang Jian picked up the piece of paper from the ground, examined it repeatedly, but found nothing special about it.
But his expression was unusually solemn.
Even a piece of human skin cannot guarantee the ability to communicate. Human skin is more like a guide for the holder, and whether it can communicate is still a question. But this thing in front of us has completely broken through a certain boundary and responded on its own initiative.
I stared into the dark cabinet door and looked inside.
A strange curiosity made him want to open the cupboard door and take a look.
However, during his last observation, Yang Jian felt a sense of unease from the pair of eyes behind the cupboard door.
There's no doubt there's a ghost inside that cupboard.
He wasn't sure if opening the cupboard door would let the ghost out.
"It's not wise to open the cabinet door out of mere curiosity and disrupt some kind of balance. Since this thing has been here for over a hundred years and has remained perfectly preserved, let the cabinet stay as it is. However, if this thing has responded, it means that I can continue some kind of communication."
Yang Jian pondered for a moment, then wrote another sentence on a separate piece of paper: Can you communicate with me?
"This question is a bit silly." He thought for a moment, tore off the piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it aside. Then, after another thought, he wrote down a new question: Can you help me find Zhao Lei?
He didn't ask any irrelevant questions, but directly stated his purpose.
If this really is a ghost, then this is a good way to conduct a direct experiment.
After writing down the question, Yang Jian stuffed the paper back into the cupboard.
Just like before, as soon as the paper was inserted, a force came from inside, as if the paper was grabbed directly by something and immediately disappeared.
Less than ten seconds later, the paper fell out again from the gap in the cabinet below.
Yang Jian picked it up and his expression immediately turned extremely serious. Under his question, a sentence was written in crooked black ink: You give me your eyes, I'll give you Zhao Lei.
The "eyes" in question certainly don't refer to one's own eyes; they refer to the eyes of Ghost Eye.
The ghost cabinet meant it wanted to exchange its eyes for Zhao Lei's.
"This thing is definitely not easy to deal with. Its first requirement is my Ghost Eye. It's practically trying to kill me right off the bat. How did the original owner think of leaving it behind? Such a bizarre and terrifying thing should be buried 10,000 meters underground and never come up again."
Yang Jian couldn't help but curse inwardly.
But then, when he looked at the sentence in his hand, he noticed something amiss.
The implication is, you give me your eyes, and I'll give you Zhao Lei.
I'm not telling you Zhao Lei's location, but rather giving you Zhao Lei, whose memories have been altered by a ghost, or even who is possessed by a ghost.
Assuming such a deal is reached, how would Zhao Lei proceed?
This is a question that is very worthwhile to consider.
But assuming Zhao Lei is already a ghost, how could this ghost cabinet deliver a ghost that's active outside to its door?
This is the second question.
In Yang Jian's view, this ghost cabinet lacked any of the factors required to fulfill the conditions.
"Unless... we attempt a transaction." After calmly considering the situation, Yang Jian came to a conclusion.
Of course, this kind of attempt is not about trading one's Ghost Eye, but rather about changing the question to see if the content of the trade will also change, and if so, whether the changed conditions are within one's tolerance.
As long as it's within his means, Yang Jian can begin an exchange with this ghost cabinet.
I thought about it for a moment.
Yang Jian wrote down a very simple request, "I need a bowl of fried rice with eggs, can you help me?"
Give me a bowl of blood, and I'll give you fried rice with eggs.
After the note was slipped in, less than ten seconds later, a reply appeared, a line of black text appearing hesitantly below his question.
A bowl of blood?
"Sure enough, the conditions have changed, and so have the requirements. I made the simplest request, and it still responded. But should we do as it says?" Yang Jian pondered again.
To uncover the secrets of this haunted wardrobe, one must make such a deal, unless he gives up on exploring this strange object.
But he was unwilling to give up.
Yang Jian could vaguely sense that this thing must contain an astonishing value, a value even greater than that of the Ghost Mirror.
"I should give it a try. There's no turning back once you embark on the path of Ghost Tamer. Either grit your teeth and continue, or you'll die halfway there. I must learn as many secrets as possible. Anything that can help me should be explored and understood, just like a piece of human skin."
If Yang Jian hadn't died at the school, let alone the Huanggang Village incident, he wouldn't have survived.
"However, there is a huge trap in this deal. It says it wants a bowl of blood but doesn't say it needs my blood, or even specify that it needs human blood."
Yang Jian narrowed his eyes, and after repeatedly thinking about and pondering the answer, he discovered some so-called consumer traps.
If an ordinary person saw this answer, they would probably grit their teeth and cut their wrists to bleed out, and if they did that, they might fall into the trap.
"Try a bowl of pig's blood or chicken blood; that should be safe." With that thought, Yang Jian immediately left the second secret room, determined to conduct this daring experiment.
He believed that even Wang Xiaoming would have done the same in this situation.
Use the most conservative methods to obtain the most comprehensive information and intelligence, thereby formulating the most perfect plan for any future event.
"Let's go to the market. By the way, where's the nearest market?" Yang Jian walked along the road in the neighborhood, preparing to drive there to buy a bowl of blood.
"Woof woof!"
Just as he was passing an intersection in the residential area, a large dog suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the nearby green belt and started barking at him.
"Whose dog is this? Doesn't it know that large dogs are prohibited in this neighborhood? It's fine if it bites me, but what if it bites a child?" Yang Jian shouted, but no one responded.
It must have been an irresponsible dog owner who chose to let the dog roam freely because the neighborhood was unmanaged.
"Woof woof!"
The large wolfhound grew increasingly ferocious, seemingly ready to pounce and bite Yang Jian at any moment.
Yang Jian, who had been deep in thought, suddenly stopped, as if he had realized something.
A bowl of blood dog?
Yeah, why would I bother going to the farmers' market?
Yang Jian suddenly turned around and stared at the dog, his eyes shining.
The large wolfhound, which had been baring its teeth and looking ferocious, seemed to sense danger at this moment. It whimpered twice and then turned and ran away.
A moment later, Yang Jian, carrying a bowl of dog blood, walked into the second secret room with a smile.
He had only been inside for a short while.
The ghost cabinet is making noise.
The cabinet door above the ghost cabinet opened by itself without any wind.
"Hmm?" Yang Jian's eyelids twitched, and his expression changed.
He had always thought the haunted cabinet was locked, so he hadn't dared to touch it. He never expected it could open by itself.
"Does this ghost cabinet mean I should put this bowl of blood in?" Yang Jian observed cautiously for a while and found that there were no other unexpected situations or dangers after the cabinet door was opened. He immediately realized the key to the problem.
Just like before, he carefully extended the bowl of dog blood towards the cupboard door.
The other end of the bowl gradually disappeared into the darkness behind the cupboard door. The process was slow, and he was even prepared to stop and leave at any moment.
Just as the bowl was less than a third submerged in darkness, Yang Jian clearly felt something gripping the other end of the bowl.
His expression changed slightly, and he immediately withdrew his hand.
Most of the bowl floated in mid-air above the cupboard door, then slowly disappeared inside, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
"Creak!"
The sound of the old cabinet doors echoed.
The door above the ghost cabinet closed.
But at the same time, the door beneath the ghost cabinet opened.
Yang Jian looked down at the cabinet and saw that the bottom shelf was perfectly normal. It was just an ordinary cabinet with three sides made of wood and painted with mottled paint. There was no darkness inside, nor any eerie presence. It was completely out of place with the top shelf, creating a stark contrast.
However, what made him uneasy was...
Inside the lower half of the cabinet door was a bowl of fried rice with eggs, which was even steaming and emitting a delicious aroma.
"Where did this bowl of fried rice come from?" Yang Jian fell into deep thought.
A centuries-old wooden cabinet, sealed away for centuries, was transformed into a bowl of fried rice with eggs, bought with a bowl of blood—and the best part was, it was still hot.
It's simply unbelievable.
Yang Jian brought out the bowl of fried rice, wanting to verify the authenticity of the item, but then discovered a piece of paper under the plate containing the fried rice.
A line of words was scrawled crookedly on the paper: Help me move the cupboard out.