Break Free

"If you don't want anything to happen to you, leave this place as soon as possible. That Ghost Infant seemed to have set its sights on Wang Shanshan. It's also constantly growing. The last time I saw it, it couldn't use a Ghost Domain yet. Now it already seemed to be on the verge of mastering one. Who knew what it would become next time?"

"I could feel it. Once that thing fully grew, its level of terror would be impossible to estimate."

Yang Jian returned to Wang Bin's home and spoke at once.

"Y-you... are you human or a ghost?" Wang Bin asked fearfully.

"I don't know," Yang Jian replied. "Maybe I'm human, maybe I'm a ghost. I'm not too clear on that myself. But as long as I can save your lives, that's enough. This probably isn't the time to talk about that, though."

"Right, right, right. We need to leave. I'll pack some things." Wang Bin came to his senses.

"Is that thing dead? It won't come back, right?" Wang Haiyan asked, still shaken.

"It's not dead. There's a high chance it'll come back."

Wang Haiyan became agitated. "What? Then why didn't you kill that thing? We hired you specifically to deal with that ghost. Now you let it go. What are we supposed to do in the future? If you can't kill it, we won't pay you. Who knows if you let it go on purpose?"

"Wang Shanshan and I are classmates, but favors are favors and business is business. From the sound of it, Aunt Wang wants to default on the payment?" Yang Jian looked at her.

"You want money before resolving this? Do you think five hundred thousand is that easy to earn?" Wang Haiyan said.

"Aunt Wang, you're mistaken," Yang Jian said seriously. "It's not five hundred thousand. It's one million."

"Who said it was one million? I clearly heard my husband say that you asked for five hundred thousand." Wang Haiyan said.

Yang Jian rubbed his head and sat down on the sofa. "What a headache. I'm still someone with principles. Things should be handled as they should. If Aunt Wang insists on arguing with me, there's nothing I can do. I haven't studied much, and I lack social experience. I can't outargue people like you who know the ways of society. In that case, I'll consider this trip a free favor for Wang Shanshan's sake."

"By the way, Aunt Wang, what flowers do you usually like?"

"Jasmine. Why are you asking that?" Wang Haiyan said.

"Next time I get the chance to visit a grave, I'll bring some for you. If you run into that ghost thing again, Aunt Wang, you can handle it personally. You're so good with words, you'll definitely be able to persuade that Ghost Infant not to kill your family. I'm leaving. I hope you can still get out of this building later."

With that, he got up to leave.

He wanted to see whether Wang Shanshan's mother wanted money or her life.

He had no time to trade empty words here.

The moment she saw Yang Jian leaving, Wang Haiyan's expression changed. She hurriedly forced a smile. "Student, wait, wait. What are you doing? We can discuss this properly, can't we? Don't be angry. Aunt Wang apologizes to you. Besides, you and Shanshan are classmates. Shouldn't classmates help each other? Shanshan has been thinking about you these past few days, too."

"We are classmates, and helping each other is fine. Just now, I helped your family. Now I'm poor and down on my luck. Shouldn't Aunt Wang help me out with one million too? It can't be that I'm supposed to talk about friendship while you talk business, but when I talk business, you talk about friendship. That way, someone disadvantaged like me loses no matter what, while all the benefits go to rich people like you."

"So I've gotten a little smarter. Not one cent less than one million," Yang Jian said very seriously.

The fact that he had not lost his temper in front of them already showed considerable restraint and consideration for appearances.

Wang Haiyan looked deeply embarrassed. Of course, she understood that Yang Jian was referring to the time he had brought Shanshan home, when she had dismissed him with two hundred yuan.

"Aunt Wang, don't try to act familiar," Yang Jian said. "Although Wang Shanshan and I are classmates, I've only met you two or three times. It's better for us to maintain a pure monetary relationship. You pay, I help. That's fair. You spend money to buy your lives, and I risk my life to earn money. That's fair too."

"Right, right, right. That is fair. But if we pay, you have to find a way to solve this, don't you? Why didn't that thing go after other families? Why did it target ours?" Wang Haiyan asked.

"It didn't come for your family. It came for Wang Shanshan. I wanted to mention it back at school, but there was something even more terrifying than that Ghost Infant at school, so I didn't bring it up."

"I think it has something to do with the two handprints on Wang Shanshan's neck. She was attacked by the Ghost Infant once at school. I saved her then, but the Ghost Infant probably marked her, which was why it came after her again."

"Of course, that's only my guess. I'll need to ask someone for advice on the specifics."

"Can it be solved?" Wang Haiyan asked.

"Pay first, then I'll tell you." Yang Jian looked at her.

"Ding."

At that moment, his phone suddenly received a text message.

The message read: One million received.

"?"

Wang Bin came out of the room at that moment. "Student, I've already transferred the money. I hope you'll put more effort into Shanshan's situation. If you have any other requests, feel free to raise them. As long as our family can do it, we won't refuse."

Yang Jian smiled. "Uncle Wang is straightforward. I can tell at a glance that you're a successful man—decisive, efficient, and trustworthy. But how did you get my bank account number?"

"I work at a loan company. Out of professional instinct, I took a photo of some records with my phone during a school parent-teacher meeting." Wang Bin said.

"No wonder all the students sitting beside Wang Shanshan came from well-off families. A poor person like me could only sit far away. Uncle Wang, you've put quite a lot of thought into this behind the scenes." Yang Jian said, somewhat impressed by Wang Bin.

While Shanshan was still in high school, he was already building connections for her future.

Wang Bin smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.

It had not been his idea alone. Several well-off parents had organized it voluntarily. He had merely joined in.

"Alright, time's almost up. We should go." Yang Jian checked the time.

Less than a minute remained on the Ghost Domain.

Soon, the group left the residential complex and drove rapidly away from the area.

Because the Ghost Domain was still active, they did not encounter the Ghost Infant along the way.

It seemed that a Ghost Domain could block other ghosts from finding them.

That was important. He had to remember it.

Yang Jian thought to himself.

"Yang Jian... I-I'm sorry."

In the car, Wang Shanshan, who had calmed down somewhat, quietly tugged at Yang Jian's hand and spoke softly.

"There's nothing to apologize for. I only came because of the money." Yang Jian said.

"Thank you." Wang Shanshan replied gratefully.

Wang Bin drove as he asked, "Student, where are we going now?"

"Anywhere is fine. As long as we get far enough away from that residential complex. Even if that thing comes looking for us, it'll take some time." Yang Jian said.

"If we go abroad, can we get away from that thing?" Wang Haiyan asked from the side.

"What if you can't get away from it? And do you think there are no supernatural incidents overseas? Supernatural incidents abroad are even worse than those in the country. There are no specialized people there to handle cases like this, so they can only hire people. Dealing with one such incident overseas starts at several million dollars. Uncle Wang, you can ask around if you don't believe me. I wasn't lying to you on the phone before."

"Can you solve the issue with the handprints on Shanshan's neck?" Wang Haiyan asked politely, no longer daring to lose her temper.

They had already paid. If Yang Jian got angry and stopped helping, what would their family do?

Yang Jian thought for a moment. "I can only ask around. If this can't be solved, there's nothing I can do. Wang Shanshan can only leave it to fate."

He immediately picked up his satellite phone and called his operator, Liu Xiaoyu.

Through Wang Shanshan's situation, he could also learn more about malignant ghosts, which would help him in the future.

Liu Xiaoyu picked up quickly.

"Yang Jian, is that you?"

"It's me," Yang Jian said. "Are you operators online twenty-four hours a day? How come I can always get through whenever I call?"

"We provide one-on-one service. Each Ghost Tamer has only one operator. I'm your dedicated operator. Other than liaising with you, I don't do any other work." Liu Xiaoyu replied professionally.

"Alright, I don't want to talk to you about such lewd topics." Yang Jian said.

"?" Liu Xiaoyu was bewildered.

"I've run into a bit of trouble," Yang Jian said. "I'll tell you the general situation. See if you can offer any advice."