Jiang Yan

"First, I'll put myself somewhere safe. The ghost can be dealt with slowly. As long as I don't use the power of the evil ghost inside my body, I'm not at a loss. And that Yan Li fellow is special too. I want to see what makes this Ghost Tamer different, whether there's anything worth learning from him."

Yang Jian watched the fleeing group, his expression unchanged and unmoved.

If he had used his Ghost Domain just now, he could have gotten all of them out in an instant.

But that would have been a self-damaging act with no benefit.

Yang Jian would not do something like that.

If he acted, it would only be when these people were at their most desperate and terrified.

The smallest cost in exchange for the greatest benefit.

After all, people never cherished things that came too easily. That was why he had not even tried to negotiate a price earlier.

Boss Tang needed to experience this first. Only then would it be easier to make demands.

Besides that, there was also Yan Li, who was competing for business.

If this ghost proved difficult to handle, Yang Jian would not mind slipping away and letting Yan Li deal with it. After all, that man had come specifically for the ghost.

It was not as though this was some valuable prize worth fighting over. Using the evil ghost's power too often would only make him die faster.

Having thought it through, Yang Jian picked up his flashlight and headed toward the restroom as though nothing had happened.

Just as he held the flashlight in his mouth and relieved himself, its beam swept into a corner of the restroom. He suddenly saw a foot sticking out from the last stall. It wore a black stocking, clearly a woman's foot.

"Why is there a woman's foot in the men's restroom? Don't tell me I've run into some pervert. Or is this another corpse?"

Yang Jian froze for a moment, then shone his flashlight over and cautiously opened the door for a look.

A woman was curled up inside the stall. She wore a white women's blouse and a short skirt, and seemed to be one of the mall's employees. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed. It was impossible to tell whether she was already dead.

He reached over to check her breathing.

She was still breathing. She was not dead.

Yang Jian was immediately surprised. He would not have been surprised if this woman had been a corpse, but she was actually alive.

He had encountered all the mall employees during the past two days of work. He might not have known every one of them, but they were at least somewhat familiar. Yet he was certain he had never seen this woman during those two days.

Because she was rather pretty.

The female employees at the mall were all unattractive enough that no one wanted to remember them.

"Wake up. Miss, wake up." Yang Jian gave her a push.

Before long, the beauty slowly regained consciousness. But when she opened her eyes and saw Yang Jian, her eyes suddenly widened in terror. She immediately shrank backward as though she had seen a ghost. She tried to scream, but Yang Jian covered her mouth before she could.

"Miss, don't scream. If you bring the ghost here, you'll be the one who dies." Yang Jian hurriedly covered her mouth.

Heh. Women really were another kind of trouble.

Time to go, time to go.

After seeing that she had calmed down somewhat, Yang Jian prepared to leave and find somewhere else to stay.

"W-Wait."

The woman hurriedly grabbed Yang Jian's hand. Looking up at him with fear and unease, she asked, "You're human, right?"

"Of course I'm human. Otherwise, would I be standing here talking to you?" Yang Jian said. "Are you a mall employee?"

"I'm the mall accountant. My name is Jiang Yan. Who are you? How did you get here? And why are you dressed like that?" Jiang Yan clutched Yang Jian's hand tightly and refused to let go.

Yang Jian found it amusing. "I'm a new security guard. I came here to use the restroom. How else would I be here? You, on the other hand, are a woman. Why are you hiding in the men's restroom? When I saw your foot sticking out earlier, it scared me. I thought you were a corpse."

"Th-There's a ghost outside. I didn't dare go out. I've been hiding here for four days. Other than a packet of crackers, I've only had tap water. I'm starving to death. D-Do you have anything to eat?" Jiang Yan asked weakly.

So her poor complexion was from hunger.

"Wait here. Let me see if I have anything to eat." Yang Jian patted his pockets. "Uh, I don't have any food either. But there's food outside. How about we go out and get something to eat?"

"B-But there's a ghost outside." Fear appeared on Jiang Yan's face.

"You know there's a ghost outside? Then that means you've seen it?" Yang Jian finally realized this and quickly asked, "What does the ghost look like? Where is it?"

If Jiang Yan had truly seen the ghost, it would save him a great deal of trouble.

A ghost that had been spotted and confirmed was not quite so terrifying. At least one could guard against it.

The ghosts that could not be found were the truly terrifying ones.

Jiang Yan nodded.

"Then hurry up and tell me. There's a ghost causing trouble outside right now. Boss Tang hired a fraud to come here and get himself killed. If this isn't resolved soon, my payment will go down the drain," Yang Jian said.

Jiang Yan hesitated. "Give me food, and I'll tell you. I'm starving to death."

"I didn't expect you to know how to bargain." Yang Jian gave her an odd look. "But you look so pitiful that I'll get you something to eat."

He immediately left the restroom.

At that moment, there was no one on the first floor of the mall. Some noise came from upstairs, though. It seemed Boss Tang's group had not yet left the mall.

After taking some crackers, snacks, and water from a closed snack shop, Yang Jian returned to the restroom.

At the sight of food, Jiang Yan's eyes lit up. Like a starving wolf, she impatiently tore open the packages and started eating.

Before long, she had finished everything.

"Is there any more?" Jiang Yan looked at Yang Jian expectantly.

"There isn't. There's still a sausage. Do you want it?" Yang Jian asked.

"Where is it? Give it to me, quickly." Jiang Yan said urgently.

"Where do you think?" Yang Jian lowered his head and looked down.

Jiang Yan gave him a somewhat seductive look. "If you can take me out of this horrible place, anything can be discussed."

Yang Jian's eyelid twitched as he looked her over.

Although Jiang Yan looked somewhat haggard, she was indeed quite pretty, easily a seven-out-of-ten beauty. She was not tall, but she had a great figure.

Wait.

What was he looking at? Yang Jian came back to his senses.

"Let's not talk about that for now. You said you saw the ghost before? Then can you tell me what it looks like? Or what kind of thing it is?"

Seemingly reminded of some horrifying memory, Jiang Yan's expression changed slightly. She said fearfully, "Four days ago, I was working at the mall as usual. When I went to the restroom that day, I happened to run into the female cashier named Wei Xiaohong. I was about to leave the restroom when I saw her outside. At first, she was shaking her head in front of the mirror. I thought it was strange and was about to ask her about it, but then I suddenly saw her take off her own head."

"Yes, that's right. Just like a doll, she lifted her head with both hands and took it right off. I was scared senseless. I only ran out of the restroom after she put her head back on."

Jiang Yan gestured with her hands, her emotions growing agitated.

"But as soon as I left the restroom, Wei Xiaohong turned around and looked at me. I was so frightened that I accidentally ran into the men's restroom, then hid here. I've been hiding until now. I thought about running out, but every time, I saw Wei Xiaohong sitting nearby. She was waiting for me, waiting for me outside the restroom. If I went out, she would definitely kill me. I heard ghosts don't dare enter men's restrooms. As long as I stay here, I'll be safe."

Wei Xiaohong?

Yang Jian immediately said, "Impossible. She absolutely cannot be the ghost."

"I'm not lying to you. It really was her. I saw it with my own eyes," Jiang Yan said. "You have to believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you. It's that I trust my own eyes more, because Wei Xiaohong is already dead," Yang Jian said seriously.

The head that had rolled over in the mall before had belonged to Wei Xiaohong.

If she was a ghost, then how could she have lost her head?

Did ghosts have suicidal tendencies?

"It's true. She really took off her own head. I saw it clearly," Jiang Yan said.

"Shh, wait. Someone's coming." Suddenly, Yang Jian covered her mouth and switched off the flashlight.

In the darkness, footsteps approached the restroom.

The footsteps were neither fast nor slow, neither hurried nor sluggish, just like those of an ordinary person walking.

Something was wrong.

Yang Jian's expression tightened.

There was no one left on the mall's first floor. Even if someone were outside, in such pitch-black surroundings, their footsteps could not possibly sound so calm.

Could it be Wei Xiaohong?

He thought of the head left in the mall, deathly pale and reeking intensely of rot.

If Wei Xiaohong really was a ghost, then it did not seem impossible.