Good and Bad

Huang Ziya, carrying Yang Jian's head, followed the direction the headless corpse had gone.

This street is quite ordinary, straight and easy to navigate, so there's no need to worry about getting lost. The probability of finding a corpse here is relatively high. However, if you factor in the surrounding buildings and shops, the difficulty increases considerably. If you're lucky, you can find the terrifying corpse that's currently in a state of revival after walking a short distance. If you're unlucky, you might not find it even after the ghost on Yang Jian's corpse has fully awakened.

"The bloodstains on the footprints are fading."

Huang Ziya quickly followed the fresh, bloody footprints left by Yang Jian's corpse.

However, when they reached the middle of the street near the road, the bloodstains on the footprints disappeared, leaving no trace on the ground.

"The people on the street have started to panic. They've realized the unusual nature of being in Ghost Domain, so they're all wandering around trying to find a way out." Huang Ziya frowned deeply.

The fact that these passersby are wandering around means that the ghost could attack any one of them. As for which target to choose and where to attack, that's hard to say. If these people were all gathered together, it would be easier to find them.

He glanced at Yang Jian's head, which he was holding in his hand.

Huang Ziya did not receive any notification from Yang Jian, which means that Yang Jian currently has no good way to find the body that belongs to him.

No, to be precise, that can no longer be considered Yang Jian's body; it should be called a headless ghost corpse.

Without Yang Jian's control, his corpse was a genuine vengeful ghost, even more terrifying than ordinary ghosts.

"Keep searching." Huang Ziya looked somewhat anxious; she knew that the sooner she helped Yang Jian find the body, the safer it would be.

If this drags on, all sorts of terrible things will happen.

Yang Jian also saw the bloody footprints disappear on the road. His only remaining Ghost Eye was searching for the headless corpse. Because this Ghost Eye was not one of the eyes that opened the Ghost Domain, it could not understand everything in the Ghost Domain. He could only see with his eyes like an ordinary person.

"Can you find it before my corpse becomes a true vengeful ghost?"

He fell silent.

Although Huang Ziya's rescue and timely understanding of the information were a good start, the current actions are the ones that will truly determine whether she lives or dies.

"My body isn't on the highway." Yang Jian's Ghost Eye eyesight was excellent; he could see from one end of the street to the other.

He quickly searched the pool, but couldn't find a target.

Huang Ziya seemed to have noticed this as well, her gaze frequently shifting between the shops on both sides, as if she suspected that Yang Jian's body might have wandered into one of the shops.

This guess is correct.

At this very moment.

A headless corpse, its body congealed with blood, walked with heavy steps from the place where Yang Jian was attacked, along the wide road towards the end of the crowded street, where most of the passersby who had been caught up in the incident had gathered, discussing the strange phenomena that had occurred there.

A middle-aged man with his back to them appeared to be the target of the headless corpse.

At first, the middle-aged man was discussing the situation with other strangers and had even made phone calls for help.

Sometimes the call would go through, sometimes it wouldn't, as if there was interference. He could barely manage to say a few words, but the other party couldn't hear him at all, just kept saying "hello," which made him so angry that he almost smashed his phone.

But then, the middle-aged man thought that there might be computers in the nearby shops.

If I can't get through on my phone, I should be able to ask for help online via computer, right?

Immediately, the middle-aged man turned and walked towards a nearby shop, trying to borrow a computer to go online. He believed that the shop owner would be very willing to help him in this special situation.

As he turned around, the headless corpse not far behind him also changed direction and followed him. Despite the terrifying danger silently approaching, the man was completely unaware and never looked back.

However, the fact that the middle-aged man did not react does not mean that other passersby did not see it.

"Hey, did you just see that? There was a headless person walking past over there?" Someone's eyes widened, somewhat doubting that they had seen wrong.

"I think I saw it too. That person was covered in blood and was following behind someone else, but I couldn't see the other person's head."

"Are you kidding me? It can walk without a head? Is that a person or a ghost you're seeing?"

Ghost?

When the word was mentioned inadvertently during the discussion, those who were already somewhat uneasy about this strange situation immediately felt a nameless fear.

Could this street be haunted?

But upon closer reflection, I find it hard to believe this absurd conjecture.

Although it was nighttime, the streets were full of vehicles and people. How could it be haunted with so many people around?

Seeing everything covered in red light, some people sensed the impending danger and were trying to leave quickly.

The young couple who had seen the headless corpse stand up earlier now fled the street as if they were running away.

"We need to get out of here quickly, away from that street. We absolutely can't stay there any longer. We weren't mistaken, that headless corpse really did stand up. There's a high chance something supernatural has happened here. Remember those ghost stories that've been circulating online lately?" The young man, pulling his girlfriend along, had already run to the end of the street.

He looked out at the quiet city shrouded in darkness, and his fear deepened.

The young girlfriend was also alarmed and didn't doubt her boyfriend's words, because she had seen what had just happened.

Although they quickly realized what was happening and began to flee, the reality was cruel: they were in the fourth level of the Ghost Domain, and no matter which way they went, they couldn't leave this place.

There is only one way to leave alive: wait for Yang Jian's head to return to his body, and then reclaim the Ghost Domain.

Yang Jian is working hard on this.

Huang Ziya moved quickly; she was still searching for the headless corpse very fast, carrying Yang Jian's head.

As time went by, she grew increasingly anxious.

Because she knew how serious the consequences would be if the vengeful spirit were to resurrect.

"Searching like this is definitely not going to work. The whole street is too big. The body must have run into a nearby shop or building. It will be very difficult to find it unless the ghost starts killing people and the crowd panics. Only then can we pinpoint its location." Huang Ziya said, slightly out of breath.

She was starting to run out of stamina.

"Use the ghost candle." At this moment, Yang Jian also noticed her urgency. The red characters appeared in front of her, giving her some helpful information.

Ghost candle?

Huang Ziya was slightly taken aback.

She quickly understood what Yang Jian meant.

The ghost candle, once lit, can ward off all attacks from evil spirits during its burning period. Anyone covered by the candlelight before it burns out will not be killed by a ghost. This efficacy has been verified through several paranormal events. While it may not be absolute truth, it is highly credible.

However, lighting the ghost candle at this time is clearly not for that purpose.

Instead, we need to detect the ghost's location.

The closer you get to the ghost, the more intensely the ghost candle burns; by using this, you can quickly pinpoint the ghost's location.

Unfortunately, Yang Jian placed the white ghost candle on the corpse; otherwise, the white ghost candle would have been the most effective.

"Alright, let's use the ghost candle." Huang Ziya gritted her teeth, took out the ghost candle left behind by Yang Jian, and lit it.

The eerie candlelight emitted a strange color, and the ghost candle was successfully lit.

There are no ghosts around right now, so the burning speed is not fast, and the ghost candle can last for a considerable period of time.

"The Music Box Curse was not affected by the ghost candle." The eerie bell sound in Yang Jian's mind was still echoing, and it did not disappear with the lighting of the ghost candle.

This shows that the ghost candle was ineffective in front of the music box.

"No wonder the previous users of the music box all died mysteriously; a curse that even ghost candles couldn't stop is indeed very dangerous."

Yang Jian thought to himself.

He wasn't the first person to use the music box to save his life. Cao Yanhua had mentioned before that the music box had gone through several owners and had even been lent to other Ghost Tamer at Headquarters. Although it could prolong life for a period of time, Headquarters tried many methods afterward but failed to overcome this terrible curse.

Cao Yanhua did not recommend Yang Jian's choice, after all, this was not a tool for saving lives, but a tool for killing.

However, Yang Jian is not worried about the music box's curse at all now.

He'd die anyway if his head didn't reattach to his body; whether he was cursed or not was irrelevant.

If Yang Jian survives this, then we can consider dealing with the music box's curse later.

Because she was holding a ghost candle, Huang Ziya became even bolder. Without worrying about being attacked by ghosts, she began to run along the side of the road.

As he ran, he kept an eye on the ghost candle's flame.

Soon.

The ghost candle's effect was fully demonstrated. As they passed a row of shops, the flame on Huang Ziya's candle suddenly expanded, becoming much larger and burning faster than before.

"A ghost is nearby."

Huang Ziya stopped abruptly, her gaze sweeping to the left and right simultaneously with Yang Jian's Ghost Eye.

Soon.

Inside a shop, she witnessed a horrifying scene.

A middle-aged man was sitting in front of a computer in front of a shop counter, seemingly searching for help online, when a bloodied, headless male corpse appeared beside him.

Perhaps because he had been too obvious, the middle-aged man hadn't noticed anything approaching him.

"Found it." Huang Ziya's eyes narrowed.

The location of Yang Jian's body has finally been determined.

However, the headless corpse had already begun attacking the first person. Although Huang Ziya and Yang Jian both saw it, judging from the distance, it was probably too late to stop it.

Even if we can't stop it, we can't do nothing.

"Quick, get out of there!" Huang Ziya rushed over, shouting loudly as she tried to warn the middle-aged man.

The distance from here to the shop is not far, just half a street and a pedestrian crossing. If you're fast, you can get there in about ten seconds.

But while she moved quickly, the ghost killed people even faster.

The headless corpse was already standing behind the middle-aged man, and slowly raised its hands.

The middle-aged man wasn't entirely without awareness; he had noticed someone following him when he entered the shop. However, fearing someone might try to take his computer, he didn't turn around and simply took a seat.

When he came to his senses, he saw out of the corner of his eye that someone was standing behind him.

"Are you here to borrow a computer too? First come, first served. I'll give it back to you after I'm done."

However, before he could finish speaking, the headless corpse behind him raised its hands and grabbed his head.

"What you up to?"

The middle-aged man was startled and instinctively turned around to push the person behind him away, but upon touching him, he realized that the person standing behind him seemed rather strange.

Its body was stiff, cold, and extremely heavy; it was impossible to move it.

Then he realized that the thing reaching out to grab his head wasn't a person at all, or rather, it wasn't a living person at all, but a headless corpse covered in blood.

Fear surged through him instantly, causing even this grown man to scream hysterically.

But the calls had no effect.

Those hands were still gripping his head tightly, with astonishing strength, squeezing his skull until it was slightly deformed.

The headless ghost possesses the ability to dismantle and reassemble corpses; even in the process of reviving, it can still easily remove the head of a living person. However, this ability fails at this moment.

The middle-aged man's head was not removed; it remained on his neck.

"The gloves I'm wearing blocked the ghost's abilities, causing its attack to fail." Yang Jian witnessed this and immediately felt a sense of unexpected gain.

When dealing with the Ghost Painting Incident, he asked Wang Quan for a special pair of gloves to protect himself from the ghost hand's influence and prevent accidentally injuring others. So he still wears these gloves to this day.

The ghostly figure seemed incapable of thought; it did not voluntarily remove its gloves.

In this way, the headless ghost was greatly restricted and unable to use its ghostly hand.

"Chance."

Huang Ziya's eyes narrowed, and her actions became more decisive than usual. It was unclear whether it was the ghost candle in her hand that gave her confidence, or whether Yang Jian had revealed a lot of crucial information to her, making her feel confident about her actions.

She rushed into the shop, intending to put Yang Jian's head back onto the corpse.

However, the moment the door was pushed open...

But the scene before them changed.

There was no headless corpse, and no one had been attacked. Only a bloodied body remained on the ground, its features and head deformed, as if it had been crushed by something. It was as if everything that had just been seen was a scene from just a few minutes ago, and the attack here was over.

"How could this be?" Huang Ziya was stunned for a moment.

The situation seen from the outside and the situation seen from the inside were not synchronized.

"Ghost Domain headless ghost has taken control of the Ghost Eye and is now manipulating the fourth layer of the Ghost Domain. We've been deceived by the Ghost Domain; it's still nearby, but not within this Ghost Domain," Yang Jian explained to Huang Ziya.

At the same time, he sensed that things were getting out of control.

The four layers of Ghost Domain contain ghosts that are almost impossible to defeat, a fact well understood by Yang Jian, who had wielded the Ghost Eye before.

"What do we do then? Does that mean we'll never find your body again?" Huang Ziya exclaimed.

Yang Jian couldn't hear her speak, but he knew Huang Ziya was in a difficult situation. However, he quickly revealed more information. "My body will definitely appear during the next attack; that will be the opportunity."

Regardless of which level of the Ghost Domain one's own corpse is hidden in, when attacking someone, one must be in the same level of the Ghost Domain as others.

That's when you'll be able to touch your own corpse.

Although that's the logic, Yang Jian had to admit that his Ghost Domain was indeed very difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, the headless ghost has not fully recovered yet. Because its hands are wearing gloves, it has not been able to find the head. It has only simply controlled the Ghost Domain. If these restrictions did not exist, that would be truly terrifying.

"I know what to do. This mission is relatively simple and not very dangerous. Captain, don't worry, I'll handle it."

Huang Ziya was not discouraged by one failure.

She had thoroughly figured out the situation here and concluded that it didn't even qualify as a C-class paranormal event. Moreover, with Yang Jian's guidance and Ghost Candle's protection, failure was impossible.

Of course, despite her confidence, Huang Ziya did not forget that she was dealing with a corpse that had not yet been revived, not a ghost that had been revived.

He turned and left, carrying Yang Jian's head.

She was going to find the second victim and get a second chance.

Just when Huang Ziya's operation was going relatively smoothly.

People at Headquarters and in Yang Jian's circle of friends are arguing fiercely about Yang Jian's situation, and both sides need a mutually acceptable solution.

The top floor of Ping An Building.

Jiang Shangbai hung up the phone again, after what seemed like the umpteenth call, and rubbed his head, saying, "Headquarters has agreed to help cover up Yang Jian's murder, but of course, we need to cooperate. In short, we can't let anyone else know that we killed Yang Jian, or the situation will get out of control."

"So, they still compromised," someone sneered.

"There are conditions, aren't there?" Fang Shiming said slowly.

"Yes, there are conditions, roughly three. First, we have to hand over three experimental projects and half of the industry; second, we must participate in the Ghost Painting Operation; and third, we must take charge of the issue of the resurgence of the Yang Jian ghost," Jiang Shangbai said. "There's no room for negotiation. If you don't agree, Old Qin will come to the Ping An Building."

"At that time, apart from the Ghost Tamer join Headquarters, not a single one will be spared."

"We can't agree to this! This is practically cutting off half of our assets!" someone exclaimed, both shocked and furious.

Fang Shiming calmly said, "They're really tough, but it's just a bluff. Although I don't doubt that Headquarters has the ability to wipe out our network, they won't do it because they can't afford the losses. Whether we die or they lose a few captains, it will still cause a supernatural event."

"When we, the living, are fighting to the death, while the vengeful ghosts are causing trouble with impunity, everyone knows what will happen."

"However, we still need to offer a way out. Agree to it first, and then we'll see how things go. Once we've gone too far with our tough stance, we'll have to back down. After that, we won't be able to fight anymore, and it'll be up to each of us to fight for our own interests," Fang Shiming said after thinking for a moment.

"That makes sense." Jiang Shangbai nodded slightly.

At this moment, many people at the conference table breathed a sigh of relief.

This also proves that Fang Shiming's method was correct; he intimidated Headquarters with his tough approach, and Yang Jian's death was indeed a complete waste.

Although some profits were lost, at least the major problem was solved.

But whether it was the Headquarters or the people in their social circles, they all overlooked one reality.

What if Yang Jian didn't die and suddenly returned?

It's important to understand that Yang Jian is unaware that his attack was caused by his social media network, nor is he aware that Headquarters has made a compromise decision. Once he learns the whole truth, the consequences will be dire.

But nobody thinks about that.

Since Yang Jian's situation has been definitively concluded—he died in some unknown supernatural event, there was simply no possibility of him surviving—it's too late.

Nearly six thousand words, which counts as two chapters.