The Fatal Footsteps

I've become Ghost Tamer?

Still shaken, Li Yang stared at Yang Jian with an incredulous look, somewhat bewildered, as if pondering the meaning of the words "Ghost Tamer."

"Don't look at me like that. You'll soon find out what really happened to you."

Yang Jian didn't spend much time explaining. Looking at the rotting corpse at the door of the room, he roughly understood what had happened.

The ghost Blocking Door wasn't this corpse, but a vengeful spirit possessing a person, similar to a curse. It had no physical form. Just now, I suppressed this ghost, causing the corpse to lose the support of supernatural power, completely fall apart, and become unable to move.

So the ghost chose to possess another person.

Li Yang, who was closest to the demon, became its target.

Of course, this is just a guess. It's also possible that the last person to leave the room will continue the curse and exist in place of the ghost.

In conclusion

Becoming Ghost Tamer is an accident caused by various supernatural events. Yang Jian himself cannot explain this situation. He only knows that some ghosts can be controlled by the living, while others will kill the living if they touch them. As for where the boundary is, even Wang Xiaoming would probably have a hard time figuring it out.

"I think I understand what you mean. I'm now one with the ghost in the room. I've become it?" Li Yang was quick to accept this, after all, he had lived here for several months.

Yang Jian was slightly surprised. "Your understanding is correct, but you didn't become it; you were controlled by the ghost."

"But I don't feel like I'm being controlled," Li Yang said.

Yang Jian said, "That's because it's only just begun. It's like getting cancer; how could you die right away? It needs time to develop. The same principle applies to Ghost Tamer. As time goes by, you'll feel the presence of the ghosts in your body more and more. They will constantly erode you, and you'll need to constantly fight against them. But in the end, you'll still end up like this."

After he finished speaking, he pointed to the rotting, broken corpse in front of him.

"How could this be?" Li Yang exclaimed in horror.

He then realized that the corpse in front of him might be the same fate as the previous person who had been possessed by a ghost, and that he himself would soon become like that.

"How can I avoid this outcome?"

Immediately, Li Yang pressed on with more questions.

Yang Jian had already withdrawn his gaze and was looking elsewhere when he casually said, "It's unavoidable. When you're about to collapse, you might consider controlling a second ghost to fight against the one inside you. This way, you can prolong the time it takes for the ghost to kill you."

"Control two ghosts? Wouldn't that just lead to an even faster death?" Li Yang felt a chill run down his spine when he heard this method.

One ghost possessing you already causes fear and unease; if another ghost comes along, how could you possibly survive?

"Indeed, they'll die even faster. Most people wouldn't even have the chance to control two ghosts."

Yang Jian said, "But you don't need to worry. At least while you're still alive, you can possess ghostly abilities to some extent, and you'll have some ability to protect yourself if you encounter supernatural events in the future."

"Let me give your ghost a code name, how about 'Blocking Door Ghost'? Or 'Ghost Blocking Door' is also fine, choose one."

Li Yang fell silent.

He then remembered that Yang Jian had mentioned his code name during his self-introduction: Ghost Eye.

He looked carefully into Yang Jian's eyes.

Li Yang noticed that this person's eyes were normal, exactly like those of an ordinary person. The only difference was that his gaze was somewhat cold, as if he had no emotions, which made people feel very uneasy.

"Are you observing me? Or searching for the ghost inside me?" Yang Jian glanced at him. "We've wasted enough time. Keep searching. This place isn't big; the ghost painting must be here."

Li Yang immediately looked away, then exchanged a few words with Jimmy beside him, telling him that the operation should continue and that they hadn't found what Yang Jian was looking for in that room.

Jimmy nearly fainted upon hearing the news.

But at this point, they no longer had the option to make the decision.

With no other option, the two could only continue searching the third floor with Yang Jian.

"Unexpectedly, I've gained another Ghost Tamer. With my Ghost Eye restricted, he might be of some help at times," Yang Jian thought to himself.

Although it caused some delays, the addition of a potential helper is good news.

Otherwise, if he were to encounter any real danger on his own, it would be quite difficult for him to cope.

"Including the guy in the room just now, at least six Ghost Tamer have died in this small floor. Besides the ghost Blocking Door the door in the room and the ghost on this wooden staircase, there might be other ghosts here. They may not all have left." Yang Jian analyzed the situation, his mood not good.

The situation here is more complicated than imagined.

The only saving grace is that they haven't encountered any truly terrifying ghosts yet.

Soon.

The three of them began searching the floor, and Yang Jian led them into a room next door.

The room was locked, and there was nothing inside. Yang Jian searched very carefully, even using his Ghost Shadow skill to conduct a thorough search, but found nothing.

There were no abnormalities in the third room.

There were no abnormalities in the fourth room.

Apart from the room where the ghost blocked the door, there seemed to be no ghosts lingering in the other rooms.

Yang Jian was almost certain that the third floor was safe.

"Isn't the ghost painting on the third floor?" Yang Jian returned to the middle of the corridor on the third floor. He pondered for a moment, his gaze involuntarily rising upwards.

Perhaps it's on the fourth floor.

The third and fourth floors are very close together, so it's quite possible that the ghost drawing is hidden on the fourth floor.

"Should we continue searching?" After hesitating for a long time, Li Yang couldn't help but ask.

He wasn't Yang Jian. In such a highly stressful environment, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to withstand it. Even Jimmy next to him wasn't as lively as before. If this continued, they would all have mental problems.

"This is my mission here, and I will not leave until it is completed."

After Yang Jian finished speaking, he looked at Li Yang and said, "You've come this far and you're still thinking about backing down? Don't be stupid. Even if you go back to where you were hiding, can you guarantee you'll leave alive?"

"It's just a matter of surviving a few more days. If I want to leave, I'll have to face the ghosts head-on. Even the exit I know isn't necessarily safe; it's fraught with great danger."

"I understand." Although Li Yang didn't understand much, he knew in his heart that Yang Jian was right.

The only way to survive is to find clues and an exit through the ghosts.

Running away is pointless.

He had been wandering in this ghostly world for months, and his situation was becoming increasingly miserable, with fewer and fewer people surviving around him. He didn't even know when he would die here.

"Go to the fourth floor."

Yang Jian's eyes flickered slightly; he had made such a dangerous decision.

Since the ghost painting isn't on the third floor, it's highly likely it's on the fourth floor.

He's already very close to the source; he won't back down or give up now.

"There's a ghost standing on the wooden stairs. Judging from the footsteps I just heard, the ghost is most likely on the fourth floor. If I go up the stairs, I'm bound to run into the ghost. It's unavoidable. But everything else has been changed by the ghost painting. All the paths are blocked, except for this staircase."

Yang Jian looked at the old wooden staircase.

The staircase wasn't affected by the ghost drawing because the staircase is haunted; otherwise, it would have disappeared by now. Just like the room we were in earlier, wherever there's a ghost, the impact of the ghost drawing can be reduced to some extent.

"You all stay here and keep an eye on the third floor for me. I'll go check the fourth floor and come back when I'm sure the stairs are okay."

Yang Jian did not allow Li Yang and the man named Jimmy to follow.

Asking them to follow at this point would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths. Moreover, Li Yang had only just become Ghost Tamer, and Yang Jian didn't want him to be resurrected by a vengeful ghost and die again, lest he have to deal with the ghost inside his body again.

Neither of them had any objections.

Yang Jian chose to scout ahead alone.

There aren't many steps leading to the fourth floor; it's a staircase where you can see right to the bottom.

The stairs were somewhat steep and narrow, and the wooden stairs inevitably creaked when stepped on.

Although the sound was not loud, it was particularly clear in the quiet, oppressive, and dimly lit environment.

"Creak!"

Yang Jian had only taken one step when a response came from upstairs immediately—a heavy footstep seemed to be coming down from upstairs.

"The sound is back." Li Yang looked up and couldn't help but feel nervous.

But Yang Jian didn't hesitate at all. The curse of the music box was still echoing in his mind, so he wasn't afraid of the ghost coming down the stairs. He quickly started walking up the stairs again.

Step by step, though the pace was somewhat slow, it was very decisive.

Soon, he had climbed halfway up the stairs, and by then he could look up and see the fourth floor.

The layout was the same as the third floor, except that there were not as many corpses on the ground, and everything seemed perfectly normal.

However, the footsteps on the stairs were already very close. He was certain they were right above him, separated by a wooden step, less than five meters apart.

"The ghost is on the stairs leading from the fourth to the fifth floor, and it's currently going down. It's in a similar position to where I am now, and it's already halfway down the stairs. If I keep going forward, I'll meet the ghost in the stairwell on the fourth floor."

After some estimation, Yang Jian was now quite certain of the ghost's exact location.

"Since we can't avoid it and it's unavoidable, let's confront this ghost head-on."

After thinking it through, he acted even faster.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, then stared intently at the stairwell leading to the fifth floor.

The ghost is about to appear.

The next moment.

Yang Jian clearly heard heavy footsteps beside him, and that they had come down from the fifth floor. Logically, they should now be on the fourth floor.

But I didn't see anything.

I didn't see any ghosts, nor did I notice anything unusual.

But then...

Yang felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, as if his consciousness was about to vanish. He lost his balance and collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, as if he had suddenly died.

He was attacked by a ghost.

After collapsing, Yang Jian vaguely felt an indescribable chill lingering around him, as if someone was walking back and forth beside him, making heavy footsteps.

But the footsteps lingered around him a few times before gradually disappearing, as if they were moving away, or perhaps Yang Jian was already "dead" and no longer fit the target of the attack.

As the footsteps gradually faded away.

Yang Jian quickly felt his consciousness rapidly returning, and the familiar music box sound in his mind pulled his previously lost consciousness back.

"I almost died again?"

When he regained consciousness, Yang Jian felt a wave of fear.

This was the third time he had been saved by the curse of the music box's bells. The first time was when he was attacked by Ghost Scissors, the second time was when he was attacked by the sound of a piano, and this was the third time. As for the time he was slashed by a strange woodcutter's knife, that didn't count; that was a deliberate test, unlike the other times.

All three attacks were bizarre and deadly attacks. If Yang Jian hadn't been cursed by the music box, he would have been killed without any chance of survival.

"Are the ghosts lurking on these stairs really that terrifying? If they target me, even I could be killed." Yang Jian struggled to his feet.

We've gotten used to this.

Of course, if he weren't cursed by the music box, he would never have taken such a risk, knowingly venturing up the stairs despite the ghosts.

He was now on the fourth floor, and he no longer heard that eerie footsteps.

Perhaps it left. Or perhaps it's still lingering around, but because Yang Jian is no longer the ghost's target, it hasn't continued to be attacked.