Content That Could Not Be Completed

Yang Jian stood motionless atop the deserted clock tower. At the top of the tower was a small compartment containing a vintage wooden cabinet. The cabinet was old-fashioned and full of historical significance, but the red paint on it looked as if it had just been applied, a vivid, bright crimson, as if it had been soaked in blood.

There was an indescribable eeriness about it.

Even in broad daylight, standing under the sunlight, one can still feel an unusual chill near this wooden cabinet.

The note he had written had already been stuffed into the ghost cabinet. Yang Jian stared at it without moving, waiting for the ghost cabinet's reply.

He had roughly figured out the rules of Ghost Chest's transactions last time; they were simple, yet terrifying.

Yang Jian's first attempt started a trading game with Ghost Chest. The rules of this game were simple: both parties would propose conditions and then fulfill them.

It sounds like a mutually beneficial arrangement, with a friendly and cooperative spirit, but in reality, living people simply can't afford to trade with the Ghost Shop. This is because after each transaction, the Ghost Shop will increase the stakes, and the conditions for completion will become increasingly difficult, until you die and the next trader appears.

There is a way to interrupt a transaction: complete the task given by the Ghost Chef and then give up making any further requests.

It's like exchanging two conditions for one, and you end up losing out a little.

Yang Jian was unaware of this when he first made a deal with Ghost Chest, so he suffered a loss, had to interrupt the transaction, and pay an extra condition.

He felt it was best not to interrupt transactions with Ghost Wardrobe in the early stages, and to stop after two or three transactions. However, the previous user of Ghost Wardrobe had not left any information about this.

Perhaps out of fear of the haunted cabinet, or perhaps to warn those who come after, since only by figuring it out can one truly understand its horror and eeriness.

"The biggest taboo in dealing with ghost cabinets is greed, but every Ghost Tamer is a desperate gambler, and overcoming greed is extremely difficult. After all, people who are about to lose their lives are willing to do anything."

Yang Jian pondered to himself, feeling that this haunted wardrobe was very much like Pandora's box.

An invisible curse was unleashed from the moment the transaction began.

This curse doesn't come from the wardrobe itself, but from within each person's heart.

"After this transaction, the Ghost Cabinet will definitely make extremely demanding requests, and with my current abilities, the possibility of fulfilling them is extremely low, or even a matter of life and death," Yang Jian analyzed the situation.

Finding the ghost in the photo almost killed him inside the ghost painting; if it weren't for the music box's curse, he wouldn't have been able to come back alive.

Therefore, after this transaction was completed, he had a bold idea.

That was to chop the haunted cabinet down with a strange wood-chopping knife.

Wasting a spot, chopping up this wooden cabinet, dismembering this eerie object.

Yes, Yang Jian is considering this matter now; in other words, he plans to renege on his deal once Ghost Chest completes it.

I'm done playing.

Flip the table.

If he continued playing, Yang Jian felt he would definitely suffer the same miserable fate as the previous Ghost Wardrobe user, so the best way was to forcefully quit at a suitable opportunity.

The curse of the music box was the catalyst.

Something's not right.

As Yang Jian pondered how to renege on his debt, his expression suddenly shifted as he noticed that the ghost cabinet in front of him seemed different from before.

The paper that was sent in seemed to have been swallowed up and never returned. There was no information given, nor any sign of a transaction. The ghost cabinet remained completely calm throughout, as if it were unresponsive.

"Judging from the last time, Ghost Market should have reacted immediately after I completed the transaction. Why is it taking so long this time?"

He frowned slightly, a question forming in his mind.

Could it be that this ghost cabinet is even more despicable than itself, knowing that it's going to renege on its debt, and therefore trying to cheat in advance?

No, that's unlikely.

"Let's wait a little longer."

Yang Jian wasn't too anxious; he still had time. Only half a day of the three-day curse period had passed.

About ten minutes passed.

Suddenly.

Suddenly, one of the cabinet doors beneath the otherwise quiet and unassuming wardrobe moved slightly, bulging out as if it were about to open.

"They've arrived."

Yang Jian immediately opened the cabinet door, and sure enough, there was a piece of paper inside, the very one he had slipped in earlier.

There were two sentences on the paper.

The first sentence he just wrote is: I've found it; help me break the curse on the music box.

The second sentence appeared below, the handwriting distorted, completely illegible, like irregular black marks twisted together; unable to break the music box's curse, a different request was made.

"What?"

A strange look appeared on Yang Jian's face. What was this? He had gone to great lengths to help him find the source of the ghost in the painting, only to be told in the end that he couldn't break the music box's curse?

Did I overestimate the power of the Ghost Cabinet?

Or perhaps the music box's terror surpasses the capabilities of the haunted wardrobe.

"No, perhaps there's a problem with my request. To break the music box's curse? That's like asking the Ghost Cabinet to eliminate a ghost, and ghosts can't be killed, so the Ghost Cabinet can't do it."

Yang Jian began to reflect again, realizing that his demands were unreasonable.

It should be written as letting the curse of the music box leave oneself, or transferring the curse of the music box.

This way, there's no need to break the curse; Yang Jian only needs to escape it.

But then he hesitated.

Will I die immediately once I'm free from the music box's curse?

"Transferring the curse is a risky undertaking, but there should still be a chance of survival."

The inability to eliminate the curse meant he had no foolproof options and was forced to take a risk and make a choice.

After much deliberation, Yang Jian decided to write the following sentence on a piece of paper, "Help me transfer the curse of the music box to a dog in the neighborhood."

The curse of the music box should ideally have a bearer, and he thought an animal would do, so he could have a dog die in his place, thus minimizing the loss.

But he paused when he was about to stuff the note in.

"If the curse of the music box really can be transferred, wouldn't it be a waste to transfer it to a dog? What if it were transferred to a ghost? Once the curse of the music box is applied, the ghost will be attacked by the curse. What kind of result would that have?"

Yang Jian's eyes lit up as he thought of another idea.

Ghosts cannot die, but music boxes can kill those who are cursed.

The clash between the two will likely cause one of the ghosts to crash.

"That is indeed a feasible method."

He was now pondering which ghost he should transfer the curse to.

Having mastered three ghosts, the headless ghost shadow was in a malfunctioning state and could be ignored. The ghost hand was incomplete and had already become ineffective after losing two suppression slots. Even with the curse, it wouldn't make much difference. Therefore, only the Ghost Eye remained usable.

Transferring the curse to the Ghost Eye?

This is a somewhat crazy idea, but if it succeeds, Yang Jian will solve the problem of Ghost Eye's revival, which will be of immense help to him.

"Never mind, let's give it a try."

The temptation was too great, Yang Jian felt an urge to try it.

He knew that even if he solved the curse on the music box, he had already used the sixth level of his Ghost Eye. If it weren't for the curse suppressing him, he would have died from the resurgence of the Ghost Eye. So once he solved the curse problem, he didn't even know if he could suppress the Ghost Eye with just one spot.

Rather than solving the curse and then dealing with the Ghost Eye problem, it's better to solve it once and for all.

If this succeeds, Yang Jian will grow to an unimaginable height.

"Help me transfer the curse of the music box to the Ghost Eye."

With gritted teeth, Yang Jian wrote down those words, not even giving himself time to regret it, and sent them directly into the ghost cabinet.

It was risky, but the risk was worth it.

Soon.

The cabinet door beneath the ghost cabinet made a sound again, this time without any delay.

Yang Jian opened the cabinet door and took out the note again. His heart sank. The distorted handwriting on the note revealed the same sentence as before: Change the request.

But this time, Ghost Chef didn't say it was impossible; he simply changed his request.

In other words, it could have done it, it could have transferred the curse, but it didn't.

What could be the reason for this?

Yang Jian's gaze darkened. He began to realize that the trading rules of Ghost Chest were not as simple as he had imagined, and that there were some restrictions he was unaware of before.

He wondered if his expectations were too high, which was why Ghost Chef refused.

This is highly likely.

After all, his previous transactions with the Ghost Cabinet were all small-scale. Last time, it was just about finding Zhao Lei's location. This time, it has escalated to the point of transferring the Music Box Curse. Although transferring the curse sounds simple, it actually involves interfering with a ghost's killing patterns, which is a level of difficulty that is not the same as before.

Is it because the number of transactions is too small, resulting in low transaction amounts?

Only after several transactions and increasing costs can Yang Jian make some excessive demands?

Yang Jian recalled a warning left by a previous user of the Ghost Cabinet: You will have everything, and you will lose everything.

At first glance, it sounds like a warning.

But this might also be a reminder that the deal is likely a reciprocal one, where you have to lose as much as you gain.

Yang Jian only found the ghost in the ghost painting. Although he experienced terrible danger, it was because the Ghost Painting Incident broke out. If the Ghost Painting Incident had not broken out, he would have completed his mission by just glancing at the ghost painting. It couldn't be easier. Therefore, Ghost Cabinet refused the request.

Regardless of the outcome, Yang Jian is now in a dilemma.

Because the Ghost Chef couldn't remove the music box's curse in a short time.

Therefore, the "ghost cabinet" plan was a failure.

"Does that mean we have no choice but to trust Wang Xiaoming's plan?" Yang Jian hesitated.

He didn't dare to follow Gambling Wang Xiaoming's plan, because that plan was likely based on the human skin paper, and he didn't know what traps might be set in it. If he accidentally stepped on one, the consequences would be dire.

"Since Ghost Cabinet can't fulfill my requirements, perhaps it can help me correct the flaws in Wang Xiaoming's plan and increase my chances of survival." Yang Jian quickly came up with another compromise.

He knew that Wang Xiaoming's plan was likely to be effective, but it also contained a trap, which could be solved using the Ghost Cabinet.

This request is not difficult, and the cost is much less than transferring the Music Box Curse; the Ghost Cabinet certainly won't refuse.

"This should work," Yang Jian thought to himself.