Following the Trail

After locking the out-of-control Wei Jing in the fourth basement level of the laboratory Yang Jian did not rush to leave.

He investigated the whole incident through Wang Xiaoming, wanting to find out exactly what happened to him after his consciousness was taken away.

"That's how it happened. That's all I can tell you. If you have any questions about the rest, you can investigate it yourself. You're better at that than I am."

Wang Xiaoming said, "Alright, you can leave now. I need to deal with Wei Jing's matter."

Yang Jian said, "I want to take that music box with me."

Although he nearly died from the music box's curse, he still intended to keep this dangerous object.

If one day we can find a way to break the curse of the music box, perhaps we will have some unexpected gains.

"Whatever," Wang Xiaoming said, unconcerned.

He had studied that thing; it was terrifying. Further research would not yield much benefit, but would only bring greater crises. Therefore, that experimental project was stopped long ago.

Yang Jian said, "You owe me three things. I'll contact you when I need them."

After saying that, he didn't hesitate at all, went downstairs to get the music box, and then left the underground laboratory.

The dangerous period has passed, and Yang Jian no longer needs to use the Ghost Domain. He doesn't want to face the risk of the vengeful ghosts resurrecting anytime soon.

Something seems to have happened inside this building.

When Yang Jian returned to the lobby on the first floor, he had nothing else to do this time, so he took a closer look.

He saw many water stains on the ground that hadn't completely dried. These water stains covered the corridor and the stairwell, and there were small footprints of a ghost child on them. But what caught his attention was a larger, strange mark that appeared along the way. It looked like an adult's footprint, but it had no toes and the shape was wrong.

"Something entered this building from the outside during the time my consciousness was stripped away, and then triggered the ghost child's killing pattern, so the ghost child is chasing that thing," Yang Jian pondered.

That's all he can analyze so far.

"Let's follow this mark and take a look."

Yang Jian went up the stairs to the second floor, tracing the clues.

Because the building wasn't complicated, he could determine where the thing that entered the building ended up by looking at the still-wet footprints, without needing to use the Ghost Domain.

The vengeful spirit's abilities should be kept under control if possible.

Temporary convenience will only hasten the resurgence of the vengeful spirit.

Yang Jian followed the latest footprints to the second floor, with Ghost Child behind him. Ghost Child was still holding a rotting human head, like an unruly child who liked to wander around aimlessly. However, he didn't roam very far, and Ghost Child would quickly catch up after him once he had gone too far.

As he followed the footprints down the corridor, he suddenly stopped as he passed an office door.

Although the noise was very faint, Yang Jian could still hear some slight sounds coming from inside, as if people were whispering and discussing cautiously.

"Is someone still here?"

Yang Jian frowned and peeked through the crack in the door. There was no light coming from the room; it was pitch black.

"Open the door," he ordered the child, then stepped back several paces and stood to the side.

Regardless of whether there are people inside or any other situation, having the ghost child at the front is the safest approach.

The ghost child ran to the office door, stretched out a small, bluish-black hand, and pounded on the door violently. The force was so great that it shook the door frame, and the door dented, leaving clear handprints.

Yang Jian's face darkened.

If the Door-Knocking Ghost the door like that back then, he would have died in school and never made it out.

Loud knocking echoed through the building.

Dr. Chen, Assistant Liu, and the others in the room were instantly awakened. Their faces changed drastically, and they couldn't help but tremble.

This noise definitely wasn't from a living person knocking on the door, because a living person couldn't possibly have that kind of strength.

Did the ghosts in this building discover them?

"What should we do?" Someone asked, their face pale and covered in cold sweat.

"Jump from the second floor, it's not a death sentence from that height." Some people immediately prepared to escape through the window, as if they had been planning to do so beforehand.

Others followed suit.

If a ghost rushes in at this moment, it's better to jump down and take a chance. Although you might encounter the ghost again after jumping down, or even trigger the ghost's killing pattern, it's still better than sitting and waiting to die.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the door to the room was deformed from being slammed by the ghost child, and the lock was completely broken. At that moment, the door was opened.

As the outside light shone in, a child with bluish-black skin held a rotting human head in one hand, tilting its head slightly and looking at everything in the room with a hint of curiosity. Its pair of scarlet eyes without pupils were eerie and sinister.

Anyone who saw it felt their scalp tingle and their heart tremble with fear.

The next moment.

The first assistant to climb onto the window didn't hesitate and jumped without saying a word.

We can't wait any longer.

It really was a ghost that walked in; it was that scary child who had been wandering around the building.

"Is there no danger?" Yang Jian saw that the ghost child at the door had not been attacked, and at the same time, he heard screams of alarm from the living inside.

This proves that the room is safe.

"Take it back."

He told the ghost child to step back and decided to go in and take a look himself.

Yang Jian's voice reached the room, Dr. Chen immediately noticed it. He saw the ghost child turn around and run away again, realizing that things had taken a turn for the better, and hurriedly said, "Wait a moment, perhaps the danger has passed. It's Yang Jian's voice."

Although Dr. Chen did not know Yang Jian.

However, they had already reviewed his information and personal details, not just Yang Jian's, but also the information of some of the top Ghost Tamer at Headquarters.

"So it's you." Yang Jian turned on the room lights, glanced around, and recognized the people.

He met with Dr. Chen and his assistant when he first came here a couple of days ago.

"Hello, Mr. Yang." Dr. Chen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly stood up from the ground.

Yang Jian didn't speak, but simply turned and left; "I was just taking a look around, nothing serious. The paranormal events here have been resolved, you can leave anytime."

"Etc."

Dr. Chen hurriedly chased after it, but when he saw the ghostly child running around in the corridor chasing the rotting dead head, he was so frightened that he couldn't help but take several steps back.

Is the ghost still here?

Why wasn't Yang Jian attacked?

Etc.

Could this ghost have been brought by Yang Jian?

In a flash, Dr. Chen thought about many things, then realized what was happening and looked at Yang Jian with a look of astonishment.

This person can actually control this ghost?

If I'm not mistaken, this should be the second stage of the starving ghost. He'd seen that file before, and it matched the image of that starving ghost very well.

"Is there something you need?" Yang Jian turned around and asked expressionlessly.

Dr. Chen, still shaken, withdrew his gaze from the ghost child and said, "Mr. Yang must have come to the second floor to investigate the strange occurrences that had previously occurred in this building."

"You're very smart and have good observation skills. You figured out what I was doing at a glance. Do you have any clues?" Yang Jian.

Dr. Chen said, "I did hear footsteps coming in from outside the building earlier, and then the ghost kept chasing the thing that was invading the building, and it even passed through this corridor several times."

"I can see that," Yang Jian.

"The last time was on the fourth or fifth floor."

Dr. Chen said, "I heard some noise, and I can roughly make out what it is. You can go and look out from the windows on the fourth or fifth floor."

"Not bad, it's somewhat useful."

Yang Jian nodded. "It can save me some time, but why are you telling me so much? You don't need something from me, do you?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing, I just wanted to help Mr. Yang in any way I could." Dr. Chen forced a smile.

Yang Jian glanced at him calmly. Since Dr. Chen had nothing to do with him, he was probably just trying to make amends.

After all, he is now a top-tier Ghost Tamer at the captain level. If he survives, he will definitely become a big shot. Dr. Chen, on the other hand, is just a researcher. Even if he is the head of a laboratory, he still has to rely on some people and forces to survive.

"I understand," Yang Jian said before leaving.

The ghost child retrieved the corpse's head that had rolled away, and then followed him to the fourth and fifth floors to check the situation.

Dr. Chen watched as Yang Jian and the ghost child disappeared at the top of the stairs. Only then did his tense nerves relax a little, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, his back already covered in cold sweat.

"He's a dangerous person."

"Dr. Chen, you knew Yang Jian was a dangerous person, so why did you still contact him? His current state is very strange. I noticed his eyes just now, and he looked at us like we were corpses. I couldn't feel any emotion from the living. Just being looked at by him still makes me feel uneasy."

Assistant Liu said in a low voice.

"There's nothing we can do. The resurgence of vengeful spirits is intensifying. If nothing unexpected happens, these kinds of people will be in charge of everything, and Yang Jian's name will definitely be among them."

Dr. Chen remarked with a touch of melancholy, "Giving a heads-up beforehand, getting acquainted, and leaving an impression—you never know when you might need to ask for favors in the future."

Although he is a scientific research talent, he is ultimately just an ordinary person.

Assistant Liu immediately understood and nodded in deep agreement.

Although Ghost Tamer are terrifying, demons are even more terrifying. At least when facing Ghost Tamer, you still have a chance to survive, but when facing a demon, to be honest, ordinary people can only wait to die.

Yang Jian followed the footprints to the fifth floor.

Beside a window, he saw a puddle of water on the ground, and on that puddle, a dark brown human skin floated quietly, motionless. On the human skin was a small, blackish-blue handprint, which must have been left by the ghost child.

Human skin paper?

Yang Jian was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes narrowed.

What a joke! How did this human skin paper end up here? He remembered putting it in a box and burying it underground using the Ghost Domain.

Without knowing the exact location and possessing a sufficiently powerful Ghost Domain, it's impossible to retrieve this item.

However, before he could think further...

The ghost child saw the human skin paper on the ground, immediately ran over, grabbed it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The ghost child's cheeks immediately puffed up, as if he wanted to eat the human skin paper alive.

"Quick, spit it out!" Yang Jian shouted immediately.