Tong Qian's Ordeal

"We're here. Tong Qian is right here."

Held in his arms, unable to move, Zhou Jiefeng led Yang Jian and the others to an inconspicuous hospital in Xiao'an County. The hospital was small, occupying only a six- or seven-story building. It was quite old and dilapidated, probably an old hospital that had been relocated and was left behind.

Although it is an old hospital, it is still open for business as usual, but very few people from Xiao'an County come here for treatment, making it seem very deserted.

"You hid him in the hospital?" Yang Jian glanced at him, but he couldn't be sure because he hadn't used his Ghost Eye to see.

Zhou Jiefeng said, "Yes, we invested in and bought this hospital. Because it's inconspicuous and close to J City, it's a good temporary place to stay."

"Heh, you've explained it in great detail, even more so than I expected," Yang Jian chuckled softly.

Huang Ziya curled her lip and said, "Does he dare not cooperate? He's already in our hands. If he still dares to hide anything, he'll definitely suffer the consequences."

"Where is Tong Qian located in this hospital?" Feng Quan pressed.

Zhou Jiefeng said, "The second basement level."

"Let's go." Yang Jian continued to lead the guy, striding into the hospital.

The security guard at the hospital entrance looked at them curiously, but didn't stop them, because the working environment at this hospital was too lax; it seemed like everyone here was just there to get paid.

This place was originally intended as a cover; it wasn't actually for business or making money.

Following Zhou Jiefeng's description, Yang Jian quickly arrived at the basement, which was where the hospital used to store patients' corpses, commonly known as the morgue. However, the hospital was deserted now, with few patients and no corpses stored there.

"This hospital only has one basement level; there is no second level."

Feng Quan glanced at it and immediately said, "Don't try to play us."

Zhou Jiefeng said, "The second basement level was added temporarily. Nobody knows that there's an inconspicuous hidden door on that wall over there; the entrance is there."

Huang Ziya immediately went over and quickly found the hidden door. After opening it, she indeed saw a staircase leading to the next floor.

"I'll go in and take a look first." Feng Quan glanced at the deep passage and, to be on the safe side, went to scout ahead.

Yang Jian and Huang Ziya did not move, choosing to wait.

Soon, Feng Quan returned. "There's no danger, and no one's down there."

"Did you see Tong Qian?" Yang Jian asked.

"I saw him." Feng Quan's expression seemed rather grim. "His condition is a bit bad. You'll see when you go down and check. It's hard for me to explain clearly right now."

Yang Jian nodded.

Soon, the three of them followed the deep, dark staircase to the second basement level.

The second basement level was spacious, brightly lit, and sparsely cluttered. However, in the center of the room was a large glass case, surrounded by medical equipment and other items.

Inside the glass box lay a person, naked, with various medical tubes inserted into their body, being carefully treated like a critically ill patient.

Moreover, this patient was very strange. He had a male body but a beautiful female face, which gave people a very incongruous feeling. It was as if the face did not belong to this body and was transplanted out of thin air. However, what was most terrifying was not this, but that there were two other faces on the sides of this person's head.

The other two faces looked very strange; one face constantly wore a sinister smile, while the other face looked dejected, as if it were crying.

This is a smiling face and a crying face.

However, all three faces had their eyes closed and were fast asleep, without making a sound.

It's Tong Qian.

Yang Jian approached and immediately recognized the person lying in the glass box.

Compared to before, Tong Qian's condition is now very bad. His face is pale and bloodless, and his body is covered with various surgical scars. There are even several holes in his abdomen and chest cavity, and his arms are connected to IV tubes.

Clearly, Tong Qian suffered inhuman torture during the time she was held captive.

Pei Dong's men tried to uncover Tong Qian's secrets, using many cruel methods.

"How could this be?" Huang Ziya was also very surprised to see this.

"They must have done all sorts of experiments on Tong Qian's body. Some of those IV tubes are for supplementing her body with nutrients, and some are for anesthetics. Through this method, they can keep Tong Qian in a coma for a long time, but Tong Qian definitely won't be able to hold on for long." Feng Quan took a serious look.

Yang Jian's face was gloomy as he looked at the person he was holding. "Look at the mess you dogs have made. Tong Qian has no grudge against you, yet you're so ruthless."

"Once you become Ghost Tamer, you lose all sense of good, evil, and compassion; everything is just about survival."

Zhou Jiefeng said calmly, "Aren't you the same? If a normal person saw this situation, they would definitely be angry, or in pain and sadness, but you are very calm."

"We're all the same kind of people, just with different methods. If you need to kill someone to survive, I think you wouldn't hesitate."

Yang Jian said, "That's right, we're all the same kind of people. It's just that I have a bottom line; I won't kill someone I've never wronged. You people have lost all sense of decency just to survive. If the person lying inside was your parent or relative, would you willingly offer them up for everyone to study?"

Zhou Jiefeng remained silent.

There's a difference between simply trying to survive and surviving by any means necessary.

Yang Jian coldly said, "There's no point in you living. You'll only cause trouble if you live, and you'll be free if you die. The clock curse is just an excuse. To put it bluntly, you're afraid to face ghosts. You know very well how high the mortality rate is when facing real ghosts, so you've set your sights on the living."

"Even when you're about to die, you don't dare to take a gamble. No wonder you guys lost so badly before, only daring to bully Feng Quan because of your numbers."

Feng Quan felt like he'd been singled out and criticized by Brother Leg.

"You are indeed impressive, daring to handle the Starvation Ghost Incident by yourself and taking down the entire circle of friends single-handedly. However, people are different, and not everyone has your abilities," Zhou Jiefeng said.

Huang Ziya said, "Captain, don't waste words with this guy. Just because he dared to attack Feng Quan, the person in charge, it's reasonable and legal to take him down according to Headquarters regulations."

"Long hair, short brains, don't cause trouble. Brother Leg only kept him here to ask some questions," Feng Quan said.

"There's nothing worth asking now. I'm not very interested in the clock curse, but it's true that I want to take care of Pei Dong and his men when we meet next time. It's just that he was in charge before, so he's a bit special. Feng Quan, you should report this to Headquarters and see how they explain it," Yang Jian said.

"Okay, I'll report this to the higher-ups later," Feng Quan nodded.

"Pull out those tubes and bring Tong Qian out," Yang Jian said, then exerted force with his palm.

Click.

With a crisp cracking sound, Zhou Jiefeng's neck snapped to the side, and he died instantly, without any chance to struggle.

With the demon within him suppressed, he is now just an ordinary person, extremely vulnerable.

"After Tong Qian is released, put this guy's body inside. I've looked at this glass box; it's specially made to prevent the intrusion of supernatural forces," Yang Jian said after glancing at it.

Feng Quan and Huang Ziya nodded and immediately began to take action.

Yang Jian remained standing to the side, still holding Zhou Jiefeng's body.

"Feng Quan, go and carry Tong Qian out. He should be considered a man now, and I don't want to have any more contact with him." Huang Ziya turned her head away, unwilling to look any longer.

Feng Quan smiled, his face cracked, as Grave Soil fell in rustling sounds.

He quickly carried Tong Qian out and then found a patient's gown nearby to put on her.

"You can help him recover."

Yang Jian threw the corpse into the glass box and then sealed it.

"All right."

Huang Ziya held the crystal necklace around her neck, somewhat reluctantly.

Huang Ziya extended a finger and touched Tong Qian's body. With the help of the ghost in the crystal necklace, Tong Qian's riddled body healed at a visible speed, and he was completely healed in just a few seconds.

But at the moment of recovery.

Tong Qian tilted her head to the side, revealing a strange, androgynous smile to everyone, and her tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.

His eyes were fierce and sharp, yet they also revealed a kind of indifference and numbness.

"You woke up so quickly?" Huang Ziya was startled and felt a little scared, so she subconsciously took a few steps back.

The next moment, Tong Qian opened her mouth and let out a series of chilling laughs.

Laughter echoed through the second basement level, beginning to invade everyone's bodies.

That's the laughter of a grotesque face; it can be deadly.

"This is bad." Feng Quan's expression changed drastically.

Huang Ziya was the first to be attacked. Although she looked surprised, a smile involuntarily began to appear on her lips. Once the smile was complete, she would be killed by that terrifying laughter.

"Tong Qian, it's me. Calm down." Yang Jian walked over and covered the mouth of that grotesque face.

The terrifying and chilling laughter abruptly stopped.

He knew that this was Tong Qian's overreaction; she thought he and her group were Pei Dong and his men, so she didn't hesitate to take action.

Tong Qian's eyes flickered, as if she recognized Yang Jian and Feng Quan standing to the side.

They were all colleagues from the previous Caesar Hotel incident.

Tong Qian turned her head, her beautiful face facing the crowd, and said, "Yang Jian, where are those people? I'm going to kill them."

His words revealed intense hatred.

"I took down two of them, and the rest escaped. I didn't waste time chasing them; instead, I came straight to you. Your situation is worse than I thought," Yang Jian, then released his grip.

Tong Qian slowly stood up. He looked around and, sure enough, saw a recently deceased corpse lying inside the glass box.

That was just one of them.

"Yang Jian, you're right." Tong Qian paused for a moment, then turned to him with a tearful face.

"What's right?" Yang Jian, somewhat puzzled.

Tong Qian turned around, her beautiful female face looking at him, and said, "I was too naive before. Some people are just beasts, they don't deserve to live in this world at all, they should be killed. If I had been as ruthless as you back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way. I would have had the chance to kill all those people long ago."

"I don't doubt your ability, I just doubt your determination," Yang Jian said.

Tong Qian's abilities are terrifying, and he is an anomaly who managed to kill two ghosts. In other words, he has the ability to fight against any Ghost Tamer and is not worried about the resurgence of vengeful ghosts. His only weakness is that he does not have Ghost Domain.

If she possessed the Ghost Domain, Tong Qian, who already controlled three ghosts, would be perfect and instantly become one of the top Ghost Tamer.

"Now there's no need to doubt it."

Tong Qian turned her head, revealing a strange smile to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian nodded and said, "It's good that you have such thoughts; it's worth it that I saved you three times."

"That's why I trust you. I knew you would definitely come looking for me, but you must have something to say to me," Tong Qian said.

"Nothing special, I just noticed you'd been out of the public eye for a while, so I was checking in on you and your attitude towards the Captain Plan."

Yang Jian said, "But this isn't the place to talk. Let's find somewhere to sit down. It's rare that we're all still alive and can get together again."

"Okay." Tong Qian nodded, but after taking only a couple of steps, her body felt a little unsteady from the long sleep and she fell over.

Feng Quan immediately helped him up; "Brother, be careful."

Brother?

Upon hearing this word, Tong Qian's beautiful face immediately fixed on him. "Feng Quan, do you want to cry or laugh?"

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue," Feng Quan said sheepishly. "You're a beauty, a beauty, okay?"

Yang Jian looked at Huang Ziya and then said, "If you're not used to it, I can help you switch bodies back."

"No need, this is fine. At least I can avoid being humiliated by disgusting people in the future." Tong Qian refused Yang Jian's offer of help. She had gotten used to her current situation and had no intention of changing back.

"I can walk now, you don't need to help me."

Tong Qian pushed Feng Quan away again and insisted on walking alone. Although she was unsteady, she adapted quickly. After all, her weak body had improved. If it were still like before, she probably would have had to be sent to the emergency room for a while.

"Take that glass box with you. This guy controls a ghost, but he possesses a very strong Ghost Domain. It's very valuable. Selling it to the Headquarters would definitely get us a good reward," Yang Jian said.

"That makes sense." Feng Quan nodded.

Soon, the group of four pushed a glass case covered by a white cloth and quickly left the old hospital.

Instead of leaving Xiao'an County immediately, they first bought Tong Qian some clothes and shoes, and then found a restaurant to let Tong Qian eat her fill first.

Although Huang Ziya restored Tong Qian's body using the Liar Ghost's abilities, it didn't fill Tong Qian's stomach.