Corpse by the Pillow

The top floor of Shangtong Building.

Yang Jian stood habitually in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window in his office, overlooking the modern metropolis below. His eyes flickered, as if he was thinking about something.

"If I calculate the time, I only have two days left on my deal with the Ghost Wardrobe. If I really agree to Wang Xin's request to deal with the Ghost Knocking incident, I'll only have one day to act at most. This is my protection period."

"There's enough time. If you're really dealing with paranormal events, you can see the results within one or two hours."

He was still hesitant, after all, such a decision was very risky, and there was a real possibility that he would die abroad and never come back.

"Boss Yang, I made you a cup of coffee." Zhang Liqin walked in with the coffee cup. Her job was easy and she didn't have much to do, so she always wanted to find something to do to show off and didn't want to seem worthless.

Yang Jian slowly came to his senses. "What time is it now?"

"It's three o'clock in the afternoon," Zhang Liqin said.

Yang Jian nodded, turned around, walked to his desk, sat down, and took a sip of coffee. "Oh right, I almost forgot, I didn't see Zhang Wei when I came to the company today. Where did he go?"

Zhang Wei?

"I'm not too sure about that, I haven't paid that much attention to Zhang Wei." Zhang Liqin shook her head slightly.

It's normal that she didn't notice Zhang Wei because she didn't know him.

Yang Jian thought for a moment, then took out his phone and started dialing Zhang Wei's number. However, the call didn't go through; the phone was switched off. He checked Zhang Wei's live stream and saw that his last live stream was five days ago, meaning he hadn't been live streaming recently.

"Go downstairs and ask Jiang Yan and Wang Bin where Zhang Wei is. I'll treat him to dinner tonight."

Zhang Liqin nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go ask right away."

After a while, she returned, accompanied by a man in his forties, Zhang Wei's father, named Zhang Xiangui, a well-known wealthy businessman in Dachang City.

"Uncle Zhang, what brings you here?" Yang Jian stood up, somewhat surprised.

Zhang Xiangui looked rather unwell. He said, "I didn't know you were back. Zhang Liqin went to Wang Bin's place just now, and it was Wang Bin who informed me. I'd like to ask you for help with Zhang Wei's matter, and only you can help with this. I didn't contact you before because I saw you weren't back."

"Zhang Wei is in trouble?" Yang Jian frowned.

"Nothing went wrong, he's fine, he's just being controlled by someone," Zhang Xiangui said with a stern face.

"Were you controlled by someone?" Yang Jian was immediately surprised.

Are there still people interested in Zhang Wei these days?

Have you reported it to the police?

Zhang Xiangui shook his head slightly and said, "It won't be of much use. There are too many missing people these days. They can't find out anything over there. Besides, this matter is related to you."

"What does this have to do with me?" Yang Jian asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Xiangui asked, "Do you remember a classmate named Sun Ren?"

"Sun Ren?"

Yang Jian recalled, "I have a vague impression. He was Zhang Wei's high school classmate. We were in the same class. After the incident at school half a year ago, only seven of us survived, and Sun Ren was one of them. However, my relationship with him was just so-so; we didn't talk much."

Back when I was in school, classmates each had their own circles.

Wang Shanshan, Miao Xiaoshan, and the deceased Su Lei belong to the circle of beautiful and academically gifted goddesses. He, Zhang Wei, and Zhao Lei belong to the circle of losers. As for Sun Ren, he belongs to a completely different circle, and they can't get along.

"Zhang Wei went to see him a few days ago, and then I lost contact with him. I can only receive some videos that say Zhang Wei is still alive."

Zhang Xiangui took out a cell phone and said, "Sun Ren said if you come back, use this number to contact him. He has something he wants to tell you. I think he wants to find you through Zhang Wei's connection, but as for the reason, I don't know."

"But no matter what, I hope Zhang Wei returns safely. Yang Jian, I hope you can help me. I'll agree to any conditions."

"No need for conditions. This matter involves some things from the past and is related to me. I will take care of it. Uncle Zhang, don't worry, Zhang Wei will definitely come back safely in a few days," Yang Jian said.

He hadn't expected that Zhang Wei had gone to meet up with someone in person after not seeing him for a few days. Now, things were in trouble.

"Let me see if I can get in touch with that guy Sun Ren." Yang Jian the phone from Zhang Xiangui's hand, and after turning it on, he found that there was only one number saved in the phone.

He dialed the number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Mr. Zhang, I've made myself perfectly clear. Unless Yang Jian answers the phone, I won't say anything." A deep voice came from the other end of the line, sounding nothing like the Sun Ren of the past.

Yang Jian spoke directly, "Sun Ren, it's me, Yang Jian. Where is Zhang Wei?"

"Yang Jian? Heh, it really is you. It wasn't easy to get in touch with you. I couldn't even get into your neighborhood without using some tricks. You're doing pretty well. Zhang Wei is indeed with me. He's eating and living well now, but he's a bit restricted in his movements." Sun Ren laughed, though his mood seemed a little off.

"Zhang Wei went out of his way to visit you, and this is how you treat your classmate? Do you even know what you're doing?" Yang Jian's voice turned cold.

Sun Ren replied, "To be honest, I wouldn't want to deal with you if I wasn't desperate. After all, you've been Ghost Tamer for half a year, and I'm not sure how dangerous it is. So I had no choice but to cause trouble for Zhang Wei. Don't blame me; you have to take risks to survive."

"It seems you've been through quite a bit and know a lot. If I'd known you'd end up like this, you should have died at school back then," Yang Jian said.

It seems that not all of the six classmates I rescued were normal; occasionally, one or two scumbags would emerge.

"It's too late to say anything now, Yang Jian. I don't want to waste my breath on you. I can let Zhang Wei go back, since he's not my target anyway. But I have conditions," Sun Ren said.

"Speak," Yang Jian said calmly.

Sun Ren said, "Hehe, I need a ghost, a ghost that's been imprisoned."

Yang Jian frowned. Sure enough, this guy had also started getting involved in the paranormal world. He wasn't after Zhang Wei for money, but to use Zhang Wei as a connection to scheme against him. It seemed that the Ghost Knocking incident had a significant impact on him; otherwise, he wouldn't have become interested in paranormal events.

That thing can be terrifying and deadly.

"Is this guy trying to become Ghost Tamer on his own initiative? Or has he already become Ghost Tamer?"

"You're playing with fire, Sun Ren. For the sake of our classmate relationship, it's not too late to back down," Yang Jian said in a deep voice. "That thing is not something you can touch."

Sun Ren's voice continued on the phone, "What I do is none of your business. Just give me a straight answer: either agree to my demands, or you can wait to collect Zhang Wei's corpse. I'm just a worthless person now, I don't care anymore."

"You've changed a lot." Yang Jian detected a hint of madness in Sun Ren's voice.

This guy has gone to an extreme; he doesn't care about his own life or death anymore, which shows he's been greatly provoked.

"People change, aren't you the same?" Sun Ren said.

Yang Jian said in a deep voice, "Fine, I agree to your request. A ghost, right? I'll give it to you, but I need to video chat with Zhang Wei."

"You're as straightforward as ever. No problem, just wait a few minutes," Sun Ren said, then hung up the phone.

Yang Jian looked at the phone that had been hung up, then said, "Uncle Zhang, go to the safe house. There are two golden boxes inside. Bring one back with you. Be careful not to break it. There are unknown ghosts inside. Also, don't touch anything inside; it's very dangerous."

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away." Zhang Xiangui took a breath, then immediately turned and left.

"Go and inform Zhang Hua to come over and tell him we have something to do," Yang Jian added.

Zhang Liqin nodded and immediately left the office.

An old rental room in a small city.

Zhang Wei was locked in a small room with the iron door welded shut and the doors and windows sealed off. Above him was only a dim light bulb emitting a hazy glow.

"Zhang Wei, you're pretty much free now. I just contacted Yang Jian, and he agreed to my request. Hey, Yang Jian is a true friend; it was definitely the right thing to do to catch you."

At that moment, a young man with a haggard look and a pale face walked over with his phone in his hand.

Sun Ren patted the iron gate. "I already told you your gun-shaking technique is fake, fake! You're still practicing? Come over here quickly, Yang Jian wants to video call you."

Inside the room, Zhang Wei stood there calmly, striking strange poses.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei immediately stopped what he was doing, shut his mouth, and walked over without saying a word.

Sun Ren said, "Wait a moment, I'll contact him now."

But before he could finish speaking, Zhang Wei suddenly leaned forward and spat a mouthful of phlegm directly onto Sun Ren's face. He then immediately raised his middle finger and yelled, "You son of a bitch, Sun Ren, how dare you lie to me! I'll spit you to death!"

Sun Ren wiped his face, feeling as if he'd been doused with a bucket of water. "Where did all that saliva come from?"

"I've been waiting for this for half an hour," Zhang Wei sneered.

"You are very patient."

Sun Ren stared at him and said, then connected the phone to a video call, pointing it at his face; "I'll only give you a maximum of two minutes for the call."

As the video connection was established, Yang Jian's image appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Brother Leg, have you eaten yet?" Zhang Wei greeted him immediately.

Yang Jian said, "How did you end up in Sun Ren's hands? Where's your weapon? Why didn't you just shoot this guy?"

"Don't even mention it, I fell for that bastard's trick."

Zhang Wei grumbled, "He treated me to dinner, put drugs in my drink, and I woke up like this. I don't know what happened, my butt still hurts a little."

"This is probably what happens when you meet someone in person."

Yang Jian said, "I just talked to Sun Ren, and he'll let you go. Your dad is waiting for you at home. Don't run around aimlessly in the future. If you need to meet anyone, have them come to Dachang City. This is my territory, and I make the decisions. I can't control other places."

"That makes sense. I feel sorry for my female fans. I haven't been online for several days. They must have fallen into someone else's arms. Last time, a female celebrity even gave me a tip. I'll invite her to Dachang City next time."

Zhang Wei said regretfully, showing no awareness whatsoever that he was being locked up.

"Oh, right, I left you a gift in the computer room, in your computer. Be careful, don't let your Jiang Yan find it, she often goes through your computer," Zhang Wei chuckled again.

Yang Jian didn't know what to say.

"There aren't many people as outstanding as you these days."

"Alright, you guys are treating this like a chat." Sun Ren immediately took the phone and looked at Yang Jian, saying, "That's it. I'll send you the address. I'll pick it up after you deliver the package. Don't try anything funny, or I'll kill Zhang Wei."

"Don't worry, I won't try anything funny. I'm very busy here and don't have time to waste on you. It's just a ghost that's been imprisoned. Consider it a gift to you. But next time we meet, you'd better be careful," Yang Jian said calmly.

Sun Ren smiled and said, "Let's talk about it when we meet again."

After saying that, he hung up the video call.

"That's roughly what happened, Zhang Hua. Could you arrange for someone to go through with it for me?" Yang Jian said, putting down his phone expressionlessly.

Zhang Hua, who had just arrived, pondered for a moment and said, "That's no problem. I'll go back and retrieve Sun Ren's information, then track his location. It can be done within a day."

"No need. Complete the deal with him first. Once you're sure Zhang Wei is back safely, then issue the arrest warrant. As soon as you find him, kill him immediately. Don't try to arrest him. He's involved in paranormal events and is a dangerous person. This is no longer a simple case of ordinary criminal activity," Yang Jian said, looking at him.

You understand what I mean, right?

"Okay, I know what to do," Zhang Hua said, having no objection to Yang Jian's arrangement.

This kind of thing definitely needs to be taken seriously.

"Alright, go investigate that Sun Ren. I'll leave this matter to you. As for the items, Zhang Xiangui will send them over later. I hope to hear news of Sun Ren's death in a few days," Yang Jian.

Zhang Hua nodded solemnly.

This is his first task, and if he doesn't do it well, he'll probably have a hard time establishing himself in the company.

In a small city.

After thinking it over, Sun Ren quickly sent an address. Although he knew Yang Jian might retaliate against him for this, he couldn't care less.

After doing all this, he turned off his phone, threw it away, and lay down on the bed, feeling exhausted.

He was suffering from a terrible torment. Sun Ren had tried to enter the paranormal community to find a solution, but he was not Ghost Tamer, so no one cared about him, and he could never get in touch with the people in the real community.

I wanted to ask Yang Jian for help.

But he almost lost his life there, and from then on, he changed his mind.

Ultimately, one must rely on oneself.

Sun Ren slightly raised his hand; several fingers were missing from his hand, as if they had been bitten off alive by something.

As his mind wandered, he drifted off to sleep.

However, just as I was drifting off to sleep, the room door opened strangely with a creak, as if there was no wind.

A pale figure seemed to walk in from outside the door.

It was a cold, pale corpse. Judging from its physical characteristics, it should be the body of a woman. The corpse seemed to have appeared out of thin air, without the slightest warning.

The female corpse came to Sun Ren's bedside, then collapsed heavily beside him, with a cold, stiff drape over Sun Ren body.

Sun Ren felt suffocated, felt an unbearable chill, and he could even touch the dead man's hair wrapped around his fingers, the sensation incredibly clear.

Suddenly,

He opened his eyes and sat bolt upright in bed with a start.

He was alone in the brightly lit room. There was nothing pressing down on him, no hazy, pale corpse, and no hair tangled in his hands. It was as if everything that had just happened was a nightmare.

However, when Sun Ren looked at the previously locked door, his heart sank.

All five or six locks were broken, and the door was half-open, as if something had just entered the room.

That female corpse wasn't a nightmare.

"Damn it, it's here again, it's getting closer and closer. I clearly felt that hand pressing down on me just now, when it was just standing by my bedside." Sun Ren's hands trembled as he recalled the terrifying scene from before.

One time, he vaguely opened his eyes while sleeping and saw a pale female corpse standing by his bedside, staring at him eerily. The scene terrified him.

But then, in the blink of an eye, the female corpse vanished.

He suspected he was hallucinating, but the nightmare persisted. To prove that his experience wasn't a dream, he even installed a camera.

The result was disheartening. His security camera didn't capture the ghost, but it did capture his bedroom door opening automatically at some point, as if the ghost had already entered his room at that moment, but he just couldn't see it.

After watching the video, Sun Ren realized that he was being targeted by a ghost.

Just like the incident I experienced back in No. 7 Middle School, except this time the ghost was different; it was no longer an old man, but a female corpse.

From then on, he dared not sleep anymore, because as soon as he woke up, the female corpse would appear.

Each time it gets closer.

This time it was already next to the pillow. If this continued, Sun Ren felt he was definitely doomed.

Becoming Ghost Tamer and driving away the ghost is Sun Ren's only way to survive.

I dared not sleep any longer.

Sun Ren hurriedly got up and went to the toilet. He needed to wash his face and calm down.

"Sun Ren, you had another nightmare? Tell me quickly, was that female corpse pretty? Did she have a good figure? If you don't want her, give her to me, I'm fine with it." As they passed another room, Zhang Wei immediately pressed him for an answer.

During the few days he was detained, Sun Ren became less tight-lipped and briefly told Zhang Wei about his situation.

"Shut up, Zhang Wei."

Sun Ren had just been startled awake and was in a terrible mood. He ignored Zhang Wei and left on his own.

"I can do it, I really can!" Zhang Wei continued to shout.

Sun Ren felt that Zhang Wei's taunt was deadly, giving him an urge to kill.

"I almost forgot, I should have told Brother Leg about this. Maybe he'd be interested," Zhang Wei mused.

"Wait, Sun Ren, don't go! I just thought of something else. According to Brother Leg's rules, we have to give each paranormal event a code name. I've already thought of one for you: 'Sleep Paralysis.' What do you think? I'm so envious of you. You only encounter female ghosts, unlike Brother Leg and me, who only encounter monsters."