A Buddhist Land in Dreams (II)

But the temple was only a disguise. Yang Jian did not dare destroy that old Republican-era residence, nor did he want anyone to discover it, so he could only use another building to conceal the place.

A high wall surrounded the entire temple, and an antique-style gate painted red was locked tight. There seemed to be no one inside.

After finishing the cola in his hand, Yang Jian vanished from where he stood and went inside.

"Yang Jian, you're back?"

A cool voice rang out. Wang Shanshan emerged from a room on the second floor and looked at Yang Jian with calm eyes.

That room had previously housed the Ghost Cabinet. After the renovation, it had become Wang Shanshan's bedroom.

Beside Wang Shanshan stood a child whose entire body was bluish-black. Yang Jian had come here precisely for this thing.

"Yeah, I just got back. I came to take a look."

Yang Jian casually tossed the cola bottle into the trash. His Ghost Eye had been observing the little boy beside Wang Shanshan all along.

The Ghost Child.

It was a product born during the Hungry Ghost incident. The Ghost Child's skin was an extremely unnatural bluish-black, like a corpse that had been dead for a long time.

"Are we going to die soon?"

Wang Shanshan opened the refrigerator and got Yang Jian another bottle of cola.

Yang Jian took the cola and said, "Why are you suddenly asking that?"

Wang Shanshan touched her forehead and said:

"Yesterday, a lot of cracks suddenly opened up in my head. It felt as if my head was about to explode."

A strange look flickered across Yang Jian's face. He really had nearly died in that village in Dahai City, and the cracks in Wang Shanshan's forehead were exactly the same as what had happened when the Substitute Ghost transferred the certain-death attack Ye Zhen had suffered onto him.

Could it be that when I suffer a supernatural attack beyond a certain threshold, Wang Shanshan suffers the same injuries? Then what if Wang Shanshan is attacked... After all, she isn't an ordinary ghost slave in her current state. It isn't impossible for a ghost to use her as a medium to attack me...

Yang Jian pondered in silence, then took a sip of cola and said, "Just a little trouble. Don't worry. We won't be dying just yet."

Wang Shanshan pointed at the Ghost Child and said, "I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about what will happen to it after we die."

The Ghost Child was standing obediently in a corner of the room. Seemingly because it had not seen Yang Jian for some time, it was tilting its head and looking at him curiously. This thing was far too peculiar. Yang Jian had never been able to determine whether it was a derivative ghost of the Hungry Ghost or his own ghost slave.

Yang Jian continued, "I'll have someone make a gold box and lock it inside. Of course, it can be let out when necessary. It isn't dangerous for now, but when it comes to the supernatural, I can't guarantee it'll always be this obedient."

Wang Shanshan said softly, "The decision is yours. Whatever you do, I'll support you."

Yang Jian nodded. Only then did he notice that something seemed a little off about Wang Shanshan as a whole. The cool aloofness about her had grown more pronounced, and it was difficult to discern any emotion on her pale face. If he really had to describe it, Wang Shanshan's current state was closer to that of a dead person.

"You should go out more and make more friends. Zhang Wei and Jiang Yan are both pretty nice people. No... forget Zhang Wei."

Wang Shanshan casually sat down beside Yang Jian. She wanted to be close to him. This seemed to be a natural instinct.

"I think it's pretty nice here. Life is very convenient now. I can learn about lots of things without leaving the house."

"As long as you think there's no problem."

Gently smoothing down a strand of her hair, Yang Jian knew that Wang Shanshan was no longer a normal, ordinary person. She could not even be considered human. To be precise, she was a supernatural product whose existence depended on Yang Jian.

Just then, Yang Jian's phone suddenly vibrated.

Liu Xiaoyu's voice came from the other end. "Yang Jian, your mother just called. She said she urgently needed to speak to you and asked you to call her back as soon as possible."

"My mom's looking for me?"

"Yes. It sounded pretty urgent."

"All right, got it."

Yang Jian hung up and immediately dialed his mother's number.

Yang Jian had not given his mother his number. After what had happened with Tong Qian, he had taken certain special circumstances into consideration. This was a way of protecting his family.

The call connected, and Zhang Fen's strong, vigorous voice came through. Wang Shanshan simply sat beside Yang Jian, quietly watching him talk to his mother.

At times, Yang Jian apologized; at others, he made excuses or said he would do it as soon as possible. It was as if only when facing his family would he reveal a tiny trace of humanity.

After roughly half an hour on the phone, Yang Jian finally said, seemingly very reluctantly, "Okay, Mom, I understand. I'll come home this afternoon."

Listening beside him, Wang Shanshan had more or less figured out what was going on: the New Year was approaching, and Zhang Fen had given Yang Jian an absolute order. He had to bring a girlfriend home.

It was not that Yang Jian did not want to see his mother. Rather, he was haunted by ghosts, and there was still a whole pile of lingering troubles waiting for him to deal with. He did not want these things to affect his mother.

But in the end, he had agreed because of another matter: his father. Back at headquarters, Elder Qin had once told him that his father was suspected of being connected to a supernatural incident.

Yang Jian turned to Wang Shanshan and said, "You wouldn't have a problem meeting my mom, would you?"

Wang Shanshan froze for a moment. She had not expected Yang Jian to take her to meet his mother, but she immediately nodded and said, "As long as your mother doesn't mind me."

Yang Jian stood up, and red light instantly enveloped the entire room, including the Ghost Child in the corner.

By the time Wang Shanshan reacted, they had already arrived beside a safe house made entirely of gold. Yang Jian had had Zhang Wei's father build it during the Hungry Ghost incident.

"Go inside."

Yang Jian spoke to the Ghost Child.

Upon receiving Yang Jian's order, the Ghost Child immediately trotted into the safe house and stood in the middle, staring blankly at the two people outside.

Bang!

Yang Jian slammed the door shut. There was no way he would bring such a ghostly thing along to see his mother. It was just that there was currently no more suitable gold object in which to confine it, so he could only leave it here for the time being.

Turning around, he said to Wang Shanshan, "Let's go. We'll set off now."

A luxury sedan sped along a country road. Neither spoke along the way; only the scenery on either side swept rapidly past.

After slowly turning onto a small road, the car stopped beside a stone marker.

Meishan Village.

"We're here. The car can't get down the road ahead. Let's get out."

The two walked side by side along a small path in Meishan Village. Occasionally, a motorcycle or two carrying goods drove past them.

Suddenly, a female voice came from a short distance behind them.

"Cousin?! When did you get back?"

Yang Jian whipped his head around. His Ghost Eye opened instantly, fixing a dead stare on the girl a short distance behind him.

He and Wang Shanshan had just come down this very path. With his powers of observation, there was no way he could have missed a living person like her.