The Buddhist Kingdom in the Dream (XI)

The vehicle drove into a small grove, and the three entered a spacious building.

Yang Jian had already grown used to these utterly illogical changes of scenery, while Lin Bei and Xiao Yuan had long since taken them in stride. Both were veterans who had experienced dreams many times.

The three got out of the vehicle.

"Headquarters..."

Yang Jian slowly surveyed his surroundings. This was a large shelter on the third basement level of headquarters.

"Tap, tap... tap, tap..."

"What's that sound?" Lin Bei's expression changed, and he turned to look into the depths of the darkness.

Countless footsteps sounded in the darkness. Someone was approaching them.

"Captain Yang, the entrance is gone. We're trapped."

Yang Jian said nothing, staring fixedly at a patch of dark red in the darkness.

A woman dressed in red, her features indistinct, walked out.

The Ghost Painting!

Yang Jian recognized those pale arms at a glance. Even now, they still looked eerie.

The footsteps grew denser and denser, and more and more people emerged from the darkness.

An infant, its entire body bluish-black, dragging an umbilical cord.

A tall male corpse carrying a coffin on its shoulder.

A desiccated corpse wearing a red veil and red robes.

Yang Jian even saw himself-a version of himself whose entire face was wrapped in the Human Skin Paper.

The ghosts were approaching, and their numbers kept increasing. Countless figures shifted in the darkness, as though they might rush out at any moment and tear the three apart.

Just then, rain actually began falling from the ceiling.

Xiao Yuan pulled up the hood of her raincoat and asked in confusion, "What are all these things? And those female corpses earlier-why couldn't we kill them all, no matter how many we killed?"

Yang Jian's expression was grave. "The supernatural incidents I've experienced, the ghosts inside my body... you could say these things are manifestations of my fears. This dream seems to know what I'm afraid of, and it's begun launching targeted attacks against me."

All the fears Yang Jian had experienced in the past were gathered here, and the true source ghost of this nightmare might be hiding among them.

"Xiao Yuan, can you tell which one is the real ghost?"

Xiao Yuan shook her head. "I don't know."

She pulled out a dagger.

"Cousin, let's do it. If we just keep killing, we'll kill that ghost eventually."

She was a brute who never thought that much about things. In this dream, she had always killed anyone she saw.

Yang Jian said nothing. As he watched the horde of ghosts gradually close in, his expression grew increasingly grim.

The rain from the ceiling gradually intensified, and the floor began to grow wet.

Although the entire shelter level was extremely spacious, the growing number of ghosts was filling the empty hall.

Lin Bei stood to one side, gripping a shard of glass. "Captain Yang, have you thought of anything? With this many, we'll die of exhaustion."

Yang Jian remained silent, sorting through all the information he had gathered so far.

The world within the dream, the great Buddha in that mirror space, the collision between the two supernatural forces, and this horde of vicious ghosts that kept materializing.

He was analyzing the key to it all, trying to find a thread of survival amid the two entangled supernatural forces.

Yang Jian had always believed that as long as it was a ghost, it had to follow a pattern.

And a pattern often meant something that could be exploited.

Discern a ghost's pattern.

Only ghosts could fight ghosts.

These two iron laws applied no matter how terrifying a vicious ghost was.

Turning his head, a hint of madness flashed in his eyes. "I have an idea. It just depends on whether you dare to try it."

The look in Yang Jian's eyes startled Lin Bei into a daze. Given Yang Jian's personality, he dared not imagine what he might do.

Lin Bei asked cautiously, "Will we die...?"

"That sounds like a pointless question." Yang Jian tightened his grip on his dagger.

"When facing a supernatural incident, there are never many choices. That goes for everyone, including me."

"Risk and reward are often proportional. In supernatural incidents, you always have to face death to find life. I've been through situations like this a few times. It just depends on whether you trust me."

Lin Bei stood there in silence, seemingly making a choice and weighing the pros and cons.

Perhaps because he had become an ordinary person again, Yang Jian actually felt some inexplicable emotions he wanted to express at that moment.

Seeing that Lin Bei was still somewhat hesitant, Yang Jian continued, "Lin Bei, you've been a ghost rider for so long now. Why do you still shrink back from everything? The Buddha speaks of delivering all living beings, but has he delivered them?"

"Get out alive, and become your own Buddha."

Yang Jian's words stunned Lin Bei.

"Fuck it. I'm going all in." He raised his head to look at Yang Jian.

"Captain Yang, from here on, I'll trust you completely. Let's get moving."

"Good." Yang Jian nodded and said to Lin Bei, "Take out all the mirrors you have on you."

He had heard clattering coming from Lin Bei earlier. It seemed he had collected quite a few mirrors inside Furen Mall.

Then he turned to Xiao Yuan and said, "Xiao Yuan, hold these ghostly things back. It won't take long."

"Okay." Xiao Yuan had long wanted to charge in and slaughter them indiscriminately. She immediately pulled out the handgun and rushed forward with a dagger in hand.

Yang Jian looked at the gun in Xiao Yuan's hand, still feeling that something was off. Its overall design was remarkably harmonious, and it was more powerful than any handgun he had seen at headquarters. If this gun was homemade, the craftsmanship was far too exquisite.

But he had no time to think about that now.

Lin Bei had already taken off his coat. Its lining was filled with gleaming mirror shards.

Looking into the mirrors, a great Buddha sat in a world within them. Its face was hazy and indistinct, yet it gave the impression that three faces were appearing on it at once.

Yang Jian pointed at the floor beneath his feet and said:

"Lay the mirrors on the floor."

Lin Bei nodded and immediately began laying the mirror shards flat on the floor with Yang Jian.

Although he could not understand what Yang Jian intended to do, since he had decided to trust him, he could not hesitate now.

The two pieced the mirrors together, shard by shard.

Yang Jian looked up at Xiao Yuan. Her petite figure leaped among the ghosts, twisting and dodging. Every pause was accompanied by a vicious ghost falling to the ground.

This younger cousin of his was hiding far too many secrets. Her exquisite killing skills looked like the result of professional training. Every movement was crisp and efficient, going straight for the vicious ghosts' heads.

And then there was that strange gun...

"Captain Yang, it's done."

Lin Bei fitted the final mirror shard into place. On the floor, they had formed a mirrored surface large enough for three people to stand on.

Yang Jian immediately shouted to Xiao Yuan, "Xiao Yuan, come back!"

"Oh, coming." Xiao Yuan immediately jogged back, tilting her head as she looked at Yang Jian.

"What is it?"

Yang Jian grabbed Xiao Yuan and pulled her over. "Stand on the mirrors."

Lin Bei looked at the mirrors covering the floor. He seemed to understand what Yang Jian wanted to do.

Without Xiao Yuan holding them back, the vicious ghosts quickly surrounded the three.

The first vicious ghost approached, its stiff legs stepping onto the mirrored surface. The mirrors immediately reflected its body-a desiccated corpse wearing a red veil.

Even now, Yang Jian still did not understand exactly what connection there was between the female corpse he had encountered with Ye Zhen in Dahai City and the desiccated corpse he had encountered when the bus stalled.

But now was not the time to think about that. He drove his dagger into the corpse, then violently tore off its red veil.