Mysterious Revival

It had been five days since the gloom over Dachang City had dissipated.

With the confirmation that the Hungry Ghost period had ended, and Dachang City was in a safe state, headquarters began a comprehensive rescue operation for the city.

The operation was efficient.

Within a day, the city's water and power supply was restored to normal, and special personnel were stationed for protection, while various medical staff started entering hospitals across Dachang City.

Within two days, the comprehensive rescue operation had fully unfolded.

Survivors hiding in every corner of the city started to emerge in succession to embrace a new life.

Of course, all this had nothing to do with Yang Jian right now.

During these five days, he still stayed at home, being a shut-in without going out or making an appearance.

Although Zhao Kaiming contacted him several times during the period, he directly rejected them all.

Dachang City needed to recover, and so did Yang Jian.

He needed to quickly familiarize himself with his own condition. After his resurrection, his body had undergone some unexpected changes, and he could feel that he was completely different from before.

Yet what exactly had changed, Yang Jian couldn't quite discern.

If he had to say something, it would be a kind of alternative rebirth, as if he had shed the various shackles of the past.

Secondly, the functions of his body had become somewhat eerie.

Yang Jian had checked; half of his body was that of a normal person, while the other half no longer belonged to the living but to the dead—cold, somewhat rigid, covered with livor mortis.

"Perhaps the reason I can still think like a person and not become a completely foreign existence is because my body hasn't completely died yet. Sometimes, I wonder, what really controls a person's thoughts—is it the brain, or is it the body?"

"If it's the brain, then if the body dies, would a person's emotions and desires still persist? Without emotions and desires, a person is no longer a complete human being."

After much contemplation in silence, Yang Jian decided to give up on these somewhat philosophical questions.

They were not what he should be concerned with now.

What concerned him was how his body had changed since the resurrection, how the complete fusion with the Ghost Shadow was different, and what it meant to wield it perfectly.

His previous exploration was very brief, merely a coarse application.

But in these five days, Yang Jian had gradually gained a clear understanding.

The first was the strength of his body.

Yang Jian's not-so-robust body contained such an astonishing amount of strength after merging with the Ghost Shadow that he could lift a 500-kilogram barbell with one hand in the gym without feeling any discomfort. The changes brought by this supernatural power were truly incredible.

If he were to exert his full power, he could reach the ton level, relying solely on strength.

That would make him a strongman.

But that wasn't very useful; great strength could, at most, bully ordinary people. Against fierce ghosts, strength was useless. If strength were effective, then missiles would be too.

It could only be considered a minor derived ability.

Then there was his resistance to being hit. Yang Jian now was almost immune to physical damage. He had tried jumping off the fifth floor, and of course, for safety's sake, he temporarily protected his vital parts with the Ghost Domain.

The result was that he landed on the ground without a hitch, stood up after dusting himself off.

Of course, this was provided he didn't land head-first. His head was unprotected by the Ghost Shadow, making it a vulnerability.

Special gold bullets could penetrate Yang Jian's body.

But that was all they could do. Yang Jian felt no pain, and the next moment, the bullets would be automatically expelled by the Ghost Shadow within his body, leaving behind only a wound.

The wound would not heal on its own and required the human body's natural healing process.

Beyond that, Yang Jian had another eerie ability: he could control any part of his body, even the internal organs and bones that he could remove on his own.

Without pain or discomfort, because his body was, in some sense, already a ghost.

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He had acquired many characteristics of ghosts.

After some restorative exercises, Yang Jian left the gym and, as usual, went to check the situation in each room on the fifth floor.

Three rooms were tightly locked.

One room housed a dressing mirror from the Republic of China period, covered with a black cloth. Yang Jian had uncovered and checked it several times, yet it remained unchanged as usual.

A tiny crack had formed at the top of the mirror, a remnant of the previous confrontation between the Ghost Shadow and the Ghost Mirror, and at the bottom, an icy, charred arm—left by the mirror's malevolent spirit—was a consequence of Yang Jian's battle with a fierce ghost in the mirror after his resurrection.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The second room contained a small box wrapped in gold foil and filled with bones, which belonged to the Ghost Skeleton inside Wang Xiaoqiang's body.

Since imprisoning it, Yang Jian had left it here untouched and, of course, had not returned it to Wang Xiaoming.

He had initially kept it with the idea of creating a ghost controller artificially; by transplanting this Ghost Skeleton into a person's body, they would become another Wang Xiaoqiang, impossible to kill.

But, lacking the means at the time, he temporarily forgot about it.

Now, however, he fully had the power to replace bones directly with the combined strength of the Ghost Infant and the Ghost Domain, including himself.

"Replacing my bones with this Ghost Skeleton seems pointless. Although my Ghost Shadow can control this skeleton, besides immortality, it doesn't seem to have any real use. And I already possess the trait of immortality. I'll keep it in reserve for the future," Yang Jian thought to himself.

The third room held the Ghost Rope.

It was entirely in a state of recovery, and if the gold restriction was removed, it could spread indefinitely, capable of hanging ghosts, let alone people.

Yang Jian could now suppress this thing perfectly and, thinking of going out today, decided to take it with him.

The ancient grass rope, now covered with a layer of gold foil, looked like a golden rope and had lost that eerie feel.

Tied around his waist like a whip, it served as a special weapon against fierce ghosts, useful for self-defense, but it had to be controlled well, for, in a strict sense, it was a weapon of mass destruction. If Yang Jian released the Ghost Rope and flung it forward, nearly all enemies, except himself, would be doomed.

Using a resurrected ghost as a weapon was something only Yang Jian could do.

The fourth room contained nothing eerie, just some equipment Yang Jian had ordered online: body bags, gold boxes, specially made weapons such as gold nunchakus, gloves woven from gold wire, a golden lighter, flashlight, binoculars, gold-colored smoke grenades... Besides these, there was also a collection of specially made confiscated weapons, including three sniper rifles.

To buy all these items, he had spent hundreds of millions.

In fact, the items were not expensive; they were just ordinary tools. It was the gold that was valuable. Anything branded as "specially made" didn't need to be questioned—it was either gold or gold alloy.

All four doors were securely locked, and then there was a non-existent fifth room.

Within the wall.

Yang Jian could retrieve it using the power of the Ghost Domain.

It was a box containing skin paper.

Zhang Wei had mentioned that the box with the skin paper seemed to have been opened while he was in the safety house.

Upon inspection, Yang Jian indeed found that the box had been opened, but it didn't seem to be by human hands; the opening was too perfect.

"This thing is very sinister. If it weren't for its immense value, I would have thrown it into the deep sea long ago," Yang Jian stared at the wall.

After his encounter with Zhao Kaiming, he began to sense that there was a great terror to this object, one that had not yet manifested.

If it ever fully manifested, it would likely be an entity much more formidable than the Hungry Ghost.

Unless in a dire situation, he would not use this object again.

"Five days have passed, all quiet. It's time to visit Hongfa Temple," Yang Jian thought to himself and then left the somewhat eerie fifth floor.

Another reason he had stayed indoors these past few days was to observe whether there was any movement from the ghostly thing restricted by the Coffin Nail.

Things were somewhat unexpected; everything was quiet.

This was both good news and bad news; the good news was that, for now, there was no trouble, and the bad news was that the threat persisted.

"I'm stepping out for a bit. If anything happens here, notify me immediately, and I will rush back," Yang Jian said, feeling uncertain because too many ghost controllers had recently come to Dachang City.

Jiang Yan assured him emphatically that there would be no problem.

Inside the residential complex.

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Zhang Xiangu's construction site was up and running again. After the end of the supernatural events, he immediately hired a construction team from out of town at a high price to finish the remaining safety shelters.

After all, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be another encounter with supernatural events in the future, and if things started to look shady, they could just stay in the safety shelter for a few days.

As long as the supporting facilities were perfect, it would absolutely rival a five-star hotel, and there would be no repeats of someone spraying filth all over the place while others had to pinch their noses and endure it.

"Yang Jian, are you heading out?" Zhang Xiangu saw Yang Jian come out and hurried over.

"Yes, I need to take a walk. Is everything going smoothly with the construction?" Yang Jian glanced over and asked.

Zhang Xiangu said, "There's no need to rush the work this time. It will be done beautifully within a month, but recently, I've been approached by quite a few people. Since you are also a shareholder of the company, I would like your advice, after all, you know more than I do."

"What's going on?" Yang Jian asked.

Zhang Xiangu said, "These are some people we can't afford to offend wanting to buy houses in the residential complex. They start by spending several billion each, buying up whole blocks at the original price. What do you think, to sell or not to sell? With Dachang City in this state, many people are selling their homes and moving away. I think the local economy will soon be in trouble.

Plus, with so many people dead this time, the future looks quite grim."

Yang Jian thought for a moment and said, "It's not just Dachang City; other cities will face the same situation. The supernatural events won't stay suppressed for long. This time is just a warning sign. We were just unlucky that the Hungry Ghost incident happened locally. But next time, it might happen in another city. A global disaster can't be avoided by running away."

"All I can say is that those who move out of Dachang City will regret it for the rest of their lives. This place, after being hit by the Hungry Ghost incident, will see a decrease in population and the disappearance of ferocious ghosts. In the coming years, local supernatural events won't happen again. It's like a forest fire that burns everything clean, leaving room for new life to emerge."

Zhang Xiangu was smart too, after half a lifetime in real estate, he immediately understood what Yang Jian meant.

"Of course, that's just one aspect. Another, and most important point, is that I live here."

Yang Jian's gaze sharpened, "I have the power to protect this place. Those buying houses are not just seeing the value here, but my value. The news of me solving the Hungry Ghost incident hasn't spread outside, but internally, it's probably well known already."

"Then I'll hold onto the properties," said Zhang Xiangu. "But there are some people I just can't afford to offend by not selling."

"Sell, of course, sell. Otherwise, what's the point of leaving all these houses empty? It's a waste. But the price is too low. Let's start by increasing it a hundredfold. If they're so rich and willing to spend big, let's first fleece the wealthy.

If there are any problems, they can blame me."

"Brother Tui, are you sure you can handle it?"

Yang Jian said, "I can withstand the lives of hundreds of millions of people, what does Uncle Zhang think?"

Zhang Xiangu smiled and felt a little excited at the same time. He had a hunch that there was a huge business opportunity here. Perhaps in the future, the Guanjiang Residential Complex would become a gathering place for the world's top wealthy.

As long as Yang Jian stood firm, this would be one of the safest commercial districts in the world.

Soon, Yang Jian drove off.

He was heading to Hongfa Temple.

Of course, he could have reached there in a second using the power of the Ghost Domain, but abusing the power of the fierce ghosts was unwise. Although now Yang Jian had extended the resurrection time of the fierce ghosts and his condition was better than the previous two times, he wasn't at the point where he could squander that power recklessly.

Dachang City was now under traffic control. Aside from national rescue vehicles and public officials, no private vehicles were allowed on the roads to ensure smooth traffic flow.

Additionally, special operatives were seen patrolling everywhere to ensure the city's security.

Yang Jian ran into a special operative checkpoint and was only allowed to pass without any hindrance after showing his headquarters credentials.

"Ghost Eye Yang Jian?"

Seeing his credentials, the squad leader even showed some respect.

This made Yang Jian feel a bit embarrassed.

"It seems there are quite a few people here."

When he arrived at Hongfa Temple, he found it crowded with people burning incense and praying to Buddha.

They were all survivors.

Yang Jian asked around and quickly understood the situation.

Knowing that Dachang City was haunted and believing in the existence of ghosts, people naturally sought the protection of gods and Buddha. If they could get a few talismans from the temple's masters, or some consecrated dharma artifacts to keep at home, they'd sleep more peacefully at night.

But he knew it wouldn't be of much use, providing only psychological comfort.

Yang Jian wouldn't waste time bursting their bubble; it was a good thing for people to have some psychological comfort in the face of terror.

"How long will this queue take? Although it's not good to misuse my abilities, seeking an answer and the truth is the only option left."

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No need to queue up like a long dragon waiting.

He directly used the Ghost Domain, covering the Hongfa Temple.

Without affecting anyone, Yang Jian mysteriously disappeared in a corner and, when he reappeared, he had already arrived at a residence in the temple's backyard.

The bald monk, dressed in plain clothes and wearing glasses, was watching TV.

The TV news was all about the events in Dachang City.

Regarding the Hungry Ghost incident, the state neither actively spread the news nor censored it, nor did it provide a direct response, simply allowing the storm to brew.

Thus, all kinds of bizarre speculations appeared in the news.

"Master still in the mood to watch TV?" The room door was locked, yet Yang Jian appeared inside it.

"With such a commotion outside, why doesn't Master go to read scriptures and bless those who come to offer incense?"

The bald master looked up in surprise, but upon seeing Yang Jian, he didn't seem shocked at all but just smiled and put down his glasses, "I've been chanting scriptures half my life, what's the use? When ghosts come, we can only hide. All that talk about Dharma and subduing demons is fake.

There was no trouble when there were no ghosts, but now with ghosts around, people would find out if I took out those fake things. I might even get my legs broken just walking on the street."

"Besides, if someone really used those useless talismans to face the ghosts and ended up harming others, whose fault would that be? Better to hide away and seek peace."

Yang Jian said, "Master is clear-minded, but you should already know why I came here."

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The bald master spoke, "I've been waiting for you these past days because I have some bad news to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The thing behind that door is gone."

The bald master said, "Not a minute passed after you took away that coffin nail when there was nothing left behind the door, just a bare wall."

Yang Jian's gaze flickered slightly, "I already had this guess. After all, Dachang City has been very quiet recently. If the ghost inside had escaped, the situation would have definitely changed."

"Other than this, I'm afraid there's nothing more to say. About that secret chamber, I heard it from my master too. My master mentioned that there was a fierce ghost imprisoned there by the high monks of the Hongfa Temple in the past, suppressed by the Demon-Subduing Pestle, and instructed us descendants to watch it closely and never allow the fierce ghost to come out and do evil."

The bald master spoke, "When I was young and foolish, I was curious and went in once. I saw what was inside... a White Bone Tree, a three-meter-tall black shadow, a single eye emitting a strange red glow."

As he said this, he looked towards the ghostly eye on Yang Jian's forehead.

"I was so scared that I ran out. Since then, I have strictly followed my master's instructions, checking the door lock once a year, regularly replacing and repairing it, preparing to pass this secret on to the next head monk."

The bald master said, "But a few months ago, that door opened, and that eye... it vanished."

"I took it."

Yang Jian said, "Indeed, a fierce ghost was confined there, but that's not what I asked. It's about the origin of this thing, do you happen to know?"

"How would I know that? Even my master didn't know, perhaps his master did."

The bald master shook his head helplessly, "But after some verification, I did get some information. It turns out that this chamber isn't ancient at all. There are some records in the temple about building this chamber, around the Republic of China Period."

"And my master's master happened to be alive at that time. Maybe the patriarch knew the origin of this thing."

The Republic of China Period, again?

Yang Jian frowned.

The chamber was constructed during the Republic of China Period, and so was the old house within the Guanjiang Residential Complex that had not been demolished.

Did the battle between ghost tamers and fierce ghosts begin back then?

Or was there already an outbreak of fierce ghost resurrections over a hundred years ago that went unnoticed due to the undeveloped state of information and the unstable world situation?

"It seems chasing the past won't yield the answers I seek." Yang Jian was somewhat disappointed.

He wanted to learn more, but the connections had already been lost.

Time had erased all crucial information, and those who truly understood the secrets likely no longer existed in this world.

Without inheriting the experiences of their predecessors, ghost tamers of the future are destined to face great difficulties when confronting fierce ghosts.

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