Chapter 586 - Chapter 586: Chapter 583 Return of Consciousness

Chapter 586: Chapter 583 Return of Consciousness

Around eight o’clock in the evening.

Ding ding!

A text message was sent from headquarters. All ghost hunters in the city with satellite-positioned mobile phones received this message, and the receipt of the information was mandatory; there was no possibility of refusing it.

“Hmm? Yang Jian was involved in some unknown supernatural event, suspected to be dead, the incident occurred at….”

At this moment, Zhang Lei, who was still lingering in the Ping’an Hotel, took out his phone and glanced at it, his face immediately changing to one of shock and disbelief.

Ghost Eye Yang Jian, just died out of the blue?

…

It must be a joke.

After looking over the message again and again, Zhang Lei confirmed that it was indeed sent from headquarters and not some prank message received all of a sudden, and the place where the incident occurred was on a street near the Ping’an Hotel.

Then, he rushed to the window, peering outside.

Zhang Lei had already noticed something unknown approaching the hotel earlier, but didn’t know what had happened as it had disappeared afterward.

“It’s true. The whole area near the site of the incident is sealed off. The earlier supernatural intrusion into the hotel must have been an unknown ghost,” Zhang Lei said quietly, feeling an inexplicable chill all over his body.

Could a top-tier, Captain Level ghost hunter of such caliber really be dead like this? It was just around noon that he was discussing teaming up with Yang Jian in the lobby; if it weren’t for being dragged off by Xiong Wenwen for a meal at his place, the team-up should have been set by now.

How long has it been since then, and now the man is gone?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤᴑ.ᴄ0

That was Yang Jian, a man who had dealt with the Hungry Ghost incident, survived the Ghost Envoy ordeal, and possessed life-saving objects like the Ghost Candle and surrogate dolls. What kind of event could have silently killed him?

Beyond the shock, there was even more disbelief.

But the message had already been sent, and he was not the only recipient.

Chen Yi, who was searching for traces of ghost paintings somewhere in the city, also received this message. His frown deepened as he saw the content: “What? Yang Jian is dead?”

He stopped in his tracks and looked toward the location of the accident, his expression growing even more solemn.

What kind of supernatural event could have taken out that guy?

Although it was common for ghost hunters to die in supernatural events, Chen Yi was well aware of Yang Jian’s survival abilities.

“Losing a Captain at this critical juncture…” Chen Yi’s concerns deepened once more.

In another residential villa complex.

Guo Fan and Zong Shan also received the message. They had just patrolled the area and found no traces of the ghost painting; now back at their residence to rest.

“Did you see the message? Yang Jian is dead.”

Guo Fan’s eyes widened, almost gleeful: “Ha ha, this guy died even before me. It looks like Ghost Eye Yang Jian wasn’t as tough as imagined. I always said that with his arrogant demeanor, he’d meet his end sooner or later. And with his death, the Captain’s position is vacant, Zong Shan, we have an opportunity.”

Zong Shan took a drag of his cigarette while reading the text on his phone and then set the phone down, saying, “Don’t get too happy so soon. It’s only a suspicion of death, not confirmed yet. Remember Tong Qian who disappeared inside Caesar Hotel? She vanished for a whole week and still turned up alive in the end.”

“This is information issued by headquarters. Do you think they’d broadcast an uncertainty? This so-called suspicion is just to keep a bit of hope, but everyone is well aware,” said Guo Fan with a slight smile, clearly in high spirits.

“That’s true, but his death or life doesn’t really concern us much. Although Yang Jian rejected our invitation, he didn’t become our enemy, so there’s no need to be so pleased,” Zong Shan replied, shaking his head gently. “And could losing a Captain at such a key moment be a bad thing?”

“One less person means one more danger if the ghost painting incident erupts.”

Guo Fan replied indifferently, “That’s a future problem, not for me to worry about. For now, I’m just happy that he’s dead.”

Elsewhere.

Outside the site of the incident, Li Jun also received the message, looking down at his phone: “Yang Jian is dead? What a pity.”

He could not help but sigh inwardly, deeply regretting the man’s death.

He remembered the first time he met Yang Jian while accompanying Professor Wang to Huanggang Village in Dachang City to retrieve the Ghost Coffin. Back then, Yang Jian was one of the few survivors, along with another named Zhang Han.

In the blink of an eye, nearly half a year had passed, and the once inconspicuous ghost hunter had become an influential figure at headquarters. Yet, he did not expect that after a meeting just this morning, he would receive news of Yang Jian’s death in the afternoon.

“Does that mean the Ghost Domain incident here was caused by a vengeful ghost’s resurgence after Yang Jian’s death?” Li Jun looked toward the now empty street nearby, feeling even worse.

The death of a ghost hunter had resulted in an additional supernatural event, exacerbating an already precarious situation.

While strolling down the main street, Cao Yang who received the message couldn’t help but smile coldly: “Seems like the friend circle’s meddling really did succeed. Such a disgusting power; they’re useless when doing legitimate work but excessively authoritarian when it comes to internal conflicts. Such a force really has no reason to exist. Headquarters sent out the message undoubtedly to maintain the overall situation and stabilize things. And after this incident, they will certainly settle accounts with that friend circle.”

“But still….”

He soon shook his head slightly.

It wasn’t his place to judge headquarters’ decision; after all, choosing for the greater good was not wrong either. It was just unfortunate for a talent like Yang Jian, who didn’t die in a Class S supernatural event, but at the hands of the friend circle.

Once word got out, those overseas would probably laugh to death.

The news of Yang Jian’s suspected death spread quickly. It wasn’t just the city’s ghost hunters who received it; within ten minutes, his information was also posted on a special website, and soon the entire paranormal community would be abuzz with discussions.

In fact, Cao Yanhua had also considered temporarily suppressing the news.

But the news could not be completely sealed off, and it would inevitably leak out, because people in the friend circle were also involved. Therefore, all they could do was send out the information as quickly as possible to cover up the truth first.

Although Yang Jian’s death was a heavy blow to the confidence of the others, it was still better than letting the truth get out and causing more significant conflict.

Meanwhile.

In the fourth layer of the Ghost Domain.

“Ah!”

A scream of fear and despair echoed along the empty streets.

When Huang Ziya arrived hurriedly with Yang Jian’s head, all she saw was a freshly killed corpse, its head crushed beyond recognition as if squeezed by a pair of hands, with the faint outlines of finger marks still visible on it.

“Too late again, Captain. The killing frequency of your headless corpse is getting faster. It took almost three minutes for the second victim to die after the first, but now, it’s been less than thirty seconds since the previous victim, and the ordinary people trapped here have realized there’s a ghost killing among us. They are all hiding in fear,” Huang Ziya said somberly.

“But in your Ghost Domain, hiding is useless, isn’t it? At this rate, in less than an hour, everyone on this street will be killed,” she added.

The Headless Ghost Shadow was becoming more skilled at controlling Yang Jian’s body. Previously, it just walked to its victims to kill, but now it had started to exploit the Ghost Domain, using it more adeptly. After each kill, it would instantly disappear to seek the next target.

And the headless corpse wasn’t actually trying to kill people—it was merely searching for its own head.

But because its hands were gloved, the headless corpse couldn’t remove anyone’s head, hence the horrific scene before them.

Every victim’s head was crushed and distorted, killed by the sheer force of the headless corpse’s grip.

Yet the broken heads did not meet the headless corpse’s needs.

Thus, the eerie body fell into a vicious loop: searching for a head, killing, searching again, and killing…

Until there was no one left alive in this place.

Once the people of this Ghost Domain were exterminated, the headless corpse, with no targets left, would begin to move, dragging this layer of the Ghost Domain with it, and then ensnare more people from other areas in the same endless repetition.

Yang Jian’s remaining ghost eye faintly rotated, clearly aware that the situation was spiraling out of control.

“If this continues, I can only wait, wait for your body to attack me proactively, only then will I have a chance. But I can’t be certain, when your body targets me, whether or not I can withstand that attack. If I can’t, then I’m as good as dead,” Huang Ziya said somewhat helplessly.

Using oneself as bait for the Ghost Master to attack was a risky endeavor.

However, apart from that, there was no better method.

Movement within the Ghost Domain could not be restricted.

“Wait,” Yang Jian revealed his own thoughts.

“You and I think alike; I also feel that waiting is better,” Huang Ziya nodded slightly.

Being prepared for an attack felt safer; venturing out to seek the corpse could lead to an ambush, and she might indeed fall victim here.

She had limited abilities and couldn’t fight against excessively dangerous ghosts.

Immediately.

She stopped actively searching and chose an open place to wait.

The headless corpse attacked people following two patterns: one was turning their back to the ghost; the other was having a fresh head.

The first pattern was almost irrelevant because, in the Ghost Domain, anyone could have their back turned to the ghost; the headless corpse could easily change its position, making the second pattern the real reason for its killing.

For ordinary people, this pattern essentially amounted to indiscriminate killing, leaving almost no room to escape.

Unless the person’s brain was defective, something the Headless Ghost Shadow wouldn’t be interested in.

Huang Ziya also fit this criterion, but she wasn’t the optimal choice because she was a ghost controller, and her body was in poorer condition than an average person’s, meaning her body wasn’t very “fresh.”

This was also why, despite her close encounters with the headless corpse multiple times, she hadn’t been targeted first.

“Since we’re waiting to be attacked, there’s no need to waste any Ghost Candles,” she extinguished the Ghost Candle, unwilling to squander this precious resource.

But this plan of waiting was exceptionally cruel for others.

During this time, some would be killed by the headless corpse, with no hope of survival; the only difference was how quickly death came.

The less fortunate would be targeted and killed by the ghost sooner, while the luckier ones might be targeted later.

As time slowly passed.

Screams of terror intermittently rose along the street.

Sometimes, the location of a scream would be followed, about ten seconds later, by a second scream closer to the front.

The positions seemed to be shifting constantly.

Huang Ziya listened with twitching eyelids, feeling uneasy inside. She might not have witnessed what happened in those places, but she could imagine the desperate and dreadful scenes.

But she was limited in her power, unable to stop any of it.

Yang Jian was equally powerless to stop it, now reduced to just a head, barely clinging to consciousness with nothing but a single ghost eye left.

What can a single ghost eye do?

In his own Ghost Domain, he could do nothing, at most, control the range of the Ghost Domain’s changes, and such ability was useless under the current circumstances.

A moment later.

Huang Ziya saw people running out of the building in panic, screaming and shouting as if they had witnessed a terrifying scene, their emotions somewhat collapsed.

Others were crying out for help, their voices pitiful, choked with sobs.

Ordinary people were too fragile when facing ghosts; they didn’t stand the slightest chance to resist.

But the cruel process also neared its end.

Although Huang Ziya wasn’t the primary target of the attack, as time passed and there were fewer and fewer people running and escaping on the streets, eventually, the headless corpse drenched in blood appeared behind her.

Its appearance was silent and sudden, materializing out of thin air without any sign.

“It’s here.”

Huang Ziya saw the shadow of a headless corpse reflected at her feet, a thick scent of blood wafting from behind her. It was unknown how many heads the ghost controlling the corpse had tried to snatch during this time.

The headless corpse was now soaked in blood, its gloved hands dripping with blood that was still emitting warmth.

At that moment, those hands reached out toward Huang Ziya’s head again.

Huang Ziya knew she was under attack; she had always been on her guard. However, the attack came so swiftly that the moment she was about to react, she felt a pair of cold, bloody hands gripping her head.

Then, a terrifying force came over her, trying to wrench her head off her neck with brute strength.

In just a few seconds, Huang Ziya would lay like the previous victims, her head shattered and her body cold on the ground.

However, she was different from the others; she was a ghost controller.

Huang Ziya had controlled a ghost.

The moment the corpse’s hands touched her, the thick black hair draped over her shoulders wrapped around the headless corpse’s arms.

And the black hair began to spread further, as if it intended to engulf those arms entirely.

This odd form of resistance allowed Huang Ziya, who was almost head-crushed, to immediately break free. She quickly turned around and placed Yang Jian’s head, which was ready, onto the neck of the corpse.

The head, split into two halves, barely maintained a complete shape and was successfully placed on top.

Huang Ziya had to support Yang Jian’s head, fearing it might fall off again if she let go.

Otherwise, her efforts would have been in vain.

She had anticipated this situation and had deliberately avoided it.

“Can it be pieced back together?” Huang Ziya looked at the recovering Yang Jian with trepidation and not much confidence.

Yang Jian’s head, returned to the neck, remained lifeless, the ghastly split still on his forehead, harrowing to behold. His ashen eyes stared blankly ahead, showing none of the spark of life, and if you added in his nearly blood-drained cold corpse.

Then, the current Yang Jian was no different from a ghost.

The only difference might be that he still retained self-awareness.

Under Huang Ziya’s nervous observation, she noticed that the wound on Yang Jian’s neck was fading little by little, as if it was reconnecting with the severed neck.

However, the wound didn’t completely disappear, leaving behind a red mark.

The instinct of the Headless Ghost Shadow could control the corpse to kill, but it could also piece together bodies, even Yang Jian’s incomplete head; it would still join it together.

But the Headless Ghost Shadow was flawed.

The wound on the neck was gradually healing, and half of the head was successfully attached to the corpse. But there was no movement from the other half, and that savage cut remained.

And that other half was where Yang Jian’s consciousness resided.

“There’s been a slip.” Yang Jian was already aware of the problem, and he thought to himself that this was not good.

“Yang Jian, hurry up; I can’t hold on much longer,” Huang Ziya said urgently.

At this moment, her thick black hair was getting longer, already covering nearly half of Yang Jian’s body. But even more frightening was that Huang Ziya’s body was nearly half swallowed by it.

If this continued, her entire body would disappear into that eerie black hair.

This was a manifestation of a fierce ghost’s resurrection.

Huang Ziya, who had controlled only one ghost, truly dared not exploit the fierce ghost’s abilities, especially during this standstill, which easily could stimulate a fierce ghost’s awakening and result in the host’s death.

Although Yang Jian didn’t hear her, he saw the anxiety on Huang Ziya’s face and the eerie black hair that was nearly engulfing them both.

With his experience, he was clearly aware of the current situation.

But Yang Jian was in a bad state now. To stop what was happening, he had to take control of his own body.

“How can I restore my body?”

Calm thinking was rapidly at work, as Yang Jian now realized that the only thing he could move was still just his Ghost Eye.

But a single eye couldn’t even open the Ghost Domain, so how could he possibly control his own body.

Half a brain couldn’t be put back together, and now, his body was still being controlled by the instincts of the Headless Ghost Shadow.

“I can only try.”

However, seeing Huang Ziya’s condition, Yang Jian knew he had no time left. The only thing his Ghost Eye could do was to change the position of the Ghost Domain.

So, by using the shift in the Ghost Domain’s position, Yang Jian should be able to send his half head back into his body since it was a stack of four-layered Ghost Domains—what seemed impossible could actually be done.

The only question was whether he would regain mobility after it was sent back. He didn’t know, so all he could do was to try and see.

The view of the Ghost Eye turned toward the headless corpse.

The surrounding Ghost Domain was twisting, as if a piece of paper was being folded.

But this kind of change was imperceptible to others; only Yang Jian could feel the changes happening around him.

“I need some time,” Yang Jian muttered to himself.

He could only guide the direction of the Ghost Domain, not change it immediately, so the results couldn’t be shown right away.

Fortunately, when Yang Jian was injured, the range covered by the Ghost Domain wasn’t vast; otherwise, the time required would have been even longer.

“Yang Jian, what do we do now?” Huang Ziya was getting more anxious, feeling caught in a dilemma.

If she withdrew the power of the ghost, her head would be crushed; if she continued to resist, she would die upon the revival of the fierce ghost.

It was a choice where death lurked on either side.

The only way out was for Yang Jian to recover and end it all.

Although the action was proceeding smoothly, there was a problem on Yang Jian’s end—he had only managed to get half his head back, and the other half remained out, so his body was still uncontrollable.

Yang Jian wanted to tell her to hold on a little longer, but he couldn’t speak, nor could he give her any hint of information. The only thing she could rely on was her own judgment at this point.

She could try to struggle free and escape, or she could choose to continue resisting, risking the revival of the fierce ghost in order to keep the headless body for a while longer.

More of the dense black hair kept hanging down from Huang Ziya’s head, already covering most of her body. She felt a bit unsteady on her feet, her body losing balance.

It seemed as if something within the thick black hair was pulling at her, wanting to completely drag her in.

Once she fell in, Huang Ziya felt she would never get out again.

“No chance left?” She looked at the still motionless Yang Jian, her lips betraying a bitter smile.

At this stage, even if Yang Jian came back to life, it didn’t matter, she would still die from the revival of the fierce ghost, as she realized she no longer had control over the ghost within her body.

The dense hair began to erode Huang Ziya.

Her body started sinking, her feet feeling trapped by the hair, and the source of the weird hair was pulling her into it.

Quickly.

Huang Ziya’s upper body had already disappeared into the dense black hair; she was struggling, clutching the cold, stiff corpse in front of her with a look of despair in her eyes that still held a glimmer of hope.

If only Yang Jian could recover, perhaps she’d still have a chance.

This hope wasn’t based on delusion, but stemmed from trust in Yang Jian, a trust that was forged during the previous Ghost Envoy incident.

“Yang, Yang Jian,” Huang Ziya tried to call out. In a matter of moments, only her head and her arms remained outside—her body’s other parts had vanished.

Within the depths of the surrounding dark hair, the pulling force seemed to grow stronger.

This force even surpassed the hold of the headless corpse’s hands, causing Huang Ziya to scream. Her face was cruelly torn open, peeling off a layer of skin and flesh, as she was torn away from the control of the headless corpse and plunged into the dark hair, almost completely buried.

But she was still alive.

She hadn’t died yet.

Just the hands that remained outside clung desperately to the corpse, but this did not last long.

In just an instant, Huang Ziya could no longer hold on.

She let go of her hold.

Like a drowning person, her hands subconsciously flailed.

Just as Huang Ziya’s hands were about to be pulled completely into the mass of strange hair behind her, a cold palm suddenly grabbed her disappearing wrist.

The half-headed corpse of Yang Jian moved.

This action wasn’t something the Headless Ghost Shadow would do.

The only explanation was that Yang Jian’s consciousness had returned.

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