Chapter 86

The sound of the box being knocked stopped.

And it never sounded again.

In Yang Jian's view, there were only two possibilities. One was that the ghost had tired of knocking... Of course, this was impossible.

The second possibility was that the headless ghost inside the box had already been released.

As for the third possibility... Yang Jian couldn't even think of it.

At this moment, the dark room once again returned to silence.

There was no knocking sound, no footsteps.

No sound at all.

Unlike before, this silence lasted for a long time, far longer than any previous instance.

And... the coughing sound never rang out again.

He didn't know if this was an important clue.

"That ghost has stopped moving... The headless ghost also seems not to have appeared. Why is everything so strange?"

Yang Jian had already prepared himself to die here, but now...

He felt that he could still save himself.

Because the paralysis was almost over.

The agitation in his body from the ghost eye began to subside, and his body gradually regained sensation.

As long as Yang Jian could move again, he wouldn't fear even a headless ghost.

Perhaps the ghost already knew that Yang Jian was about to regain movement, or perhaps some other time had come.

Footsteps sounded again.

The ghost began to move away from the wardrobe, gradually retreating to the door, then walked out of the room and slowly descended the stairs, step by step, the clear footsteps echoing in the hallway... It was leaving.

Almost the moment it went downstairs,

Yang Jian regained his ability to move.

He immediately took control of his body, jumping up from the bed, and his hand felt along the wall, immediately turning on the room light.

The light instantly illuminated, dispelling the darkness.

Everything around was clearly visible.

Yang Jian immediately looked toward the wardrobe.

At this moment, the wardrobe was open, and a gold box had fallen to the ground, but it was deformed, with a dent in the middle, almost splitting the box open.

But the resilience of gold, and the fact that Yan Li had not cut corners when making the box,

meant that the box was not broken open.

"Phew~!"

Seeing this, Yang Jian let out a slight sigh of relief.

The best outcome had occurred; the box had not been opened, and the headless ghost had not escaped. As for the box being deformed, it didn't matter; gold was just a container, and its shape was not important.

However, what was strange... was that a piece of human skin covered the box.

It was the human skin paper he had brought from the school.

Although he was puzzled, now was not the time to think about it.

Yang Jian quickly gathered his things, hid his luggage, and then, holding his weapon, rushed out.

"This is a crisis for me, but also an opportunity... At least the ghost has appeared. Even if I don't deal with it, I need to know its identity, its location, and its appearance..."

"If I let it go like this, I might never find such a good opportunity again."

Despite his fear and unease,

he still chased after the ghost that had left, as this trip to Huanggang Village was to fight for a chance to survive. If he feared death, he wouldn't have come here.

The front door on the first floor was tightly closed.

But footsteps could be heard outside, moving away.

Clearly, the ghost had left Liu Genrong's house and was heading elsewhere.

"Chase it!"

Yang Jian opened the front door and immediately chased after it. A ghost eye on his forehead pushed through the skin, revealing a blood-red eye that provided a unique vision.

A world enveloped in red light.

No longer dark.

The ghost eye's vision could see through darkness and the illusions of the ghost realm. Although it was somewhat useless without using the ghost realm, it was still a special ability.

"It's ahead."

Yang Jian chased after it, using the ghost eye to try to see the ghost clearly.

But a turn blocked his view, and the footsteps echoed from the alley.

"Using the ghost realm would instantly catch up with the ghost... But using it without knowing anything about the ghost would be extremely foolish."

Although he very much wanted to know the true face of the ghost,

the consequences of the ghost realm made him suppress his impulse.

After all, rushing in might not even allow him to capture it.

He continued to chase.

The footsteps ahead were getting closer.

Just around the next corner, he would see it.

But the next moment,

when Yang Jian turned the corner, he was stunned.

The person in front of him was not a ghost, but a member of the Xiaoqiang Club who had come to Huanggang Village with him... Zhang Han.

"Yang Jian? How can it be you?"

Zhang Han was clearly shocked, even more so than seeing a ghost, and spoke first.

"That's what I was going to say. I followed the footsteps of a ghost here, and the person I saw around the corner was you. Are you really Zhang Han?" Yang Jian frowned, holding a golden pistol.

The bullets were already loaded.

Not to kill the ghost, but as a subconscious self-defense measure.

Zhang Han, somewhat flustered, said, "Of course I'm Zhang Han. You're the one with the problem. I was also following the footsteps, thinking you were the ghost. Luckily, I saw your face clearly, or I would have been scared to death."

Hearing this,

Yang Jian's heart sank: "Are we being toyed with? Or is there more than one ghost here... The one you followed isn't the one I encountered."

"I'm not sure, but the footsteps definitely disappeared around here." Zhang Han's expression also turned serious.

"Step, step, step~!"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from a nearby alley.

"Bang~!"

Without hesitation, Yang Jian's head sprouted an eye, and he fired a shot in the direction of the sound.

"Ah~!"

A cry of pain rang out, and his ghost eye saw a person fall to the ground, blood flowing from his body.

"Yang Jian, why did you shoot randomly? You hit someone." Zhang Han exclaimed.

Yang Jian frowned, "The villagers were already asleep, and even the dogs were quiet. Who knows if the sudden footsteps were from a ghost. Better to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Good thing you saw me first, or you would have shot me." Zhang Han said, still shaken.

Only then did he notice that Yang Jian was holding a pistol.

"That person seems to be a club member, you should know him. I'm not sure if that shot killed him." Yang Jian said.

A moment later,

in a small villa temporarily rented by the club members,

a man with a pale face was holding his wound, blood dripping, while Zhang Han was bandaging him.

The other ghost masters were also present.

The ghostly commotion at night had alarmed everyone.

"Ouyang Tian, I have some bad news. Your 'bird' has been shot off." Zhang Han, with a sympathetic look, said, "It's a complete mess. I suspect Yang Jian aimed for this part on purpose."

Yang Jian glanced at him, "Nonsense, I clearly aimed for his head. How can you blame me if the bullet hit his 'bird'?"

"But I was indeed wrong, Ouyang Tian. I apologize, I'm sorry."

He then showed a sincere and apologetic look.

Ouyang Tian's cold face was filled with rage, "You shot me, and you think saying 'sorry' will make it all better?"

"I've already apologized. What more do you want? Do you want to call the police on me?"

Yang Jian said, "It's late at night, and the village is haunted. You were wandering around without a light. It's normal to be mistaken."

"How about I shoot you once, and we call it even? What do you think?" Ouyang Tian, his face ashen, pulled out a pistol and pointed it at him.

Yang Jian said, "Even if I do, it won't bring back your 'bird.' When will the cycle of revenge end? Besides, I'm still a kid. Can't you be a little more lenient?"

"Go to hell." Ouyang Tian fired without hesitation.

He aimed at Yang Jian's head.

But instead of the expected headshot, Yang Jian's head tilted in advance, dodging the bullet.

"Now, are we even?" Yang Jian's ghost eye looked at him.

"I'll decide when we're even." Ouyang Tian tried to fire again.

But at this moment, Yang Jian also pointed his gun at Ouyang Tian's head, "One shot for one shot, very fair. If you want to continue, I can play with you all night. Let's see who dies first."

"Alright, alright, let's call it even. Ouyang Tian, you've already fired a shot. If you continue, we'll end up fighting. There's still a ghost in the village. Fighting among ourselves is suicide. Besides, your 'bird' is gone, but you're still alive. You can recover with other ghosts in the future."

Zhang Han quickly pulled Ouyang Tian, trying to mediate.