Mysterious Revival

Yang Jian looked at the new characters that emerged on the skin parchment and immediately perked up, becoming especially serious.

Because this time, the information on the skin parchment didn't spell death for him, which meant that the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box was not necessarily fatal; there was a way to break it.

Now, the plan involving the bus had been dismissed.

The plan involving Caesar Hotel had been dismissed.

If the skin parchment's plan was too difficult or too dangerous, then Yang Jian would have to reconsider the Ghost Cabinet.

Sitting on the sofa, Yang Jian looked at the skin parchment in his hands, where the black characters surfaced, forming a new message.

"The curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box is terrifying. I tried many methods, but in the end, none of them worked. I felt despair and had even prepared for death. However, just when my life fell into the darkest pit, someone appeared."

"His name was Wang Xiaoming."

"...Yes, it was him who saved me, who helped me escape the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box."

"What a joke, after all that, you're passing the buck to Wang Xiaoming?" Yang Jian's face instantly darkened.

However, the characters stopped here and no new message emerged.

Yang Jian's gaze flickered as he felt that this seemingly simple information was actually very complicated and unsettling.

The message on the skin parchment confirmed that Wang Xiaoming had a way to resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, convincing him to believe in Wang Xiaoming.

However, he was always aware that there were certain traps within the messages of the skin parchment.

But this message from the skin parchment pointed to Wang Xiaoming, as if there were no traps, or perhaps the traps still existed, not on the skin parchment's side, but on Wang Xiaoming's side—the Wang Xiaoming who might be trying to exploit this opportunity for plans and calculations unknown to him.

As a result, Yang Jian became even more wary of Wang Xiaoming.

"But what if the skin parchment did it on purpose?" Yang Jian had another thought.

If Wang Xiaoming was not the problem, its message only served to increase his doubts and guard against him, indirectly leading him to abandon Wang Xiaoming's plan, then make other arrangements, which in the end could get him killed...

Besides, other plans could also be useful.

Like continuing the trade with the Ghost Cabinet, or as previously revealed by the skin parchment, going to room 71 of Caesar Hotel to confirm the three different musical melodies, and trying to combine them into a complete song.

After all, he now had the music score of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

If he started to learn the piano now, it should still be possible, not resulting in death from not being able to play the piano, as the skin parchment had stated.

Yang Jian gradually fell into silence.

He felt that the problem he faced this time was more serious than the previous ones, because this time the skin parchment had brought Wang Xiaoming into the picture, adding an uncertainty that made choosing even harder, and it involved the gambits between people.

In other words,

the skin parchment, Yang Jian, and Wang Xiaoming had formed some complex interconnections.

Yang Jian did not trust the skin parchment, nor did he trust Wang Xiaoming.

Likewise, Wang Xiaoming certainly didn't trust the skin parchment, nor did he trust Yang Jian.

Although the skin parchment was not trusted, it had value, and this value was certainly useful to Yang Jian and definitely to Wang Xiaoming as well.

"That day at headquarters, I lent the skin parchment to Wang Xiaoming for half an hour in exchange for a Ghost Candle. What information did the skin parchment reveal to him in that half hour? What did Wang Xiaoming see during that time?"

Yang Jian was certain that Wang Xiaoming must have seen some very special information during that half an hour with the skin parchment.

That kind of information would be impossible for a smart person to believe, so back then, Yang Jian didn't care much, thinking it wouldn't matter if Wang Xiaoming had contact with the skin parchment.

Just like the parchment saying a friend you know will die tomorrow.

For someone who had just come into contact with the skin parchment, they would find it laughable and would hardly believe it. Even if they did believe it somewhat, it would be with deep skepticism.

Wang Xiaoming's situation was certainly the same, so at that time, he promptly returned the skin parchment without any intention to keep it for himself.

But what if... Your friend really dies the next day?

Then the person who had been in contact with the skin parchment would start to take its messages very seriously.

Therefore, to make Wang Xiaoming believe the parchment's information, it had to be confirmed or Wang Xiaoming had to be given a chance to verify the truth of the information.

So, what unusual event happened recently?

The deceased Wei Jing appeared again!

All of a sudden, Yang Jian thought of this incredible event. He had not been suspicious before, but now thinking deeply, he found that maybe the messages from the skin parchment helped with this matter; otherwise, no matter how smart Wang Xiaoming was, he wouldn't have been able to bring Wei Jing back to life. Only the skin parchment knew about all these bizarre and unbelievable things.

So, has Wang Xiaoming successfully verified the authenticity of the information on the human skin manuscript?

If this assumption is correct.

Now, Wang Xiaoming is very likely starting to believe in the human skin manuscript, but what will happen afterward?

Could the information that follows on the human skin manuscript set a trap for Wang Xiaoming, using him to do something it can't do itself?

For example, Wang Xiaoming's plan to resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box may just come from the information on the human skin manuscript.

If that's true, it would be terrifying.

Yang Jian thought about this and couldn't help but take a deep breath; he was increasingly uneasy about Wang Xiaoming's plan to resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

Because now there's another possibility: Wang Xiaoming might truly want to help him, but he himself may not realize that the plan on the human skin manuscript could be a trap. There's the potential for good intentions turning bad, after all, Wang Xiaoming is human, and humans make mistakes — Wang Xiaoming had erred more than once or twice already.

Wei Jing's experiment failure, the release of the Ghost Envoy, these were his miscalculations.

"Would confronting Wang Xiaoming in person help clarify things?" Yang Jian pondered this question again.

But he quickly shook his head slightly.

Because he simply didn't trust Wang Xiaoming; even if he was telling the truth, Yang Jian might take it as a lie to dismiss it. And Wang Xiaoming was very clever, and clever people have one major flaw — they never let others know their true thoughts.

After all, the human heart is impenetrable; no one can truly place their life in someone else's hands, especially not Yang Jian.

"Having only showed the human skin manuscript to Wang Xiaoming for half an hour, has it already set a trap? Even though the human skin manuscript has already returned to my hands, the trap it set still exists. Even if I'm not afflicted by the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box this time, the next time I encounter something else, the information on the human skin manuscript will similarly leave the problem with Wang Xiaoming."

Yang Jian furrowed his brows deeply.

In other words, there's trouble brewing with Wang Xiaoming, and I'm bound to encounter it sooner or later.

Unless I get rid of Wang Xiaoming.

But now... the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box is right before my eyes. Let's not talk about the great cost of killing Wang Xiaoming; even if I truly killed him, who would help me deal with the curse then?

So.

Yang Jian is now facing a terrifying dilemma.

If I trust Wang Xiaoming, something bad might happen to me.

Not trusting him could also lead to trouble, as it's very possible that the human skin manuscript has done this deliberately, making me distrust Wang Xiaoming and thereby causing me to miss the right choice, dying from this curse.

"This human skin manuscript is no longer trying to control me as before; it clearly wants me dead. From when did it start? It must have been since Tong Qian's incident, if it weren't for Ghost Cabinet's help, I would have almost directly created a ghost with three faces." Yang Jian stared at the human skin manuscript.

"As for the time with the Ghost Envoy at the training base, I guess that doesn't count, because the human skin manuscript also suffered an attack from the Ghost Envoy; it wanted to escape the Ghost Envoy."

From beginning to end, the only thing that could make the human skin manuscript behave was the Ghost Envoy, as was the case with the Ghost Coffin incident in Huanggang Village.

After quite a while.

The handwriting on the human skin manuscript remained unchanged, and no new information emerged.

Yang Jian didn't speak; he simply packed the human skin manuscript away again, then casually tossed it, and it disappeared from sight.

He buried this thing again somewhere underground.

The location is known only to himself; as soon as he dies, this thing will never appear in this world again.

"The human skin manuscript plan has failed." Yang Jian now only had one alternative plan left.

The Ghost Cabinet plan.

"It looks like I'll need to make a trip back to Dachang City."

However, just as he was deep in thought, elsewhere.

Cao Yanhua was on his way back to headquarters, but his vehicle had broken down, causing a delay on the road. Once the road was clear and he could move on, he saw Professor Wang's car suddenly take a turn and drive away in the wrong direction.

"What's going on with car two?" an employee in the car immediately asked.

Wang Xiaoming's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "To lift Yang Jian's curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, some preparation is required; Wei Jing and I need to take a trip."

Cao Yanhua responded, "Be careful, and just ask if you need any help; I will arrange it for you on my end."

Soon.

The car carrying Wang Xiaoming sped away, vanishing at another intersection.