Mysterious Revival

The plan involving human-skin paper was no longer reliable, so Yang Jian could only place his remaining hopes on the Ghost Cabinet.

The Ghost Cabinet was in Dachang City.

Therefore, after brief contemplation and pause, Yang Jian chose to return to Dachang City.

He did not carry the human-skin paper with him, but buried it underground near He Tianxiong's villa, as he knew that if he brought the thing back to Dachang City, he might also bring back trouble. Since he was to discard it, he decided to discard it far away.

For Yang Jian, who employed the powers of the Ghost Domain, returning to Dachang City took less than a minute; distance was not an issue for him.

But this time, he did not inform anyone and stealthily returned. If he had made a grand entrance, headquarters would definitely become aware of the existence of the Ghost Cabinet.

After all, Liu Xiaoyu even knew how many movies Zhang Wei had on his computer.

In a world of information, many people no longer had any secrets.

Today.

The noon skies of Dachang City were somewhat gloomy, and the cold of winter, combined with the rain from the south, permeated the air with a chilling dampness.

On the outskirts of the city, the Guanjiang Residential Complex was still sparsely populated, with very few homeowners living there.

Though few lived there, the complex was equipped with various facilities and had even stricter management than upscale residential areas in Dachang City.

Yang Jian materialized on top of a European-style bell tower within the complex.

Inside the small loft of this bell tower, there was a wooden cabinet. This cabinet had two levels, and its doors were tightly shut, covered with a coat of red paint as vivid as fresh blood. Despite its vibrant color, the rest of the cabinet looked extremely old, as if it had been in place for decades and had become a discarded ancient artifact, not even worth refurbishing.

But this old cabinet concealed immense terror.

Inside the wooden cabinet, it was suspected that an unknown and terrifying ghost was hidden, or perhaps the cabinet itself was the ghost.

Ghost Cabinet.

That was the name Yang Jian had previously given it.

"Find it within one year."

He still remembered the last demand the Ghost Cabinet had made, after which it had provided him with a woman's photograph. The message was clear: find the person in the photo within a year.

If he assumed he had already found her, then how should he respond?

Yang Jian thought for a moment. Then he took out the paper and pen he had prepared beforehand and wrote down a message: "I have found her. Now it's my turn to make a demand. Help me lift the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box."

He reviewed the note and felt that it was fine.

The Ghost Cabinet had demanded he find the person within a year, and he was giving an ambiguous, rather deceptive answer that he had found her. Perhaps this would fool the Ghost Cabinet.

Without delay, Yang Jian inserted the note into the top compartment of the Ghost Cabinet.

Although the top compartment was closed, it had an openwork design that allowed items to be inserted. The interior, however, was pitch-black, impenetrable even by light, so regardless of how close one got, it was impossible to see anything inside. Last time he tried to look inside with his ghostly vision, he was shocked to see a pair of eyes staring back.

After that incident, Yang Jian put away his curiosity.

"Will this work?" He began to wait for a response.

Soon, the bottom door of the Ghost Cabinet opened, and the paper he had previously put inside appeared inside again, unexpectedly, with an additional line of distorted handwriting, as if penned by a malevolent ghost.

"You have not found her, you have only seen," the message read.

Yang Jian's expression immediately tensed, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He had thought he hadn't fulfilled the Ghost Cabinet's demand, but he hadn't expected to be so close to the answer: He had seen it?

Having seen it, did that refer to having seen the ghost painting?

He hadn't found it because the Source Ghost in the ghost painting hadn't appeared, so the task was not yet complete.

"How do I complete this transaction?" Yang Jian pondered again before writing another note and tossing it in.

Soon, the note that he tossed into the top of the cabinet reappeared in the bottom.

"You have nine months and three days left." It was a time reminder and did not contain any other information.

"Can't you give any hints? I have to complete the task all by myself," Yang Jian frowned.

Although the Ghost Cabinet was not as tricky as the human-skin paper, the difficulty of completion was quite daunting, and to accomplish the tasks, he would have to deal with malevolent ghosts, which involved risks.

"Ask the human-skin paper how to complete the Ghost Cabinet's task? No, that won't work. If I ask the human-skin paper, a simple matter might become very complicated. It might provide truthful information but could also choose the most difficult way for me to complete it, almost hoping to find a way to trap me to death."

This was what Yang Jian thought.

Because, no matter what you seek from the human-skin paper, it always concealed some terrible dangers you didn't know.

He had survived once or twice without incident, but Yang Jian dared not gamble with his life every time.

If he lost once, he would have nothing, even risking his life, but if the human-skin paper lost, it didn't matter, it would have another chance to try again.

"I'm in a deadlock now. The only way out is to get involved in the ghost painting incident and find the Source Ghost," Yang Jian began to muse.

There were three days left for the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

He wouldn't die within these three days. Would there be enough time to find the ghost in the painting?

But what if he met the demand of the Ghost Cabinet and it was still not considered complete?

"The Ghost Cabinet just showed a message—that I've only seen it, not found it. That means the previous puzzle guess was wrong. To the Ghost Cabinet, it doesn't need me to find all the pieces, just to confirm the location of one. So is this location the ghost in the ghost painting, or that one we encountered on the spirit bus last time?"

Yang Jian hasn't forgotten that, similar to the woman in the photo, there is another... the Dried Corpse Bride.

The Dried Corpse Bride, the ghost in the ghost painting, one or the other.

Both fit the response of the Ghost Cabinet from before: seen, but not found.

"A fifty percent chance—if I choose wrong, it means mission failure, and I'll die from the Eight-Tone Music Box curse." Yang Jian squatted on the ground, staring at the Ghost Cabinet before him, lost in thought.

After a moment of contemplation.

Yang Jian immediately shook his head: "I've thought too much. It looks like there are choices, but actually, there aren't. I can't take the spirit bus and have no ability to find the Dried Corpse Bride. I can only bet on the ghost painting."

"If I find the Source Ghost in the ghost painting, my mission is completed. There's no need for me to resolve the ghost painting incident."

With this thought, the difficulty lessened, and the feasibility increased, not leaving me completely stranded.

If this path were also blocked, Yang Jian would have to stake his life on Wang Xiaoming—unless he was brave enough to take the bus.

"So, within three days, by midnight the day after tomorrow, find the ghost in the ghost painting, complete the Ghost Cabinet's trade, and then make a request to solve the Eight-Tone Music Box curse."

Yang Jian organized his thoughts.

"No. I can't cut the timing so close; I need to leave myself some leeway for other options."

"Two days. Within two days, find the Source Ghost in the ghost painting. If the Ghost Cabinet fails, my only gamble will be on Wang Xiaoming or the bus."

Yang Jian felt this was the most reasonable arrangement and significantly increased his chances of survival.

Thinking this, he decided to turn back and investigate the source of the ghost painting.

He glanced in the direction of the residential complex.

Yang Jian saw some acquaintances and his mother, but he didn't acknowledge them and instead turned and vanished from sight.

At this moment.

In Big J City.

Wang Xiaoming's car, which had left Cao Yanhua behind, stopped in front of a high-end residential complex in the city.

Wang Xiaoming got out of the car, his eyes lowered to his phone.

The satellite positioning on the phone displayed two signals.

"No deviation, Guo Fan lives in this complex," murmured Wang Xiaoming as he sent a greeting message, preparing to meet Guo Fan.

Soon.

Inside the high-end residential complex, in a rather luxurious villa, an elegant solid wood tea table was placed on the floor, surrounded by several faux-antique screens.

At the tea table, a man in his late thirties, rather thin, was intently watching a teapot being heated on a charcoal stove on the table.

Whether it was an illusion or not, under the overhead light, the man's complexion was unnaturally pale, lacking the vitality of living flesh, giving off a discordant creepiness. His eyes were numb, empty, without a spark of life; he sat still, resembling a corpse.

Guo Fan didn't like tea, but people need to do something to pass the time when idle, especially those like him, who must not dwell on wayward thoughts—distraction was the best method.

Boiling water, making tea—a simple task, which Guo Fan always made complicated.

The type of teapot, selection of tea leaves, intensity of the fire, even the kind of charcoal, he took considerable time to learn about them all.

"Wang Xiaoming sent a message, looking for you," said another man across the tea table, handing over a phone displaying a message.

Guo Fan's face shifted slightly, surprised: "Professor Wang looking for me? That's unexpected. We're hardly noticeable, and we've even failed to become team leaders before. Why would Professor Wang make time for us?"

"Not me, you," said Zong Shan, shaking his head gently.

"What a hassle, if he's already at the door, it must be something serious."

Guo Fan felt somewhat helpless, took a deep breath from a cigarette next to him, and then went to welcome this esteemed guest.

Soon.

The gate opened.

Wang Xiaoming stood outside alone, followed only by a silent bodyguard and an assistant.

"Professor Wang, what a rare visit," Guo Fan forced a wry smile, seemingly trying to appear warm.

Wang Xiaoming didn't bother with courtesy and walked straight into the house: "Is Zong Shan here too?"

"Zong Shan is my buddy, of course, he's here," replied Guo Fan. "We even acted together in the lead ghost plan recently. It's not easy these days to have a trustworthy teammate. You're not here to poach him, are you, Professor Wang?"

"Shall we have a seat and talk?" Wang Xiaoming looked at him, glancing around.

"Of course, no problem. I was just enjoying tea with Zong Shan. Professor Wang, you can comment on my tea-making skills—I've been professionally coached," Guo Fan said with a forced laugh.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Wang."

As Wang Xiaoming entered, Zong Shan quickly stood to greet him.

Here, everyone can be offended except for this Wang Xiaoming.