That day, Wang Liang did nothing else. He stayed in the safe house, studying the ghost-fire brazier.
Afterward, he opened the gold box that imprisoned the Waving Ghost. Using the old method, he released ghost blood and corroded the Waving Ghost into a blackened palm.
Then he threw it into the ghost-fire brazier as well, letting the brazier burn two malevolent ghosts at the same time in an attempt to produce supernatural ashes faster.
After throwing the Waving Ghost in too, Wang Liang discovered that the ghost fire rising from the brazier suddenly weakened somewhat.
His expression changed. This thing had better not go out. Who knew whether it would reignite if it did?
Wang Liang hurriedly controlled a derivative Sadako to reach into the ghost-fire brazier and pick out that blackened palm.
After the malevolent ghost’s hand was taken out, the rising ghost fire returned to its previous vigorous state.
This made Wang Liang let out a breath of relief. It seemed the ghost fire in the basin could recover; it was just that there was a limit to the number and level of terror of the malevolent ghosts it could burn and suppress at the same time.
Wang Liang threw the Waving Ghost’s hand back in. The ghost-fire brazier burned and suppressed the two malevolent ghosts simultaneously, and it seemed there was no major problem.
Wang Liang stayed in the safe house for an entire day, observing the brazier as it burned the malevolent ghosts.
The supernatural ashes at the bottom of the brazier increased somewhat, but the speed was far too slow.
If Wang Liang had not noticed black particles occasionally falling from the two malevolent ghosts inside, then judging only by the thickness of the layer of supernatural ashes spread across the bottom, the increase would basically have been invisible to the naked eye.
It was not until early the next morning, when Wang Liang received a call from Su Xinxi saying that the ghost candles and ghost money were about to be delivered, that he finally threw the ghost-fire brazier into a gold box and sealed it shut, letting the brazier slowly burn the malevolent ghosts inside.
That way, even if no one was watching over it, and even if something went wrong with the malevolent ghosts inside the brazier and they revived, they would still be imprisoned within the gold box.
After he left the safe house, a little over ten minutes passed before the people sent by Headquarters to deliver the ghost candles and ghost money arrived.
A well-equipped squad arrived at the entrance of Wang Liang’s villa. Walking at the very front was a slightly plump man carrying a briefcase, looking just like an ordinary office worker. The moment he came up, he grasped Wang Liang’s hand with a beaming smile and shook it warmly up and down.
“Ah, you must be Wang Liang. A pleasure, a pleasure. My name is Zhao Yang. I’m the courier sent by Headquarters. This time, I’m here both to deliver the items Professor Wang arranged for you and to bring the traded malevolent ghost back.
“In addition, I’ll also be acting as your person-in-charge assessment officer and conducting the psychological evaluation for your appointment. Once it’s completed, you’ll be able to become an official person-in-charge.”
The special sense that existed between ghost controllers allowed Wang Liang to know, the instant he saw Zhao Yang, that this fellow was also a ghost controller.
“Shall we talk inside?” Wang Liang said.
“Sure thing. Let’s go in and talk.”
Zhao Yang turned and took a suitcase from the elite squad behind him.
“You all stand guard nearby. Don’t let anyone approach this place.”
The captain of the elite squad nodded solemnly. Without saying anything, he led the team to surround the vicinity of the villa.
“Heh, come on, let’s have a proper chat. Don’t worry, this assessment isn’t difficult. It’s basically just an evaluation and review of a ghost controller’s psychological state. As long as there aren’t any major anti-human or antisocial problems, people generally pass.
“After all, Headquarters is already short on people. If the screening were any stricter, there’d be no one left to serve as persons-in-charge and handle supernatural incidents in the cities.”
Zhao Yang followed Wang Liang into the villa and sat down in the living room on the first floor.
After sitting down, Zhao Yang first opened the suitcase in his hand and displayed it before Wang Liang.
The inner walls of the case were made of gold. Inside were four candles arranged side by side—one red and three white.
Leaning closer, one could faintly smell a slight stench of corpses.
Ghost candles!
Beside them were also five gaudy banknotes. They did not look particularly old, seeming like products from ten or twenty years ago.
They even had denominations printed on them. There were three types in total: three yuan, four yuan, and seven yuan. There were two three-yuan bills, two four-yuan bills, and one seven-yuan bill, adding up to a total of twenty-one yuan.
Zhao Yang did not recognize the ghost money, nor did he know what it was used for, but he did recognize the ghost candles.
He looked at the ghost candles in the case—mainly the red ghost candle—with deep envy in his eyes.
As for the three white ones beside it, he felt they were unlucky just from a single glance.
Zhao Yang had been assigned to deliver the ghost candles and also act as Wang Liang’s psychological assessment officer. He, too, was a ghost controller.
Therefore, of course he knew what ghost candles were used for. With this thing, one could practically say they had gained several extra lives in a supernatural incident. This was a supernatural resource that even ordinary people could use without side effects.
But this rare resource was something Headquarters had given to Wang Liang. He did not dare covet it in the slightest. After opening the case, he pushed it in front of Wang Liang.
“These are the resources Headquarters had me bring over. Confirm them first.”
Wang Liang moved the case over and examined the items inside. He knew of their existence and their uses, but this was also the first time he had seen them in reality.
The red ghost candle looked just like a normal candle in shape, but it seemed to be formed from coagulated blood, giving off a faint corpse stench.
Ordinarily, if there were no supernatural incidents nearby, then even if the ghost candle was lit, it could burn for a very long time, so long that there might not even be any visible signs of melting.
But if an extremely terrifying malevolent ghost were nearby, the red ghost candle might burn out in an instant.
All one could say was that this thing could not be relied on completely, but it was still insurance. Having one or two on hand was always good. Sometimes, even gaining just one or two extra seconds of safety might be enough to change the outcome.
After all, his alternative restart currently had a limit on the number of uses. Moreover, if he encountered an attack from a consciousness-type malevolent ghost, as long as it was not an attack that killed his consciousness instantly, even if he became entangled by it, he could use a ghost candle to temporarily break free, then look for an opportunity to restart and evade it.
As for the white ghost candles, they attracted malevolent ghosts, somewhat overlapping with the function of the ghost bell.
But at certain times, he could have a derivative Sadako light a white ghost candle and carry it away to lure off some terrifying malevolent ghosts.
As for the derivative Sadako being killed and the remaining unburned white ghost candle being lost, that did not matter. In any case, its role of luring away the malevolent ghosts would already have been fulfilled, and the supernatural item that was the ghost bell would not have to be lost.
The ghost money was also good stuff, its value even above that of the ghost candles. The more, the better.
“All right, I’ve confirmed it. These are the things I wanted.” Wang Liang closed the case and pushed it to the side.
“OK, then next, let’s begin the assessment directly. Don’t worry, this assessment is very lenient. It’s just a formality.”
Zhao Yang picked up the briefcase he had brought, took out several documents from it, and placed them on the table. Then he took out a recording device resembling a cellphone.
“Oh, right. This review has to be recorded from start to finish. Before we begin, I have to remind you that when I go back, I’ll be submitting your answers and the recording to the higher-ups, so answer carefully.”
“No problem,” Wang Liang said with a nod.
“Good. Then let’s begin.”