Dachang City
Yang Jian was lying on the sofa, holding a book in his hands. The cover was extremely simple, bearing only the title and the author’s name.
They were The Research and Exploration of Fierce Ghosts and Bruce Pi.
Although it was a book, most of its contents were presented in an obscure manner, and the ends of chapters often concluded with questions.
Rather than calling it an instruction manual, it would be better to say that it offered the persons in charge some heuristic ideas provided by headquarters for resolving the problem of fierce ghost revival.
This obscure style of writing was clearly meant to prevent persons in charge from misjudging the characteristics of “ghosts.” After all, the fierce ghosts controlled by each person in charge were all different, and their circumstances varied wildly.
Headquarters’ intention was obvious. They hoped the persons in charge could rely on their own judgment to carve out a path uniquely their own.
In this era, there was simply no one who could provide guidance for this generation. Everyone could only grope their way forward through the darkness.
Yang Jian happened to be reading one passage:
“In nature, there exists a creature known as the horsehair worm, whose method of survival is to parasitize insects.
Can the relationship between ghost controllers and fierce ghosts be hypothetically compared to that between horsehair worms and insects? While borrowing the power of the fierce ghost within the body, they are also being eroded by that fierce ghost at every moment. Perhaps we should consider this problem from another angle.
Biological evolution is, in essence, a mechanism for adapting to the environment and increasing the probability of survival. Just as humanity’s evolution of intelligence was not an inevitable part of evolution, but rather an accident and adaptation of evolution.
If a certain insect, in order to adapt to the invasion of horsehair worms, evolved an organ specifically for housing horsehair worms, could humans perhaps control fierce ghosts in the same way?
Or, thinking from the human perspective of regarding fierce ghosts, could an insect be modified from the moment it is an egg, or could the evolutionary process be artificially intervened in?
Allowing the insect and the horsehair worm to gradually merge in symbiosis, so that once the insect is born, it possesses the horsehair worm’s abilities, while also being mistaken by the horsehair worm for one of its own kind and thus not being invaded. However, humanity’s exploration of fierce ghosts is still only the tip of the iceberg...”
Just as Yang Jian was reading and thinking, a rapid ringing of the phone interrupted his thoughts.
Jiang Yan’s anxious voice came from the other end of the line. “Yang Jian, something happened to Ah Wei...”
In the next second, a dense red light welled up throughout the entire room. When one looked toward the sofa again, Yang Jian’s figure had already vanished, leaving behind only a book that had yet to be closed.
Dahai City.
“President Ye, Miss Jiang has already been sent onto the plane. The investigation team’s intelligence has also been sent to your phone.”
“Mm.” Ye Zhen nodded and continued while looking at the intelligence displayed on his phone:
“This place on the map suddenly appeared?”
“Yes, President Ye. After receiving your message, I immediately sent people to investigate. This location in Dahai City was originally a stretch of wasteland. I suggest—”
“Pa.” Before Ah Wu could finish speaking, Ye Zhen directly hung up the call.
Ye Zhen and Zhang Wei were currently standing at the entrance of an old village.
A blazing sun hung overhead. The noon sunlight fell upon their bodies, yet there was not the slightest trace of warmth. At the village entrance stood a wooden sign, on which were written indistinct characters. They seemed to have been carved in blood, but had long since dried and turned black. The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.
“Big Brother Ye, I suddenly remembered that I think I forgot to turn off the gas at home.”
Zhang Wei’s expression at this moment looked as miserable as if he had eaten shit.
“Brother Wei, I told you. Within Dahai City, I will ensure nothing happens to you.”
Just as Ye Zhen was preparing to act,
suddenly, behind the two of them, a strange scarlet spread rapidly over from the distant sky.
In only an instant, an extreme scarlet radiance enveloped the entire area. What followed was a towering wave that blotted out the sky. Then, cold stagnant water continuously seeped out from the ground, and one could vaguely see several deathly pale corpses floating within it.
Ye Zhen shielded Zhang Wei behind him and stared at the sudden abnormality.
The towering wave did not stop. It directly bypassed the two of them and rushed swiftly toward the village ahead.
Something strange happened. After the cold wave swept through, the village and reality seemed to shift apart. The interior of the village was completely unaffected by the lake water, remaining as calm as ever.
“Ah Wei.”
Beneath the reflection of the red light, Yang Jian carried a hatchet and walked over step by step across the surface of the water.
At this moment, Zhang Wei seemed to have seen his savior.
“Leg Bro! Save me!”
Ye Zhen stared at Yang Jian standing on the water, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Little Yang, do you know how handsome you are?”
This was already the second time Yang Jian and Ye Zhen had met. Knowing his personality, Yang Jian ignored Ye Zhen and instead turned his head to observe the eerie isolated village before them.
The Ghost Lake Could Not Suppress It
The scarlet ghost eye on Yang Jian’s forehead swept across everything within the village.
In this abruptly appearing village, a piece of old, tattered red cloth hung in front of every household’s door. Many places were also pasted with bright red “囍” characters. There should have been some recent joyous occasion in the village.
There was nothing abnormal. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary village.
Just then, at the entrance of the village, a hunchbacked old man suddenly appeared and walked toward the three of them. The ghost eye on Yang Jian’s forehead abruptly locked onto this old man who had appeared out of nowhere. Yang Jian had not detected the old man’s trail at all; this old man seemed to have appeared from thin air.
As if he had long known that someone would come, the old man spoke:
“You have arrived. The timing is just right. I am the village chief of this village. Please follow me.”
No expression could be seen on that rigid face. He only opened his mouth woodenly to speak, yet his voice carried the emotional fluctuations of a living person.
“I didn’t, I’m not, it wasn’t me.”
Zhang Wei turned around and wanted to leave.
Yang Jian stared fixedly at the old man before them.
“Ah Wei, you can’t run now. Go in.”
Ye Zhen, on the other hand, was bold because of his skill. He directly strode into the village entrance.
“Old ghost, lead the way.”
Stifling. Deathly silent.
A oppressive atmosphere shrouded the entire village.
Within the whole village, apart from the footsteps of the four of them, there was no other sound.
A faint stench of corpses permeated the air. Even though it was currently noon, it still made one feel cold, as if inside every household lay a corpse that had been dead for a long time.
The three of them followed behind that village chief and walked through the village. The “囍” characters pasted all around were so red they seemed about to drip blood. In this enormous village, not a single human figure could be seen, as though in this world, only the three of them and the village chief ahead—who might or might not be human—remained.
“I keep feeling like someone is peeping at my butt,” Zhang Wei said in a low voice, his eyes darting everywhere. He kept feeling as though countless pairs of eyes were staring at him from behind.
“Brother Wei, do not panic. Such a minor scene is nothing more than everyday fare to me.” As Ye Zhen spoke, he placed his hand on the long sword at his waist, assuming a posture as though ready to strike at any moment.
The scarlet ghost eye on Yang Jian’s forehead swept across the village environment. This place had no aura of any living thing. Yang Jian could not even sense the existence of fierce ghosts.
“You will stay here today.”
Suddenly, the village chief stopped, stiffly raised his hand, and pointed at a low house.
“Who is the groom?”
The village chief turned his head. On that wooden face, his hollow gaze stared straight at Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei shuddered in fright and raised his right hand.
“What groom? Look at this hand of mine. It’s covered in traces of singledom...”
“The groom is right here. I am the best man.” Ye Zhen grabbed Zhang Wei’s shoulder, his tone filled with a confidence that said it was only natural.
“Then that’s good. Remember to go receive the bride tomorrow.” After saying this, the village chief stiffly turned around and left.
Zhang Wei turned his constipated-looking face toward Ye Zhen and lowered his voice. “You’re handsome, so why don’t you do it? Even a female ghost getting married has to care about looks, right?”
Ye Zhen patted Zhang Wei on the shoulder and said, “Brother Wei, you are wrong. A chosen one like me is destined to stand unrivaled beneath the heavens. How could I indulge in romantic entanglements?”
Yang Jian had not spoken the entire way. His ghost eye had been observing every movement of the village and the village chief. Only after the village chief turned a corner and disappeared did Yang Jian finally speak. “Stay inside first.”
Zhang Wei looked at the low, dilapidated house and said:
“Leg Bro, this place is creepy as hell. Are we really not going to stay somewhere else?”
“How about we just go straight to the bridal chamber?”
“Actually, I think this place is pretty good. It cultivates the temperament.”