The female corpse that had originally been perfectly still knelt down once more, her red-veiled head smashing toward the ground again.
But Yang Jian did not appear too surprised. This was part of his plan to begin with.
In the very next second as the bride prepared to kowtow, a sinister and bizarre narrow path wound its way over from afar, as though invading from some unknown supernatural place. At the end of the path, neon signs could be vaguely seen flickering.
Yang Jian narrowed his eyes, staring at the plaque flashing with colorful light: "Ghost Post Office." It was exactly as Liu Qingqing had described. The Post Office's rules had taken effect. Yang Jian knew the second step of his plan had succeeded.
The instant the Ghost Post Office appeared, the female corpse's half-completed kowtow came to an abrupt halt. She slowly straightened up and rigidly walked toward the room's door. Just as one foot had already crossed the threshold, stepping onto that twisted path—
Suddenly, a large volume of fresh blood gushed out from within the marriage contract, surging madly toward the female corpse.
The female corpse, which had been about to step out of the room, immediately froze in her movements. Stiffly, she turned back and knelt down once more, seemingly preparing again to fulfill an established killing pattern.
However, the Ghost Post Office's lights seemed to grow even more dazzling. That winding path actually advanced another inch, and the female corpse actually prepared once again to step onto the Post Office's path.
But very quickly, the blood overflowing from the marriage contract suppressed the path, forcing it to retreat a certain distance. It seemed that in the confrontation between these two top-tier supernatural entities, neither could overcome the other.
The continuous clash of supernatural forces between the marriage contract and the Ghost Post Office caused the female corpse to seemingly jam, as if stuck.
Inside this gloomy room, there was only the female corpse's endlessly repeating motions: standing up, kneeling down, preparing to kowtow; then standing up, kneeling down, kowtowing—cycling back and forth, as if it would never stop.
"Yang Jian, what did you do? The state of this female corpse..."
A hint of surprise flickered in Ye Zhen's eyes as he watched the female corpse repeatedly stand up, stand rigidly, then kneel down again. This state was clearly not something that could be achieved by two ghosts simply restraining each other.
"Every single ghost follows its killing pattern. This is an iron law they cannot change."
Yang Jian shook the water stains off his cleaver.
"Whether it's that marriage contract, or the Ghost Messenger we encountered before, or even this corpse—they're all the same. I merely caused a conflict between their patterns."
Yang Jian knew he had succeeded.
Under the supernatural impact of the marriage contract, the Ghost Post Office, and the female corpse herself, the corpse had fallen into a loop.
"Only the one who enters the coffin after the third kowtow and wedding ceremony is the 'Bride.'" This was what Yang Jian had written on the marriage contract.
By now, the identity of "Bride" had already been created. However, Liu Qingqing had already returned to the Post Office, and that coffin was now empty.
Under the supernatural clash between the Post Office and the marriage contract, the Post Office had isolated some of the marriage contract's rules. But at the same time, the Post Office was also affected by the marriage contract, simultaneously judging both the female corpse who possessed the identity of "Bride" and Liu Qingqing as residents. Yet this female corpse did not possess the letter—the most crucial item for a Post Office resident.
And now, this female corpse was only rigidly moving toward the wedding chamber in accordance with her own killing pattern.
At this moment, this female corpse was an incomplete "Bride."
This marriage contract was now restricting the female corpse. Only after completing the third wedding ceremony could it re-anchor the identity of "Bride" that Yang Jian had last written. But the final wedding ceremony had long since been completed.
Under the supernatural clash between its own killing pattern, the marriage contract, and the Post Office, this horrifying corpse had fallen into some strange supernatural loop.
Ye Zhen took a deep look at the corpse and said,
"Although its manifestation is completely inferior to that of the Ghost Painting, or the Starving Ghost and Ghost Messenger, the intensity of its supernatural power is clearly on the same level as those three ghosts."
Yang Jian nodded.
"Let's go. Continuing to watch won't change anything. As long as we no longer interfere with the supernatural, this corpse will remain in this state forever."
With that, Yang Jian, cleaver in hand, strode out of the courtyard with Ye Zhen.
A five-story building in the Republican-era style.
Above the main entrance hung a plaque with three large traditional Chinese characters written on it: "Ghost Post Office." The plaque was decorated with colorful neon lights on all sides, appearing especially striking in the gloomy environment.
At this moment, the Post Office lobby was packed with people. Everyone was gazing beyond the main entrance, their expressions heavy, their eyes filled with disbelief.
At the end of the winding, twisted path, a horrifying and bizarre dark-red figure now stood motionless, now knelt rigidly on the ground, like a scene from a looping film that could never arrive at a real moment.
A man dressed in Republican-era clothing stood atop the highest floor of the Post Office, a large blade in hand.
The gloomy environment made it impossible to see his face clearly. A pair of ice-cold eyes stared at that horrifying red figure.
After a long while, this man slowly turned around and vanished into the darkness.
"Brother Leg! Brother Ye! Are you there? I really need to take a dump!"
Inside a gold body bag, Zhang Wei was struggling to wriggle his body.
A *hua* sound of a zipper being pulled open came from beside his ear. Dazzling sunlight shone in, blinding Zhang Wei so that he couldn't open his eyes.
"Holy crap, who threw a flashbang!"
"Ah Wei, it's time to go back."
Yang Jian's voice rang out. Zhang Wei opened his eyes to see Yang Jian standing before him.
His entire body was already beyond recognition, showing no trace of a living person. A pair of eyes devoid of emotional fluctuation gazed into the distance at the chaotic, ruined city, as if completely indifferent to the lives lost in the entire city.
But Yang Jian's condition at this moment was very good.
In that village, after the fourth-layer Ghost Lake revived, it began attacking Yang Jian. But Ye Zhen had used the Death-Substitute Ghost and a bracelet to transfer it onto that female corpse.
In the supernatural clash between the fourth-layer Ghost Lake and the female corpse, the Ghost Lake was thoroughly suppressed by the corpse. This resulted in Yang Jian now being able to control the Ghost Lake even more perfectly.
Ye Zhen stood beside Yang Jian without saying a word, only silently looking at this city that had once belonged to him.
Yang Jian said, "You've changed a lot."
"When facing the supernatural, everyone has their own different experiences. Everyone is wretched. In this era where the mortal world is a prison, I'm merely one among countless people."
"I'm leaving."
Ye Zhen turned and left.
Yang Jian silently watched Ye Zhen's retreating figure.
He knew that the current Ye Zhen was no longer the chuunibyou he had been before.
"Brother Ye, where are you planning to go? Why don't you come back to Dachang City with us? The three of us can form the Zhen-Yang-Wei team! We'd be absolutely invincible!"
Ye Zhen slowly turned his head, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.
"Ah Wei, thanks. But there are things I need to do waiting for me."
"What things?"
Ye Zhen's figure had already vanished. Only his voice remained echoing beside the two of them.
"I will spare no cost to eradicate every single malicious ghost in this world."