Shen Lin froze.
“Impossible. This is only a segment of memory. Everyone inside it is false. How could...”
Shen Lin and Li Leping had been observing from here for a long time. At first, that middle-aged man had only glanced in their direction, whether intentionally or not, but as time passed, those terrifying eyes actually seemed to lock onto the two of them, staring fixedly at them.
“Leave this place. This is only a memory fragment. Something like this is too absurd. I don’t know much about the ghost controllers of the Republican era, but if we really come to blows, we definitely won’t be able to withstand him. The urgent matter now is to find that pendulum clock.”
Li Leping nodded. He also knew a little about ghost controllers from the Republican era. Though what he knew was not much, he knew that most people back then often controlled only one malevolent ghost, unlike now, where multiple malevolent ghosts could exist within a single body at the same time.
But at the same time, this also meant that the terror level of that ghost was extremely high, because one ghost was already the limit they could endure. If a second one were to be introduced, they would likely die violently on the spot.
If this Republican-era ghost controller truly attacked the two of them, Li Leping did not think they would survive.
Just as they were about to leave, a horrifying figure madly closed in on the two of them. That person acted with extreme decisiveness, his speed so absurdly fast that the two of them had no time to react at all. A rotting arm grabbed Li Leping by the neck almost in the blink of an eye and lifted him into the air.
A lifeless voice rang out. “You can even find this place. It seems that in later generations, there are still people plotting against my Wang family.”
Beside them, Shen Lin’s eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
“You actually possess self-awareness?!”
That person ignored him. His hand exerted even more force. From the look of it, he intended to strangle Li Leping to death right here in this memory.
“Let go!”
Shen Lin raised the axe and hacked down, but at the instant it was about to touch the first-generation Wang, his entire body suddenly went out of control and actually began slowly retreating backward.
Shock appeared on Shen Lin’s face.
“A range-type restart?!”
There was no time to think. Raising the axe again, Shen Lin’s figure immediately blurred and vanished from where he stood.
Immediately afterward, the entire memory fragment began to tremble. The first-generation Wang’s expression changed slightly. In his memory, Shen Lin’s figure had actually appeared, but this situation was far too strange. He himself was a medium existing within memory, yet Shen Lin had used some unknown method to invade him.
“A memory within a memory... a very special method of attack.”
Within the memory, that terrifying figure carrying an axe slowly emerged. As Shen Lin launched his attack, Li Leping also began to move at the same time.
Scorched black smoke spread from within his body, rapidly forming a blurry black shadow.
The first generation of the Wang family stared fixedly at Li Leping. At a certain instant, a trace of confusion actually appeared on his face.
But he had seen far too many strange anomalies. The hand gripping Li Leping suddenly exerted force, actually choking black smoke out of his mouth.
“Go back!”
With a low shout, the trembling of the entire space actually came to a stop. The whole world was reversing. This memory fragment had been restarted by the first generation of the Wang family in an instant.
The cold, gloomy daylight retreated. The dark mass of clouds shifted backward. The workers repairing the ancient residence walked step by step into the distance in reverse. The black smoke shrank back into Li Leping’s body.
Then came Shen Lin. Carrying that axe, he returned to his original position.
“No... that’s not right.”
Shen Lin’s face was filled with disbelief. He had actually noticed nothing at all. Feeling the immense weight transmitted from the axe, he raised his head and looked at the first generation of the Wang family.
“It wasn’t a restart. My attack already took effect, and you yourself weren’t affected by the restart either. But I was indeed reset by you. Pure time reversal... Your condition isn’t complete. I still have a chance...”
The first-generation Wang stiffly turned his head, looked at Shen Lin, and said, “Your reaction is very fast, and your analysis is also very accurate. If I were twenty years younger, perhaps I really might not be able to deal with you. But now, the two of you can die here.”
Shen Lin stared coldly at the first generation of the Wang family and pointed beside him.
“You shifted your gaze just now, didn’t you?”
“Hmm?” The first-generation Wang let out a startled sound.
He looked toward his hand. The person who had been caught in his grasp earlier had already disappeared, leaving only remnants of black smoke slowly dispersing.
Then he looked at Shen Lin again, and a trace of appreciation flashed through his eyes. He said,
“Your way of thinking is truly novel. The instant you attacked me, you confirmed the level of threat I posed, then immediately changed your plan and decided on your second step, even your third. You did not choose to attack me. My memory was only a facade. You invaded your companion. Though it was only for an instant, it was enough for him to escape.”
Shen Lin said nothing, staring fixedly at the first generation of the Wang family, not daring to make any move. The pressure this man gave him was far too intense. Merely being watched by him made Shen Lin feel as though he were facing an extremely terrifying malevolent ghost.
All three of them remained silent, locked in this stalemate. The first generation of the Wang family seemed to be waiting for Shen Lin and Li Leping to make a move. He wanted to see how far the people of later generations had walked down the path of the supernatural, especially talents of this caliber.
Silence spread. A faint, almost imperceptible stench of corpses drifted in the air. The daylight looked unusually dim. The distant horizon was rapidly closing in with the few of them at its center. This memory fragment was already nearing its end.
There was not much time left for Shen Lin and Li Leping. Once the memory ended and they had not left this place, the two of them were very likely to become lost within it.
But at this moment, a person who should have died long ago had reappeared here in an inconceivable manner, blocking the two of them.
The first generation of the Wang family raised his head and looked at the sky. He seemed to know that he was merely an anomaly existing within a segment of memory, not his true self. He murmured,
“Consciousness-type malevolent ghosts are extraordinarily strange and treacherous. Controlling one is extremely difficult, with a survival rate of less than one in ten thousand. Yet I never expected two to appear at the same time now. Truly rare and precious.”
He lowered his head to look at his own body and continued, “Back then, I left this portion of supernatural power inside the photograph precisely to prevent someone from invading through consciousness one day. If it were some petty scoundrels, I would kill them without the slightest hesitation...”
He raised his eyes to Shen Lin and Li Leping.
“What a pity. In later generations, people like you two have appeared. Presumably, the road you walk will not be inferior to ours back then. But since you have already come here, I absolutely will not let you leave.”
The experience of the first generation of the Wang family was extremely seasoned. With one glance, he could tell that multiple malevolent ghosts existed within the two of them.
“Although they are all incomplete puzzle pieces, this is a path we never imagined. But as long as the Wang family’s bloodline is preserved, one day, we will completely end this supernatural era...”
It sounded like a sigh, and also like pity for the two who were about to die.
The first generation of the Wang family gently raised his arm and aimed it at the two of them. Then his entire wrist began to slowly rotate, as if being twisted by torque.