Mysterious Revival

"The Ghost Child can freely come and go in my Ghost Domain."

When Yang Jian used his Ghost Domain to travel between locations again, he realized that the Ghost Child he had brought from Wang Shanshan's side had become part of it upon entering his Ghost Domain. Not only did it follow closely without falling behind, but it could also move to any place within his domain.

He had experimented along the way.

No matter which level he opened his Ghost Domain to, the Ghost Child could invade it at will.

In other words, Yang Jian's Ghost Domain was incapable of stopping this thing.

"An incomprehensible eeriness, this Ghost Child has the characteristics of a Hungry Ghost and a Ghost Eye," Yang Jian glanced at the Ghost Child roaming about within the domain, and his wariness deepened.

If this thing went out of control, he would be the first to be attacked. Opening the Ghost Domain not only failed to block it but would also become an opportunity for it to get close to him.

"Although I've altered its memory, I'm not certain it will work, so I must be cautious no matter what."

Yang Jian had considered killing it.

But this world was too dangerous. Be it the human skin parchment, the Ghost Cabinet, the Ghost Mirror, or even the Ghost Infant from the Second Stage, they were all assets to increase his chances of survival. He couldn't avoid using something just because it was dangerous—he would have been dead long ago without these items, not surviving to this point.

Absolute safety didn't exist. As long as the risk was within a controllable range, Yang Jian was willing to take it.

"Come here."

Yang Jian gave a command to the Ghost Child. He needed to grasp its behaviors in a short time and then determine in what situations he should allow it to appear.

In the distance, the Ghost Child that was standing atop a tree in the mountains vanished in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, it appeared by Yang Jian's side.

Just one look at the Ghost Child with its dark greenish-black skin made one feel afraid, those red eyes without pupils strangely exuded a bizarre ferocity. At this moment, it was tilting its head slightly, looking at Yang Jian as if waiting for the next command, but this seemingly innocent and naive gaze was inexplicably chilling.

However, Yang Jian had no further instructions. He needed to judge what the ghostly thing would do next without his command.

Would it continue standing there foolishly, or would it have some independent ideas?

At this moment, Yang Jian was observing, and he was also watching the time.

About ten minutes passed.

Without further instructions from Yang Jian, the Ghost Child started looking around rather than staring at him.

About twenty minutes later, the Ghost Child began to move around Yang Jian's vicinity but didn't stray too far; its range of activity was roughly within five meters around him.

Finally, after thirty minutes, the Ghost Child no longer seemed affected by the previous command. It began reverting to its prior behavior, roaming all over Yang Jian's Ghost Domain. Sometimes it would perch on a branch, staring into the distance, and other times it ran around the domain seemingly playing on its own.

"Less than thirty minutes of constraint time, it also proves that the Ghost Child can understand what I say," Yang Jian noted down this time.

"Do not leave the area within ten meters of me."

The next moment, he issued another command.

The Ghost Child looked at Yang Jian, then suddenly ran back. Its range of activity was restricted; although it still ran around haphazardly, it did not leave the ten-meter radius around Yang Jian.

"Go stand under that streetlight," Yang Jian said, pointing toward the distant light.

The streetlight was at least thirty meters away from him. Just before, he had issued a command not to leave a ten-meter radius from himself. In other words, these two commands conflicted with each other, and he wanted to confirm what reaction the Ghost Child would have to the issuing of conflicting commands.

Would it, like a real ghost, experience a crash?

The answer soon became apparent.

The Ghost Child ignored the previous restriction of staying within ten meters and ran to stand under the streetlight. Moreover, it didn't run back.

Yang Jian frowned slightly, "The new command overrides the old one. The Ghost Child won't crash due to command conflict like a real ghost would, so there's no need to worry about that."

After some probing, he gained a rough understanding of the Ghost Child.

"The only thing left is to analyze the Ghost Child's own condition... But before that, there's something else I need to confirm."

Yang Jian looked over at the Ghost Child not far away and said directly, "Call me daddy."

It wasn't that he was indulging in a twisted sense of humor, but rather he wanted to see if this thing could actually speak.

The Ghost Child looked at Yang Jian, opened its mouth as if trying to speak, but no sound came out. The inside of the Ghost Child's mouth was pitch black; there was no tongue, no throat, and not even teeth. It seemed underdeveloped, with many parts of the body not fully formed.

"Unable to speak, yet still trying to do so... Is it because it's missing pieces of the puzzle?" Yang Jian's gaze sharpened.

He remembered that the original Hungry Ghost had teeth, as did the other Ghost Infants that had been derived from it, but this thing did not.

"Now, I'm a bit curious to see what kind of change will occur in the Ghost Child after it consumes a ghost. Will it be eroded by the consumed ghost, just as a living person is when a fierce ghost revives, or will it be able to control the consumed ghost? Turning the consumed ghost into one of its jigsaw pieces?"

This answer was extremely important.

If it was the former, the potential of the Ghost Child wasn't as great as imagined. Although it could provide significant help, the chances for utilization might not be many.

If it was the latter... That would be terrifying.

Yang Jian might be able to raise a Hungry Ghost that would obey his commands.

Someday his nickname, Ghost Eye Yang Jian, could be changed, perhaps to Dachang City's Foster Dad would be more appropriate.

Raising such a creature, wouldn't that be like fostering a father? Yang Jian would have to hold onto its coattails in the future.

"If I'm to feed it with a ghost, the first one must be a harmless existence that can be dealt with, to prevent bad luck from befalling me if it gets out of control," he mused.

The number of ghosts he held captive wasn't many.

Some had been subdued by him, some handed over to headquarters, and the most suitable ghost remaining in his possession was just one.

The Ghost Skeleton that was left behind after Wang Xiaoqiang was taken down.

It was among the least dangerous ghosts, Yang Jian guessed, likely a piece of some devoured corpse that had been dismembered and scattered, akin to his own Ghost Hand. Although it was a ghost, the level of danger it posed was quite low.

"That thing, although minimally dangerous, is too singular. It could be directly controlled by a live person in a critical moment, saving someone close to death. Feeding it to the Ghost Child might be a bit of a waste."

"Or perhaps the Dead Man's Head I obtained after the scuffle with that circle of friends last time?"

Yang Jian considered another ghost.

A ghost whisperer left a ghost after his death, a dead man's head.

However, the ghost was somewhat dangerous, a terrifying head that couldn't be expelled even by the power of the fifth level in the Ghost Domain. If swallowed by the Ghost Child, it might pose a certain risk of going out of control, but the dead man's head was very effective. Ghosts targeted by the dead man's head were suppressed, and the person it focused on was likely to die within a short period.

As for the risk of revival, Yang Jian didn't know; after all, his knowledge was still quite limited.

The rest, like bloodstained old newspapers, worn embroidered shoes, and the Ghost Shroud, were all items of supernatural significance. To some extent, they were not true ghosts, and Yang Jian didn't want to experiment with these things.

While contemplating, Yang Jian had once again arrived at a villa community on the outskirts of the city.

Villa No. 8, left behind by He Tianxiong, was his temporary residence in Big J City, so there was no need to stay at Ping'an Hotel anymore. After all, Ping'an Hotel was full of headquarters staff, and many things and secrets couldn't be hidden there—like his appearance today with the Ghost Child, which would be immediately known to headquarters.

Yang Jian looked around.

The survivors from abroad, including Li Yang, had already left during the day. They must have received headquarters' arrangements and no longer needed his worry.

However, when he entered the villa, he found the inside brightly lit.

There was a young woman sitting on the living room sofa. She was petite, with twin ponytails, and had a pure and adorable appearance. She was currently eating various snacks and fruits on the table while watching TV.

"Liu Xiaoyu? What are you doing here?" Yang Jian frowned, then looked around.

It seemed she was the only one there.

"Yang Jian, you're finally back. I knew you would be here. I've been waiting for you for hours," Liu Xiaoyu said, hastily putting down the snacks and switching off the TV before standing up from the sofa.

"Just you alone?" Yang Jian asked.

Liu Xiaoyu nodded quickly, "Yes, just me. I received a call from that Li Yang and found out that you were staying here after leaving Ping'an Hotel. The deputy minister asked me to accompany you for a few days, so I came over."

"Accompany me for a few days? What do you mean?" Yang Jian continued to ask.

Liu Xiaoyu giggled, "It means wherever you go, I'll follow. The deputy minister asked me to stay close to you for easy contact at any moment."

Yang Jian thought for a moment and understood Cao Yanhua's consideration. Tomorrow was the deadline given by Wang Xiaoming for his response. Cao Yanhua was worried about not being able to find someone in time and causing a delay, so he had Liu Xiaoyu come directly.

"I suppose there's also an element of surveillance, isn't there? Cao Yanhua wants to know what I've been up to recently? He doesn't trust me. But you've got guts, daring to come here alone to keep an eye on me. You should know it's not safe around me. One carelessness could be fatal."

Liu Xiaoyu made a helpless expression and retorted, "What can I do? Someone has to do this job. I'm your contact person. Now that you're suspended, I'm on leave too, so I'm the most suitable choice."

"There are plenty of staff at headquarters, definitely no shortage of people. The only reason they sent you is probably that they think we have a good relationship. If it were someone else, they might mysteriously disappear the next day. Outsiders might not know, but don't you know? Because of the friend circle incident, I've already had a falling out with Cao Yanhua," Yang Jian said.

"That's all in the past, don't dwell on it. Besides, I cried for you for half a day, and I didn't blame you, did I?" Liu Xiaoyu said.

Yang Jian did not respond to her but suddenly sensed something and shouted, "Come here."

Liu Xiaoyu was startled and then pouted, "What are you being so fierce for? I'm coming, I'm coming."

"I'm not calling you." Yang Jian's gaze turned cold. "I'm calling the thing behind you."

"What?"

Liu Xiaoyu instinctively looked back and her pupils suddenly constricted. Her heart seemed to stop beating at that moment, as she saw a child of about six years old standing behind her, eerily watching her. The most bizarre aspect was the child's dark blue-black skin, which made him look like a dead person, and his blood-red eyes without any pupils exuded a terrifying ferocity.

As if he wanted to devour her alive.

However, in the next moment,

the Ghost Child gave up on Liu Xiaoyu. It ran across the floor barefooted, its movements swift like a shadow flashing by, and quickly hid behind Yang Jian like a scaredy-cat.

"Is this... a Ghost Infant?"

Liu Xiaoyu's heart was racing, and her body felt as if it had frozen, her eyes filled with unmistakable terror.

She had seen the Hungry Ghost's files because she had created them, so she was very clear about the image of the Hungry Ghost. She even had specific illustrations for the changes in each stage of the Ghost Infant.

To compile the Hungry Ghost's files, Liu Xiaoyu had even suffered from insomnia and nightmares for a whole week.

"You were almost attacked by it," Yang Jian said seriously as he looked at her.

Just now, the Ghost Child had come behind Liu Xiaoyu without any orders from him, and after observing her for a bit, he even sensed its intention to attack.

This intent to attack was becoming stronger as time passed.

If Yang Jian hadn't called out in time, the Ghost Infant might have really pounced on her.

"The Ghost Infants of the Second Stage will attack anyone they see or come into contact with. To some extent, Ghost Children are also affected by this rule—they will attack living people they see... But it seems the blood-stained newspaper has modified its memory and had some effect,"

"It will hide if seen by living people."

Yang Jian glanced at the Ghost Child hiding behind him.

Because the blood-stained newspaper written to modify its memory had stated:

First, obey the orders of Yang Jian and Wang Shanshan completely.

Second, the Ghost Child is forbidden to kill without the orders of Yang Jian and Wang Shanshan.

Third, it is forbidden to appear arbitrarily in crowds.

So, the Ghost Child avoided people because of the existence of the third command, but the second command had a flaw; it forbade killing but didn't forbid harming.

In other words, once you are seen by the Ghost Child and you are unaware, it will attack you from a position outside of your field of vision.

Thinking back to something Wang Shanshan had mentioned, about the Ghost Child running out five days earlier and returning with a few human fingers in its mouth,

Yang Jian believed the Hungry Ghost's instincts were still present, and even if it didn't kill, it would still harm people.

But to what extent it would harm, Yang Jian couldn't determine, as people could also die quickly from serious injuries.

Therefore, to prevent the Ghost Child from killing completely seemed an impossible task; it could only be continuously constrained.

Any indulgence might lead to this creature attacking living people nearby.

"I must issue another order forbidding the Ghost Child from approaching living people, and considering that orders can be overwritten, this command needs frequent updating. I have to repeat it whenever there's an opportunity; I cannot let this Ghost Child go out of control," Yang Jian thought to himself.