Mysterious Revival

The village, shrouded in darkness, had become dangerous.

Yang Jian wandered through the village, without seeing a soul or hearing a single sound. It was eerily quiet, devoid of any noise, not even the screams that precede death.

Yet it was in this silent village that an unknown ghost lingered.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary person would be petrified after standing here for just a minute or two.

But Yang Jian was unlike someone who was untroubled, far from being scared, he was actually very anxious, hoping to immediately find traces of the ghost.

"There's a light over there."

Suddenly.

After making a round, Yang Jian finally spotted a distinctive place, a house with a lit doorway, the only one in the entire village where darkness prevailed without a hint of light elsewhere.

As he approached, he realized the light was coming from the village's ancestral hall.

From a distance, it seemed like there was someone standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, but due to the lighting, it was difficult to see clearly. All that was visible was a vague silhouette moving back and forth under the light, seemingly restless.

Someone was moving about outside at this hour?

"Is it the ghost?"

Yang Jian frowned and decided to go over and check.

He fixed his gaze on the figure pacing outside the ancestral hall and quickly approached, intending to end this nightmare as swiftly as possible.

However, just as he was halfway there, from a nearby alley, a tense voice suddenly called out, "Yang, Yang Jian, is that you?"

Hm?

Yang Jian abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He immediately looked in the direction of the voice, his eyes narrowing at once.

Out from the alley came Jiang Yan, covered in blood, her hair dishevelled, and her expression terrified.

"Jiang Yan? What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay in the room and not to run out?" Yang Jian instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon, ready to attack at any moment.

In this nightmare, anyone could be the ghost.

Having parted ways with Jiang Yan, encountering her again meant she could possibly be an imposter.

"I, I was attacked and nearly died, then I ran away from home," Jiang Yan said with a whimper, glancing down at her still-bleeding lower abdomen.

The blood on her was her own.

"Who attacked you?" asked Yang Jian.

Jiang Yan was still tense. "It was, it was you, but I know it couldn't have been the real you. It must have been the ghost, the ghost found me. As soon as it knocked on the door and called my name, I knew something was wrong. Then I desperately ran away. I didn't know where to go, so I just found a place to hide."

"Do you think I should believe you?" Yang Jian said.

"I'm scared too, and I don't know if you're the real Yang Jian. But I saw you heading toward the ancestral hall, and I was worried about you, so I didn't want you to take a risk. There are ghosts over there, a lot of them. I saw many people die there," Jiang Yan cried as she spoke.

She clutched her abdomen, her face pale, the wound worsening nonstop.

Although injured, Jiang Yan hadn't died immediately. However, with such wounds, she was unlikely to live until the next morning.

Yang Jian hesitated at this point.

He couldn't tell if the Jiang Yan before him was the ghost unless he went back to their home to compare right away.

But that would be a waste of time.

"If you can still walk, come with me now. Don't worry about the wound. If this nightmare ends, none of the injuries will matter. But if it continues, the ghost will come to kill you, and you won't survive until dawn," Yang Jian said coldly.

Jiang Yan bit her lip and nodded.

"Keep your distance. If you try to leave or get too close, I'll attack you," Yang Jian added.

He couldn't afford to make a mistake.

Because if he killed Jiang Yan here and it turned out to be a mistake, the real Jiang Yan would be doomed.

"Can we not go to the ancestral hall? It's really dangerous there," Jiang Yan said, following him with a hint of fear.

Yang Jian remained silent, continuing to walk forward.

But as he proceeded further, his expression gradually became more serious, for now, he had a clearer view of the figure pacing at the entrance of the ancestral hall. Although he couldn't see perfectly, judging by the clothing and stature, it looked remarkably like… Jiang Yan.

Initially, he wasn't entirely certain, but now he was convinced.

The person who had been standing under the light at the entrance of the ancestral hall was Jiang Yan.

And while Yang Jian saw Jiang Yan at the entrance of the ancestral hall, she saw him too.

"Hey, Yang Jian, over here, hurry this way, the village isn't safe anymore. We've all taken refuge here," the Jiang Yan at the entrance of the ancestral hall beckoned, urgently beckoning Yang Jian to come over.

"Two Jiang Yans?" Yang Jian suddenly turned to look back.

Behind him, Jiang Yan's face was pale, and it was unclear whether it was because of excessive blood loss. She looked at Yang Jian and also at the person in front of the ancestral hall, her expression somewhat panicked.

At this moment.

The Jiang Yan in front of the ancestral hall was running towards them.

"Is the ghost targeting me this time?" Yang Jian looked around and his complexion immediately changed.

This time the ghost's method was even more absolute than the first nightmare. To have two identical people appear in one nightmare made it clear that one of them must be the ghost.

But right now, which one is the ghost?

Is it the injured and bloodstained Jiang Yan standing behind him, or the Jiang Yan running over from the entrance of the ancestral hall?

He had left the village for a while, so it was impossible to distinguish under these conditions.

Moreover, in the dream the ghost seemed to be able to know others' memories, which meant there could be no flaws in its disguise. The only flaw was that the ghost would try to kill you, while the other people in the nightmare would not.

At this moment.

Yang Jian still had one option, which was to retreat temporarily.

But this was the worst choice because once he retreated, the real Jiang Yan would definitely be targeted by the ghost, and he would also miss the chance to kill the ghost.

"I must take action first."

Yang Jian took a deep breath at this moment, looked around again, made his observation, and suddenly turned and charged at the Jiang Yan behind him.

He moved so quickly, almost without any hesitation.

A rust-covered sharp steel rebar pierced through her chest.

"Yang Jian, what are you doing..." The blood-soaked, pale-faced Jiang Yan behind him widened her eyes in disbelief.

"I'm not sure if you're the ghost, but the best choice is to kill both of you. Hesitating will not end this nightmare."

Yang Jian remained calm and unmoved, staring intently at her before pulling out the steel rebar, turning, and rushing towards the other Jiang Yan who was coming from the entrance of the ancestral hall.

"Ah!"

At this moment, the oncoming Jiang Yan stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was happening. Her face gradually changed.

It turned gloomy and stiff, then she turned to leave.

"Thinking of leaving now? It's too late." Yang Jian had already charged over. He was prepared when he turned and stabbed Jiang Yan, planning to keep both of them there.

If it was the ghost, it would definitely reveal a flaw.

So as long as he inflicted injury without killing, he could end the nightmare before the real Jiang Yan died from her wounds.

It was because of this thought that Yang Jian did not hesitate to strike.

The one turning to leave could be determined now, that was the ghost.

The ghost was rapidly leaving, perhaps sensing danger, or perhaps Yang Jian's actions directly disrupted its plan, making it feel unable to start, forcing it to retreat.

It didn't seem to be moving fast, but in reality, the ghost was pulling away.

This feeling was very strange.

The ghost was affecting the surroundings—it was the most unfair part of this nightmare, almost like cheating.

The ghost was leaving, heading into the ancestral hall.

Yang Jian pursued it from behind, seemingly just a bit away from catching the ghost, but that small distance kept increasing.

"Bang!"

The door was blown open, and the ghost ran into the ancestral hall.

Yang Jian also entered the ancestral hall.

But in that moment, he lost sight of the ghost for just a second or two because the view was blocked by half a door.

Afterward.

Yang Jian's expression darkened.

There were quite a few people in the ancestral hall, gathered together at least twenty to thirty, all villagers from the village.

The figure of that Jiang Yan could no longer be found.

The ghost had once again managed to blend into the crowd.

"Truly seeking death, thinking that blending into the crowd makes you safe?" Yang Jian stared at the crowd, closed the ancestral hall's back door, and bolted it.

Without slaughtering this ghost, no one here today will leave.