Chapter 864: Chapter 831 The Belated Text Message

Before the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box arrived, Yang Jian had already made preparations to deal with it.

Whether it was the plan, the coffin, or the weapons, everything had been sorted out in a short period of time.

The reason for such a rush was that Yang Jian could not be certain if the curse outbreak time revealed by the human skin paper was accurate. If he were to respond just in time and some accident occurred halfway through, what then?

Any joke can be made, except for those concerning life.

Especially one’s own life.

Yang Jian dealt with the curse outbreak a day in advance, and now he had moved the coffin into the safe house’s secret chamber. Then, with his newly fashioned spear, the blood-stained newspaper, and his mobile phone, he closed the door and lay down inside the coffin.

To prevent the phone from running out of battery, he also specially brought a power bank.

Afterward, he lifted the heavy metal coffin lid that was beside him and slowly closed it.

The coffin lid was designed by Yang Jian to slide into grooves, a measure to prevent him from easily escaping in case he lost control.

“Click!”

The sound of the heavy metal slot resonated as the coffin lid was sealed.

In such an airtight environment, a living person would quickly suffocate to death.

But Yang Jian didn’t care. If he could survive this ordeal, when he woke up, he would no longer be considered living and wouldn’t need to breathe or require oxygen.

A sense of pressure, both familiar and foreign, surged over him.

It felt like returning to the times in Huanggang Village where he hid inside body bags.

The inside of the coffin wasn’t dark; a reddish glow enveloped the small space.

Yang Jian employed the Ghost Domain to check the coffin’s seal.

His workmanship was not bad.

Once this metal coffin lid was on, even the Ghost Domain could be isolated as the joints were made of gold material without any scrimping, ensuring that containing vicious ghosts would be no issue.

“Since everything is alright, let it all begin.”

After getting comfortable, Yang Jian took a deep breath and picked up the blood-stained old newspaper.

The eerie paper was densely covered with rows of characters of varying sizes.

“I am Yang Jian.”

He intended to use the supernatural power contained in the blood-stained old newspaper to remind himself of his identity, so that after several days, he could reclaim his own memory, instead of his consciousness dissipating and memories becoming someone else’s recollections.

Like the people punished in ancient times.

Yang Jian covered his face with the old newspaper.

The old newspaper imbued with fresh blood was extraordinarily strange, instantly sticking tightly to Yang Jian’s skin, covering his eyes, nose, and mouth, leaving only the contour of his facial features visible from the outside.

Unable to breathe, it was extremely uncomfortable.

Feeling as if suffocating, Yang Jian opened his mouth subconsciously trying to take a breath, only to have the newspaper sink in even more tightly.

The blood-stained old newspaper, though appearing fragile, was actually difficult to tear.

Yang Jian’s entire face was sealed with no gaps left.

But he was not yet suffocating, still conscious, and even if he truly did suffocate, he wouldn’t die, because the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box was still echoing in his head. With the curse ongoing, Yang Jian would not perish regardless of the severity of his injuries, even if his head were to be cut into two, he would still survive.

“Let’s begin.”

Yang Jian’s last thought verified everything was in order. Reaching out, he pulled out the Coffin Nail that had been pinning down Ghost Shadow.

No.

Now it shouldn’t be considered a Coffin Nail anymore, but a long spear full of cracks.

Once removed.

The fully constrained Ghost Shadow immediately regained mobility.

Quickly.

Yang Jian’s bodily control was stripped away; once again he returned to the state back in the Mingyue Community–his body uncontrollable but his consciousness clear.

At the same time, the invasion of the consciousness by the Ghost Shadow reoccurred.

Yang Jian felt a cold and eerie entity trying to swallow his consciousness, but all of this was withheld by the ringing of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

As expected.

A fragile balance formed in the confrontation between supernatural forces.

This process will continue until the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box ends, bringing a great change when the curse bursts.

Just like that.

Yang Jian, his face covered with the blood-stained old newspaper, lay cold and stiff in the coffin he crafted himself, resembling a corpse, waiting for time to ferment, slowly decaying.

Nobody could imagine.

This seemingly ordinary corpse still held consciousness, merely waiting for the plan to succeed, the consciousness to return, to replace the vicious ghost, and become a specter with the consciousness of a living person.

Time passed by little by little.

Yang Jian’s corpse remained still; everything had fallen into dead silence.

However, on the next morning.

Darkness, yet a faint light sparked to life inside the cold coffin.

The light came from a mobile phone beside Yang Jian’s corpse.

There was a text message on the phone.

The sender was… Feng Quan.

But by then, Yang Jian knew nothing and could no longer care.

Feng Quan’s message wasn’t sent to just Yang Jian, it was a group text sent to all the members of Yang Jian’s squad, and the content of the message was just two words.

“Help!”

It was a distress text message.

Inside Shangtong Tower during early morning.

Today’s duty officers were Tong Qian and Zhang Han.

“What’s going on? Did you receive it, Tong Qian? It’s a text message from Feng Quan, he actually sent out a distress signal.” Zhang Han was astonished as he checked the information on his phone over and over again to confirm there were no mistakes.

It wasn’t any spam message, nor was it sent by someone by mistake.

“I received it too.”

Tong Qian frowned, using a satellite-positioning phone from headquarters, she could directly confirm the identity of the sender.

“It’s indeed from Feng Quan, and he’s currently in Dachang City, but the positioning information shows he’s still on the move, not yet in the city center.”

Zhang Han’s expression shifted: “The captain is not here, what do we do now?”

Only Tong Qian knew that Yang Jian was hiding in Safe House Number One, and she wouldn’t be foolish enough to leak such intelligence everywhere. She had only informed Zhang Han that Yang Jian was away on a business trip and wouldn’t return for a few days.

“Yang Jian isn’t here, I’ll take charge. Since Feng Quan sent a distress signal, naturally we need to go check it out.” After saying that, Tong Qian stood up, ready to set off.

Zhang Han was taken aback for a moment: “But we don’t have a Ghost Domain, it won’t be easy to provide support from such a distance.”

Tong Qian replied: “What Ghost Domain? We’re human, can’t we drive there? It’s because Yang Jian is special that he recklessly uses the Ghost Domain; how can ordinary Ghost Handlers withstand such unrestrained use of supernatural powers, unless they’re in a hurry to die?”

“However, I remember the company allocated a helicopter recently, I’ll go ask Zang Hua.”

Zang Hua was the liaison officer sent by headquarters.

He was responsible for coordinating with Yang Jian on handling supernatural events, as well as for various support duties.

“Indeed there is a helicopter available, do you need to use it?” Zang Hua immediately confirmed the situation upon hearing Tong Qian was preparing to depart.

“Yes, I need to use it now, the situation might be very urgent,” Tong Qian stated.

Zang Hua nodded: “No problem, I’ll arrange it immediately. The helicopter will take off in three minutes, please head to the helipad.”

“Thank you.”

Tong Qian immediately took the dedicated elevator to the roof helipad.

Meanwhile, Zang Hua quickly notified the pilot to prepare for takeoff.

“Is it just the two of us? Huang Ziya, Li Yang, don’t we need to call them over?” On the way to the helicopter, Zhang Han expressed concern.

“Don’t worry too much, let’s first go over and take a look at the situation. It’s not very likely for a major supernatural event to occur near Dachang City. Feng Quan’s positioning signal has been moving; I tried sending him messages, but he hasn’t replied, so mobilizing everyone without confirming the actual situation would be very reckless,” Tong Qian explained.

This approach was learned from Yang Jian.

When Yang Jian had previously gone to Dachuan City, he only took Li Yang with him and called her and Xiong Wenwen for support only when they encountered something they couldn’t handle.

In this way, the risk was reduced.

Now, with Yang Jian absent, Tong Qian was temporarily acting as the captain and needed to lead the way.

Soon.

A helicopter took off from Shangtong Tower and rapidly headed toward the source of the signal.

Feng Quan’s positioning signal was coming from a stretch of highway on the outskirts of Dachang City.

The area was shrouded in a thick fog.

Everything around was enveloped in the dense fog.

Additionally, this fog kept drifting, moving toward the direction of Dachang City.

What was eerie was that as the fog drifted, it showed no sign of dissipating; rather, with time, its coverage expanded even more and became denser.

Within the heavy fog.

A figure appeared, panicked and disheveled.

He was a man in his mid-twenties, covered in filth and stench, with a thick layer of dirt on his body, hair, and face. At first glance, he looked like a mud man, but also as if he had been buried in soil for days and had just been dug out, carrying the putrid smell of rot on his body.

He was Feng Quan.

Codename, Ghost Fog.

Feng Quan’s dirt-covered face no longer showed any expression, only a strange stiff look.

But the unease and anxiety were visible in his eyes that were exposed.

The Ghost Fog was moving, and so was he.

But he wasn’t an aberration, nor was there any fierce ghost dead set on him.

Using the Ghost Fog domain to move was draining for him, and continuous use would quickly throw him off balance, resulting in death upon the revival of a fierce ghost.

But Feng Quan had no choice but to do so.

Because he was incredibly unlucky, while investigating his former colleague Pei Dong and the Pendulum Clock curse, he aroused some people’s alertness and hostility.

So, he was being hunted down.

The conflicts among ghost handlers have always been a matter of life and death.

“Dadong City, Republic Era Ancient House, the source of the Pendulum Clock curse comes from there,” Feng Quan growled through clenched teeth: “You won’t be able to keep this secret.”

The sound drifted, reaching beyond the thick fog.

But on this highway, an old taxi was closely following him, not getting shaken off.

The taxi was quite old, already an antique, which can’t even be seen in car scrapyards anymore, making it hard to imagine that it could still be driven.

“Killing you, the secret can be kept. Pei Dong is a waste, letting Tong Qian escape, failing to kill you, causing crucial information to be leaked out. That curse involves many people’s lives and deaths, and you should not have been curiously investigating this matter. After you were lucky enough to survive last time, if you had just honestly hid in Dachang City under Yang Jian’s protection, you could have waited to die in peace.”

An icy voice came from inside the rundown taxi.

The man driving was a man in his thirties, wearing a hoodie, a mask, and a down jacket, with just his eyes exposed.

In the back of the taxi sat two people,

One was Pei Dong, codenamed Ghost Head Petter.

His complexion was grim, his scalp was cracked, showing ferocious traces as if something had violently peeled open his skin.

The other was a gaunt man with bloodshot eyes, resembling a walking mummy, sending chills down one’s spine.

Three people.

All three were ghost handlers, solely to hunt down Feng Quan, who investigated the Pendulum Clock curse.

Feng Quan was obviously unable to contend with the three of them and could only flee.

“You can’t escape. The price of using the Ghost Domain is steep, and although you have harnessed two ghosts, your own body still faces the peril of vengeful ghosts reviving. You cannot compare with those otherworldly entities, thus this is the end for you,” came the voice.

With the voice, the old taxi accelerated again, plunging straight into the dense fog.

That fog is Ghost Fog.

It is not only a Ghost Domain but also a terrifying place that can devour the living.

However, incredibly, as the dilapidated taxi charged into the fog, the heavy mist nearby began to rapidly dissipate as if it had been dispelled.

“Suppression?”

Feng Quan’s heart tightened, feeling the restless revival within him calming down.

If it were any other time, this would be good news, but now…

The car sped along, its headlights flashing on behind him.

Accompanied by the shrill, strange honking resonating.

Feng Quan reflexively turned his head to look.

The old, nearly scrapped taxi had inexplicably appeared in front of him.

“How is this possible?”

Feng Quan’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

But the next moment.

His body jerked violently, a tremendous force conveyed, as the old taxi hit him hard, sending him flying.

His body was disintegrating, his consciousness blurring, his head booming.

“It’s, it’s a supernatural item…” The thought emerged in Feng Quan’s mind.

But then, he fell heavily to the ground.

His body shattered, his head twisted at an odd angle as he lay on the highway.

The fog dissipated, the screeching of brakes ceased.

Liao Fan stepped down from the car with a sinister expression: “Still not dead? The life-saving power of your other ghost is really strong. Being hit by this ghost taxi could knock a real ghost into a brief state of paralysis, unable to move. But the balance of your body has already been disrupted, and you’ll die very soon.”

Next to the old taxi, Liao Fan, Pei Dong, and another person looked coldly at the stillness of the contorted Feng Quan.

Just waiting for his consciousness to completely vanish before leaving.

As for whether a supernatural event would break out here, that wasn’t their concern.

They were not responsible for that. They were only tasked with taking out Feng Quan, cutting off the headquarters’ investigation into Dadong City’s Republic Era Ancient House.

“I suggest we leave now. This is Dachang City, Yang Jian’s territory, and if he comes, we won’t be leaving so easily,” whispered Pei Dong, offering a reminder.

“Even if he does come, he can’t keep us here,” said Liao Fan in a hoarse, emotionless voice.

“Don’t forget, in Dahai City he had a fight with Ye Zhen and blew his cover, and the Coffin Nail is in his hands.”

Liao Fan continued, “No worries, we’ll kill and leave. Although we don’t need to confront someone on the Captain Level, that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of him. Besides, we need to confirm Feng Quan’s death, otherwise it would be hard to report back.”

Pei Dong and the other person remained silent.

Feng Quan’s body gradually began to be covered with layers of thick soil.

That was foul-smelling Grave Soil.

The Grave Soil was unceasingly engulfing his body, aiming to bury him.

This was the failure of balance; vengeful ghosts were reviving.

However, at this moment, the sound of a propeller came from the distant sky.

A helicopter approached rapidly from the direction of the center of Dachang City.

“Damn it, Yang Jian is coming.” Pei Dong was startled and quickly said.

He had suffered losses at Yang Jian’s hands and almost died, then later barely escaped. He did not dare to harbor any thoughts of revenge and only wanted to stay as far away as possible.

If it weren’t for Feng Quan insisting on investigating the Pendulum Clock curse, he would not have come back to Dachang City.

“Wait, it’s not Yang Jian.”

Another man, looking like a dried corpse, spoke: “If it were Yang Jian, he would have covered the area with the Ghost Domain first. His file and habits are well-known in our circle, and if one pays attention, it’s not hard to analyze.”

Liao Fan grinned, his laugh still hoarse and strange: “So Yang Jian isn’t in Dachang City… no, that’s not right, Yang Jian is in Dachang City. I bought his itinerary before coming here, he was in the city yesterday.”

“Then why hasn’t he come?” Pei Dong asked.

“He’s run into trouble and can’t make it. Feng Quan must have sent a distress signal on the road; if that didn’t bring Yang Jian here, the answer is pretty clear. Seems like the fight with Ye Zhen affected him greatly. Heh, looks like I should thank Ye Zhen afterwards,” Liao Fan sharply sensed something and made a judgment.

His judgment was terrifyingly precise, based solely on the absence of Yang Jian’s Ghost Domain, he deduced that an issue had arisen and Yang Jian couldn’t make it.

It was as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Obviously, he was also a top-tier ghost manipulator, possessing the qualities that one would expect of such a person.

“Feng Quan’s done for, Yang Jian is indisposed, then the person on that helicopter must be… Ghost Face Tong Qian.”

Liao Fan looked up at the helicopter that was getting closer.

“Strike while he’s down. Let’s just wipe out Yang Jian’s team in one go to avoid future revenge, and while we’re at it, take the Coffin Nail.”

Another man, resembling a dried corpse, said in a deep voice.

“Are you really going to make a move? If I remember correctly, you know Yang Jian. Aren’t you going to show any past affection?” Liao Fan glanced at the dried corpse-like man.

“As long as we’re certain Yang Jian is really in trouble, we’ll strike into Dachang City. Yang Jian has plenty in his possession, enough to exchange for half a year, or even a year of life,” said the corpse-like man.

Liao Fan narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment: “Alright, as long as Tong Qian is done for and Yang Jian is in trouble, we’ll take a trip to Dachang City. I’ve been coveting that Coffin Nail in his hand for a long time.”

“Ye Zhen was nailed to the ground; if we really get our hands on it, there may be a chance to escape the curse.”

They quickly discussed.

A plan was formed.

At this moment, the helicopter landed on the highway.

Tong Qian and Zhang Han jumped down.

“Ghost Face Tong Qian?” Liao Fan’s tone contained a strangely amused chuckle upon seeing this.

“Do you know me?”

Tong Qian tilted her head, and beneath the mask, a gender-neutral, eerily smiling face turned towards him.

“But just now, you laughed? Is it really that funny? Try laughing again.”

His smiling face faced Liao Fan, while the other face saw Feng Quan, who was unconscious and in a recovery state, and immediately a chill went through her, anger surging in her heart.

These people were attacking Feng Quan.

And Feng Quan was unable to resist.

Was it because the opponents were numerous, or was someone among these three people too powerful, Feng Quan couldn’t even flee?

“Feng Quan is in charge, have you considered the consequences of attacking him?” Ghost Face Tong Qian asked the three.

A breeze blew, and the mask on her face fell off.

Three faces were instantly exposed to everyone present.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked so much. People like you are criminals among ghost manipulators, there is no reasoning with you. The best way to deal with your kind is to kill you, because your existence will only cause greater harm and destruction, killing even more people, so please be so kind as to die,” Tong Qian said.

Tong Qian had been through a lot, and her innocence had long been buried.

The next moment,

She laughed.

No, it was her Ghost Face that laughed.

“Good, attack right after saying hi, Tong Qian, you’re quite different from what’s written on your profile,” Liao Fan showed no fear or hesitation, but instead seemed eager to try.

Not because Tong Qian was weak, but because Yang Jian still hadn’t appeared.

The previous judgment was confirmed.

Yang Jian had a problem.

“Let’s go.”

Liao Fan’s hoarse voice commanded.

“Damn it.”

Zhang Han’s face instantly turned sour. He had never expected that coming to take a look would lead to this.

They had to face three ghost manipulators.

When was the last time they fought?

Was it when he fought alongside Yang Jian in Huanggang Village against the Ghost Coffin?