Mysterious Revival

Zhou Deng’s decision was unexpected; he actually volunteered to take on this almost certain death task to lure away the fierce ghost.

Yang Jian was surprised, and even Yang Xiaohua and Li Yang beside him showed expressions of disbelief.

They all felt that, considering Zhou Deng’s personality and previous behavior, it was unlikely for him to take on this task. Moreover, this letter delivery task had nothing to do with him. If he wished, he could simply turn around and leave without any issues.

But he still did it.

“Why?” Yang Jian frowned.

Zhou Deng, however, was surprised and said, “Why not? I’m the most suitable here, isn’t that right? That messenger named Leuk Qingqing can’t hold on for much longer. Right now, she can’t be said to be unwilling; even if she were willing, she can’t go far. Actually, the ones truly suitable to act as bait are only you, Captain Yang, and me.”

“In a situation where there’s a choice between two, my death here is more valuable, isn’t it? After all, headquarters wouldn’t allow a captain-level figure to be used as bait to save a group of ordinary ghost handlers. This isn’t a matter of willingness; it’s a matter of worth.”

“Even if I let you be the bait, and the few of us left manage to survive today, what about tomorrow? Without you, the remaining people’s chances of leaving this ghostly place aren’t high.”

“Both emotionally and rationally, I’m the most suitable.”

Yang Jian said, “Don’t you have any opinions?”

“My opinion doesn’t matter. What’s important is whether the remaining people can survive. I’ve experienced situations where necessary sacrifices need to be made in a team… This cruel world is like this, and if you can’t understand that, you don’t deserve to live. Aren’t you willing to roll the dice with me to decide who dies, Captain Yang?” Zhou Deng paused for a moment, a hint of sadness on his face.

It seemed like he had been through something similar.

When facing supernatural events, someone inevitably has to sacrifice.

Only that time, Zhou Deng wasn’t the one sacrificed; he survived.

“When you took out the dice, I actually knew that we’re the same kind of people. We won’t hesitate when it’s time to die, just depends on whether that moment has come, whether we need to die.” Zhou Deng smiled.

“I read the file on the Dachang City Hungry Ghost incident; Captain Yang, you’re outstanding. Actually, dying to save someone as valuable as you makes my death worthwhile. Besides, ghost handlers are bound to die one day anyway, so dying in such a meaningful way leaves no room for complaint, right?”

After saying this, Zhou Deng tore off the human skin mask on his face and handed it to Yang Jian: “I don’t need this anymore, you keep it.”

“No need, a supernatural item is of little use to me. Since you’ve decided to act as bait, then keep it on your face. With the yellow paper, maybe you have a chance to fall asleep a second time.” Yang Jian looked towards that old forest.

But falling asleep in this old forest might mean never waking up again.

At least it was a hope.

Perhaps when he had the capability, he could cut down the entire forest and find Zhou Deng, who was asleep, and bring him back.

Of course, this was just a conjecture.

Whether such an opportunity existed depended on what happened next.

“Understood.” Zhou Deng said nothing further, donned the human skin mask, and set off.

His steps were quick and urgent, not wanting to waste time, without even time to say any customary words.

As for his last words,

Zhou Deng had already written them before boarding the supernatural bus. There was no need to discuss these trivial things now.

“Leuk Qingqing, you leave, I’ll lead this ghost into that old forest.” He shouted low at this moment.

At this time, the bright red cheongsam on Leuk Qingqing’s body had turned grayish-white, as if oxidized, and her black hair had also lost its luster, her legs blurring. But most of her body was not a living person’s; it was a faceless, armless puppet person.

A ghost couldn’t easily wipe out this puppet person or the cheongsam she wore.

But under the influence of supernatural forces, Leuk Qingqing herself was disappearing.

Her face was blurring, her features becoming harder to see. Once she completely vanished, it would mean her death; what remained would be useless, merely a supernaturally constructed body connected to her no longer.

Beside the elder before her, another elderly figure grew clearer and clearer.

Leuk Qingqing was right; she could hold out for a while but not indefinitely.

Upon hearing Zhou Deng’s words, Leuk Qingqing retreated swiftly without a word, moving away from the ghostly influence area.

However, the somber old man didn’t let Leuk Qingqing escape; as she retreated, the old man moved closely after her.

But Zhou Deng stepped forward past Leuk Qingqing, standing in front of her.

The ghost’s steps halted abruptly.

The attacked target shifted instantly at this moment, and the supernatural force erasing Leuk Qingqing dissipated, but conversely, Zhou Deng began to be affected.

Not daring to delay, Zhou Deng immediately left the yellow clay path and headed towards the nearby old forest.

The ghost followed, also leaving the clay path and heading in the direction in which Zhou Deng departed.

“It’s a success. The rest is up to you, Captain Yang.” Zhou Deng looked back once and said this before his figure was quickly engulfed by the shadowy fog of the old forest, vanishing without a trace.

This old forest was peculiar, easily making people lose themselves, even ghost handlers couldn’t find a way out once entered.

But both Zhou Deng and the ghost pursuing him disappeared into that old forest.

Both the man and the ghost vanished together.

Nothing remained on the yellow clay path to obstruct the others’ progress.

The remaining people watched in silence.

This ghost was unbeatable; one person had to be sacrificed to lure the ghost away using the most unfavorable method.

“Set off immediately, don’t waste time.” Yang Jian took a deep breath, adjusting his state, and single-handedly lifted the red coffin off the ground.

The ghost shadow supported the coffin from underneath, preventing it from tilting or falling.

No time to lament Zhou Deng’s disappearance.

He set off at once.

Yang Jian knew that even if Zhou Deng had lured the ghost away, it would only be temporary. Once the ghost dealt with Zhou Deng, it might return.

This old grandmother was very strange.

Her actions differed from ordinary ghosts; rather than aimless wandering, she seemed driven by some special consciousness.

As previously presumed,

Humans control ghosts, and ghosts also control humans.

This fierce ghost might have already possessed some traits of a living person.

Leuk Qingqing also glanced at the old forest where Zhou Deng vanished, not uttering a word, just resuming the carrying of the dead eagle’s body and quickening her pace.

She left the supernatural erosion.

Her body was gradually recovering, the faded red cheongsam regaining vibrancy, everything turning for the better.

“This elder’s supernatural influence isn’t complete. If it were the elder from room 301, the body affected wouldn’t recover; it’s an irreversible action. It seems this ghost doesn’t exist in the present, and its terror level is somewhat reduced.” Yang Jian watched, his thoughts turning this over.

He had been erased twice before, and he understood somewhat.

Yang Xiaohua, panting, carrying Li Yang, had been walking the entire time, already feeling quite exhausted from the long journey.

Though her stamina was good, having constantly reinforced her body since becoming a messenger,

normal people’s bodies have limits.

Her physical limit was approaching, making it nearly impossible to continue walking.

Yet, Yang Xiaohua gritted her teeth and persisted; this physical exhaustion was nothing, because she knew she was still alive, still able to feel tired, which was considerably more fortunate than others.

“Put me down. Though I can’t move easily, I can lean over the coffin,” Li Yang said, noticing her sweat-beaded face.

“No, I can still manage.” Yang Xiaohua refused the suggestion.

Li Yang said no more.

The group is dwindling.

Just now, Zhou Deng was lost, leaving only four people in Yang Jian’s group.

Along with one dead eagle.

“We’re almost there.”

After walking for a while, the surrounding darkness and gloom gradually faded, revealing the end of the yellow path.

It was a huge circular clearing.

This clearing in the middle of Old Lin had been deliberately cleared out; there were several old tombs there, not more nor less, exactly five.

But the second old tomb had collapsed, leaving a mere ruin.

Since he’d been here before, Yang Jian recognized it at a glance.

The red coffin hadn’t exhibited any abnormal changes during this time.

This might be considered good news.

Seeing this, Yang Jian subconsciously quickened his pace, hoping to bury the red coffin first to prevent unforeseen complications.

However, just as he was about to finish walking the yellow path and enter the clearing.

At the end of the road, an ominous figure slowly emerged from the nearby old forest.

It was… an old woman, carrying a vegetable basket, with a face full of wrinkles and a lifeless appearance.

It emerged from the forest, seeming unaffected by the enigmatic surroundings, able to easily tread and leave.

The ghost that had circled through the old forest reappeared on the yellow path.

This lifeless old woman stood there motionless as before, blocking the remaining people’s path forward, preventing access to the space where the elderly were buried.

“How could this be?”

Leuk Qingqing shuddered all over upon seeing this, her eyes widening instantly, her shocked expression already tinged with despair.

How long has it been?

Ten minutes?

After painstakingly sacrificing Zhou Deng to lead the ghost away, it’s now returned again, blocking their path once more.

Does this mean another sacrifice is needed to lead the ghost away?

Yang Jian tightly gripped the cracked spear, his face particularly grim. He peered with his ghostly eye and suddenly turned abruptly to look behind.

In that old forest behind, another lifeless, identical old woman appeared, a second ghost emerged, blocking the group’s retreat.

“The second ghost has appeared, Zhou Deng is dead.” Li Yang also turned back to see this, his voice trembled, revealing a terrifying truth.

Only because Zhou Deng was erased does the second old person appear.

If the third gets erased, then a third old person would appear… and so on.

Thus, this is a genuine S-level supernatural event, an almost unsolvable occurrence.

“Why, why is it like this? This letter-delivery task shouldn’t be this hard.” Leuk Qingqing began to doubt reality.

She’s had experience with several deliveries, even the terrifying room 301 supernatural incident had a chance of success.

But this time.

From the first day of burial, the difficulty was already terrifying, and now on the sixth day, this old person appears, plunging every messenger into despair.

And reality is just so.

Messenger after messenger died, the fourth-floor messengers were defenseless against this delivery mission.

Even with Yang Jian’s leadership, achieving the best possible outcome.

Without Yang Jian, all would have died on the first day.

“There must be something wrong with the Post Office, this delivery task is a suicide mission, the post office wants to erase all the fourth-floor messengers, which is closely linked to the post office being invaded by ghosts.” Leuk Qingqing almost went insane, gritting her teeth in anger.

“No, it’s not the Post Office having an issue, it’s our messenger group that’s problematic.” Yang Jian replied gloomily.

He was suspicious, the appearance of the Republic of China Period woman forced the difficulty of this delivery mission to escalate.

Why did this old person disappear for so long and now just appear?

Because Leuk Qingqing appeared.

She’s alive and participated in this delivery task.

However, discussing that now serves no purpose.

“Captain, what should we do now?” Li Yang turned over: “Direct confrontation offers no chance of success, we can only draw the ghost away like with the coffin to buy time, I can use the eagle’s corpse to restore my legs and take away a ghost.”

At this moment, he also chose sacrifice.

“But for this plan, Leuk Qingqing must cooperate, she also has to lead away a ghost, allowing the captain to survive and complete the delivery task alone, moving to the fifth floor of the Post Office.”

Leuk Qingqing immediately responded: “Why should he survive and not me?”

“Shut up.”

Li Yang snarled: “What are you but a third-rate character, alive or dead, it doesn’t matter. The captain cannot perish here; he alone can affect the external balance of the world, whereas what’s your value? Living is merely to add one more person to the world, will you take responsibility? Will you handle supernatural events?”

“You can’t even handle the Ghost Post Office, after all, just an incidental ghost handler.”

“What are you saying? His life is a life, while mine isn’t? If you deem me superfluous, why not stay here and die all together, anyway I owe no one, there’s no reason for me to sacrifice myself for him.” Leuk Qingqing was very angry.

Li Yang glared at her with murderous intent: “The captain’s right, you’re an unstable factor that needs elimination, I lacked foresight, otherwise I should’ve acted myself.”

“No need to argue, there’s another method, releasing the Eight-Tone Music Box’s curse might work together with the Ghost Dice to stall a ghost.” Yang Jian suggested.

“Is it feasible to use the red balloon? No, this method won’t work, Yang Xiaohua would get erased immediately upon appearance; when erased, ghosts increase in number, even if the red balloon sends a ghost away it’s an equal exchange, no change in quantity.” Li Yang quickly thought.

His forehead was covered with sweat from tension.

Time was really running out for them.

Ghosts approached from both front and back along the yellow path.

The distance was decreasing.

Yang Xiaohua was cold all over, her hand was pale clutching the red balloon, but she understood, today might just be the end.

Leuk Qingqing refused to be bait, and Li Yang’s plan couldn’t be executed.

Also, all methods against the ghost were ineffective…

“If only there was a White Ghost Candle now, there’d still be a chance.” Li Yang added.

Yang Jian remained silent, putting down the red coffin: “Bringing the White Ghost Candle so what, too many ghosts to risk lighting it here in the old forest, facing not just these two old people but a horde of ghost attacks.”

“True.” Li Yang said: “Is there really no way?”

Yang Jian didn’t answer; he was thinking too.

Yet, the ghosts wouldn’t allow them time to think.

Despite moving slowly, they kept nearing.

Closeby, Leuk Qingqing was fading; besides, the ordinary Yang Xiaohua was the first to be affected, her body blurred and disappearing… she was being erased.

Even the red balloon she held was fading.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com