Chapter 1281 - 1248: A Step Too Late

“We’ve arrived in Dahan City.”

A red glow illuminated the sky but quickly vanished,

Eight individuals with peculiar expressions emerged one after another from an alley near the street. Their appearance was abrupt and out of place with the passersby, yet their arrival went unnoticed by anyone.

“Is this where the Ghost Post Office in Dahan City is located? But, if the compass points correctly, Zhang Xiangguang indeed is here.”

Lu Zhiwen glanced around, immediately recognizing the current location as he looked at the barricaded and unfinished building nearby.

“Is it that five-story unfinished building?” Leuk San approached slowly, his gaze fixed ahead.

Though he had seen the file, it was his first time here.

“It indeed seems unremarkable. It’s hard to imagine such a place concealing a Ghost Post Office, but there’s no sign of Zhang Xiangguang around here. He appears not to be nearby; perhaps he’s inside the Ghost Post Office. Let’s hope your compass is useful.”

Li Leping watched the bustling passersby; everything around was peaceful.

It hardly seemed like any supernatural incidents were occurring.

Moreover, he couldn’t sense any paranormal aura around.

Of course, it wasn’t just him—everyone else felt the same.

“Whether he’s inside the Ghost Post Office or not, we’ll know once we go in.” Wei Jing’s expression was numb.

“Just going in directly? Isn’t that too rash? Should we prepare or set up an ambush?” Zhou Deng suggested.

“…”

The others looked at Zhou Deng with peculiar eyes.

Ambush?

The opponent likely possesses the Ghost Domain too; how would you ambush them?

“Sun Rui is currently managing the Ghost Post Office in Dahan City. If Zhang Xiangguang really entered, then Sun Rui might be in grave danger. Don’t delay; go in immediately.”

Yang Jian’s eyes were heavy, and he was somewhat worried.

His Ghost Eye opened once more.

Red light enveloped the front, forming a path leading directly forward by the Ghost Domain.

Under the Ghost Domain’s influence, the building ahead transformed, no longer appearing familiar. It became a modern five-story apartment building situated in a dim world, not existing in reality.

Following the path shaped by the Ghost Domain, Yang Jian, Li Jun, Leuk San, Li Leping, Lu Zhiwen, Zhou Deng, He Yiner, Wei Jing headed straight for the apartment building.

Colorful neon lights flashed.

The sign reading “Hell Apartment” stood at the entrance.

Though the name changed, everyone knew its predecessor was the Ghost Post Office.

Their strong-willed invasion directly ignored the Ghost Post Office’s rules, not even the manager could stop their entry.

“The door is blocked.”

However, upon reaching the entrance, they found a thick wall behind the door, blocking their way in. This seemed intentional, aimed at preventing outsiders from entering or possibly keeping those inside from leaving.

“Supernatural constructs may be powerful but sometimes they have flaws.”

At this moment, Wei Jing stepped forward and placed his palm on the wall.

With slight force,

the wall collapsed instantly.

Soon after,

the lobby behind the wall revealed itself.

However, the hall was pitch-black, with a faint smell of decay in the air, and an overwhelming eerie vibe pervading.

“It seems we are a bit late; Sun Rui might have already met with trouble.” Wei Jing numbly surveyed the area.

He saw malevolent spirits within the lobby.

Not overly terrifying, but exceptionally dangerous.

Given Sun Rui was the manager, he wouldn’t likely exist in such a malevolent spirit-infested place.

“Yet the compass indicates Zhang Xiangguang is still here.”

Lu Zhiwen produced the paper covered in Zhang Xiangguang’s name, placing a pen on it.

The pen spun, pointing into the darkness ahead.

This clearly indicated to everyone Zhang Xiangguang was inside the Ghost Post Office.

“Let me light up the area to check out the surroundings.”

Li Jun spoke, then employed his supernatural ability, igniting Ghost Flame to dispel the surrounding darkness.

Ominous green Ghost Flame flickered within the ground floor lobby, dispersing the darkness, revealing the surroundings.

Though preventing sinister vibes, the luxurious lobby contained sofas, bars, bookshelves, televisions, and various modern amenities.

Only, it lacked liveliness, appearing desolate.

“Sun Rui indeed seems to be in trouble,”

Yang Jian’s face darkened; he walked in quickly without delay, searching for traces of Sun Rui with his Ghost Eye.

He worried over Sun Rui’s death, as being manager should negate death, but Zhang Xiangguang was terrifying; eliminating a manager wouldn’t be hard.

If the manager died, the Ghost Post Office might lose control, wasting all Yang Jian’s past efforts.

Soon,

his eyes fixed on a corpse, precisely speaking, a headless corpse.

The headless corpse stood eerily unmoving, holding a cane.

“It’s Sun Rui’s body.” Yang Jian’s expression changed slightly.

His greatest fear had materialized. Sun Rui suffered a grievous injury, his head severed, leaving only his body roaming the Ghost Post Office.

This scene was exactly like when Gao Ming was killed.

Without doubt,

it was Zhang Xiangguang’s doing.

“Help find Sun Rui’s head; if he’s still here, he should be alive, discovering him will unveil what happened. Sun Rui cannot die; we must save him, or else this place will lose control.”

Yang Jian instructed, “Additionally, watch out for wandering malevolent spirits; stay cautious.”

“It’s a minor issue.”

Wei Jing unraveled the grass rope from his waist, expressionless, advancing into unbreakable darkness.

In the darkness, none could be darker than his.

Since he was codenamed Ghost Envoy.

“Seems we’ve drawn a blank, so be it, we’ll first handle the situation here, or else Dahan City will suffer again.” Li Jun nodded, swiftly taking action.

The others wasted no words and began dealing with the malevolent spirits here.

Yang Jian strode to Sun Rui’s corpse without hesitation, using a split spear to pin it on the wall, preventing any anomalies.

Soon enough,

The ground floor’s threat was swiftly eradicated. Some hidden malevolent spirits were discovered and then promptly captured by the captains.

Though malevolent spirits posed danger, facing eight captains together was evidently manageable.

As time ticked by,

Everyone searched for Sun Rui’s head but to no avail.

At this moment,

“I found it; I’ve found a head, don’t know if it’s Sun Rui’s.” Zhou Deng’s voice suddenly rang.

He vanished somewhere midway and returned cradling a head.

However, the head was entirely wrapped with black paper.

“Let me see.” Yang Jian moved forward immediately.

Zhou Deng remarked, “Yang, do you think this is Sun Rui? Wrapped like this, can’t tell at all.”

Yang Jian scrutinized the black paper.

It resembled black envelope paper used before when dealing with the Ghost Post Office, linked to its second manager Tian Xiaoyue before.

Without hesitation,

He accepted the head, extending his dark Ghost Hand to tear off the black paper.

As the paper fell, Sun Rui’s face appeared.

The black paper seemed to possess supernatural power, sealing Sun Rui entirely, but now this seal was ineffective.

With only a head, Sun Rui’s eyes opened, regaining consciousness.

“Yang Jian?”

Sun Rui saw Yang Jian, unsurprised, promptly asked, “What time is it? How long was I sealed?”

“Not long, likely under half an hour. I pursued Zhang Xiangguang here; he had at most half an hour for his deeds.” Yang Jian answered.

“Is that so.” Sun Rui breathed a sigh of relief, “I thought much time had passed.”

“Let me fix your head back first.”

Yang Jian brought Sun Rui’s head to his body.

A Ghost Shadow behind him rose slowly, retrieving the head from Yang Jian and placing it onto the headless body pinned on the wall.

The Ghost Shadow’s stitching instantly took effect.

The head fit onto the body perfectly, as if the wound never existed.

After finishing everything, Yang Jian then pulled out the coffin nail that was pinning down the corpse.

Immediately.

Sun Rui recovered.

“This time really is embarrassing, not only did I not help but also added trouble for you.” Sun Rui sighed.

Seeing so many people come to help, he felt a bit awkward.

“Let’s first restore things here and then we’ll talk.” Yang Jian said.

“Okay.”

Sun Rui nodded.

The next moment.

The dim apartment was immediately lit up, the doors that had appeared on the walls closed with a bang and quickly disappeared.

The wandering ghost in the floor was forcibly sent to the depths of the apartment, unable to reappear.

In just a few minutes, everything here was restored to its original state.

“Is this the ability of a manager? It truly is incredible, but I want to know, if you can control everything here, how did you lose so badly?” Zhou Deng was amazed as he watched, then he cast a puzzled look at Sun Rui.

“Brother, don’t mention the embarrassing stuff, there are so many people here, at least give me some face.” Sun Rui said.

Zhou Deng said: “Alright then, I’ll go over there and take a look around, you don’t mind, do you?”

“I don’t mind, you’re welcome to come by anytime.” Sun Rui said.

“Sun Rui, where’s Zhang Xiangguang?” As things settled down, Li Jun came over immediately and inquired.

The other captains saw that the situation was improving and, no longer busy, gathered over too.

“Everyone, please sit, I’ll speak slowly.” Sun Rui said, then gestured for everyone to sit on the sofas.

Soon.

The ground sank, several sofas rose and appeared before everyone.

“The situation is urgent, there’s no time to waste.”

He Yiner urged: “Don’t dawdle.”

“Just a moment ago, Zhang Xiangguang brought three people and broke into the Ghost Post Office. At first, I thought they were the Fifth Floor Messengers left from back then, but then I recognized Zhang Xiangguang and became alert. Initially, I wanted to trap them in the Ghost Post Office, but in a flash, my head was chopped off.”

Sun Rui sighed: “After that, he took away He Yuelian and repelled Tian Xiaoyue. I couldn’t stop him and was forced to be subdued by the black paper from Tian Xiaoyue, cutting off my perception and putting me to sleep, hiding me in some part of the apartment.”

“I don’t know what happened after, but there’s no way the Ghost Post Office could trap Zhang Xiangguang, he likely has already left.”

“But he’s still in the Ghost Post Office, my pen wouldn’t be wrong.”

Lu Zhiwen slightly opened his mouth, a continuous voice came out.

Sun Rui said: “That is Zhang Xiangguang in the oil painting. He was once a messenger in the Ghost Post Office. After delivering their last letter, every messenger leaves behind an oil painting in the Post Office, and the person in the painting is forever frozen in that moment. Furthermore, the version of oneself in the oil painting can only exist in the world of the painting and cannot appear in reality.”

“So the Zhang Xiangguang in reality is the real Zhang Xiangguang, while the one in the oil painting is just a record from when he was a messenger.”

“I see.” Lu Zhiwen slightly nodded.

Yang Jian asked: “Is He Yuelian always here?”

Last time he asked He Yuelian to find Sun Rui here, and he didn’t expect to run into Zhang Xiangguang this time. It was too coincidental.

Sun Rui said: “Sorry, given the situation at the time, I couldn’t protect her.”

“Now He Yuelian and the ghost painting are all in Zhang Xiangguang’s hands, it seems he’s almost done with what he wanted to do, and it’s the next part that I’m most worried about.”

Yang Jian frowned, also feeling that Zhang Xiangguang’s progression had been too smooth.

It seemed everything was going according to his plan.

“I want to meet Zhang Xiangguang in the oil painting.” Yang Jian said.

“That’s no problem.” Sun Rui nodded.

He Yiner said: “Now that the situation here is under control, we should be tracking down the culprit, he hasn’t been in Dahan City for long, he must still be nearby, we can catch up with him soon.”

“It’s useless, without understanding what Zhang Xiangguang wants to do, we can’t stop him, he can always stay a step ahead of us.” Yang Jian said.

“Yang Jian is right, talking to the past Zhang Xiangguang might let us know what he wants to do, so we can get ahead of him and block him, otherwise just chasing after him is a futile effort.” Leuk San walked over and said: “Your impatience won’t work, if the opponent uses this against us and prepares, we’ll suffer when we go.”

He Yiner said: “If we keep dragging on, the other is likely long gone.”

“Since we’ve already come, another moment won’t matter, let’s hear what Zhang Xiangguang in the oil painting has to say.” Wei Jing said with a numb expression.

“Since you’re all saying that, I’ll take back my previous suggestion.” He Yiner didn’t argue and chose to relent.

Soon.

An oil painting was brought by Sun Rui.

This oil painting was very large, depicting a man of about thirty, wearing a Zhongshan suit, looking quite refined.

Yang Jian didn’t hesitate and immediately walked towards the oil painting.

As soon as he touched the oil painting, his figure was absorbed into it, becoming a person within the painting.

“This thing is similar to the Ghost Painting,” Li Jun observed.

“Let’s go inside and take a look,” Leuk San curiously suggested, wanting to investigate further.

The others also wanted to see who this Zhang Xiangguang really was, so they followed Yang Jian and Leuk San into the painting.

However, Zhou Deng didn’t go in; he wandered off somewhere and was no longer visible.

Inside the painting was an eerie five-story building.

This was the Ghost Post Office within the painting.

“Has Yang Jian arrived?”

Yang Jian’s arrival immediately caught the attention of many people inside the painting.

These were not living people; they were former Fifth Floor Messengers. After delivering their last letter, their memories at that time were completely retained, even possessing some supernatural ability, although not to the extent of when they were alive.

“I’m here to find Zhang Xiangguang.”

He said directly, getting straight to the point.

“He’s here.” Some of the people in the painting pointed to a spot not far away.

Zhang Xiangguang stood there, looking over with curiosity.

Yang Jian walked over with large strides: “The you outside in the real world has caused quite a commotion. He took the Ghost Painting, took He Yuelian, and eliminated a person in charge… I want to ask you, do you really not know what he intends to do?”

“Goodness, Zhang Xiangguang, you really make a mess, don’t you? Killing the city head, are you trying to rebel?”

An older, outdated person looked at him with some surprise.

“No wonder you haven’t disappeared; it turns out the you outside has always been alive, truly admirable,” someone marveled.

“Always causing trouble for the younger generation, Zhang Xiangguang, you’d be better off dying sooner,” another person snorted coldly, expressing displeasure.

The other leaders also appeared, watching Zhang Xiangguang and, like Yang Jian, hoping for his answer.

“This question again.”

The Zhang Xiangguang inside the painting sighed and said, “I’ve already answered last time; everything about me stopped when he left the Ghost Post Office. What he experienced and what he wants to do afterward, I truly know nothing about. Honestly, I also want to cooperate with you, but what I can do is indeed very limited. After all, time can change people, right?”

“Yang Xiao, what do you think?” Yang Jian looked at another person.

Immediately.

Another person emerged from the corner, looking about seventy to eighty percent similar to Yang Jian, at first glance almost mistaken for the same person.

“Yang Jian? No, it’s not him, just someone similar,” Leuk San was surprised.

“Yang Xiao? This should be a pseudonym; his real identity should be Yang Jian’s father.”

Lu Zhiwen said, “In the archives, Yang Jian’s father is named Yang Xiaotian, and his mother is named Zhang Fen, native of Dachang City, Yang Town, Meishan Village… However, Yang Jian’s father has been dead for over a decade; the cause of death was a car accident. This Yang Xiao here should be a supernatural duplicate left before his father died, just like Zhang Xiangguang.”

“I see.”

The others suddenly understood, greatly astonished at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Yang Jian’s father was also a ghost wielder and got involved in supernatural incidents.

“Why do you think I would know anything?” Yang Xiao asked.

Yang Jian said, “Intuition.”

“Intuition? Alright then, based on my understanding of him, if he intends to do something significant, he will definitely go to the place where the nightmare began. This is both determination and cutting off the past,” Yang Xiao slowly spoke.

“No matter what Zhang Xiangguang wants to do, I guess he will definitely start from Shuangqiao Town.”

“Shuangqiao Town? Your hometown?” Yang Jian looked at Zhang Xiangguang again.

The Zhang Xiangguang in the painting nodded: “Indeed, that is my hometown. However, I’ve never mentioned this place here. Yang Xiao, how do you know about it?”

Yang Xiao simply said, “Talking in one’s sleep is not a good habit.”

“I see, did your supernatural power ever interfere with me before?”

Zhang Xiangguang chuckled bitterly and said, “There is an abandoned private school in Shuangqiao Town. I’m not sure if it’s still there, but you can go take a look. I used to study there, which might provide you with some help.”

Yang Jian gave him a deep look: “I hope you truly cooperate with us and aren’t intentionally hiding something.”

“I haven’t hidden anything,” the Zhang Xiangguang in the painting declared earnestly.

“Let’s head to Shuangqiao Town now and intercept him,” Li Jun suggested.

Yang Jian nodded, not wasting any time, and immediately turned to leave.

“Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, the Zhang Xiangguang inside the painting reminded them: “I used to know some ghost wielders. If you are going to deal with him, be cautious of a few very skillful aides he might have. I’m not sure if those people are still alive, but a few of them you must be especially careful with, namely Song Xin Hai, Nie Yingping, Zhang Xian, and Chen Qiaoyang.”

“Alright, I got it,” Yang Jian nodded.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com

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