Chapter 1372 - 1339: The Third Bowl

Facing some supernatural phenomena at the gathering, everyone remained very calm. They were no longer the same as they were a year ago; their mindset had long changed after experiencing so many things.

So no one was afraid. Zhang Wei even seemed eager to chop down the ghost with an axe.

“I think this supernatural incident is more unusual than any previous ones. In the past, any supernatural event would inevitably trigger the ghost’s killing rule, but today you’ll find that the ghost never initiated the killing from start to finish.”

Yang Jian said solemnly at this moment, glancing at the corpse on the ground: “This waiter was alive earlier, but after delivering the fried rice, we noticed something was off with this person, and then he immediately died. This does not fit the style of a ghost. If it were any other supernatural incident, this waiter would have been dead before delivering the fried rice.”

“Moreover, his death doesn’t seem like a warning, but rather a timely severance; severing the connection between him and the ghost.”

Liu Qi pondered for a moment, then said, “Analyzing it this way, that’s indeed the case. The ghost wasn’t trying to kill but rather used some methods, some reminders to connect with us. We just sensed it early and took the initiative to act against the ghost. Conversely, you could also say the ghost knew we would act and hence appeared around us in this manner.”

“If that’s really the case, then this thing isn’t a ghost but a person.” Wang Shanshan said coldly, “Such behavior already possesses human thinking.”

“A ghost with a living human’s thought pattern?”

Yang Jian pondered for a moment, then continued, “This possibility isn’t non-existent. In the supernatural circle, there indeed exists such a ghost. Rather than calling them ghosts, it would be more accurate to say they are people whose consciousness has been eroded by ghosts. Although they have human thoughts, their behavior is like ghosts. However, such beings are rare because when a person dies, awareness perishes, though there are exceptions. If an entity controlling a ghost encounters an accident during the transformation process, lacks dominance over the ghost, and instead is led by the ghost’s instincts, then an aberration inclined towards a ghost appears.”

Liu Qi immediately said, “I encountered a similar supernatural case. It was a new entity controller who hadn’t experienced the revival of the ghost, but his behavior was bizarre. He liked wandering the city at night, attacking pedestrians he saw, and biting off their ears. Later, I captured him and interrogated why he acted that way, and he insisted his behavior was normal, not problematic.”

“It was only afterward that I realized the things he liked doing were things enjoyed by the ghost within him. Because the ghost in his body liked biting off pedestrians’ ears, and those who lost their ears would soon die, untreatable. In the end, to completely resolve the issue, I took down that newcomer.”

“So that’s how it is.” Miao Xiaoshan nodded, understanding.

Wang Shanshan said, “So you think today’s ghost might very well possess the intention of a living person? Hence it didn’t kill but used the living as a medium to contact you, but why is the ghost trying to contact you?”

“Because of a transaction.”

Yang Jian calmly said, “I require the ghost to appear before me by midnight tonight. If the ghost manages to do so, then after midnight it can propose a demand I must fulfill.”

“The ghost making demands of you? What if you refuse?” Miao Xiaoshan hurriedly asked.

Yang Jian said, “Then the ghost will launch unlimited attacks on me.”

“Sounds like a game, so what if the ghost doesn’t appear before you by midnight, Brother Tui?” Zhang Wei stroked his chin.

Hearing this, Yang Jian’s gaze immediately sharpened: “I hadn’t considered that issue yet.”

The transaction rule of the Ghost Cabinet is mandatory. The ghost has agreed to the request, and according to the rules, it must appear before Yang Jian by midnight. If the ghost fails, it translates to an unfulfilled transaction.

The ghost agreed yet didn’t complete the deal.

This implies a rule conflict, by then the ghost would certainly be troubled, possibly even shutting down.

“As long as the ghost hasn’t appeared before me by midnight, it certainly benefits me,” Yang Jian said.

“In that case, why not hide so the ghost doesn’t see you? Once midnight strikes, it would all be over,” Zhang Wei, unusually thoughtful, suggested.

Liu Qi said, “This time, I think Ah Wei makes sense. The ghost has someone deliver fried rice and inadvertently invades the accompanying assistant, indicating it is trying to find ways to get close to you. However, the ghost is also wary of being captured the moment it appears before you, hence it’s continually seeking opportunities.”

“Suppose the origin of this matter is the Wishing Ghost near Zhao Xiaoya, then its purpose is definitely not that simple,” Yang Jian slightly shook his head.

Back when Zhao Kaiming got his entire family killed by the Wishing Ghost, it was evident how terrifying and insidious that ghost was.

Such a ghost isn’t likely to make so many moves just to cautiously approach Yang Jian and complete a transaction.

While a few people were analyzing and discussing.

Suddenly.

Yang Jian paused his words, then turned his gaze again toward the entrance.

The ghostly eye peered, already seeing the situation outside.

Soon.

The door was opened, a female waiter pushed a dining cart slowly in, a dish placed on the cart, but it was covered, hiding the contents.

“Another bowl of fried rice.” Yang Jian’s ghost eye moved, revealing everything on the cart.

Others also noticed the incoming waitress, but they remained silent, merely watching her, making the scene somewhat silent.

The female waitress acted as if she didn’t notice the gazes, merely pushing the cart slowly by herself.

“This person is suspicious.”

Liu Qi thought to himself, taking a look at Yang Jian, and seeing him remain still, he also calmed down, not acting impulsively like before.

But as soon as the female server stepped in, the door behind her closed with a bang.

Zhang Wei couldn’t hold back at the moment, lifting an axe preparing to charge, but Yang Jian stopped him: “Don’t be hasty, let her come over.”

Zhang Wei abandoned the idea of taking action this time.

But at this moment, under such a quiet and tense atmosphere, everyone’s nerves were taut.

Because anyone with functional eyesight could see the problem with this person pushing the dining cart, the same problem as with the first waiter, likely manipulated by the ghost, or perhaps this waitress was the ghost.

Accompanied by the resounding noise of the cart moving.

This waitress was getting closer to Yang Jian, without stopping her steps, smiling as if a regular food delivery service, indistinguishable from a normal waitress.

Yang Jian did not stop her because he didn’t sense danger, allowing the waitress to push the cart closer.

Soon.

The waitress, watched by all eyes, reached the table and placed the plate of fried rice on the table.

This bowl of fried rice was identical to before, still steaming as if freshly made.

“Your order of egg-fried rice has arrived, please enjoy.” The waitress spoke at that moment, and after saying this, she turned and left while pushing the dining cart.

There wasn’t any supernatural attack, nor did anything unusual occur.

“Stop.” Wang Shanshan called out coldly.

However, the waitress seemed not to hear and continued pushing the cart away.

“Brother Tui, let me take action and chop it with an axe.” Zhang Wei said, “This thing definitely has a problem, we can’t let it leave just like that.”

Yang Jian merely frowned, looking at the two plates of identical egg-fried rice on the table, feeling something was off.

If a ghost were testing him, there’s no need to send two bowls of egg-fried rice in a row, just one would suffice.

“Let this person go, if we act now, this waitress will surely die, and since the ghost isn’t her, there’s no need to waste an ordinary person’s life,” Yang Jian said.

Amidst a quiet, solemn atmosphere, everyone could only watch as the waitress left.

“What does this mean by the ghost? Afraid we’re hungry and sending us food? If it’s sending, it shouldn’t keep sending egg-fried rice; I’m not hungry anyway,” Zhang Wei complained.

Yang Jian said nothing, his ghostly eye peering, staring at the direction where the waitress left.

After leaving about twenty meters away, the waitress suddenly regained her senses, her expression somewhat confused, looking around before hurriedly pushing the dining cart away, not realizing that she had been supernaturally manipulated just moments before, only thinking she had delivered the meal and momentarily spaced out.

“Yang Jian, what about setting fire to this restaurant to drive the ghost out and also see if anyone was influenced by the supernatural?” Liu Qi suggested.

Yang Jian calmly replied, “Earlier my ghostly eye scanned this hotel at least three times, found no ghost, and saw nothing unusual; even if ghost flame truly brought out some anomaly, it definitely won’t burn out the fierce ghost. This ghost hides very deeply, not easily found.”

He encountered the Wishing Ghost before.

The Wishing Ghost does not exist in reality, the five-layer Ghost Domain can barely see an outline, and ghost flame can only burn supernatural below the five-layer Ghost Domain, hiding too deep, ghost flame can’t reach it.

Furthermore, the current Wishing Ghost is suspected to have mastered the Ghost Cabinet, and the Ghost Cabinet is a curse, something akin to a subjective existence.

If so, then the Wishing Ghost’s current state is a five-layer Ghost Domain plus subjective existence.

As long as the ghost doesn’t emerge, no one can find it.

“The key to dealing with the fierce ghost is that it still follows transaction rules, it will appear before me before midnight, and that’s my only chance to act,” Yang Jian said.

“Yang Jian, you say the ghost will meet you before midnight, suppose the ghost succeeds, and we couldn’t deal with it, wouldn’t the ghost propose a request after midnight, and might that be the very goal the ghost wants to achieve?” Wang Shanshan asked.

“I can play tricks, not fulfill the ghost’s transaction, I am not bound by the rules of transaction,” Yang Jian said.

Wang Shanshan said again: “But what if that’s one of the ghost’s purposes?”

“Hmm? Do you mean the ghost hopes I play tricks, not complete the transaction?” Yang Jian looked at Wang Shanshan.

Wang Shanshan nodded, replying earnestly: “You mentioned before that if you don’t complete the transaction, the ghost would launch unlimited attacks on you; unlimited means without any restriction, indicating the ghost is no longer bound by transaction rules? As for the attacks, that could allow for significant manipulation; if the ghost truly has human consciousness, it would certainly define the attack in its minimal form to achieve unlimited freedom.”

On hearing this analysis, Yang Jian was somewhat surprised.

Wang Shanshan surprisingly could analyze so much from his and Liu Qi’s conversation.

Indeed, supernatural events often cause great growth in a person.

Wang Shanshan has truly transformed since she left Baishui Town; though not controlling supernatural power, she possesses the mindset of a ghost rider.

“You’ve deduced that the ghost wants, by completing this transaction, to propose a demand I cannot fulfill, then get me to cheat, thereby triggering the rule of unlimited attacks, then using this rule to escape the transaction rule, granting this unique ghost freedom?”

“I’m merely speculating; do you think it’s possible,” Wang Shanshan asked.

“Yes,” Yang Jian replied with certainty.

“Using rule conflict to gain freedom, it’s wholly possible.”

Liu Qi remarked with shock, “If that’s true, it’s really troubling. A ghost with human consciousness will now be free from the constraints of ghost action rules; doesn’t this mean this ghost can do whatever it wants henceforth? That’s extremely dangerous.”

Miao Xiaoshan softly added, “If the ghost succeeds, then Liu Qi’s right; the ghost truly can do whatever it wants, without restriction, so we have only two ways to avoid this event: either keep the ghost from finding Yang Jian before midnight, preventing it from fulfilling its demand, or act promptly during the ghost’s appearance in front of Yang Jian to capture it.”

“We definitely can’t let the ghost smoothly pass tonight by midnight.”

Checking the time.

It was now ten fifteen at night, with an hour and forty-five minutes left until the day ended.

“What are you all talking about? I can’t quite understand now,” Zhang Wei scratched his head, initially keeping up but now entirely lost.

“Nothing much, just discussing how to handle this potential threat,” Yang Jian casually replied.

Liu Qi continued, “Miao Xiaoshan, I think the first plan is most secure; the second one is too dangerous, if the ghost appears at eleven fifty-nine, it counts as completing the transaction, and we wouldn’t have the time to act, resulting in us losing this game.”

“Indeed, Yang Jian lying low today to prevent the ghost from finding him is the safest bet,” Miao Xiaoshan nodded, agreeing.

ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire·net

“Quiet.”

Suddenly, Yang Jian gestured for silence.

Immediately.

The scene quieted down once more.

Then, a strange scene occurred again, as another waiter pushed a dining cart, opening the door and slowly entering.

On the dining table, there was still a bowl of egg-fried rice.

This was already the third bowl of egg-fried rice.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com

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