Chapter 307: Saving Dajing City
Although Jiang Shan was not entirely sure of Yang Jian’s current state, as long as he could control the supernatural power of the Ghost Painting and ensure Dajing City did not fall, that was enough.
“Let’s take action. Headquarters has been crippled. Zhao Jianguo, who was the first to be affected by the supernatural, will lead. Sun Huafeng, Wang Xiao Ming, and all high-level officials, not a single one was spared.”
“All the fierce ghosts previously detained at Headquarters’ base have been released. Although I’ve asked Liu San and the branch manager to handle it, it’s difficult to detain them under the suppression of the Ghost Painting’s Ghost Domain.”
“You should also know about the Captains’ plan. Besides Li Jun and Lu Zhiwen, there’s also Ye Zhen. Without a leader, hardly any of the captains are willing to get involved in this mess. So my goal is clear: Headquarters cannot be destroyed, and order must exist in the domestic supernatural circle.”
As they walked out of the ghost house, Jiang Shan informed Yang Jian of the general situation in Dajing City and directly stated his intentions.
Because under the shroud of the Ghost Painting’s Ghost Domain, hardly any ghost wielders could use their own Ghost Domains.
Although he had arranged for Liu San and dozens of managers to recover the backup data of Headquarters, even with the ghost’s killing pattern, hundreds of ghosts were still a tough bone to chew.
Many of these twelve captains at Headquarters were folk ghost wielders who had survived through their own struggles.
For them, joining Headquarters was merely for the authority of the position and official recognition, to better handle supernatural events, and for convenience in certain matters.
For a small group, or even those without any power, how much impact would it have?
So even if Headquarters was destroyed and Dajing City fell, their lives would not change much compared to before.
And this is where Jiang Shan differed from them; he considered not himself, but the entire country.
After all, those captains were unaware that abroad there was a King organization and a terrifying fierce ghost piloting a ghost ship, all eyeing the country.
They did not have a God’s eye view, but Jiang Shan did.
Even if he didn’t have much sense of belonging to this world, once the Ghost Ship plan was initiated, he might be able to withstand a few attacks from the King, but the endless stream of fierce ghosts would eventually wear him down.
After all, he was still a ghost wielder, and he still had his limits.
Although thinking about this now might be worrying about things that haven’t happened, life is only one.
Facing ghosts requires madness, while facing the uncertainty of a future that can be changed by human hands requires caution.
This is Jiang Shan’s way of survival, his foundation.
And in the current situation in Dajing City, it was ultimately impossible for these ghost wielders, who had controlled only one or two fierce ghosts, to completely end the turmoil in Dajing City.
This was why Jiang Shan was willing to spend so much time and effort helping Yang Jian control the Ghost Painting.
He wanted to use this opportunity to help Yang Jian grow rapidly.
Even if his personality had certain issues, he understood the priorities in major matters.
With Old Qin missing, the only two people who could control the Ghost Painting were He Yuelian and Yang Jian. Therefore, in this situation.
Whether it was handling the fierce ghosts roaming Dajing City or the subsequent issues with Headquarters, helping him successfully control the Ghost Painting and survive was the optimal solution.
“They’re all dead.”
As Yang Jian walked towards the first-floor main entrance of the ghost house, he suddenly stopped in front of an old picture frame. Upon seeing the eerie oil painting, which was now just a frame, his expression was complex, as if he was reminiscing about something.
He then quickly walked over and took down the picture frame.
This picture frame, which had once carried the supernatural power of the Ghost Painting, had now completely lost its supernatural energy. The wooden frame was cracked, and the oil painting was blurred, losing its eerie quality and becoming very ordinary.
But strangely, the oil painting, which was entirely gray and had even turned somewhat black, seemed to be moving.
Although no clue could be discerned with the naked eye, it was this subtle eeriness that made Jiang Shan’s intuition constantly tell him that his feeling was not an illusion, but something truly happening.
The oil painting seemed to have come to life.
“Normally, this painting should no longer possess any supernatural power, but…”
Watching Yang Jian take down the oil painting hanging on the corridor wall, Jiang Shan’s gaze sharpened. He was curious why Yang Jian would stop in front of this “Ghost Painting” that had lost its supernatural power.
Based on Yang Jian’s understanding and use of supernatural power, he should have known that this painting was meaningless.
His actions most likely meant he had discovered something, very possibly the vague feeling Jiang Shan himself had.
Before Jiang Shan could ask, Yang Jian stood in place and slowly said, “This oil painting was the carrier of the Ghost Painting’s supernatural power. Now all the supernatural energy is concentrated in me. Normally, the frame would be useless and revert to a regular painting.”
“But it has long carried the Ghost Painting, and it was also influenced by the supernatural of the ghost house. This oil painting has developed a certain supernatural quality. I just sensed that there are still living people in this painting.”
“Living people?” Hearing Yang Jian’s explanation, Jiang Shan frowned.
Yang Jian nodded, “This painting not only possesses some characteristics of the Ghost Painting’s Ghost Domain but has also undergone some incomprehensible changes due to the ghost house’s supernatural influence. To put it simply, this painting contains an independent world, isolated from external supernatural influences.”
“And within this world, there are still living people. Although it’s unclear if they are the people from the Ghost Painting World, it is certain that ordinary people can live normally in this world.”
Yang Jian’s words instantly made Jiang Shan understand the potential and capabilities of this oil painting-like supernatural item.
If its ability was indeed as Yang Jian described, then in the terms of the supernatural circle, it was a “Safe House” that could be carried around and could accommodate countless people.
And in Zhang Xiangguang’s plan, this was the “Peach Blossom Spring” he had dreamed of for decades.
This Peach Blossom Spring not only did not require a ghost wielder to control it but would not be destroyed, would not subjectively disappear, and even existed as a self-contained, independent world.
“You’ve already helped me enough. I won’t do something like crossing the bridge and then tearing it down. The decision regarding this painting is yours. You can do whatever you want with it.”
Saying this,
Yang Jian handed the ghost oil painting, one meter long and half a meter high, to Jiang Shan.
Jiang Shan said, “Alright, since there are still living people in this painting, it cannot be used to detain ghosts. Let’s leave it here for now. We’ll discuss it after Dajing City is stable.”
“Okay, by the way, did you mean earlier that you wanted to rebuild Headquarters?”
Since the decision-making power had been handed over to Jiang Shan, Yang Jian would not express any opinion regardless of what he decided.
After this interlude passed, he thought of the conversation they had just had, and then suddenly asked.
“Well, this is why I spent so much time helping you control the Ghost Painting. The collapse of the command system has a huge impact on the overall situation. The branch cannot do without me, and I don’t want to take over Dajing City. This matter can wait until it’s dealt with. It’s not very useful to talk about it now.”
Jiang Shan knew Yang Jian’s personality; in his early days with insufficient strength, he was very typical of a small farmer, selfish and self-serving.
But once he possessed sufficient strength and vision, he would understand;
The more supernatural phenomena he came into contact with and understood; the more various powers he could wield; the greater the possibility of surviving and controlling more fierce ghosts.
There is a very apt saying in economics: “Money not earned within one’s cognitive scope will eventually flow back into the market in another form.”
Vision and perspective determine the upper limit.
As the two walked out of the ghost house, Jiang Shan threw the satellite phone he had prepared to Yang Jian, and then said:
“This contains information on all the ghosts released in Dajing City. Your current state should be fine. I don’t ask for anything else after saving you. If you can protect Dajing City and Headquarters, then we are even.”
The night curtain pressed heavily upon the sky of Dajing City.
Although the hundreds of fierce ghosts detained at Headquarters were released, the dense population and the super-first-tier city meant that the probability of ordinary people encountering ghosts was not high.
Even though Dajing City was enveloped by the Ghost Domain of the Ghost Painting, and the entire city seemed to be in a haze, the people of this city had long become accustomed to it.
After all, when the PM2.5 levels were off the charts, it was truly a lot in those years.
At this very moment,
In Private Room 203 of the Xinyue Hotel, laughter and joy were in full swing.
“I say, Qiang Zi, you were the shyest in our class back then, and now you’ve become a big boss. That’s quite a change!”
Liu Yi, already three rounds into drinking, had a flushed face, holding a wine glass, the wine sloshing at the rim, about to spill.
The middle-aged man called Qiang Zi smiled and pushed him: “What big boss? Life forced me into it. If it weren’t for ‘our dad’s’ support back then, how could I have made it this far? It’s you I envy, living a free and easy life as an artist, so carefree.”
Everyone laughed and continued to clink glasses.
“After we finish drinking, let’s go sing a song. It’s only four o’clock, and the nightlife has just begun.”
A woman dressed flamboyantly and wearing heavy makeup, with a smile that made her look like a boneless water snake, leaned against Liu Yi.
“Hey, hey, hey, Song Huijie, what are you doing? Hahaha, trying to seduce my brother Liu again? You were trying to go out with my brother in high school, why are you still so obsessed?”
Another man beside Liu Yi saw this scene and was unfazed. On the contrary, he pointed at the woman and teased her: “You’re not the innocent little sister you were back then. My brother Liu might not be interested in you now.”
“Get lost, I’m full of charm. Back then, I could only drain you, Brother Liu, alone. Now I can drain all of you, believe it or not?”
Song Huijie rolled her eyes at the man, then looked at Liu Yi, who was stroking her thigh, with crescent-shaped eyes, and continued:
“Speaking of which, are we going to sing later or not? I’ve also prepared a dance. It’ll be a real treat for you three perverts. You know, this dance of mine back then was only for one person.”
Although Song Huijie was already married, how could her husband, a small employee of her company, compare to a second-generation official who had been pampered his whole life and possessed considerable charisma in middle age?
Thinking of her husband’s appearance, and then looking at the handsome and charismatic Liu Yi before her, Song Huijie couldn’t help but feel a huge sense of disparity.
If it weren’t for Liu Yi’s father’s disapproval back then.
Why would she now only be able to be intimate with him during class reunions and when her husband was on a business trip?
“Yes, we must go! If Sister Song wants to dance, then we absolutely have to go. It’s just that the weather outside isn’t great. Damn it, how many years has it been? Why is the PM2.5 back again?”
Qiang Zi, who was drunk, stood up and leaned on the window, gave Song Huijie, who was sitting on Liu Yi’s lap, a lewd glance, and then cursed as he pointed at the gray sky outside.
However, before he could finish speaking, the temperature in the private room seemed to plummet. The originally bright lights flickered a few times with a crackling sound, as if something was being choked.
Song Huijie shivered and pulled her shawl tighter: “Why is it suddenly so cold?”
Liu Yi took a sip of wine and said calmly: “The old house’s wiring must be aging. This hotel is quite old. It’s said to have opened here a hundred years ago. To preserve the original building, it’s normal for the wiring not to have been reinstalled.”
Despite what he said, the laughter of the others gradually thinned.
“Creak.”
The door of the private room suddenly opened a strange, slow crack, and a cold wind howled in, blowing the paper napkins on the table everywhere.
Qiang Zi frowned and got up: “Waiter? Why didn’t you announce yourself when you came in?”
Logically speaking, there would be a waiter providing full service outside their customized high-end private room.
But Qiang Zi called out twice without receiving any response.
“Damn it, where is everyone?”
It was deathly silent outside the door. Somewhat annoyed, he cursed and walked to the door, poking his head out.
He saw that the dimly lit corridor was empty, the cold lights flickering on and off, and the eerie atmosphere made him feel a bit scared, so he stood honestly at the door, not choosing to go out.
“Damn it, I paid for this, why isn’t there even a waiter? What kind of lousy place is this.”
Liu Qiang, who was drunk, in the dim light, completely failed to notice the lifeless corpse next to the door.
As he finished cursing and prepared to turn back to close the door, his hand hadn’t even touched the handle when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a white figure flashing in his peripheral vision. His heart suddenly sped up, and he turned sharply, only to see the silent corridor.
“Did you guys… see anything?” Liu Qiang’s voice trembled slightly.
The man beside Liu Yi laughed and cursed: “Look at you being such a coward. Are you having hallucinations from drinking too much?”
But he still got up and walked to the corridor with Qiang Zi to check.
However, the moment the two took a few steps, a sharp scream came from the private room.
The two, hearing the scream, abruptly turned and looked into the private room, only to see a grayish-blue hand slowly appearing on the window glass, its fingernails long and curved, scratching the glass and making a piercing sound, with cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
Their scalps instantly went numb, and they rushed back into the private room without hesitation.
As soon as they entered, a strong smell of blood assaulted them, making them almost retch. The once lively private room was now like a Shura’s battlefield; their companions who had been joking and teasing moments ago had met a gruesome end that made one’s blood run cold.
Liu Yi, sitting in a chair, his eyeballs bulging as if he had witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world, his throat torn open, fresh blood gushing out, he futilely clutched the wound with his hands, his body slumping down softly, the fresh blood quickly soaking into the carpet.
Song Huijie collapsed in the corner of the wall, her stomach seemingly churned by a sharp blade, her organs spilling out. Her mouth was wide open, but she was no longer making a sound, only her eyes, which did not close in death, still held endless terror.
Qiang Zi had not yet recovered from the horrific scene when a dark shadow plummeted from the ceiling, directly crashing onto him.
“Hand, my hand!”
As the glass outside the window shattered bit by bit, Qiang Zi discovered that his arm was caving inward at a terrifying speed.
In just a few seconds,
he would be stabbed to death by the bone of his own arm!
The intense pain blurred Qiang Zi’s consciousness. Just as he was about to faint from the pain, he suddenly felt as if his vision had become brighter.
Immediately, a man’s cold voice rang out:
“The twenty-seventh.”
