Chapter 187: Playing The Piano
“……”
Feeling the pressure coming from its forehead, the mannequin originally wanted to slam the table and angrily rebuke Zhang Qian’s unscrupulous behavior.
Helplessly, it had to prioritize the bigger picture, so it didn’t plan to stoop to Zhang Qian’s level.
Of course, this wasn’t backing down; it was just a manifestation of maturity and steadiness.
After comforting itself inwardly, the mannequin still obediently moved according to Zhang Qian’s instructions.
Its soft and limp little short arms were pulled open like they had no bones, and along with the pale fingers, they landed on the black-and-white piano keys at the same time.
After a moment’s pause, nothing particularly unusual happened.
Perhaps because the mannequin itself was also a fierce ghost, its actions didn’t seem to trigger the secret behind this piano.
“Come on, don’t worry. If there’s any danger, I won’t abandon you.” Zhang Qian reassured it from behind, holding a wooden stick.
It was just unclear whether this positioning was for protection or to supervise and prevent the mannequin from running away.
This place was too calm…
Zhang Qian’s gaze swept around from time to time, but more of his attention was still on the stage.
This place was probably well-maintained; the wooden floor under the lights still reflected hazy phantoms, showing no signs of corrosion by time.
Or rather, this situation was the normal one.
After all, the ghost ship was a supernatural land; it would be strange if the things inside were damaged by time, right?
“The dilapidation in the rooms and the rust on the doorways might not be normal; they were probably just corroded by the supernatural power inside the rooms.”
“But this music hall has no such traces. Is there no fierce ghost, or is the fierce ghost sealed very well with no supernatural leakage?”
However, taking out the ghost map, the leather blueprint was still a big black blotch, showing only its danger warning and no further information.
Without playing this piano, there was probably no way to truly understand the music hall or leave from here.
Just as he was thinking this, Zhang Qian noticed the mannequin was still stunned on the stool, showing no intention to start playing.
He lightly sighed.
He had wanted to communicate calmly with the mannequin, but in the end, did he still have to resort to force?
Next time, he should just go full intensity right away.
Seemingly sensing the rising killing intent from behind, the mannequin hurriedly explained: “No, I suddenly realized I don’t know how to play the piano.”
“Don’t think just because I’ve lived a long time that I remember everything. Many memories are long forgotten, and I can’t even recall information about the ghost ship—how could I remember how to play the piano?”
Or rather, it actually remembered how to play the piano but not any specific piece.
“Then just press randomly. Anyway, as long as it makes a sound. If this piano requires playing a specific piece to trigger it, it’d be the same result if I did it.” Zhang Qian said.
However, considering that even leaving the aisle required a pattern, perhaps triggering this medium really needed a specific method.
But he’d already checked the surroundings, and there were no clues.
If it was really that unlucky, they’d probably have to go back to the aisle.
“Woo—”
The mannequin’s fingers lightly pressed down, and one piano key depressed with its action, emitting a strange sound.
Even Zhang Qian, who was fully focused, was stunned for a moment.
If he hadn’t misheard, this sound didn’t seem like what a piano should make, right?
It was a bit like a violin, but not a tone that ordinary strings could produce. It was more like many chaotic instruments mixed together—even deliberately recording and reproducing it would be hard to achieve.
At that moment.
The mannequin, hesitating on the next step, also froze. It suddenly recalled—no, a piece of music suddenly burrowed into its mind.
Before the mannequin could think about what was happening, its body started moving uncontrollably.
Its two fingers flew, continuously pressing on the piano keys.
A series of notes emanated from the piano, echoing back and forth in the empty hall, ultimately forming a bizarre piece.
The music’s melody was sometimes slow and sometimes urgent; the mannequin’s actions floated accordingly. Its small body shifted back and forth in front of the piano like it was drifting on the stool.
Zhang Qian instantly realized something was wrong; the pupils in his eyes contracted sharply.
It wasn’t because of the mannequin’s strange actions, but because this music felt somewhat familiar.
Even though this melody had never appeared in Zhang Qian’s memory, this eerie feeling wouldn’t lie.
He had heard this music before; he had just forgotten it.
Even now, if asked what piece the mannequin started playing, Zhang Qian couldn’t say.
The musical sound he had been obsessing over actually appeared at this moment.
A sense of crisis like an electric shock surged from his feet straight to the top of his head. Without time to think, Zhang Qian swung the wooden stick in his hand.
The top priority was to interrupt this eerie attack. Anyway, the mannequin wouldn’t die, so being a bit rough wasn’t a big problem.
The wooden stick suddenly swept horizontally toward the mannequin, encountering no obstruction and smoothly smashing into its waist.
“Bang—”
The mannequin flew out from the impact, its slender body sliding a long distance across the wooden floor until it hit the wall and barely stopped.
However, the piano had already been triggered. Even without the player, those black-and-white piano keys continued to rise and fall on their own, pushing the music to its climax.
The sound in front of him and endless distant echoes arrived at his ears simultaneously. The layered musical sound wasn’t loud, yet it shook Zhang Qian’s mind into a daze.
Where was this?
The swung wooden stick stopped in mid-air, and Zhang Qian’s eyes suddenly became dazed.
Perhaps because he was very close to the music’s starting point, he couldn’t escape this eerie ability either.
The resistance he hadn’t even started was stillborn in an instant. In the face of supernatural that could erase memory, ordinary ghost controllers had no ability to resist.
After all, a normal ghost controller needed the intent to launch an attack, but without memories related to the fierce ghost, how could they wield supernatural power?
In such a situation, perhaps only a fierce ghost like the Wang Family old ghost that could automatically protect its host could ensure a chance of resistance.
The mannequin that flew far away was also lying motionless on the ground. Though its fierce ghost body gave it immortality, it didn’t mean it could ignore supernatural corrosion.
Forgetting supernatural matters was just a loss of combat power for a ghost controller, but for the mannequin, it was tantamount to erasing its personality.
In the face of this sudden situation, it was even more helpless than Zhang Qian.
At least before this influence was worn away by the mannequin’s own supernatural, it was impossible to count on it.
However, that unknown fierce ghost wouldn’t stop just because the two were in a predicament.
On the brightly lit stage, the attack continued.
