Chapter 298: The One Who Deserves To Die
“I can tell you that Zhang Xiangguang is not dead. I don’t want to kill him, nor do I want to kill you. For Ghost Wielders like you, I think you are more valuable alive than dead.”
Jiang Shan’s gaze flickered as he looked at Nie Yingping and slowly said.
Since he already knew Nie Yingping’s true intention, he simply stopped probing further. Now, all the choices were in Nie Yingping’s hands.
To live or to die,
Everything would be decided by him himself.
Hearing these words, Nie Yingping was stunned for a moment. He did not speak and remained silent.
After not receiving a reply for a long time, Jiang Shan did not make any move. Instead, he calmly extinguished the cigarette butt and then walked toward Chen Hao:
“Watch him and the Ghost Messenger. I will have another me join you. If any problem arises, ensure the Ghost Messenger does not go out of control immediately.”
“Another him?”
Although Chen Hao had some doubts in his heart, he still replied:
“Let’s make it clear beforehand: once this is done, you and I have no further ties. Give me some time to consider joining the branch. I will give you a reply.”
“Fine.”
With that, as silver light flashed, Jiang Shan’s figure disappeared.
When he reappeared downstairs in that dormitory building, Jiang Shan looked at the huge oil painting hanging in the hall and took out the Human Skin Paper from the Ghost Mirror Shard.
Before the writing on the Human Skin Paper even appeared, he said in an icy tone:
“I’m not in the mood to play mind games with you. I know you have wisdom, and conveniently, the ghost I control can devour consciousness. I’m giving you only two choices now.”
“Either tell me Yang Jian’s whereabouts and how he should control the Ghost Painting next; or I’ll have the Dead Face Ghost eat you. I think the Dead Face Ghost will get something from you.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
Black writing surged onto the Human Skin Paper at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just one breath, it densely covered the entire human skin:
“My name is Yang Jian. When you see this letter, I am already dead. Although I have given Yang Jian the time to control the Ghost Painting, all signs indicate that he failed.”
“He took He Yuelian’s identity and became the carrier of the Ghost Painting Supernatural, but he did not satisfy the Ghost Painting’s Killing Pattern. Moreover, the supernatural power in his body could not maintain balance with the Ghost Painting’s Supernatural. That is the main reason for his failure to control it.”
“Through the prophecy of the Human Skin Paper, I learned that Yang Jian is now inside a special Fierce Ghost. Although that ghost has shielded the medium on him, reducing the possibility of any supernatural interference, the imbalance of supernatural in his body will eventually kill him.”
“Now I must use supernatural to balance the conflict in his body. Not only that, I also need a woman whose appearance is identical to the Fierce Ghost within the Ghost Painting to take Yang Jian’s identity. Only by satisfying these two conditions can Yang Jian successfully control the Ghost Painting.”
Seeing these prophecies, Jiang Shan frowned and began to think:
“It seems something went wrong in Yang Jian’s process of controlling the Ghost Painting. He Yuelian is probably dead; otherwise, the Ghost Painting’s carrier wouldn’t be Yang Jian.”
“That ghost that can shield the medium—so he entered the Ghost House?”
“The original work doesn’t say how Zhang Xiangguang controlled the Ghost Painting. He only had He Yuelian control it first, but later, due to Yang Jian’s obstruction, this plan came to an abrupt end. What fateful coincidence.”
At this thought, Jiang Shan couldn’t help but think of the word “fate” in connection with Zhang Xiangguang and Yang Jian.
In the original work, because of the obstruction led by Yang Jian, the Enforcement Captain, Zhang Xiangguang’s plan to control the Ghost Painting failed, and instead, He Yuelian, an ordinary woman, benefited.
And Zhang Xiangguang did not reveal how he controlled the Ghost Painting afterward.
Now Yang Jian’s situation has exceeded everyone’s expectations, so after seeing the prophecy on the Human Skin Paper, Jiang Shan immediately thought of Zhang Xiangguang.
Without any hesitation, Jiang Shan randomly chose a dormitory, sat on the bed, and closed his eyes.
As his body began to feel chilling and his emotions became extremely indifferent, he knew he had entered the Consciousness World.
To this day, he still did not understand. According to the original work, Zhang Xiangguang’s private school should belong to dream-like supernatural power, yet it acts on human consciousness.
So is this special place a dream? Or a world hidden in everyone’s consciousness that cannot be actively entered?
Soon,
Jiang Shan returned to that world he had just left.
However, everything here had undergone earth-shattering changes. The entire world was blood-red and weird, empty and silent, permeated with a chilling eeriness that made one shudder.
And upon entering, Jiang Shan saw that dilapidated private school,
Immediately, he walked quickly toward the school at a speed beyond ordinary people.
In no time, he stood at the doorway of a classroom.
He pushed open the door.
On the classroom podium, a man stood motionless. He seemed to notice Jiang Shan’s arrival but paid no attention, continuing to write something on the blackboard nonstop.
“I want to know how you controlled the Ghost Painting.” Jiang Shan got straight to the point, speaking coldly to Zhang Xiangguang.
Here, he was just a ghost.
No emotions, no feelings, only human thinking and self-control. So he did not want to say any irrelevant nonsense; he just wanted answers.
While speaking, Jiang Shan’s gaze swept toward the blackboard. He wanted to know what Zhang Xiangguang was writing on it.
“Balance and consciousness.”
Even feeling Jiang Shan’s gaze, Zhang Xiangguang did not stop his actions. He continued:
“The Ghost Wielder who controlled the Ghost Painting earlier dismembered all her own supernatural before dying. So you must find as many puzzle pieces she once controlled as possible. Only then might it be possible to control the Ghost Painting.”
“You should have already seen that woman whose appearance is identical to the Fierce Ghost in the Ghost Painting. She is the key to controlling the Ghost Painting. I created her as a living person through supernatural means, and only she can successfully control the Ghost Painting. Others absolutely cannot.”
“Killing Pattern?” Jiang Shan immediately followed up.
Zhang Xiangguang said: “Yes, the Killing Pattern. Controlling that ghost requires not only supernatural balance. Due to the original controller, the Ghost Painting’s pattern has changed. Only someone satisfying both can possibly control it.”
As he spoke, he stopped his actions. He seemed to have finished writing everything he needed to, so he turned to Jiang Shan and continued:
“If you try to replace He Yuelian and control the Ghost Painting using the Ghost Bride’s supernatural without any preparation, it will absolutely fail.”
“So is this what you intercepted my plan for? To let the Ghost Painting invade the present world, then cause turmoil across the country?”
Clearly, Zhang Xiangguang had guessed the purpose of Jiang Shan coming to find him, so he questioned mercilessly.
“The death of one city’s people won’t impact the country much, but if the entire country enters your so-called Peach Blossom Spring, and your plan fails, what hope is there then?”
Understanding the meaning, Jiang Shan replied coldly. He felt no emotion from these words and said calmly:
“You just need to tell me how to control the Ghost Painting. This useless nonsense is meaningless.”
Zhang Xiangguang, sitting on the chair, showed a helpless expression. He pointed at the blackboard in front of him:
“What you want is on the blackboard. See for yourself.”
After Jiang Shan finished reading everything written on the blackboard, he suddenly looked at Zhang Xiangguang, who had his eyes closed in a leisurely manner, and said:
“Your partner, Wang Chaling, has brought in some foreign Ghost Wielders.”
“Oh, so what? I don’t like killing, especially helping others kill an innocent person.” Zhang Xiangguang said indifferently.
Jiang Shan replied: “The goal of those foreign Ghost Wielders is to kill Old Qin. The shadow behind this Dajing City turmoil is theirs. I believe you know better than me what they want.”
“So? Are you planning to let me out?”
Hearing this, Zhang Xiangguang smiled. His gaze flickered as he looked at Jiang Shan and continued: “You know my ability. Once I’m released, it will be almost impossible for you to trap me again.”
Jiang Shan said: “What I trap is never you, but your ambition. And for the country, what do our grievances matter?”
Zhang Xiangguang smiled slightly and then said: “You are admirable, at least to me.”
“After you go out, wait for a while. Then someone named Zhou Deng will meet you. At that time, Nie Yingping, Zhang Ying, and others will act with you. I will also have Chen Hao tell you about your main body.”
“I believe you know what to do.”
With that, Jiang Shan’s blood-black body began to melt. This was his sign of leaving the Consciousness World.
As time slowly passed,
After only a pool of blackened fresh blood remained on the ground, Zhang Xiangguang sat on the chair with flickering eyes, his mind seemingly thinking nonstop.
At the same time,
Jiang Shan, regaining consciousness, now knew how to control the Ghost Painting. With Zhang Xiangguang’s original plan and the Human Skin Paper’s prophecy, the only thing he needed to do now was find Yang Jian.
But before entering the Ghost House, he needed to do one thing first.
“You are free, Zhang Xiangguang. Next, Dajing City’s Supernatural Event is yours to handle.”
At this moment, Jiang Shan reached into the Ghost Mirror Shard and pulled out a special corpse from its Supernatural Space.
Then, in a dark corner of that mirror, the vague outline of a blood-colored humanoid figure appeared, and beside this humanoid figure, a blurry humanoid figure swayed.
But as Zhang Xiangguang’s body fully detached from the Ghost Mirror, that blurry humanoid figure disappeared like a shadow. It seemed to merge with the corpse Jiang Shan held in his hand.
The next moment.
With the Blood Ghost and Ghost Mirror Supernatural restrictions lifted, Zhang Xiangguang suddenly opened his eyes.
His consciousness returned to his body and awakened in reality.
“I’ll only handle killing those foreign Ghost Wielders. Dajing City’s Supernatural Event is not within my scope to handle. If you want me to do it, pay extra.”
Zhang Xiangguang had now recovered normal mobility. Although his consciousness had been trapped in that small private school, the time was not long—not even as long as a short nap.
He moved his stiff, cold body and slowly stood up from the ground.
Zhang Xiangguang naturally looked around, then followed Jiang Shan’s footsteps to the dormitory hall, where he immediately saw that extremely weird huge oil painting.
Now aware of the general situation, he looked at Jiang Shan and asked:
“He Yuelian is already dead. So how will you find that woman who looks exactly like the Fierce Ghost in the Ghost Painting? Supernatural that can change appearances is not easy to find.”
“Moreover, that kid can’t hold out much longer. If the Ghost Painting goes out of control, it will become even more terrifying with the Ghost Bride Supernatural as a puzzle piece. At that time, even if Old Qin comes, he might not be able to handle it.”
Zhang Xiangguang spoke bluntly, but this was indeed the most pressing issue Jiang Shan needed to solve now.
Balancing the Ghost Painting and Ghost Bride Supernatural—he had already obtained the dye from the Ghost Post Office that could paint Fierce Ghosts from Zhang Xiangguang, so he did not need to worry about that.
But finding a woman identical to He Yuelian without using supernatural power was almost impossible.
So after learning this, Jiang Shan immediately called Cao Yanhua.
He asked for one person’s information.
Gao Zhi Qiang.
This man, because he was not in Dajing City during Jiang Shan’s massacre of the Circle of Friends, escaped the disaster.
And Jiang Shan did not want to specially kill him just for the Deceiver Ghost, so he simply let him live.
But for supernatural power that could change others’ appearances, the easiest for Jiang Shan to obtain now was the Deceiver Ghost.
Even for innocent Ghost Wielders, he now had reason to kill them, let alone this scum who used supernatural power to harm women—he had no psychological burden killing him.
After Gao Zhi Qiang’s satellite positioning was sent to his mobile phone, Jiang Shan did not answer Zhang Xiangguang. Instead, with a flash of silver light, he disappeared from the dormitory building.
Because of the Circle of Friends’ destruction, even though headquarters summoned most branch persons in charge for the meeting, Gao Zhi Qiang never chose to leave his territory.
For him,
In Xiaobin City, he was the emperor. Any woman he wanted, he could have however he wanted, and no one ever dared to object.
Plus, Dajing City’s situation had been leaked to the Supernatural Circle by certain people. Knowing headquarters’ current state, he was even less likely to leave this city.
At this moment,
In the bedroom of a high-end mansion, a pure and alluring girl lay dazed by the bed, numbly undressing, even removing her underwear.
The man standing by the bed, full of anticipation, did not notice that a piece of silver light had already enveloped the entire city, instantly bright as daylight.
