Mysterious Awakening

Cao Yanhua had nothing to say after being outmaneuvered by Yang Jian, who indeed kept the ghost at headquarters, helped detain it, and even agreed to apply for proper authorization afterwards.

Although it was excessive, it did not cross the bottom line of what headquarters could tolerate.

And just the day before yesterday, he had made a significant contribution. If they dealt with him too harshly now, it would only dishearten other ghost controllers.

"This Yang Jian is indeed growing very fast, not only in handling supernatural incidents but also in judging situations... Right, without clear judgment, he couldn’t have handled those terrifying cases," Cao Yanhua thought bitterly, feeling a conflict so intense it was almost like spitting blood.

Sometimes he even thought how nice it would have been if Zhao Jianguo hadn’t recruited Yang Jian into the headquarters in the first place.

But as soon as this thought emerged, he dismissed it.

No one is perfect, and one shouldn’t erase someone else’s merits for a few mistakes. Although Yang Jian is good at causing trouble, he’s equally good at handling it.

"Let’s put an end to this matter. Call a meeting in ten minutes," Cao Yanhua said with a grimace after a long pause.

Soon after, he turned and left.

"That old man is dangerous," Yang Jian said, watching Cao Yanhua and the others leave. His gaze rested on an old man wearing a grey coat, full of age spots, leaning on a cane.

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The Ghost Eye constantly avoided the old man, trying to keep the figure of that old man out of its sight.

As a result, the Ghost Eye on Yang Jian’s forehead kept swiveling left and right.

At first, he couldn’t tell which person in the crowd was dangerous, but as they dispersed when leaving, he could tell.

Since that old man left with Cao Yanhua and other staff members, not with other ghost controllers, he was easy to identify.

"What, you’re also interested in that not-dead-yet old guy?"

At that moment, Cao Yang came over with a bit of a smile and spoke.

Yang Jian gave him a look. He knew this person.

He had seen him previously in Dachang City, and Cao Yang was also among the support personnel during the Ghost Envoy incident.

Moreover, he had survived the Ghost Envoy incident.

From Dachang City to the present, this Cao Yang had been living well, which certainly made him very special. If he were an ordinary ghost controller, he would have been in a grave long ago; still being alive and recruited into headquarters was evidence enough of his extraordinariness.

"Cao Yang, do you know that old man?" Yang Jian asked.

"Not personally, but I know he’s very special. A senior I knew before I joined had met him. Oh right, you know him too, his name is Wei Jing. Yes, the guy whose experiment failed and now has been taken over by the Ghost Coffin, currently known as the Ghost Envoy. Wei Jing wasn’t very capable before, but after dying, he suddenly became strong, which is really bad luck," Cao Yang said.

Yang Jian’s expression shifted slightly, "Are you saying he’s lived a very long time?"

If Wei Jing was among the first batch of ghost controllers to join the headquarters, then Cao Yang would be of the second batch, around the same time as Feng Quan, followed by Zhou Zheng and Tong Qian in the third batch, and himself, Zhang Lei, and Wang Jiang in the fourth. ℞Ἀ𝐍ő₿Ë𝒮

If that old man preceded Wei Jing, that meant he had lived for at least three years or more.

For a ghost controller to live beyond three years would be quite rare, considering there was no scheme to control a second ghost back then, and surviving as a ghost controller was very difficult.

Cao Yang said, "I don’t know much about that old man’s files; they must be top secret, and he is rarely seen at headquarters, only showing up under special circumstances. For instance, he appeared during the Hungry Ghost incident. The only bit of information I have was inadvertently picked up from Wei Jing, who wasn’t too loose-lipped when he was alive, keeping tight-lipped security."

"If it’s inconvenient to share, you don’t have to," Yang Jian said. "I wouldn’t spend a lot of money to dig up such information; I was just curious and asked."

Cao Yang cracked a smile, "You helped me out during the Ghost Envoy incident, so I’ll tell you for free. It was about two years ago, I overheard Wei Jing mentioning offhand that an old man was about to celebrate his hundredth birthday. Think about it, there are no old people in headquarters, we short-lived ghosts can’t live for many years, let alone celebrate a hundredth birthday, and even the director is only in his fifties."

"So I guess, that birthday celebrating old man is him."

With that, his gaze followed the direction where the old man had left.@@novelbin@@

"He became a ghost controller in his nineties? That’s incredibly unlucky. To have lived until now is not easy; to become a ghost controller in old age, and the headquarters actually has the heart to let a centenarian hobble with a cane to handle supernatural incidents? I need to start reassessing headquarters," Yang Jian remarked.

But after reflecting, he suddenly hesitated, because a frightening speculation unwittingly flashed through his mind, which he firmly grasped and let explode like a thunderclap.

Wait a minute.

A hundred years old?

If I calculate backwards, that means this elderly person was born during the... Republic of China period.

This is someone from the Republic of China who has lived to the present day.

"No way, a ghost master from the Republic of China period?" Yang Jian’s mind buzzed with the information he had pieced together.

It was as if lost fragments of information had been activated.

The underground crypt of Hongfa Temple in Dachang City, which confines a towering dark shadow of a ghost, was built during the Republic of China period.

Outside the city, within the Guanjiang Residential Complex, sits that ancient house from the Republic of China period.

Inside the nearly collapsing ancient house, there actually lay terrifying objects like the Ghost Mirror and the Ghost Cabinet, and he even found notes from ghost masters of the Republic of China period there.

They were written in traditional characters, proof that a group of people from the Republic of China period were dealing with ghosts in the same way the current ghost masters do.

Moreover, the Wande Group’s CEO, whom he had met on the plane, Mr. Wan Delu, had mentioned he acquired a soul bottle that was reportedly salvaged from a demolition of an ancient house from the Republic of China period.

Yang Jian had thought that the era had ended, and the ghost masters had all perished, leaving no useful information behind. He hadn’t expected to meet a centenarian today.

It seemed like a ghost master who had survived from the Republic of China period.

Of course, this was just speculation.

Because it was also possible that this elderly person was just an ordinary person who survived from the Republic of China period, only becoming a ghost master later on.

If it were the latter, then Yang Jian could only be very disappointed.

But if it were the former, that would be terrifying.

A ghost master who had lived for dozens, even hundreds of years, knew exactly what that implied.

Even if he wasn’t a ghost master from the Republic of China period, as a person from that era, he could still follow this clue and find certain truths.

"That’s it, that’s it, why did I start with the assumption that the ghost masters from the Republic of China period had completely lost touch with the present? If someone from that era had solved the problem of the vengeful ghosts’ resurgence, and with a life long enough, it’s entirely possible to live from that time to this... Although centenarians are rare, they certainly exist."

Yang Jian couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

The incident with Gao Zhiqiang seemed trivial compared to what was happening now.

Since becoming a ghost master and having seen vengeful ghosts appearing in the world, his heart yearned for a truth.

Why do ghosts appear?

Why hadn’t they appeared before, and what was the reason for their absence? Was it because the previous ghost masters had dealt with them? If so, how had the previous ghost masters resolved it?

The truth meant hope; having hope meant that it wasn’t all darkness ahead.

"Yang Jian, what are you thinking about? You don’t look well. Is there something wrong with you?" At this moment, Cao Yang, seeing Yang Jian lost in thought with an ever-changing facial expression, couldn’t help but step back several paces, wary.

He feared that something had gone wrong with Yang Jian, lest the resurgence of a vengeful ghost turn him into a terrifying paranormal event.

"I am pondering some things," Yang Jian suddenly snapped back to reality, struggling slightly to pull himself out of his train of thought. "I have some questions and need to talk to that elderly person alone."

"Then you’ll need to request permission from Cao Yanhua. I can’t help with that. And there’s a meeting about to start, so get yourself ready and come over soon," said Cao Yang with a shrug before turning to leave.

Yang Jian didn’t continue to ask Cao Yang for details, because Cao Yang didn’t know the situation either, assuming Jiang merely had an interest in this dangerous old man, when in fact his concerns lay elsewhere.

"I must find an opportunity to ask, and I need to do it fast," he thought silently.