Mysterious Revival

Chapter 505: Chapter 502 Touch

Half an hour’s borrowing in exchange for a Ghost Candle was clearly a profitable deal for Yang Jian.

He could sense Wang Xiaoming’s strong desire to research the human skin parchment, and if he continued to guard such an item like a miser guarding his wealth, revealing not a hint of information, then once Wang Xiaoming’s research hit a roadblock, he might well turn his attention to Yang Jian himself.

And to be honest, Yang Jian didn’t need to keep the human skin parchment; he was willing to trade it for the right price.

But not now.

He still needed the information the parchment provided as it was his key to understanding some unknown horrors.

It could help increase his chances of survival.

At Yang Jian’s level, the supernatural events he encountered were no longer trivial matters; each one was nearly insoluble, and a single misstep could be fatal.

Despite the parchment’s eerie nature, filled with terrifying traps between the lines, sometimes when one’s life was on the line, what matter were these concerns?

“You want to study the item in my possession, and I’m not opposed to it. As with all the supernatural items here, the one I have also poses a risk, but this risk comes from the information it provides, not direct harm. If you do nothing, you won’t be affected,” Yang Jian said.

After speaking, Yang Jian took out a small box he carried with him.

The box was made of Gold, which could effectively block supernatural influences.

He had never let down his guard against the human skin parchment.

“We should have Old Qin check it first.”

Cao Yanhua stepped forward at this moment, blocking Wang Xiaoming’s path, as he didn’t allow Wang Xiaoming to directly contact unknown supernatural items.

After all, Wang Xiaoming was just an ordinary person, and any minor anomaly could potentially lead to his death.

“It’s fine.”

Wang Xiaoming spoke up: “The Gold box should just be a precaution, and Yang Jian just said that there isn’t any harm in direct contact with the item. Since he has already tried it himself, I don’t need to take extra precautions.”

“Isn’t that right, Yang Jian?”

“At least it’s not dangerous in my hands, but I can’t be sure it’s completely harmless. It’s very special, but you only have half an hour,” Yang Jian said, passing the box over.

After receiving the box, Wang Xiaoming slowly said, “You can start timing now. If you have time, you might want to reconsider the captaincy proposal the deputy minister mentioned earlier.”

“I’m firm in my decision, no need to think it over,” Yang Jian said.

Wang Xiaoming stopped talking and focused on the Gold box, opening it immediately under Cao Yanhua’s watchful eye, without any hesitation.

Inside was a stack of yellowed, aged papers.

They looked like deliberately antiqued parchment scrolls, but Wang Xiaoming knew they weren’t made of sheepskin, for sheepskin wasn’t this soft or thin, and the texture of the leather didn’t match.

It was human skin.

Wang Xiaoming confirmed the material of the item almost instantly.

Indeed, it was no ordinary item; this was a piece of human skin parchment.

A Hungry Ghost’s skin, perhaps? Similar to the human skin lantern here?

Several supernatural items related to human skin immediately came to mind for Wang Xiaoming, including a fierce ghost controlled by a Ghost Conman that was also linked to human skin.

Although he only had half an hour, he wasn’t the least bit impatient and now took out the human skin parchment.

“How do I use this?” Instead of trying to figure it out by himself, he directly asked Yang Jian, the owner.

After all, Yang Jian was the most knowledgeable about this object’s existence.

“You’re already using it,” Yang Jian said.

Wang Xiaoming’s eyes flickered: “A contact-based supernatural item, then? You mentioned the dangerous information earlier… I think I can guess the general function of this item.”

Quickly.

The human skin parchment, which had been blank, now eerily began to reveal writing. The appearance of the script was methodical, as if an invisible person were holding a pen and meticulously writing on the parchment. The black lettering was not neat, somewhat crooked, but it didn’t hinder reading by a normal person.

“My name is Yang Jian, and by the time you read this sentence, I will have already died…”

The first sentence stopped abruptly here.

Then it began to fade away in a strange manner as if someone was quickly erasing it, and soon all the writing vanished again.

New writing took its place and appeared before Wang Xiaoming: “My name is Wang Xiaoming, and if you’re reading this sentence, then it means that the experiment has already failed…”

“Hmm?”

Wang Xiaoming’s calm face twitched slightly, as if some message revealed by the parchment had touched him.

Yang Jian couldn’t see the writing on the parchment, but he guessed that the parchment must be revealing some very useful information clues to Wang Xiaoming, trying to lure him in. It was a terrible trap composed of information, within which lay some horrifying purpose of the parchment.

Those who are new to the parchment are the most easily influenced.

But once you have your guard up, it gets much better, provided that you don’t do anything according to the guidance on it.

Every step guided by the parchment could be a trap, and when these traps are linked together, they will ultimately achieve the parchment’s purpose.

Yang Jian now rarely relied on the parchment, only considering the guidance on it under special circumstances.

Wang Xiaoming seemed captivated by the content, his gaze fixed on the parchment as his own figure kept emerging.

Yang Jian only glanced at it briefly but, somewhat surprisingly, the parchment was already filled with dense writing at this moment, as if a massive amount of information had been revealed—something that had never happened before during the time he had the parchment, which had never actively disclosed so much information.

The most information it ever disclosed was in Z City, when the method of hanging in front of the Ghost Mirror was revealed.

Aside from that time, it never happened again; only when the parchment itself felt threatened would it passively present some information guidance.

“Is the parchment trying to persuade Wang Xiaoming to trust it? If so, that’s interesting.”

Yang Jian thought to himself, “With Wang Xiaoming’s intelligence, the likelihood of him being duped by the parchment is very low unless the information contains tremendous value that Wang Xiaoming is reluctant to pass up. But I will prevent that from happening. I won’t let the parchment stay in Wang Xiaoming’s hands.”

He had always felt that the parchment had some scheming nature, and if it fell into Wang Xiaoming’s hands, who knew what Wang Xiaoming, with his character, would be willing to endure.

However, half an hour was still a long time.

Yang Jian didn’t keep his attention on Wang Xiaoming all the time, after all, a man staring at another man could easily be misunderstood.

“Vice Minister, with the sudden Ghost Envoy incident in J City, my schedule has been completely disrupted. I was thinking, if there’s nothing particularly important, could I return to Dachang City sooner? After all, Dachang City is without a leader now, and if the vacancy lasts too long, who will be responsible if something goes wrong?”

At this moment, Cao Yanhua pondered for a moment and said, “The Captain’s Plan is underway, haven’t you considered staying in J City for a few more days?”

“Is presence required for the Captain’s Plan? Isn’t it just about casting a vote?” Yang Jian asked.

“As the hero of the last event in Dachang City, we haven’t rewarded you yet. After this is over, you can return to Dachang City,” Cao Yanhua said.

Yang Jian replied, “I think it’s better for me to keep a low profile. After all, my trip to J City has offended quite a few people. Let’s forget about the reward. Later, I’ll take Gao Zhiqiang’s ghost with me. Consider that my reward.”

Cao Yanhua’s expression shifted.

Unexpectedly, Yang Jian was still eyeing the ghost known as ‘Ghost Conman’ at a time like this, but since the matter had come to an end, he didn’t want to complicate things and thought it best to grant Yang Jian’s request.

Indeed, it’s difficult to convince people if merits go unrewarded, and Yang Jian’s request wasn’t too excessive.

Of course, the most important thing was that even if Cao Yanhua refused, it’s doubtful that the headquarters could retrieve Gao Zhiqiang’s ghost. Who knows where Yang Jian had hidden the box before.

“Then let’s do this: Wait until the headquarters’ operation is over, and you can return to Dachang City on your own. I’ve also approved your request regarding Gao Zhiqiang’s matter,” Cao Yanhua said.

“However, the Ghost Envoy incident isn’t over yet. If you intend to use the Ghost Painting event, there’s a certain risk during this period. Not just for you, but everyone else too, must stay in J City for a while,” he continued.

“The last Hungry Ghost incident in Dachang City occurred due to insufficient support. I hope you’ll consider this carefully at this critical juncture. Of course, if something happens in Dachang City, I can approve your return.”

From his words, enough exorcists needed to stay for now to observe for a while. To avoid being short-handed in the event of an unexpected incident.

“When will the Ghost Envoy incident be over?” Yang Jian inquired.

“The plan is to take action within the next three days at the latest, and we aim to wrap it up within seven days,” Cao Yanhua replied.

Upon considering it, Yang Jian said, “In that case, I’ll stay for another seven days. I hope everything goes smoothly.”

“Of course, no one wants chaos to ensue,” Cao Yanhua responded.

“However, I won’t participate in the next operation,” Yang Jian made clear in advance.

“That’s fine. I’ll arrange for someone else for the next operation,” Cao Yanhua replied. “After all, you need to rest too. Would you like me to grant some leave to Liu Xiaoyu and have her accompany you around?”

Yang Jian wondered, “If I need to rest, why would you grant leave to Liu Xiaoyu? Isn’t that just making things more troublesome for me?”

“Uh…” Cao Yanhua looked at Yang Jian with a peculiar expression.

But seeing Yang Jian frowning and looking puzzled, it seemed he genuinely didn’t grasp the implication.

He really was a problematic young man; exorcists do have their quirks.