Mysterious Revival

Yang Jian stood motionless atop the deserted clock tower at this moment. At the top of the tower, there was a small compartment housing an antique wooden cabinet. The style of the cabinet was ancient and filled with a sense of the bygone era, yet its red paint looked as if it had just been applied, crimson and vivid, as though it had been soaked in fresh blood.

There was an indescribable eeriness about it.

Even in broad daylight, standing under the sun, one could still feel an abnormal chill when near the cabinet.

Having written his note, Yang Jian had already stuffed it inside the Ghost Cabinet, now staring motionlessly, awaiting the Ghost Cabinet's response.

He had roughly figured out the trading rules of the Ghost Cabinet from last time, simple yet terrifying.

The first time Yang Jian initiated the trade with the Ghost Cabinet, the rules were clear: both sides would propose conditions and fulfill each other's demands.

It sounded mutually beneficial, with a hint of friendly assistance, but in reality, the living simply couldn't afford to trade with the Ghost Cabinet because after each trade, the Ghost Cabinet would raise the stakes, and the conditions would become increasingly difficult to fulfill, until you died... and then the next trader would appear.

There was a way to break off the trade, which was to complete a task given by the Ghost Cabinet and then refrain from making any requests.

That meant exchanging two conditions for one, a slight loss on one's part.

When Yang Jian first traded with the Ghost Cabinet, he wasn't aware of this and suffered a loss, interrupting a trade and paying an extra condition.

He felt it was best not to interrupt trades early on and that it was preferable to withdraw after two or three trades, although the previous user of the Ghost Cabinet left no information regarding this.

Perhaps it was out of fear of the Ghost Cabinet's threat or maybe it was a way to remind those who came later; only after figuring it out could one truly comprehend the terror and strangeness of this object.

"What's most taboo in trading with the Ghost Cabinet is greed, but every ghost controller is a desperado risking it all. For someone whose life is nearly over, it's very difficult to overcome such greed, for they dare to do anything," Yang Jian reflected inwardly, thinking that the Ghost Cabinet was very much like Pandora's box.

From the moment the trade began, an invisible curse was released.

This curse didn't originate from the Ghost Cabinet itself, but from the heart of each individual.

"After this trade, the Ghost Cabinet will certainly make an extremely demanding request, and with my current abilities, the likelihood of completing it is very low... even a matter of life and death," Yang Jian assessed the situation.

Merely locating the ghost in the photograph had almost led to his demise in the ghost painting; if not for the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box still being in effect, he would have had no way to return alive.

Therefore, after completing this trade, he had a bold idea.

That was to use the bizarre Firewood Knife to hack apart the Ghost Cabinet.

Waste a chance, destroy the wooden cabinet, and dismember this haunted object.

Yes, Yang Jian was currently considering this. In other words, once the Ghost Cabinet fulfilled his part of the trade, he planned on reneging on the deal.

I'm not playing anymore.

Flipping the table.

If he continued playing, Yang Jian felt that he would end up like the previous user of the Ghost Cabinet, with a very tragic fate. Therefore, the best strategy was to forcefully withdraw at an opportune moment.

The curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box was the opportunity.

"Something's not right."

As Yang Jian was contemplating how to renege, he suddenly sensed a change and noticed that the Ghost Cabinet seemed different than before.

The piece of paper he had sent in appeared to have been swallowed, not returning and without any message or sign of a trade taking place. From start to finish, the Ghost Cabinet seemed very calm, as if unresponsive.

"Based on the last time, the Ghost Cabinet should have responded immediately after I completed the trade. Why is it taking so long this time?" Yang Jian furrowed his brow, filled with doubt.

Could it be that the Ghost Cabinet was even more despicable than him and knew that he was planning to renege, thereby choosing to renege first?

No, that possibility wasn't likely.

"Let's wait a bit longer," he decided.

Yang Jian was not overly anxious; he still had time, with only half a day gone by of the three-day curse period.

About ten minutes passed.

Suddenly,

the quiet, unexceptional cabinet door beneath the Ghost Cabinet moved slightly, protruding a bit, as if about to open.

"Here it comes."

Yang Jian immediately opened the cabinet door, and sure enough, there was a piece of paper inside—the very one he had inserted earlier.

On the paper were two sentences.

The first sentence was what he had written: I have found it. Help me resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

The second sentence, in twisted script, was unreadable as any handwriting, resembling irregular black marks formed into words: Unable to resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box. Change the request.

"What?"

Yang Jian's face showed a hint of consternation. What did this mean? He had gone through so much trouble to find the Source Ghost from the ghost painting for them, and now they were saying they couldn't resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box?

Had he overestimated the Ghost Cabinet's abilities?

Or was the Eight-Tone Music Box's level of terror beyond the Ghost Cabinet's capabilities?

"No, perhaps there was a problem with my request. To resolve the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box? That would be like asking the Ghost Cabinet to eradicate a ghost, but ghosts cannot be killed, so the Ghost Cabinet cannot fulfill it," Yang Jian considered, reflecting on his request once more, deeming it unreasonable.

He should have written it as making the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box leave him or to transfer the curse.

In that case, there wouldn't be a need to resolve the curse; Yang Jian would just need to break free from it.

But then he hesitated again.

Once he was freed from the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, would he die immediately?

"Transferring the curse is a gamble, but there should still be a chance of survival."

Being unable to eliminate the curse meant that his fail-safe option was gone, leaving him to make a risky decision.

After much consideration, Yang Jian decided to write down the following sentence on a piece of paper: Help me transfer the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box onto a dog in the neighborhood.

It would be best if the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box had a bearer, and he felt that an animal would suffice. Letting a dog die in his place would minimize the loss.

However, as he was about to stuff the note into the Ghost Cabinet, he paused.

"If the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box can truly be transferred, wouldn't it be a waste to transfer it to a dog? What if it were transferred to a ghost? Once the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box takes effect, ghosts will be attacked by the curse. What kind of outcome would that produce?"

An idea struck Yang Jian, and he thought of another method.

Ghosts don't die, but the Eight-Tone Music Box would kill a person afflicted by the curse.

The clash of these two might very likely cause some ghost to crash.

"Indeed, it's a viable method."

He pondered over which ghost to transfer the curse to.

Having control of three ghosts, the state of being frozen in the Headless Ghost Shadow could be ignored, the Ghost Hand was incomplete and had already begun to falter after losing two slots for suppression. Even if it bore the curse, it wouldn't mean much. Thus, only Ghost Eye was left to use.

To transfer the curse to Ghost Eye?

It was a bit of a mad idea, but if successful, Yang Jian would solve the problem of Ghost Eye's resurrection, and the help to himself would be enormous.

"Forget it, let's try."

The temptation was too great, and Yang Jian felt an impulsive urge to attempt it.

Because he knew that even if he resolved the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, he had already used Ghost Eye up to the sixth layer. If not for the suppression of the curse, he would have died from Ghost Eye's resurrection. Hence, even after resolving the curse issue, he didn't know if using a slot could suppress his current situation with Ghost Eye.

It would be better to solve the problem once and for all, rather than dealing with Ghost Eye's issues after resolving the curse.

If successful this time, Yang Jian would reach unimaginable heights.

"Help me transfer the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box onto Ghost Eye."

Yang Jian wrote down this phrase, not allowing himself any time to regret as he quickly sent it into the Ghost Cabinet.

It was risky, but the gamble was worth it.

Soon.

The cabinet doors under the Ghost Cabinet moved again, this time without any delay.

Yang Jian opened the cabinet door and took out the note again, his heart sinking as he read the twisted letters that formed the same sentence as before: Change another request.

But this time, the Ghost Cabinet didn't say it was impossible, only that he should change his request.

That is to say, it was capable of transferring the curse, but it didn't do so.

"What's the reason for this?"

Yang Jian's eyes darkened as he began to suspect that the rules of the Ghost Cabinet's trades weren't as simple as he had imagined and that there were some limitations he wasn't previously aware of.

He speculated whether his request was too demanding, which is why the Ghost Cabinet had refused.

This possibility was strong.

After all, his previous trades with the Ghost Cabinet were minor. The last time he had merely asked the Ghost Cabinet to locate Zhao Lei. This time, he had escalated to the level of transferring the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box. Although transferring a curse might seem simple, in reality, it would interfere with a ghost's killing pattern which is a different level of difficulty altogether.

Could it be the number of trades made was too few, so his trading power was limited?

Would he need to trade more before he could make excessive demands with an increased cost?

Yang Jian remembered a warning left by the previous user of the Ghost Cabinet: "You will have everything and lose everything."

At first glance, it seemed like a warning.

But it might also be reminding him that the trade was likely to be an equal exchange: you get as much as you lose.

Yang Jian had only found the ghost in the ghost painting. Although he had faced terrifying dangers, this was because the ghost painting incident had erupted. Had the ghost painting incident not occurred, a mere glance at the ghost painting would have been considered completing the task, which would have been far too easy. That's why the Ghost Cabinet had rejected the request.

Regardless of the outcome, Yang Jian now found himself in a difficult situation.

Because the Ghost Cabinet couldn't help him deal with the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box in a short time.

Thus, the Ghost Cabinet plan had failed.

"Do I have to trust Wang Xiaoming's plan?" Yang Jian hesitated.

He dared not gamble on Wang Xiaoming's plan because it might come from human skin, and he had no idea what traps might be set within. One misstep could have terrible consequences.

"Since the Ghost Cabinet can't fulfill my request, maybe it can help me fix the loopholes in Wang Xiaoming's plan, improving my chances of survival," Yang Jian quickly came up with a compromise.

He knew that Wang Xiaoming's plan was likely effective but also riddled with traps, which could be resolved with the help of the Ghost Cabinet.

This request wasn't difficult, much less costly than transferring the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, so the Ghost Cabinet would surely not refuse.

"This should be workable," Yang Jian thought to himself.