Mysterious Revival

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

A strange child donned in funeral garb stood in front of a wooden two-story house, lifting its dark-blue arm to press the doorbell beside the front door.

In the unnaturally quiet Kobe City, the not-so-loud doorbell had an empty ring to it, quietly echoing down the street, carrying into the far distance.

The bell chimed repeatedly, without interruption.

It seemed like a prank, but in the city as it was now, no one would bother to play such a prank, and if someone did, the homeowner whose doorbell was being rung would surely stop it.

However, as the bell continued to ring, the homeowner of that house had yet to appear.

It was as if the house were empty, with no one living in it, or perhaps there had been people living there, but they were now dead.

The Ghost Child had plenty of patience, treating the doorbell as if it were a toy, pressing it repeatedly.

Yang Jian, standing not far off, witnessed this scene but did not interrupt the behavior. His expression remained calm as his ghostly eye spied into the depths of that house.

The ghostly eye couldn't penetrate the gloom that shrouded the house.

A supernatural power obscured his ghostly vision, and after all, this was the domain of the Door Knocking Ghost. Yang Jian did not know if it was the domain's power blocking him or if there was something inherently wrong with the wooden two-story house itself.

Yang Jian refrained from forcefully peering in and did not use the Ghost Domain because doing so might cause him to leave, just as when he was at No. 7 Middle School. There, he had used the Ghost Domain to counter the Door Knocking Ghost's domain, and the result was that he and the surviving students left the school.

"Stop ringing the doorbell. There's definitely no one inside. Go take a look around, and if you spot a ghost, run out immediately,"

Yang Jian commanded, sending the Ghost Child ahead to scout, while he himself watched from a distance, not venturing into danger.

The Ghost Child ceased its actions and came to life again, wandering around near the house before finding an open window and swiftly climbing in, soon disappearing from sight into the pitch-black interior of the house.

"Being cautious is indeed correct. The Ghost Child is clad in funeral attire; it would be very difficult for an ordinary ghost to kill it,"

Yang Jian continued to wait, observing the Ghost Child's subsequent reactions.

"I hope your perception really does work and you're not just making up these words out of fear. Otherwise, I'll be very angry," he then turned his head to glance over at the woman named Mishima.

Keiko translated quickly to ensure the accuracy of the message.

The woman named Mishima hurriedly said, "I'm not lying, what I said is true, please believe me. I'm trying hard to sense the ghost's location, but it's too dangerous here. I feel I could die at any moment because there's more than one dangerous spot. The entity in this house is the closest to us."

As she spoke, her expression gradually became one of terror.

It was clear to her that there was a ghost in the house; she had felt it while walking on the road, which was why she was so frightened, slowing down her pace.

"Does your sense only detect a single ghost?"

Yang Jian's gaze shifted, his expression becoming serious, then he continued, "All you need to do is your job. I'll handle the rest. This is your sole purpose for being here. Whether you are afraid or not, you have to honestly do as I say."

Keiko translated again, "Miss Mishima, Mister Yang makes a lot of sense. We can only receive help if we show our worth and earn his recognition. Otherwise, we will definitely be abandoned."

"Do your best, Miss Mishima, we will surely be able to leave here alive."

She was very considerate, being just an ordinary person and much younger than the woman called Mishima, yet she was comforting someone else at this time.

"I, I understand. I will try my best to do my job," Mishima nodded in response.

"He sent that little ghost into the house to investigate. It's a cautious move, but I wonder how he controls that little ghost... Such an ability is truly enviable," Nagase muttered softly.

The middle-aged man beside him, however, expressed his concern, "The president must have had a purpose for sending us here. If Mishima is just responsible for guiding us to the ghost's location, then our task will surely not be an easy one. Shouldn't we be more worried about ourselves now? If we really encounter a ghost, we won't be able to escape."

"Indeed, everyone has a moment to prove their worth; it's just not our turn yet. Let's adjust our mindset and try to overcome our fears. It'd be a pity to die here due to a small mistake, wouldn't it, senpai?" Nagase said with a smile.

But even such casual conversation was translated by Keiko for Yang Jian to hear.

Yang Jian did not pay attention, instead, he frowned and looked toward the house ahead.

The house was not large, and the Ghost Child had been inside for a while, but it had not yet come out.

His previous command was to run out immediately if a ghost was found, so if the Ghost Child hadn't come out, did that mean there were no ghosts in the house?

Or could it mean the Ghost Child had not encountered a ghost?

"Wait another three minutes," Yang Jian checked the time and counted silently in his mind.

The house wasn't big, and the Ghost Child should be able to search it in just a few minutes with its ability to move around.

The three minutes passed quickly.

The house, cloaked in darkness, was extraordinarily tranquil, with no signs of anything unusual happening and no sounds coming from it.

"Haven't encountered a ghost yet? In that case, let's not wait any longer. Call the Ghost Child out; let's bypass this place. Regardless of what might be inside this house, at the very least, I can be sure that the Door Knocking Ghost isn't here,"

Yang Jian decided not to waste more time. He shouted from outside, giving the order for the Ghost Child to come out immediately.

The new order was meant to override the old one.

However, after Yang Jian had called out from outside, the house remained silent. The Ghost Child seemed to have evaporated from the world, completely disappearing without a trace and showing no sign of emerging from the house.

"There's a problem..."

Yang Jian's expression instantly darkened.

Mishima had not been wrong in her sensation; this house indeed had a significant issue. Whether there was a ghost or not, the fact that the Ghost Child hadn't come back out since entering was proof enough of its peculiarity.

"I'm going to go inside the house and have a look. You all wait here, Nagase, you come with me," Yang Jian glanced over and then strode forward.

After Keiko translated, the young man named Nagase's complexion changed, and in the end, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and followed.

Yang Jian arrived at the front door of the house, his dark, cold palm that resembled that of a corpse gripping the doorknob. With a gentle pull, the door opened.

Inside, it was pitch-black, nothing could be seen, and a rich stench of decay hit them, as if a body had been rotting inside the house for a long time, almost making one vomit.

"Guard this door, don't let it close, whatever method you use is fine,"

Yang Jian glanced over, "If you can't do it, I'll take you out once we come out. That's an order."

Keiko was slightly startled when she heard this, and then carefully translated it to the man called Nagase.

"That really is a rather inconsiderate command, but compared to Mister Yang risking his safety alone to investigate the house, this order could be considered somewhat merciful," Nagase said with a smile, "Well then, Mister Yang, please go ahead without worry, your way out is entrusted to me, I assure you won't be let down."

Yang Jian didn't say a word, he carried his luggage bag, his expression calm as he walked into the dark house before him.

He wanted to search for the Ghost Child and see what kind of accident the Ghost Child had been involved in.

He also wanted to ascertain once again the exact situation of this house and whether the Door Knocking Ghost was also inside? If not, then why would this place be like this?

"This business trip is even more unlucky than the previous ones. To encounter such an incident right off the bat,"

Yang Jian felt that his surroundings were being enveloped by darkness; he could only see the blurry corridors on both sides, his vision was greatly compromised, even with his Ghost Eye open. If he closed his Ghost Eye, he figured he'd probably be blind and would only be able to feel his way along the walls.

He hadn't walked many steps when he felt an increasing chill around him, a sensation that tensed him up instantly, but then he suddenly stopped and looked back, realizing something.

How long can a house's hallway be?

Based on Yang Jian's previous assessment of the house, at most it was only about six or seven meters, but now, as he looked back, he could see the faint light spreading from the door behind him at a distance... it was far, as if spanning twenty or thirty meters.

Distances were being distorted.

Yang Jian's expression shifted subtly; he had encountered this kind of situation before in The World of Ghost Drawing.

However, he did not turn back as a result, but continued to move forward.

Soon enough.

Yang Jian passed through the hallway and arrived at the entrance to a sliding door, which should be the living room of the house.

Dried bloodstains remained on the sliding door, shaping a handprint. It must have been left by someone, and the direction of the handprint was outward, meaning that at some point, someone with blood on their hand had opened the sliding door, attempting to escape from within.

However, that person attempting to escape must have failed.

Because as Yang Jian had walked all the way there, he had not seen any bodies, only smelt the stench of a corpse. This odor was sealed within the house, making it especially pungent.

"The living room is very tidy, not at all disordered, and the Ghost Child isn't here either,"

Yang Jian arrived at the living room, took a quick look around, but did not find anything strange, nor did he see the source of the corpse smell, nor did he find the body of the deceased.

"It's quite strange. If someone was killed in the living room, then that means the ghost had previously appeared here. So after it killed someone, it should have left some traces, at least. Although there are doubts, it's now completely certain that this house has nothing to do with the Door Knocking Ghost."

He knew the killing method of the Door Knocking Ghost: just knock on your front door and you, the one targeted by the ghost, would immediately die without a chance to struggle.

An attack that ensured certain death.

Yang Jian himself did not know whether he could now withstand three knocks from that old ghost.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suddenly.

From the ceiling above, a muffled sound echoed, as if someone had stepped on the floor and passed by. The sound insulation in this wooden house wasn't good, so Yang Jian heard it very clearly.

Moreover, judging by the sound of the commotion, it should be the weight of an adult, definitely not the Ghost Child. The Ghost Child would walk barefoot, and the sound would be very light.

"Thud, thud!"

The sound continued, and Yang Jian looked up; he was certain that something had passed right above him and then went next door before it stopped.

Peace returned to the dark house once again.

"Is the ghost at that spot?" Yang Jian's Ghost Eye stared intently at that spot as if he had locked onto the source.

"Go upstairs."

Yang Jian felt the Ghost Child might also be upstairs, its disappearance must be related to the ghost in this house. However, he only wanted to take the Ghost Child away, not to expend too much energy on an unknown ghost.

Immediately, he quickened his pace, moving deeper into the house.

After walking some distance forward, Yang Jian saw the stairs leading to the second floor.

The staircase was somewhat narrow, but it did not seem dangerous. At least there wasn't a ghost waiting for him on the stairs like last time, so Yang Jian smoothly made his way to the second floor of the house.

Using the position he had determined earlier, Yang Jian approached the location on the second floor from where the noise had originated.

Soon enough.

He stood before a sliding door. The sliding door was not tightly closed; there was a narrow gap in between, seeming as if the door had been opened recently.