Outside the window, dark clouds hung low, looking particularly ominous.
The room was dark.Ye Jia sat cross-legged on the ground with papers filled with writing scattered across the floor before him.He had his eyes lowered, his long eyelashes hiding his scarlet eyes, as his gaze silently stopped on the papers in front of him. He seemed to be thinking about something.In the darkness, the young man was completely still. His chest didnât rise and fall with his breathing, he just sat there in the darkness like a sculpture.Suddenly, as if sensing something, he suddenly looked over at the door.In the corridor.The shadow ghost walking at the front said cheerfully, âIt should be right ahead!âChen Qingye and Blast followed behind it. Their expressions were calm but both of them had a slightly dazed look in their eyes as they mechanically followed the ghost before them.AâMiâs voice pulled them back to their senses.Blast turned stiffly to Chen Qingye and saw that the other party was also looking at him. They each saw the same look of shock in each otherâs eyes.âŠ..What that ghost said just nowâŠ..was a lieâŠ.right?It canât be true, right?OrâŠ.was this some kind of conspiracyâŠ.perhaps?Suddenly, the shadow ghost ahead stopped in its tracks. Blast and Chen Qingye behind it also quickly come to a stop ---- They didnât sense any changes ahead but that alone made them instinctively turn vigilant.In the darkness ahead, a young manâs tall and slender figure could vaguely be seen.His face was hidden in the shadows and the air around him was restrained and concealed but he was somehow still able to give off a sense of oppressiveness.The young man took a step forward. The shadows made his features appear more prominent. His scarlet eyes that were half narrowed looked in their direction.There were not many emotions in those eyes, as if they belonged to something that wasnât human.The muscles in Chen Qingyeâs body tensed. The feeling one would have when theyâre facing a strong opponent slowly crept up his spine. He subconsciously reached into his sleeve and used his finger to touch AâChangâs head in his attempt to settle the unease inside him.After allâŠ..all the information he had came from Blast.It wasnât that he didnât trust this companion of his, butâŠâŠEven Chen Qingye had to admit that Ace was very good at deceiving people.The other party faintly knitted his brows.Chen Qingyeâs breathing eased.âYou all actually made it to this place.âYe Jia silently sighed. His pale face revealed a familiar expression that belonged to humans ----- Lazy, gentle, with a hint of detachment.Chen Qingye was stunned. The fingers that were petting AâChang stopped.Ye Jia turned and moved away from the door, âCome in.âThe room was a mess.This wasnât M City. Ye Jia had just randomly found an uninhabited place to temporarily settle in. The light from the computer lit up the room.The small black hand stuck its head out from the screen and just happened to see the papers on the floor being mercilessly stepped on by the young man.It exclaimed, âHey! Arenât those things useful?âYe Jia looked down, âOh, this?âHe raised his finger and an invisible force swept through the air, sweeping aside all the scattered pieces of paper on the ground, âI donât need them now.ââOh, have you finished deciphering it?â The small black hand immediately understood.Ye Jia made a sound of affirmation but didnât continue to say anything.
He turned to look at the two humans and one ghost standing at the door and asked, âHow did you guys get in?âChen Qingye and Blast unanimously pointed in the same direction.Ye Jia followed their fingers and fixed his gaze on the shadow ghostâs indistinct figure.AâMi, ââŠâŠâFor some reasonâŠ..it felt a little guiltyâŠâŠAâMi cleared its throat, âUh, well, Iâm here to pass on a message from King!ââSo uh,â It sorted out its thoughts, âKing asked me to tell you that the matter of the two hundred thousand souls have been sorted. You donât need to worry about it.âYe Jia let out an âohâ and seemed to be lost in thought. Even despite AâMi bringing such good news, he didnât show any particular reactions.âTwo hundred thousand souls?â The two other people present were taken aback, âWhatâs going on?âThe shadow ghost very considerately explained it to them, âMother asked King andâŠ.Ace to slaughter the cities and bring her two hundred thousand human souls. Itâs probably for the sake of opening the door completely. We believe Mother will soon take action and move ahead with her plans.âChen Qingye was startled. He looked towards Ye Jia, âSo all those dark clouds outside areâŠ.?âYe Jia nodded, âYes, I did it.âBlast scratched his head, âThenâŠ.what about those screams we heard?âYe Jia pointed at the computer next to him.The small black hand waved at the two people present and proudly showed them the horror movie clips it had collected.Blast and Chen Qingye, ââŠ.âAh, so that was it.This small black hand was reallyâŠ..quite useful.After recovering from the shock, Chen Qingye asked:âSo, is what that fierce ghost said just now true?âAboutâŠ.Mother moving ahead with her plans.The shadow ghost who was suddenly asked enthusiastically stretched out its hand, âAâMi.âChen Qingye, ââŠ..Huh?âShadow ghost, âMy name is AâMi!âThe two humans standing before it fell silent, ââŠâŠâŠ.âWhat kind of name is that?!AâMi giggled and asked mysteriously, âDo youâŠ.like cats?âThe two of them. ââŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâ???Thanks to Ye Jiaâs timely interjection, this awkward silence was broken, âYes, we believe it wonât be long before Mother takes action.âHearing this, the two of them were stunned.For a while, the room was silent.âOh, thatâs right!â Blast seemed to have suddenly thought of something and proceeded to leave the room. Soon afterwards, there were muffled grunts coming from outside and a few seconds later, Blast returned dragging a tied-up middle-aged man in. He very easily threw him before Ye Jia, âHere.âYe Jia was surprised. His eyes fell on the manâs slightly swollen face and it took him a few seconds to recognise the other party.This is thatâŠ..director?Blast and Chen Qingye briefly recounted what they did and what they discovered.
The middle-aged man lying on the ground let out a muffled cry and twisted around on the ground like a maggot.Ye Jia looked at him thoughtfully.No wonder. With this, many things can be explained ---- Whether it was the Bureauâs complacent reaction at the beginning or the other party unexpectedly cooperating that nightâŠ..and even the subsequent attack directed at the headquarters, it all could be reasonably explained. After all, based on what he had observed during this time, although there was a strong connection between Mother and her direct descendants, it was still absolutely impossible for her to know their locations accurately.Seeing the other party squirming around, Blast rudely kicked him, âSettle down.âHe looked back at Ye Jia with an âarenât I very usefulâ expression on his face and asked:âHow was it?âChen Qingye added, âBut he kept his lips firmly shut and hasnât revealed anything the whole time.âYe Jia shook his head, âIt doesnât matter.âThe two of them were surprised.Huh?Ye Jia, âIâve basically got all the information I need now. It doesnât matter if he doesnât plan on saying anything.âBlastâs expression fell, âIs that soâŠâŠâŠâHe lowered his head and proceeded to kick the director again in frustration.The other party grunted in pain and curled up. His brown and black eyes glared at Blast as if he wanted to eat him up.Blast, âSo, heâs useless?âHis expression carried some disappointment.It was all for nothing.But unexpectedly, as if he thought of something. Ye Jiaâs calm and unwavering eyes looked down at the man ----- The moment his gaze stopped on him, the person on the ground seemed to tremble.He retracted his gaze and looked towards AâMi, âTake him to Ji Xuan.ââMmmmmmnnnnn----â The man on the ground let out a muffled cry and seemed to be very against it.Ye Jiaâs expression didnât change.AâMi laughed, âNo problem.âIt bent down and the shadow behind it spread open and proceeded to swallow up the man.âThen Iâll be heading off first.â AâMi turned around but before it could take more than a few steps, it seemed to have suddenly remembered something. It looked back at Ye Jia, âBy the way, do you need me to bring back a message to King?âThose words were spoken without much thought but those who heard it couldnât help but think more of it.Blast and Chen Qingye immediately remembered what they heard on their way hereâŠ..and the terrifying information they had gained from it.Their faces contorted slightly, turning into strange expressions.Ye Jia didnât notice this change in them.He thought for a while and said, âTell him to stay there. To prevent raising Motherâs suspicions, he shouldnât come and look for me for the time being.âThe expressions of the other two turned even more indescribable.âOkay.â AâMi responded cheerfully and proceeded to dissipate into the air.Ye Jia turned to look at the other two, âYou twoâŠâŠâHe was surprised by their strange expressions, âWhatâs wrong?âBlast and Chen Qingye, âN-nothing.â----- We just heard some gossip about the love and hate relationship between you and the ghost king on our way here.It was quite impressive.Ye Jia looked at the two of them suspiciously for a moment before skipping over the topic.His expression improved, âI know how to stop Mother.â
Chen Qingye and Blast were taken aback. They asked in disbelief, âW-what?ââThatâs right,â Ye Jia nodded and pointed at the notebook as well as the piles of papers around him, âI have deciphered it all.ââT-there really is an answer to this problem in there?!â Blastâs eyes lit up.Although he had been looking forward to this outcome, it was a notebook that was written who knows how many years ago. He didnât dare be too hopeful.âYes.âYe Jia gave him an affirmative answer.Chen Qingye, âWhatâs the method?ââOnly if there is enough malice in the real world, can Mother be released from the other side.â Ye Jia gently rubbed the cover of the notebook with his fingers and continued, âSo what Iâm going to do is to address the issue from the roots and destroy the basic conditions that would allow the other party to enter the real world.ââBut,â Blast frowned, âI saw those malice with my own eyesâŠâŠ.âThat sticky, black liquid containing a foul and ominous odour. It was a liquid that could contaminate almost anything in the world.Even fierce ghosts didnât dare approach it. As long as they touched it, their minds would be corrupted instantly.âDonât worry.â Ye Jia smiled lightly.âI have a way to purify malice.âBlast and Chen Qingye, â!!!ââHowever,â Ye Jiaâs voice interjected before they could get too excited, âI will need your help.ââNo problem!â Blast patted his chest in reassurance, âSpeak. What do you need?âYe Jia narrowed his eyes slightly, his scarlet eyes gleaming in the dark, âTo be more precise, I need the Bureauâs help.âHe paused for a moment and said, âThe sooner the better.â----- They must do it before Mother starts her plans..After Blast and Chen Qingye left, the small black hand also went back into the ghost domain to continue sorting out clips from horror movies and replaying them.Only Ye Jia was left in the room.The sky outside was dull and gloomy with thick dark clouds obscuring the sky. Under the flickering streetlights, empty streets could vaguely be made out. It was almost impossible to tell the time of the day based on how the sky looked.Ye Jia withdrew his gaze from the sky.The pieces of paper filling the corner of the room were scattered by the wind entering from the window, some stopping by Ye Jiaâs feet.He paused, bent down and picked up one of them.The writing on it was messy. Almost no one could read it except him.Ye Jia knew exactly what was written on it.It was about malice.In the real world, there normally exists a certain amount of malice. The more tragic deaths there are, the more malice there are. This malice however doesnât continue to accumulate as time passes and a stable balance is maintained.If a fierce ghost wants to resist the passage of time, it must continue to devour other souls so that malice would gather inside its body.As a result, it would gradually lose its reason and become an evil spirit who had lost its mind and a target humans hope to eliminate.The malice it consumed would ultimately disappear along with its death.And the amount of malice produced when it is killed is the same as the amount produced when a normal soul is destroyed.Therefore, the act of ghosts mutually devouring each other is a way to control the amount of malice in the world.And the involvement of the Bureau had completely disrupted this cycle.
Malice isnât just something that is artificially produced. More importantly, malice without a soul cannot be consumed by a fierce ghost so it can only sink into the ground and continue to accumulate there, eventually becoming a spring.In fact, Ye Jia had lied just now.His method wasnât to purify malice.InsteadâŠ.it was to find a new vessel for it, and then let it re-enter the natural cycle.Ye Jia raised his hand and the tip of his finger shone a cold light as a blade emerged. He saw his scarlet eyes reflected on its surface, looking back at him silently.Those eyes were calm, as if he had already made up his mind.He will become the vessel.Ye Jia raised a hand and placed it onto his icy cold chest. Under that silent chest, he could feel Motherâs ball of flesh continue to release energy --- He had in fact only been temporarily transformed into a fierce ghost. That ball of flesh had been tightly covered in Ji Xuanâs yin energy to ensure that the transformation process could be reversed.So, as long as that ball of flesh is taken out, he could turn back into a weak human who could easily die as long as he was shot in the brain or the heart.And his ability was to consume. So even if he became a vessel, he wouldnât immediately die.No one was more suitable for this role than him.âŠ..And so, Ji Xuan must never find out about this plan of his. He mustnât come near him and mustnât be involved.Ye Jia wasnât just worried about the other party disrupting his plans.In addition to this, there was something elseâŠ..It was a deeply hidden reason even he himself was unwilling to admit.Ye Jia looked out the window again.The sky was overcast with no light in sight.Thick layers of dark clouds were reflected in his eyes. Although there were no particular expressions on his face, he looked a little sad.âŠ..After all, he still felt a little melancholic.But fortunately he had asked the shadow ghost to help him pass on that message.Ye Jia lowered his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief ---- At least Ji Xuan listened to him well. He probably wouldnât come and disrupt his plans any time soon.Suddenly-----âWhy are you sighing?â A low and magnetic voice belonging to a man sounded from not far behind him. That voice was so familiar, he almost thought he had imagined it.Ye Jia was startled.He looked back in surprise.----- He saw a man who shouldnât be here standing at the doorway, looking like he had come straight out of his mind.Ye Jia, ââŠâŠâŠâJi Xuan walked closer. The presence his tall figure gave off was almost impossible to overlook. It couldnât be mistaken to be his imagination.Ji Xuan looked questioningly at the young man not far ahead, his scarlet eyes reflecting the other persons undisguised look of surprise:âWhatâs wrong? Youâre this surprised to see me?âYe Jia, ââŠâŠ..âWhat do you think??He looked expressionlessly at the other party, almost doubting life itself.This guy doesnât have any special abilities, does he?âŠ...It was just too scary!