Mysterious Revival - Chapter 15 - I Lied to You

Seeing the words appear on the parchment, Yang Jian hesitated for a while. Ultimately, he decided not to discard the brown human skin. The reason was simple: he didn’t want to end up like Zhou Zheng, falling victim to the revival of a vengeful ghost.

Though the parchment exuded an eerie and sinister aura, for Yang Jian, it represented an unknown opportunity. Perhaps it could indeed reveal some crucial information about the future.

“I can sense that keeping this parchment won’t be a good thing… but I don’t really have a choice right now. The worst that could happen is death, which is still preferable to a vengeful ghost’s revival,” Yang Jian thought, his eyes flickering with determination. “And if I’m cautious and take extra precautions, maybe things won’t turn out so badly.”

Gritting his teeth, he rolled up the human skin and tucked it into his pocket, deciding to keep it.

At that moment, Zhang Wei’s phone in his hand suddenly rang again, displaying Fang Jing’s name. Yang Jian snapped back to reality, his eyes flickering at the sight of Fang Jing’s name. He had almost forgotten that Fang Jing was still nearby.

After some thought, he chose to answer the call.

“Hello, Yang Jian, I’ve already given you the item. You can’t just hang up on me. Hurry, tell me how to get out of here. Please, tell me,” Fang Jing’s voice was panicked, clearly terrified. He was all alone now, with no classmates around.

Even though he had escaped the footsteps behind him, he was still within the ghost domain. As long as he didn’t leave it, his safety was only temporary.

Yang Jian’s eyes flickered as his mind raced with thoughts. He decided to use Fang Jing for an experiment.

Quickly, he spoke, “Fang Jing, I won’t lead you out of here myself, but I’ll teach you a method. It’s how I survived.”

“What method? Tell me, quickly,” Fang Jing urged.

Yang Jian replied, “Can your phone still connect to the internet? I’ll send you a link. Open a forum and find a post by a user named Thunderbolt King.”

After speaking, he sent the link to the ghost stories forum he had previously visited.

Fang Jing quickly received the message and said, “I found the post by Thunderbolt King. It’s a popular one.”

“Open it, block other users, and scroll to the end,” Yang Jian instructed.

With sweaty fingers, Fang Jing tapped on his phone screen, opening the post and scrolling to the end as instructed. As soon as he did, he shuddered.

A photo appeared.

The photo showed an Old Man in a long robe, his body covered in postmortem lividity, with a numb, deathly gray face. The Old Man stood outside a glass window, seemingly passing by.

Yes, it was the same Old Man who had knocked on the classroom door earlier.

“Do you see the photo? Save it,” Yang Jian said.

“Okay, okay,” Fang Jing swallowed hard, fearfully saving the photo.

After he finished, Yang Jian immediately surveyed his surroundings, keeping an eye on all directions. One minute, two minutes, three minutes… the Old Man did not appear. He seemed to have left the area, destination unknown.

But Yang Jian knew the ghost domain was still present, meaning the Old Man hadn’t truly left-he was just out of sight. Given the size of the school, it wasn’t surprising not to see the figure.

“Yang Jian, Yang Jian, speak up. I’ve done what you said, but nothing’s happening,” Fang Jing’s voice came through the phone.

“Was my guess wrong? That old man didn’t appear outside the classroom just because I looked at his photo,” Yang Jian frowned.

He had initially formed three hypotheses. The forum post by Thunderbolt King was made in a hospital in another province, several hundred kilometers from Dachang City. What were the odds of encountering the same ghost from a hospital in another province at the school?

Yang Jian thought the chances were very, very slim. Unless there was only one possibility: the Old Man was drawn by something-a signal, a condition, or perhaps a person.

His first hypothesis was that it was related to Zhou Zheng. The Old Man was searching for Zhou Zheng, as Zhou Zheng was a Ghost Tamer and had likely encountered ghosts. But with Zhou Zheng’s death and the fact that Yang Jian had never seen the Old Man before, this hypothesis could be dismissed.

The second hypothesis was that it was related to Fang Jing. However, since the Old Man appeared, Fang Jing hadn’t died, so this could also be ruled out.

The third hypothesis was that the Old Man was drawn by Yang Jian himself. If this hypothesis held true, then the only connection Yang Jian had with the Old Man was having seen the forum story, viewed his photo, and heard the knocking sound recorded by Thunderbolt King…

“If it’s not the photo, then it must be the knocking sound,” Yang Jian concluded, continuing, “Fang Jing, do you see the audio file below? Play it. It’s your chance to leave this place.”

“Alright,” Fang Jing opened the audio file.

“Knock, knock…” The dull, heart-pounding knocking sound echoed in the dark environment.

Fang Jing used his phone to illuminate his surroundings and said, “Yang Jian, nothing’s happening…”

Meanwhile, on the other end, Yang Jian’s eyes suddenly narrowed, his face showing shock.

An Old Man, dressed in a long robe, his face deathly gray and covered in postmortem lividity, had appeared on the school’s path through the greenery. He moved stiffly, slowly making his way toward Fang Jing.

Indeed, he appeared… and in a way that defied logic, as if he had always been standing there.

“Damn it, I guessed right. The Old Man is here for me because I heard that knocking sound…” Yang Jian felt a chill envelop him.

“Yang Jian, hey, Yang Jian, say something,” Fang Jing continued to ask, unaware that the Old Man was approaching him.

Yang Jian slowly backed away, avoiding the Old Man’s line of sight, cautiously retreating. “Keep listening to the audio file. Don’t stop.”

“Is this really going to work?”

Fang Jing repeatedly played the audio file, asking.

“Knock, knock…”

The eerie knocking sound continued to play from his phone. Although it seemed ineffective, Fang Jing noticed that the footsteps had ceased. It might not have seemed useful, but it wasn’t entirely without effect.

“Yang Jian’s method should work,” Fang Jing thought, feeling slightly relieved.

However, he was unaware that behind him, the Old Man in the black long robe, covered in postmortem lividity, was gradually approaching.

At that moment, Yang Jian quickly left the greenery, distancing himself from the Old Man, and returned to the playground.

He was now several hundred meters away, unable to see Fang Jing or the greenery anymore.

“Fang Jing, are you still alive?” Yang Jian suddenly asked.

“Of course, I’m still alive,” Fang Jing replied.

Yang Jian said, “I’m sorry, I apologize. I lied to you.”

“What did you lie about?” Fang Jing was puzzled.

“The Old Man who knocked on the classroom door was drawn by me. That thing is here for me.”

Yang Jian continued, “I didn’t know before, but now I do. And I think the condition that draws the Old Man is related to that audio file-the knocking sound you just heard.”

“What?”

Fang Jing’s heart skipped a beat, his face showing horror. If the knocking sound could attract the Old Man, and he had played it so many times…

Fear surged through him again, and he instinctively took a few steps back.

“Bang!”

His body seemed to collide with something cold and stiff. Turning around, he saw the Old Man with a deathly gray face, covered in postmortem lividity, staring at him numbly.

His body… couldn’t move.

An old, withered, icy hand slowly rose, gradually covering Fang Jing’s face… The force was immense; he felt his facial bones being crushed.

“Yang, Yang Jian…” Fang Jing’s terrified and resentful scream came through the phone.

Yang Jian remained unmoved, speaking into the phone, “You taught me that one shouldn’t be too naive.”

With that, he hung up the call.