Mysterious Revival

Yang Jian was certain that the ghost following Zhang Wei had emerged from the Ghost Mirror.

Through some dangerous probing before, it had been basically confirmed that there were ghosts inside the mirror, and not just one... but a great many.

The bruise-like handprints on his arm were the best proof.

However, at present, it seemed that the ghosts inside the mirror couldn’t easily come out, except for the one that looked exactly like the ghost following Zhang Wei.

"Is it okay to just stand here like this? I won’t end up running into the mirror all of a sudden like my cousin Shangguan Yun, will I?" Zhang Wei appeared calm, but in reality, he was incredibly nervous.

If it weren’t for Yang Jian standing beside him, he would have already been screaming and running away.

Because the mirror was now reflecting the appearance of a ghost.

It looked just like Zhang Wei, but its complexion was deathly pale, devoid of any color; it simply walked steadily in from the direction of the door, as reflected in the mirror.

But when he turned his head to look, there was nothing behind him.

This was a ghost that existed only in the mirror.

"No, you and the ghost in the mirror are not moving in unison, it can’t replace you. I need to make another attempt," Yang Jian said. "You just need to stand still."

Out of trust for Yang Jian, Zhang Wei had no choice but to brace himself and stand motionless in front of the mirror.

Yang Jian’s true intention was to get that ghost to fully enter the Ghost Mirror, to see how exactly the ghost could leave the mirror.

If that ghost could leave, then the other ghosts inside the mirror could be just as dangerous.

The atmosphere around them started to become oppressive.

In the dimly lit room, the mirror with its Republic of China Period style clearly reflected Zhang Wei’s figure in the light.

But the figure in the mirror was not Zhang Wei, but a genuine ghost.

However, this wasn’t the first time he had seen it.

Yang Jian knew that this ghost was for the time being a fairly harmless entity; even if it wanted to kill, it needed to mirror the movements of the person outside exactly to pull them into the mirror, thus freeing itself.

Yet such a stringent condition for killing did not make him feel any more at ease.

Because this ghost was only part of the mirror.

And this mirror, covered in dust for at least a hundred years and deliberately treasured by someone, had to be an incredibly special existence.

After staring at the ghost in the mirror for a moment,

finally, the ghost completely entered the mirror. It became like a shadow of Zhang Wei, reflected on the smooth surface of the mirror.

The movements were now almost perfectly synchronized.

But at that moment, Zhang Wei’s hand began to move frantically, making all sorts of hand gestures.

Yang Jian glanced at him, and realized the guy was actually mimicking one-handed seals from anime.

So fast it was a blur.

"Smart as I am, could that ghost keep up with the afterimage of my hand seals? I could make three seals in one second with one hand back in junior high. You think you can imitate me? That’s completely out of the question. Today, I’ll let you witness my true skill," Zhang Wei thought with a sneer, while also feeling proud of his extraordinary talent.

The hard year of practice had not been in vain; it was finally coming into play today.

Seeing his incredible hand speed, Yang Jian froze, finally understanding why this guy’s grades in junior high were so poor that he had to pay for connections to get into No. 7 Middle School.

So all his studying time was spent on this.

But before he could say a word, Yang Jian saw Zhang Wei’s other hand begin to move as well.

Damn.

Both hands could make one-handed seals, and they were different.

How obsessed were you back then to have secretly practiced so much? To be able to perform such complex actions.

Lucky for you, you weren’t born in a two-dimensional world.

Otherwise, you would have been a big shot in the anime industry.

"Alright, enough, stop showing off your single-hand sealing technique and move aside," Yang Jian said with a headache as he pulled Zhang Wei away from in front of the mirror.

At that moment, he saw the ghost in the mirror imitating Zhang Wei’s actions, its stiff fingers attempting to form seals, but its speed was leagues behind Zhang Wei’s. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Ah? That’s enough? I had a lot of emergency plans ready, Brother Tui, don’t feel too pressured, I can handle it," Zhang Wei said.

Yang Jian said, "It’s really enough, trust me."

"Okay then, if it’s not enough, I don’t mind continuing to face that ghost," Zhang Wei said.

After Yang Jian pulled Zhang Wei away, he discovered that the ghost in the mirror that looked just like Zhang Wei had stopped moving.

It just stood there silently, like a photograph burned onto the surface.

"You get out of here first. I want to see if that ghost will also disappear after following you. If the attempt fails, it means the curse is still on you. From now on, avoid looking in mirrors and even consider going out with your face covered. Otherwise, you might carelessly get pulled into a mirror by a ghost someday," Yang Jian instructed further.

"OK, then I’m off," Zhang Wei turned and left immediately.

Without a moment’s hesitation.

But in no time at all, Zhang Wei, who had just gone downstairs, let out a scream, "Who’s the jerk who had no decency and took a dump here?"

"..." Yang Jian was speechless.

Wasn’t this the result of your dare to Brother Hwu?

Now you’ve fallen into your own trap.

However, as Zhang Wei moved away, Yang Jian saw that the ghost in the mirror had not disappeared; it still stood motionless inside the Ghost Mirror.

The previous conditions had changed.

The ghost was left in the Ghost Mirror.

Seeing this, Yang Jian fell into deep thought. He looked around, seriously recalling the events, and finally came to a conclusion.

The ghost within the mirror needed another mirror to leave.

Similar to Zhang Wei’s ghost, the reason it was able to depart was that the previous mirror faced a large building on the construction site and was sent away by the glass of the building.

Now, with the mirror facing a wall, there was no second mirror to act as a medium.

So this ghost was left behind.

"If my guess is correct, then I can understand why the original owner covered this mirror with an oilcloth," Yang Jian’s eyes shifted slightly, beginning to appreciate the previous owner’s good intentions.

But still.

Looking at Zhang Wei within the mirror, and then thinking of the Zhang Wei who had already left.

The human and the ghost were identical.

The shadow remained in the Ghost Mirror, but the person had already departed.

The connection between them was not severed.

The curse was merely contained, not entirely eliminated.

Looking at the handprint bruises large and small on his arm, Yang Jian was very wary of this mirror.

"Take it back and ask the skin paper. It must know something."

He thought for a while, remembering the eerie skin paper again.

In fact, if necessary, Yang Jian was not very willing to touch that skin paper. Although sometimes the skin paper could be very beneficial, in critical moments it might save lives.

He immediately picked up the old oilcloth, covered the mirror again, and carried it away.

He took it out of concerns for the safety of leaving such a dangerous object in the abandoned old house.

The wooden door had already been opened, and sooner or later curious people might slip in.

If they touched some taboos and sparked another supernatural event, Yang Jian didn’t want to continue cleaning up the mess.

So it was safer for the mirror to be in his hands than anyone else’s.

As for the two remaining rooms...

For the time being, he had to find a way to preserve them and prohibit anyone from casually entering the ancient house.

At this moment.

Zhang Wei was back in the residential area,

Zhang Xiangu and the others had been waiting at the entrance without leaving.

"Here he comes, that kid Zhang Wei is back," said Zhang Wei’s uncle happily.

"But Yang Jian didn’t come with him," Zhang Xiangu frowned.

Could something have happened?

But in the next moment, he saw Yang Jian also emerge from the old house, carrying something out.

"What happened inside?" Zhang Xiangu asked.

Zhang Wei, who ran up breathlessly, said, "That place really is ominous. Brother Tui said there were ghosts. Luckily, your son is quite impressive and survived. He’s fine now."

Zhang Xiangu’s face turned dark. Was this not just stating the obvious?

But it was good that the kid was alright.

"President Zhang, it was a close call, and for now, Zhang Wei is out of danger. However, I can’t guarantee the future. His link with the ghost has not been completely severed, and I am not sure whether this is good or bad," Yang Jian said as he approached with the Ghost Mirror.

Zhang Xiangu nodded, "As long as there’s no immediate danger, that’s what matters. We owe you one this time. Is that house really malignant?"

Yang Jian thought for a moment and said, "It is indeed quite out of the ordinary, but it’s safe for now. I would suggest, President Zhang, that you send a construction team to refurbish the house, update what needs updating, and maintain what needs maintaining. That house absolutely must not collapse."

If the house fell, whatever was in the first and second rooms would come out.

He could not be certain what might occur.

"Is it okay to just start construction like that?" Zhang Xiangu seemed perplexed.

"No problem. Both Zhang Wei and I have been around it. As long as you don’t open the doors of those two rooms on the second floor, there will be no danger. After all, people used to live there. But if in the future the house is not well maintained and collapses after getting soaked by rain, the situation could become unmanageable.

So for future considerations, I advise reinforcing and repairing it," Yang Jian said earnestly.

"The second-floor rooms?" Zhang Xiangu said, "I got it. I’ll supervise the work myself. How about also enclosing that plot of land to build a temple, concealing the old house within it, and then invite a Bodhisattva or a big Buddha to preside over it, to dispel the evil spirits there?"

"Since the land can’t be cleared, leaving it barren seems wasteful."

As a real estate developer, he had his superstitions.

"That could work," Yang Jian nodded.

Building a temple to suppress evil spirits obviously had no effect. Its primary function was to settle the minds of people.

Seeing a temple standing there was always better than seeing a gloomy old house.

Additionally, once the temple was built, it would perfectly conceal the old house, so there was no need to worry about people sneaking in anymore.

"What is this? It looks like a mirror," asked Zhang Wei’s uncle curiously.

He wanted to unveil the oilcloth to see, but Yang Jian stopped him.

"It’s very dangerous, best not to tamper with it. It could cost lives. The two workers who disappeared were devoured by this mirror," Yang Jian said bluntly.

"What?" Zhang Wei’s uncle shivered,

Zhang Xiangu frowned at the covered mirror, "There’s actually something this sinister?"

A living person swallowed by a mirror?

A single sentence conveyed an eerie chill and a sense of horror that grew more unsettling the more one thought about it.

"Let’s head back, the construction site can resume work," Yang Jian said.

"If you’re sure it’s safe, then that reassures me," Zhang Xiangu nodded, "Drive, let’s head back."