Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ghostly Inquiries

"Uncle, when do you think I'll be able to pull off a move like that?"

Inside the camp's tent, Zhou Bin repeatedly imitated the dashing manner in which Shen Lin had departed just moments ago, adjusting his posture over and over in a desperate bid to capture a fraction of that effortless grace.

Youthful romanticism often mirrors poetry, especially among middle-school-aged dreamers; who hasn't harbored fantasies of charging back and forth through enemy lines like Zhao Zilong?

Xu Fang was gnawing on a piece of fruit, too lazy to indulge his nephew's antics, but Xiong Wenwen piped up instead.

"Give it a rest. With your pathetic scraps of ability, you won't even reach half of Shen Lin's level by the time you're in your grave," Xiong Wenwen mocked unmercifully.

He was currently playing a video game on his phone, *Game for Peace*, and his stats were actually looking quite decent. The primary reason for this success was the competence of his two accompanying bodyguards. When the headquarters had asked him if he had any special requests, he had demanded people who were exceptionally good at gaming, and thus these two individuals had been proudly assigned to the post.

"Hah, brat, what do you know? When I die, at least people can say I lived a youthful prime. And what about you? You're headed straight for the grave not long after being born—your family's going to cry their eyes out," Zhou Bin retorted with a snort, firing back directly.

With a sharp slap, Xiong Wenwen slammed his phone down, consumed by sudden fury.

"Say that one more time, you bastard! See if your Lord Xiong doesn't wreck you!" The supernatural ability derived from the vengeful ghost flared up once more. Xiong Wenwen's entire body turned a mottled blue-black, and he raged like a miniature lion.

He was still just a child, oblivious to the heavier stakes, and coupled with the fact that he was thoroughly spoiled, he used his ghost's power without a second thought for the consequences.

Zhou Bin had accidentally stepped on his ultimate sore spot. Ever since becoming a ghost controller, Xiong Wenwen's greatest fear had been what would happen to his mother if he died prematurely. He constantly busied himself introducing good men to her, essentially trying to secure a dependable pillar of support for his aging mother.

In a sense, this brash kid was surprisingly sensible.

"I'll say it as much as I like! You think I'm scared of you?" Zhou Bin hailed from the ranks of street-smart delinquents; he might lose a fight, but he refused to lose face. Engaging in verbal sparring was something he mastered all too well.

The two of them stood at daggers drawn, on the verge of coming to blows, when an icy voice abruptly cut through the tension.

"It seems the degree of freedom I've granted you is a bit too high, leaving you with enough idle time to stir up petty conflicts like this."

The voice was bone-chilling, and Shen Lin's expression was even colder. His piercing gaze made Xiong Wenwen flinch involuntarily. The boy promptly retracted his ghost's ability and pointed aggressively at Zhou Bin.

"It's not my fault! This moron started it."

Panicking, Zhou Bin opened his mouth to explain, only to be cut off once more by Shen Lin.

"I don't care about these details, nor do I need to know the origin. Once an incident is over, you can tear each other to pieces for all I care—it has nothing to do with me. But while an incident is ongoing, you will behave yourselves and follow orders. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Xiong Wenwen eagerly raised his hand, having no desire to cross Shen Lin.

"Yes!" Zhou Bin chimed in with equal enthusiasm. Deep down, the young punk had decided that he recognized this man as his big brother. If he was going to run with the boss, he had to obey the boss, and whatever the boss said went.

"Just like that!" Xu Fang stared in shock for a long moment before recovering his wits. He was finally bearing witness to what it meant to have superiors among the capable, and what true fearlessness born of supreme skill looked like.

The man had obliterated Qian Zhongzong in a matter of seconds and neutralized Zhou Jie's trap-laden domain, yet he strolled in and out of the incident site as casually as if he were taking a walk in the park.

For the very first time, Xu Fang felt an inexplicable surge of confidence regarding the resolution of this crisis, finding a subconscious resonance with Zhou Bin.

***

"Go keep watch outside. Call me the moment the spread of the commercial street's lights pauses," Shen Lin instructed Zhou Bin. Seeing the young man burning with a desire to prove himself, he simply tossed him a chore to keep him busy.

After Zhou Bin left, Shen Lin turned his attention to Xiong Wenwen.

"If you don't want to die, use your ghost's power less often. Though your ghost belongs to a relatively mild category, the day of its complete awakening will come eventually. When that happens, you won't just drag yourself to your death—you'll drag everyone around you down with you."

This was meant as advice; the brat wasn't inherently malicious, just sorely lacking in discipline.

"Your Lord Xiong hears you," Xiong Wenwen mumbled. Then, catching the sinister glint in Shen Lin's sidelong glance, he gave a violent shudder.

"I—I mean, I understand!"

Only then did Shen Lin look away.

*Damn it! Are people even allowed to live? Where on earth did headquarters dig up such a vicious executioner? This is the first time in my life Lord Xiong has been pushed this far.*

The spread of the Inverted Ghost's domain was much faster than Shen Lin had anticipated. Roughly half a minute after Zhou Bin stepped outside, he came rushing back in high spirits to report the development.

"Get ready to move out."

Glancing around the room, Shen Lin issued the command.

They embarked on their journey once more.

Reluctantly, Xiong Wenwen put down his handheld console.

Along the brightly lit boundary line, deep red radiance flickered around Shen Lin, enveloping the group and carrying them directly into the space before them.

Two negatives made a positive; he had utilized the Inverted Ghost's power to manipulate the parameters of all four of them, bypassing the rules of the Inverted Ghost while simultaneously stepping outside the boundaries of the ghost domain itself. They were now in the real world, running parallel to the Inverted Ghost's domain.

The streets here were pitch black, marred everywhere by traces of decay. Two or three corpses, left unattended, were already showing signs of rotting, and a faint, sickly stench of death hung thickly in the air.

Xiang Jie's ghost insects had completely vanished from sight. Shen Lin could sense a certain quiet serenity filtering in from parts of the commercial street; his plan had played a pivotal role, drawing away the vast majority of vengeful ghosts into the Inverted Ghost's domain. This operation would proceed much more smoothly than anticipated.

"We are in the real world. Follow my commands in all actions. Xiong Wenwen, do not abuse your abilities; listen to my instructions," Shen Lin warned one final time. A single useless teammate could doom an entire group, and he had no intention of letting these people pull stunts that would lead them straight to their deaths.

"Xu Fang, go scout. Zhou Bin, provide support. I will keep watch on the surroundings and extract you if any unexpected dangers arise," Shen Lin ordered.

Xu Fang's ability carried heavy restrictions. *Ghost Inquiry* allowed him to learn about past events and certain supernatural details surrounding a corpse, but it was strictly limited to the immediate vicinity of the dead body. This meant they had no way of instantly locating the ghost staircase and striking directly at the heart of the anomaly.

They had to feel their way forward, step by step.

Xu Fang acknowledged the command. He was a man who knew how to read the room; though he had been intensely reluctant prior to entering, his obedience skyrocketed once they were inside.

"￥%……&"

Facing the corpse before him, a string of bizarre, distorted syllables spilled from Xu Fang's throat. His voice was hoarse, sounding as though someone were deliberately pinching their windpipe, and in that gloomy environment, it sent chills down the spine—not a sound a normal human being could possibly produce.

***

Then, the bizarre happened. The male corpse lying right in front of Xu Fang abruptly snapped its eyes open, jerked its neck, and began gibbering back in a similarly garbled tongue.

The corpse had been dead for quite some time, and its internal organs and digestive tract were completely beyond control. Minor movements, coupled with its slightly parted jaw, caused remnants of semi-digested vomit mixed with a fishy stench to ooze from the corner of its mouth.

Timely stepping back a few paces, Xu Fang covered his nose and mouth while continuing to strain his ears, listening intently to the gruesome exchange.

This process was repeated several times until Xu Fang confirmed something, after which he briskly hurried back toward Shen Lin.

"We are still a bit too far from the epicenter; these corpses don't know much. I questioned several in a row, and all I've gathered is that the source originates from the east. We'll need to pinpoint the exact location further in," Xu Fang reported, his complexion looking rather ghastly. Repeatedly invoking supernatural powers had inevitably taken a toll on him, and he needed a brief respite to recover.

"Then head east. You only need to lock onto the coordinates step by step. I'll handle the ultimate source when the time comes; you won't need to fight," Shen Lin instructed.

Xu Fang felt a flicker of relief. This was rare good news. Forcing someone with a non-combat-oriented ghost ability like his onto the frontline was truly pushing him past his limits. Fortunately, simply tracking down the target location was within his capabilities, and he still possessed confidence in his craft.

The eerie routine continued. Conversing in incomprehensible tongues with all manner of corpses was a profoundly horrifying spectacle.

Shen Lin stood close by, listening in while keeping his eyes peeled in all directions, remaining vigilant against any potential threats.

While it was true that the Inverted Ghost had absorbed the majority of the vengeful ghosts, it hadn't claimed all of them. Wandering this commercial street were entities that even the Inverted Ghost couldn't deal with—those were the true horrors.

Xu Fang moved swiftly, and their pace of advance remained steady.

This time, Xu Fang selected a female corpse entirely distinct from the ones he had previously interrogated.

It was the body of a woman bleeding from her seven facial orifices. The corpse had been remarkably well-preserved; if not for the traces of blood staining her face, she could easily have been mistaken for someone peacefully asleep.

Conversing with an attractive corpse was somewhat less agonizing, and Xu Fang began his inquiry with a hint of morbid enthusiasm.

However, the target remained completely motionless.

*Strange. Did the ghost's ability fail to trigger?* *Ghost Inquiry* had never malfunctioned before; this current scenario defied all logic.

Fraught with doubt, Xu Fang attempted to probe the corpse once more. He could sense that something was amiss; if this attempt failed as well, he planned to consult with Shen Lin.

Suddenly, the female corpse's eyes flew open. Before Xu Fang could even process a shred of relief, he felt his mind flooded with a bizarre, chaotic melody.

It was an indescribable noise, sounding simultaneously like someone chanting scriptures and someone hurling curses. The volume swelled from a faint murmur to a deafening roar of thunder, nearly causing his brain to rupture from the sheer cognitive overload.

Blood began to stream from Xu Fang's eyes. At the same time, heavy bleeding gushed from his nasal cavities, and a violent ringing assaulted the inner chambers of his ears.

The attack came with terrifying suddenness. Xu Fang's eyes rolled back like a dead fish's before snapping shut, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground, unconscious.

He, too, was bleeding from his seven orifices!