Mysterious Revival

Chapter 1134 - 1100: The Final Summoning

The Ghost Lake incident cannot be handled and should not be handled.

After reaching this conclusion, Cao Yanhua felt completely suffocated.

He had sensed something wrong when Yang Jian had previously made large-scale changes to the landscape, and it now seemed that this ominous premonition was gradually becoming a reality.

Although Yang Jian is a thorny person.

He is, however, the top-tier in handling supernatural incidents, and none of his measures are meaningless. When he alters the terrain to block a supernatural event, it means that the situation is far more complicated than imagined.

"To truly handle the Ghost Lake incident, perhaps bringing in the remaining half of the captains would provide a chance," Li Jun concluded his last report with this statement.

Cao Yanhua sat silently at his desk for a long time.

This request was impossible to fulfill, as even he, the deputy minister, could not gather all the captains.

Fortunately, the actions on Li Jun's side had ceased, and there were no casualties. They also found the long-missing Captain Yinzi, though the bad news was that Shen Lin had disappeared.

Although disappearances are common in supernatural events, Cao Yanhua had to prepare for the possibility that Shen Lin was already dead.

The headquarters, though having a quota for twelve captains, had made plans for rotation. Thus, there were captain candidates ready to step in immediately if a captain went missing for a long time or died, preventing any vacancy.

"Let them discuss and decide on the Ghost Lake incident independently. If it cannot be resolved, allow them to seal off the area and abandon the operation. We cannot afford to lose any captains in the current situation," Cao Yanhua said gravely.

"Also, try to gather information about Shen Lin. He is unique, capable of existing in people's memories, so his disappearance might not be true death; he could be lost in someone's past memories."

"Moreover, Ye Zhen from the Supernatural Forum has recently been in frequent contact with Wang Chaling in Dadong City, leading to several conflicts and tension. Keep a close watch, and don't let them clash. At the very least, delay it until after the Ghost Lake incident is resolved."

"We've deployed too many captains this time; if something goes wrong, the number at headquarters will be insufficient."

Cao Yanhua couldn't help but be troubled by the recent incidents.

Meanwhile, at a highway service station near Zhongzhou City.

Li Jun reported everything that happened today and received a temporary response.

"What does headquarters say?" Ah Hong asked while touching up makeup in front of the mirror.

Li Jun put down the satellite phone: "If there's no better solution, we can only seal off Ghost Lake and abandon the operation. Headquarters has agreed to this, as it is the method with the fewest casualties, and currently headquarters can't deploy more captains to support us, so tomorrow we'll have to rely on ourselves."

Ah Hong looked at her reflection, heavily made-up, appearing glamorous on the surface but in fact revealing a stiffness and eeriness, devoid of vitality, full of gloom, making one uncomfortable.

She sighed: "Surviving this time is already quite fortunate."

"I need to analyze the intelligence again to see if there's a better method to deal with the Ghost Lake incident."

Li Jun wasted no time; he didn't need to sleep, so he began contemplating strategies again.

He hoped that by pondering repeatedly, he might suddenly come up with a plan.

In contrast, Cao Yang appeared much more relaxed.

He had escaped Ghost Lake, successfully rescued. Under such a brush with death, the success of the mission became less important.

"Sleep, sleep." Cao Yang found a place to lie down, intending to sleep first.

At this moment, Yang Jian also didn't have other actions. He sat alone in a chair, one hand holding a cracked spear, the other supporting his head. Though his eyes were closed, a ghostly eye opened in the dark, staring at an inconspicuous corner of the room.

There was nothing there, yet an inexplicable chill emanated, as if an invisible ghost was lingering there.

He dared not sleep.

Because Yang Jian was unsure if, upon sleeping, he would be targeted by that Evil Hound, even though it was a ghost that his father spent a lifetime raising, but ghosts are too unpredictable.

Without a certain level of assurance, Yang Jian temporarily didn't want to interact with that Evil Hound.

At least, he planned to wait until after the Ghost Lake incident to find an appropriate time and opportunity to deal with that ghostly thing.

For now, it was unsuitable.

So now, Yang Jian planned to spend the night peacefully in this manner.

But the events of today were far from settling down.

The scope of Ghost Lake's influence was vast.

Due to Yang Jian's previous alteration of the terrain, Taiping Ancient Town had been submerged, though not entirely; most buildings were soaked in cold lake water, with only a few prominent structures at higher elevations escaping full submersion, though half were under water.

A black boat docked before a half-submerged shrine in the ancient town.

At the helm was a one-eyed old man, along with Boss Liu, who ran the inn, and the Faceless Person, arriving here.

These three were the last surviving old residents of Taiping Ancient Town; others who migrated here were ordinary people unaware of the origin or secrets of Taiping Ancient Town.

As the place became submerged, Taiping Ancient Town stood desolate, with only them lingering.

The shrine was deeply inundated, with water reaching waist-height.

But the depth of water wasn't the most critical aspect; it was more significant that this water was connected to Ghost Lake.

This meant that supernatural occurrences were always possible in this flooded area.

Even so, the one-eyed old man left the black boat, wading through the water, walking within the shrine.

Behind him,

the tall Faceless Person carried a young female corpse on its back, with Boss Liu holding an oil lamp that had yet to be extinguished.

"Alas, Taiping Town is finished." Boss Liu sighed as the waterlogged shrine drew his lament.

The one-eyed old man paused, slightly raising his head to look at the spiritual tablets before the shrine.

The tablets were set high, thus not submerged, each tablet clean and tidy without a speck of dust, the surrounding area kept in order.

Every spot was a testament to the old man's lifelong devotion.

He had guarded this place for decades, thinking he would hold it until his dying breath, not expecting the shrine to be submerged before that day.

After a brief pause for observation,

the one-eyed old man approached the rows of tablets. Familiar as he was with their arrangement, he grabbed one without needing to look closely.

"Follow me."

He uttered these words and headed towards the back of the shrine.

Boss Liu and the Faceless Man wordlessly followed.

The rear hall of the shrine was vast and empty, with several rooms on each side, each door tightly shut.

The one-eyed old man arrived at one door, opening it to reveal two long benches in the center, submerged, supporting a coffin painted in bright red lacquer. Though it seemed placed a long time ago, it appeared new.

"Place the body inside," the one-eyed old man instructed.

The Faceless Man nodded, opened the red coffin, and put the young woman's corpse retrieved from the lake inside.

The corpse was dressed in an old-fashioned coat.

The coat's color was dull and suppressive, adorned with many eerie patterns, twisted bodies, grimacing faces, strange limbs... as if many fierce ghosts resided within, chilling the spine.

"Seal the coffin and place the tablet on top," ordered the one-eyed old man.

The Faceless Man took the spiritual tablet, sealed the coffin, and placed the tablet on it.

At this moment, the one-eyed old man, from somewhere, produced a thick stack of white paper, covered in dense black writing.

He then took out an incense stick.

This incense was familiar, seemingly identical to that in front of the coffin in the old house.

When lit before a tomb, it could awaken the memories of the past, sustaining only for the duration of the burning incense.

This was a supernatural item from the Republic of China Period.

Unexpectedly, it was present here.

Soon, the incense was lit.

An unusual fragrance emanated, a misty smoke wafting undispersed, floating before the red coffin.

As the smoke passed over the tablet, an eerie scene unfolded; a blurred young woman's figure appeared through the smoke, resembling precisely the corpse within the coffin.

"Whether she can successfully come back to life, I don't have much confidence,"

the one-eyed old man confessed, somewhat despondently. He held uncertainty as he struck a match, setting fire to the thick stack of white paper in his hand.

"Let's give it a try. If not, our ancient town is truly doomed; our generation's nearly all gone, losing another today. If our successors return safely, it would be worthwhile after all," Boss Liu said.

The Faceless Person still couldn't speak, he just faced the direction of the coffin.

Although he had no eyes, he seemed to be watching.

"Hoo!"

Suddenly.

In front of the red coffin, a gust of chilly wind blew, and the ignited white paper immediately started to float in the wind, with a strong smell of paper ash filling the air.

At the same time, the smoke from the incense stick that had been lit wasn't blown away by the wind. Instead, it bizarrely drifted into the red coffin.

At first glance, it seemed like something inside the coffin was absorbing the smoke.

Supernatural phenomena kept occurring, but the three people paid no heed to it and didn't find it strange. They just stared intently at the coffin, as if waiting for some result to emerge.

Not sure if it was an illusion.

After a while, the red coffin suddenly quivered slightly.

Simultaneously, the spirit tablet placed on the red coffin made a cracking sound and split open.

An incomprehensible supernatural power was interfering with everything around.

The spirit tablet was slowly cracking, the incense was burning rapidly, and the white paper flying around the coffin was burning down more and more, until even the paper ashes were quickly disappearing.

As these things happened, the movement inside the red coffin grew stronger.

It seemed like some change was happening to the female corpse inside the coffin.

"Wake up, you shouldn't have died like this." The one-eyed old man murmured in a deep voice.

Boss Liu, however, cautioned, "It's better to be careful. If what wakes up isn't a person, then it's a terrifying ghost that gets awakened, and then we'll be in danger. This sort of thing is very uncertain, and nobody can guarantee the result will definitely be good."

The Faceless Person nodded in agreement with this statement.

Supernatural resurrection itself is a taboo, not allowed in the eyes of the older generation.

But for the last young person of the ancient town, they broke this rule and triggered this taboo.

"It won't fail." The one-eyed old man looked at the gradually cracking spirit tablet, especially at the name on it, his eyes revealing a hint of reminiscence.

He seemed to return to more than a decade ago.

As usual, he sat inside the ancestral hall, guarding the place, but the difference was that the silent and oppressive ancestral hall was filled with a touch of joy.

It was a lovely little girl.

She loved to play, loved to make noise, loved to listen to stories, running in the ancient town of an old era, as if welcoming the arrival of a new era.

However, the despairing world swallowed the last hope of this ancient town.

He could only utter decayed sighs, powerless.

But today.

He broke all the rules he could break just to resurrect a young person who died in Ghost Lake.

Amidst such a heavy atmosphere, a voice abruptly appeared.

"As expected, you old fellow haven't left and are still guarding this place. Very well, I'll take your life today." It was the voice of Leuk San.

"It's the young man we drowned in the lake during the day." Boss Liu recognized this voice immediately.

"I'll go stop him."

The one-eyed old man waved his hand, saying, "This is a grudge I've caused. I can't let this grievance pass onto the next generation. You don't interfere. I'll handle it. You stay here and keep an eye on this coffin."

"You really don't need any help?" Boss Liu asked worriedly.

He knew that after fighting once with that backhand called Yang Jian today, plus an Evil Hound invaded his consciousness, the one-eyed old man's state was not good at the moment.

Moreover, the garment just now had also been taken off and left inside the coffin.

"If I can kill him once, I can kill him a second time, it's no bother." The one-eyed old man walked out.

Very quickly.

He saw Leuk San at the door of the ancestral hall.

At this moment, Leuk San was standing on the water, incredibly, without sinking.

The one-eyed old man showed a few signs of surprise, then frowned again.

Because in his pallid eye, what he saw was not Leuk San, but a chilling headless female corpse standing on the lake, overlapping with Leuk San, supporting him to not sink.

This was the curse of Ghost Lake.

Suffering the curse, yet unharmed, instead benefitting from it, gaining the ability to stand on the water.

"That group of youngsters should have withdrawn, so you came back alone to retaliate?" The one-eyed old man said expressionlessly.

Leuk San sneered, "Retaliate? I'm here for revenge. I remember clearly that it was you who almost had me drowned. Where are the other two? Hiding for what?"

Then he glanced toward the direction of the back hall.

"Living isn't good for you, why seek death." The one-eyed old man's pallid eyeball was rotating, staring at him in a strange manner.

"It's fine not to show, after all, my target is only you. As for seeking death, I don't have that thought for the time being." As Leuk San spoke, the skin on his body began to peel away slowly.

What was hidden beneath the second layer of the paper human body gradually came into view.

It was an old corpse, terrifying and insidious, wrapped by the paper human, hidden well.

And this time, what Leuk San revealed was not just a pair of arms, but almost his entire body.

Only a face remained unchanged, covered with yellow paper, belonging to the paper human.

Seeing this old corpse, the one-eyed old man's face slightly changed, with some surprise: "I see, so there's such a corpse hidden within your body."

"Afraid? To be honest, I don't dare to release it either. This is a truly terrifying ghost; the more released, the greater the possibility of losing control. Once entirely out of control, I might just die immediately. I, Leuk San, never take risks, but to eliminate you, I think taking a risk once is worth it."

Leuk San spoke coldly, even voluntarily revealing his secrets.

The reason for this was not that he was stupid, but because he was confident.

If he couldn't eliminate the opponent, then revealing secrets was no longer important. In any case, it would surely be his own doom.

If he could eliminate him, then the dead would not tell tales.

"Not enough, just this won't kill me, ultimately, it will be you who dies. I advise you, young man, to know what's good for you. Let go of the grudge and leave now, then everything will be safe and sound. If we really fight, I will be merciless."

The one-eyed old man's eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke.

"Really? Unfortunately, I've made up my mind. Tonight, I will either kill you and go back or die here in this ancestral hall," Leuk San said, then slowly walked over the water across the entrance of the ancestral hall and directly walked inside.

The one-eyed old man sighed, "Is that so, then that's really unfortunate."

In the next moment.

The door of the ancestral hall creaked, displacing the water, and slammed shut.

Both of them knew very well that today, no matter what, one of them had to die, otherwise, the matter wouldn't end.

And at the service station, everyone wasn't aware that Leuk San had sneaked away during the night. No, to be precise, he hadn't sneaked away because at the station Leuk San was still there, not having left.

Obviously.

The one staying at the station was just a paper human.

Since matters of personal vendetta were known, the other captains might not agree with his actions. Therefore, Leuk San didn't plan to seek the others' consent, he came directly to take revenge.

Premonition!

Leuk San didn't initiate an attack, but directly used the power of premonition.

But the next moment, his expression suddenly changed, noticing something unusual.

"Did you discover it? Unfortunately, it's too late; in the ancestral hall, no one can last the time it takes to burn an incense stick." As the one-eyed old man spoke, the spirit tablets behind him toppled one after the other.

Then, one by one, eerie figures materialized out of nowhere, standing behind him.

"By the way, let me introduce myself to you, young man. My name is He Liansheng. Though I seldom mingle in the supernatural circle and few people used to know me, I do have a nickname: Soul Summoner."

"Soul Summoner, He Liansheng."

This was the first time the one-eyed old man revealed his identity information.