Chapter 148 - 136: Woman in the Jar

Deep inside the mortuary cabinet was a downward-sloping passage. Without a second thought, Bai Qiang slid down the incline.

The slope grew steeper and steeper. Unable to control her sliding speed, Bai Qiang plummeted out of the passage and crashed heavily onto the hard ground. The flashlight flew from her grasp, rolling several times in the darkness before coming to a stop, its beam casting a slanted light over a small area ahead. Ignoring the pain racking her body, Bai Qiang immediately rolled over and grabbed the flashlight.

As the beam swept across the surroundings, she realized this compact space was entirely lined with mirrors on all four sides. Countless reflections of herself simultaneously appeared under the flashlight’s glow. Her terrified expression was replicated endlessly across every mirror, creating a spine-chilling sight.

Through the mirrors’ reflections, Bai Qiang spotted Yin Zhen at a glance. Yin Zhen was lying on her back on the ground, both hands locked in a death grip around her own neck. Her face had turned a purplish hue, her mouth gaped open, and her legs kicked frantically as if she couldn’t break free from her own grasp.

"Yin Zhen!" Bai Qiang rushed to Yin Zhen’s side and tried to pry her hands away. She exerted all her might, even using her spiritual power to blast the grip apart, but it was completely useless.

Bai Qiang’s mind raced, wondering what to do. The Yellow Talisman! She hurriedly fished the Triangular Yellow Talisman out of her pants pocket, unfolding it to reveal the complete runic pattern outlined in vermillion. Having no idea how to use it properly and throwing caution to the wind, she simply slapped the entire Yellow Talisman fiercely onto Yin Zhen’s arm.

The moment the Yellow Talisman touched Yin Zhen’s arm, it spontaneously combusted. Bai Qiang heard an ear-piercing scream, and Yin Zhen’s hands immediately let go.

"Did you bring the gun?" Yin Zhen asked Bai Qiang in a hoarse voice. In her line of sight, the hands choking her had not been her own, but those of Luo Wensheng, who had turned into a ghost after death. He had merely been forced back temporarily. He stood in the distance, glaring at her with venomous eyes, as if he were looking right through her, hating another person who had driven him to this state.

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Qiang retrieved the Final Curtain she carried from her game backpack and handed it to Yin Zhen.

Yin Zhen’s movement to catch the gun was lightning-fast. Dropping to one knee, she flicked the cylinder open, and the bullets inside fell to the ground with a loud CLINK CLATTER. As Luo Wensheng lunged forward again, Yin Zhen snapped the cylinder shut, aimed the muzzle at him, and pulled the trigger. She wasn’t yet proficient in using the Second Level Inheritance, "At this moment," and couldn’t fully manifest this Strength. Only by borrowing a powerful Weapon could this Strength unleash its proper might.

BANG!

A gunshot rang out. The pitch-black bullet accurately pierced through the center of Luo Wensheng’s ghostly brow. His head began to burn outward from the bullet hole, the wave of annihilation spreading rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it devoured his entire body! Like a Paperman thrown into a raging fire, by the time he reached Yin Zhen, nothing was left but a handful of scattering black ashes.

Silence returned to the mirrored space, leaving only Yin Zhen’s heavy panting and Bai Qiang’s rattled heartbeat.

The intense anger Yin Zhen had felt from being choked was entirely vented with that bullet, and the near-death terror vanished along with it. She felt incredibly calm. This feeling was unprecedented. Back in Chi Hai, she had also used Night Song to fire bullets condensed from Inheritance Strength, but she had never experienced such a strong and obvious sensation of her emotions being hollowed out. In this world, however, emotions had become a Special Strength that would be directly consumed upon use. It had been the same the previous few times she used Inheritance Strength against other ghosts and monsters; she needed external stimulation to gather the corresponding emotions again.

With the crisis resolved, Yin Zhen retrieved her flashlight and tapped it against her hand, bringing the light flickering back on.

"I didn’t manage to get Luo Wensheng’s blood, and I have no idea where his real corpse is. The event progress is probably going to be stuck," Yin Zhen said softly.

"Take your time. We still have time," Bai Qiang comforted her.

Bai Qiang pulled Yin Zhen up from the floor and began to carefully observe this eerie mirrored space. Surrounding them were eight massive mirrors, and beneath their feet was a similarly polished mirrored surface. Intricate and sinister runes were drawn on the floor using a Special dark red pigment, exuding an unsettling aura. Directly above their heads hung a giant bronze Eight Diagrams Plate. The gap in its center was the passage leading to the mortuary cabinet on the upper level. Right beneath the Eight Diagrams Plate, in the very center of the mirror array, sat a dust-covered clay jar about half a person tall. The mouth of the jar was sealed shut with two large, crisscrossing Yellow Talismans. However, due to the dampness, the runes on the Yellow Talismans had faded, rendering them almost useless.

"Just as I thought, they’re raising a ghost," Yin Zhen said. She recalled the knowledge from the Yin Yang Master’s memories. He didn’t raise ghosts, but he was well-read in ancient texts and had dabbled in learning about these dark arts. The master Lucy had found for her was indeed the most outstanding one in every aspect. The strict selection by AI big data was impressive as expected!

"Could what’s inside there..." Bai Qiang’s voice carried a hint of a tremble. "...be the suppression core of this entire Ghost Realm?"

Yin Zhen didn’t answer. When Bai Qiang looked back, she saw Yin Zhen gripping the gun with lowered eyes, standing there motionless.

"What’s wrong?"

"Charging up."

Utterly bewildered, Bai Qiang didn’t know that Yin Zhen was recalling the past to reawaken her hatred and anger, keeping her emotions fully primed to charge up for the impending crisis.

Once she felt she was ready, Yin Zhen walked to the edge of the jar and, amidst Bai Qiang’s gasp of alarm, yanked off the lid.

"Are you... crazy?!" Bai Qiang was genuinely startled.

"Just as I thought." Yin Zhen sighed inwardly. Sure enough, the child in the jar was that little girl—the one who had pointed out Luo Wensheng’s location to her. Bai Qiang leaned in and took a sharp breath when she clearly saw the little girl inside. Dressed in a hospital gown, the girl looked as though she were still alive.

The light blue, vertical-striped hospital gown hung loosely on her frail body. Her skin still had the texture of the living. With her eyelashes resting softly against her eyelids, she looked as if she had merely fallen into a deep sleep, curling up at the bottom of the jar in a posture as natural as resting in a mother’s womb. The collar of the hospital gown hung loosely open, revealing a gruesome Y-shaped autopsy incision stitched across her pallid skin.

Covering her mouth, Bai Qiang said, "It couldn’t be what I’m thinking, right? Those beasts!"

Expressionless, Yin Zhen raised her utility knife.

"What are you doing?" Bai Qiang pressed her hand against Yin Zhen’s.

"If we want to know the truth, the only way now is to take her blood and see," Yin Zhen replied.

Knowing that Yin Zhen possessed a certain ability to read memories through blood, Bai Qiang glanced at the little girl in the jar and slowly released her grasp.

Yin Zhen carefully sliced the skin on the little girl’s neck with the utility knife. Unexpectedly, dark red blood actually seeped from the wound. She dabbed a little with her finger and sighed. Once this was over, she had to manifest her blood silk again. Even if it was only for drawing blood, it was better than shoving anything and everything into her mouth like this.

Yin Zhen placed the blood into her mouth and, drawing on the Half a Book, initiated Blood Source Resonance.

The lingering memory fragments of the little girl flooded into her mind like a tidal wave...