Chapter 356: The Hanged Ghost and the Golden Body Ghost’s Sealing Dossiers

"Well, well, long time no see, Master Yan." The moment Qi Suian emerged, he saw the wary-looking Yan Jingxing.

’He must have noticed I was missing and suspected I’d entered a seal again. That’s why he’s here in the Sealing Vault, cornering me.’

’And he’s not wrong, either.’

As for why he was still in Shengshi Mansion, Qi Suian suspected the doomsday game was using him as an anchor point, defining the Survival Area in the truth layer to encompass the ghosts in the Shengshi Mansion region.

If Qi Suian were to relocate, the doomsday game’s Survival Area would likely shift to a new set of ghosts.

This was why the game brought Qi Suian along every time it sent survivors to the truth layer.

A complete transfer was only possible with him.

Qi Suian didn’t really mind. If he could use the doomsday game as a platform to fleece for benefits, it was only natural that the game could use him as a relay anchor.

And even if he wasn’t willing, there was nothing he could do about it.

"Did the doomsday game send you on another survival mission?" Yan Jingxing ignored Qi Suian’s greeting. A "long time"? It had only been twenty-some hours since they’d last met.

Still, he was genuinely concerned for Qi Suian’s safety.

"Yeah, it’s a real headache for me, too. It never gives me a heads-up, just whisks me away," Qi Suian said, his tone suggesting he was helpless to stop it.

Yan Jingxing’s expression softened after hearing this.

’Nothing else matters, as long as he’s been found.’

’Besides, judging by his tone, if he disappears again, I can just come look in the Sealing Vault. I’ll probably find him inside one of the seals.’

"But you know, I found something good," Qi Suian said suddenly, a mysterious air about him.

This puzzled Yan Jingxing. ’What "good thing" could there be in a seal? Isn’t it just the Golden Body Ghost?’

"Are you talking about the Golden Body Ghost, the one that can create gold?" Yan Jingxing had guessed correctly, but he had misunderstood Qi Suian’s intentions.

He assumed Qi Suian was after the gold. As for how Qi Suian had managed to control the Golden Body Ghost, he didn’t press the issue.

This was not something he could handle; he would have to wait for his superiors to come down and deal with it.

Besides, given Qi Suian’s deliberately mysterious tone, he wouldn’t get an answer even if he asked.

"That’s right. It seems you don’t dare to ask, which means you don’t have enough authority."

"Has your Ziyue Dynasty sent anyone to contact me?" Qi Suian asked.

In many respects, the Ziyue Dynasty was remarkably accommodating and thick-skinned when it came to matters involving ghosts.

Qi Suian looked human, spoke a human language, and wasn’t a ghost, so the Ziyue Dynasty classified him as a person. Even a person from another world was still a person.

They wouldn’t resort to killing or deliberately imprisoning him; instead, they would be more inclined to try and cooperate.

After all, what good would killing Qi Suian do, especially when he had demonstrated an ability to specifically counter ghosts?

Obtaining this ability would be of immense benefit to the entire Ziyue Dynasty.

’The ones who would mindlessly hunt me down are the real problem. Your own race is just struggling to survive, yet you want to cut off your own future? Isn’t that just insane?’

"Yes, they will arrive tomorrow. At that time, you will need to travel to the Celestial Capital. His Majesty will discuss the details with you," Yan Jingxing said, deliberately avoiding words like "audience" or "summons."

By doing so, he placed Qi Suian outside the Ziyue Dynasty’s hierarchy. It was a show of respect, indicating that they were not superior and subordinate, but equals.

With a survivor who could be dragged into danger at any moment, and an unknown doomsday game in the picture, only a fool would stand on ceremony.

The man wasn’t from their world and lived from one moment to the next; trying to throw your weight around with someone like that would only end up biting you in the ass.

"They’re coming pretty quickly."

"Do you use the Ghost Control Technique to acquire ghost abilities for communication?" Qi Suian asked.

’I’m about eighty or ninety percent sure, but I need solid proof.’

"That’s right. By transplanting abilities from ghosts like the Profound Sound Ghost, the Ten Thousand Ears Ghost, the Lingya Ghost, and the Sharp-toothed Ghost, we can achieve long-distance communication," Yan Jingxing answered without concealment.

There were many ghosts, so naturally, there were duplicate types. Building a communication system using ghosts wasn’t difficult for the Ziyue Dynasty.

Not to mention, the Ghost Control Technique wasn’t just a technology for transplanting ghost abilities; it was a complete field of study, including a comprehensive understanding of ghosts and more.

Therefore, they could examine a person’s symbiotic ghost to identify its type, and then screen it for subsequent transplantation.

For those who intended to join the Exorcism Bureau, certain combinations would be arranged.

If someone had no such intention, they would simply get whatever surplus ghost was available.

"How nice," Qi Suian praised perfunctorily, then asked, "By the way, I’d like the intelligence reports and case files on the Hanged Ghost and the Golden Body Ghost from before."

’Those two ghosts are just too strange.’

As people who were "refreshed" into existence, they definitely had no parents or siblings.

’So what’s the deal with Wang Qin? How did she become a young lady from a wealthy family?’

Yan Jingxing readily agreed. "No problem. I’ll have someone bring them to you later."

"You just got back from a survival mission. Go get some rest first. I’ll have a table of food and wine sent to you."

’The underlying message was: You punk, get the hell out of my Sealing Vault. This place is dangerous, and it’ll be a huge pain in the ass if your meddling hands cause some kind of trouble.’

But Yan Jingxing had phrased it nicely and acted swiftly, so Qi Suian didn’t bother to dwell on the hidden meaning and simply followed him out of the Sealing Vault.

Afterward, Yan Jingxing arranged for him to stay in a different side room.

The room was right next to Yan Jingxing’s office and had likely been converted from some office space on a temporary basis.

’He’s clearly afraid I’ll just mysteriously disappear again. That’s why he chose this room.’

Then, when the so-called "food and wine" arrived, Qi Suian understood just how impoverished the Ziyue Dynasty truly was.

Let’s not even talk about the wine; it was barely distinguishable from vinegar.

There was a large bowl of white rice, two stalks of green vegetables glistening with a hint of oil, and a palm-sized piece of fatty pork belly, dripping with grease.

That’s right, this was considered a top-tier meal.

Qi Suian didn’t question it, because even Master Yan, the bureau head, didn’t eat this well.

It wasn’t his first time eating at the Exorcism Bureau, so he knew this truly was "good food and wine."

A lack of lust was normal, as they were "refreshed" people.

A lack of appetite for fine food, however, was simply because the Ziyue Dynasty was genuinely poor.

They didn’t lack resources, but because of the ghosts, the focus was almost entirely on survival.

As a result, when it came to pleasure, there simply wasn’t much variety.

Qi Suian didn’t eat. He hadn’t engaged in the act of eating for a long time.

He drew his energy directly from the Tai Sui God’s Supernova Strong Nuclear Reactor via his viral bloodline armor.

It wasn’t just fast and convenient; the absorption efficiency was also much higher.

He picked up Wang Qin’s file and began to read.

"Not a young lady from a wealthy family?" Qi Suian’s expression changed slightly as he read.

Wang Qin had never had her engagement broken. In the Ziyue Dynasty, there was no marriage, nor was there any need for procreation.

So she was just an ordinary person, one of the masses who contributed to the Ziyue Dynasty’s productivity through her work.

Otherwise, if she had been willing to join the Exorcism Bureau, she wouldn’t have ended up with a combination like the Hanged Ghost and the Waning Ghost.

"Then where did the broken engagement and the mansion come from?" Qi Suian was also confused.

’How could there be all this backstory with no corresponding reality?’

"And the guqin! That kind of instrument doesn’t even exist in the Ghost World."

For such an item to come into being, there first has to be a demand for it.

The people of the Ziyue Dynasty were constantly struggling for survival. When even food was so basic, who would have the time or energy for musical instruments?

So, they had simply never been developed.

And what about the higher-ups being bored with too much free time? As far as Qi Suian could tell, Master Yan, the head of the Exorcism Bureau, enjoyed no special privileges.

Every day, he was busy with one thing or another, with no time to rest.

Even when he wasn’t on fieldwork, he would sit in his office all day long.

He was extremely efficient in his administrative duties.

And his workload was considered light in the Ziyue Dynasty.

It just went to show how hard they fought just to stay alive.

But it was precisely because of their high-intensity, effective work that not a single ghost could be found within Shengshi Mansion.

"So, where did all those things in the truth layer come from?" Qi Suian wondered, deeply puzzled.

’Things don’t just appear out of thin air. There must be a source.’

He then read the file on the Golden Body Ghost. There were some similarities, but far more differences.

He was a swindler and an outlaw, but he hadn’t used a remote mountain temple and incense offerings to accumulate wealth.

It was just a standard Ponzi scheme that got exposed, and his co-conspirators had used him as a scapegoat.

"There was no such mountain near Shengshi Mansion, nor were there any so-called religious forces."

That was right. There were no feudalistic ideas, no religious powers; many things had been compromised for the sake of survival.

Thus, everyone—men and women, young and old—was equal. There were no special privileges, and certainly no philosophical or religious contemplation.

No one believed in incense offerings.

If you really tried to invent a god, the Exorcism Bureau would dare you to take your god to the front lines to fight ghosts.

If you could actually solve the ghost problem, the entire dynasty would worship your god.

If you couldn’t, you’d surely die so thoroughly that not even bone dust would remain.

’Things are getting more and more complicated.’

’The truth layer... what the hell is it? It’s like an instance dungeon.’

’A limited area that can be reset...’

Qi Suian grew increasingly uneasy. After much thought, he decided to try and probe Yan Jingxing for information.

After all, Yan Jingxing was in charge of these matters. Even if he wasn’t the primary person involved, he could help find the primary person—assuming they weren’t already dead.

The casualty rate for Exorcism Bureau personnel was extremely high, aside from some of the logistics staff.

They had to face ghosts directly, after all. On any given mission, three to five out of every ten agents would die.

It was a good thing the people in the Ghost World were "refreshed," otherwise humanity would have gone extinct long ago.

Thus, the high death rate was offset by an even higher "birth" rate, and they could even skip the developmental stages, appearing as fully formed adults upon being "refreshed."

"I have a feeling that if I keep digging, I’m going to unearth some truly terrifying secrets," Qi Suian sighed.

If I don’t dig, I’ll probably die without ever knowing why.

If I do dig, I’ll face great terror, but at least I’ll die knowing the truth, and there might even be a glimmer of hope for survival.