Chapter 378: This Is My Dearest Friend, She Must Be Mine

After that, Qi Suian threw himself into his intense work.

Studying the Ghost Control Technique, poring over data on ghost creation, researching the Twin Soul Seed: Double Lotus, and so on.

As for that ten percent of yang energy, Qi Suian didn’t sell it. Instead, he used it on himself as an experimental sample.

It wasn’t that no one came seeking it, but Qi Suian refused them all.

The consumption of yang energy was still very fast. Every research project required yang energy as a foundation.

This attitude of Qi Suian’s naturally offended many people.

However, there was no retaliation or harassment, not only because of Qi Suian’s transcendent status but also because the Emperor and the Crown Prince mediated on his behalf.

His research progressed very smoothly, especially concerning the Ghost Control Technique.

’Using yang energy as a binding agent, combined with the body as an acquired vessel, and finally controlled through one’s Spirit—that’s the so-called Ghost Control Technique.’

’Harnessing ghosts to gain power... In terms of utilizing ghosts, it’s far superior to the ghost-binding method.’

’With the ghost-binding method, a ghost’s power is downgraded, causing its rules to disappear.’

’But the Ghost Control Technique is different; it preserves their rule-based abilities. However, the strength of these abilities fluctuates depending on the degree of control one has over the ghost.’

Qi Suian recorded his findings on the Ghost Control Technique while his mind mulled over how he could utilize it.

’To use an analogy, a Hanged Ghost can hang a person. But if its rule-based ability, preserved by the Ghost Control Technique, weakens, it might not be able to hang them—only strangle them.’

’This isn’t without its drawbacks, though. The greater the control, the greater the corrosion from the ghost. It’s a two-way street.’

’So, the more you use the ability and the stronger it is, the closer the user of the Ghost Control Technique gets to death.’

’Once the corrosion is complete, the ghost will reawaken.’

And what happens to the person after it reawakens? They die, of course. What else could happen?

They can’t possibly stay alive. Things are never that good.

’Not only that, but the process of corrosion and reawakening will also boost one’s basic attributes.’

’I just don’t know if it will cause problems with one’s sanity and reason.’

’It’s highly likely, though. After all, as death inches closer, the resulting pressure on one’s Spirit would certainly crush a person.’

Don’t use it and you won’t die? That’s true in theory, but the problem is, they’re all survivors. Using it is a slow death; not using it is an immediate one.

’The will of the world is truly malicious. As long as this ghost-taming system really spreads among the survivors, it’s a massive time bomb, regardless of success or failure.’

’Except for the protagonist among the survivors, no one can ignore the side effects of this system.’

’If you want to get rid of the side effects, the only path is to defect to the Ghost World.’

’The Apocalypse Game wants the rule-based powers of the ghosts, but the Ghost World is turning the Game’s greed against it, making it walk right into a trap.’

’From the very beginning, the Apocalypse Game was no match for the Ghost World.’

"As expected," Qi Suian said, then continued his research.

The upper limit of the Ghost Control Technique wasn’t very high, and its contents weren’t very detailed.

He had obtained the original, protagonist’s version, which could only be cultivated by a protagonist.

Therefore, its reference value was rather limited.

As for how to spread the Ghost Control Technique among the survivors? That was, of course, up to the survivor protagonist.

It couldn’t possibly rely on Qi Suian, could it?

Besides, Qi Suian wasn’t even there.

"What is it?" Qi Suian suddenly asked.

Outside the door, a young servant who had been about to knock was startled by Qi Suian’s voice.

"Reporting, my lord," the young servant said. "Word has come from the Imperial Palace. The Grand Commander of Celestial Capital, Nangong Yuan, has returned, but something has happened to her. You are specially requested to come to the palace for a consultation."

Qi Suian took a moment to process this. ’Nangong Yuan? Who’s that?’

He had been too focused on his studies and research to pay any attention to unimportant people.

Fortunately, he had a good memory and instantly recalled who she was.

The woman who had screwed over Lanlou Mansion and couldn’t even rotate magnetic fields.

"I’m not going," Qi Suian refused outright.

Her life or death was none of his damn business. If she died, they could just replace her.

A three-legged toad might be hard to find, but in a world where the population respawns, there was certainly no shortage of two-legged people.

He didn’t have the spare time to go save someone who was just a nuisance.

There was likely a fortuitous opportunity involved, but Qi Suian couldn’t get away. He had to research the ghost creation data to lay the foundation for turning the soul seed into a ghost.

"His Majesty said you would be interested. The ghost inside the Grand Commander is fusing with her, and it’s a natural fusion, not one interfered with by the ghost-binding method."

"This is the first case of its kind. It’s not just you—everyone from the Royal Family has gone to see," the young servant added.

Qi Suian paused. He had to admit, this particular "illness" was right up his alley.

"I’ll go at once." Qi Suian immediately reversed his earlier refusal.

If it were a fusion triggered by the ghost-binding method, Qi Suian would have ignored it; it wasn’t as if he lacked the techniques to deal with that.

But a natural fusion—that was a different matter entirely.

As for why a young servant would know so much, Qi Suian had long known the man was sent by Emperor Yunzhi.

But Qi Suian ignored that fact. To him, it wasn’t a big deal at all.

If the Emperor wanted to monitor him, let him. He wouldn’t understand any of it anyway.

Without the corresponding equipment, data, and so on, it was no different from monitoring thin air.

He was on their turf, after all; it wasn’t a big deal if they kept an eye on him.

Not to mention, Qi Suian took everything with him every time he left, leaving nothing behind.

After tidying up, he headed for the Imperial Palace.

Upon his arrival, Yan Jingxing immediately led Qi Suian to the Imperial Doctor’s Residence, where Nangong Yuan was being kept.

Many members of the Royal Family were conversing in low voices, while others were studying Nangong Yuan’s condition.

When Qi Suian arrived, he naturally drew everyone’s attention, but they all returned to their own business after a glance or two.

"Make way, make way! Let me see..." Qi Suian shouted as he pushed his way through.

The Tai Sui God materialized a shield, forcing a path open.

Then he saw Nangong Yuan lying on the bed. Her skin had turned blood-red, and eyeballs were growing out of it, swiveling about erratically.

"Shoo, shoo, get to the side. Don’t block my view," Qi Suian said, unreasonably clearing out a space around him.

The members of the Royal Family who were crowded around were shoved aside, and they were naturally displeased.

But before they could even protest, Qi Suian had already knocked them all down.

"To save us all the trouble of you taunting and provoking me, I just skipped that whole process and went straight to beating you up," Qi Suian said with utter conviction.

The people he had knocked down didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but given Qi Suian’s strength, they ultimately didn’t say a word.

They even cleared out a large space, letting Qi Suian be the first to study her.

She was right there, after all. It wasn’t like she could run away.

"Can she be saved?" Yan Jingxing finally squeezed his way in and asked.

"I don’t know." Qi Suian had just arrived; he hadn’t even had time to start the dissection yet. How would he know if she could be saved?

As he spoke, he took out a scalpel formed from polymorphic energy and got straight to work.

To stabilize Nangong Yuan’s vital signs, Qi Suian also pulled a handful of life-support devices from his Subspace Pocket and hooked her up.

Yan Jingxing didn’t have much of a reaction, but the members of the Royal Family all moved closer to observe.

They were extremely curious about the various strange devices Qi Suian had produced.

Normally, they would use the power of ghosts to sustain a person’s life.

By all accounts, the equipment Qi Suian was using had a lower cost—after all, it didn’t require sacrificing one’s life force.

Then, they witnessed Qi Suian in action. His bloody dissection technique, combined with his brutal methods that showed no regard for onlookers, made the corner of everyone’s eye twitch.

His style was crude, to say the least.

"Easy there, easy! Don’t dissect her to death!" someone shouted in distress.

Qi Suian completely ignored them, his hands even speeding up by thirty percent.

"It is indeed a natural fusion," Qi Suian said.

After his initial experimental dissection, Qi Suian confirmed that Nangong Yuan had indeed brought him a fortuitous opportunity. However, this "opportunity" was... complicated.

Nangong Yuan basically had no chance of survival.

The fusion had completely erased her consciousness.

Therefore, only her experimental value remained.

"Guard Yan, you can inform His Majesty the Emperor to find a new Grand Commander of Celestial Capital. There’s no possibility of saving her."

"Oh, and remember to tell him I’m taking the body. I have a use for it." Qi Suian wasn’t being polite in the slightest, intending to appropriate Nangong Yuan for his own use rather than leave her as research material for the Royal Family.

"This is my dearest friend and family, after all. Only in my hands can she realize her greatest value."

The members of the Royal Family were shocked by his shameless words.

"Absolutely not! Nangong Yuan is the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital. She should be handed over to us—" a high-ranking member of the Royal Family immediately objected.

If Qi Suian wasn’t trying to take everything, they might have tolerated it. But he wasn’t even leaving them the scraps—how could they possibly stand for that?

However, before the man could even finish his sentence, he was met with a huge slap across the face from Qi Suian.

"I’m *informing* you, not *negotiating* with you." Without a moment’s hesitation, Qi Suian proceeded to slap every single member of the Royal Family present.

The lucky ones fainted. The unlucky ones who remained conscious simply received another slap for their trouble.

Yan Jingxing watched this scene unfold, completely dumbfounded.

Qi Suian’s behavior was just too outrageous.

"Alright," Qi Suian asked, "does anyone still object?"

Everyone was unconscious, so naturally, no one objected.

"Then I’ll take that as a unanimous agreement."

"When you go back, you can just tell Emperor Zhiyue this: since none of them voiced any opposition, it means they all agreed."

"That way, you’ll have something to report," Qi Suian said as he packed up Nangong Yuan’s body and tossed it directly into his Subspace Pocket.

Yan Jingxing opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. Qi Suian, however, gave him no chance, flying away directly.

"Is... is she really beyond saving?" Yan Jingxing murmured softly as he watched Qi Suian’s figure disappear into the distance.

He definitely wanted to save Nangong Yuan. She was a colleague who had survived the ghost tide alongside him; more than that, he owed her a debt of gratitude for persuading him to keep on living.

But while the will was there, the power was not. Besides, he had grown accustomed to matters of life and death.