After a brief encounter on the small black boat, neither Yang Jian nor the group gained any advantage.

Obviously, the opposing entities weren’t the kind that could be easily taken down. Although these people didn’t use any particular methods, they managed to block his six-layer Ghost Domain and had some understanding of the Firewood Knife, knowing how to counter it.

He suspected that the Firewood Knife in the hands of the tall male corpse at the Caesar Hotel was perhaps quite famous in the supernatural realm back then.

It seemed like the previous generation of ghost tamers were quite familiar with it.

“The four of them aren’t united; some want to take us down, while others are unwilling to get involved in this mess. Otherwise, they would have all attacked at once just now.”

Yang Jian gathered a lot of information from the probing encounter.

The Faceless Person and the mediator did not make a move. The woman had the most determined attitude, and the one-eyed man was hesitant at first but leaned towards taking action.

“These older generation ghost tamers are indeed not simple. It’s rare to see Yang Jian not gaining any advantage when making a move.” Cao Yang, observing from a distance, said in a low voice.

He and Yang Jian were old acquaintances.

They met after the Hungry Ghost incident in Dachang City, back when Yang Jian was still a rookie, only recently joined the headquarters.

However, knowing him well, Cao Yang understood that when Yang Jian takes action, he’s not one to test waters; he aims to take the opponent down. If someone survives, it definitely wasn’t because Yang Jian held back, but due to the opponent’s ability to withstand the attack.

But there’s one thing to know.

Now, only a few can withstand Yang Jian’s attacks in the supernatural circle. Even Cao Yang wasn’t confident he could fully withstand it.

“We can step in when necessary. I won’t hesitate this time.” Ah Hong said calmly and decisively.

Cao Yang signaled, “No rush, let’s wait a bit more. There are still those who haven’t taken action. If we move now, we’ll only cause trouble. Our intervention will only make a decisive impact at the right moment.”

He wasn’t impulsive.

At this point, holding off was more effective than acting. The others were certainly wary of him and Ah Hong.

“Imaginative young man, the makeshift supernatural weapon carries a certain deadly curse, a deterrent from easy capture? It’s a pity, you acted alone just now, whereas we have four.”

The curse on the one-eyed elder had dissipated, and he wasn’t dead, but a solemn look appeared in his eyes.

This young man wasn’t at the same level as the paper-mâché intruder at the shrine earlier today.

This youth was more dangerous; an oversight could indeed lead to his demise. It seemed he was the leader of this group.

“In the supernatural circle, numbers never determine victory.” Yang Jian stood on the cold, silent lake holding the cracked spear, glancing slightly at the spot touched by the one-eyed elder.

A handprint was left; the medium had formed.

Yet, the elder noticed this subtle gaze, and his face changed instantly, shouting, “Attack…”

“Noticed, eh? Too late, though.” Yang Jian moved the Firewood Knife in his hand once more.

The black Ghost Shadow covered the cracked spear.

The medium was triggered.

The figure of the one-eyed elder materialized before him. Just one slash, and the elder would be dismembered by the knife’s curse, a strike impossible to block.

But just as Yang Jian was about to slash down, his hand froze, and his lifted arm rigidly halted in midair.

The knife that was about to hit the medium couldn’t fall.

“Don’t ignore others. You got too close to me just now. If that slash didn’t kill this old woman, you’d be the unfortunate one.” The woman spoke coldly.

At some unknown time, Yang Jian’s clothing started to lose its color, changing styles into apparel resembling burial garments, and as this transformation continued, his skin tone darkened rapidly, turning black, a stench of decaying corpses permeating.

In that moment.

Yang Jian felt as if he were embraced tightly by a malevolent ghost, his body unable to move, resembling sleep paralysis.

“He won’t survive, wearing a dead man’s clothes, shrouded in a dead man’s shroud.”

The woman said, “This is my fiercest garment; it needs washing every other day, or the ghost within will escape. I put a lot of effort into tailoring this garment.”

No one knew when this death shroud had been put on Yang Jian, or maybe it didn’t need to be worn, existing in an incomprehensible way, able to nest in any clothing.

“What a pity.” Boss Liu sighed upon seeing this.

Such a cursed garment on such a youth, indeed deadly.

Though it seemed he had the advantage initially, in the end, the youth didn’t understand their methods and fell for it.

“Can it kill?”

The one-eyed elder fixed his pale eye on Yang Jian.

“What, don’t trust my garment?” the woman said coolly.

The elder didn’t speak further. He needed to observe more; he wouldn’t relax until death was confirmed.

“Yang Jian…” From afar, Ah Hong called out, ready to act.

Cao Yang signaled, “It’s not over yet; what’s the hurry?”

At this moment under Yang Jian’s ghostly gaze, he saw that the garment he wore wasn’t clothing at all but a malevolent ghost, fashioned into a garment, tightly wrapping him as if a corpse was entwined around him in a grotesque manner.

The sight was spine-chilling.

“Just a garment, and you think you can take me down?”

Yang Jian strained his neck, squeezing out these words.

“Facing death and still mouthy, once on it never comes off.”

The woman sneered, “Even if you bear it, how much strength do you have left to deal with us?”

“Do you wonder why I’m on the lake fighting you?”

As Yang Jian spoke, his body began to slowly sink.

He quickly submerged into the lake water.

Despite his immobilized state and the restrictive death garment on him, it didn’t stop him from sinking.

Very soon.

Yang Jian was completely immersed in the cold lake water.

Ripples spread across the lake surface.

But Yang Jian had already vanished.

No one knew how deep he sank, only that he had completely disappeared from sight.

“Sunk into the lake?” Boss Liu hesitated, glancing at the Faceless Person beside him.

The Faceless Person remained motionless, offering no opinion.

The leading one-eyed elder squinted, seemingly sensing that this wouldn’t end so simply, that the youth wouldn’t be disposed of so easily.

“This is bad.”

Suddenly, the woman realized something, her face changing drastically: “He’s trying to use the lake water to remove the death garment.”

In normal circumstances, it’s impossible to take off the ghost clothing.

But right now, it’s not normal circumstances.

Yang Jian was sinking into the lake, continuously going deeper until he was almost at the lakebed, and then the ghost clothing on him began to change.

The clothes that were tight on him started to loosen up, and the buttons on the clothes undid themselves.

The clothes no longer restrained him.

The fierce ghost entwined around his body also stopped corroding him at this moment.

In the lake, even fierce ghosts can sink, let alone this human-made ghost clothing.

Soon.

Yang Jian took off the clothing in the water and permanently left it at the lakebed.

This thing was indeed dangerous; it couldn’t be left unattended or returned to the woman.

“Splash!”

A moment later.

Ripples appeared on the calm lake surface as Yang Jian surged out of the water again, soaked all over, yet the ghost clothing was nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s continue.”

Yang Jian raised his spear once more.

The medium was triggered, and this time he swung down again.

This time, there were no unexpected occurrences; the medium of the one-eyed old man had its head chopped off directly.

In an instant.

The one-eyed old man standing on the black boat sensed a strong feeling of crisis.

“Is it aimed at me again?” The one-eyed old man squinted slightly; he could feel Yang Jian had acted against him, but he couldn’t retaliate.

Because such a supernatural attack couldn’t be stopped; he could only withstand it with his body.

The next moment.

A hideous slit appeared on the one-eyed old man’s neck, then this slit tore open violently.

Blood splattered.

A human head lost its support and fell right off the neck.

“Damn it.”

Boss Liu’s pupils constricted upon seeing this, hurriedly reaching out to catch the falling head to prevent it from dropping into the Ghost Lake, where it would be unretrievable.

“Indeed, an incredible slash that can even dismember fierce ghosts, but it’s merely dismemberment.”

However, although the one-eyed old man’s head was detached from the neck, it could still speak with its eyes wide open, staring at Yang Jian while the blood flowed from the body.

“You won’t die from this? As expected, you are an anomaly too.” Yang Jian’s neck also showed a crack.

The curse is reciprocal, but he could use the Ghost Shadow to stitch his body, thus offsetting the side effects.

“If it was so easy to get killed, I would have been dead long ago; living long, I’ve got some methods.”

The one-eyed old man said, “Put my head back and see which of us recovers faster.”

Boss Liu’s face changed slightly and immediately placed the head back onto the body.

The blood continued to flow, but the flesh around the wound started to squirm as if healing, astonishingly growing back.

Without using the Ghost Shadow, the repair speed of this one-eyed old man was comparable to the Ghost Shadow.

“Take the boat over; he himself was slashed and isn’t feeling well. This is an opportunity. If he has other methods, use your clothing to block it; this youngster is indeed fierce, and I’m not confident I can take him down for sure.” The one-eyed old man said in a low voice again.

“Alright.” The woman sneered.

The black boat swayed, surprisingly moving towards Yang Jian’s direction.

“Get ready to act.” Cao Yang signaled to Ah Hong.

If the other side crossed the line, he and Ah Hong were going to act; they couldn’t let them do as they pleased.

However, just as the boat was about to tread the waters where Yang Jian was.

Suddenly.

An odd sound broke this tense atmosphere.

“Woof~!”

A low growl of the Evil Hound suddenly echoed over Ghost Lake.

“What?” The four people on the black boat paused immediately.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a huge reflection appeared beneath the lake where Yang Jian was, not of a living person nor Yang Jian himself, but the silhouette of a black Evil Hound.

There was clearly no Evil Hound on the lake surface, yet beneath the surface, there was the reflection of an Evil Hound.

This anomaly not only surprised the people on the opposite side but even Yang Jian himself was taken aback.

However, soon enough, Yang Jian realized something.

“A dog’s bark? Wait, could it be the dog from the Ghost Dream?” He immediately recalled the experience from his hometown.

Looking down.

Beneath the lake, his reflection had somehow turned into a black Evil Hound, this hound baring its teeth and growling with fierce intent.

“This is a dog that can only appear in dreams, an entity that harnessed the Ghost Dream. Although the Ghost Dream doesn’t exist in reality, it can invade reality from the dream through a medium like water. Could it be that this dog has succeeded?” Yang Jian’s expression fluctuated uncertainly.

He himself couldn’t even understand why this dog suddenly appeared here.

He was unaware of the events that had taken place in his memory.

“Splash!”

But the next moment, Yang Jian’s speculation became reality.

Accompanied by splashing water, what was only a reflection leaped out of the water, appearing in reality.

This Evil Hound was massive, like a calf, its entire body pitch black, eyes eerie and vicious, glaring at the four people on the black boat.

“A dog?” Boss Liu’s eyes widened, seemingly witnessing something extraordinary.

At this moment, the Faceless Person moved his finger to write a sentence: “This is a ghost.”

“An incredible piece of work.”

Although the one-eyed old man’s neck was still bleeding, he looked at the Evil Hound on the lake with suspicion and surprise.

“It’s just a beastly hound, nothing more. Can it really become a menace?” the woman said coldly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com

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