Chapter 860: Chapter 827: An Obvious Trap

Inside Safe House No. 1 of the Guanjiang Residential Complex.

This safe house was originally built during the Hungry Ghost incident. It was constructed hastily and thus isn’t large, capable of accommodating only around twenty people. Given its limitations, Yang Jian freed himself from Zhang Wei’s father, Zhang Xiangu, and built Safe House No. 2.

As a result, Safe House No. 1 was left unused and became Yang Jian’s exclusive safe house.

The safe house housed various supernatural items Yang Jian had collected and the malevolent spirits he had imprisoned.

There were Ghost Mirrors, embroidered shoes, Ghost Candles, life-replacing dolls, Ghost Porcelain…

At this moment, Yang Jian appeared inside this safe house.

First, he carefully placed the doll he had obtained from Room 301, then turned his attention to the Ghost Child.

He reached out and grasped.

He took off the small bell-like ball hanging from the Ghost Child’s neck.

He twisted it with force, and the ball opened, revealing a piece of yellowed, mottled old paper. The material resembled sheepskin but emitted an eerily cold and sinister aura–it was actually a piece of human skin on which one could faintly smell the stench of a corpse.

“The plans on the human skin paper can be referenced but not trusted. Ever since the last time, the information it has revealed has become increasingly terrifying. Traps are hidden between the lines, and each time they are more serious than the last. It’s bluntly reached a point where it harbors intentions of killing me directly.”

Yang Jian thought to himself.

It was a reminder to himself not to place all hope on this artifact.

Last time, with the protection afforded by the Ghost Cabinet’s layer, he had narrowly survived. If it weren’t for the Ghost Cabinet, he would undoubtedly be dead.

Now.

His deal with the Ghost Cabinet was still incomplete, so this time there was no safety net–it was all up to him.

He also didn’t dare to seek help from others.

There weren’t many who had the ability to help him.

Wang Xiaoming from the headquarters was one, but having seen the human skin paper, who knows what traps it might have set for him.

With Wang Xiaoming’s intelligence, he naturally sensed the existence of traps, but he was a madman — fully aware of the traps, yet he would step into them if the benefits were sufficient.

Old Qin might also be able to help.

But Yang Jian had no relations or reason to ask for his assistance.

In the end, one has to rely on oneself.

All along his journey, Yang Jian had always done so.

He discarded any wishful thinking and thoughts of retreat.

Yang Jian took a deep breath and opened the human skin paper.

The human skin paper, which had been unremarkable, began to reveal black writings that twisted and writhed as if something invisible was writing on it.

A familiar yet eerie phrase emerged before his eyes: “My name is Yang Jian, and by the time you read this, I will already be dead…”

Yang Jian had grown numb to this sentence and found nothing strange about it.

“Maybe you’re right this time; I might truly be about to die. If you can’t offer a solution, I will bury you underground before my death, not just 10,000 meters deep but even deeper.”

He greeted the human skin paper casually.

Talking to the human skin paper as if to himself, with not a hint of a threatening tone, but there was no doubt about his resolve to bury it.

Soon, more writing appeared on the human skin paper: “…I shouldn’t have opened that terrible Eight-Tone Music Box again. Last time I was lucky to survive, but this time I have a premonition that I’m doomed. This is my will, and if you can see it, please fulfill the wishes written here so I can die without concerns.”

“One of my wishes is to open the third door of the Republic Era Ancient House. I want to see what is being kept inside. I’ve never opened that door before my death. If possible, I hope you can take a look.”

“My second wish is…”

Yang Jian’s expression immediately darkened.

He felt as if the human skin was spouting nonsense; before he had even died, it was talking as though his death was certain, coming up with a so-called will for him to fulfill his wishes in advance.

Was it so eager for his death?

Or was it that leaving the human skin in the Ghost Child’s hands had caused it to harbor deep resentment and become self-destructive?

Yang Jian pondered, at least able to discern one huge trap in the information on the human skin paper.

The third room in the Republic Era Ancient House must not be opened.

If he did open that room before his death, perhaps he would die a terrible death.

“Without useful advice, this thing is worthless to me. Ghost Child, come and eat it.” Yang Jian gave the command directly.

The Ghost Child immediately ran over, and without any hesitation, opened its mouth wide and bit into the human skin paper.

From its pitch-black mouth dripped corpse fluids, a truly horrifying sight as it seemed to devour the object completely.

Yang Jian had no intention of stopping it–he wanted to see if the human skin paper was willing to compromise further. Now, it wasn’t the human skin trying to control him, but he trying to control the human skin paper.

If it didn’t compromise, then it would simply be devoured.

If it did compromise, he was curious to see how the human skin paper would acquiesce.

The writings on the human skin paper remained unchanged, as if the content could only record up to this point.

And at this moment, the Ghost Child had already clamped onto the human skin paper, its wet saliva dripping down from the corners of its mouth.

The Ghost Child nibbled away, the human skin paper wrinkling up and being swallowed bit by bit.

Yang Jian just watched, his eyes wide open.

Now it was not him being dragged into the abyss but the human skin paper, and he was curious to see whether it would yield.

If it refused to compromise, it might as well disappear now.

Being eaten by the Ghost Child was akin to being devoured by the Hungry Ghost.

Perhaps the Ghost Child might even be able to control the human skin paper.

However, just when the Ghost Child had swallowed almost half of the human skin paper.

The initially motionless human skin paper suddenly exhibited anomalies.

The writing on it rapidly vanished, and then new writing appeared at a frightening speed.

“My name is Yang Jian, and by the time you read these words, I will have died… I’ve been through many perilous supernatural events, but this time it’s ever more dangerous. In Dachuan City, I opened the Eight-Tone Music Box again, this being the second time, and that cursed ringtone once again lingered in my mind.”

“I have a premonition that I can’t withstand this frightful curse this time, I’m about to die, and what’s worse than the first time is that my Ghost Shadow is still in the process of reviving, though I’ve temporarily suppressed it, the suppression won’t last long.”

“I have tried many methods, but none have worked, the only way is that I must let the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box explode onto the Ghost Shadow; only by doing so can I survive.”

“This is a very bold and insane idea, which I thought and acted upon. I don’t know if I should tell you about this method, but before that, I want to ask you a question.”

“What exactly is human consciousness?”

“…”

“Let go, stop eating.”

Upon seeing the writing emerge, Yang Jian immediately snatched back the human skin paper.

But once reclaimed, the writing on it began fading away just as swiftly.

Although it disappeared quickly, through the Ghost Eye he had already seen the contents.

Especially the last line, “What exactly is human consciousness?”

As Yang Jian pondered, the content nevertheless changed again.

The writing on the human skin paper turned into a plan: “I have resolved the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box and the problem of Ghost Shadow’s revival, but you must fully trust the human skin paper in your hand. Do not doubt, for any doubt could lead to your death.”

“The curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box will erupt at 1:15 p.m. two days from now. When the curse erupts, I released the Coffin Nail that was suppressing Ghost Shadow, let Ghost Shadow invade my consciousness, and simultaneously covered my face with the human skin paper… Afterward, I fell asleep. When I woke up again, Ghost Shadow had crashed, and the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box vanished.”

“My name is Yang Jian, and if you’re reading this sentence, I am still alive.”

The writing stopped emerging, and everything fell into a calm state.

No more supernatural changes were displayed on the human skin paper.

Yang Jian’s gaze turned cold as he stared intently at the dark brown human skin paper in his hands: “Cover my face with the human skin paper right when the curse erupts, then just sleep it off? Is the trap laid out so blatantly now? Or is it now unnecessary to hide, just leaving the trap here waiting for me to step into a dead end and trigger it myself?”

The hidden trap in the human skin paper didn’t work, and it seemed to have changed its strategy now.

“This plan is not trustworthy, I think that question is the key.”

“What exactly is human consciousness?”

Yang Jian pondered: “This question emerged under the threat of the Ghost Child, so it has a certain degree of credibility.”

“To survive this curse, the breakthrough lies in consciousness. I know this, the human skin paper knows it too, but while the human skin paper knows the solution, I do not… However, based on past characteristics of the human skin paper, the solution it provides must be achievable, it couldn’t possibly give an impossible solution.”

“Another puzzle to solve?”

He rubbed his head.

Solving puzzles wasn’t his forte.

“We’ll think about this matter later. Anyway, there are still two and a half days. Now I need a paranormal weapon that I can use, but cannot be wielded by ghosts, to prevent creating a greater threat should I undergo a supernatural revival.”

Yang Jian put away the human skin paper, tucked it into the golden sphere, and hung it back around Ghost Child’s neck.

He then stood up and entered the safety house’s tool room.

The tool room was equipped with many emergency tools, plenty of Gold, and some smelting equipment.

Usually, he could craft containers for imprisoning malevolent spirits here.

He could also create some golden items.

This time, considering the possibility that he might die and the malevolent spirit revive, but paranormal items absolutely could not be controlled by malevolent spirits, defenses had to be prepared in advance.

Like the tall corpse from the Caesar Grand Hotel.

Transforming into a roaming murderous malevolent spirit, wielding a sinister Firewood Knife, horrifically terrifying.

Yang Jian had to eliminate such potential risks.

Looking at the fully-equipped smelting tools in the tool room, a variety of professional manufacturing techniques, smelting experience, even grinding and engraving, and polishing skills flooded his mind.

These skills were not his own.

They were snatched from numerous people’s memories by the Ghost Shadow Figure.

But now, Yang Jian possessed these memories and skills, as if he was sketching on the plane earlier.