Chapter 105: A Curse Shadow That Doesn't Exist in Reality

"Han team, you're here."

A soldier tasked with guarding this place saw Han Mo arrive and saluted him.

"How's the situation?" Han Mo stood on a dirt slope, staring at the abandoned town in the distance.

"Just this morning, another Ghost appeared," the soldier said solemnly.

"To prevent losses and avoid triggering the Fierce Ghost's Killing Rule, which would cause more Fierce Ghosts to emerge, I ordered my brothers to retreat ten li."

"Good, that's the right approach. Upon a Supernatural Incident, report immediately and withdraw swiftly; you've done well."

Han Mo didn't get angry at their withdrawal; after confirming the town was out of control, he continued to station people nearby, merely expanding the loss.

After all, facing Fierce Ghosts can't be solved by sheer numbers.

"Send another squad over, retreat ten li, expand the monitoring range; I'll go in and check the situation."

After roughly inquiring about the situation, Han Mo said nothing further.

Supernatural Incidents kept increasing, especially in Dajiang City, where Spiritual Realms would appear at any moment, making his time precious.

With a small backpack, Han Mo walked toward the ruined town.

His stride was steady, yet the ground he stepped on oddly left deep footprints.

A few soldiers exchanged glances, all finding it strange.

Clearly the slope was hard clay; stepping on it shouldn't have left such heavy prints.

"Don't stare, Han Mo is a Ghost Tamer; he possesses a power ordinary people can't comprehend."

Eventually, a leading soldier interrupted the group's thoughts.

He knew more information and understood that staring at something imbued with Ghost Power was unwise.

On the other side.

At this moment, Zhang Hao passed through the darkness and entered the city shrouded in gloom.

Strangely enough, although this pitch‑black city is linked to the Ghostly City, it gave Zhang Hao the feeling of being in two worlds at once.

Beyond the darkness, the Ghostly City exuded an oppressive aura, with Fierce Ghosts everywhere.

Yet within this dark area, no Fierce Ghosts could be seen; previously, outside the darkness, Zhang Hao occasionally saw silhouettes moving in the gloom.

Moreover, oddly, as Zhang Hao delved deeper into the darkness‑shrouded city, its style strangely became uniform.

It was as if the previously diverse‑styled city was merely a small part of this one.

No, perhaps it's more apt to say this dark city is a derivative of a certain district of the Ghostly City.

The city in darkness seems swallowed by a Spiritual Realm, which then took a portion and placed it inside the Ghostly City.

"Given this, does it mean that city has other exits linking to different places?"

Zhang Hao kept scrutinizing the architecture; the farther he went, the more modern the city's style became.

He lost track of time; to Zhang Hao it felt like walking from the Republic Era to the modern age.

The closer he got to the Ghostly City's buildings, the more retro they appeared.

From the initially rustic old houses in the Ghostly City, to wooden courtyards and mud‑brick homes, now Zhang Hao even saw brick houses.

Occasionally, he could also spot abandoned old vehicles in the darkness.

According to Zhang Hao's memory, such vehicles weren't of this era; they'd been phased out twenty‑to‑thirty years ago.

Continuing forward, even the Road and streets changed.

From the initial stone‑brick Road, it gradually turned into concrete, then asphalt, and finally Zhang Hao even saw modern road signs.

At that moment, he seemed to have passed through the incomprehensible city and entered a town abandoned under shadow.

Looking around, he could see some strange silhouettes nearby.

"Now I'm seeing Fierce Ghosts; that city with no silhouettes must be the junction between the Ghostly City and reality."

Zhang Hao glanced behind; some Fierce Ghosts slipped into the darkness, their silhouettes no longer visible, as if vanished.

"Hm?"

After Zhang Hao walked forward a while longer, he suddenly stopped, having spotted a familiar silhouette.

Meanwhile, in another part of the town, Han Mo was heading deeper.

The darkness in the town blocked his view, preventing him from seeing deeper.

However, as he advanced, he also noticed the town's changes.

The Fierce Ghosts roaming the town were far more numerous than when he entered previously.

In that short span, Han Mo had already detained two Fierce Ghosts trying to go outside.

One was a Fierce Ghost exuding a rotting stench, the other a Female Ghost wearing black high‑heeled shoes.

"Tap! Tap tap!"

The sound from ahead made Han Mo halt.

Although the two ghosts ahead posed little threat, in a Spiritual Realm one can never be careful enough.

Soon, as footsteps drew near, a silhouette slowly appeared before Han Mo.

It was a bride in a Wedding Dress, her gait stiff.

"Red and White Double Evil?"

A lingering mental scar made him retreat several steps the moment he saw the ghost.

"No, didn't the Red and White Double Evil already leave the country? How could they appear in this Ghost place?"

Han Mo examined the bride closely.

"Where's the White Evil? Why is only the Red Evil here?"

Han Mo watched the bride keep walking forward, quickly noticing something off about the ghost, yet he dared not act rashly.

As one of the twelve captains, he had access to far more information than ordinary people, even more than the reports Yang Jian received from Headquarters.

Because Yang Jian only oversees Dachang City, he holds the rank of captain but does not receive a captain's benefits.

Han Mo, however, is a genuine captain; besides Dajiang City, several nearby cities also fall under his jurisdiction.

Han Mo deeply knows how bizarre the Red and White Double Evil are, after all they are intelligent Fierce Ghosts.

"Could the White Evil be hiding somewhere, concealed?"

Han Mo pondered internally, continuing to observe the bride's condition.

"Although it looks similar, it should not be the ghost bride from the Red and White Double Evil."

"That Wedding Dress is stained with a lot of mud, and the Veil on the head only half covers the face, as if it had been lifted."

"Moreover, her walking stride is completely different from the bride in the Red and White Double Evil."

"The ghost bride walks very dignifiedly, like an ancient genteel lady, constantly mindful of her bearing."

"But the bride before me walks more stiffly, leaning toward a modern style, resembling a modern woman possessed by a Fierce Ghost; her steps are stiff, yet the stride length is casual."

After confirming this was not the Red and White Double Evil, Han Mo, hoisting a head‑shaped cane, walked toward the Fierce Ghost that resembled a bride.

Although this ghost was not a ghost bride, it let him breathe a sigh of relief.

Yet such a ghost, Han Mo absolutely will not allow it to enter the Reality World.

Heaven knows whether this ghost will, like the Red and White Double Evil, cause some terrifying commotion in the Reality World.

Han Mo now can be said to be the type who, once bitten by a snake, fears even a well rope for ten years.

Yang Jian, because of the Knocking Ghost and the starved ghost, has since developed a psychological shadow toward knocking sounds and Fierce Ghost infants.

Han Mo, because of the Red and White Double Evil, has since developed a psychological shadow toward Fierce Ghosts that look like brides and wear mourning attire.

However, just as Han Mo approached the Fierce Ghost in a Wedding Dress that resembled a bride, his steps halted.

At that moment, he felt a strange oppressive sensation.

It seemed an invisible pair of hands were forcefully pressing him down, trying to make him kneel on the ground.

"This feeling is very similar to the White Evil, the body being forcibly subjected to Ghost's Invasion, the legs involuntarily wanting to kneel—could this truly be the ghost bride from the Red and White Double Evil?"

Han Mo startled, once again created distance from the Fierce Ghost dressed in bridal attire.

He looked around left and right, bewildered, yet aside from the bride before him, saw nothing else.

"Fine, never mind; if it won't come out, then I'll imprison this ghost bride, you have to get out, right?"

Han Mo, holding the head‑shaped cane, struck the bride, who was three or four meters away, out of thin air.

"Bang!"

Though there was nothing in front of Han Mo, the head‑shaped cane at that moment sounded as if it had struck someone, producing a thud. At the same time, the Fierce Ghost resembling a bride seemed to have been hit by something.

The bride, who had been moving steadily, was at that moment knocked flying away, crashing heavily into a side passage, and fell still.

"Suppressed?"

Han Mo, puzzled, turned his head, looking at the bride lying on the ground silent, his face full of astonishment.

He hadn't expected that a mere probing strike would actually suppress this suspected ghost bride Fierce Ghost.

"Seems I guessed wrong."

While exhaling a sigh of relief, Han Mo took out a golden corpse bag and walked forward, intending to imprison the bride.

Yet at that moment, Han Mo's steps halted.

That intangible pressure resurfaced, growing stronger, as if an invisible pair of hands were pulling his leg, urging him to kneel.

The Fierce Ghost within Han Mo continuously resisted this urge to kneel.

The supernatural clash tore through Han Mo's trousers, revealing a pair of black legs from the knees down, mottled with purple and black bruises.

Because of the supernatural clash, the legs showed vein‑like cords protruding like centipedes, looking extremely eerie.

He knew that once he knelt, some unimaginable terrifying event would certainly occur.

Yet under this terrifying supernatural pressure, Han Mo's knees eventually slowly bent, assuming a kneeling posture.

Fortunately, the terror level of Han Mo's Ghost Foot was not low; after a bout of resistance, although he could not stay standing, he also did not kneel.

At this point, Han Mo's legs below the knees stood on the ground while his knees were bent, his whole body leaning backward in a bizarre pose.

"Hmm? A pair of feet that won't kneel?"

At this moment, Zhang Hao slowly approached, looking at Han Mo's condition, somewhat surprised.

He could sense that Han Mo could no longer bear the combined supernatural effects of Kneeling Death and Vision Gravity.

Even though Han Mo's body was already lying on the ground, those legs still stood abruptly on the ground.

"Is it this ghost, tamed to counter Kneeling Death?"

Zhang Hao stared at Han Mo, knowing that some Ghost Tamers, after Ghost Taming a certain number of ghosts that have become Dead Machines, or after transforming into Abnormals, …

When they Ghost Tame a new Fierce Ghost, they can then search for certain aspects.

"As expected, it's you."

The Han Mo lying on the ground at this moment also saw Zhang Hao's arrival, his gaze fixed on the ghost bride behind Zhang Hao.

Although Zhang Hao had no deliberate scheme, Han Mo at this moment only felt that he had fallen into a Fierce Ghost trap.

"So leaving Hua Kingdom was merely to mislead others and plot things advantageous to oneself?"

Han Mo looked at all this, bewildered and uncertain.

After confirming that what stood before him was the Red and White Double Evil, a chilling eerie aura emanated from Han Mo, and he actually managed to stand up by forcefully leaning on that head‑shaped cane.

"This fellow, upon seeing me, just went all out?"

Zhang Hao stared at Han Mo; naturally, he could see the surging terrifying aura on Han Mo.

That was using Ghost Power without regard for his own Fierce Ghost revival; under such circumstances, even if Zhang Hao didn't kill him, in a few days Han Mo would die from the Fierce Ghost's resurgence.

As Han Mo stood up, Zhang Hao suddenly felt an invisible pressure acting upon himself.

This feeling was much like the one he had previously experienced while walking through an alley in that haunted city.

"This is the paranormal that belongs to me," Zhang Hao realized inwardly.

Yet at that moment Han Mo sprang into action, raising the human‑head cane in his hand and striking heavily at the air before him.

The sound of the stick cutting through the air reached Zhang Hao's ears; although he was not actually hit, he felt something terrifying collide with his body, causing a brief loss of consciousness.

When Zhang Hao regained consciousness and opened his eyes, Han Mo was already less than two meters away.

A terrifying pair of Ghost Foot, veins bulging, kicked heavily toward Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao vanished from the spot using Ghost Domain, evading the kick.

Yet the next moment, the Black and White World's Ghost Domain could not block Han Mo's kick; the bluish‑black Ghost Foot tore through the Ghost Domain and reappeared before Zhang Hao, kicking at him again.

"Tore through my Ghost Domain?"

Zhang Hao was astonished; although the Ghost Foot were terrifying, the aura from Han Mo suggested they should not yet be capable of that level, right? "No, that's not right."

Zhang Hao quickly recovered his composure.

In the Reality World, he saw Han Mo's bluish‑black Ghost Foot tear his own Ghost Domain and kick toward him.

Yet in the Black and White World, Zhang Hao saw Han Mo's kick strike a translucent Ghost Shadow.

That Ghost Shadow resembled Zhang Hao about eighty percent, and after being kicked by Han Mo, it lunged toward Zhang Hao.

"A Medium of some curse, using the curse to guarantee this attack hits me?"

Zhang Hao reacted instantly, directly Restarting himself and reappearing beside the bride.

With the Restart, the Medium that could lock the attack onto Zhang Hao also vanished.

"Indeed, you Ghost thing possess intelligence."

Han Mo, seeing the scene, showed a look of apprehension in his eyes.

He seemed to be speaking to Zhang Hao, but in fact he was affirming his own speculation.

"If it were a normal Fierce Ghost, it wouldn't dodge at that moment."

Zhang Hao heard Han Mo's words, and his numb, soulless eyes turned toward Han Mo.

In an instant, Han Mo felt his body's pressure multiply, as if bound by some invisible paranormal force.

In the Black and White World, multiple colorless Zhang Haos appeared.

These Zhang Haos, invisible in the Reality World, were now holding strips of White Curtain and binding them onto Han Mo.

The Ghost Shadows that existed in the Black and White World and seemed linked to Han Mo were also sequentially cleared by the Zhang Haos there, tied away with White Curtain.

"wail!"

In the pitch‑black town, a terrifying wailing sound rang out.

As Zhang Hao's own Terror Level rose, the moment he began the Mourning, the paranormal intensity of his Crying already reached a level that previously required multiple stacks.

When Han Mo first heard the Crying, his face was already brimming with tears, ready to fall at any moment.

Yet at that moment Han Mo's focus did not seem to be his own tears.

He stared in astonishment behind himself, his face full of disbelief.

Zhang Hao, seeing his expression, followed his gaze to look behind him.

Behind Han Mo were a series of depressions—footprints—whose positions exactly matched the Ghost Shadows in the Black and White World.

"I see, each footprint represents an unseen Ghost Shadow."

"By attacking these Ghost Shadows, the curse can be synchronized onto certain targets."

Zhang Hao recalled that Han Mo's codename seemed to be Ghost Blocking Disaster.

Judging by their appearance, those Ghost Shadows must have undergone unknown changes after Ghost Blocking Disaster completed a Puzzle.

The original Disaster Blocking has now evolved into a curse that can be imposed on others.

However, facing the current Han Mo, the unseen Mediums of Ghost Blocking Disaster are being cleared one by one, seemingly preventing Han Mo from casting the curse.

Just as Zhang Hao thought the matter would end there, Han Mo moved again.

Han Mo emitted a cold, eerie aura.

Then Han Mo abruptly took a golden corpse‑bag from his backpack and held it before himself.

"You! Have you seen through the pattern of my Ghost Eye?"

Zhang Hao's normally calm eyes unintentionally showed a hint of astonishment.

As more of the Puzzle was completed, Zhang Hao began to exhibit some emotions, albeit very faint.

Han Mo suddenly thought to use the golden corpse‑bag to block Zhang Hao's Gaze, which inevitably triggered Zhang Hao's faint emotions.

Han Mo also saw the astonishment in Zhang Hao's eyes, and his own expression grew increasingly grave.

In fact, what was just used was Precognition, a portion of the paranormal stolen from Xiong Wenwen's Ghost.

Using this stolen paranormal greatly stimulated the Disaster‑blocking Ghost within his body; he resorted to it because he had no other choice.

Unexpectedly, at this critical moment it truly succeeded in helping Han Mo break the stalemate.

(End of Chapter)