Chapter 119: Give It Your All, the Silent One

Zhang Hao opened his eyes and saw Yang Jian leading Li Jun in escape.

"Want to run? But can you get away?"

Zhang Hao coldly stared at the Ghost Domain Yang Jian was moving away from, and with Zhang Hao's Gaze, Yang Jian felt a terrifying Ghost Power invading his Ghost Domain.

That was a Ghost Power that could make everything fade, and with this Invasion the Hong Ghost Domain continuously contracted.

"Indeed, the White Evil has already awakened."

Yang Jian's heart sank; he could only lower his head and run forward, daring not to look behind.

Although he expected Shen Lin's choice to suicide Restart signaled failure, the speed of that failure still caught him off guard.

Although the suppression of the White Evil is not as strong as the Red Evil's on Yang Jian, Yang Jian's Ghost Domain also cannot expand within the White Evil's Ghost Domain.

It simply does not reach the level where sensing a breath would prevent opening the Ghost Eye.

But clearly the matter is not escapable just by wanting to run.

When Zhang Hao first revived, he immediately used Ghost Domain Invasion on Yang Jian's and Li Jun's Ghost Domains, but soon Zhang Hao grabbed the Ghost Bride's hand.

With the Summon Ghost Technique unfolding, the female corpse on the Lake Surface moved again.

Although it does not reach full control of Ghost Lake, it can still affect Ghost Lake's behavior.

The cold Lake Water spreads beneath Yang Jian and the others, and even the Ghost Domain becomes damp invisibly, touching the Lake Surface.

This Lake Water is not the water encountered in Zhongzhou City; it is the source of Ghost Lake, the water here is Ghost Lake itself.

In a sense, Ghost Lake's situation is very similar to Zhang Hao's.

Zhang Hao now is his own Ghost Domain, and Ghost Lake is this entire Lake Water.

This kind of Lake Water, for a water ghost, also counts as an alternative Ghost Domain.

At this moment the Lake Water contacts the Hong Ghost Domain, like two Ghost Domains clashing.

And Ghost Lake's Ghost Domain characteristic is plainly the terrifying ability to sink everything.

The water surface contacts Yang Jian and Li Jun's Ghost Domains, not immediately suppressing their Ghost Domain Area Suppression, but sticking to their Ghost Domains like glue.

As the dampness grows stronger, Yang Jian and Li Jun both change complexion.

From beneath Ghost Lake, a terrifying pull drags their Ghost Domains down into the water.

Just as Li Jun previously used Ghost Fire to ignite the corpse on the Lake Surface, even the Ghost Domain lacks the ability to float on Ghost Lake.

Your Ghost Domain can still exist, Ghost Fire can burn, the Ghost Eye's Gaze can still emit and form a Ghost Domain.

But it cannot break free; whether Gaze or anything else, all are firmly captured by Ghost Lake.

As Ghost Fire and the red light sink deeper, the eerie Ghost Fire flickers unpredictably, extinguishing then reigniting, seeming very unstable.

The red‑light‑filled Ghost Domain at this moment also begins to dim; beneath Ghost Lake, the Ghost Eye's Gaze starts to be affected.

The few of them are drenched, as if water continuously seeps out of their bodies, their bodies being eroded by Ghost Power.

The three, upon touching the Lake Water, begin to sink, and at this moment Yang Jian's sinking speed exceeds everyone else's.

"The body has lost sensation; even Ghost Shadow cannot be controlled."

Yang Jian's face looks terrible now; he stands in the Lake Water, unable to move.

He is now extremely cold, water constantly leaks from his skin, his whole body is numb, as if frozen, his actions are affected.

Moreover, Ghost Shadow is affected, as if trapped within this body, unable to struggle or regain control.

The Lake Water possesses strong Ghost Power, like a cage imprisoning the Ghost Shadow in Yang Jian's body.

Not only him, but Li Jun and Liu San are in the same condition, though their sinking speed is much slower than Yang Jian's.

Ghost Lake's all‑sinking Ghost Power means the stronger your Ghost Power, the faster you are forced to sink.

Although Yang Jian only has three ghosts on him, theoretically his gap with Liu San and Li Jun is not large.

But Yang Jian still holds that golden Long Spear, made of Coffin Nail and firewood knife, plus some ghosts attached behind him.

This weapon's weight in Ghost Lake is even heavier than Yang Jian himself.

Holding such a weapon, Yang Jian sinking faster than others is normal.

"Damn."

Li Jun growls low now; his Ghost Power is the least, so his sinking speed among the three is the slowest.

After all, Li Jun currently carries no Ghost Painting or Ghostly Servant Ghost Power.

Although half his body is submerged, he hasn't fully sunk yet.

"Ah Hong, run quickly! I'll send you out!"

Li Jun looks at Liu San and Yang Jian beneath the Lake Surface, then shifts his Gaze to Ah Hong.

They are all Abnormal; sinking will trap them but not kill them.】

Even if Li Jun's makeup might fade from prolonged sinking, as long as Ah Hong retouches, he can revive.

But Ah Hong is different; once she sinks, as a Ghost Tamer, even if her Fierce Ghost has dead, she will also die at the lake bottom.

"I"

Ah Hong's face shows bitterness; she looks at Li Jun with helplessness in his eyes.

"Are you sure I can survive?"

Having said that, her gaze flickers toward the Ghost Lake shore.

At this moment the invisible Ghost Domain that drains all color spreads this way.

Even if Li Jun can send her out, what then? On the Lake Surface only the Black Paper Boat remains unsunken.

She herself lacks the ability to counter the Red and White Double Evil.

Hearing that, Li Jun's expression stiffens.

"Although I'm not the captain, let me give it a try; I can't keep hiding behind you forever, can I?"

"In fact, since Professor Wang had me use Ghost Makeup to paint your face onto this Human Skin…"

"I've been wondering, if I keep using ghost makeup to paint my own face, what will I end up looking like in the end?"

Ah Hong stared at Li Jun, unusually calm in the face of life‑and‑death, only watching the white demon approaching from afar.

Li Jun heard that and froze for a moment.

Ah Hong keeps painting her own likeness on her face? What would that be like? By Li Jun's own understanding of ghost makeup, it would probably still be Ah Hong herself, right? "That might be a way to turn you into an Abnormal," Li Jun said in a slightly low tone.

"But what meaning does that have? You don't have enough time to apply makeup now."

"Li Jun, don't be so downcast."

Ah Hong seemed to have finished her makeup; when Li Jun showed despair, feeling down about Ah Hong possibly dying, she instead broke into a smile.

At that moment Li Jun looked up toward Ah Hong, and during the brief exchange his body sank another level, fully submerging beneath the Lake Water.

But at the instant he completely sank, he seemed to see Ah Hong's face.

"That doesn't look like Ah Hong's face!"

As that thought flashed in his mind, Li Jun's face, soaked by the Lake Water, began to blur, and he lost consciousness entirely.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, Li Jun saw an old man's face.

The face seemed familiar, but Li Jun no longer had time to retrieve any memory of that old man.

Just as Yang Jian, Li Jun and the others fully sank into the lake.

Somewhere on the Lake Surface not far away, a small boat suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The boat was identical to the black one Yang Jian and the others had taken earlier.

For some reason, that black boat had entered these waters.

Aboard the boat, leading the group, was a one‑eyed, slightly hunch‑backed elder; calling him an elder is not quite accurate—he was in his early fifties, not yet sixty, merely showing some age.

Beside him stood a man of similar age who looked rather ordinary, and also a woman.

And a tall man whose facial features were completely absent.

At the stern of the boat was a middle‑aged man with a big belly.

If Yang Jian and the others saw these people, they'd surely feel familiarity, for they were exactly the ones they had met earlier on a Ghost Street in Zhongzhou City.

These four seemed able to steer the boat, at least to change its course and smoothly avoid the corpses drifting on the Lake Surface as they moved forward.

"These people really have no sense of the heavens and the earth, daring to provoke Ghost Lake and causing a great disaster," a woman on the boat muttered angrily.

"Now we have to step in to fix this; if we let it be, the place we live will be swallowed by this Lake Water."

The middle‑aged man, Liu Laoban, ignored the woman's scolding and looked at the one‑eyed elder. "Our top priority is to find a way to deal with this, to restore Ghost Lake to calm."

"There's still someone there who can take care of these troublemakers," the middle‑aged woman said, now noticing Ah Hong, who had not yet sunk beneath the Lake Surface.

"Taiping Town has its rules; we've always upheld the previous generation's rules. The rules can be broken, but not by our generation."

Hearing that, Liu Laoban immediately retorted.

"We promised before; we wouldn't really go after the younger ones now, would we? If this got out, it would cause a huge incident."

The one‑eyed elder gave no reply, silently gazing at the Lake Surface.

His gaze lingered on Ah Hong for a moment, seemingly surprised that she hadn't fallen into the Lake Water, but he quickly shifted elsewhere.

Soon the one‑eyed elder noticed two figures on the shore, and his single eye showed a hint of heaviness.

The white Ghost emanating a terrifying aura was gesturing toward this side—no, toward Ghost Lake—it seemed to be influencing Ghost Lake.

"Act quickly," the middle‑aged woman urged, having heard no voice from the elder.

Liu Laoban shook his head slightly at the words: "Acting might be the start of our doom."

"After all, we've already boarded."

"Everyone's dead, what are you even worried about?" the woman sneered.

But her words had just finished.

The figure standing on the Lake Surface moved; she seemed to glance at the nearby boat, but only briefly, not really paying attention.

The next moment.

"Splash—"

On the Lake Surface not far away, a cracking sound rang out.

Ghost Lake was torn apart out of thin air, an unseen Ghost Domain invading Ghost Lake's Ghost Domain.

Before this terrifying Ghost Domain, even Ghost Lake was being invaded, as if the Lake Water were ripped open from nowhere.

It was as if, at some unknown moment in the middle of Ghost Lake, a fissure had been drawn, and a bottomless abyss appeared beneath Ghost Lake.

The sudden fissure caused the water in Ghost Lake to flow backward toward the opening.

"What... is happening!"

The middle‑aged woman widened her eyes, her face showing terror as she stared at the torn fissure on the Lake Surface.

Ghost Lake, just like that, torn open? As the last few guarding Taiping Ancient Town, they knew the horror of Ghost Lake better than anyone.

It was incomprehensible—Ghost Lake could actually be ripped open; what a terrifying existence!

"Which woman on the Lake Surface? Or that Ghost?"

Liu Laoban looked at the woman who hadn't sunk, then glanced at the ghosts on the shore.

From their aura, the two ghosts on the shore felt more terrifying and oppressive, making them more likely the cause of the tear.

But judging by the scene, the woman standing in the middle of the Lake Water was even more bizarre, since Ghost Lake's hallmark is sinking.

They could tell that the woman was definitely not the Source Ghost of Ghost Lake, for they knew the Source Ghost's appearance.

Yet the woman emitted no particularly terrifying aura, so how could she achieve this? As Ghost Lake was torn, the bodies of Liu San and Li Jun, which had sunk, were quickly hauled up.

Liu San was drenched, his paper‑thin skin looking dark and soggy, but as an Abnormal, he did not die from it.

Li Jun's condition was worse; his makeup had smeared, and his consciousness sank into silence.

Fortunately, after Li Jun was pulled up, it seemed as if an invisible hand was re‑applying his makeup, quickly restoring his face.

Then, in the next instant, another figure emerged on the lake water.

It was not Yang Jian, but a pitch‑black corpse that looked as dead as a person.

The corpse was drenched all over, its clothes ragged like water‑weeds hanging from it, as if it had been soaking in the lake for a long time.

"Cao Yang?"

Liu San looked at the third corpse that had been pulled up, expecting it to be Yang Jian, but it turned out to be Cao Yang.

"What's going on?"

Li Jun and Cao Yang opened their eyes; although Cao Yang had sunk into the lake and lost mobility, his consciousness remained, allowing him to perceive everything that happened.

But Li Jun's consciousness died the instant he sank, and when he revived, his mind stayed at the moment just before he sank.

Now, with his eyes reopened, he looked around with a puzzled expression and quickly spotted the figure that caught his attention.

"Qin Lao? No, A Hong?"

Hearing Li Jun's voice, A Hong turned around, and the Ghost Domain that had invaded the lake water vanished, the Ghost Lake's water swiftly filling the gap.

However, A Hong's face was no longer its original appearance, but that of an elderly man.

"I painted you in Qin Lao's likeness and pulled you up; as for Yang Jian, he'll come up on his own later."

While speaking, A Hong focused attention on the Red and White Double Evil by the shore.

"I can't stay like this for long; let me get you ashore first."

Before Li Jun and the others could react, an irresistible spiritual anomaly whisked them away.

Li Jun appeared at a port on the lake shore, his hand having, at some point, turned into a charred Ghost Hand.

"Is this the hand I threw into the lake earlier?" Li Jun was stunned.

The hand was the next Puzzle that Wang Xiaoming had prepared for Li Jun, waiting for Li Jun's next death so that, during his next makeup, it could be attached.

Unexpectedly, after A Hong disguised herself as Qin Lao and pulled him up, she retrieved the hand that had been sunk to the lake bottom and installed it on Li Jun.

"What's going on with A Hong?"

Because the spot where he had sunk was too deep, Cao Yang couldn't even see the Lake Surface, so he asked.

"We came to deal with the Ghost Lake, where Shen Lin disappeared last, and the rest of us all sank," Liu San gave a brief account.

"A Hong seems to have painted her own face as Qin Lao's at the moment we all sank."

Qin Lao was the one at Headquarters who, with a single sentence, Sealed countless Ghost Tamers, Sealed countless captains, and intervened to resolve the Red and White Double Evil Event.

Hearing the name, Cao Yang couldn't help recalling that elder's terror.

"But A Hong's makeup should require some knowledge of spiritual anomalies to use, right?" Cao Yang felt a pang of doubt.

A Hong's makeup doesn't grant the user the other's spiritual anomaly merely by copying their appearance; you must first know how to wield it.

If you don't know how to use it, even possessing that spiritual anomaly won't make it work.

At that moment on the lake shore, Zhang Hao saw A Hong's painted elderly face and hesitated slightly before moving forward.

"That's Qin Lao's face?"

Instinctively, Zhang Hao's subconscious urged him to take the Ghost Bride away.

But he quickly regained his composure.

It wasn't really Qin Lao at all, just a painted face.

Even if the ghost makeup could replicate six‑tenths of Qin Lao's spiritual power, how much could A Hong actually wield? And for how many seconds could it last?

Everything seemed to have unfolded over a long time.

In reality, however, less than five seconds had passed.

"It's time to get the ghost makeup."

Seeing the thick foundation on A Hong's rotting, aged face, Zhang Hao couldn't help feeling a surge of agitation.

If A Hong can assume Qin Lao's form, and the Ghost Bride obtains the ghost makeup, they would truly be ghosts—how powerful could the makeup's effect be?

Clearly, A Hong also noticed Zhang Hao's gaze.

Before Zhang Hao could even rush to attack, A Hong had already launched a proactive strike.

A faintly ethereal White Bone Cane materialized in A Hong's hand, and she tapped it toward Zhang Hao's head.

"Bang!"

The terrifying spiritual anomaly, with a single blow, caused Zhang Hao to Restart outright.

"Trying to imprison me right now?" Zhang Hao stared at A Hong's rotting, aged face, staying rooted.

He also wanted the ghost makeup, but wasn't reckless enough to act impulsively.

Now all he needed to do was to hold off A Hong until her face rotted away.

(End of chapter)