Chapter 124: Clothing Store, Dead Man's Road

When the Ghost Bride was eating noodles, the ghost quickly brought another bowl of noodles up.

This time, when Zhang Hao smelled the aroma in the bowl, he directly picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Although the noodles smelled fragrant, they tasted bad, like chewing wax, yet unexpectedly they made one feel buzzed.

With the noodles going down, Zhang Hao seemed to feel that the Ghost Power in his body had increased.

Not long after, Zhang Hao finished all the noodles, and only then began to actively examine his own changes.

The noodles seem to have the ability to stimulate Fierce Ghost revival; after eating them, Zhang Hao could feel that his own Fierce Ghost was growing at a terrifying speed.

Fierce Ghost revival, whether it is a Ghost Tamer or the Fierce Ghost itself, involves a process.

The Fierce Ghost's Ghost Power must be stimulated step by step; revival alone cannot reach the peak.

Fierce Ghost's Killing: the more it kills, the higher its Terror Level.

In fact, because during the continual killing process the Fierce Ghost's stimulation of its own Ghost Power makes the revival more severe, thereby raising the Terror Level.

However, these noodles seem able to let you skip that process and directly boost the revival level.

"No, logically, shops like this are usually opened by Ghost Tamers."

"Only because for some reason the Ghost Tamer died, the Fierce Ghost in his body instinctively inherited the shop."

"If the shop were opened by a Ghost Tamer, then the true purpose of these noodles could not be to stimulate Fierce Ghost revival."

Zhang Hao looked at the sign in the noodle shop that read 'Small bowl noodles Three Yuan, large bowl noodles Four Yuan.'

The handwriting was neither mechanically printed nor crooked, but a very neat regular script that a Fierce Ghost could not produce.

This undoubtedly further proves that the noodle shop was once opened by a Ghost Tamer.

"What meaning would noodles that can stimulate Fierce Ghost revival have for a Ghost Tamer?"

Zhang Hao pondered, and quickly came to a realization.

"Right, when a Fierce Ghost revives to the extreme and can no longer endure, it will fall into a Dead Machine!"

Zhang Hao felt that he had discovered the true function of this noodle shop.

As long as you can withstand the erosion brought by Fierce Ghost revival, and eat enough noodles, perhaps you can cause a Dead Machine through the act of eating.

"To me, it has little effect."

Understanding the shop's purpose, Zhang Hao no longer desired to stay in the shop.

This bowl of noodles, once down, stimulated part of his Ghost Power, raising his Terror Level to some extent, but the increase was limited.

Because Zhang Hao is not a freshly revived Fierce Ghost.

If it were a Fierce Ghost that had just awakened from a Dead Machine, eating such a bowl of noodles would greatly boost its Terror Level.

Leaving the noodle shop, Zhang Hao continued deeper into Strange County Town.

As he passed shop after shop, another store soon caught Zhang Hao's attention.

It was a clothing store, displaying all sorts of bizarre clothes.

Not only Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride noticed the store, but the ghosts inside also seemed to notice them.

The originally half‑open shop door eerily opened, exposing the inside.

The shop's clothes were many: old suits, gray‑white long coats, and green robes, each piece not simple.

It can be confirmed that these are all Supernatural Artifacts, each garment being a ghost.

Looking at the clothes inside, Zhang Hao slowly approached.

He has a ghost on his body that can control clothes, and that ghost also helped Zhang Hao merge the Fierce Ghosts within his body into a single whole, so upon seeing this clothing store Zhang Hao couldn't help being curious.

As Zhang Hao approached the shop entrance, a stiff voice suddenly echoed throughout the clothing store:

"Buy one, only seventeen bucks."

The voice was sharp, gender‑indistinguishable, sounding just like that of an ancient eunuch.

"Buy one, it's cheap."

While Zhang Hao searched for the source of the voice, the stiff voice sounded again.

"You have no clothes here that interest me."

Zhang Hao stared at the rack for a long time; although these clothes were all ghosts and each exuded an unusual aura, none were the kind he absolutely must have.

Of course, even if there were, Zhang Hao might not necessarily choose to buy them.

After all, he only had fourteen bucks in his hand.

"This piece of clothing will interest you, but it costs twenty‑four bucks."

Hearing Zhang Hao say the shop had no clothes that interested him, the stiff voice sounded again.

When the voice rang, a wall inside the shop, as if a mechanism existed, a one‑meter‑high wall suddenly sank, and a clothed wooden puppet emerged from within.

It was a puppet dressed in a red paper Wedding Dress.

The style of the Wedding Dress resembled the Ghost Bride's own, but at a glance one could tell it was paper‑made.

"Paper Wedding Dress?" Zhang Hao stared at the puppet's attire, falling into thought.

This garment probably has nothing to do with the Ghost Bride; after all, the bride already has a Wedding Dress, no need to wear a paper one.

However, seeing this paper Wedding Dress reminded Zhang Hao of the Paper Flower Sedan he had taken from Chen Qiaoyang.

At that time, Zhang Hao seized the Paper Flower Sedan because the Ghost Bride lacked a Flower Sedan, but later, after Zhang Hao obtained the Groom's Robe, the Groom's Ghost Power summoned a Flower Sedan, making the Paper Flower Sedan unnecessary.

The existence of the Groom's Robe also proves that the Paper Flower Sedan is not the bride's puzzle, merely a temporary puzzle that can replace the Flower Sedan.

"Perhaps this paper Wedding Dress is the puzzle of the same series as that Paper Flower Sedan."

Zhang Hao thought to himself, the Paper Flower Sedan is accompanied by a Paper Person carrying a coffin.

When the Groom's Robe summons a Flower Sedan, it does not need to use a Paper Person to carry the coffin; it can forcibly control a living person to do so.

Combined with the Ghost Bride's presence, it can forcibly summon a Fierce Ghost to carry the coffin.

However, since he saw this thing, Zhang Hao could not just let it go.

He entered the shop, and Zhang Hao reached out to take the paper Wedding Dress off the mannequin.

"I don't have enough money, but I want this dress; consider it payment for you stopping me, though you didn't die as a reward."

Zhang Hao snatched the paper Wedding Dress from the mannequin, not caring at all whether the ghost in the shop would react.

When the dress was pulled off by Zhang Hao, there was no movement; due to Mindless Suppression, the dress was immediately suppressed the moment Zhang Hao grasped it.

Having taken the dress, Zhang Hao planned to return to the Ghost Bride and leave with her.

However, the next moment.

A sharp scream rang out instantly inside the clothing shop.

The sound was like a dying person screaming and also like a corpse howling; it was indescribable, yet one could feel the danger and terror it carried.

As the sharp scream echoed, the shop's walls began to peel away, revealing the outline of a corpse the same color as the walls.

The corpse thumped down from the wall, then emitted a crack crack sound as its bones twisted.

It lasted only a moment.

A Fierce Ghost, its body coated in cement and sealed for a long time, awakened.

The ghost's appearance caused the neon signs outside to go out instantly.

The tightly shut shop door now further blocked Zhang Hao's exit.

And at this moment.

The ghost twisted its stiff body, moving toward Zhang Hao in a rather uncoordinated posture.

"I took your thing; I didn't intend to deal with you, but you came yourself, so there's nothing I can do."

Zhang Hao watched the ghost approach voluntarily and raised his hand to press down on the ghost's head.

As Zhang Hao's pale, colorless hands seized the ghost, a terrifying, incomprehensible supernatural force immediately took effect on the ghost.

In just a moment, the cement‑coated ghost that had just burst from the wall was suppressed and controlled by Zhang Hao.

After Zhang Hao restrained the ghost, the clothes in the shop also began to change.

The ghost that just appeared wasn't the shop's owner, just a Fierce Ghost controlled by the shop.

At this moment, the oddly styled garments began to bulge gradually. From the empty sleeves, cold arms emerged, as if a person were suddenly rising from within the clothes, trying to put the garment back on.

"Want to keep me?"

"If so, pack these clothes and take them away; I happen to have a wardrobe at home."

Zhang Hao looked at the now eerie clothes; his Mindless Suppression ability activated, and cold Lake Water began to appear on the Ground.

At the same time, under Zhang Hao's gaze, a black‑and‑white Ghost Domain invaded the shop; both the clothes and the walls grew aged, their colors fading.

Zhang Hao came to Baishui Town, not just on a whim.

Before entering Baishui Town, he had tamed many Fierce Ghosts; in the Ghost Painting World and Ghost Lake, any Fierce Ghost possibly linked to a White Affair was essentially under his control.

With Mindless Suppression's supernatural formation, Zhang Hao let the Ghost Bride shove all the clothes into the spirit hall of the Ghost Painting World in one go.

Back when Zhang Hao completed the Fierce Ghost in the island nation's wardrobe, he encountered a ghost in a closet; after Zhang Hao completed the Ghostly Servant, he also tamed it and placed it in the spirit hall.

Now it serves perfectly for storing clothes.

"Creak!"

Zhang Hao took all the clothes away, but this time the shop's door, which had closed when Zhang Hao seized the clothes, slowly opened.

Clearly, the shop possessed intelligence; it knew it couldn't keep Zhang Hao and even realized that if it continued, it might be eliminated by him.

Therefore, it dared not continue to hold Zhang Hao.

"The first time forcibly taking something, the feeling is really good."

Zhang Hao walked out of the clothing shop, quite satisfied with his performance.

Previously, when he encountered such supernatural buildings, he was always cautious; this time he finally felt like a big shot.

It's a pity, though; this shop's strength is far weaker than the Ghost Newspaper Agency.

Returning to the street outside, without noticing, the number of people kept increasing.

In a daze, Zhang Hao seemed to see a familiar figure on a street.

"Is that... me?"

Zhang Hao stared at the person, doubt in his eyes.

"No, that's not me, but that Zhang Hao."

Staring at that silhouette for a long time, Zhang Hao quickly regained his senses.

That person wasn't himself; it must be a lingering spirit derived from the supernatural, similar to those painted ghosts.

Moreover, this person wasn't his own spirit, but the lingering spirit of the dead Zhang Hao.

"Follow it and eliminate it."

Zhang Hao rushed forward; such a supernatural that can create lingering spirits and resurrect people is generally unique, usable only once per individual.

Zhang Hao pursued the lingering spirit's silhouette, but as he approached with the Ghost Bride, the spirit strangely vanished into the street, and what finally appeared before Zhang Hao was only a corpse long dead and affected by the supernatural.

"It seems a lingering spirit can't come looking for itself."

"The reason I can see that Zhang Hao's lingering spirit is simply that I clearly realize that person is already dead."

Zhang Hao halted; aside from his own lingering spirit, he had not seen any other human‑shaped lingering spirits in Baishui Town.

"It seems that for such a lingering spirit to be seen, one must hold enough regard for it in one's heart."

And the only person Zhang Hao cared about was that unlucky soul killed by the Ghost Bride.

In other words, ordinary Fierce Ghosts cannot see lingering spirits here.

At the same time, after Zhang Hao noticed the earlier self‑shaped lingering spirit disappear, he realized he had somehow already left that street.

Now Zhang Hao stood in an Alley; its rear was dim, yet he could vaguely discern that it was the direction he came from.

And ahead on the Road lay a path with no visible end.

"Is that it? I see, it's a road that only Ghost Tamers or Abnormals can discover; ordinary Fierce Ghosts probably have little chance to walk this road."

Zhang Hao has not much apprehension about this Road.

On the contrary, thinking that he might soon step into that derived world, Zhang Hao couldn't help quickening his pace.

In the Reality World, that Zhang Dong is like a bottomless pit; even Yang Jian cannot pull Zhang Dong from the past into the future.

Since that's the case, he'll first go to Baishui Town and test the waters with the derived Zhang Dong in the world of the dead.

As he kept moving forward, for some unknown reason, bright‑colored flowers were sprouting along the roadside ahead.

Getting a little closer, he recognized that they were not real blossoms but paper flowers folded from colored paper—red, yellow, green, blue, and various other hues.

The paper flowers stretched along the green belt beside the Road, initially sparse in number.

But as he went deeper, the paper flowers grew denser, completely replacing all the trees and greenery along the Road.

"Other Shore Flower? According to human terminology, such a concept should exist."

"In the world of the dead, paper‑folded Other Shore Flowers."

Zhang Hao murmured a few words and walked deeper into the Road.

As Zhang Hao progressed, he began to see on this Road some people he had previously killed.

At this moment, it seemed no longer necessary for him to give them attention for them to appear; anyone existing in his memory could manifest on this Road.

Their importance is merely that they allow you to be discovered sooner.

The first figures to appear before Zhang Hao were his own Wraith, followed by Meng Xiaodong, Hong Jie, Shen Lin, and Wei Jing.

Continuing forward, the previously slain Boss Liu and the Faceless One began to appear, then Wang Lin, elder Kamiya, Zhang Xianguang, and even ordinary people.

It was an old lady; Zhang Hao clearly remembered her as the first living person he met after stepping off the bus.

At that time, Zhang Hao was completely controlled by the Ghost Bride; the moment he stepped off, he began killing uncontrollably, exposing his presence.

Their eyes gazed at Zhang Hao with longing—a yearning for resurrection.

However, Zhang Hao only gave them a cold, sweeping glance.

This Road seeks to exploit the living's compassion to drag them under, but Zhang Hao is not among the living; he is a dead man.

Although, as time lengthens, the paranormal grows stronger and more human‑like, expecting it to have compassion is impossible.

Even a Fierce Ghost that resembles a person is ultimately not a person, but a ghost.

Zhang Hao merely scanned the Wraiths coldly; in the black‑and‑white world, Zhang Hao's Derivative Bodies began to appear one by one.

These Derivative Bodies wielded White Bone Clubs, held a White Curtain in one hand, knocked the Wraiths unconscious, bound them, and dragged them toward Zhang Hao's eyes like death‑bringing impermanences.

"It's not a ghost, just a paranormal derivative."

After Zhang Hao's eyes detained the first Wraith, no second path emerged within his gaze, and he realized these Wraiths were not Fierce Ghosts and offered him no aid.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a sonic boom, all the Wraiths seemed struck on the head by some terrifying paranormal force and died completely at that moment.

Uncertain whether it was because he had dealt with those Wraiths, Zhang Hao kept moving forward and soon spotted a wooden building standing alone in the middle of the road.

The wooden building had two stories, its main door tightly shut, as if sealed for ages.

Yet many lamps hung from its eaves, flickering with multicolored lights.

"Finally at the end?"

"It seems we must reduce the number of people on the road to reach the final destination faster."

Zhang Hao regarded the wooden building thoughtfully and approached it.

The building wasn't small; after circling it, Zhang Hao finally located the main door.

Zhang Hao pushed open the door and stepped inside the wooden building.

However, the moment he saw the interior, Zhang Hao froze, because the room was filled with old coffins.

The coffins were faded, covered in dust that obscured their colors, and there were many—at least a dozen—leaving him unsure what lay inside.

"Are these the dead Ghost Tamers, or Fierce Ghosts?"

Zhang Hao entered one of the coffins; even he dared not be careless in this place.

He now seemed to have reached the end of the Spirit Road of the Dead; facing a thing capable of spawning Zhang Dong, any caution inside would be insufficient.

(End of Chapter)