Chapter 3: Donning the Ghost Mourning Clothes

Obviously, the Spiritual Bus will not stop because of Zhang Hao's gaze.

Unable to move, Zhang Hao can only watch helplessly as the bus drives away, until it disappears from view.

Staring at the endless Highway, Zhang Hao feels helpless inside.

Relying on the bus to leave, or anything like that, is indeed too unrealistic for him.

Since he can't even move freely, he could never break free from Dried Corpse Bride's control.

Thinking that, Zhang Hao looks at the Crying Tomb Ghost that is moving away.

Although under Dried Corpse Bride's protection, he can be immune to many dangers.

But if you think carefully, you can see that Zhang Hao is not safe now.

Whether considering that a Ghost Slave's body will slowly rot, or that when Dried Corpse Bride appears again Zhang Hao's corpse does not show up.

Both indicate that future Zhang Hao will certainly face some crisis that will cause him to "die" again.

Perhaps after there are no more people to kill, Dried Corpse Bride might simply abandon Zhang Hao.

After all, without needing to kill, there is no need for Ghost Summoning, and as a Medium that cannot exist indefinitely, she has no reason to keep Zhang Hao.

"Whether to avoid bodily rot, being unable to function as a Medium and thus being abandoned by Dried Corpse Bride."

"Or, so that when Dried Corpse Bride later meets Zhang Xianguang and their group of Republic Era second generation, she can have self‑preservation ability."

"I need to figure out a way to solve the current trouble first."

Zhang Hao ponders, looking toward the distant Crying Tomb Ghost.

For him, the only thing that can solve this now is that Crying Tomb Ghost.

If he can snatch the Funeral Clothes from the Crying Tomb Ghost and wear them, perhaps he can borrow their protection so Zhang Hao's corpse won't rot.

As for the side effects of wearing a Ghost Mourning Clothes, Zhang Hao doesn't really mind.

If he can't live a few days anyway, what do the side effects of a Supernatural Artifact matter?

Moreover, in Zhang Hao's speculation, he might not be overly affected by the Ghost Mourning Clothes on the Crying Tomb Ghost.

The current Zhang Hao is already a dead person, merely possessing consciousness because of the transmigration.

In other words, Zhang Hao is now a Ghost Slave; if other Ghosts invade him, Dried Corpse Bride will deal with them.

And being dead avoids the Fierce Ghost revival issue; once dead, there is no crisis harder to bear than death.

It seems she understood Zhang Hao's thoughts; the Dried Corpse Bride, who had been standing still after the bus started, suddenly moved again with Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao, under Dried Corpse Bride's control, raises his hand again, continuously waving toward the distance.

As Zhang Hao gestures, the Crying Tomb Ghost that was moving away from the Highway toward a forest turns back.

Only this time, the returning Crying Tomb Ghost can no longer whimper; lacking its Ghost Crying Face, it has lost the ability to cry.

As the Crying Tomb Ghost approaches, Zhang Hao actually feels his body regaining a lot of sensation.

Dried Corpse Bride no longer forcibly controls Zhang Hao's body.

Without any hesitation, as a Ghost Slave, Zhang Hao now lacks the bewilderment he had at the start of his transmigration.

Perhaps because, as Dried Corpse Bride's Ghost Slave, his consciousness leans toward the ghost side.

The moment the Crying Tomb Ghost draws near, Zhang Hao immediately reaches out and pulls off its Funeral Clothes, putting them on himself.

The moment the cold Funeral Clothes are donned by Zhang Hao, they seem to come alive.

The white cloth wraps tightly around Zhang Hao; up close, it looks as if it is glued to his skin.

The bizarre, chilling aura continuously invades Zhang Hao's body, and he again feels his body losing control.

At this moment, his body is completely controlled by the Ghost Mourning Clothes on him; he cannot control it at all.

Since becoming a Ghost Slave, Zhang Hao seems to have lost the sense of pain, otherwise he would surely let out a painful wail.

Fortunately at this moment, Dried Corpse Bride grabs Zhang Hao. The Supernatural phenomena belonging to Dried Corpse Bride begin to resist the Ghost Mourning Clothes' erosion of his body.

For Dried Corpse Bride, Zhang Hao is her Ghost Slave, and a Ghost Slave with abundant intelligence.

She will not let her Ghost Slave be taken away by another ghost like that.

Although Fierce Ghosts lack intelligence, they act on instinct.

Dried Corpse Bride can instinctively sense that Zhang Hao's existence can help her.

Just as Newspaper Ghosts instinctively alter living people's memories to make them work for them.

To say Newspaper Ghosts have intelligence? Obviously not.

Only when countless people with living consciousness become its Ghost Slaves does it naturally create an extremely bizarre Newspaper Ghost.

Because there are innumerable intelligent "people" working for it.

The same applies now to Dried Corpse Bride; Zhang Hao possesses intelligence and is her Ghost Slave.

In Dried Corpse Bride's limited instinct, it can be said that Zhang Hao is now, for her, the most important thing besides the Killing Rule and the Puzzle.

This is why, when Zhang Hao just thought of seizing the Ghost Mourning Clothes to protect himself from rotting, Dried Corpse Bride acted that way.

Dried Corpse Bride is wearing a Wedding Dress; she does not need a Funeral Clothes.

Although Ghost Mourning Clothes belong to the all‑purpose Fierce Ghost attire, Dried Corpse Bride will not seize them when she doesn't need them.

But if Zhang Hao needs them, that's different.

Boosting her Ghost Slave's Combat Power falls within Dried Corpse Bride's logical actions and is permissible.

However, ordinary Fierce Ghosts usually wouldn't consider this, and unintelligent Ghost Slaves cannot truly control Fierce Ghosts.

In other words, this Abnormal Zhang Hao, though a Ghost Slave, possesses intelligence.

Meanwhile, at the instant the cloth is torn off,

The Crying Tomb Ghost emits an incomparably cold aura.

This aura can even rival Dried Corpse Bride's—oppressive, silent—so that the surroundings seem to fall into darkness because of the Crying Tomb Ghost.

After Zhang Hao feels the Ghost Mourning Clothes on him no longer erode him, he looks at the Crying Tomb Ghost.

Feeling that indescribably terrifying aura, Zhang Hao was startled.

Without the Ghost Crying Face and Ghost Mourning Clothes, this Ghost's Terror Level actually increased.

"Could it be that the Ghost Mourning Clothes and Ghost Crying Face are actually weakening this Ghost's Terror Level, like some kind of seal?"

Zhang Hao thought that the older Republic Era Ghost Tamers liked to control Fierce Ghosts through Balance.

This Crying Tomb Ghost appeared when Yang Jian was on a bus, coming from a certain graveyard.

Moreover, Meng Xiaodong, one of the Seven Elders of the Republic Era, also got off the bus in that graveyard.

Does this mean that the Crying Tomb Ghost is actually the product of a revived Fierce Ghost belonging to an older Ghost Tamer? The Ghost Crying Face and Funeral Clothes are what that older Ghost Tamer used to Balance the faceless Fierce Ghost?

One must admit, this possibility is very high.

Leaving other things aside, just the Ghost Crying Face appearing outside is an A‑level Supernatural Incident.

Having never encountered other Fierce Ghosts, Zhang Hao doesn't know what strength the Ghost Mourning Clothes belong to.

But as a Supernatural Artifact type Ghost, its Terror Level generally wouldn't be low.

The Ghost Crying Face and Ghost Mourning Clothes could just perfectly cover the Ghost inside the body, so keeping Balance in this way is not impossible.

But then, wouldn't that mean that this faceless Ghost is a Ghost that is an extremely complete Puzzle?

After all, a Ghost being able to achieve Balance with two other Ghosts sufficiently shows this Ghost's Terror.

(End of Chapter)