Chapter 72: The Red Garment That Haunts Day and Night

"So you finally can't resist?"

Zhang Hao looked outside; he heard noises coming from the back hall and also heard the words of Liu San, Li Jun and the others, but he had no intention of attacking them.

Even the Ghost Bride had no desire to attack.

Because at this moment the Ghost Servant's Ghost Domain seemed unable to resist the erosion of the Ghost Paint.

On the walls of the surrounding houses, portraits hung everywhere, and even on the ground lay objects resembling picture frames.

Some frames were broken, some shattered; in short, there was no safe place here any longer.

These weren't door gods pasted in a house, but extremely bizarre memorial portraits; although blurry, one could still sense the strange Ghost Power emanating from them.

"Bride, the Ghost Paint is coming."

Zhang Hao rose slowly and walked to the doorway.

At some point, two portraits had already been pasted on the two wooden doors of the spirit hall.

Even stranger, somewhere in the sky paper ash began to fall continuously.

As the paper ash fell, the Road was completely divided by it.

A thick layer of paper ash piled on the road in front of the house and began to spill toward the houses on both sides— the Ghost Paint had begun to invade these houses.

Suddenly, a portrait fell from the sky onto the empty ground in front of the spirit hall.

Zhang Hao looked at the portrait and slowly picked it up.

Dust seemed to cover part of the portrait, obscuring some details; he gently brushed the dust away, hoping to reveal the adjacent content of the memorial portrait.

However, after he cleaned the portrait, he was taken aback.

The background of the portrait was a dim, lightless house.

The ground‑floor doorway of that house stood open, its interior pitch black—exactly like the spirit hall he was in now; the portrait seemed to have been taken at that doorway.

However, his attention wasn't on the identical background house, but on the two bizarre figures standing in the portrait—one Hong Bai Shuang Sha, one white.

The white figure wearing a Face-Covering Cloth was holding the head‑tilted Hong Bai Shuang Sha figure at the spirit hall entrance.

But the strangest part was that, although from outside the spirit hall should appear completely dark, the photo clearly displayed everything inside the spirit hall.

A crimson coffin rested on two wooden stools, beneath which sat a burning Fire Basin containing many copper coins that had not yet fully burned.

In front of the coffin stood a Square Table, on which were several cups of bright red wine and a memorial portrait of a woman.

"Memorial portrait?"

Zhang Hao frowned, then abruptly turned his head backward.

Sure enough, at some point the Ghost Spirit Tablet had been invaded by the Ghost Paint.

The photo on the Spirit Tablet that originally belonged to Zhang Hao had, at some unknown time, become an exquisitely beautiful woman, though her features were somewhat blurred.

The Ghost Paint possessed the ability to invade any portrait; placed before the Ghost Coffin, the Ghost Spirit Tablet became a complete medium for the Ghost Paint's invasion.

Zhang Hao stared at the Spirit Tablet, his mind constantly weighing possibilities.

The Spirit Tablet before him was definitely not the core of the Ghost Paint.

Because the core of the Ghost Paint had been nailed down by a golden Candle Stand, it could not truly enter the painting.

Although he was now inside the Ghost Servant's Ghost Domain, it was also a Ghost Paint Ghost Domain, and the Ghost Paint could not truly appear before him.

"Shall we follow the Spirit Tablet out to find the Ghost Paint?"

Zhang Hao's mind fell into contemplation.

Once he left the Ghost Servant's Ghost Domain, successfully mastering the Ghost Coffin would no longer be easy.

On one side lay the almost fully controlled Ghost Coffin, only lacking control over the Ghost Servant.

On the other side was the yet‑unmastered Ghost Paint, causing Zhang Hao to hesitate.

But soon, Zhang Hao made a decision.

As a Ghost Slave's instinct, he gave up the idea of strengthening himself first and chose to complete the Puzzle for the Bride.

This uncontrollable instinct is also the core and underlying logic of Zhang Hao's consciousness that remained after becoming a Ghost Slave, unextinguished by the Ghost Bride.

Helping the Ghost Bride grow is his core goal.

At the first moment of conflict between the two, the core logic triumphed over his instinct.

Furthermore, once he mastered the Ghost Paint, finding the Ghost Servant within the Ghost Paint's Ghost Domain would not be difficult.

However, the Ghost Bride has not yet mastered the Ghost Paint, so moving within the Ghost Paint's Ghost Domain is cumbersome.

"Bride, come with me."

Zhang Hao took the Bride's hand, withdrew his own controlled Blood Wine, glanced at the Ghost Coffin, quickly seized the Ghost Spirit Tablet, and placed it onto the earlier portrait that depicted both Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride.

It wasn't only the Ghost Bride searching for the Ghost Paint.

After the Ghost Paint successfully invaded the Ghost Servant's Ghost Domain and sensed the Ghost Bride's existence, it also began searching for the Ghost Bride.

However, because the Ghost Paint could not truly enter the painted world, it could only continuously invade the area of the spirit hall where the Ghost Bride resided, spawning various portraits there.

To leave the Ghost Paint's Ghost Domain, when the domain cannot defeat the Ghost Paint, there is only one way.

That is to exit via the derived portraits.

As Zhang Hao and the Bride stepped out of the spirit hall, the painting before them suddenly expanded considerably, and the Ghost Power on it shifted.

Moreover, the content of the painting itself underwent a massive transformation.

The spirit hall doorway where Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride stood suddenly enlarged, eventually covering the entire painting and turning into something like a picture frame.

This occurred because the Ghost Paint sensed the Ghost Bride leaving the spirit hall, instinctively drawing her, causing the portrait Zhang Hao held to undergo a supernatural change.

Zhang Hao just kept staring at the painting, and as he watched, he suddenly realized that the Hong Bai Shuang Sha and white figures standing in the painting vanished, leaving only a pitch‑black spirit hall.

Zhang Hao snapped back to reality, glanced left and right, and realized that the positions of himself and the Ghost Bride had somehow shifted.

Earlier they had clearly been standing in front of the spirit hall doorway, but now they stood on an open clearing.

Strangely, a road emerged beneath his feet, linking to a distant City Avenue, seemingly guiding him into the dead, silent city.

It's just that the road that appears is twisted and irregular, as if drawn with a careless stroke.

Zhang Hao did not think further, and led the Ghost Bride toward the distant city shrouded in gloom, where the Ghost Painting's core lies.

After reaching that place, find another painting to exit, and you should be able to see the Ghost Painting.

Walking forward, he found that the world of the Ghost Painting seemed vast.

But in reality, as you walk, the city that was originally far away quickly appears before you; this is unreasonable, as the sense of distance seems altered.

This appears to be the Ghost Domain's ability, as described in the book.

But Zhang Hao himself does not possess the Ghost Domain, so he does not understand it well.

As they kept moving forward, Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride soon entered a dead, silent city.

Walking the empty, dead street, his steps suddenly halted, and he looked into a shop on the side of the road.

He could feel that something there seemed to be watching him.

That something triggered Zhang Hao's Killing Rule.

In this place, Zhang Hao did not suppress his Killing Rule, as he looked toward that direction.

A whimpering sob soon came from inside.

Zhang Hao walked over and discovered that it was not a Ghost from the Ghost Painting, but a person.

A European woman with golden hair, her face sorrowful, tears mingling in her eyes as she knelt continuously.

"So it's a living person, yet daring to keep watching after sensing my unease—commendable courage."

Zhang Hao had no particular thoughts about the European woman's death, nor any intention to explore the survivor base where she was.

Many people who were drawn into the Ghost Painting world did not die.

The Ghost Painting world has food and water; as long as one is not unlucky enough to be killed by a Fierce Ghost, one can live a lifetime within the Painting World.

Obviously, this woman is the unlucky one.

Living in the Painting World, she should already know that the source of the Ghost Painting is the Hong Bai Shuang Sha woman.

When she saw Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride, she did not flee; instead, she kept watching them curiously.

Continuing forward, Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride soon discovered an old, dilapidated building.

It is a residential building from a Western country; behind its narrow entrance a deep corridor stretches into the house.

Faintly, the dim staircases can be seen winding and looping, connecting the upper and lower floors.

Here seems to be the most central location of the Ghost Painting world.

Ascending the building's narrow, dim, oppressive corridor, a cold, damp aura hit his face.

It's evident the building is aged and never renovated, appearing especially rundown.

Even abroad, despite Zhang Hao's limited knowledge of foreign places, he could guess it's a building from the last century.

"Creak!"

Stepping on the stairs, the wooden steps emitted a sour‑toothed creak, echoing through the floors, unusually eerie. As the Ghost Bride also ascended, a sound came from above again.

Zhang Hao listened to the sound and lifted his head.

The sound did not come from the Staircase beneath his feet, but from above.

In other words, someone upstairs stepped onto it at the same moment they stepped onto the Staircase.

"No, it should be a Ghost."

Zhang Hao did not hesitate; one hand held the Bride, the other rose.

Facing this unknown Fierce Ghost, Ghost Summoning is always the simplest method.

As Zhang Hao kept waving, the 'creak‑creak' sounded again from above, as if something was descending.

The sound quickly reached the Staircase before Zhang Hao, but oddly, he saw no one.

It was an invisible Ghost; Zhang Hao tried to make it leave the Staircase but failed.

This Ghost must have some relation to this wooden Staircase.

"Let's go."

Having confirmed the Fierce Ghost's situation, Zhang Hao paid no further mind and led the Bride up the Staircase.

That Ghost had already been controlled by Ghost Summoning; for a short time, even if they acted without Ghost Summoning and violated the Ghost's Killing Rule, they would not be attacked.

Crossing the Staircase, Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride arrived at the second floor.

The second floor is a Cement Floor, with no danger; Zhang Hao glanced around and continued leading the Ghost Bride upward.

They kept walking up to the fourth floor, encountering a few Ghosts along the way, but none attacked Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride.

Fierce Ghosts also act opportunistically; given differences in Terror Level, as long as they do not violate each other's Killing Rule, they instinctively keep away from ghosts scarier than themselves.

Zhang Hao saw some modern clothing on these Ghosts.

These should all be Ghosts of Ghost Tamers killed here, revived and now wandering the building.

Because of these Ghosts, Zhang Hao became even more certain that this place is the core of the Ghost Painting world.

Zhang Hao led the Bride to a room on the fourth floor and began searching for the Ghost Painting.

But the moment he pushed the door open, he immediately heard something falling to the ground behind the door, as if the opening had struck something inside the room.

Zhang Hao looked down and was stunned.

It was a painting.

The painting contained nothing but a swath of black; at first glance it looked like a sheet of black paper framed, with no images or scenery.

But unlike ordinary black paper, the black in this painting varied in shade, its shadows shifting with the light, sometimes resembling a palm, other times a hidden human face outline.

Yet more often, the two black spots in the painting acted like a pair of black pupils, peering from the darkness.

A very strange painting, but it is not a Ghost Painting.

A Ghost is likely hidden within this painting, or rather a Ghost is lurking in the frame, awaiting a chance to leave.

"Are you trapped inside? Or a ghost related to the painting?"

Zhang Hao stared at the painting for a while, and finally decided to pick it up first and then check the room's condition.

However, the moment he turned his head to see the room clearly, he was stunned.

The walls of the room, even the Ceiling, were covered with all kinds of paintings, varying in size.

The contents of the paintings differed, but one thing was the same: their backgrounds were all dim and oppressive.

"Are all of these... ghosts?"

Zhang Hao could feel that many of the paintings imprisoned Fierce Ghosts.

"So, this painting isn't a ghost related to the painting, but a ghost locked inside the painting?"

Zhang Hao glanced at the painting he had picked up and immediately threw it on the ground.

It's just a ghost imprisoned by a ghost painting's portrait, which is of no help to him.

On the contrary, in this room filled with strange paintings, the Source Ghost's painting frame is likely in this room.

Observing the paintings above, Zhang Hao quickly saw a familiar one.

The staircase in the painting was exactly the same as the wooden staircase he had just stepped on; no, this painting was drawn based on that staircase.

This is the place he had just walked through.

"The ghost painting must be the Painting World pieced together from these paintings in the room, right?"

Zhang Hao looked at the paintings, and besides the staircase painting, he also discovered many places he had walked through.

Soon, a special painting appeared before his eyes.

The painting showed a grayish sky, beneath which a village nestled in the Field appeared faintly.

The village was painted with black dye, blurry, with only a rough outline.

But Zhang Hao felt very familiar with everything about that village; the outlines of many houses stitched together formed, in the distance, a shape resembling a Coffin.

Moreover, at the most conspicuous spot of the painting stood a Signboard, with three characters written in fuzzy script, only roughly readable as "... Village".

That should be the name of a village.

He was very familiar with that village, and even more familiar with the Coffin-shaped ghost realm; it was Huanggang Village where Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride had previously been.

At this moment it was also painted by the ghost painting, becoming part of the Painting World.

Besides the Ghostly Servant, Zhang Hao also saw a painting that caught his attention: its background was an old rural bungalow, and an elderly person stood at the front door.

The elder's figure was vague, clothing tidy; although the features were not clearly outlined, the smile was discernible, as if looking this way.

The original painting, combined with the background and the eerily smiling elder, instantly gave the feeling of facing a portrait of the deceased.

"A ghost related to a White Affair or a portrait of the deceased."

"If I later master the ghost painting, I must go see this place," Zhang Hao said, interested in this ghost.

He thought that reaching the place where the portrait elder stood would surely help him.

Zhang Hao memorized the Ghostly Servant and the elder's portrait, then walked further into the house.

Soon, a painting far larger than the others appeared before his eyes.

The painting was long, hanging from the roof down to the floor.

Its background showed skyscrapers, but the focus was a single building.

A building shrouded in a dim world.

The building had seven floors, and it was exactly the same as this building.

What concerned Zhang Hao most was that a Ghost stood at the doorway at the foot of the building.

This Ghost was familiar, wearing Hong Bai Shuang Sha-colored clothes, its features vague but appearing to be a woman, with pale hands that exuded an indescribable eeriness.

"Ghost painting! Below the building? How could that be?"

Zhang Hao was puzzled; the essence of a ghost painting should not be able to appear in the Painting World.

Each painting here actually corresponds to a location in the ghost painting world.

Once you enter the scene depicted in a painting, you are likely to encounter a Fierce Ghost wandering that area.

However, the scene in the painting is not permanent; its content continuously changes according to real events.

Soon after Zhang Hao left the house, he saw the figure he had been thinking of day and night.

At the first-floor doorway stood a bizarre Hong Bai Shuang Sha-clad woman, stepping on a wooden Staircase, slowly ascending.

The moment Zhang Hao saw the red-clad woman below, the Ghost Bride also emerged.

Through Zhang Hao, she also sensed the red-clad woman outside.

However, Zhang Hao standing at the doorway, watching the woman continuously ascend, soon noticed something odd.

That thing didn't feel that terrifying to Zhang Hao; it wasn't a Source Ghost.

"So it's just a derivative ghost painting?"

"But that's fine; let the Bride first obtain the supernatural of this derivative ghost painting, so later when confronting the ghost painting, it's easier to gain dominance."

Although the Ghost Bride and the ghost painting are both unintelligent, when the two ghosts are completing, they still vie for dominance.

Zhang Hao naturally hoped his own Bride could become the dominant side.

It's not because the Bride being driven by the ghost painting or the ghost painting being driven by the Bride makes any difference to him; both are the same.

It's just that now Zhang Hao is a Ghost Slave of the Ghost Bride, not a Ghost Slave of the ghost painting.

Therefore he would help the Ghost Bride seize dominance.

Let's set a new update rule; because of the daily high word count, the new rule is a bit stricter, since each additional chapter is five thousand words, which takes a long time to finish, otherwise the author might die from overwork.

New update rule: accumulate 500 monthly tickets for one extra chapter, accumulate 100 yuan in tips for one extra chapter.

(End of chapter)