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Chapter 141: Chapter 59: All the Demons Gather

The visions from the Future Altar were the same as ever—obscure and difficult to decipher. They didn’t reveal the circumstances that would force him to become a ghost, nor what he would be fighting.

There was no time to think about it. Gao Tian was already back on the ground floor.

Strangely, the Rainy Women outside the glass door had vanished at some point. The area outside the Living Human Apartment was empty. Only the torrential rain remained.

Jiang Yang and the others were all organizing their Supernatural Artifacts, looking like they were preparing to set out.

"Gao Tian."

Seeing Gao Tian come down from upstairs, Xia Ta turned to him and said,

"Your friend from Longshu Temple, Old Man Sun, just called.

"He hopes that our apartment will do its part in this time of crisis, head to the hardest-hit areas of Shanghai, deal with as many supernatural incidents as possible, and rescue more people.

"We’ve already accepted his request. We hope that the Living Human Apartment can also contribute as much as possible tonight."

Jiang Yang extended an invitation:

"Coming with us?

"If the whole of Shanghai is destroyed, it’ll be hard for our lone apartment to survive.

"It seems the Spirit Disaster Bureau is severely short-staffed. Otherwise, Old Man Sun wouldn’t be asking for help from us unofficial Ghost Hunters."

’It’s not actually that they’re short-staffed.’

’It’s just that not enough people have died yet, so Old Man Sun doesn’t think he has enough chips on the table.’

Gao Tian said silently to himself.

Of course, he didn’t say any of this out loud.

He was now standing at a fork in the road of destiny once again.

On Jiefang Road, Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave were waiting for him in that old building. They needed his ability as the Memory Ghost to brainwash a captured Ghost Hunter.

Meanwhile, the residents of the Living Human Apartment were preparing to go out and fill the void left by the official Ghost Hunters. If Gao Tian chose to join them, it would mean walking a path of direct confrontation with Xu Yuan.

All those faces were looking at him, waiting for his answer.

Gao Tian:

"I have something to do.

"I might not be able to go with you."

To make it more believable, he casually made up a lie:

"A high school classmate of mine is trapped in her own home by a supernatural incident. Her family of four is in grave danger.

"She called me for help. I need to prioritize going to help her first."

Gao Tian had already made his choice.

He decided to go to the Liberation Mansion first and see what Ghost Cave and the others were up to.

Of course, this didn’t mean Gao Tian was defecting to the Jialan Society. He had just suddenly become interested in the organization and wanted to learn more about their future plans, and the "new world" Xu Yuan had mentioned.

It was a very reasonable excuse. In a crisis like this, no one would be suspicious.

Xia Ta, on the contrary, urged him:

"Your situation is urgent. You should hurry over. Don’t waste time here."

Zhao Zhenjia eagerly volunteered:

"Can you handle a supernatural incident on your own?

"Want me to rush over and lend you a hand?"

As he spoke, he oh-so-casually revealed his massive biceps and the Blood Shroud he wore under his tracksuit.

It seemed Zhao Zhenjia was quite pleased with this Supernatural Artifact.

Gao Tian:

"It’s nothing major. I should be fine on my own.

"By the way, how come all those Rainy Women outside ran off? Did someone use a Supernatural Artifact?"

Jiang Yang shook his head, looking just as confused:

"I don’t know.

"Those Rainy Women suddenly acted as if they’d received a collective order. They all turned around with their umbrellas and sprinted away in the opposite direction.

"To be honest, I was completely stunned when I saw it."

Gao Tian guessed that the Jialan Society had most likely issued them some new command.

’To gather and take down some particularly troublesome Ghost Hunter.’

’Can the Jialan Society command the Rainy Women?’

’Whatever, no point in dwelling on these random questions.’

Before leaving, Gao Tian summoned the Wind Attendant Buddha, pushed open the door of the Living Human Apartment, and went out to scout the area.

After confirming that the Rainy Women outside had truly left and weren’t hiding out of sight, the group left the apartment—their only safe haven—one by one.

As soon as they were out of the alley, Gao Tian and the group with Xia Ta went their separate ways, heading in opposite directions without a backward glance.

...

...

「Half an hour later.」

Braving the heavy rain, Gao Tian arrived in front of a dilapidated, old, and somewhat eerie building.

The building stood alone on the edge of the city like a giant, forgotten coffin. Its concrete exterior was mottled and peeling, exposing rusted rebar. The climbing ivy was dead, with only a few ghostly strands clinging to the window frames like faded shrouds.

However, the most shocking thing was not its decay, but what covered it—a thick, slick, blood-red fungal carpet.

’This must be the place. I didn’t get lost.’

Gao Tian had no idea what this writhing, seemingly living, disgusting membrane covering the building’s surface was. It was probably the Jialan Society again, experimenting with some new supernatural item here, preparing to deal a heavy blow to all of Shanghai.

The pitch-black entrance was like a man-eating maw, waiting for passersby to enter.

Gao Tian had his hands in his pockets. Beside him, the Wind Attendant Buddha held an umbrella for him like a sword-bearing bodyguard. As a result, although he had traveled through the rain, he himself wasn’t too wet.

A tiger’s presence lingers even in death. He was about to go in and meet Ghost Cave and the others. Though his heart was pounding, he had to maintain an outward appearance of calm indifference, the air of a powerful figure. He absolutely could not let Ghost Cave see that he was actually a little nervous.

As soon as he stepped into the dark corridor, the Wind Attendant Buddha behind him folded the umbrella. It then switched on a flashlight and aimed it toward the pitch-black second floor.

From the distance, the sound of clapping slowly began.

First one pair of hands, then two, then three. Many, many hands began clapping rhythmically from all the dark corners of the building, as if to welcome Gao Tian’s arrival.

From down the corridor, two stiff, ugly figures slowly emerged. It was the Ghost Infant, and Ghost Cave, who was dragging a human head.

From the second floor, a head with jumbled features poked out. Its eyes, nose, and mouth were all in the wrong places. It was the dead head he had encountered once at the Divine Tree.

Following that, more and more demons and monsters slowly materialized from the depths of the building.

From around the corner came a dragging sound: TAK, TAK. A long-legged ghost was slowly crawling up. Its torso was shriveled like a child’s, but four disproportionately long, slender legs sprouted from its waist, their joints bent backward like a spider’s.

Next was a multi-eyed ghost. Its body looked like it had been forcibly stitched together, with three or four heads sprouting from its shoulders. Each head consisted of only a single giant eyeball, with no nose or mouth, just a bloodshot sclera. The eyeballs dripped with mucus.

A faceless man. Its face had been scraped clean, leaving only a blurry, flesh-colored plane with no features, just cracks of varying depths. It moved forward stiffly, but its neck twisted unnaturally, as if pulled by invisible strings.

In the middle of the corridor, a pair of conjoined ghosts were "standing" back-to-back. They shared a single chest cavity but each had its own head, one on the left and one on the right, with a mess of tangled organs between them. They moved in unison, lifting their footless upper bodies and slowly approaching Gao Tian.

On the floor, a lump of flesh was wriggling. It had no fixed shape. Countless arms and legs extended and retracted from the mass, like a pot of overcooked meat. Pale white tongues darted out from the crevices in the flesh, licking the filth on the ground and leaving behind slick, glistening trails.

...

...

Gao Tian gave a quick glance around.

Just within his line of sight, at least seven or eight vicious ghosts had appeared.

And in the deeper parts of the building, beyond the flashlight’s beam, new, deformed silhouettes were constantly emerging. From high above, pairs of unfriendly eyes watched him coldly, their hands still clapping in a welcoming applause.

The entrance he had just come through. The main door of the entire building was sealed shut by a thick substance. It looked like a single, dark-red carpet of flesh that had surged up from the ground—layers of slick, writhing meat. It spilled over the edges of the doorframe, sealing off the outside world.

His escape route had also been blocked by a vicious ghost.

"Holy crab."

Gao Tian muttered the name of a seafood dish, so quietly only he could hear.

How many members had the Jialan Society dispatched in Shanghai tonight? This remote Liberation Mansion alone had at least twenty-odd vicious ghosts.

Xu Yuan hadn’t even shown up himself yet. He probably had even more vicious ghosts and espers around him.

’Since I’m here, I’ll see it through.’ Seeing himself surrounded by a horde of demons in what was clearly a treacherous banquet, Gao Tian kept his hands in his pockets, his expression unchanging.

’Show any fear, and you’re as good as dead. The more of a front I put up, making them unable to gauge my true strength, the better my chances of getting out of here alive.’

"Welcome, welcome, Mr. Memory Ghost. Thank you so much for taking the time to come here tonight. Your ability is crucial to our upcoming plans."

Ghost Cave’s tone was extremely polite, as if the great battle at Jin Hai Mansion had never happened.

Xu Yuan had already given his guarantee. Ghost Cave would no longer suspect that he was a living person. Besides, the Memory Ghost’s ability was essential to tonight’s battle for Shanghai.

No matter what Ghost Cave was truly thinking, on the surface, he was polite and respectful to Gao Tian, almost reverently so.

"This female Ghost Hunter is named Ai Ning. Her head is right here. We are just waiting for you to use your ability and alter her memories.

"As for what specific memories to implant in her mind, I will explain the details to you in a moment.

"Also, these upstairs are all my friends. They were originally building an altar in this building under Lord Xu Yuan’s orders. When they heard that the famous Memory Ghost was arriving, I couldn’t stop them. They all came out on their own, wanting to witness your miraculous killing rules with their own eyes.

"These ghosts are all your fans. You don’t mind, do you?"

Ghost Cave spoke politely, and not a single word was out of place. Yet every word was laced with poison, his intentions utterly malicious.

Gao Tian said calmly:

"I don’t care.

"Toss the girl’s head over."

There was a corridor between them. Ghost Cave’s hole-riddled arm twitched, and Ai Ning’s still-living head went flying toward Gao Tian, spinning like a basketball.

Gao Tian remained where he was, hands in his pockets. The Wind Attendant Buddha beside him took a step forward, opened its arms, and caught Ai Ning’s head securely.