Chapter 911: Chapter 655: The Third Person of the Rongcheng Patrol Division
"Hey! Aren’t you happy when I talk to you?" Yang Xiao drew out the Ghost Lantern with a backhanded motion, intending to scare the little guy, "Don’t fancy the ceremonial wine but prefer the punitive drink, do we?"
Unexpectedly, after Yang Xiao took out the Ghost Lantern, Little Mirror Ghost seemed to sense something and suddenly opened its eyes, staring straight at the Ghost Lantern.
Initially, Yang Xiao thought the little guy was scared, but he quickly realized that there was no fear in its eyes, only a strange curiosity and... and a bit of greed, like a child seeing a beloved toy.
To verify this, he kept taking out different Magic Artifacts he had on him, which made the little guy’s eyes widen. On the contrary, it showed no interest whatsoever in other items like clothes, toys, or snacks that Yang Xiao brought.
"Indeed, a ghost is naturally covetous of oddities like Resentful Eye that share the same origin." Yang Xiao recalled the previous Mirror Ghost he had personally executed, the old Mirror Ghost who had stolen his Magic Artifact for its own—the Universal Key that could open any door.
Yang Xiao moved the Human Bone Staff left and right, and the little guy’s gaze followed the movement parallel to the staff. If it weren’t tied up, it surely would have reached out to touch it.
Yang Xiao put away all the other Magic Artifacts and hid the remaining Ghost Lantern behind his back. The Little Mirror Ghost, perhaps feeling played, puffed up with anger staring at Yang Xiao and finally closed its eyes again, ignoring him.
Only after Yang Xiao brought out the Ghost Lantern again did the little guy reopen its eyes, unblinkingly fixating on it.
Yang Xiao couldn’t help but laugh, teasingly showing off the Ghost Lantern in front of the little guy, "My boy, let’s make a deal. You call me ’daddy,’ and I’ll let you down, and also lend you the Ghost Lantern to play with for a while. How’s that?"
After saying it several times and getting ignored, Yang Xiao realized that although Little Mirror Ghost was listening to him and watching his mouth move, it seemed not to understand very well.
After several attempts, Yang Xiao somewhat understood; how could he have hoped for a ghost to speak human language and understand human thought? Apart from those ghosts in the Nightmare World who disguise themselves after killing people, he had never seen a ghost in the real world who could speak like humans.
It wasn’t that the little guy didn’t want to talk; it simply couldn’t. But that didn’t stop it from possessing a high battle IQ. After all, very few people or ghosts could outwit Yang Xiao, especially someone who had survived the Nightmare World several times, although a bit overconfident this time.
Yang Xiao was aware of the carrot-and-stick approach. After confirming that the little guy posed no threat, he let it go, untied it with a warm smile. Initially, the little one’s first instinct was to run, but after seeing Yang Xiao offering the Ghost Lantern, it hesitated, its eyes filled with indecision.
"Take it and play with it. We’re family now. I take care of you now, and if someone bullies daddy later, you’ve got to stand up for me!"
He didn’t care whether the little one could understand, but he knew it was important to start early when raising a child, and Yang Xiao inadvertently let his sly side show.
Whether it was Yang Xiao’s kindly and amiable smile that eased Little Mirror Ghost’s concerns, or the allure of the Ghost Lantern was just too great, in the end, Little Mirror Ghost didn’t run away. It hesitated for ten seconds before gradually coming closer, and finally, cautiously stretching out its hand to quickly take the Ghost Lantern from Yang Xiao, then bowed its head and played with it fondly.
Yang Xiao, to his surprise, found that the Ghost Lantern underwent some changes in the hands of Mirror Ghost: the lantern not only stayed alight, but the flame inside seemed to shine even brighter—a significant discovery.
The Ghost Lantern is an artifact with a designated owner; logically, only he should be able to control it, but it seemed this was not the case.
This only strengthened Yang Xiao’s conviction to find powerful Resentful Eyes for Little Mirror Ghost to equip in the future. The more powerful the Resentful Eye, the stronger the backlash on the host—a double-edged sword. However, these side effects meant nothing to Mirror Ghost; as long as it didn’t die instantly, it could recover through this mysterious little house, albeit taking some time.
It could be said that once Little Mirror Ghost was sufficiently trained, Yang Xiao would possess an almost indestructible personal Bodyguard.
Of course, the biggest challenge now was to cultivate affection between them, to gain Mirror Ghost’s favor and trust, otherwise, once it acquired powerful Resentful Eyes, the little one might end up killing its own ’father.’
Imagination is beautiful, but putting it into practice proved difficult. Holding the Ghost Lantern, Little Mirror Ghost kept playing and grew familiar with the Magic Artifact at a visible rate. In just a few minutes, it was no longer satisfied with merely adjusting the light’s brightness and started trying to control the scope and direction of the light, even condensing the green glow into a thin line.
Watching this, Yang Xiao was secretly alarmed. Is this the natural talent of ghosts? To think that in just a couple of minutes, Mirror Ghost’s mastery of the Ghost Lantern was almost on par with his own, and it had been a long time since he had acquired the Ghost Lantern.
Little Mirror Ghost was still unfamiliar with him, so Yang Xiao didn’t dare to let it continue playing, and reached out to take back the Ghost Lantern. But the clearly unsatisfied Little Mirror Ghost immediately hid it behind its back and watched Yang Xiao with a wary gaze.
"That’s my possession, I let you borrow it." Yang Xiao still tried reasoning, but realizing it was futile, he had to retrieve the Human Bone Staff, resolving the issue in a less dignified manner, and took back the Ghost Lantern.
