Mysterious Awakening

What a dreadful situation to find oneself in.

Miles might have sworn up a storm by now in a different circumstance if he were the type to resort to that.

He had done nothing to deserve such a fate. Among all the villagers, why did destiny have to direct its arrow to his door?

Adding insult to injury, he was found in a particularly vulnerable state.

Ever since he obtained the ghostly eye, he had been experiencing paralysis for an hour or two each night. The more he used the spectral tool, the longer these episodes of immobility became.

Miles was willing to endure this side effect, considering that most people slept for about eight hours daily anyway.

But what truly vexed him was a ghost’s discovery of his condition during one of these incapacitated moments.

Despite the darkness that shrouded the night, the distinctive squeak of the door opening was painfully clear.

He could almost see a tall, ominous figure standing in his doorway, disturbingly motionless.

From the vague outline, he could tell that this was not Liu Genrong, the elderly man he had met earlier that day. No, this was an entirely unfamiliar presence. Not a fellow villager, but a shape that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The figure at the door didn’t hesitate once the door swung open. It stepped inside, each footfall echoing ominously through the quiet room.

These heavy steps were not reminiscent of a living being. They were more akin to the unnatural walk of a cold, lifeless body.

At that moment, Miles was frozen, eyes locked onto the ghost that was making its way towards him, beads of sweat trickling down his face.

He longed to stand, but the ghostly eye’s power held him in place.

“Keep it together. Even if this is a real ghost, it might not be here to hurt me. If I haven’t fulfilled the conditions to be killed by a ghost, then this one is probably just passing through.”

With his ability to move restricted, he forced himself to stay calm.

He had faced intimidating apparitions before. Perhaps with a bit of luck, he could make it through this too.

“It’s… it’s stopped.”

Suddenly, the unsettling sound of footsteps ceased beside his bed, merely two meters away.

A chilling, spectral cold began to descend upon him, accompanied by a musty, decayed odor with each breath he took.

This feeling, this scent.

There was no denying it; this was a ghost.

“Why has it stopped? Is it waiting for something, or have I failed to meet the conditions for it to kill me?” Miles was shaking, completely on high alert. Had he not had prior experiences with malevolent spirits, he would have undoubtedly fainted from fear by now.

Miles found himself in a perilous situation, a mere two meters away from an unknown, powerful ghost.

To make matters worse, he was rendered motionless, unable to move a muscle.

Even the weakest ghost could easily claim his life in such a vulnerable state.

In the pitch-dark room, Miles, bound to his bed, and the mysterious specter seemed to be caught in a silent confrontation.

The pervading silence was unnervingly oppressive, and Miles’s strained breathing was the only sound disrupting the hush. Everything else was unnaturally still.

But silence didn’t imply safety.

As long as the ghost lingered and hadn’t left the room, Miles’s life hung in a precarious balance, and his status as a ghost tamer offered no guarantee of protection in this situation.

“What is its purpose in coming here? To kill me? No, if that were the case, I would already be dead. I’m not its main target. Could it be here to watch me?” Miles speculated, his eyes wet with the cold sweat of fear, “That’s possible, but a real ghost wouldn’t waste time observing a human.”

“Unless it’s a servant ghost.”

“A ghost that has servant ghosts must also command a ghost domain. Such an entity is usually classified as a level A terror, the same rank as the knocking ghost.”

“If I’m facing a ghost of that magnitude, then I have to abandon the investigation in Huanggang Village. This is an opponent way out of my league.”

As Miles was lost in thought, the footsteps within the room resumed.

“Thump, thump~!”

Instead of nearing Miles’s bedside, the steps wandered around the foot of the bed and moved towards a wardrobe.

“That’s…” Miles’s eyes instinctively narrowed.

The wardrobe housed nothing significant, just a few necessities he had packed for his trip to Huanggang village.

Although they were expensive, they held no appeal for a ghost.

“Could a ghost tamer from the Cockroach Club be here to loot my stuff?” This thought briefly crossed Miles’s mind.

If that were the case, it wouldn’t be the worst situation.

At least he would be dealing with a ghost tamer and not a genuine ghost.

“Clink~!”

The sound resonated in the room like a stone hitting metal.

“Clink~! Clink~!”

Repeated impacts, each with a rhythmic consistency.

That noise… Miles recognized it. The only item in his bag that could produce such a sound was a specific item – the golden box that contained the headless ghost.

“Darn it, this ghost is trying to tamper with the golden box that holds the headless ghost.” Panic washed over him, sending chills down his spine.

Could the ghost be planning to set the headless ghost free?

“I can’t let it release the headless ghost. If that happens, everything would be over.” Miles fought desperately, trying to regain control of his body.

He had captured the headless ghost, so he knew firsthand how powerful it could be. If released, it would not hesitate to take possession of his body.

If the headless ghost gained control of his ghostly eye, it would command a ghost domain, an unrestricted one at that.

The level of terror would skyrocket, comparable to the terrifying door-knocking ghost.

Not a single person in Huanggang Village would survive, and the few members of the Cockroach Club would end up as feed for the headless ghost.

And if the headless ghost were to fashion a body from vengeful spirits…

Miles couldn’t even begin to imagine the havoc such a ghost could wreak.

“I must find a way to stop it. I must.”

He gritted his teeth, trying to fight against the power of the ghostly eye within him, willing himself to move.

If he could just move, he could grab the golden box and use his ghost domain to escape, creating distance between himself and this specter.

As long as the headless ghost remained trapped, there was hope.

“Clink! Clink!”

Yet, the persistent knocking continued.

To Miles, this sound was more frightening than the knocking ghost. He didn’t know how many more strikes the box could take.

It might be able to withstand dozens of hits before the golden box finally gave way.

Or perhaps just one more.

The moment a tiny crack formed in the box, the headless ghost would break free, bringing his worst fears to life.

Still, he struggled to get up from the bed.

Sadly, reality wasn’t on his side.

No matter how hard Miles fought, he couldn’t regain control of his body.

Human will and spirit seemed remarkably weak against a ghost right now.

Until the ghostly eye decided to let go, it wouldn’t give control back to Miles.

However, there weren’t just three entities in this room.

There was a fourth.

Inside the opened wardrobe, a sheet of parchment made from human skin slowly inched around, almost as if moving of its own accord. Whether this was a mere coincidence or a deliberate act remained to be seen.

In the darkness, the sheet of parchment precisely protected the beaten golden box from additional blows.

Suddenly, the knocking sound stopped, and the room sank into deep silence.

“Why has it stopped?” Miles pondered.

He was unaware of the actual situation. All he knew was that the knocking had ceased.

Had the box already been broken into?

The sudden silence didn’t offer him any relief. On the contrary, it fostered a deeper fear within him.

If the box had indeed been opened, it meant that a headless ghost was now lurking just beside his bed.