Chapter 24: A New Door Opens
The young man didn't glance at Yang Haoran, thus, he didn't notice the disappointment in Yang Haoran's eyes. As the light turned on, his gaze fell upon Decaying Corpse Granny.
Since the appearance of the young man, Decaying Corpse Granny's eyes had been locked onto him, while Yang Haoran, she didn't even spare a glance.
She didn't recognize this young man, but for some reason, he aroused an inexplicable sense of fear within her.
This fear came out of nowhere but penetrated deep into her soul. Since her death and subsequent haziness, she hadn't felt fear. She even thought she had rid herself of such emotions long ago. Yet, with this young man's appearance, she realized she was wrong, and terribly so. She still could feel fear; she just hadn't encountered anything to fear before his arrival.
"Who... who are you? This is my home. I don't welcome you. Leave, or I'll call the police!"
Decaying Corpse Granny's somewhat stuttering words, under normal circumstances, would have made Yang Haoran burst into laughter. What a mismatched threat! Calling the police? Isn't that a joke? Hasn't she lost all dignity as a ghost?
However, now, he couldn't muster a laugh. Taking advantage of Decaying Corpse Granny's distraction, he quietly picked up Jiang Zhenzhen, preparing to find an opportunity to escape again. Whether this sudden young man was a master or just crazy, Decaying Corpse Granny's attention had been drawn away, giving him time to prepare.
Yang Haoran's inability to laugh didn't mean the young man couldn't. He found Decaying Corpse Granny's words amusing and chuckled, "Call the police? Haha, why don't you try? Look at your current state. Even if I handed you a mobile phone, could you make the call? Besides, even if you could, what then?"
The young man's words instilled both fear and anger in Decaying Corpse Granny, though the former was much stronger than the latter!
With a resentful glare at the young man, Decaying Corpse Granny said nothing more and swiftly rushed towards a wall. Her manner suggested she was attempting to escape!
The young man's presence had instilled too much fear in her. Though she didn't understand the source of this fear, she chose to flee decisively. She knew her own capabilities well. While she could scare ordinary people, she was nothing against a master. In her eyes, the young man was undoubtedly a master.
"Trying to run? Haha, a mere spirit like you wants to escape from me. Are you underestimating me, or overestimating yourself?"
The young man sneered disdainfully. As Decaying Corpse Granny melted into the wall, he showed no urgency. With a gesture, a black mist gushed from his palm. The room's temperature plummeted as the mist emerged, intensifying the already chilling atmosphere of the house, thanks to Decaying Corpse Granny's presence.
Yang Haoran had already picked up Jiang Zhenzhen, intending to take advantage of Decaying Corpse Granny's focus on the young man to escape the haunted house. However, as he stood up with Jiang Zhenzhen in his arms, he witnessed a scene that left him dumbfounded.
First, the terrifying Decaying Corpse Granny retreated without a fight. Then, he witnessed the black mist emanating from the young man's palm.
The former he could somewhat accept, although he couldn't fathom why Decaying Corpse Granny would retreat without a fight. But the latter... completely shattered his understanding.
Could an ordinary person emit black mist from their hands?
Obviously not. Yet, before his eyes, it happened. To Yang Haoran, if what he saw wasn't a hallucination induced by excessive fright, then this skinny young man was truly a master.
As the black mist surged from the young man's palm, it rapidly condensed into a solid form, morphing into a pitch-black chain within the blink of an eye.
The chain, as thick as an arm, plunged into the young man's palm on one end and into the wall on the other.
A terrified scream pierced the air, clear to Yang Haoran. It emanated from Decaying Corpse Granny. His gaze shifted from the young man to the wall where Decaying Corpse Granny had fled. He saw the chain penetrate the wall without damaging it, straight as an arrow, and slightly swaying, resembling a fishing line that had caught a big fish.
The young man smirked. With a wave of his hand, the chain rattled loudly as it vanished from the wall, dragging Decaying Corpse Granny forcibly out.
Wrapped tightly in the chain, Decaying Corpse Granny struggled fiercely, seemingly attempting to break free from its binds. But no matter how she struggled or shrieked, the chain showed no signs of loosening. She remained firmly ensnared.
She had no physical form; previously, Yang Haoran couldn't harm her with a kitchen knife. But now, this chain seemed to be her nemesis. Not only did it bind her, but it also inflicted immense damage, as evident from her continuous screams.
"You had a chance for reincarnation. But unfortunately, you devoured other spirits to enhance yourself. Consequently, you've lost your qualification for reincarnation. Old lady, there's a path for ghosts. Since you've chosen the wrong path, you must pay the price for your choices."
The young man sneered and then produced a bead from seemingly nowhere. This bead was the size of a fist, transparent in appearance, looking quite ordinary with nothing remarkable about it.
"Who are you, and why are you targeting me? I have no grievances with you! This house is mine, so what's wrong with kicking them out? It's true I consumed a spirit, but that old lady downstairs deserved it! She had it coming even if I devoured her!"
Decaying Corpse Granny struggled vigorously while shouting loudly. The terror and ferocity on her face were overwhelming. If it weren't for the eerie chain binding her securely, she might have lunged to attack.
The young man didn't respond to Decaying Corpse Granny. With an indifferent expression, he seemed unwilling to engage. Then, he tossed the bead, which seemed to come to life as it flew and stopped above Decaying Corpse Granny's head.
"Soul Gathering Bead, gather!"
With a low command from the young man, the transparent bead immediately released a powerful suction force. However, this force seemed to affect only Decaying Corpse Granny; nothing else in the room felt its pull.
Feeling an unprecedented danger, Decaying Corpse Granny's body was deformed as it was forcefully sucked into the bead bit by bit.
"Master, please don't! Spare me! I'm old! Don't you respect your elders?" Decaying Corpse Granny struggled desperately, but the young man seemed more irritated than moved by her pleas.
"Spare you? Don't make me laugh! You may be old, but even if I were to respect elders, it would be you showing respect to me, you insolent brat!"
As the young man's words fell, Decaying Corpse Granny was entirely drawn into the bead.
Originally pure, the bead now had a tiny black thread inside due to Decaying Corpse Granny being absorbed into it. This thread wriggled inside the bead, occasionally morphing into a miniaturized version of Decaying Corpse Granny or reverting to a black thread, seemingly attempting to break free and regain its freedom. However, no matter its efforts, it couldn't break or even budge the bead.
She raged and screamed inside the bead, still fierce but now silent, her voice unable to escape.
The young man didn't spare a glance at Decaying Corpse Granny inside the bead. With a wave of his hand, the bead returned to his grasp, then vanished as if by magic, disappearing to an unknown destination.
At that moment, the black chain binding Decaying Corpse Granny shattered with a snap, dissipating into thin black smoke, as if it had never existed.
Yang Haoran, already shocked, hadn't even noticed his pants falling to the ground, leaving him in his underwear. He had intended to urinate on Decaying Corpse Granny after loosening his belt earlier, but the young man's appearance interrupted his plan. Now, standing up, his pants naturally fell off.
He stared dumbfounded at the young man, his mind filled with shock. He had thought the young man was crazy, but it turned out he was truly a master. It proved the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover," indeed!
Meanwhile, the young man glanced at Yang Haoran, smirked coldly, shook his head, and muttered to himself, "With this kind of courage, you don't even qualify to be cannon fodder."
Though his voice was low, Yang Haoran heard it clearly. He wanted to say something, but the young man didn't give him the chance. Turning around, he left the house.
The young man's departure was graceful, hands behind his back as if on an inspection tour. Unfortunately, the middle-aged man who played with the chainsaw received another unfortunate kick to his chubby face as the young man left.
It took Yang Haoran quite a while to snap out of his shock after the young man had left. Though he regained his senses, his astonishment only grew stronger.
Perhaps due to his profession, he had always believed in the existence of ghosts and gods, so he held them in reverence. However, until tonight, he had never truly seen a ghost.
Since there were ghosts and gods, naturally, there were also masters in this world. He believed in this too, but he had never seen one.
Tonight, he had seen it all. He felt like a new door had opened in his world, a door that ordinary people rarely saw or touched.
And he, he really wanted to step inside and take a look.