Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1781: Chapter 1021: The Second Ghost

Next, Jiu Shan Sha Yue began to analyze the contents of the paper, first Tong Han mentioned an environment similar to Mitsuo Takeda, that world was raining, the rain was heavy, and a thin layer of fog enveloped the surroundings.

Tong Han saw the ghost, it was indeed a child, clutching a weapon, relentlessly pursuing Shibuki Naoko.

Tong Han tracked Shibuki Naoko and the ghost all the way, and discovered something very strange. This child ghost only chased when Shibuki Naoko stopped or changed direction, then struck her fiercely.

"No, this isn’t a pursuit, it’s an expulsion!" Tong Han reacted immediately at the time. freēwēbnovel.com

The ghost seemed to be driving Shibuki Naoko like cattle and sheep in a specific direction, and what Tong Han saw next completely confirmed her guess. After a stretch, the child ghost turned around and fled, disappearing into the mist without a trace.

Yet in the next moment, a scene that overturned Tong Han’s understanding appeared. Before Shibuki Naoko, battered and bruised, could catch her breath, another female ghost materialized.

The female ghost’s appearance was extremely terrifying, with her eyes gouged out, leaving only two bloody holes, her nose, ears, and lips cut off, her belly slit open, exposing her intestines and viscera.

If not for the clothes and long hair, Tong Han could barely determine whether the figure was male or female.

The female ghost wielded a scythe, subjecting Shibuki Naoko to inhuman torment, gouging out her eyes, severing her ears and nose, and in the end, using the obviously blunt scythe to forcibly slice open Shibuki Naoko’s belly, torturing her to death.

Recalling the agonizing cries of those deceased teammates before their deaths, the scene became increasingly vivid, chilling to the bone.

Immediately after, Tong Han also faced an attack. The child ghost appeared next to her at some point, starting to harm her with an old-fashioned compass, and she learned from Shibuki Naoko’s experience, enduring the child ghost’s assault and began running in the opposite direction, yet still couldn’t escape death’s doom.

As the child ghost vanished, the female ghost reappeared beside her, Tong Han was cornered in a larger house and brutally murdered.

In her final moments, she was still fulfilling her duty, trying her best to convey information outside, which couldn’t help but move those present.

Of course, more importantly, was the information Tong Han conveyed, which completely rewrote their understanding. No one expected that this time they were facing not one ghost, but two.

No wonder the child ghost doesn’t kill, it’s merely an accomplice, the one truly capable of killing is the female ghost, using the method called Ghost Dream.

Strictly speaking, the child ghost is merely a puppet under the female ghost.

Yang Xiao suspected, this female ghost is the ghost from the Magic Artifact Asakura Yodou inadvertently acquired.

It should be a Spell-type Magical Artifact, with abilities related to Ghost Dream, Asakura Yodou didn’t know how to control it, until he was devoured by the artifact in the end, becoming a mere puppet.

"Right, the location in the Ghost Dream is a pretty old-fashioned small village, but surrounded by fog, and it’s dark, Tong Han couldn’t see the surroundings clearly, but the place where she was finally murdered was in a house in the village, with a flag hanging at the door, the flag was painted with bamboo leaves." Jiu Shan Sha Yue recalled.

"Bamboo leaves..." Hearing this, Beiyu Ye suddenly became excited, "I know where it is, it’s the Tsubahara Family! That place is in Chao Wei Village, I’ve been there!"

Seemingly inspired by Beiyu Ye, Heize Lin also reacted, "That’s right, we’ve been to a place in the village, which was long abandoned. But according to the guide, the building used to be the pride of the village, the home of the Tsubahara Samurai family hundreds of years ago, bamboo leaves are the Tsubahara Samurai family’s totem."

"So all origins are still in Chao Wei Village, the female ghost was once from Chao Wei Village too, hence the backdrop of the Ghost Dream is also there." Qingshui Cangjie pondered aloud.

Things have changed, the urgent matter now is to identify the female ghost. Judging by her wretched appearance, she must have suffered inhuman torture before her death, and it’s been a long time since she died.

"Mr. Yang, Mr. Heize, Mr. Beiyu, at dawn we’ll split into two groups, one to Xijin City to find Asakura Yodou’s neighbor, another back to Chao Wei Village, to investigate the female ghost’s origin, we have two mobile phones, once important clues are found, inform each other." Qingshui Cangjie was arranging the plan for the new day.

"I’ll go with you too." Jiu Shan Sha Yue wanted to join the team.

But was rejected by Qingshui Cangjie, "Miss Xin Yuan, I know you’re skilled, but you’ve been on duty all night, you need rest, and without a skilled person here, I’m uneasy."

Given that, Jiu Shan Sha Yue didn’t push further, excessive insistence only breeds suspicion.

Moreover, the most important thing is, there are already their people infiltrated into this team, and there are two of them, gathering intelligence is enough, Jiu Shan Sha Yue trusts Yang Xiao and Beiyu Ye’s abilities.

With that, everyone dispersed, going back to rest, as dawn heralds the start of busy work.

Before leaving, looking at Tong Han’s corpse lying on the ground, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but feel a wave of daze, the night was mildly chilly, and Tong Han’s corpse had cooled somewhat, Yang Xiao still couldn’t accept her death till now.

"Mr. Yang, everyone has left, we... we should go back too." Sato Shouta stayed beside him, quietly reminding.

Yang Xiao took one last look at the corpse, closed the door, and returned to the 7th floor with Sato Shouta.

Back in the service room, the atmosphere felt somewhat oppressive. Sato Shouta seemed to want to say something to comfort Yang Xiao, but the words were on the tip of his tongue and he couldn’t say a word.

He also realized that Tong Han and Yang Xiao had known each other for a long time, and their relationship was very good. They must be lovers.

But strangely, he didn’t see too much sadness on Yang Xiao’s face, instead, there was an indescribable feeling of melancholy and loss, like sending an old friend off on a journey. No matter how far or high the friend traveled, there would come a day when the two would meet again.

At this moment, Sato Shouta suddenly found that the friend in front of him seemed a bit unfamiliar, as if he had never really understood this person. ƒrēewebnovel.com

The person appeared to be not much older than him, yet his life experiences were infinitely deeper, and they were people from completely different worlds.

In this instant, Sato Shouta felt a nameless unease, "Mr. Yang, please don’t stay silent. If...if you’re feeling upset inside, you can talk to me."

"I think I’ve found it." Yang Xiao seemed to be talking to himself.

"Mr. Yang, you...what have you found?" Sato Shouta felt goosebumps rise all over him, glancing around anxiously, fearing Yang Xiao meant he found a ghost.

"I’ve found the pattern to the ghost killings." Yang Xiao slowly exhaled.

This second sentence from Yang Xiao startled Sato Shouta, who was dumbfounded for a long while, then suddenly stood up, "What?! You’ve really found it, Yang...Mr. Yang, you’re not joking with me right?"

Yang Xiao also felt bitter inside; if he hadn’t encountered the ghost tonight, he might not have found the clues so quickly.

But the price paid was heavy, they lost Tong Han as a teammate.

"Mr. Sato, who was the first to encounter the ghost on the first night?" Yang Xiao asked.

"The one who encountered the ghost was Sakurai Miyuki, and the one who died was Kato Atsushi on the same floor." Sato Shouta quickly replied.

"And the second night?"

"Yamada Kengohei encountered the ghost, and he died as well. The third night was Mitsuo Takeda, he...he also died." Sato Shouta replied all at once.

"After Sakurai Miyuki encountered the ghost, who was the first to arrive at the scene?" Yang Xiao guided Sato Shouta to think for himself.

After pondering for a moment, Sato Shouta came up with a name, "It should be Kato Atsushi, they live on the same floor, so he should have arrived the fastest."

"Yes, that’s where the problem is. After the child ghost appears, the first person to arrive at the scene will be targeted by another ghost arriving shortly after, namely the terrifying female ghost." Yang Xiao provided the answer.

Sato Shouta was dumbfounded, stammering, "But...but it doesn’t make sense, Mr. Yang, if you say that, then what about Yamada Kengohei on the second night, and Mitsuo Takeda on the third night? They both encountered the ghost themselves and were dragged into the ghost dream and died in the latter half of the night."

"No, you didn’t understand me. From the clues Tong Han brought back, the child ghost and the female ghost do not appear simultaneously. There is a time gap between their appearances, meaning that after the child ghost leaves, the female ghost appears."

"Yamada Kengohei was trapped by the child ghost in his room and didn’t dare to escape, so he waited for the female ghost."

"And Mitsuo Takeda, who was extremely skilled and didn’t run, believed the ghost wouldn’t kill the first time. So he tried to gather as many clues as possible, and the result was he smashed the glass to scare away the child ghost, ultimately waiting for the vengeful female ghost."

"The vengeful female ghost cast a curse on them, but normal people can’t detect it. The result of the curse is that the cursed person will be dragged into a ghost dream in the latter half of the night." Yang Xiao began to outline the entire pattern of the ghost killings.

Upon hearing this, Sato Shouta suddenly understood, though he was slow to react, he wasn’t foolish, "I understand now, tonight we encountered the ghost but ran away. Ms. Tong Han was the first to arrive at the scene and search the room, so...so she was targeted by the female ghost!"

"But because the two lived together, Miss Yabuki was also dragged into the ghost dream."

"Exactly." Yang Xiao nodded, his gaze towards Sato Shouta was somewhat complex.

Belatedly, Sato Shouta realized something even more terrifying. Tonight, he was the first to escape, scared to the point where his mind went blank, thinking only of running for his life, fleeing far away, and Yang Xiao chased after him.

"Mr. Sato, thank you, you saved us both tonight." Yang Xiao stood up, thanking Sato Shouta sincerely.

He didn’t expect that a casual good deed at the start of the mission would inadvertently bring him a chance for survival later.