Mysterious Resurrection: What If

Chapter 21 Double Happiness (Part 3)
Dachang City

Yang Jian was lying on the sofa, holding a book in his hands. The book cover was extremely simple, with only the title and the author's name.

These are *The Study and Exploration of Ghosts* and *Bruce P.*

Although it is a book, most of its content is presented in a veiled manner, and chapters often end with a question.

Rather than a manual, this is more like a set of inspirational ideas provided by headquarters to those in charge for solving the problem of vengeful ghosts resurrecting.

This cryptic writing style is clearly intended to avoid misjudging the characteristics of the "ghost" in the person in charge, since each person in charge controls a different kind of vengeful ghost, and the situations vary greatly.

The headquarters' intentions were obvious: they hoped that the person in charge could use their own judgment to forge a path that was unique to them.

In this era, no one can provide guidance for this generation; everyone can only grope their way forward in the dark.

Yang Jian happened to read one of the passages:
"There is a type of organism in nature called horsehair worm, which survives by parasitizing insects."

Could the relationship between a ghost tamer and a vengeful spirit be likened to that between a horsehair worm and an insect, where the tamer borrows the power of the vengeful spirit within them while being constantly corrupted by it? Perhaps we should consider this issue from a different perspective.

Biological evolution is essentially a mechanism for adapting to the environment and increasing the chances of survival. Just as the development of intelligence in humans was not a necessary part of evolution, but rather an accident and an adaptation.

If a certain insect evolved an organ specifically to house horsehair worms in order to adapt to their invasion, could humans also control vengeful spirits in the same way?
Alternatively, one could consider it from a human perspective on vengeful spirits, modifying an insect from its egg stage or artificially intervening in the evolutionary process.

The insect and the horsehair worm gradually fuse through symbiosis. Upon birth, the insect possesses the abilities of the horsehair worm and is mistaken for one of its own, thus avoiding invasion. However, humanity's exploration of vengeful spirits is still only the tip of the iceberg...

Just as Yang Jian was reading and thinking, a sudden phone call interrupted his thoughts.

Jiang Yan's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone, "Yang Jian, Awei's in trouble..."

The next second, the entire room was filled with a rich red light. Looking at the sofa again, Yang Jian's figure had disappeared, leaving only an unclosed book.

Dahai City.

"Mr. Ye, Miss Jiang has been put on the plane, and the investigation team's report has been sent to your phone."

"Hmm." Ye Zhen nodded, looking at the information displayed on his phone, and continued:

Did this place on the map just appear out of nowhere?

"Yes, Mr. Ye, after receiving your message, I immediately sent people to investigate. This location in Dahai City was originally a wasteland. I suggest..."

"Click." Before A-Wu could finish speaking, Ye Zhen hung up the phone.

Ye Zhen and Zhang Wei were at the entrance of an old village.

The sun blazed overhead, the midday sun beat down on us, but it offered no warmth. A wooden sign stood at the village entrance, with illegible writing on it, as if carved in blood, but long since dried and blackened. The surroundings were eerily quiet.

"Brother Ye, I suddenly remembered that I forgot to turn off the gas at home."

Zhang Wei looked as if he had eaten shit.

"Brother Wei, I told you, I'll guarantee your safety in Dahai City."

Just as Ye Zhen was preparing to take action.

Suddenly, a strange crimson color rapidly covered the sky behind them from afar.

In just an instant, an intense crimson aura enveloped the area, followed by a massive wave that swept across the land. Then, cold, damp water seeped from the ground, and several pale corpses could be vaguely seen floating in the water.

Ye Zhen shielded Zhang Wei behind him, staring at the sudden change.

The towering waves did not stop, but rushed straight past the two of them towards the village ahead.

A strange thing happened: after the cold, giant waves swept past, the village seemed to shift from reality. The village itself remained completely unaffected by the lake water and remained as calm as ever.

“Ah Wei.”

Bathed in red light, Yang Jian, carrying a wood-chopping knife, walked step by step across the water.

Zhang Wei felt as if he had seen a savior.

"Leg Bro! Help me!"

Ye Zhen stared at Yang Jian on the water's surface, his lips twitching. "Little Yang, do you know how handsome you are?"

This was Yang Jian's second meeting with Ye Zhen. Knowing his personality, he ignored Ye Zhen and instead turned to observe the eerie, isolated village before him. The Ghost Lake could not suppress...
Yang Jian's scarlet ghost eye on his forehead scanned everything in the village.

In this abruptly appeared village, every household had a tattered red cloth hanging at their door, and many places also had bright red "囍" (double happiness) characters pasted on them, indicating that something happy had recently happened in the village.

There was nothing unusual about it; it seemed to be just an ordinary village.

Just then, a hunchbacked old man suddenly appeared at the village entrance and walked towards the three of them. The ghost eye on his forehead stared intently at the suddenly appearing old man. Yang Jian could not find any trace of the old man at all. It was as if the old man had appeared out of thin air.

As if he had known someone would come, the old man spoke:

"You've arrived at the perfect time. I am the village chief of this village. Please follow me."

His face was expressionless, and he just opened his mouth to speak woodenly, but his voice carried the emotional fluctuations of a living person.

"I didn't, I'm not, it wasn't me."

Zhang Wei turned around and wanted to leave.

Yang Jian stared intently at the old man in front of him.

"Ah Wei, you can't run away now, go inside."

Ye Zhen, however, was both skilled and daring, and strode directly into the village entrance.

"Old Ghost, lead the way."

Dull, deathly silent.

A sense of oppression hung over the entire village.

Apart from the sound of the four people's footsteps, there was no other sound in the entire village.

A faint stench of decay permeated the air, and even at midday, it still felt chilling, as if a long-dead corpse lay in every house.

The three followed the village chief through the village. The red "囍" characters pasted all around were almost dripping blood. There wasn't a single person in the huge village. It seemed as if only the three of them and the village chief in front of them, who was neither human nor ghost, existed in this world.

"I always feel like someone's spying on my butt," Zhang Wei said softly, his eyes darting around, as if countless eyes were watching him from behind.

"Brother Wei, don't panic. This kind of situation is nothing new to me." Ye Zhen said, placing his hand on the longsword at his waist, assuming a posture ready to strike at any moment.

The scarlet ghost eye on its forehead scanned the village environment. There was no sign of any living creature in this place, and Yang Jian could not even sense the presence of any vengeful ghost.

"You can stay here tonight."

Suddenly, the village chief stopped and stiffly raised his finger to point to a low house.

Who is the groom?

The village chief turned his head, his wooden face and empty eyes staring straight at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei was startled and raised his right hand.

"What groom? Look at my hands, they're covered in marks of being single..."

“The groom is right here, and I’m the best man.” Ye Zhen grabbed Zhang Wei’s shoulder, his tone full of self-assurance.

"That's good. Remember to pick up the bride tomorrow." After saying that, the village chief stiffly turned and left.

Zhang Wei, looking constipated, turned to Ye Zhen and said in a low voice, "You're so handsome, why don't you go for it? Even ghosts need to consider looks when getting married."

Ye Zhen patted Zhang Wei on the shoulder and said, "Brother Wei, you're wrong. Someone like me, a chosen one, is destined to be unparalleled in the world. How can I be obsessed with romance?"

Yang Jian remained silent the entire way, while Ghost Eye kept observing the village and the village chief's every move. Only after the village chief turned a corner and disappeared from sight did Yang Jian speak, saying, "Let's move in first."

Zhang Wei looked at the low, dilapidated house and said:
"Hey bro, this place's creepy, are we sure we shouldn't move to somewhere else?"

"How about we go straight to the bridal chamber?"

"Actually, I think this place is quite nice; it's good for cultivating one's character."

(End of this chapter)