"Is this all the people we have? Seems even fewer than before."
Yang Jian frowned as he looked at the dozen or so survivors behind Tong Qian.
Tong Qian said, "This is all we have, the rest must have gotten scattered. The Ghost Domain is strange; often the path you've walked on before changes when the next person follows, causing groups to lose each other. There's nothing I can do about that, so the number of survivors keeps diminishing."
"It doesn't matter, as long as you're still alive," Yang Jian said.
"What do you mean by that?" Tong Qian asked.
Yang Jian said, "If not even a Guide can be saved, then I can only view this mission as a failure, too. How many survivors we can save depends on fate, but at least one Guide must live."
"So I'm just a bargaining chip for you?" Tong Qian was both angry and upset.
"It's something like that," Yang Jian said. "You don't need to be angry, being valuable is a good thing. The worst is to be worthless. Look at them."
He finished and pointed at the distraught survivors who had been swept up in this without any rhyme or reason.
"Heartless," Tong Qian said.
Yang Jian revealed a cold smile, "It's not heartlessness; it's about making choices. Just like when I got involved in the supernatural events, no one came to save me either. I had to rely on myself. Know why I never get assessed to join the headquarters? Because I'm not yet ready to shoulder the safety of an entire city.
After all, with responsibility comes accountability, and then there are some people you have to save whether you like it or not."
"If I don't become a Guide, I don't have to take on that responsibility, and I can look for a way to survive with a bit more freedom."
Tong Qian said, "You have the ability, so why aren't you willing to help a little? Saving a few more people won't harm you."
"Why doesn't a billionaire give me a few million? Giving me a few million won't make any difference to them," Yang Jian retorted.
Tong Qian was speechless, knowing she couldn't win against him.
Yang Jian continued, "Since everyone is here, it's time to go. Remember today's experience well; it will help you survive."
Saving these people was also a way to account for Zhao Jianguo's efforts; this trip wasn't in vain, as he at least got what he wanted.
Fortunately, this time he encountered the Door Knocking Ghost, one he was somewhat familiar with. Had it been any other ghost, Yang Jian would have had to weigh his options seriously; he would not dare to barge into an unknown supernatural event recklessly. The incident at Huanggang Village was a harsh lesson.
"Wait, hold on! Young man, wait!"
At this moment, an elderly lady, upon hearing Yang Jian was leaving, hurriedly lugged her belongings and rushed out from a shop nearby.
"Hmm?" Yang Jian raised his eyebrows.
"She's a survivor," Tong Qian said. "I recognize this lady."
Yang Jian lifted the handgun in his hand, extended it out of the window, and aimed it at her.
"What are you doing?" Tong Qian's face changed.
"Drop what you're carrying behind you, or if you come any closer, I'll shoot you dead," Yang Jian severely warned the elderly lady.
Tong Qian said, "She's just a normal person; don't get too agitated."
"She may be a normal person, all right, but what she's carrying isn't," Yang Jian said.
What she's carrying behind her?
Tong Qian glanced over and saw that the lady was carrying a large backpack with what appeared to be goods stolen from nearby shops.
"It's just some cigarettes, clothes, and stuff like that. She probably just wanted to take the opportunity to grab some things when she saw no one around."
Yang Jian sneered, "There are goods for sale within the Ghost Domain? Do you really think this place is a street? I can't see any goods,. She has clearly brought back a ghost with her. With her approach, someone here is about to die again."
"What?" Tong Qian exclaimed in alarm.
She immediately tried to intervene. "Quickly throw away whatever is on your back, do it now!"
The elderly lady, while running, protected the items on her back. She had risked danger to take them from a nearby shop and was reluctant to discard them. "You didn't even call out to me before leaving. That's just too much. These things aren't an impediment; they won't hinder you," she protested.
"If she doesn't drop her stuff after crossing that line on the road, I'll shoot," Yang Jian declared.
Tong Qian was both angry and anxious. "Follow orders and drop your things or he will shoot!"
"You are the city officials. How can you shoot at a commoner like me? Stop trying to scare me. Let's get moving; I've caught up with you," the old woman said confidently, urging Yang Jian and the others to hurry up.
Yang Jian felt there was no other choice and raised the gun in his hand.
But just at that moment, the old woman suddenly screamed. Her body flew off the ground as she was ensnared by a rope that appeared out of nowhere, tightly looping around her neck and hanging her from a nearby streetlight. Her body struggled violently in mid-air, her old face turning crimson as she nearly suffocated.
"What's happening?" Tong Qian was shocked.
The next moment, a man wearing a scarf and chomping on a cigar casually emerged from a nearby store.
"There are ghost masters here in the Ghost Domain?" Yang Jian's eyes narrowed as he became immediately alert.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Yue. Although we are from the same district, I believe this is our first meeting. I've long heard of the infamous 'Yang Jian with the Ghost Eye,' and today I see there's indeed a touch of the prodigy in youth about you. Impressive, impressive," said Wang Yue, puffing on his cigar as he clapped and approached.
Hearing this name, Yang Jian felt a sense of familiarity.
When he had caused trouble at the Xiaoqiang Entertainment Club, Ma Youcai, the surviving shareholder, had told him that Wang Xiaoqiang was connected to Wang Yue of the Rose Bar.
Could this be the same person?
"It seems you're quite unlucky to have been caught up in this paranormal event," Yang Jian remarked, his gaze shifting subtly.
It seemed that the paranormal event had originated from the Rose Bar.
Could he be one of the individuals from Hao Shaowen's phone list?
"Pretty unlucky indeed. Who would have thought that disaster would strike from above and that such a paranormal event would happen right in my own store," Wang Yue took a drag from his cigar and blew a smoke ring. "It's not easy to survive the clutches of that old ghost."
Yang Jian said, "You have only survived temporarily."
"I know, which is why I hope you can give me a hand," he said.
Wang Yue replied, "Give me a lift, take me away from here."
"Why should I help you?" Yang Jian asked.
Although he found Tong Qian annoying, there was no deep hatred between them. Helping her was tolerable, but this Wang Yue had a shady reputation. It was unclear whether he was friend or foe. How could he possibly go back to rescue someone who might be an enemy?
Wang Yue responded, "There is no 'why.' You help me, I help you; it's a fair deal. Don't you want to accept my goodwill? You have the ability to leave this place, one more person wouldn't be a burden, would it?"