"First, I need to find a safe place for myself, and deal with the ghost slowly; as long as I don't use the power of the evil spirit inside my body, I won't be at a loss. Besides, that person named Yan Li is also quite unique. I want to find out what exactly makes this ghost controller special, and if there's anything worth learning or drawing from."
Yang Jian watched the fleeing group of people, his expression unchanged, unmoved.
If he had used the Ghost Domain just now, he could have transported these people out of there in an instant.
But that would have been a self-damaging act with no benefits.
Such things, Yang Jian would not do.
He would only make his move when these people were most desperate and afraid.
To exchange the least cost for the greatest benefit.
After all, things that come too easily are not cherished by anyone; that's why he didn't even bother to discuss terms just now.
It's better to let Boss Tang experience this first, then it would be easier to start a negotiation.
Besides that, there was that man named Yan Li competing for business.
If the ghost proves to be a tough one to deal with, Yang Jian wouldn't mind slipping away and letting Yan Li deal with the ghost, after all, that man came specifically for the ghost.
This isn't anything worth fighting over. Using the power of the evil spirit too much could actually hasten one's own demise.
Having thought things through, Yang Jian, acting as if nothing was wrong, walked towards the bathroom with his flashlight.
While he was biting the flashlight and urinating, the light shone on a corner of the bathroom and he suddenly saw a foot sticking out from the last stall, clad in a black stocking, clearly belonging to a woman.
"Why would there be a woman's foot in the men's bathroom? Could it be a pervert, or is this yet another body?"
Yang Jian froze for a moment, then walked over with his flashlight, carefully opening the door to take a peek.
In the stall, there was a woman curled up, dressed in a white blouse and skirt, likely an employee of the mall. However, her face was pale, eyes closed, and it was unclear whether she was dead or not.
He reached out to check for her breath.
There was breathing; she was not dead.
Yang Jian immediately felt surprised; if the woman were a corpse, he wouldn't be shocked, but she was alive.
During his work days before, he had seen the employees in the mall, not all recognizable perhaps, but at least familiar, yet he was sure he had never seen this woman these past two days.
Because... this woman was quite beautiful.
The female staff members in the mall were not especially attractive, making them easy to overlook.
"Wake up, hey miss, wake up," Yang Jian nudged her.
After a little while, the beautiful woman slowly came to, but when she opened her eyes and saw Yang Jian, her eyes widened with fear. She shrank back as if she had seen a ghost, about to scream, but Yang Jian quickly covered her mouth.
"Miss, please don't yell. If you attract the ghost, you'll be the one to die," Yang Jian urgently covered her mouth.
Women really are another kind of trouble.
After seeing her regain some semblance of calm, Yang Jian prepared to leave, thinking about finding a different place to stay.
"Wait, wait a second."
The woman quickly grabbed Yang Jian's hand, looked up at him with fear and anxiety, and said, "You're human, right?"
"Of course I'm human, otherwise would I be standing here talking to you?" Yang Jian said. "Do you work in the mall?"
"I'm an accountant for the mall, my name is Jiang Yan. Who are you, and how come you're here, dressed like that?" the woman named Jiang Yan held onto Yang Jian's hand and asked.
Yang Jian said with a bit of amusement, "I'm a new security guard. I just came here to use the restroom. What about you? What's a woman doing hiding in the men's bathroom? Just now, a foot sticking out gave me quite the fright. I thought you were dead."
"Outside, there's a ghost. I was too scared to leave. I've been hiding here for four days, surviving on a pack of biscuits and tap water. I'm starving now. Do you have anything to eat?" said Jiang Yan, somewhat weakly.
So, her pallor was a result of hunger.
"Wait a moment; let me check if there's anything to eat," Yang Jian patted his pocket and said, "Uh, I don't have anything on me. There's food outside though, how about we go out and have something to eat?"
"But... outside, there's a ghost," fear showed on Jiang Yan's face.
"You know there's a ghost outside, so does that mean you've seen that ghost?" Yang Jian suddenly realized and asked urgently, "What does the ghost look like? Where is it?"
If Jiang Yan had really seen that ghost, it would save him a great deal of trouble.
A ghost that has been identified and confirmed isn't that terrifying and can at least be guarded against and prepared for.
Ghosts that can't be found are the most terrifying.
Jiang Yan nodded her head.
"Then hurry up and explain. Right now, there's a haunting happening outside, and Boss Tang has hired a fraud to come here and court death. If this isn't resolved soon, my money is going down the drain," Yang Jian said.
Jiang Yan hesitated and said, "Give me something to eat, and I'll tell you. I'm starving to death."
"I didn't expect you to strike a bargain," Yang Jian looked at her oddly, "But seeing how pitiable you are, I'll go get you something to eat."
He immediately left the restroom.
At this moment, the first floor of the shopping mall was devoid of people, but there was noise coming from above, indicating that Boss Tang and his group had not yet left the mall.
After grabbing some biscuits, snacks, and water from a snack shop that had closed down, Yang Jian returned to the restroom.
Seeing the food, Jiang Yan's eyes lit up, and she impatiently tore open the packaging and started eating like a starving wolf.
Within a short while, the food was gone.
"Is there any more?" Jiang Yan looked at Yang Jian full of hope.
Yang Jian said, "That's all, do you want a ham sausage?"
"Where is it? Give it to me quick," said Jiang Yan urgently.
"Where do you say it is?" Yang Jian looked down and said.
Jiang Yan gave him a somewhat seductive look, "If you can take me out of this ghostly place, we can talk about anything..."
Yang Jian's eyelid twitched as he sized her up.
Despite her wan appearance, Jiang Yan was quite attractive, definitely a seven out of ten. She wasn't tall, but she had a good figure.
What was he looking at? Yang Jian snapped back to reality.
"Let's not talk about that for now. You said earlier that you've seen the ghost? So, can you now tell me what that ghost looks like, or what kind of being it is?"
Seemingly recalling some terrifying memory, Jiang Yan's complexion changed slightly, and with a hint of fear, she said, "It was four days ago. I was working at the mall as usual until I went to the restroom that day and ran into that cashier girl named Wei Xiaohong. I was about to leave the restroom when I saw her outside... At first she was shaking her head at the mirror.
I thought it was strange and was about to ask her, but then suddenly I saw her take her own head off."
"Yes, that's right, just like a doll, she lifted her own head right off with both hands... I was petrified at the time. It wasn't until she put her head back on that I ran out of the restroom," Jiang Yan said while gesturing with her hands, very agitated.
"But as soon as I got out of the restroom, Wei Xiaohong turned and glanced at me. I was so scared that I accidentally ran into the men's restroom and have been hiding here ever since. I've thought about running out, but every time, I could see Wei Xiaohong sitting nearby waiting for me... outside the restroom. If I go out, she will surely kill me.
I heard ghosts don't dare to enter men's restrooms, so I'm safe only if I stay here."
Yang Jian immediately said, "Impossible, she can't possibly be a ghost."
"I'm not lying to you, it was really her. I saw it with my own eyes," said Jiang Yan. "You have to believe me."
"It's not that I don't believe you, but I trust my own eyes more, because Wei Xiaohong is already dead," Yang Jian said seriously.
The head that had rolled through the mall before was Wei Xiaohong's.
If she was a ghost, then how could she be without a head?
Do ghosts have a tendency to commit suicide?
"It's true, she really took her own head off. I saw it clearly," Jiang Yan insisted.
"Shh, wait, someone's coming." Suddenly, Yang Jian covered her mouth and then turned off the flashlight.
In the darkness, footsteps approached the restroom.
The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, just like a normal person walking.
Something wasn't right.
Yang Jian's expression hardened.
Since there were no people left on the first floor of the mall, it was impossible for the footsteps to be so steady in the pitch-black surroundings.
Could it be Wei Xiaohong?
He thought about that head with a deathly pallor and a strong odor of decay left in the mall.
If Wei Xiaohong really was a ghost, it seemed not entirely impossible.