Mysterious Revival

Chapter 664: Chapter 661 Leaving the City

“Master, could you please take us to Xiao’an County?” Yang Jian was still as stingy with his abilities as ever, choosing to take a taxi.

The taxi driver heard the request and hurriedly said, “That far? No, I won’t go. If I take you there, I’ll definitely return with an empty car and end up losing money. You should find another ride.”

Yang Jian said, “I’ll pay extra, ten thousand.”

“Get in,” the taxi driver immediately agreed.

“Why did you not hesitate at all to give that spot to Zhang Lei? Is he that important?” In the car, Huang Ziya was still thinking about what had just happened and couldn’t help but ask.

Yang Jian looked out the car window at the city: “It was my decision; you shouldn’t ask too many questions.”

“I won’t ask if you don’t want me to,” Huang Ziya pouted, “But what about Xiong Wenwen, hmm? I haven’t seen him, and you think highly of that kid. Having him with us would be a great boost to the team’s overall strength.”

“He was taken away by Li Jun. By now, he’s probably… dead,” Yang Jian considered for a moment before saying.

Huang Ziya exclaimed in surprise, “Li Jun dared to snatch someone right from your hands?”

Yang Jian glanced at her, “It wasn’t Li Jun. It was Xiong Wenwen’s mother who refused me and then got persuaded by Li Jun, so he joined Li Jun’s team. I just came from Xiong Wenwen’s house.”

“Does his mother regret it?” asked Huang Ziya.

“Of course.”

Yang Jian said, “Li Jun and I have different philosophies. I just want to survive better, while he’s willing to die for the headquarters and tackle all sorts of difficult issues. Hence, Xiong Wenwen would likely die quickly following him. His mother will regret it sooner or later; I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

“It’s a pity. It would’ve been better if his mother had chosen for Xiong Wenwen to follow you at the start,” sighed Huang Ziya.

“There’s nothing to pity; following me isn’t necessarily a hundred percent safe,” said Yang Jian.

While they were talking, the taxi driver was acting quite sneaky. He kept looking back at them through the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on Huang Ziya as if he were attracted to her. The look of amazement in his eyes almost caused several rear-end collisions.

“Driver, have you never seen a beauty like me before? But if you keep driving this way, my captain is going to be very unhappy. So please focus on the road, because I certainly don’t want any trouble en route,” Huang Ziya said with a smile as she turned her head.

It sounded like a reminder, but in reality, it was a warning.

“Cough cough, sorry, sorry,” the taxi driver’s face reddened, and he quickly apologized.

“Captain, what are you staring out the window for? You’ve been doing that since just now. Are those buildings outside more attractive than I am?” Huang Ziya said again.

Yang Jian frowned and said, “Something’s not right with this city. It’s been like this since the morning, and the feeling is getting stronger now.”

“Really? I don’t sense anything. It’s just gotten a bit overcast, but that’s pretty normal for the middle of winter,” said Huang Ziya.

“That building up ahead, the thirteenth floor, the window on the far left, take a good look,” Yang Jian’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

Driven by curiosity, Huang Ziya leaned forward and looked up at the building ahead.

It was a very ordinary commercial building.

On the thirteenth floor of that building, a few windows were open, but at the window on the far left, a figure stood indistinctly. At first, Huang Ziya thought it was her eyesight, not being able to see clearly. But as the taxi continued forward, and another person appeared at the adjacent window, her eyes suddenly narrowed.

Although separated by just one window, Huang Ziya could see clearly. Next door stood a man in a suit, wearing black-framed glasses, holding a cup of coffee and gazing into the distance, while the person Yang Jian referred to, standing by the leftmost window, remained blurry, indecipherable, with no discernible features. One could only vaguely make out, through the figure’s silhouette and the color of the clothes, that it was likely a woman.

Moreover, that woman stood motionless in front of the window, like she was frozen, the room behind her dark and without light, gloomy and eerie.

At first glance at the windows on that wall, they almost looked like old frames of paintings, and the woman was the subject within the frame.

“Yes, a ghost painting…” Huang Ziya covered her mouth, nearly exclaiming aloud.

Yang Jian leaned against the car door, resting his head on his hand while staring at that spot, “It must be, another painting. And the thing inside has already stepped out, which means it’s invading reality.”

“Why would this happen? Isn’t headquarters constantly sending people to deal with it?” Huang Ziya spoke in a subdued voice, her body tensed.

An S-grade paranormal incident, also known as Unsolvable Level in the community.

For the exorcists caught in it, survival itself is challenging, let alone resolving the incident.

As a novice, Huang Ziya wouldn’t dare to get involved in such matters.

“If it were that easy to handle, the foreign team wouldn’t have been wiped out,” Yang Jian calmly noted, remembering the corpses scattered throughout the building in the ghost painting world.

The phantom footsteps on the wooden stairs, the Door-blocking Ghost sitting in the room… these ghosts are likely what remained after the exorcists died.

These things are enough evidence of what happened inside the ghost painting.

“So, does it look like we’re actually sneaking away under the guise of searching for Feng Quan and Tong Qian?” Huang Ziya whispered, feeling like a thief in her guilt.

She thought her captain was so smart.

To come up with such a good excuse.

Yang Jian glanced at her, “How can that be called sneaking away? I’ve already done my part here; the training base’s situation was handled by me, and when Wang Xiaoming’s operation got trapped, I rescued him. Later, I even dealt with several paintings for free… Isn’t it only fair that they take their turn?”

“Being a captain and not participating in a few S-grade incidents, how can you inspire confidence? In my view, next time, Cao Yang, Li Leping, and Leuk San won’t be able to escape. If it weren’t for Jang Shangbai, who I dealt with already, he would certainly need special attention this time.”

So his act of slipping away was done with a clear conscience, not feeling guilty at all.

“That makes sense,” Huang Ziya suddenly smiled, squinting her eyes, “So this time I’m just reaping the benefits?”

“It’s not about basking in glory, this matter is never going to fall on you newcomers, the headquarters isn’t that foolish. They will definitely send top people to handle it,” Yang Jian said with a slight shake of his head.

“Hold on, I’m going to make a phone call.”

Something suddenly occurred to him, and he immediately picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Yang Jian needed to contact Miao Xiaoshan.

At that moment.

Miao Xiaoshan was playing cards with her roommate Liu Zi and Sun Yujia in their dorm room to pass the time. They had been forced to suspend their classes because of the incident last time, so they had recently been quite relaxed. They had originally planned to go play badminton today, but the poor weather made them cancel.

“Dudu dudu.”

Just then, Miao Xiaoshan’s phone rang.

“It’s Yang Jian, look, Yang Jian is calling,” said Liu Zi, whose sharp eyes caught the caller ID. She exclaimed in excitement, tossing aside the playing cards and grabbing the phone.

“Quick, tell Yang Jian that Sun Yujia and I want to invite him to dinner, and also, I want to ask him to go sightseeing in the city…”

Miao Xiaoshan took the phone, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Yang Jian generally doesn’t call me. The last time he mentioned that if he called, it must be something important. Forget about asking him out to dinner.”

“You have to seize the moment, just mention it if the opportunity arises,” Liu Zi said.

“Yang Jian saved me last time, I really should thank him,” Sun Yujia added shyly from the side. “But don’t misunderstand, Miao Xiaoshan, I just genuinely want to thank him, nothing more.”

Miao Xiaoshan hushed, “I’m answering the call.”

Immediately, Yang Jian’s voice came through the phone, “It’s me, Yang Jian.”

“Yeah, I know,” Miao Xiaoshan replied softly. “Yang Jian, are you calling at this time for a reason?”

“There is something.”

Yang Jian said, “I don’t want to see you get into an accident, so I suggest you leave the school for the next few days. Whether it’s taking a leave of absence or suspending your studies, just get out of this city. You can go back to Dachang City, or stay with relatives. In short, do not stay at the school. Come back after some things are settled.”

He believed that the ghosts from the ghost paintings had already begun infiltrating every corner of the city. That meant any place in the city might be in danger from now on.

Even if the painting at the school had been dealt with by Yang Jian, it did not mean that other ghosts from the paintings wouldn’t appear there.

“Is it that serious?” Miao Xiaoshan was somewhat shocked.

“Not sure, maybe it’s not as serious as I imagine, but I’m just taking some precautions. Also, I will be leaving here today, so if something happens to you, I might not be able to get there immediately. Oh, and remember to keep that candle safe, it can save your life in a dangerous situation,” Yang Jian said.

Miao Xiaoshan nodded, “Okay, I understand, I’ll start packing and leave on leave in the next few days.”

“Okay, let’s leave it at that for now,” Yang Jian said and hung up the phone immediately.

“What did Yang Jian say?” Liu Zi asked curiously, her eyes wide with interest.

Miao Xiaoshan replied with unease, “Yang Jian told me to leave the school, to leave this city, and stay somewhere else for a while. He’s afraid there might be danger here, and he’s leaving too.”

“What? Then what are we waiting for, pack up and go,” exclaimed Liu Zi, jumping out of bed and immediately starting to look for her phone to contact her family.

This was, after all, very important inside information.

“Shouldn’t we ask for leave first or something? Just leaving like this doesn’t seem right,” Sun Yujia said, clearly anxious.

“Leave first, then ask for leave. We’re not having classes now anyway, so it’s fine,” Liu Zi said.

Miao Xiaoshan nodded, “You’re right. But have you decided where you’re going?”

Liu Zi replied immediately, “I have a plan. My family bought a villa in a nearby city where we hardly ever stay. We can go there and live for a while. Miao Xiaoshan, don’t go back to your hometown, come with me. It’s better to have someone to look after each other…”

She felt that she had to take Miao Xiaoshan with her, otherwise she wouldn’t feel secure.

After all, Miao Xiaoshan had such a significant person backing her up.

“Didn’t expect you to care so much about others. From the sound of it, that was a girl on the phone, right? Is she your girlfriend, Captain?” asked Huang Ziya with a smile in the car.

“No, she’s just a normal friend,” Yang Jian replied.

“I don’t believe that. Would a ‘normal friend’ be worth your concern?” Huang Ziya questioned.

Yang Jian said, “If you like to ask so much, why not just get out of the car now? Why bother accompanying me on this trip?”

“Since you don’t like me asking too much, I’ll stop,” said Huang Ziya as she ran her fingers through the thick hair on her cheeks and began to fiddle with the cheap crystal necklace around her neck.

The taxi driver, listening to their conversation, felt confused as most of what they were talking about made no sense to him; he just focused on driving.

As the taxi left the urban area, the unease in Yang Jian’s heart finally began to dissipate.

Simultaneously, his twitching eyelid returned to normal.

“The range is astonishingly large,” Yang Jian noted as he looked at the map. It was only after they reached the outskirts and got on the highway that the abnormal feeling completely disappeared.

This indicated that the effect of the ghost paintings was more extensive than he had imagined.

After all, this city was much larger than Dachang City.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co