After a brief exchange, Yang Xiao confird that Datou had also lost his past mories, just like the tavern owner, which ant he was also a product of Ghost Island’s reset.
Datou was dead, perishing under the cliffs last night—an unchangeable fact.
Sopa clung tightly to Datou, unwilling to let go for a long ti, as if this were a dream, and once awakened from it, the siblings would never reunite again.
In this short ti, Yang Xiao didn’t waste any mont; he discreetly probed Datou and the tavern owner for information. Through their responses, Yang Xiao keenly noticed that parts of their mories had been scrambled with past realities.
For instance, in Datou’s mory, Hafeez’s appearance was not abrupt, as if originally, the four of them had descended upon the island together.
This ghostly place was strange, filled with long nights and many dreams. Yang Xiao stepped forward and tactfully reminded Sopa that they should attend to the business at hand.
Sopa left Datou, whose leg was injured, to continue resting, while she and Yang Xiao approached Hafeez to help him remove the mysterious black ghost strapped to his back.
As the fabric strips tied to him were untangled, the black ghost departed from his back, allowing Hafeez to finally breathe a sigh of relief. He had been anxious throughout the journey, but luckily nothing had happened.
He credited it all to Yang Xiao. Despite being young, Yang Xiao’s abilities and intelligence were evident. Though outwardly cold, he was warm-hearted in critical monts and undoubtedly the strongest pillar of the team.
"Chu, brother, what else do you need to do?" Hafeez stretched his sore shoulders and took the initiative to request tasks from Yang Xiao, knowing he was inexperienced but obedient, understanding his worth.
Since arriving in this Nightmare World, he realized one truth: to survive, one must have value; this way, teammates wouldn’t abandon him.
"Stay on the sidelines; keep an eye on the outside. If those ghostly things approach, report imdiately," Yang Xiao dismissed Hafeez with just two sentences.
He had no energy for idle talk; next up was the delicate work. To place the black ghost back on the stone platform, there were bound to be unexpected issues, and at the crucial mont, Yang Xiao chose to personally handle it.
Sopa cooperated at his side; such matters couldn’t involve Datou and the tavern owner.
They were different from Sopa and himself, already part of Ghost Island. Frankly, in life-threatening situations, Yang Xiao couldn’t trust them.
Thankfully, neither Datou nor the tavern owner minded. The tavern owner even volunteered to head toward the cave entrance to help monitor outside movents.
Not daring to use his hands directly, Yang Xiao wrapped his palms in clothing before lifting the shriveled body of the black ghost. Step by step, he cautiously placed it on the stone platform.
The process went smoothly. There was a groove on the stone platform initially ant for the ghost statue, so Yang Xiao placed the black ghost in the groove.
After completing everything, Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, as the black ghost remained immobile throughout, very cooperative, likely due to the effects of the previous ritual.
Confirming everything was correct, Yang Xiao pulled off the cloth wrapping the black ghost’s head. Staring at the ghost’s face with its head tilted, its half-open milky-white eyes stirred the suppressed unease within him.
Not entirely sure why, Yang Xiao felt that the black ghost in front of him seed... sohow different from before, though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
Gradually, the temperature inside the cave seed to drop as well. Yang Xiao raised his arm and suddenly noticed goosebumps appearing on his skin.
Instinctively retreating, Yang Xiao’s body beca increasingly heavy, sounding an alarm for him.
This wasn’t an illusion; it was real. Yang Xiao was now very certain that sothing was wrong with the ghost.
"Was it... was it like this before?" Sopa suddenly raised her hand to point at the black ghost on the stone platform, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "I... I rember its neck was tilted to the other side."
The words awoke the drear; Yang Xiao finally realized what caused the awkward feeling. The black ghost from before was also tilting its neck, but back then, it leaned to the right, whereas now, it leaned to the left!
This entity wasn’t restrained; more precisely, there was so mid-event change that broke the limits, causing it to awaken again.
After this scene unfolded, both Yang Xiao and Sopa hurriedly stepped back, maintaining a distance from the black ghost, while the cave’s light abruptly dimd.
The candle fla beside Datou flickered violently, as if ready to extinguish at any mont. The eerie part was, there was no wind in the cave at all.
Without hesitation, Yang Xiao lit a candle. Though the fla was heavily suppressed, there was enough light to vaguely see the black ghost ahead had no shadow at all.
"Light all the candles, find that shadow quickly!" Yang Xiao shouted.
He had one more candle on him; now was not the ti to save it, so he lit it too.
He placed a candle on the ground to ensure his own safety, and then took out an incense stick, lighting it to observe the direction of its smoke.
Elsewhere, Sopa and Datou quickly moved around, each lighting their candles and patrolling the cave.
As for the tavern owner and Hafeez, who rushed over upon hearing news, Yang Xiao instructed them not to approach, but to guard the cave entrance.
The awakening of the black ghost could potentially bring unpredictable repercussions. What Yang Xiao feared most was attracting a horde of wandering Ghost Village people from outside.
Amid the urgent search, Yang Xiao noticed a problem with the incense smoke: it didn’t disperse far but hovered around him.
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