Chapter 22: Ghost Skin Feng An

Just as Jiang Yan was about to abandon the idea of harnessing the ghost TV, the screen, which had gone completely dark, suddenly flickered to life. A decayed hand covered in corpse spots shot out, grabbing his arm tightly.

"Damn! I almost forgot there was another ghost here!"

In that instant, Jiang Yan recalled the news broadcast within the TV. There had been two anchors—if the female anchor was a ghost, then it was highly likely the male anchor was one too.

There were two ghosts within this ghost TV.

But by the time he realized it, it was too late. The decaying hand, exuding a strange, terrifying power, had already numbed his arm within mere seconds of contact. It continued to pull, as if trying to drag Jiang Yan into the screen itself. He managed to brace himself, but he couldn't hold out much longer.

"This ghost's strength is incredible. I can't break free on my own." Jiang Yan quickly looked over at the man in the black hat.

The black hat man understood instantly and activated his ghostly windbreaker. The sleeve of his coat coiled tightly around the decayed hand.

For a moment, Jiang Yan felt some sensation returning to his arm.

The two of them worked in unison, pulling with all their might to drag the corpse out of the TV.

With the support of the ghostly windbreaker, they gained the upper hand, slowly extracting the rotten figure. However, it was excruciatingly slow. The dark screen of the TV seemed like a swamp, keeping the corpse mired within, resisting their efforts.

After a few intense minutes of pulling, they managed to extract half of the corpse's body. But at this point, they were at a stalemate; no matter how much they strained, the corpse wouldn't budge another inch, as if fused with the ghost TV, inseparable.

Just then, the man in the black hat noticed the blue uniform on the corpse. His eyes widened in astonishment, and he shouted, "That's a uniform from Headquarters! This person is the city officer from the Ghost-Tamer Division!"

"What?!" Jiang Yan was equally shocked.

He could hardly believe it—the rotting corpse before them was actually a ghost-tamer.

But if the man in the black hat recognized him, it had to be true.

"He must've been assigned to investigate this village. If we save him, we might get some valuable information." The man in the black hat urged.

"Good idea." Jiang Yan agreed. A potential ally was far better than an extra ghost to worry about. And this man was the city officer sent to investigate the village—having him on their side could prove invaluable.

However, they couldn't pull him out any further; the ghost TV seemed unwilling to release its grasp on the corpse.

Frustrated, Jiang Yan raised his left hand, gripping the emergency hammer, and struck the ghost TV again.

"Ahhhhh!"

The moment the hammer hit, a piercing scream echoed, and both of them felt the grip loosen. With one final pull, they managed to extract the corpse fully.

The man in the black hat quickly knelt down to check the corpse's condition, while Jiang Yan stood guard, wary of any further tricks from the ghost TV.

After a moment, the man in the black hat exclaimed with joy, "I checked his ID—this is Feng An, the head officer of Dachuan City! I remember him. He controls a ghost called 'Ghost Skin.' Judging by his condition, he must be nearing ghost resurrection."

"Ghost Skin Feng An." Jiang Yan glanced down at the corpse-like figure on the floor. His skin was deathly pale, rotting in places, and covered in corpse spots, reeking of decay. It was hard to believe he was a ghost-tamer at all.

"You said he's close to resurrection and hasn't shown any signs of consciousness. Are we just supposed to sit here and watch him resurrect?" Jiang Yan had hoped that Feng An could offer some help, but it seemed unlikely from his current state.

The man in the black hat hesitated, furrowing his brow, before pulling out a small red pill.

Jiang Yan looked at it, surprised. "What's that?"

The pill, about the size of a thumb, was a deep blood-red and gave off a thick, metallic scent. It looked extremely ominous.

"This pill can temporarily suppress ghost resurrection. But the downside is that the next resurrection will be twice as intense. If we want to save him, this is our only option." With that, the man in the black hat placed the pill into Feng An's mouth.

Moments after he swallowed the pill, Feng An's rotting skin and corpse spots began to fade, his body slowly returning to a more human appearance, though his skin remained unnaturally pale and cold.

After a short while, Feng An's eyes flickered open, and he saw Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat standing over him.

He looked around in confusion, gradually recalling what had happened.

"Did you save me?" he asked, looking at the two of them.

The man in the black hat nodded, explaining, "You're Feng An, the head officer of Dachuan City, right? We're ghost-tamers too, and we accidentally ended up in Gongyue Village. Why are you here? What do you know about this village?"

Holding his head as if nursing a headache, Feng An was still struggling to shake off the effects of his near-resurrection. His gaze swept over Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat. Although they were fellow ghost-tamers, he remained cautious.

The man in the black hat looked odd enough to warrant suspicion. Meanwhile, Jiang Yan appeared to be a young college student, seemingly more approachable. But then Feng An noticed that the dim hut was blanketed in an eerie yellow glow—a ghostly domain controlled by none other than Jiang Yan himself. Clearly, this young man was no ordinary student.

Out of gratitude for their rescue, Feng An decided to answer their questions briefly.

"I'm Feng An, from Dachuan City," he began. "I was assigned to investigate Gongyue Village with my teammates, Liang Yu and Liu Ming. We arrived at Lugang Mountain and were guided into the village by an old man."

"When we entered the village, it was already night. The old man warned us not to go outside or enter the villagers' homes after dark. So, we headed straight for the ancestral shrine, intending to stay there overnight. But we encountered a ghost attack."

"The ghost was terrifying. Even with all three of us working together, we couldn't suppress it. In the end, Liang Yu's ghost resurrected, and its ghost domain momentarily held off the ghost. That gave Liu Ming and me a chance to escape. I fled here to this hut and found the TV already on. I thought I might find some clues on it, but when I leaned in to check the buttons, a pair of pale hands dragged me into the TV."

Feng An had shared much, and Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat listened intently, understanding the ordeal he had gone through.

Reflecting on Feng An's experience, Jiang Yan was relieved he hadn't tried pressing any buttons himself. It seemed that bending down to check them was indeed the ghost TV's killing mechanism.

Feng An's account was largely a story of his escape, offering little useful information—except for the mention of the incredibly powerful ghost he had encountered.

"What did that ghost look like? Can you describe it in detail?" Jiang Yan asked. Understanding the nature of the ghosts lurking in the village was crucial.

"It was dark, so I couldn't see clearly. But I remember it was very tall, about two meters. We tried to confront it, but the substitute doll* was destroyed instantly, so we fled…." Feng An's voice trembled as he recalled the terrifying moment, clearly still shaken by the memory.

"A terrifying ghost with an unknown killing mechanism, and extremely tall…" Listening to Feng An's description, Jiang Yan thought back to the tall, shadowy figure he had seen in the village chief's home.

Could it be… the same one?

* Substitute doll: An object often used in supernatural fiction, acting as a decoy to absorb harm that would otherwise befall the user.

----------------------------------------------------------------

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 shoutouts 𝘁𝗼:

•Leroy

• Jonathan Bailey

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 volume 01 of this novel 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: patreon.com/sorkarnayeem