Chapter 154: She’s Speaking Now.

Chapter 154: She's Speaking Now.

The sandwich made by Ji Xingchen was artfully plated. Celery and cherry tomatoes were neatly aligned along the edge of the plate as decoration, even the sauce was presented in a perfect circle, highlighting his meticulous nature.

Chi Shen looked at the plate, resembling a piece of art, and remarked, "We really don't need to go this far just for ourselves."

Ji Xingchen adjusted his glasses, "The tutorial said so, I merely followed it."

Chi Shen looked up and noticed a kitchen scale. He wondered why one would need a scale to make a sandwich. Spotting a measuring cup, beaker, and set square nearby, he paused in bewilderment for a few moments.

Chi Shen: "... Well, at least it tastes good."

After breakfast, he greeted the ghosts in the house and left.

Today, Bai Wan didn't call. Chi Shen had no idea about Zhong Yi's progress. As usual, he multitasked between idling and designing game bosses. Li Xu had a high regard for his boss designs, and he'd already started liaising with the art department to refine them.

After work, Chi Shen didn't rest. While Ji Xingchen went grocery shopping and cooked, Chi Shen began researching the ancient texts from the Zhong family.

He had nearly finished reading. He'd completed the supernatural tales section of the Zhong family's collection. One conclusion was clear: whether the earlier generations didn't focus much on documentation or there were increasing numbers of supernatural occurrences, the volumes grew thicker over generations. Earlier volumes contained around twenty tales, but later ones boasted over a hundred.

However, these supernatural records halted around a century ago. According to Zhong Jingsong, these records didn't make it to the museum and weren't considered ancient texts. If Chi Shen wanted them, they could be sent over.

Chi Shen had them sent over. He kept reading in chronological order, even printing them out to take notes. After reading through, he started on the rest of the Zhong family's ghost-busting summaries, which included characteristics of ghosts and their origins. Familiar with much of it, he skimmed until something caught his eye.

He read a line: "Ghosts possess ghost realms, swiftly moving to and fro."

Not just this line, below were annotations from later generations of the Zhong family. Bai Wan had previously reviewed it and added notes for Chi Shen's clarity. The line described that fierce ghosts can create their own dimensions and move between the world of the living and the dead without much time passage.

Further notes suggest that only the fiercest ghosts possess these realms, and not every ghost does. Powerful ghosts have a higher chance of having their own realm.

Additional details described the characteristics of these ghost realms, formed from a ghost's last unfulfilled desires. If a ghost's desire is strong enough and the ghost itself powerful, it might even pull humans into its realm.

This description seemed all too familiar to him. Wasn't this like the game instances he had experienced?

According to this theory, would he possess a ghost realm?

Chi Shen stretched out his hand, visualizing what his ghost realm might look like... The instances he had been through always started and ended with a door, so first and foremost, there should be a door.

Thus, he mimicked the action of sliding a door.

Nothing happened. No door materialized in front of him, and there was no sensation of unlocking another world.

Was it because the imagined door was ineffective?

Chi Shen moved to his bedroom door, closed his eyes, and visualized the action again. He slid the door open, but nothing changed; behind it was still his bedroom, where Ji Xing Chen's body eerily hung inverted on the wall.

Perhaps this door wasn't the right one, or the presence of Ji Xing Chen 1.0 behind it was causing some interference.

He then tried the bathroom door, to no avail.

Next, he attempted the side bedroom's door. Again, nothing happened.

……

When Ji Xing Chen returned home, groceries in hand, he saw Chi Shen repeatedly opening and closing doors with his eyes shut. The Red-dressed Ghost and the Ghost Face watched from a distance, observing the bizarre scene with caution, neither daring to question nor intervene.

Noticing Ji Xing Chen's return, Chi Shen explained his experimental endeavors and their underlying principles.

With a grocery bag in one hand and adjusting his glasses with the other, Ji Xing Chen remarked, "Have you considered that it might not be the doors, but you? Perhaps you aren't truly a ghost."

"I did think of that," Chi Shen nodded in agreement. "Before you arrived, I tried it on myself. Having confirmed it doesn't work on me, the next step is to experiment on you!"

Ji Xing Chen raised a hand to pause him. "I doubt I've reached the status of a malevolent ghost to be able to manifest a spirit realm."

He paused, adding, "After the extensive drain last night, both my spirit and body are at peace. I don't think I can access the spirit realm."

Upon hearing this, Chi Shen fell silent.

Meanwhile, the Red-dressed Ghost and the Ghost Face exchanged curious glances, seemingly eager to know more about what had "drained" Ji Xing Chen the previous night.

"You can continue pondering. I'll start with the cooking," Ji Xing Chen said, glancing at the two inquisitive ghosts, then walked into the kitchen with his groceries.

Chi Shen now shifted his attention to the Ghost Face and the Red-dressed Ghost.

If neither he nor Ji Xing Chen were suitable candidates, what about the other spirits in the house? If Ji Xing Chen would go berserk due to an excess of yin energy, couldn't they simply use a spirit that wouldn't?

Chi Shen offered the two ghosts a benevolent smile.

The two spirits, sensing something amiss, vanished in a puff of smoke.

Three minutes later.

The Red-dressed Ghost and Ghost Face occupied two chairs opposite the dining table, with Chi Shen seated across from them. He gazed at them with gentle eyes, radiating sincerity and goodwill.

The Red-dressed Ghost seemed somewhat embarrassed under his gaze. She brushed her hair away, shyly lowering her head and began to nervously bite her nails. Ghost Face, on the other hand, wore a resigned look, as if signaling: "Do with me what you will."

"You mean, by absorbing some of the ghost energy he inadvertently emitted, you managed to regenerate?" Chi Shen began with an unexpected query, gesturing towards Ji Xing Chen in the kitchen.

He had noticed that morning that the Red-dressed Ghost had regained some of her form. Due to work commitments, he hadn't probed further. Now, however, he found the information pertinent.

Ghost Face perked up at this revelation but soon lamented, "Had I known, I would've partaken as well. But how could you dare to absorb such energy? Weren't you afraid?"

As she continued to bite her nails, the Red-dressed Ghost nodded. She resembled a child who had done something wrong. She hadn't fully regenerated; only her upper body had returned, with her lower half still absent.

Chi Shen speculated, "It seems your ghost energies are compatible, perhaps because she once fed on your blood. Mine might work for you as well."

With a simple gesture from Chi Shen, a wisp of ghost energy entered the Red-dressed Ghost's body. It was quickly absorbed, and she regained even more of her form.

Turning to Ghost Face, Chi Shen asked with a smile, "And you, do you wish to be liberated?"

"To be free from the shackles of death, to forget the pain of dying, to attain true liberation. Do you desire it?"