Resurgence of the Unknown

Chapter 44: The Decaying Head

As Yang Jian stared at the now-disappeared corpse, his expression grew increasingly grim. Things had just taken a serious turn. The ghost that had been lurking in the mall was likely now active.

But where could it be?

The surroundings were dimly lit, not completely dark, but just enough to make it hard to see each person's face clearly. At this moment, Tang, Manager Li, and Master Luo were no longer concerned about why the lights had gone out. The sight of the missing corpse had filled them with fear, making them realize something was terribly wrong.

Was this place really haunted?

The two candles on the ritual altar, which had been lit earlier during the ritual, flickered unsteadily in the dimness. However, the mall was so vast that the light from the candles barely illuminated anything beyond the immediate vicinity. The flickering shadows of the people around the candles only added to the eerie atmosphere.

"Quick, we need to leave! The ritual didn't work, and we've angered the evil spirit. If we don't leave now, something terrible is going to happen!" Master Luo shouted in a panic.

Faced with such terrifying events, it was clear that they were likely dealing with a real ghost. Master Luo was too scared to stay any longer.

As soon as he spoke, one of the female employees let out a terrified scream and started to flee. Suddenly, everyone else began to panic and scatter, like headless chickens.

But they soon realized a serious problem: the entire mall was locked up. The main entrance and all the emergency exits had been secured. This was Master Luo's doing when he ordered the place to be sealed for the ritual.

"Where are the keys? Security, open the doors!" Tang tried to open the main door, but finding it locked, he urgently called out.

"I told you, locking the doors for the ritual was a bad idea. If you're going to trap a ghost inside, you should at least consider that you're inside too. Now look at the mess we're in," Yang Jian said, shining his flashlight around.

"You there, where are the keys? Hurry, open the door!" Tang said, panic-stricken.

Yang Jian shook his head. "I don't have the keys. I'm new here—this is only my second day on the job. Sister Li is the one in charge of the keys. I can lock the doors, but I can't unlock them. Besides, isn't Master Luo here supposed to be an expert in dealing with ghosts? Why don't you ask him to capture the ghost and make us all safe?"

He turned his gaze toward the sweating Master Luo.

"You! It's your fault! You disrupted my ritual, or else none of this would have happened. Now that the spirit is angry, it's not going to be easy to deal with!" Master Luo shouted, trying to shift the blame onto Yang Jian.

"You're a grown man; is this really the best way to handle things? Shifting the blame to me when you clearly can't do the job? Look at you, you're terrified. Do you really think you'll survive if the ghost shows up?" Yang Jian scoffed, mocking him.

Master Luo retorted, "Don't be ridiculous. I may not be able to handle this thing, but as long as I'm here, it won't be able to hurt anyone."

Tang quickly latched onto this hope. "Master Luo, I trust you completely. Please ensure our safety."

"Of course, no problem," Master Luo, ever the con artist, replied confidently.

Yang Jian shook his head in disbelief. It was remarkable how easily Master Luo could deceive Tang.

Suddenly, Yang Jian heard a noise, something rolling across the floor. He pointed his flashlight in that direction. Under the light, he saw a pale, lifeless head rolling toward them. The head belonged to a woman, with her hair neatly combed. It appeared to be the severed head of the female cashier, Wei Xiaohong, who had screamed earlier about the disappearing corpse.