Chapter Twenty-Four: Fearless in Ignorance

He felt fortunate for his sudden impulse to take a walk in the courtyard, for otherwise he would never have discovered such an important clue.

He pushed at the wooden door, only to find it locked.

Should he take out his handheld drill and break open the lock?

He certainly had the ability to do so now, but if he caused such a commotion and was discovered by the Hanged Man, he would instantly be plunged into danger.

After a brief hesitation, he decided not to risk it. Quickly, he devised another plan.

He took a powerful flashlight from his portable inventory, found a window that looked relatively clean, pressed the flashlight against the glass, and shone it inside. This way the beam wouldn’t be visible from outside and wouldn’t attract attention from anyone inside the main building.

He pressed himself against the window, peering into the bungalow with the aid of the strong light.

On the floor inside, he could see sealed bottles and jars of various sizes, nothing else of note at the moment.

He rotated the flashlight, trying to examine the corners of the room, when suddenly, a pale face appeared abruptly at the window, startling him so that his heart nearly stopped.

“What is this? Trying to scare me like that? Not even a word of warning, just popping up?”

Even with his solid nerves, he broke out in a cold sweat from the shock.

Steadying himself, he scrutinized the face and saw it belonged to a middle-aged man, but he had only one eye. The other eye was covered by a deep scar, leaving a hollow where the eye should have been.

The one-eyed man’s lips moved as if he were speaking, but through the glass, nothing could be heard.

Shang Yi couldn’t tell if this one-eyed man was human or ghost, but the fact that he was trapped inside by seals bearing runic script suggested he was in opposition to the Hanged Man.

The enemy of his enemy was his friend; he decided to take a small risk and try to communicate.

He glanced around—still deserted. He quickly took out the handheld drill from his inventory, but then paused; this was glass, not wood.

Hurriedly, he found a glass bit in his items, swapped it in, and began drilling a hole at the edge of the window.

The new bit worked wonders; within seconds, he made a hole in the glass without shattering it.

He swiftly put away the drill and flashlight, checked for any movement around him, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When he came to his senses, he realized the one-eyed man was now standing outside the window.

“You don’t belong to this apartment,” the man said in a low voice.

Shang Yi knew the one-eyed man before him must be a manifest ghost; otherwise, he couldn’t have exited the room so quickly.

“That’s right. Are you a family member of Fang Liang?” Based on his online research, he suspected this man was one of the victims in the infamous case.

“No,” the one-eyed man shook his head.

“You even know Fang Liang. Who are you?” The man’s voice was wary.

Shang Yi was surprised by his quick denial and was momentarily at a loss. “I’m a guest staying here today. I didn’t know Fang Liang before; I found out about him online.”

The one-eyed man stared at Shang Yi’s face. “You’re not ordinary. You’re not afraid of ghosts. What do you do?”

“I’m a student. By coincidence, I’ve encountered some ghosts and even made friends with a few.”

Confronted by the ambiguous morality of the one-eyed ghost, Shang Yi felt nervous, trying to use words to bridge the gap.

“No wonder you’re not afraid,” the man sighed in relief.

“Who are you? Why are you locked in this room?” Shang Yi tried to appear calm.

“You shouldn’t have come here. This place is living hell. Anyone who enters can never leave,” the man didn’t answer directly.

“Why can’t they escape? What secret is here?” Shang Yi pressed for answers.

“You can conjure up a drill from thin air, and then make it disappear. You possess a forbidden domain, but why isn’t yours sealed?”

“A forbidden domain? What’s that?” Shang Yi had never heard the term before.

“You don’t even know what a forbidden domain is, yet you dare come here alone? Truly, ignorance breeds courage!” The man’s voice was tinged with contempt.

“A forbidden domain is a special field of power that influences the environment, divided into life domains and death domains. Life domains can be used while alive; death domains only after death.”

Hearing this, Shang Yi understood: on this continent of Sky Vault, humans, ghosts, and monsters all had special abilities, collectively termed forbidden domains.

Thus, Tang Ya’s abilities, the warden dinosaur and deputy warden crocodile’s powers, Bai Ying’s skills, and his own learned techniques—all belonged to forbidden domains.

The one-eyed man continued: “Except for the old woman on the fourth floor, every living person here has a life domain. Ordinary people—even police—can’t handle these beings with special powers.”

“For example, the black-faced security guard on the second floor has a life domain of instant skin hardening and explosive strength.”

“If you hit him, his body is as hard as iron; if he hits you, your bones are as soft as tofu. He poked my eye out with a single finger.”

“Every ghost that can manifest here has a death domain. But except for Fang Liang, the Hanged Man has sealed all other ghosts’ death domains—they can’t use them or escape.”

“So whether you’re human or ghost, even with a forbidden domain, you can’t leave. This place is a grave for the living, a purgatory for the dead.”

He expected Shang Yi to be terrified, pale and trembling after hearing all this, but instead, Shang Yi seemed invigorated, his eyes bright.

“This isn’t my grave—it’s theirs. None of this affects me. Tonight, I’ve come to destroy this criminal den.”

The one-eyed man scrutinized Shang Yi, doubtful. “You make it sound easy, but you don’t know what you’re up against. The Hanged Man is the nightmare of the living; Fang Liang is hell for the dead.”

“These are nearly invincible monsters. We’ve confronted them for so long without even figuring out their forbidden domains, and they’ve tortured us to the point of utter misery.”

“You’ve only been here a day, haven’t figured out anything, and you want to wipe out this place?”

Shang Yi was surprised by the terrifying descriptions of the Hanged Man and Fang Liang, but he needed to win over the one-eyed man, give him confidence, and not show weakness.

He checked the surroundings, then instantly showed the one-eyed man his skull-crusher hammer and handheld chainsaw from his inventory, then quickly put them away.

“As you saw, I can summon these things at will. They can’t affect me. I have even more powerful tricks yet unused.”

“There’s always someone stronger, human or ghost. What you couldn’t do, doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Do you know why the Hanged Man can seal other people’s forbidden domains? Is there a way to break it?” Shang Yi asked.

The one-eyed man, seeing Shang Yi’s confidence, was slightly swayed. “I don’t know the details. My death domain was sealed by the Hanged Man as well.”

“I suspect it’s a special ability, maybe a unique effect of his life domain. The Hanged Man is a living person—the one wearing the ghost-face mask.”

Shang Yi glanced at the main building’s entrance; seeing no one, he quickly asked, “What is your death domain? Why are you locked here?”

The one-eyed man sighed. “My death domain doubles the damage taken by anyone I stare at—it’s an auxiliary forbidden domain.”

“Like you, I was once a guest here. After being killed, my soul was trapped.”

“I used to stay in the first-floor kitchen. After you arrived, the Hanged Man had Fang Liang lock me in here.”

Shang Yi scratched his head, recalling a crucial point. “You said the Hanged Man and Fang Liang are nearly invincible. What does that mean?”

“It means they’re impervious to attacks—nothing works, no matter the method, human or ghost. There’s simply nothing anyone can do against them.”

Shang Yi frowned. “I’m pressed for time. One last question—how many living people and ghosts are here, on which floors, and where is Fang Liang?”

“For the living: two rooms on the second floor house the black-faced guard and a bald, fat man.”

“There’s a tall, thin, long-faced man on the third floor; the fourth floor has two rooms, occupied by the Hanged Man and Fang Liang’s wife.”

“As for ghosts, only four can manifest and possess forbidden domains. I am Tan Gong; besides me, there’s Fang Liang’s daughter-in-law, Xue Ling, in a red dress in the first-floor bedroom.”

“There’s also a red-haired woman, Xiong Xia, a guest who died tragically. She used to be in the first-floor bathroom, now locked in another bungalow in the courtyard.”

“And the last ghost is Fang Liang, dressed in patient clothes, appearing about sixty, usually in the third-floor bedroom.”

Shang Yi had spent some time in the courtyard, unsure if the Hanged Man or Fang Liang might come down to patrol.

If he was caught chatting with the one-eyed man, his life would be forfeit.

“Thank you. Go back inside so they don’t notice you left. I’ll hurry back to the living room. I’ll visit again when I have the chance.”

With that, he hurriedly ran back to the living room, glanced back, and saw the one-eyed man had already vanished from the window.

Turning around, he suddenly realized the Hanged Man was standing right in front of him.

Behind the ghost-face mask, two dark, hollow eyes stared fixedly at him.

“Why did you go outside?”

From the one-eyed man’s account, Shang Yi knew the Hanged Man had grown suspicious as soon as he entered the room, or else he wouldn’t have ordered Fang Liang to lock up the one-eyed man immediately.

Now, seeing him leave the room almost as soon as he’d entered, it was behavior utterly unlike any normal guest.