Chapter 3: The Strange Identity

  Yang Shu helped his son up and examined him from head to toe, feeling overjoyed in his heart. 7 days is neither long nor short, but for someone who hasn't eaten anything, surviving for 7 days might already be the limit. But now Yang Hao looks rosy and full of energy. No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like someone who just recovered from an illness. How could this not excite Yang Shu? "Hao Hao, go take a bath and change your clothes, after you're done washing up, we can have dinner."

  Yang Hao burst into a sunny smile towards his haggard old dad, then turned around and walked into the bathroom, turning on the water heater. He stood in front of the mirror, carefully observing himself... Yes. To outsiders, it seemed that Yang Hao, who had recovered, hadn't changed much, and the subtle changes to his body were only noticeable to himself.

  Yang Hao suddenly opened his eyes, and a layer of misty gas appeared around him, rotating clockwise. His eyes...his eyes were not quite right. He discovered that in the mirror, his own eyes had changed - the pupils had turned blood red and emitted an eerie red glow, which was terrifying. Just as he was admiring the change in his eyes, his left hand started to itch, getting itchier and itchier, with an urge to scratch. As he was about to stretch out his right hand to scratch, the itchy feeling disappeared, replaced by pain. A tearing, heart-piercing pain... Yang Hao's forehead broke out in beads of sweat. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain, staring at his left hand as it changed - countless air masses swirled inside his forearm and fingertips, making it seem like countless insects had burrowed into his skin and were wriggling beneath. And his hand was getting bigger...his fingers longer and thinner...his fingernails longer. 10 minutes later, the pain in his left hand stopped. Because the transformation had stopped. His entire palm was now three times larger than before - dry, long, and thin, it waved back and forth in front of his eyes...was this still a human hand???

  The answer is definite. Yang Hao stared blankly at this sudden change. After a long time, he accepted this fact, and not only was he no longer surprised, but he also became curious, what's the use of this big hand? He tentatively tried to use his left hand to pick up the showerhead, and as soon as his fingertips touched it, the showerhead was cut off at the point where his fingernails touched... With a loud "bang", the severed showerhead fell to the ground... "Hao Hao, what's wrong?" Yang Shu was tidying up the house when he suddenly heard a noise from the bathroom, worried that Yang Hao had just recovered and had another accident, so he rushed over and opened the bathroom door...

  Yang Shu didn't make any sound, but his mouth opened to its maximum limit in an "ah" shape, just like when a doctor examines a patient with a cold and asks them to say "ah", except there was no sound.

  "Hurry...hurry calm down and hold it in, your mom will be back soon. Are you trying to scare her to death?"

  Uncle Yang said and didn't care about Yang Hao's reaction, directly closing the bathroom door. Just thinking of turning around to leave, his heart reminded him again: "Hao Hao, calm down, let go of distractions. Let the energy in your lower abdomen stop rotating. Your hand will recover, don't come out until you've done it right..."

  "Oh..." Yang Hao closed his eyes again, adjusting his breathing once more, and gradually... his left hand began to shrink, while his mind slowly calmed down... a series of unbelievable scenes unfolded before him.

  "Chinamen, die!"

  The scene cut back to the moment before Yang Hao's fake death. Alone, facing a group of Japanese devils who couldn't be killed or touched, Yang Hao felt true fear. He dropped the gun in his hand and turned around to look at those Chinese refugees who were tortured half to death. Suddenly, a strong sense of consciousness arose in his heart.

  "I won't let the Chinese people lose face, even if I die, I won't forgive you. I want to avenge them. I want to destroy you, now I can't kill you, can't catch up with you... but after I die, we'll all be ghosts, and I don't believe I still can't get rid of you"

  Thinking of this, Yang Hao suddenly felt at ease, staring motionlessly at the ghosts approaching him, until finally, a ghost holding a Japanese war sword stood in front of him, slowly raising the sword in his hand, with a teasing gaze fixed on Yang Hao. But Yang Hao didn't dodge, motionlessly using his eyes burning with revenge to collide with the ghost's... Suddenly, he felt his vision go black, and his body became light. After a flash of light and darkness, Yang Hao arrived at an unfamiliar place. This was a straight sandy road, with strange unknown trees on both sides stretching out endlessly. It seemed like he had entered a highway in the middle of a forest, unable to see the beginning or end, nor did he know how long this road was. The sky above was filled with orange clouds, without sun or moon, and no birds, beasts, or insects were seen. Yang Hao glanced around, and doubts arose in his heart...

  "What the...?! How can this be so weird?! Where are those Japanese oni?! And that Russian church?! Am I going to have no revenge after all?!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, punching the ground with his fists and venting his frustration.

  The author says: Some people have the same initial idea as Yang Hao, thinking that even if they can't do anything about ghosts when they're alive, everyone is equal after death and can take revenge. This view is wrong, it's not that simple. So, if someone really encounters a strange event, don't hold this thought. After death, there are rules to follow, and there will be karmic obstacles, it won't be easy for you to take revenge, or else the world would be in chaos. As for vengeful spirits taking revenge, that's a special situation, which will be explained in later chapters.

  Yang Hao took a deep breath and slowly calmed his turbulent emotions, as getting angry was useless anyway. Since he had come this far, it was better to ask someone for clarification than to do nothing at all. So he stood up and headed forward...

  I don't know how long I've been walking, probably a day and a night... but the sky doesn't have any stars, no sun or moon, just roughly estimated, it should be a day and a night. Except for trees still being trees, except for roads still being roads, not a single person in sight, my body is exhausted to the extreme, both hungry and thirsty. Just when Yang Hao wanted to give up, a town appeared before his eyes, why not say city? Because it's ancient and elegant, without any modern city atmosphere, high city walls, every few meters there's a watchtower, in front of the vermilion gate, a pair of stone statues are placed, the left one holding the hilt of a sword standing proudly, looking down on all heroes, the right one with a halberd stuck in the ground, eyes wide open, majestic and powerful. The moat in front of the city is over 10 meters wide, inside flowing clear green water, it shouldn't be shallow, right? Finally, on the stone plaque above the gate, there are three regular script characters, Yang Hao looked at them for a while before realizing this was a ghost town, but he's seen all sorts of ghost scenes before, what's there to fear? Can't care about that much, first priority is filling his stomach, so he quickly walked into the city.

  It's strange to say, but there is a way in, no way out. As soon as Yang Hao stepped through the city gate, the path behind him disappeared from view. Yang Hao stopped for a moment, then continued walking forward. In front of the city gate was a wide stone road, with stalls selling goods on both sides. However, the things being sold were not exactly commendable. There were people selling slaves, including maids, servants, bodyguards, and stewards, both male and female. There were also various strange beasts, such as tigers with wings, and cranes that were bigger than two people combined... Yang Hao couldn't help but be shocked, even forgetting his fatigue and hunger. It wasn't until he saw a wine shop enter his line of sight that he came back to himself, dashing in with a burst of speed.

  Just as I was about to take a seat on the lower left side, a young man dressed in attire that resembled an ancient shop assistant walked over.

  "Sir, are you staying at the inn or just having a meal?" As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter pointed at Yang Hao in surprise.

  "Oh dear... sir. You... aren't a local, are you????"

  "Hey, you've got a good eye for things! I'm new to this place, so please introduce me to some of your signature dishes." Yang Hao's speech had also become full of ancient flavor, and he couldn't help but find it amusing as he followed the young waiter.

  "I'm really sorry, this dish isn't suitable for you, you'd better leave quickly." The shopkeeper said while pushing him out, Yang Hao's mind was filled with doubts.

  "Not even giving me food to eat is no reason to drive me away, who does business like this?" Thinking of this, Yang Hao turned around and returned to the wine building.

  "What's wrong? You're back again?! This place isn't suitable for you, you'd better leave quickly. I'm doing this for your own good..."

  "I say, how can this little cop be so... Ugh, never mind. Then tell me, where is your police station?"

  "What did you say? What tea house?"

  "Ah... no... just where is the place you want to report to?"

  "Oh... you're talking about the government office? From here, go straight ahead and turn right at the end, you'll see it. But I'd advise against going there, just head back where you came from, or else when the time comes, you won't be able to leave..."

  The shopkeeper threw out a sentence and left with a sigh, Yang Hao didn't pay attention to what he said, but just wanted to ask him something, he himself wasn't sure if he was alive or dead, if he was alive, how could he have come to this place? If he was dead, why did the shopkeeper not let him stay overnight? Thinking about it, Yang Hao walked up to the front of the yamen, which was completely different from what he had imagined. He thought it should be a yamen with mainly red colors, but instead, it was a dark green pillar standing in front of a deep purple door, and the walls were also dark green. Above the black eaves, there were four golden regular script characters that read "Yin Du County Yamen". In front of the door, there was a large blue drum, which must be for reporting grievances. Yang Hao didn't think much about it, picked up the drumstick and started beating the drum... Boom... boom... boom boom... The sound of the drum shook the sky, and two yamen runners came out to ask him questions.

  "Who are you? Why beat the drum?" Just as Yang Hao was about to speak, a deep, low and loud voice came from inside the yamen...

  "Who beat the drum? Bring him here..." Two bailiffs seemed to have also noticed that Yang Hao was somewhat different, and they sized him up repeatedly. Upon hearing this voice, they led the way in front, bringing Yang Hao into the grand hall.

  Like the ancient government office, both sides were lined with yamen runners wearing clothes with the character "卒" on them, but not a single one looked human, all had blue-green faces and sharp teeth staring at him ferociously. Under the desk stood a pale-faced person holding a thick book in one hand and a giant brush in the other, also staring at him unblinkingly. Sitting on the desk was a man wearing a black official uniform and a black official hat, his blood-red face expressionless. Yang Hao had learned from TV dramas that direct eye contact with officials in ancient times was extremely disrespectful, so he immediately lowered his head and stood waiting to be questioned.

  "Who are you? Report your name!"

  "I... no, I'm a native of LN Province, DL City, my name is Yang Hao." After he reported his own name, the big man was silent for a while without speaking, so Yang Hao secretly raised his head and took a peek, and in this one glance, he found that the body of the big man on the public case seemed to have moved slightly as well.

  "There's still a hint of yang energy on you, how did you end up here? Who brought him here?" The official suddenly shouted at the yamen runner under the table.

  "Return to the adults, there is no ghost messenger to lead him, he came by himself."

  "Yes, sir, it was indeed I who came myself", Yang Hao explained with a bow.

  "How did you come?"

  "After walking on the road for a day and a night, feeling extremely hungry and tired, they found this place and thought of stopping by to rest before continuing their journey."

  "Why strike the drum when just passing by?"

  "I'm not talented, I just saw it outside the palace, this place is actually the yamen of Fengdu Ghost City. Knowing that this place is where the dead live, so I came to ask, can I still be alive? If I'm dead, I'll cry out for injustice."

  "What injustice have you suffered?"

  "I was originally a policeman, while chasing a criminal, I accidentally entered a haunted house, and later it seemed that after being slashed by a ghost, I inexplicably ended up here, to this day I still don't know whether I'm alive or dead. Please, sir, make a judgment."

  "The devil is in the details"

  Only the white-faced ghost judge was seen, using his brush to point at Yang Hao's empty space, a picture appeared in mid-air in the great hall, it was the scene of Yang Hao's death. All the ghost officials present stared intently at everything that happened on Yang Hao's body... After a long time, the picture disappeared.

  "Is this person's life at an end?"

  "Return to adulthood, this person's yang life is not yet exhausted, and there are still 51 years left." The ghost judge flipped through the big book in his hand and replied with a sentence.

  "Hmm...so it seems that there's been a change in your fate, and this is indeed a true injustice. Yang Hao, follow me to the back hall."

  The big man turned around and entered the back hall after finishing speaking.

  Yang Hao had just walked into the back hall when he saw this official standing motionless in front of a bookcase with his back to him, which made Yang Hao feel an immense pressure all at once. Just as Yang Hao was hesitating whether to stand or sit, the official spoke up.

  "Hao Hao, aren't you being a bit too impulsive?" As he spoke, the person turned around and removed the red demon mask from his face... "Ah...Dad...Daddy?" Yang Hao's mouth was agape, his face filled with incredulity...