’Right, the Blood Shroud! As long as there’s still a breath of life left...’

The description of the Blood Shroud said that as long as the user didn’t suffer a fatal blow, any injury or severed limb could be rapidly healed.

No problem there. What Old Zhao suffered wasn’t a fatal wound.

Being cut in half at the waist was well within the Blood Shroud’s capabilities.

The thought suddenly struck Gao Tian. He scrambled to take off his shirt, desperately trying to peel off the Blood Shroud underneath.

He had worn the Blood Shroud for a long time, and parts of it had fused with his flesh. Tearing it off forcefully would be no different from skinning half his body.

Looking at Zhao Zhenjia, whose life hung by a thread, he roared and brutally tore the shroud off his body inch by inch, flesh and all. Blood immediately gushed out.

After ripping off the Blood Shroud that was fused to his own flesh, Gao Tian gritted his teeth against the searing pain wracking his body and hastily, clumsily, pulled it onto Zhao Zhenjia’s mangled torso.

Normally, a man of Zhao Zhenjia’s size would have had a hard time fitting into this normal-sized shroud. But now that he’d been slapped in half by that demonic hand, it was actually easier to put on.

After getting the Blood Shroud on him, Gao Tian stood to the side, able to do nothing but wait.

At this point, he had no other options. He could only pray to the gods that Old Zhao would survive this ordeal.

If even the Blood Shroud was powerless to turn the tide, then there was truly no hope. He had already done everything he could.

It seemed his prayers were gradually being answered.

The remains of Zhao Zhenjia, which had been practically indistinguishable from a corpse, actually started to change.

CREAK... SQUELCH... The eerie sounds of flesh and bone regenerating at an astonishing speed filled the air.

It was unbelievable. The man had been reduced to this state, yet the Blood Shroud was actually restoring the better part of his body.

Only then did Gao Tian have a moment to wipe the sweat that was pouring down his forehead like rain.

It was like waking up from a nightmare.

In just the span of a few blinks, Zhao Zhenjia—who had been nothing but the upper half of a torso with lifeless eyes—had somehow regained consciousness. His lower body gradually grew back, and he once again became a whole person.

He slowly opened his eyes, as if finding it difficult to process the situation.

"Where... where is this?"

That slap from the demonic hand in the hallway had not only obliterated half his body but had also made his entire life flash before his eyes. The sudden influx of information had caused his brain to crash. It took him a long time to vaguely recall what had just happened.

Zhao Zhenjia turned his head and gazed at the endless darkness in the distance of the Mirror World.

"This is the Mirror World?

"What are those black things in the distance?"

Before Gao Tian could answer, Zhao Zhenjia remembered the absolute terror he felt right before dying.

"I remember getting swatted to death by that ghostly hand while covering your retreat, you son of a bitch.

"Is that black card of yours a fake? Did you have someone make it for you?"

Gao Tian felt deeply wronged. He started explaining as he prepared to strip the Blood Shroud off Zhao Zhenjia’s body.

"It’s the effect of my Supernatural Artifact, the Blood Shroud."

"Alright, since you’re fine now, take it off and give it back."

The defensive power of this artifact was truly heaven-defying. It could even save someone who was cut in half. This was the first time Gao Tian had witnessed the sheer power of the Blood Shroud firsthand.

Having experienced the effects of the Blood Shroud, Zhao Zhenjia was a bit reluctant to part with it.

"Whoa, whoa, Brother Gao Tian, don’t be in such a hurry to take it back. This thing saved my life. I think I’m starting to get attached to it."

"Sell this artifact to me. Name your price. As long as it’s not too outrageous, we can talk."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhenjia had taken a liking to the garment.

Gao Tian was also taken aback. This was his first time attempting to trade a Supernatural Artifact with someone.

"’Name my price?’

"What do you have to trade for it?"

Zhao Zhenjia asked tentatively,

"I’ll give you the Wind Attendant Buddha, and I’ll even teach you how to control it until you’ve mastered it. How about it?"

Gao Tian thought for a moment.

’Trading the Blood Shroud for the Wind Attendant Buddha... is it a gain or a loss?’

The Wind Attendant Buddha.

As Zhao Zhenjia’s trump card, the artifact’s own abilities were not weak. It could be used to investigate the patterns behind various killings.

Not to mention, when combined with the Mirror Ghost, it allowed for entry and exit from the Mirror World at no cost. It was equivalent to carrying a portable safe house.

Although the Blood Shroud was an excellent defensive artifact, it had a time limit. If worn for too long, it would fuse with the body, at which point Gao Tian would definitely have to take it off.

Trading it away now would be like getting to use it for a while for free, and in return, getting a more combat-effective artifact.

Of course, he would have to be clear with Zhao Zhenjia about the Blood Shroud’s weaknesses. Whether Zhao Zhenjia would still want the time-limited artifact after that was another matter.

Seeing Gao Tian’s thoughtful expression, Zhao Zhenjia misunderstood. He thought the Blood Shroud was too important to Gao Tian, and that the Wind Attendant Buddha alone wasn’t enough to tempt him.

Zhao Zhenjia gritted his teeth, deciding to go all-in.

"Brother Gao Tian, you’re a bit greedy. The Wind Attendant Buddha is really not weak; it’s my last resort. How is it any worse than your Blood Shroud?"

"How about this? I really love this Supernatural Artifact. I’ll throw in a little something extra."

"This Supernatural Dice. I’ll give it to you to make up the difference. It’ll be like trading two Supernatural Artifacts for your one."

Zhao Zhenjia took a grayish-white die from his pocket. It was crooked, with one to six holes carved into each face. It looked like it was made from human bone.

With Old Zhao’s explanation, Gao Tian understood why he was treating this artifact as a throw-in, practically giving it away for free.

Each time the user rolls the Supernatural Dice, a different effect is triggered depending on the number rolled.

Each effect can only be triggered once. After that, the corresponding face will shatter, making it unusable in the future.

Roll a 1: The user dies instantly and cannot be revived by any artifact.

Roll a 2: Duplicate a Supernatural Artifact. The copy has the exact same effect.

(If the original Supernatural Artifact is a one-time-use item, the copy will be in a usable state.)

Roll a 3: Emit the scent of a living person for 24 hours. This scent will attract the covetous attention of nearby malevolent ghosts.

Roll a 4: Dispel a supernatural event caused by a malevolent ghost.

(The malevolent ghost itself cannot be eliminated, only forced into a temporary dormant state.)

Roll a 5: The user is randomly teleported to a supernatural location.

Roll a 6: Absolute invincibility for one day.

...

Seeing the first effect of the Supernatural Dice, Gao Tian’s eyes widened. ’Damn, starts off with a bang.’ No wonder Zhao Zhenjia wanted nothing to do with it and offered it up as a throw-in.

The logic of this die was simple: three of the results were negative, and three were positive.

An ordinary person couldn’t possibly use this thing. Although the odds of a positive or negative outcome were fifty-fifty, the negative effects were simply too severe. Rolling one meant either certain death or landing in a desperate situation. The benefits of the positive effects couldn’t possibly offset that risk.

But for Gao Tian, this die might actually be useful.

If the die roll was completely random and dependent on luck, then he had his black tie. Combining the two could create a whole new combo.

Two Supernatural Artifacts for one Blood Shroud. Looked at this way, Gao Tian was without a doubt getting the better end of the deal. He had no reason to hesitate.

"Deal."

"But this Blood Shroud has its flaws. You should understand them first before you decide whether to go through with this trade."

Gao Tian explained, in full detail, the changes that occur after wearing the Blood Shroud for a long time.

He had only worn it for less than a month, and part of the shroud had already fused with the muscles on his body. The wounds from where he had just forcibly torn it off to give to Zhao Zhenjia were horrifying to look at and were still oozing blood.

Hearing about the Blood Shroud’s negative effects, not only was Zhao Zhenjia not put off, he became even more interested.

"It’s that powerful? Even more useful than I imagined."

"It can negate damage, and the degree of negation increases over time. It’s the ideal defensive artifact. It’s completely worth trading even the Wind Attendant Buddha for it."

As for being consumed by the Blood Shroud in the future, Zhao Zhenjia couldn’t care less.

The average lifespan of a Ghost Hunter was very short. Who had time to worry about the future?

Anything that helped you survive the present, survive the next green-text mission, and survive until tomorrow was a top-tier artifact.

In short, both parties were very satisfied with the trade.

Since the deal was struck, Zhao Zhenjia took a small, black Buddha statue from his jacket and began to personally instruct Gao Tian on how to use the statue to summon a Wind Puppet identical to himself.

"With this thing, first, you have to bind it with your blood. Soak it in your blood every day. This process needs to go on for about two weeks..."

The two of them walked and talked, following the mirrors that lined the long, white corridor.

Operating the Wind Attendant Buddha wasn’t complicated. Gao Tian estimated he would have more than enough time to master it.

Their current task was to find a suitable mirror and return to the third floor.

Xia Ta and the others, who had already returned to the main hall, had probably seen that he and Zhao Zhenjia hadn’t come down for a long time and assumed they’d met with an accident and were already dead.

Along the way, all the mirrors they saw showed rooms on the fifth floor.

The malevolent ghosts on this floor were already terrifying beyond comprehension. Even hiding inside the mirrors, knowing the rooms outside couldn’t harm them, just looking at them was enough to cause an extremely strong sense of unease—even the terror that one might lose their sanity if they stared for too long.

This showed that Xia Ta’s will was like steel. She must have experienced unimaginable horror in Room 525, but she had dismissed it with a simple, understated, "It’s over."

The mirrors beside them, which had been facing rooms on the fifth floor, gradually started showing rooms on the fourth. It seemed that if they continued in this direction, they would soon reach the third floor.

"Hey, how are we getting out of here later?"

"We’re both in the mirror. Can we summon the Wind Puppet outside, pull it in, and then have it swap with us to get us out?"

"We can try. If that doesn’t work, we’ll pull Jiang Yang in first, swap him with me, and then I’ll summon the Wind Puppet once I’m outside."

"As long as you’re not dead, and not cut in half, there’s always a way."

The blood-red characters on the gray card in Gao Tian’s hand slowly faded away.

On the fifth floor, it had tricked Gao Tian, forcing him to save a gray card.

In three months, it would automatically activate its teleportation function on a timer, allowing him to escape a predestined death.