Mysterious Awakening

Miles found himself awake much earlier than usual the following morning. His recent transformation into a ghost tamer had brought a slew of peculiar changes in his body, most noticeable of which was his diminishing need for sleep. Interestingly, he didn’t feel fatigued even with fewer hours spent in slumber.

“Just six hours of sleep?” He wondered aloud, staring at his reflection as he washed his face. His visage wasn’t wearied, instead he radiated a certain cold aloofness, which even seemed unfamiliar to him.

The red paper affixed to the back of his hand caught his attention. It had been a whole night; surprisingly, he hadn’t felt the usual discomfort from the ghost eye’s awakening process. Instead, he had slept peacefully. Still, a thin, barely discernible crack had surfaced on the red paper.

“Does this red paper merely conceal the symptoms without addressing the underlying problem? Or is it just an incomplete fragment?” He thought aloud while rubbing his head, “The resolution to my brush with death is evidently more complicated than anticipated.”

It was clear that with the prevalence of global disasters and supernatural occurrences, every ghost tamer was in the struggle for survival. Believing that he could unravel a solution single-handedly seemed naive.

As for his discovery that the red paper could suppress the vengeful ghost’s reappearance, that was purely coincidental.

“Wait a minute,” he remembered abruptly, reaching for the human skin parchment he had with him.

The parchment held a written line: “I woke up early today, noticing the subtle yet ongoing impact of the ghost eye on my body. My need for sleep is dwindling. If this keeps up, sleep might become unnecessary. I’ve heard that ghosts don’t require sleep, so it could be true.”

“Jing told me that you knew the survival mechanism for a ghost tamer. I don’t believe he lied, so you must have the vital clue,” he mused aloud, his gaze fixed on the parchment. “If you decide to share your knowledge, I might reconsider your worth.”