12. Shadow over Mount Luo II

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The "police officer" verbally claimed to have an important matter to attend to, yet his pace was calm and unhurried as he left through the east gate of the residential complex. Meanwhile, Chang’an arrived at the south gate of the complex, the very place where we had entered, and met up with me.

Upon seeing me, he openly shared the content of his recent conversation with the “police officer” without reservation, then anxiously said, “I might be in danger lately. It’s probably not safe for me to go to school anymore. You’d better stay away from me too, so you don’t get dragged into this.”

I kept an eye on the “police officer” while replying, “Got it.”

“But why did he just send you away?” Chang’an asked, puzzled.

“To avoid leaking details about the case, I suppose. You’re somewhat involved, so it doesn’t matter, but I’m basically an outsider,” I offered a simple analysis from a layman’s perspective. “This incident involves victims who are almost all local elites, so the situation is likely more complicated than just a few deaths. No one wants the whole city buzzing with rumors until the truth comes out.”

Chang’an nodded in understanding, then checked his phone and said, “I have somewhere to go later. Let’s say goodbye here for now.”

“Don’t you have class this afternoon?” I asked in surprise. “Are you skipping class to go to a club again? Seriously, at this hour…”

One major reason Chang’an was widely criticized at university was his frequent visits to nightlife venues.

What made it worse was that it wasn’t just a rumor—it was true.

With his looks and financial means, attracting the opposite sex was effortless. Even with his current reputation, many women threw themselves at him. So I never understood why he’d pay for something so trivial as casual encounters.

“No, no, I’m going to the hospital to visit my mom!” he hastily explained. “I’ve already taken leave from class today. I have to stay at the hospital until evening anyway. It just so happens to be a military hospital with tight security, so I can lay low there. My sister will probably come tonight too; she keeps nagging me for not visiting…”

“That’s good. But you really should avoid clubs from now on. Isn’t Zhu Shi always criticizing you for not keeping yourself clean?”

“Alright, alright, I get it, I get it… Sigh, I don’t know how to talk to my sister anymore. She probably thinks I’m crazy by now,” he complained.

“Just pretend nothing happened. Zhu Shi won’t bring up your craziness either.”

“I’m not crazy!” he protested loudly, muttering a few more things before bidding me farewell and turning to leave.

I secretly stuck a “Firefly” tracker onto his back just in case something happened. Although there was no evidence he might become a target of the serial killer, his background was similar to the previous five victims, and he was connected to the case. Such precautions were necessary.

After doing all that, I found a fried chicken shop on the street, sat down quietly, and continued to monitor the “police officer’s” movements.

—

Not long after Chang’an and I parted, the “police officer” took out his phone by the roadside and dialed a number.

The perception range of the “Firefly” tracker was all-encompassing and flawless. Through it, I could clearly see and hear everything in the surrounding space, including the exact number he dialed. Quietly, I took out my own phone on the other end and recorded it while continuing to observe.

The call was quickly answered.

“I’ve done everything you asked. There were indeed unusual traces at Zhu Chang’an’s residence,” the “police officer” spoke first. “I didn’t see the ‘cave’ he mentioned when reporting, but the ‘magic circle’ definitely existed, and it was almost an effective ritual array.”

“Thank you, Agent Kong,” came the voice of a young woman on the other end, conveying a meticulous personality.

Through the “Firefly,” I clearly eavesdropped on the conversation.

Agent Kong?

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Is “police officer” Kong his surname? But why “Agent”?

In my impression, police officers in our country don’t usually carry the title “Agent.” I had some doubts before, but now it seemed this person really wasn’t a cop.

The young woman continued.

“What do you mean by the ritual array being ‘almost effective’?”

Agent Kong patiently explained, “It means the array shouldn’t have worked. I’m not one of your demon hunters, but I studied ritual magic in Luoshan before. So I can tell this array was over ninety percent complete. Its purpose was to open a certain alternate space overlapping with real space-time, but it lacked one or two key spell symbols, so it couldn’t precisely locate the target alternate space.

“To put it simply, the array was like a domino setup missing a few pieces at the start. No matter how complete the rest is, missing the crucial parts means it won’t run.”

The young woman replied with understanding, “I see… But strange phenomena really did occur there, right?”

Agent Kong shook his head. “I don’t know about that. I think Zhu Chang’an probably didn’t lie, but I can’t explain why the ritual array suddenly activated.”

Wait, what are they suddenly talking about?

Ritual array? Alternate space?

Demon hunters? Luoshan?

Is that the demon hunters I’m thinking of—the ones who hunt monsters?

As for Luoshan…

I’ve never heard of such an organization or faction, but I knew the concept.

In Taoism, the underworld is called Fengdu, also known as Luofeng Mountain or Fengdu Luoshan. Luoshan refers to the realm of the dead. The Taoist classic “Dongyuan Ji” records: “Fengdu Luoshan lies to the north, the Gui land is the gate to ghosts, the root of death and darkness. The mountain is 2,600 li high, with a circumference of 30,000 li, containing cave palaces, the abode of ghosts and deities.”

Suddenly, I realized I had unexpectedly come into contact with another strange world.

Who exactly are these people?

The conversation continued.

“Maybe the source of the phenomenon isn’t the ritual array?” the demon hunter woman speculated.

“That I don’t know. I’m just a ‘probe,’ responsible only for notifying you of the abnormal event’s existence. The follow-up investigation is up to you demon hunters,” Agent Kong distanced himself before continuing, “By the way, I saw another person there, probably Zhu Chang’an’s friend, named Zhuang Cheng. Do you recognize the name?”

Hearing my name mentioned suddenly, I instinctively straightened up in the fried chicken shop.

“Zhuang Cheng…” the demon hunter woman repeated my name.

“I’ve heard rumors about him too. He’s a well-known supernatural enthusiast in Xianshui City, always investigating paranormal phenomena,” Agent Kong seemed to know quite a bit about me. “Three or four years ago, wasn’t there an overseas Feng Shui master who gave advice to our local tycoons only to be debunked on the spot by him? I heard he even helped authorities in other provinces crack down on feudal superstitions.

“Now it seems he’s noticed many suspicious points in this case, like why the ritual array was only discovered recently…”

“Our Luoshan people lack criminal investigation experience. If it were proper police, they wouldn’t have missed such a big clue,” the demon hunter woman sighed. “Luoshan’s approach these past few years has been problematic. At least they should deepen cooperation with the public security bureau during investigations. How can they monopolize all the work and still mess it up?”

“That’s not for us front-line personnel to discuss,” Agent Kong avoided the topic and went back to the earlier point. “From what I can tell, he’s never given up chasing supernatural cases.”

“You mean…” the demon hunter woman’s voice grew serious.

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Agent Kong nodded on his end of the line. “You know the trend these past two years. Zhuang Cheng might have already come into contact with the demon hunter world, maybe even gained some power.”

Huh? I’ve already come into contact with the demon hunter world?

Do I know about this?

And what does “the trend these past two years” mean? From his tone, it sounds like the past two years have been a period when people like me are more likely to encounter the demon hunter world. So why have I never come across it before?

“You mean the source of the strange phenomena isn’t the ritual array, but him?” the demon hunter woman asked.

Hearing this, I reined in my thoughts a bit and found the conjecture reasonable.

If I really am affected by Mazao’s unlucky, paranormal curse, and Chang’an, as my friend, is encountering strange phenomena because of me, then tracing the source back to me is perfectly logical. Even if the source isn’t me but Mazao, I can’t entirely excuse myself.

Agent Kong and the demon hunter woman’s analysis might be correct.

“I just had this idea; there’s no evidence for it. Ultimately, we don’t even know why the fallen demon hunter left an incomplete ritual array in that house…” Kong only lightly touched on his suspicion of me. “Let’s get back to practical matters. Will you have time to deal with the ritual array in that house? Something like that is inappropriate for a normal person to handle. It has to be you demon hunters.”

“I have to go to the hospital tonight, so the afternoon it is. I’ll deal with the ritual array soon,” the demon hunter woman spoke straightforwardly. “Though I don’t yet know the cause of the cave. If it comes to it, we’ll just break through the living room floor of that house and physically remove the conditions that allow the cave to exist.”

“That’s also a solution,” Agent Kong agreed.

But inside, I immediately felt a powerful urgency.

They want to eliminate the cave?

No. I haven’t explored it myself.

I can’t accept that.

To me, whether it’s Mazao’s talk of “doomsday” and “blessed cultivators,” or what these two are saying about “Luoshan” and “demon hunters,” it’s all just intangible words, concepts I can’t touch.

But that cave is different. It’s the only paranormal thing I’ve seen with my own eyes, with unique value.

It can disappear—but only after I’ve explored it.

I have to do something to stop them.

At that moment, Agent Kong spoke again.

“Also, I’m a bit worried the fallen demon hunter’s next target might be Zhu Chang’an. If someone of that level targets him, he won’t be safe anywhere. I can’t protect him either. You’ll have to step in. Didn’t you fend off the fallen demon hunter last time? If you don’t have other leads now, I suggest you ambush at Zhu Chang’an’s place.”

“I’ll go protect him right away,” the demon hunter woman agreed promptly, then realized, “But if I do that, I won’t have time to handle the ritual array and the cave for now.”

“They’re not urgent for the moment. No casualties have occurred so far anyway.”

“No. Unknown paranormal events must be resolved quickly…” After a moment’s thought, she said, “Tomorrow morning then. I’ll ask some other demon hunters to temporarily take over my protection duties. I’ll personally handle it or assign others to deal with the ritual array and cave.”

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