Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 4: Interrogation

Fu Xingchuan simply washed his face and hurried to the interrogation room.

For security reasons, the interrogation room wasn’t inside the Shian Building but in a small cylindrical building in the southwest corner of the park. The interrogation room was on the ground floor. Its corridors were crowded with vibrant plants. Bird cages were hung, with many small birds chirping among the branches and leaves.

They weren’t just for mere decoration.

These potted plants and small birds were extremely sensitive to evil spirits. More importantly, they were striking enough to cover up the magic in the building.

Fu Xingchuan swallowed a piece of chocolate. The sweet taste stuck to his throat. As soon as he entered the interrogation room, he poured himself a cup of tea.

The interrogation room of the Shian Group wasn’t like the ones in a police station. It was decorated rather warmly. The lighting was soft, and the room was furnished with dark coffee-colored wooden furniture that held broad-leaved potted plants. There was a small table with a pot filled with hot tea and a plate of peach cookies. At first glance, it looked more like a retro café.

However, it still had its cold parts.

For example, the interrogation room was well stocked, but there wasn’t a single sharp object. The tables and chairs were fixed to the floors, and the cups and plates were all special products that couldn’t be broken. Another example was Fu Xingchuan sitting in a dark room, separated from the warm little world by a layer of one-way glass. The people inside couldn’t see him at all.

Anonymous’ origin was unknown, and they needed more time to conduct a physical exam before they could ask him questions. Through the one-way glass, Fu Xingchuan looked at Zhong Chengshuo in the interrogation room.

Zhong Chengshuo had already taken off his rain cape.

He was wearing a white sweater that was too wide. His dark pants were loose and casual, and his sneakers were clean, showing meticulous care for them. At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo was busy putting on his glasses—probably because he was afraid the rain would get in his eyes, so he stored his glasses in a case that was tucked in his pocket.

Fu Xingchuan had to admit that he looked very pleasing to elders.

Zhong Chengshuo’s brows were gentle and atmospheric, his black hair wasn’t permed or dyed, and his bangs were just a tad bit too long. With square rimless glasses, he had the aura of a student and looked younger than his actual age.

Although tonight’s experience was peculiar, there was neither panic nor resistance on his face, nor did he have the eagerness to talk about his experience.

Given that Fu Xingchuan was observing with a nitpicking mentality, he managed to dig out an unsightly feature.

His eyes.

It could be said that if Zhong Chengshuo were matched with a pair of clear eyes, he could be a poster boy for the “Top Ten Outstanding Youth”. But instead, his eyes were like black holes, as dark as ink. They were dull, and no emotions could be seen in them. If it weren’t for his harmless appearance, those eyes would be enough to make people feel uneasy.

Fu Xingchuan cleared his throat and made a “start” gesture to his colleague on the other side of the mirror. He lowered his head and quickly read Zhong Chengshuo’s information, then took a deep breath.

“Mr. Zhong, someone had explained things to you on the way here, right?”

Zhong Chengshuo was sitting in an armchair in a regular manner. He had his hands clasped and was resting them on the edge of the table; his slightly longer cuffs were covering his wrists.

“The suspected leakage of hazardous chemicals in Xizhao District is a premeditated crime. The case is serious, and all abnormalities in the vicinity must be investigated. You’re assisting the police in this investigation.”

Zhong Chengshuo spoke in a gentle and clear voice.

“I have confirmed the power of attorney at the police station, and I’m willing to cooperate.”

“Then just talk casually and relax,” Fu Xingchuan said. “I just read your information. You’re a graduate student at University A—one of the top universities in this country. You can choose to go anywhere with this grade, yet you went back to Haigu for development?”

Haigu was located inland and had a long history. It mainly focused on tourism. Looking at its development alone, it could barely be considered a second-tier city*. Zhong Chengshuo said that his major was “biochemistry and molecular biology”, which wasn’t suitable at all for employment in Haigu.

*China city tier system refers to an unofficial hierarchical classification of Chinese cities. Cities in different tiers often reflect differences in consumer behavior, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity, among others.

Not to mention that this person’s grades were ridiculously good; it was incredible that Zhong Chengshuo’s mentor would be willing to let him go.

Zhong Chengshuo said with a shy smile, “My parents are in their eighties. If I study or work in a field long-term, it won’t be convenient for me to take care of them.”

“Oh, indeed, you have to take good care of your parents in their eighties, but I don’t understand. Looking at this information… You didn’t return to Haigu immediately after graduation but traveled abroad for two years.”

“Well, my family was in good health at the time. I wanted to take advantage of that and explore the world, so as not to worry about it in the future. Mom wasn’t feeling well a while back, so that’s when I returned.”

“So filial. It seems that your parents treat you very well.”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent for a while. He looked up at the one-way glass as if he could see through it.

“They treat me very well,” he said. “It should be written in the information. I was adopted by them. As adoptive parents, no one in the world is more competent than them.”

Fu Xingchuan continued as if nothing had happened. “Aren’t you curious about your biological parents? Seeing that you’ve been going around the country for two years, I thought—”

“Not curious at all. My only relatives are my parents, and that’s all,” Zhong Chengshuo said as he pushed up his glasses, showing them a smile.

Fu Xingchuan immediately looked at the data uploaded to the tablet.

So far, Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t lie. Fu Xingchuan breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously—now it seemed that his worries were superfluous.

“Just now, that was just a routine inquiry. I apologize in advance if it made you uncomfortable. Next, we’re moving on to the main business…”

Zhong Chengshuo’s interrogation ended quickly. Regarding last night’s incident, his remarks were no different from those given at the police station. Zhong Chengshuo said that the only abnormality he noticed was “the streetlights on that street seemed to be broken”.

Data from the technical department kept coming through, showing that there was no falsehood in Zheng Chengshuo’s narrative.

“Finally, confirm again, why did you go out in the rain in the early hours of the morning?”

“Didn’t you ask that just now? Today, my parents left to see relatives and forgot to close the window. I was afraid my dad’s potted plants would drown.”

Fu Xingchuan did ask this, and the data did show that it was the truth, but that didn’t prevent him from thinking this was complete bullshit.

“Why?” Fu Xingchuan couldn’t help asking. “It takes you more than an hour to go to Changling Road by bike. In the middle of the night, while it’s raining like this, it only makes the road conditions even poorer…”

He had specifically confirmed that the potted plants were a variety of 5 to 8 yuan a pot from a farmer’s market. No matter what anyone would think, normal people at least would wait until dawn.

Zhong Chengshuo gave him a surprise look and said, “But that’s still life.”

Fu Xingchuan: “……”

Great, the truth again. His concerns went from “seemingly superfluous” to “worrisome”.

Fu Xingchuan: “You’ve worked hard. Alright, you can head out. After staying up most of the night, you can go to the lounge and sleep for a while. I’ll call you back in the day if I need you.”

Zhong Chengshuo was led away by the staff. Fu Xingchuan poured himself another cup of tea, and a sense of vicissitude diffused from his heart. Minister Fu, who was in his early forties, sighed for a while—young people nowadays were getting more and more incomprehensible.

However, with Zhong Chengshuo out of the way, next up was Anonymous.

Fu Xingchuan went out for a smoke. When he came back, Anonymous was already sitting where Zhong Chengshuo had just sat.

The moment he saw that person, Minister Fu subconsciously tensed his body, and his pupils dilated slightly.

Mr. Anonymous’ long hair was tied up. His pale complexion was illuminated by warm light, giving him a more energetic look compared to his photo. His cheeks and lips were bloodshot, and his brown-red eyes were very eye-catching. This person was tall. His hospital gown had been replaced with a Shian uniform; its dull design instantly became fashionable when it was worn by him.

However, the biggest point was his face.

Fu Xingchuan had seen many human and non-human “beauties”, and compared to them, Anonymous’ appearance could leave them all in the dust. This kind of beauty was like a blood-quenching blade.

It was too beautiful. He looked even better than in the photo.

However, Minister Fu didn’t have the slightest appreciation for this beauty, but was full of vigilance. He had been in this business for 30 years and knew the most basic truth…

For living things related to the metaphysics, especially “people” of “unknown origin”, beauty only meant danger.

Fu Xingchuan tapped on the table lightly. In an instant, the entire interrogation room was completely closed, with dozens of destructive spells ready to be activated. If it weren’t for the lush plants and birds’ sleeping sounds, Fu Xingchuan could have activated the blasting system incidentally.

Unlike Minister Fu, who was on full alert, Yin Ren was light and airy.

Under the seal, there was only a damp, thick, dark, and rancid pile of sticky corpses. After a comprehensive physical examination, he was taken by the staff to take a pleasant hot bath—Yin Ren even knew how to use the hot water faucet without having someone teach him.

Hot water faucet—magical. Hair dryer—amazing. And yet he wanted to destroy this era when he had water in his head*?

*(脑子进水) Term used to describe there’s a problem with a person’s mind. It can also mean being opposed to and not accepting when someone asks a strange question. || In this context, it’s the former.

Yin Ren leaned back into the armchair in a relaxed manner, looking at the food in front of him.

He was new here and didn’t know things had changed. The hot tea and peach cookies that were served to Zhong Chengshuo had been removed, and now there was a hot cup of coffee and a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

The coffee was clear and had an unusually strong smell.

“There’s no hurry to talk. Eat first.” A voice sounded in the room.

Yin Ren glanced at the one-way glass. In this form, he couldn’t see what was behind the glass, but he could sense a power emanating from there.

There was an extremely powerful cultivator on the other side of the “mirror”, so being cautious wasn’t an exaggeration.

The drink in front of him was steaming hot. It had a sour and bitter aroma that went straight to his nose. Yin Ren tried to take a sip, and the Evil Spirit almost spat it out.

This was trickery! Even if someone liked extreme flavors, they shouldn’t treat guests like this by default.

As soon as the cup left his lips, Yin Ren scanned the table. Thanks to the Evil Spirit’s excellent sense of smell, he smelled food among the pile of scattered decorations.

Salt and pepper were in delicate vials, soy sauce and vinegar in clear, transparent hoses. There was a small, cylindrical bag that exuded a rich milk flavor. There was sugar wrapped in rectangular paper and small spoonfuls of jam and lard on the table.

These were all flavorings. They were placed in an orderly manner in a wooden box, right within his reach.

There wasn’t much reaction time left.

Yin Ren controlled his expression, neatly pulled out the sugar wrapped in paper strips, tore open one of the creamer balls, and put them in his drink—he wasn’t sure if this was the “right” thing to do, but he had made many medicinal soups and knew how to make them taste better.

The drink with the added flavorings was a lot smoother. Yin Ren took a few sips and then picked up a piece of something that looked like a snack.

This time, there was no trap. He tasted a wonderful bitter taste that was completely unfamiliar and was followed by a rich and sweet flavor. Yin Ren unceremoniously ate the entire snack tray. To be fair, this thing was 10,000 times more delicious than the Resentment Basket. It was sticky to eat, and when finished, the drink went well with it.

“Is there more?” Yin Ren asked tentatively.

Fu Xingchuan: “…Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really hungry. You guys have a full range of seasonings here. Can I get a bowl of noodles or something?”

Fu Xingchuan: “…There are still two packs of cookies in the drawer of the table.”

From where Yin Ren couldn’t see, Fu Xingchuan had put down his tablet. Just a moment ago, the results of Anonymous’ physical examination were released.

According to the genetic results, Anonymous was a standard native human.

He was about 22 to 23 years old, healthy but a little malnourished. The tricky thing was Anonymous’ physical characteristics. DNA of a missing person couldn’t be matched. He didn’t have any scars, surgical marks, or injuries anywhere on his body. It was as if he had just been born, leaving them with no clues.

The police contacted the mental health facility, but the hospital insisted there was no such person among their patients. When this person showed up, the hospital was caught in a power outage, so they couldn’t even get surveillance data.

So far, the only way Minister Fu could dig up information from this person was to interrogate him.

At least looking at his current performance, Anonymous had a certain amount of modern knowledge, which ruled out the possibility of “not being exposed to popular information” and “doesn’t understand the current era”.

“I’m sorry for taking up your time. Feel free to ask your questions, but I might not know the answer.” Yin Ren’s voice was muffled as he was chewing on a cookie while he spoke.

“How much do you remember about yourself?” Fu Xingchuan went straight to the point.

Yin Ren hurriedly took a sip of coffee. “…Ahem, not much. I just remember that I used to travel a lot—perhaps I should call it ‘business trips’? I can’t remember recent events as my head’s a mess right now.”

The reading instrument fluctuated. The man wasn’t lying, but there was a certain exaggeration in his words.

“Tell me about last night.” Minister Fu wasn’t moved.

“You want me to ask why I am in this condition?” Yin Ren picked up on his words. “I don’t know. I woke up like this. I was scared and didn’t know what was going on, so I picked up a knife nearby to defend myself. Even if people didn’t call the police, I was going to go to the police for help.”

“It’s purely a coincidence that I entered the mental health facility. I just wanted to find something to wear. When I first woke up, I was completely naked.” Even though I wasn’t even in human form at that time, Yin Ren silently added.

“Do you know where you woke up?”

“It’s a terrible place. It was all wasteland. I wandered around for a long time and went too far.”

This was the truth. At that time, he was whizzing underground, almost across the entire city of Haigu.

“You took the initiative to enter the mental hospital?”

“Well, I went in through the window. It was too dark at night. I just know it was one of those… kind of ‘public facilities’, since it’s inappropriate to break into someone’s private residence.”

Yin Ren was confident. “Turning into a liquid and drilling into the seams of the window” was definitely, in a sense, going through the window.

“I then found some clothing, but I didn’t want to stay in an unknown place, so I ran out again. As a result, I ran into Zhong Ge*—he could attest that I’ve been very cooperative. Later, you guys took me here directly and did a lot of inspections.”

*Brother (哥) Term used by someone younger to refer to someone who is male, who’s older than you, and with whom you have a good relationship with or respect.

“…You called him ‘Zhong Ge’.” Fu Xingchuan rubbed his temples.

“He looks older than me,” the 1,000-year-old Evil Spirit said innocently. “He also said he’s an acquaintance of mine.”

Fu Xingchuan laughed dryly. Mr. Anonymous’ observation data fluctuated greatly, but they didn’t reach the red line of “lies”. Having said that, few people could calmly and objectively describe this kind of thing.

It was better to solve the misunderstanding first so as not to make this person think that his name is really Zhang San.

……

At 11:30 in the morning, Minister Fu left the basement floor. He beat around the bush and asked everything he could, but failed to dig up more information from “Anonymous”. Anonymous either answered honestly or didn’t know anything about it. This person seemed to be just an ordinary young man who had encountered misfortune. At the end of the inquiry, Anonymous even persuaded him to get some rest.

In terms of personality alone, this person was much easier to communicate with than Zhong Chengshuo.

Fu Xingchuan had been exposed to many evil things, which were either cruel or angry, and they had a hellish feeling to them. A warm and cheerful creature was like a joke. Fu Xingchuan doubted his intuition for the first time—it was buzzing at that time, but he decided that these two people were unrelated to the murderous incident.

As a result, half a night passed, and the Shian Group had lost three packs of chocolate chip cookies.

Fu Xingchuan felt his phone vibrate and frowned.

“Lao Fu, Zhong Chengyue has woken up. Can this matter still be considered ‘high-risk’? The evil qi values in and around the Xizhao District are all normal. As for those two, both physical results and observation data are… uh…”

Fu Xingchuan narrowed his eyes and took a deep puff of his cigarette.

“Still considered ‘high-risk’. Thoroughly investigate the patients in that hospital. As long as someone gives any outrageous testimony, write it down for me.”

He decided to trust his intuition as the “#1 Ghost General”.

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The author has something to say:

Yes, Xiao Zhong wears glasses! Comes with skills [Glass Reflection Lv.1] _(:D”∠)_

Xiao Yin… Xiao Yin may have abandoned his own skills [Ghost King Force Lv.99]

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Kinky Thoughts:

Looks like Lao Zhang is about to make another appearance. I find it so cute how Yin Ren marvels at things in the modern era and how he describes them.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 3: A Suspicious Person

Perhaps because there were such a large number of “people”, that the Resentment Basket tended to be more aggressive than self-absorbed grieving ghosts. They craved the negative emotions of the living, and they liked to wrap people into their bodies and squeeze them for nutrients like sugarcane.

Just by looking at the description, one would know it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. As an “after-effect”, the chewed person would have a minor illness or a major disaster, depending on their personal circumstances.

The Resentment Basket obviously was here for food.

The Resentment Basket slammed on the brakes right in front of the two of them. Fortunately, it still had an instinctive fear. Unfortunately, with its limited intelligence, it rolled its eight eyes and failed to understand where the fear came from.

It finally moved its body cautiously, deciding only to harm the “human” that looked more adequate.

The Resentment Basket curled up, and after covering its “face”, it made a heavy breathing sound. A faint fishy smell was mixed together with the fishy smell from the rainwater. The next moment, its huge body stretched out, and the front end of the Resentment Basket slammed up. The hand-like structure was slightly folded, as if it wanted to lean closer and whisper something terrible.

It ran straight towards the young man in front of Yin Ren.

The Resentment Basket wrapped around the young man’s body, and the cocoon squirmed like it was digesting something. The person was strangely “embedded” in its body, with only his face and arms exposed, creating a ridiculously bizarre scene.

Yin Ren couldn’t even laugh.

The man was wearing a Resentment Basket several dozen times larger than himself, but his strength didn’t diminish at all. His hands were still warm and steady, and his eyes were firmly fixed on Yin Ren, with no abnormal expression on his face.

This time, the two “people” who were in an embarrassing deadlock became three, and the atmosphere became more subtle.

Without tasting a new pain, the Resentment Basket quickly noticed the abnormality. It twisted its body and retreated back to its original position in confusion.

The corner of Yin Ren’s eyes twitched—the Resentment Basket felt perhaps its eating posture was wrong, so it planned to retry.

The fishy smell in the air turned into a foul stench. The ugly fleshy skin surged, and the Resentment Basket slid over again.

This time, it slowed down. Its outer skin oozed mucus under the streetlight. There was a squeezing sound that made the scalp tingle, and the person in front of Yin Ren was “devoured” by the huge flesh cocoon again.

His entire head sank into black and red flesh covered in blood, leaving his two hands that were grabbing Lin Ren like shackles exposed.

The hands remained motionless.

The skin of the resentment basket wriggled more violently. The bulging raised meat flesh almost rubbed against the tip of Yin Ren’s nose. The flesh of the cocoon rose and fell like waves, with the man’s face appearing from the Resentment Basket from time to time.

The man didn’t even blink. It seemed that he wasn’t affected in any way.

Seeing that it couldn’t eat, the eyes of the Resentment Basket became bloodshot. Most people would get angry when they find themselves unable to pick up noodles with their chopsticks.

How miserable.

Yin Ren glanced at it sympathetically and probably had a clue…

Those who didn’t believe would not be blessed by the gods, and likewise, they would not be affected by evil.

There had been similar rumors among cultivators in the past. The less you believe, the less impact.

If a person didn’t believe in ghosts and gods, then it was useless to pray to them, but they were also immune to almost all spells from demons and spirits. Such people couldn’t detect ghosts and gods, so the latter would have no influence on them and would simply treat each other like air.

Unfortunately, Yin Ren had never met such a person.

Among mortals, the more fanatical pray and worship every day, while the more ordinary would pay attention and seek out good luck while avoiding bad. In an atmosphere that had been passed down through thousands of years, few people were completely “unbelieving”.

Now it seemed there was one standing in front of him.

What did this mean? This meant that while the whole world thought he was suspicious, the person in front of him couldn’t see through him. Yin Ren was quite pleased and suddenly felt that this person had become much cuter.

Yin Ren even retracted his wrist and led the person in his own direction. Who knew that the person’s grip was extremely stable, so while Yin Ren tried to move, the person didn’t budge an inch.

The person in front of him clenched even tighter and increased the force of his grasp. The strength was so great, it was like he had just met his long-lost brother.

The Resentment Basket was getting angry. Seeing Yin Ren “snatching its food”, it ignored its instinctive fear. The Resentment Basket flung itself and used the momentum to fly over to Yin Ren like a whip, trying to wrap the two of them together.

If the young man in front of him could see this, the next scene could be said to be exciting…

The moment the Resentment Basket touched Yin Ren, it froze from head to toe, and even the squirming of its skin stopped. After a twitch, the cocoon immediately curled up into a ball. Its eight human eyes twitched wildly between its fingers, and its pupils were full of fear.

It completely forgot to run away.

The Resentment Basket seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand as its body changed shape like dough. With vague chewing sounds, the flesh and blood were being sucked out by an invisible mouth, as if it was water draining from a tank with its stopper removed.

The entire process was so smooth and quiet that the Resentment Basket couldn’t even let out a scream.

In the blink of an eye, the bloated body disappeared in place, leaving only a few drops of black coagulated blood on Yin Ren’s clavicle. The next moment, those few drops were also absorbed by his pale skin, leaving no trace behind.

Yin Ren smacked his lips. He got an unexpected feeding, and his mood became more comfortable.

The thunderstorm became clear again. The streetlights no longer flickered, and the warm yellow light sprayed down, creating a pleasant, moving scene.

It took less than three minutes from when the Resentment Basket appeared and disappeared.

Sharp sirens sounded from the other side of the street. The police lights could be seen at the end of the darkness. Yin Ren didn’t recognize the lights, but he could read the relaxed expressions of the people across the street.

Most likely, they were all officers, and they came faster than Yin Ren had expected.

“My ‘family’ is here to pick me up, right?”

Yin Ren continued to let the man grab him and even showed him a kind smile.

Compared to Uncle Zhang, who escaped in the middle, this one led him to “enter the world”.

Regardless of the attitude of the other party, this was considered a certain fate. Yin Ren wanted to be friendly, or at least appear more human-like—regular Evil Spirits wouldn’t care about the names of ordinary humans.

So he smiled very gently, so gently that one couldn’t tell he had just killed a Resentment Basket.

“It’s a pity I don’t remember your name.”

The man was taken aback for a moment and sized up Yin Ren for a while.

“It’s Zhong Chengyue*.” He spoke the words solemnly, one by one.

*Clarity: His name is Zhong Chengshuo but it’s often mispronounced as Chengyue. This won’t be explained until Chapter 10.

……

The Shian Building was still brightly lit.

After tossing all night and seeing that it was about to be dawn, both sides finally stopped their summoning spells—the Evil Spirit never responded and the unknown force conceded first, so Minister Fu asked the Shian Group to terminate their spellcasting.

The people who came to work the next shift had arrived, but those who worked overtime couldn’t go home. The “Evil Spirit” was a big event. Just in case, everyone had to be on standby. Everyone moved out of the break room beds and chairs, and regardless of their gender, they all slept directly in the area.

Minister Fu didn’t sleep. He collapsed in his chair and used his tablet to read the report.

As soon as the white light flickered, it illuminated the dark bags under his eyes. He looked like he was a freshly unearthed zombie.

The Shian Group was a state-owned enterprise. The Haigu Branch and the Haigu Police Department had always cooperated. As long as the application was made in accordance with regulations, the Shian Group had the right to view the internal information of the police station.

For example, like now.

An Evil Spirit had broke out last night, and there were a total of 35 abnormal activities that occurred in Haigu and the surrounding suburbs. After a busy night, the staff ruled out unrelated cases, such as sudden emergencies, family conflicts, street fights, theft, and the like, and only 6 people came into contact with an “abnormal phenomenon”.

Minister Fu—Fu Xingchuan took a sip from his energy drink and narrowed his eyes.

[Abnormal behavior: 1 person

Concentration of evil qi on body: 1.03~1.05fR (extremely high)

Personnel: Guo Laifu (47 years old, male)

Location: Heping Road, Shangguang District

Overview: Guo Laifu is a serial murderer on the run. Came to Haigu 4 days ago. According to the investigation, the person used a fruit knife to cut off his nose, poked his ears with chopsticks, and dug out his eyes with his bare hands. When discovered by our staff, this person was peeling his skin off at a crosswalk.

Guo Laifu is currently admitted to Haigu Hospital and is in a coma. The cut nose, eyeballs, skin, ect. were all swallowed by Guo Laifu himself. His vision and hearing are greatly damaged and may not return to normal.]

[Direct eyewitness anomalies: 3 people

Concentration of evil qi on body: 0.12~0.17fR (medium)

Personnel: Chen Xiao (24 years old, male); Wang Rongrong (29 years old, female); Zhang Le (25 years old, male)

Location: Ka’an Road, Donghe District

Overview: The three of them are employees of Haigu Coral Reff Co., Ltd. They met for drinks and returned late. Together, they witnessed a man in a suit carrying a “red bouquet”. The three of them found that the “bouquet” was suspected to be made of blood-stained internal organs and took the initiative to call the police.

The three of them were greatly stimulated and didn’t want to go out. They stayed at Haigu Police Station for the time being and were comforted by our staff.]

[Suspected abnormal contact: 2 people

Concentration of evil qi on body: 0.06~0.08fR (low)

Personnel: Zhong Chengshuo (28 years old, male); Anonymous (male, unknown age, suspected to be 20-30 years old)

Location: Changling Road, Xizhao District

Overview: Zhong Chengshuo said that he witnessed Anonymous carrying a controlled knife and wearing a mental health facility gown, and took the initiative to call the police. Anonymous’ appearance exceeds normal standards, has no aggressive behavior, and carries a dagger suspected of being a spiritual weapon.

The two of them were conscious and emotionally stable. The police station was unable to confirm the identity of Anonymous. The two of them are now being taken to Shian by Team 7. They are expected to arrive at 7:15 in the morning.]

It was very likely that there were clues to an “unknown Evil Spirit” somewhere here.

The three people who witnessed the “man in suit” could be ruled out.

An Evil Spirit that had been dormant for thousands of years, even if it deliberately pretended to be an adult, it was impossible to give itself the appearance of wearing a suit and holding a bouquet. Moreover, Fu Xingchuan had the impression that a well-known news anchor died in Donghe District a few days ago. The classic image of that person was a “suit” and a “bouquet of roses”.

The people involved were clear so the matter could be handled by Team 7 of their Special Investigation Unit.

To say the most suspicious…

An Evil Spirit had an entity and there was no theory that it possessed others. At present, the most unusual was Guo Laifu of Shangguang District.

He was obviously over the perimeter of evil qi concentration, which exceeded the standard. It was very likely he had been exposed to a pollution source with excessive evil qi values… But the Shangguang Distract was the farthest away from the Xizhao District, which was certainly the outbreak point of the evil qi.

There were cases in the Xizhao District, but these cases weren’t really worth mentioning. Just by looking at the concentration of evil qi, the two relevant people had at most been exposed to the “phenomenon” of grieving ghosts.

Fu Xingchuan glanced at the upper right corner of the tablet. It was already 7:00. He took out a half-eaten chocolate bar from the drawer and stood up with a sigh.

Anyway, Guo Laifu couldn’t run, so he’ll meet with the two boys in Xizhao District first.

Fu Xingchuan pounded on his waist, turned back to the report, and glanced at Zhong Chengshuo’s personal information.

As his line of sight went all the way down, Fu Xingchuan’s eyebrows first slightly raised, then frowned. He sat back in his chair and quickly turned a few more sheets. The more he looked at it, the more solemn he became.

After a while, he touched the phone on the table.

“Hello, Xiao Hao? It’s me, Lao Fu. Say hello to Xiao Xiang for me. Regarding the Xizhao District incident, I will come in person. This time, the observation level of this inquiry has been adjusted to the highest level. Put your pile of messy things to use.”

After speaking, he moved the phone away from his ear and ignored the other side’s protest along the lines of “don’t talk nonsense”. When the roar was over, Fu Xingchuan put the phone back to his ear.

“Hm? No, those two’s evil qi aren’t particularly strong, but their identities are intriguing—one is of unknown origin and was carrying a spiritual weapon, while the other has a unique origin. Let’s say my intuition could be wrong.”

“Okay, don’t be so verbose. I know it’s unorthodox, so I’ll have the expense deducted from my salary. If Lao Li asks, you can explain for me.”

Having said that, Minister Fu cut off the call at lightning speed. He closed the information on Zhong Chengshuo and took a closer look at the photo of Yin Ren that he had just received.

Time was tight and the tasks were heavy, so the photo was taken in a rush. In the photo, “Anonymous” had long hair, but even with the poor photography, it couldn’t cover up his excellent features.

“…It’d better be a coincidence.”

---

The author has something to say:

Atheist: Add magic resistance according to firmness level (×

The prologue is over!

Xiao Yin: Eat on the spot.jpg

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Kinky Thoughts:

This marks the end of the prologue. Releases will be sporadic until Happy Doomsday wraps up. Happy Halloween, everyone.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 2: An Enthusiastic Person

At the same time, in the city center of Haigu, on the campus of Shian Group.

The huge office was brightly lit, with several large screens filling an entire wall. Dozens of workstations were full, and dozens of bloodshot eyes were locked tightly to the screens.

In the stock exchange-like atmosphere, only one person was standing.

This man was slim and tall, looking in his forties. He wore an exaggerated red tassel earring in his left ear. His hair wasn’t long, and he tied it casually behind his head.

Ignoring the heavy bags under his eyes and his unshaven chin, the man was barely passable as handsome. At the moment, he was wearing a long auburn coat that was out of place with the times, holding an energy drink in one hand, while his face looked worse than all the other people there combined.

“Minister Fu, there’s no response to the summoning spell. The evil qi* value in Xizhao District has also returned to normal. Look…”

*Vital force forming part of any living entity. You can think of it as like energy.

A horse-faced young man rubbed his face as he tentatively spoke.

“Trying to get off work?” Minister Fu glanced at him. “Wishful thinking. Go and read the ‘evil qi’ value again.”

The man shrank his neck and glanced at the screen in the corner. Dense words and images were mixed together, making him dizzy when he looked at them.

Compared to the obscure terms and confusing diagrams, only the first few paragraphs required any brainpower to understand.

[Phenomenon A-A3: Evil Spirit]

[Judgement criteria (reference): Fluctuation of evil qi in a specific area ≥1000fR, or stable evil qi value within 2km of the suspicious object is ≥3000fR]

[Overview: This phenomenon is extremely rare and is the result of the alienation of ordinary evil things. It’s also known as a “Living Natural Disaster”, “Ghost King”, and so on. The cause of this phenomenon is unknown. The environment and location are irregular. Their shape is all asymmetric and irregular giant objects, believe to be active 1,500 to 1,000 years ago.

“Evil Spirits” have certain biological characteristics and no rational thinking ability. Their strength varies between different individuals. This phenomenon is the most dangerous observed so far. According to the assessment, the least dangerous individual is as destructive as an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale*.

*Measures the strength of earthquakes. An 8.1 on the scale is an extreme disaster with major damage to buildings and structures are likely to be destroyed. Will cause moderate to heavy damage to sturdy or earthquake-resistant buildings. Damaging in large areas. Felt in extremely large regions.

There are currently 6 “Evil Spirit” recorded in the book, all of which were sealed at the end of the Gong Dynasty. So far, one “Evil Spirit” is in a semi-conscious state and is temporarily under the control of the Haigu Branch, while the other five have been identified as seal places and are closely monitored by various entities in accordance with the laws and regulations.]

[Handling method (reference): Once discovered, the provincial region where it is located shall immediately implement a “Level 1 Emergency Plan for Major Phenomena”, and dispatch relevant personnel to deal with it as soon as possible, using special summoning techniques to attract the attention of the phenomenon. Depending on the damage, it will either be recycled, deeply sealed, or completely eliminated.]

The horse-faced man laughed dryly.

The fluctuation of the evil qi in the western suburbs of the Xizhao District just now was 99,478.56fR, which exceeded the judgement standard by nearly 10 times.

Since the Great Celestial Master sealed all six Evil Spirits, the “Evil Spirits” had been extinct for thousands of years, he was more inclined to believe that there was a problem with the reading of the instrument than the birth of an unknown great evil.

Unfortunately, their Minister didn’t think so, and neither did their enemies.

Within a minute of the abnormal data, the relevant personnel immediately started to perform the operation. Unknown forces soon intervened on the other side of the city, and two summoning techniques tore each other up in the sky, neither refusing to give up. All members of the Shian Group were worried—the Evil Spirits were brainless. If they were used by other people with ulterior motives, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But the situation didn’t seem right.

The summoning technique was created by the Great Celestial Master and was specially designed for the Evil Spirits. It stood to reason that the Evil Spirits would be attracted by the spell. As a result, after nearly four hours of summoning on both sides, the “unknown Evil Spirit” didn’t respond, as if it had died, and there was no sign of abnormality in the Xizhao District.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the equipment. It’s not possible that an Evil Spirit is hiding from us,” The horse-faced young man muttered in a low voice. “If it’s this smart, we should all just go home and wait to die.”

“No matter how smart you are, you can still stop talking nonsense.”

Minister Fu glanced at the horse-faced young man, then glanced at the tired faces all over the room. He didn’t get angry this time. He just sighed and raised his voice slightly.

“The possibility of incorrect readings by the equipment in Xizhao District and the coincidence of the celestial phenomena is not low, but we have to consider the worst case—this ‘unknown Evil Spirit’ is very powerful and has quite high intelligence. Looking at the current situation, it’s not in great shape.”

“Why?” Someone couldn’t help but interrupt.

“Whether it’s broken or just born, it knows nothing about the outside world. Even if it’s not malicious, it will test things. Now, it’s just hiding. It’s very likely something is wrong with it—injuries, weakness, or some other conditions.”

“In any case, you must stay here tonight until the last minute. With everything tonight being abnormal, pay attention carefully. All abnormalities must be reported to me. Is Xiao Liang on duty at the police station tonight? Let him keep an eyes on things. Even if someone slips through the door and picks lock, I want to see a detailed report.”

……

In a sense, Minister Fu guessed well.

Yin Ren was indeed in a bad state.

The good news was that his body was full of ferocious power; the bad news was that it wasn’t obedient at all—if Yin Ren used more, his thinking would become chaotic and he would get a splitting headache.

He had to firmly suppress his ferocity and slowly tame it.

On the other hand, the ferocity was more striking than the full moon in the night sky. If he dared to let go of his suppression, he would become the most dazzling target in the metaphysical world within minutes.

In order to ensure sobriety and to keep a low profile, Yin Ren could only use a little bit of power, as big as a sesame seed. The Evil Spirits were all so crazy that he didn’t expect to get advice from his “seniors”. He could only take one step at a time.

For example, at this moment.

The sharp-sounding “creak—” finally dissipated.

Yin Ren turned solemnly and looked at the “uninvited guest”. As an “evil monster” he didn’t need lighting to see the person on the other side clearly.

There was no evil aura surrounding the person, so he was undoubtedly a living human.

It was a young man, wearing a translucent “demoiselle coat”, pushing a two-wheel cart.

Looking at his face, the man was very handsome. There was no arrogance in his facial features. Putting it nicely, he looked gentle and elegant, and badly phrased, he “had the face of a good scholarly man” in storybooks—forever naïve, forever fooled by monsters.

Seeing the blankness in the other’s eyes, Yin Ren relaxed a bit. If he met a “professional” as soon as he got out, he was sure to curse God on the spot.

The other party didn’t say a word. Yin Ren stood cautiously in place, motionless.

It could be troublesome to take action against this person, and he could just escape without casting a spell. It was raining in the middle of the night. What kind of person had nothing to do but stand in the street like this?

It was best if he left him alone.

Unfortunately, Yin Ren was so great and fierce when he wandered outside that God didn’t plan to give him any face.

Before his seal broke, Yin Ren specifically picked a relatively harmless dagger to take with him. There was a bump just then, and the modern hospital gown failed to hold his ancient murder weapon. With a ripping sound, a big hole was poked in the back pocket of his gown, and the dagger fell to the ground with a “clang”.

Since the dagger was well-made, obviously it also made a good sound.

The sound it made when it landed was as if one had plunged into ice water. It pierced people’s hearts and made them cold to their very bones. In the past, this sound could make the living retreat, but unfortunately, at this moment, it only caused a burst of embarrassment.

Yin Ren: “……”

How carless. The dagger originally had a sheath, but the wooden sheath had been in close contact with the earth for hundreds of years and had rotted into mud. Yin Ren habitually put it in his pocket and didn’t think too much about it.

This was one of his favorite weapons. Could he still throw it away?

Yin Ren hesitated for a moment and resigned himself to picking up the dagger.

At this moment, the heavens cooperated by sending a scarlet lightning bolt, dyeing the dagger red with blood. Accompanied by his blue and white striped hospital gown, the visual impact was quite strong.

The person on the opposite side slowly took a step back. He supported his cart with one hand and quickly took out a strange object that emitted a glimmer of light. His actions were smooth and clean.

“Hello? Hello? I’m at 018 Changling Road, Xizhao District, Haigu. Someone is carrying a controlled knife and dressed suspiciously.”

The man seemed to be speaking to the air. His voice was steady, and his words were clear, and his speech was neither too fast nor too slow.

“Yes, west of the city, at the entrance to the city’s mental health facility… Well, I’m fine. I can guarantee my safety.”

After the man across the street finished speaking, he put the strange object back into his pocket. The corner of the strange object emitted a dazzling light that illuminated a small area nearby. In the bright light, he stared closely at Yin Ren. His expression was very serious, with an obvious stance that he wasn’t planning on leaving.

Yin Ren choked.

Wait, was that man reporting to an officer? Just for a dagger? How could this person react so severely?

Although… Although reporting to an officer was within the realm of possibility.

Yin Ren had a similar plan. For example, find a lively place to “faint” after dawn, and wait for the police to take him away. Regarding his identity, he had practiced it countless times in advance—after Yin Ren woke up, he’d stay bedridden for 7 to 49 days. He would listen to the “news” from morning to night each day, so he wouldn’t expose his horse’s feet*.

*(露出马脚) Idioms referring revealing the hidden truth or revealing the truth unintentionally.

Ah, forget it. Soon or later, the act would begin, so why not just start now.

“I picked this up for self-defense. I hit my head and can’t remember anything… Sorry. Did I scare you?”

Yin Ren dropped the dagger in distress and imitated an accent he learned from the “news”.

He deliberately lowered his body temperature, causing it to tremble slightly as he looked extremely meek and helpless. “I saw you stop just now. I thought you knew me…”

Here, he had to give a pitiful pause and produce just the right kind of voice.

Since this person was so nosey on a rainy day, most likely he was a fool with too much integrity. As long as Yin Ren played dumb, he could come to elicit some useful information.

Who would have thought that Yin Ren’s rhetoric hadn’t yet been espoused when the other party abandoned his cart and rushed up with a single stride and grabbed Yin Ren’s hands tightly.

“I do recognize you.”

Those hands clasped Yin Ren’s wrists like iron clamps, and the force behind them was incredibly strong. If it wasn’t for the fact that Yin Ren had sealed off his qi, the man would’ve fallen to the ground dead, hit by his “intense aura”.

The man clenched him tightly, showing a somewhat reluctant smile, but his tone was quite sincere. “Your name is Zhang San. You live across from me. I’ll wait with you here, and your family will come pick you up in a police car soon.”

Yin Ren: “?”

After walking too much at night, one would eventually meet a ghost*. Yin Ren’s expression became a bit distorted. The two were frozen in deadlock, allowing the rainstorm to brush against their heads.

*Saying referring to if you often do unscrupulous things, eventually you’ll get caught. 

Fortunately, this subtle atmosphere didn’t last for more than a few seconds.

The sound of heavy rain and thunder was unnaturally muffled, then slowly weakened. It was like an inviable lid had covered them. The surrounding temperature dropped a bit, as if someone was blowing against their damp skin.

The next moment, darkness broke without warning.

The long-extinguished streetlamps were restored, but for some reason, the lightning was only on one side of the street. The original warm yellow lights were now blue-white, flashing at an uncomfortable frequency, making the street even gloomier than when it was completely dark.

There was something shifting between the lampposts that was flashing bright and dark. Yin Ren moved his steps slightly. He crossed the other man’s shoulder and looked behind him.

A vague and huge shadow was squirming.

It was about half the width of the street, and it looked like an exceptionally bloated caterpillar. It was close to the side of the street and would crawl forward for a while, then stop in a section and wipe its body on the streetlights from time to time. Once the lamppost had been touched by it, it would emit a blue-white light, like ghost fire.

Though that thing was bulky, it wasn’t slow. Within a few breaths, the thing had reached a dozen steps away from the two of them.

Yin Ren stared at it calmly.

At first glance, it was a cocoon with short feet and only knew how to crawl on the ground. On closer inspection, the uneven surface of the cocoon concealed a mystery—countless disgruntled ghosts’ limbs intertwined, fusing together like wax, yet still retaining their basic outline. Their long hair became stickier and more tangled, bulging under the thin flesh like green and black veins.

The front half of the cocoon had grieving ghosts merging together.

They fused into two giant hands; the roots of their palms sticking out of the flesh folds, covering the front of the cocoon like a face. The pair of hands opened their fingers and small arm-length human eyes could be seen on them.

A rough count showed eight. They were spinning around, but now they were all staring straight at the two of them.

Yin Ren felt a kind of affection. Hundreds of thousands of years had passed, and this thing still looked the same.

In the past, people called it the “Resentment Basket”. It was purely made up of grieving ghosts. While its appearance was creepy, in fact, it was dull in the head and its combat capabilities were ordinary. This thing wasn’t common and would only take shape if there was an abnormally chaotic state surrounding an Evil Spirit, but it wouldn’t cause much harm.

However, it was enough to hurt an ordinary person.

The Resentment Basket paused not far away and stared at them for a while. It then raised its sarcoma-like feet and squirmed at a faster speed towards them.

---

The author has something to say:

Perhaps this was the most embarrassing encounter between a gong and shou.

Speaking of which, if you really see someone who is particularly suspicious, you must stay away. Please also call the police. As an ordinary person, it is most important to protect yourself! There is a reason why the gong is doing this. Don’t imitate. _(:з”∠)_

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Kinky Thoughts:

I debated back and forth between how to translate (凶煞), which is what these things are called, and settled on Evil Spirit, though it could mean a fierce/evil/vicious god/demon/monster. Keep in mind that the “evil” is more so the fact that they are powerful enough to bring great calamities to the world, than the fact that they’re inherently evil.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 1: Power Outage

Changling Road, Xizhao District, Haigu.

It was Wednesday, half past four in the morning. The heavy rain was pouring down, and the streetlights flickered as if they were about to die. Another red lightning bolt struck, causing all the streetlights to finally go out in unison.

In an instant, the entire street sank into darkness.

The scope of the power outage included 018 Changling Road, in the Haigu’s Mental Health Facility.

It was built in the 1960s and was regarded as the oldest building on the outskirts of Haigu. When it was first built, it was also called “Haigu Psychiatric Hospital”, but later it was changed to a relatively subtle “Mental Health Facility”.

The fourth floor of the mild-case area.

Old Man Zhang jumped up from the hospital bed, tugged at the mattress for a while, and found the long-hidden keycard. He changed into his slippers, pulled the front lapel of his hospital gown, and straightened his back.

The buildings and equipment were old, and the emergency power supply system hadn’t been connected to the mild-case area. Although access control was equipped with a battery, the surveillance would fail, so this opportunity was now or never.

He would be forcibly discharged from the hospital today to surprise his son and daughter-in-law.

Lao* Zhang didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. At most, he was confused from time to time and would consider himself an immortal who had come down to earth to experience a tribulation. But who didn’t have delusions of freedom? If this was a disease, half the elementary and middle school students in Haigu would need to come here to be cured.

*Old (老) When used in front of a name conveys feelings of a close relationship.

The unusual sky tonight was a sign of Zhang Shangxian’s* return home.

*The Xian (仙) in his name refers to an immortal, god, fairy, ect. This is referencing his mental disorder where he thinks he’s an immortal. Often times these immortals need to go through a tribulation in order to ascend or “level up”, for those unfamiliar with the xianxia genre.

Zhang Shangxian’s children were willing to spend money, so Lao Zhang had a single room in a good location. It was adjacent to the emergency passage that was adjacent to an empty ward that had been converted into a utility room, which was perfect for sneaking away.

Lao Zhang put his ears on the door of the room and listened with bated breath for up to five minutes.

Making sure that there was silence outside, he spit on his palm and twisted the door handle carefully. Victory was close at hand. Old Man Zhang was so excited that his hands and feet were icy that he couldn’t even feel how cold the metal doorknob was.

However, as soon as he turned the knob, a sharp noise suddenly sounded nearby.

“Creak—”

The sharp sound of metal friction was followed by a stagnant sound of a door shaft turning. The noise was extremely harsh, as it ripped through the thunder of the heavy rain, leaving behind a long echo in the empty corridor.

Lao Zhang, who was pushing the door open, froze in place.

The door of his room was well maintained, so it shouldn’t make such a harsh and loud sound. It seemed that the sound came from next door.

The ward next door had been empty for more than a decade. There wasn’t even a mouse there. Could it be that someone came to the utility room to get something? However, he didn’t hear any footsteps just now. Lao Zhang took a deep breath and put his ears on the door of his room again.

A few minutes passed, and there was no sound coming from next door; only the dull booming of thunder was left in the corridor.

Perhaps he was too nervous and his ears heard something wrong. Lao Zhang gulped and drew a protection charm. Then he slowly poked out half his head and looked next door.

What the hell. Lao Zhang almost screamed…

There was also half a head sticking out next door.

Lightning struck, lighting the corridor. Two dark eyes, like burnt charcoal that was about to go out, were on the opposite side, glowing an ominous dark red. The face stared straight at Lao Zhang and his dangling long hair was hanging menacingly by his side.

Lao Zhang was numb. He wanted to shrink back into his room, but his legs were like noodles and wouldn’t listen to him. Seeing that the thing hadn’t moved for a while, Old Man Zhang had no choice but to break the jar*.

*(破罐子破摔) Metaphor referring to letting things run its course without making corrections after having shortcomings, mistakes, or setbacks.

“Where on earth did you come from? How dare you not worship me after seeing an immortal!”

Who knew that the opposite side really bought his act.

Those eyes widened slightly. It—he thought for a moment, slowly stepped out, and saluted Lao Zhang. “It turns out you’re an Elder. Pardon my rudeness.”

The voice was quite nice, with a strange accent. Lao Zhang couldn’t think of which dialect it was.

Another flash of lightning lit up. This time, Old Man Zhang took a real look.

The opposite side was a young man in his early twenties. He was wearing a hospital gown and had sharp and beautiful facial features that were more prominent than any celebrity he had seen. Although the young man was as pale as a ghost, he was still breathing, which meant he was a living human.

It turned out to be just a patient.

How troublesome. There was a curfew, so no one was allowed to go out at night. If this kid runs out and tattle-tailed on him, his great plan would be immediately ruined. He must try to contain the situation as soon as possible.

Lao Zhang instantly regained consciousness in his leg. He coughed twice into his fist. “I have no impression of you. Did you recently come here?”

“…Nn.”

“Seeing the current situation, are you trying to escape too?” He decisively pre-empted.

“Sort of.” The young man’s expression was a bit wary, but he didn’t seem to be lying.

“I see. There are no cellphones here to play with, so it must be even more unbearable for young people.” Old Man Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you want to escape together?”

The young man thought for a while, then nodded. He smiled, and the coldness all over his body suddenly almost completely dissipated.

Seeing that the other party was quite honest, Old Man Zhang was no longer worried, and his fear also dispersed. The mild-case area was just a recuperation ward. The more aggressive patients were all in the sealed off ward. This man was just young and fashionable; there was nothing to be afraid of just because he had long hair.

Old Man Zhang closed the door to the ward, put his hands behind his back, and held himself up like an esteemed elder. “You came to the utility room in the middle of the night to find something to pry open the door, right? So simple! Nowadays, it’s all high-tech. You need a keycard to get out.”

“……”

After the power outage, the corridors were filled with darkness. When the heavy rain hit, the unique smell of dust and paint on an old building mixed together. The stairs were as narrow as a monster’s esophagus, washed by blood-red electric light from time to time.

Old Man Zhang grasped the handrails tightly and slowly walked each step one by one. The young man followed him with light footsteps.

Perhaps it was because the scene was too scary that Lao Zhang decided to make conversation. “What’s your name, young man? Since we had a fateful meeting, you can call me Uncle Zhang.”

This time, the long-haired young man was silent for a while.

Lao Zhang’s conjecture was just about to change from “He couldn’t think of a name” to “Suspected amnesia” when the young man slowly opened his mouth.

“Yin Ren.” Lao Zhang wasn’t sure what the young man thought of, but the long-haired young man laughed. “Yin from ardent, Ren from blade*.”

*Yin (殷) from ardent [yin qie] (殷切), Ren (刃) from blade [dao ren] (刀刃). So combined would be like an ardent blade/sword (which is why Lao Zhang makes the next statement).

Accompanied by the rumbling thunder, Lao Zhang lowered his voice. “Waa, this name is very powerful. Does someone in your family also don’t want you to be discharged? What’s the problem?”

“I’m not quite clear… Maybe they think I’m too dangerous. If they leave me alone, perhaps I’ll kill someone or set fires.”

Speaking of which, the two of them were about to reach the corner of the stairway.

Yin Ren stopped and looked out the window at the unusually heavy rain. Lao Zhang didn’t know if he was seeing things, but it seemed as if the scarlet lightning was flashing more frequently. The dark clouds looked like burnt skin, and the darkness was dripping full of red.

Yin Ren retracted his gaze. His expression looked bitter. “Look, they all want to arrest me and lock me up.”

Oh, this kid probably has delusions of being murdered. Lao Zhang knew it.

He couldn’t figure out if the “look” was addressed to him, so he glanced out the window and pretended to agree. “Yeah, I’ve been here for decades and I haven’t seen this kind of weather. Truly vicious. There must be a great evil being born.”

Lao Zhang talked nonsense while gauging Yin Ren’s reaction. He didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but Yin Ren seemed to avoid his gaze for the first time.

Walking to the third floor, Yin Ren suddenly said, “Elder, what’s going on in the metaphysical world today? I’ve been listening to the ‘Daily News’ for more than 40 days and haven’t heard any news.”

“Oh? Oh, this great immortal doesn’t get involved in those things, so I don’t know.” Lao Zhang paused his footsteps and looked around. “Xiao* Yin, don’t you think it’s a bit cold here?’

*Little/small (小) When used in front of a name, it’s an affectionate/friendly way to call someone who’s usually younger than you.

“…” Yin Ren glanced at Lao Zhang’s feet and shook his head slowly.

Fortunately, he didn’t continue to ask about the “metaphysical world”. Lao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

Having said that, Lao Zhang really felt that this section of the ward was cold to the bones. He didn’t know if it was because of the heavy rain, but the stairs seemed sticky when he stepped on it, as if someone had spilled a sweet drink here. He couldn’t help coughing twice and chalked it up to global climate change.

The two chatted nonsense and soon reached the emergency exit on the third floor.

The exit door was still in the old style, with wooden doors painted green with windows. When the thick night soaked on them, the entire green layer dimmed, looking a bit like the skin of a corpse.

The door glass was stained with water, and the other side of the glass seemed to be inked, completely black.

Lao Zhang stopped and stared at the door nervously, and his breathing slowed. Even Yin Ren’s face tightened cautiously.

The next moment, a cold white beam of light pierced the darkness and swept around the door.

Lao Zhang gasped for breath and dragged Yin Ren back to the corner of the stairs. The rain pounded on the corner of the window like crazy, creating a series of crackling sounds.

“Ah, ahem, that’s Lao Liu on duty. We have to change our paths!”

Yin Ren glanced at the escape door on the third floor, then turned to look at Lao Zhang.

Lao Zhang didn’t understand his complicated gaze; at most, it seemed to look melancholy.

“You’re new here, so it’s normal that you don’t know. Lao Liu has been on duty for 15 years, so he’s especially good at catching people… Damn, this old guy doesn’t know how to be lazy in the middle of the night…”

Lao Zhang squatted down on the steps and gasped for breath.

He was well aware that plans weren’t as fast as changes. As long as they camped here for a while and took advantage of when Lao Liu paced to the other end of the corridor…

“Elder… Uncle Zhang, since there are inspectors and guards, it’s better to find another way.”

He didn’t know why, but after Yin Ren finished speaking, the corridor became a lot colder. The rounds of rain in his ears were becoming clearer while Yin Ren’s voice was becoming blurred. Lao Zhang couldn’t help but turn his head.

“What are you talking about…”

Lao Zhang almost bit his tongue before he finished speaking.

Yin Ren was floating out the window at that moment.

He hung ghost-like in mid-air, a full meter away from the windowsill. The guardrail outside the window had disappeared without a trace, and the heavy rain poured in through the open window and splashed under Old Man Zhang’s feet. The night wind rushed into the corridor, emitting a low, weeping sound.

In the night, Yin Ren’s long hair, which was waist-high, was dripping wet. Behind him was endless darkness and blinding lightning. Under the nightmarish lightning, those eyes were even more red. A fierce aura swept across Lao Zhang’s face, suppressing him and making him unable to breathe.

“Uncle Zhang, come on.”

Yin Ren stretched out his hand. His handsome face was illuminated by the lightning.

“Your dao* seems to be suppressed. This junior will give you a ride.”

*(道行) Basically, refers to one’s cultivation. Think of it like “mana”. The higher the dao, the more powerful the immortal.

Old Man Zhang knew that Yin Ren was abnormal, but he never thought “abnormal” was to such a point. This was a mental health facility. It was okay to lose his mind, but too much to lose his body.

After all, this was the third floor! Where was this kid going to take him? Not to mention, at the moment, Yin Ren’s hospital gown was being drenched by heavy rain, and in his right pocket there was a dubious outline that looked like a knife.

This visitor isn’t good!

Was “give you a ride” what he thought it meant?

Old Man Zhang clung to the wall, shaking his head slowly in horror.

“Stop, stop, stop. I, ahem, this great immortal, suddenly remembered that there are still important things to do. Little friend, you go on first.” Lao Zhang choked for a second before replying weakly, “Don’t worry about me—”

“But…”

“You’re too polite! No buts!”

This time, Lao Zhang didn’t bother covering up, so he immediately shouted back. He didn’t dare wait for a response and scrambled up the stairs with his hands and feet, rushed back to his room, closed the door, and got under the blanket in one go.

After wrapping himself into a silkworm cocoon, Old Man Zhang took a dozen deep breaths before barely stabilizing his heartbeat.

“God have mercy. God have mercy… haa.”

He would return the keycard tomorrow and seriously renounce his actions. His son and daughter-in-law were right. There was something seriously wrong with him, so he should take a good rest.

Hell, the hallucination was too real.

……

Yin Ren put his feet on the ground and let out a long sigh.

It was a pity. Uncle Zhang was really kind to him, so he wanted to help the old man down the stairs.

As the saying went, everything was hard in the beginning. As the fiercest thing in existence, his entry into the world was almost a near-miss. To be honest, just now, when Old Man Zhang said “a great evil”, Yin Ren thought he had seen through his identity.

That was until he ran into a grieving spirit in the corridor.

The spirit was lying on the stairs of the third floor, the size of two adults. It was mumbling with its face down and had spider-like limbs at its side. Its dirty long hair covered the steps, tangled into a sticky mess.

The grudge it held wasn’t aggressive. When the two of them passed the steps, it politely moved aside. The poor ghost had intended on avoiding them, but the old man still stepped on its head and crotch, obviously unaware of its existence.

Even if his dao was sealed, a cultivator wouldn’t miss a spirit.

Mortals on earth were uninspired, making a fuss about levitating. The “daily news” didn’t mention anything about the metaphysics world while two factions in the sky were fighting fiercely, desperately summoning themselves.

The metaphysical world was still there, but most likely had become a shadow of itself.

A peaceful and prosperous world like this; there was no place more suitable for “a great evil” to hide.

On the dark street, Yin Ren opened his arms in satisfaction and felt the rain pouring down.

The summer rainstorm brought a bit of warmth, dissipating the gloomy cold brought out by the seal. A good life was close at hand. Yin Ren was just about to take a few more deep breaths when a sharp sound suddenly exploded from very close by.

“Creak—”

There was a sharp sound of friction that had never been heard before, followed by the sound of wheels sliding across the ground.

The sound was particularly harsh. It ripped through the thunder in the heavy rain, leaving behind a long echo in the empty streets.

“……”

This subtle sense of familiarity.

Yin Ren slowly folded his arms and turned in the direction from which the sound came.

There was the breath of a living person over there.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Happy Halloween. As a big fan of Nian Zhong I have decided to pick up another project by her. I was going to release this a little later but given that it’s Halloween and the story matched the theme so well, I decided to release the prologue early.

This is Nian Zhong’s latest work and is still ongoing. Most likely by the time I catch up, the novel will be completed. For those unfamiliar with the author, you can check out her others works I’ve done: Happy Doomsday and Stray.

The title of the novel is (凶人恶煞) which is referencing the idiom (凶神恶煞) which refers to a great evil deity, but now used to refer to an evil/wicked/ferocious person. The author replaced deity (神) with people (人) in the idiom. This is most likely purposeful in two ways as Yin Ren is supposedly a great evil, but is now pretending to be human, so it’s a reference to both meanings of the original idiom.

I’ve struggled to make a proper translation and had asked many for help but in the end I settled for Evil As Humans.

Second note: A salted fish is a metaphor referring to someone who wants to be lazy and has no great ambitions.

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