After the statue completely fell apart, Chen Chuan looked down at the pile of ash and dirt at his feet. Now that the thing had been dealt with, there was no need to descend the mountain in the dead of night; he could wait until tomorrow morning to leave. He returned inside the shrine, replaced several torches, added more incense, and sat down once again.
By now, the chirping of various insects reached his ears. It was as if an isolating barrier had been shattered, and the world had regained its original vitality.
Calming his mind, he began using his breathing technique to guide his mutated tissue. The stimulation from the intrusion just now had indeed been exceedingly intense, affecting his body deeply...
The latter half of the night proved relatively tranquil, and amid the pleasant song of birds, morning light arrived at the mountain god shrine.
Chen Chuan opened his eyes and saw the dawn breaking. While such a lingering phenomenon was no good thing for others, for him it was ideal.
With the urban legends he had encountered in the past, the wider their sphere of influence, the longer the duration of their lingering intrusion afterward.
From this, one could understand why this urban legend had lingered here for so long without anyone bothering to deal with it—such work was simply a losing proposition.
For an ordinary person, what kind of urban legend was best to take on?
Undoubtedly, it was something like the one in the theater from last time. Although it carried a certain degree of hazard and lethality, it had been close to high society. Once resolved, it eliminated trouble for elite figures, boosted one's own influence, and paid handsomely.
It was also because of this that after handling the theater's urban legend, he had been hailed as a specialist, even though those upper-class figures could not tell the difference between one urban legend and another in the slightest.
As for urban legends in remote regions like this, even if someone went through immense hardship to resolve one, the payout was merely a bit of money squeezed from the villagers' hard-earned savings. It likely wouldn't even cover the cost of gear and travel fares, and a single misstep could easily cost a person their life. Who would be willing to do it?
Chen Chuan watched the bright morning light stream in from outside, casting its glow across the mottled walls. A few birds that had flown in from who knew where perched upon the wall, bringing touches of life to the previously sinister and eerie shrine.
He rose to his feet, took up his machete, and walked outside. The pile of ash remained where it fell. Stepping forward, he nudged it aside a few times with the flat of the blade, revealing a gleaming white object underneath. Bending down, he picked it up.
It was an upper jawbone lined with sharp teeth, yet clearly non-human; there was no telling what creature it belonged to.
Just then, something caught the corner of his eye. Nudging the ashes again with the blade, he uncovered a yellowed slip of paper. Picking it up as well, he examined it and found strange symbols drawn upon it, composed of dots and long lines, seemingly rendered in cinnabar.
He pondered for a moment. This object looked somewhat like the esoteric cult ritual implements Bureau Director Lei had mentioned. It made him recall the esoteric cult that frequently appeared in Legends of the Three Mountains—could they have left it behind?
He did not understand such matters, but any ritual would leave traces of arrangement in the vicinity. Thus, he decided to take a stroll around the perimeter. As expected, that walk led him to discover quite a few things.
In eight directions across the mountaintop, he found buried skeletons. Each skeleton sat cross-legged, with its skull placed over its abdominal area.
Notably, the heads had undergone special treatment and had not been reduced to bare bone; instead, they were preserved in a withered, leathery state, much like the urban legend's head he had pulled out earlier.
From this, he pieced together a clue. Just as the legends suggested, this urban legend had most likely been dealt with early on by disciples of this so-called esoteric cult, though their goal might not have been to eradicate the urban legend, but to exploit it.
That severed head had very likely been stuffed into its belly by those cultists.
However, this must have happened during the Old Era. Too much time had passed to decipher the original intent, but he could ask Bureau Director Lei upon his return; perhaps the man would know something.
He had always been fascinated by esoteric and occult phenomena, and he also had a few thoughts regarding this method of binding and utilizing urban legends.
After some thought, he returned inside the shrine and retrieved a camera from his pack. Testing it, he found it still functional. For now, it seemed only that urban legend in the theater exerted a corrosive effect on physical objects; perhaps every urban legend's intrusion differed...
Carrying the camera, he stepped outside once more and took several photographs of the shrine, the newly unearthed skeletons, and other notable spots.
The photographs of the shrine and the pile of ashes would be handed in to confirm the commission's completion, while the rest he planned to bring to Bureau Director Lei for inquiries. Of course, he had no spare time at present, so that would have to wait for later.
Once everything was settled, he packed up his belongings, confirmed nothing had been left behind, and descended the mountain, returning to the village settlement where he had initially set out.
Hearing that he had returned, the villagers gathered around to ask about the situation.
Chen Chuan said to the elderly man, "Old elder, I have already disposed of that urban legend. You won't need to hide far away at night anymore."
The villagers, however, were somewhat skeptical. The thing had plagued them for decades. Now he had merely taken a stroll up the mountain and come back claiming it was gone—how could that be possible?
Though the elderly man harbored doubts as well, he still clung to hope and pressed, "Young man, are you speaking the truth?"
Xiao Wei the driver spoke up from the side, "Specialist Chen didn't come to eliminate this urban legend for money. He has no reason to deceive you."
Yet things would have been better had he kept quiet; hearing that only made some villagers even more incredulous. If he wasn't after money, why had he come? In this day and age, they didn't believe anyone would perform good deeds for nothing.
Chen Chuan did not attempt to persuade them further. A single word from him could never dissolve decades of vigilance. He said, "If you aren't at ease, you can continue doing as you did before. I believe things will become clear after some time passes."
With that, he bade farewell to the elderly man. Before departing, he patted the hunter who had guided him along the way; this time, the strand of hair around his wrist produced no reaction whatsoever.
Under the villagers' dubious gazes, he boarded the car and headed back toward the city.
Upon returning, he first visited the company and handed the film to a staff member for developing, then casually wrote up the commission record. Ren Shu was quite thrilled after reading it.
"Specialist Chen, no one was able to resolve this commission in the past, but now you have settled it! Once it's verified, the company's rating will rise yet again."
Chen Chuan said, "That's good. Mr. Ren, I might have some personal business to attend to soon—I may take a trip out of town, or perhaps won't be able to take on commissions for a while. I apologize in advance."
Ren Shu was not surprised, but then he seemed to realize something and said earnestly, "Specialist Chen, although our company isn't large, we still possess a fair bit of influence. If anything comes up, please be sure to let us know. If the company can help, we definitely will."
Chen Chuan said, "If needed, I will."
Leaving the company, he headed straight for Cheng Zitong's private training hall, striving to make the most of this power before the signs of blurring faded completely.
Once there, he checked his overlap time during his workout, and the result did not disappoint him. This time, it had increased by over an hour, comparable to what he had gained during the examination for the unlimited defense license.
In truth, although the examination for the unlimited defense license had been exceedingly dangerous, he had possessed a degree of confidence beforehand. This time, however, he had not expected to resolve everything in a single go; he had even misjudged things along the way and ended up taking a gamble at the end, pulling through by the skin of his teeth.
With this, his total overlap time had reached over five hours.
If this trend continued, he would sooner or later reach the twenty-four-hour daily limit of overlap time, and he faintly sensed that once he crossed that boundary...
He remained there for two straight days. Although the signs of blurring persisted, the school holidays were fast approaching, and there were several academy matters he needed to attend to. In particular, Cheng Zitong had cashed out the money from the two gold drafts for him. The sum this time was substantial: one gold draft was worth ten thousand Jianyuan notes, while the other was a full forty thousand.
He suspected this was very likely the payment the Maka people had provided to Mitai's crew. For a nation, the amount was negligible, but for a wilderness team, it was an extraordinarily large sum.
Good news and good fortune were meant to be shared, so that very day he invited all the team members who had ventured into the wilderness to gather once again for a meal at Douyi Hotel.
Before the meal, following their previous routine, they distributed the money first according to the shares agreed upon beforehand. Everyone was clear on what they were entitled to, so there was no dispute.
Once the dishes were served and they picked up their chopsticks, Wei Chang'an said to Chen Chuan, "Junior brother, I'm graduating this semester. But just like when we were in school, if anything comes up, call me directly. Just dial the number on my calling card. If you can't reach me right away, you can find Lao Si."
Beside him, Cai Si chimed in, "Right, if you can't reach Brother Wei, just look for me."
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Brother Wei, if something comes up, I definitely won't forget you."
"Then it's a deal."
The two clinked their glasses with a laugh.
"Brother Chen," Lin Xiaodi said from across the table, "I've already passed the entrance exam! Once I pass the reexamination in two months, I'll be able to enter Wuyi too. Next semester, we'll be schoolmates!"
Chen Chuan smiled. "Then let me wish you good luck on your exam in advance, Xiaodi."
Lin Xiaodi was He Nan's apprentice and had been carefully cultivated since childhood. Although he had never seen her fight in person, her movements were nimble and agile, showing an excellent foundation. The young girl was usually lively and well-versed in numerous technical skills—truly sharp and adept. Passing the reexamination should not be difficult for her.
After finishing the meal, Chen Chuan parted ways with the group and returned directly to the academy with a few classmates. By this time, most cadets were already eagerly anticipating the break, and the campus was refreshingly devoid of its usual tense, austere atmosphere.
Yet he knew that the trial awaiting him had only just begun; it was far from time to slack off. While others were contemplating where to relax and vacation during the break, he remained in his private training room, honing himself over and over.
Come afternoon, the telephone in the living room rang. He paused, walked over, and picked up the receiver. Cheng Zitong's voice came through:
"Xiao Chuan, Old He sent a telegram—he agreed. The academy goes on break in two more days. Settle whatever affairs you have at home first. Once you fix a date, I'll buy your train ticket. This will be intensive crash training, so it shouldn't take too long. You need to make the most of every single day. I'll prepare all the training medicines you'll need in advance."
Chen Chuan replied steadily, "Thank you, Master."
After hanging up the phone, he had a premonition that this might very well be his last chance to increase his strength before the Mutual Aid Society caught on. He had to seize it firmly.
Chapter 162