Red Shadow

Opportunities had to be created. The opening Li Hao needed was something he had to make for himself. Before long, Li Hao finished compiling a file on his desk. Standing up, he walked toward the private office at the end of the work area. *Knock, knock, knock!* Li Hao rapped on the door. From inside came the voice of the Director of the Confidential Records Office: "Come in!" *** Li Hao pushed open the door. "Director!" "Ah, Li Hao!" The middle-aged Wang Jie couldn't help but smile when he saw him. This was a polite, hardworking young man. After all, he had received higher education at the Silver City Ancient Academy. Even though he had dropped out early, he hadn't been expelled—he had left on his own accord—so Wang Jie kept a close eye on him. Li Hao smiled in return and quickly said, "Director, I have something to report." "Have a seat!" Wang Jie motioned for him to sit. The workload in the Confidential Records Office wasn't overly heavy, and there were rarely any major incidents. Serious matters were usually handled by the Law Enforcement Team out front. On the whole, life in the Confidential Records Office was peaceful. Seeing Li Hao come in to report on work, Wang Jie wondered if the young man was trying to curry favor and get himself a promotion. Still, it hadn't been long enough. The lad had dropped out of school and had only become a full-fledged inspector six months ago. A quick promotion was out of the question. Just as Wang Jie was thinking this, Li Hao's expression turned serious, and his voice took on a subdued tone. "Director, in the Confidential Records Office, my primary duty is organizing records for unsolved and cold cases. During my year here, I've reorganized and reclassified several files from the past decade..." Wang Jie beamed immediately and nodded. "I know. A top student is a top student! The archives used to be quite a mess, and some of the older files were practically moth-eaten. I had people reorganize them before, but whenever we actually needed something, we could never find it. Ever since you arrived, whenever anyone needs a case, it turns up right away. You deserve credit for that..." Li Hao quickly shook his head. "Director, I didn't come here to boast or claim credit." *Not here for credit?* Wang Jie let out a small laugh. Was there really something to report, then? He said nothing more, merely nodding for Li Hao to continue. Li Hao took out the documents before him, handed a copy to Wang Jie, and opened his own. Though he was young, his voice was steady. "On September 16, 1720, a case of spontaneous combustion occurred in Silver City's Anju Residential District. Witnesses saw the victim catch fire in public, flames suddenly bursting from within the body and burning them alive." Wang Jie glanced down at the file in his hands, then looked back up at Li Hao. That was a ten-year-old case, and it had already been closed. It wasn't murder, but an accident. Why was this boy bringing up a closed case from a decade ago? Li Hao continued, "On September 22, 1723, at the Silver City Trade Center, a sales clerk's hair suddenly caught fire. The flames quickly engulfed the clerk's entire body, burning them to death in full view of the public." Wang Jie nodded. "I know about this one. I was the one who filed it back then, and I even went to the scene in person. It was an accident caused by severe static electricity in the commercial center." Li Hao didn't argue. He simply kept reading: "On August 18, 1725, at Silver City's Minsheng Hotel, a guest checked in and was found dead the next day, also having burned to death from spontaneous combustion." That was five years after the first case, and two years after the second. Three cases of spontaneous human combustion in five years. All of them had been ruled accidents. Silver City handled countless cases every day, so three accidental combustions in five years was hardly a major issue. Almost no one paid it any mind. Unless, by sheer coincidence, all three cases had passed through the hands of a single person, it might have drawn a bit of notice. The Confidential Records Office held countless files, and Wang Jie had never thought much of it before. Hearing this now, however, gave him an odd feeling, and he frowned at Li Hao. Li Hao went on: "On February 16, 1727, on Silver City's Dongfang Avenue, another person died of spontaneous combustion. The stated cause was the appearance of ball lightning in the vicinity, which allegedly induced human combustion. That was a year and a half after the previous case!" Wang Jie's expression shifted slightly. From three years to two years, and then two years to a year and a half—another spontaneous combustion in Silver City! "On August 12, 1728, the suburban Silver City branch of the Inspectorate reported a missing person within their jurisdiction. Later, charred remains were discovered by the river. Suspected to have been struck by lightning during a thunderstorm, the case was closed as an accident." Another year and a half! That report had come from a subordinate branch. The Confidential Records Office only archived files; it didn't participate in handling cases. Besides, with the local branch having already closed it as an accident, headquarters wouldn't rashly overturn it. Wang Jie's expression grew increasingly solemn. He truly hadn't noticed this before. The office had simply had too many files, and every year, countless old records were slated for destruction. "Another year and a half..." Wang Jie didn't look down at the file in his hand. Instead, he stared at Li Hao and asked in a low voice, "Once in three years, once in two, twice with a gap of a year and a half... In August or September of 1729, did another spontaneous combustion happen?" The year 1729—that was last year. Wang Jie tried to recall. Had it happened last year? Was the interval down to one year? If it had, that meant six cases of spontaneous combustion had occurred within Silver City's borders in ten years! Averaged out, that really wasn't many—once every two years. Silver City was vast, and the cases hadn't been handled by a single branch; they were scattered. A given branch might only encounter one such case in an entire decade. Who would notice? Li Hao nodded. "Another one happened in 1729. Right inside the Silver City Ancient Academy. And... the victim was my classmate from the dorm room next door! Part of the reason I left the Ancient Academy was tied to that incident. I witnessed the whole thing with my own eyes. I was terrified of the academy, and the way my classmate burned was bizarre. I wanted to know why people were bursting into flames!" Li Hao's expression was grave. "That was part of my reason for joining the Inspectorate. Outsiders can't access these archives, but I can! I went through and compiled the spontaneous combustion cases from the past ten years, and I discovered... this might not be an accident at all!" Wang Jie quickly flipped through the documents. After reading for a moment, he looked at Li Hao and said solemnly, "Tell me your thoughts." "Over ten years, six cases occurred in total. No, strictly speaking, nine years, since we haven't received any such case so far this year." Li Hao said solemnly, "Director, because of what happened to my classmate, I took this very seriously. It's already July. If these combustions aren't a coincidence, then nearly a full year has passed since the last one! The interval between them has been shortening every single time. If this isn't an accident, another incident like this is very likely to happen soon." "Not an accident?" Wang Jie paged through the files again and again. He was a veteran inspector himself, having only transferred to the Confidential Records Office as he got older. If Li Hao hadn't compiled these and pulled the cases together, probably no one would have ever noticed. Yet with six spontaneous combustion cases laid out side by side, anyone would sense that something was wrong. Wang Jie exhaled softly. "Based solely on what we have, there's no way to prove this was premeditated. But... too many coincidences may not be a coincidence at all!" Wang Jie was still sharp. He said at once, "I'll discuss this with the other departments, especially the Law Enforcement Team. The Confidential Records Office doesn't directly solve cases, but a string of spontaneous combustions warrants serious attention. If another one happens anytime soon..." At that point, Wang Jie's expression shifted slightly. "Then it will prove your judgment correct—that it's really not as simple as an accident!" He looked at Li Hao, his stern look suddenly relaxing into a smile. "Of course, there's no need to be overly nervous! Even if it really is murder, we've seen far worse. Still, Li Hao... you did good work!" Wang Jie's seriousness didn't last long. Setting aside the fact that nothing was confirmed, even if it truly were a string of murders, it wasn't the end of the world. He had seen and heard far too much in his time; six deaths in ten years was hardly astonishing. He was simply pleased by Li Hao's diligence and sense of responsibility. Naturally, he also had a general idea of why Li Hao had dropped out. A classmate? More likely a close friend! Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Li Hao to drop out. *** Across from him, Li Hao kept quiet. A murder case? If it were merely murder, why would he have dropped out? Why would he have fled the Silver City Ancient Academy? Having witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have preferred it to be a simple homicide. What on earth was that bloody red shadow? Spontaneous combustion? No, his classmate had been incinerated by that blood-red shadow! Yet the other classmates who had witnessed the burning alongside him hadn't seen the shadow at all! Had they lied? No, there was no reason to. Li Hao knew that he was truly the only one who had seen it. The others hadn't noticed the red shadow at all—or rather, they couldn't see it. What was more, he had sensed it again recently. Last night, he had even caught a faint glimpse of that bloody shadow once more. Perhaps... there was more than one! *If no one notices, so be it. But once the Inspectorate takes notice and determines this isn't an accident, if they can't handle it, they'll definitely report it up to the Night Watchers.* If no one cared, these cases would remain closed as accidents, their files left to gather dust in the Confidential Records Office. But once alerted, the Inspectorate was reasonably thorough. *The Night Watchers!* Li Hao repeated the name in his heart. Across the desk, Wang Jie stood up. "I'll go talk it over with the Law Enforcement Team. You might need to liaise with them later and offer some help, Li Hao, since you were the one who put this file together..." Li Hao nodded hurriedly, feeling a quiet sense of relief. Good. He had heard what he wanted to hear. Everything he had done was to get involved—not as a direct investigator, but as the one who had accidentally discovered the pattern. That way, if the Night Watchers stepped in, Li Hao would likely come into contact with them. Of course, coming into contact didn't mean he could join. Even if he could... Li Hao might not dare to! Over the past year, he had read far too many archives. Certain things revealed themselves between the lines. For instance, seeing the red shadow didn't seem to be unique to him; Li Hao had looked through historical records and found similar accounts in Silver City. Yet every single person who had seen it was either dead or missing. Not one had survived! Li Hao had kept this to himself. The danger was immense, and he didn't dare tell anyone that he could see the red shadow. Even the Night Watchers might not be dependable. *No matter what... I must use legitimate channels to come into contact with that mysterious power!* Li Hao drew a deep breath and stepped out of the office. It wasn't merely to uncover the truth. More importantly, it was to save his own life. Everyone who could see the red shadow had died. Whether there were others who could see it and survived, Li Hao didn't know, but he knew that all who exposed themselves had perished. That was deeply abnormal. *I can't throw my life away so easily. Leaving the Silver City Ancient Academy for the Inspectorate wasn't just about running away.* Stepping out the door of the office, Li Hao exhaled softly and put on a bright smile. The best outcome would be for the Night Watchers to resolve this trouble. If he could gain some unexpected benefits along the way, that would be ideal. As a civilian clerk, if he were to join the Night Watchers, he hoped it would be in their administrative branch. As for their enforcement arm, Li Hao didn't think he was cut out for it, and it was far too dangerous. A few days ago, when he went to his professor's house for dinner, Li Hao had probed subtly; the Night Watchers... suffered no small number of casualties! *One step at a time!* Watching Wang Jie hurry off, Li Hao smiled. He had finally taken the first step. *Red shadow...* He murmured the words in his heart. What kind of thing was it really? And why was he able to see it?