The Mysterious Files 2 - The Bizarre and the Real

Chapter 10

Chapter 33 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

"I brought the fish home and put it in the kitchen. My parents were already up. After telling my mother to cook a whole fish feast tonight, I quickly took a shower and started another busy day. But this day was obviously different from the previous one. My happy mood made my work twice as effective. Even the colleagues I usually disliked the most now looked much more agreeable."

"Because of my work, I rarely go home for dinner, so in addition to cooking the fish I caught into several delicious dishes, my mother also made a lot of my favorite dishes. The table was full, even more so than during holidays."

"Perhaps because I rarely eat at home, I enjoyed the meal very much. My mother kept putting food on my plate, and my father became more talkative. After the meal, I was so full that I could hardly move, so I took a shower and went to bed early."

"In the middle of the night, I had a strange dream. I dreamt I was fishing in the bay in the morning, and suddenly my fishing rod stirred. It seemed like I had caught a big fish, and I had to use all my strength to pull it up. When I pulled the rod back, what was pulled out of the water wasn't a fish, but a man whose body was swollen and pale from being submerged in water. He lunged at me and knocked me to the ground. Water kept flowing from his body, soaking my clothes. He seemed to want to speak, but when he opened his mouth, he spat out a lot of water, which all fell onto my face. He seemed to know he couldn't speak, so he sat on me with his mouth shut and dug open my stomach with his hands..."

“The sharp pain in my abdomen woke me up from my dream. As soon as I woke up, I heard noises coming from my parents’ room next door. I walked out of the room clutching my stomach, and my parents came out at the same time. They were also clutching their stomachs and groaning in pain, just like me.”

Mr. Liang and his family of three visited several hospitals but could not find anything wrong with their bodies. However, all three of them suffered from severe abdominal pain and had nightmares every night, dreaming that a man who was bloated from being in the sea jumped out and cut open their stomachs.

The Provincial People's Hospital was also unable to do anything about it, so they regarded it as an infection of an unknown virus, isolated and treated them, and notified the Provincial Public Security Bureau, which led us to take over the investigation.

Upon entering the ward, Ghost Eye immediately noticed the lingering fragments of souls in the abdomens of Mr. Liang and the other two. During questioning, it was discovered that the fish they had eaten appeared to be "oil snipes." The Heavenly Book stated, "Oil snipes are ferocious and feed on carrion. If three oil snipes are caught in the same spot, there must be a corpse there."

We rushed to the bay Mr. Liang had mentioned, and as we approached his fishing spot, the hound immediately smelled the stench of a rotting corpse. With the help of colleagues from the maritime police station, we indeed retrieved a body that had been soaked until it resembled a pig's head.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the deceased was a fishing enthusiast who, like Mr. Liang, was fishing alone in the bay. He may have accidentally fallen into the sea, and during the struggle, his foot got caught in a rock, leading to his death at sea.

Perhaps the deceased hoped for Mr. Liang's help so that his body could be properly disposed of, but alas, the living and the dead are separated, and his will could not be fully conveyed to Mr. Liang. The oil trap that Mr. Liang caught consumed part of the deceased's body, and when the family ate the oil trap, it was equivalent to consuming the deceased's corpse. Feeling hopeless and having his body eaten, the deceased harbored resentment towards the family, causing them to contract a strange illness.

After contacting the deceased's family and cremating the body, Mr. Liang's family's strange illness was cured without treatment. However, Mr. Liang never dared to go fishing in remote places again.

[End of File 23]

Archives of Twenty-Four Cults

Author: Seeking No Desire

First published on: Tianya Ghost Stories (Reposting should be done responsibly)

As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room, Linglong slowly opened her eyes, stretched her limbs like a cat, and then suddenly sprang up. After a quick wash, she changed into a set of light sportswear and went out for a jog to the nearby park.

Linglong gets up very early every day; she feels uneasy if she doesn't stretch her muscles. She jogged a few laps in the park, then stopped under a large tree, breathing in the fresh air and doing some stretching exercises. Suddenly, she sensed danger approaching; her martial arts training since childhood had made her senses sharper than most. At that moment, she sensed someone hiding behind the tree beside her.

Linglong deliberately leaned against a big tree, pretending to rest, while a thousand thoughts flashed through her mind: "Who is behind the tree? Is it a robber who robs morning commuters, or a rapist?" Although she didn't know who was hiding behind the tree, her intuition told her that this person was definitely not a good citizen.

Suddenly, a figure flashed behind the tree. Linglong forcibly suppressed her burning passion and kept reminding herself to remember the captain's teachings: "While striking first can protect your own safety, it will also make the fox tuck its tail between its legs more tightly. Therefore, if you are sure that your life is not in serious danger, you might as well strike back to obtain more evidence against the other party."

Linglong glanced sideways at the man; he was a thin, frail man holding a handkerchief. His movements were far more agile than she had expected, and in a flash, the handkerchief covered her mouth and nose. "Ether!" The chemical name flashed through her mind, and she immediately held her breath. An ordinary person could usually hold their breath for a minute, but with her profound martial arts foundation, she could easily hold her breath for over two minutes. To deceive him, two minutes was more than enough.

Linglong closed her eyes and pretended to faint. The other party immediately let out a sinister laugh, followed by the sound of a phone key being pressed. The call connected, and the man said to the person on the other end of the line, "Boss, I've taken care of what you asked me to do. This girl wasn't too hard to deal with; I took care of her in no time."

An angry roar came from the phone caller ID, as if the "boss" was greatly displeased with this underling's underestimation of the enemy. After hanging up, the man let out a resentful snort and said, "It's just a little girl, what's the boss so nervous about! Let me give her a shot and see if she's some kind of superhuman who can fly to the sky."

Linglong opened her eyes a crack and saw the man pull a syringe from his pocket, filled with a cloudy white liquid. "Heroin! He's trying to inject me with drugs!" This was no longer an act; if she gave him a shot, she'd be in serious trouble.

Linglong braced herself with her hands, her delicate body swaying slightly. Her slender yet powerful legs struck the man's wrist, which held the syringe, and his chest in succession. The syringe flew several meters away, and the man was also kicked back a few steps, frantically pulling out a switchblade and lunging at her. Linglong moved like a butterfly, nimbly dodging his attack, and delivered a powerful kick to his buttocks.

The man, who had lost his balance, was kicked and fell to the ground like a hungry dog pouncing on its poop, but he quickly got up, pointed the blade at Linglong, and said, "You stinking woman, you really do have some skills. No wonder the boss kept reminding me to be careful."

Linglong assumed a fighting stance and said coldly, "Who is your boss, and why have you messed with me?"

The man shouted, "Go ask Yama, the King of Hell!" With that, he threw the sharp blade in his hand at Linglong with all his might.

Chapter 34 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Chapter 34 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Linglong dodged to the side, and when her gaze fell on the man again, she saw him lunging for the syringe that had fallen to the ground. It was too late to stop him from picking it up, so Linglong swiftly and powerfully kicked him in the ribs. The man was sent flying several meters, rolling twice on the ground before coming to a stop. Judging from the force of the kick and the sensation after the impact, he had broken at least two ribs; most people would be unable to resist in such a situation.

However, the man did not collapse as Linglong had imagined, nor did he utter a groan. Instead, he rose with a snarling grin. He brandished the syringe in his hand and roared hysterically, "I'll show you the terrifying power of the new humans! Ah..." He plunged the syringe into his chest, letting out a frenzied scream.

Linglong was stunned by the other person's actions. He had actually injected drugs directly into his heart—wasn't that tantamount to suicide? However, the other person didn't collapse. Even after throwing away the syringe, he still didn't fall. His bloodshot eyes resembled two eerie rubies, rubies that seemed strangely familiar.

Linglong had no time to ponder where she had seen similar eerie eyes before, because the other party pounced on her like a wild beast, its speed and strength vastly different from before. She nimbly dodged the attack, then unleashed a powerful Phoenix Tail Kick. But this kick, strong enough to shatter a wooden board, only forced the other party back a few steps.

The man, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, relentlessly attacked Linglong, who nimbly dodged and countered. On the surface, it seemed Linglong had the upper hand, but in reality, she was suffering in silence—only she knew the bitterness in her hands. The man's movements grew faster and faster, and his punches and kicks felt like hitting a wall, but her stamina was dwindling. Continuing to fight him would inevitably lead to her being defeated due to exhaustion.

Just when Linglong was at her wit's end, a mournful flute melody suddenly drifted from afar. The flute music seemed to be a duet, its sorrow tinged with a touch of compassion, like a loving mother gently stroking her seriously ill son, her tears like sweet dew falling on his burning forehead, easing the scorching torment and seeping into his parched heart.

Linglong felt her fatigue vanish instantly, and her spirits lifted. The man, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. After the flute music started, his movements slowed down, his strength rapidly declined, and he soon began to pant, eventually collapsing under Linglong's fierce legwork.

As Linglong subdued the man, the flute music stopped, and a pale green figure gracefully appeared—a beautiful young woman holding a jade-green flute. She smiled kindly at Linglong, who, though knowing the woman meant no harm, still cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Shiya..."

When Shiya appeared before us, Guitong and Tianshu immediately surrounded her. "Is Youdi alright..." As soon as these words left his mouth, Guitong immediately realized he had said something he shouldn't have. But Shiya didn't seem to care. She gently stroked the jade flute in her hand, revealed a faint smile, and said, "He's here."

Upon closer inspection of the jade flute in Shiya's hand, one discovers that it seems to be enveloped in a faint, shimmering spiritual light. Shiya says that the soul of the sorrowful flute resides within it and will accompany her in this life and the next.

I knew Shiya wouldn't appear before us for no reason, so I asked her if something had happened. She said her master had sent her to find us because Master Qiqiu had discovered that a cult called "New Humanity Cult" was on the rise.

We had heard a little about this, but we had very little information. We only knew that the cult was led by a man and a woman, and that its followers were mainly drug addicts and prostitutes. Because this cult had not yet caused any negative impact on society, and we had a mountain of cases waiting to be handled, we did not pay much attention to it.

Shiya said, "My master recently consulted a divination, and the divination indicated that this cult will bring disaster, so I hope you can deal with this matter as soon as possible."

I asked, puzzled, "What kind of disaster can a new cult bring?"

Shiya said, "If I told you that the man who attacked Miss Linglong this morning was a member of this cult, you can imagine what kind of disaster would occur."

At this moment, the spirit dog walked in with a report and said, "The preliminary test results for the man who attacked Linglong are in. A variant of the virus suspected to have infected that Japanese exchange student (please refer to file one) was found in his blood."

As I flipped through the report the spirit dog handed me, I murmured to myself, "Could one of the leaders of this cult be Leo (or perhaps File 1)? And who could the other leader be?"

[End of File 24]

Chapter 35 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Chapter 35 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Archives: The God of Wealth Arrives on the 25th

Author: Seeking No Desire

First published on: Tianya Ghost Stories (Reposting should be done responsibly)

In the pitch-black room, a man sat cross-legged in the center, his body wrapped in yellow strips of cloth inscribed with spells, his hands bound behind his back. The door opened, and a blinding light dispelled the darkness. The man squinted, unable to adjust to the light for a moment.

A thin man entered the room; it was Leo, the Leo who had been wanted for a long time. He knelt down in front of the man, and the two stared at each other for a moment. The man let out a disdainful snort, then closed his eyes and ignored him.

Leo gave a strange laugh and said, "Why be so persistent? As long as you are willing to cooperate with us, we can control all of China in less than three years, and even the whole world within ten years. At that time, you can have whatever you want. Isn't there an idiom that goes something like 'calling for rain'?"

The man suddenly opened his eyes and roared, "Bah! You don't even know how to summon wind and rain, yet you dream of ruling the world. Go back to elementary school and stay there for a few more years!"

Leo was not angered by the other party's insults, and still said with a grin, "I may not be very cultured, but I know everything, so even Senior Brother Zhao was still tricked."

The man let out an angry snort, but his anger was tinged with a hint of helplessness. He said, "Don't call me senior brother. I don't have a junior brother as despicable and shameless as you."

Leo pretended to suddenly realize something and said, "Yes, Zhao Xuantan, who is known as the reincarnation of the God of Wealth, could not possibly have a despicable junior brother like me. He only has a junior sister who is even more despicable and shameless than me."

The man known as Zhao Xuantan angrily said, "She is not worthy to be my junior sister, whether she is now or she was before."

Leo sneered, "Really? But you got caught by her. Is it because she's stronger than you, or because she's more despicable? Haha..."

Faced with Leo's mockery, Xuan Tan chose to close his eyes and remain silent. He was currently under someone else's control, so what else could he do?

Several men's voices called out simultaneously from outside the door, "Master!" followed by a casual reply from the young girl. Leo chuckled slyly, "Your dear junior sister has arrived!"

Xuan Tan suddenly let out an angry roar, and a faint blue light emanated from his body. However, the yellow cloth on his body immediately shone with a dazzling yellow light. The blue and yellow lights were like a venomous snake and an eagle. Although both were strong, the latter was the natural enemy of the former and could easily suppress the opponent.

A young girl entered the room. It was Jingyuan. She said coldly, "Stop making futile resistance. You should know that it is impossible to break through the 'Eight Gates Soul Lock' on your own."

"I refuse to believe that your lousy formation can trap me!" Xuan Tan roared, his body radiating a bright blue light, but the yellow light was even more intense. It was as if two tigers were fighting inside the room, two invisible forces clashing against each other...

Sitting on the platform, Ghost Eye said, "The most exciting moment was gone." Shiya stopped playing the jade flute and said, "If your consciousness had stayed there, the girl would have found out. The man deliberately resisted the binding force so that you could leave safely."

Ghost Eye said, "You mean Zhao Xuantan discovered me a long time ago?"

Shiya said, "If he doesn't even have this much ability, then he has no value to be used..."

With the help of the flute music from Pu Tuan and Shi Ya, which could enhance concentration, Ghost Eye's divine sense could quickly search within a radius of a hundred miles. She could not only "see" but also "hear" other people's conversations. During her search for Leo, she encountered the scene from earlier.

I said, "Zhao Xuantan seems to need our help; perhaps we can get a powerful ally."

Shiya nodded and said, "His strength should not be weak. Perhaps he was just careless for a moment and that's why he became a prisoner."

Linglong, rubbing her hands together eagerly, asked, "Shall we start now?"

The spirit dog said, "Of course, do we have to wait for approval from above? We can wait, but our God of Wealth can't."

All eyes turned to me, and I smiled and said, "I'll take the blame if they try to pin it on me."

Our team, excluding Tian Shu, arrived at the door of a very inconspicuous rental house with Shi Ya. Gui Tong said that Zhao Xuan Tan was being held in one of the rooms inside.

The dog stretched its limbs and said, "Do we knock politely, or do we rudely tear the door down?"

Before I could even give any instructions, Linglong had already kicked the door open and said disdainfully, "The quality is really bad."

Inside the door were three thugs playing cards. As soon as they saw us, they grabbed iron bars and pounced. Linglong lunged forward, landing her toe on one thug's knee while simultaneously striking another in the face with her elbow. The thug who hadn't been attacked swung his iron bar, attempting to ambush Linglong, but Shiya, who had appeared behind him unnoticed, grabbed his collar, pulled him backward, sending him flying against the wall before crashing to the ground.

The fight ended in a matter of moments. Linglong and Shiya subdued the three thugs in no time. Guitong pushed away the spirit dog, who was standing there in a fighting stance, and said, "Don't block the way, you useless man!"

I had the spirit dog guard the three thugs, then I and the others opened the door to the room where Xuan Tan was imprisoned. As soon as the door opened, a male voice came out: "You've finally arrived."

Sitting in the room was a man with disheveled hair, his body wrapped in yellow cloth strips covered with incantations like a mummy; this was Zhao Xuantan.

I wanted to go up and tear off the strips of cloth covering Xuan Tan's body, but he stopped me, saying, "Brother, let the beautiful lady behind you handle this. Do you have any cigarettes? Give me one."

I lit a cigarette for Xuan Tan, and he took a deep drag, finishing the whole cigarette in no time. Shi Ya circled him twice and said, "It's the 'Eight Gates Soul Locking' formation. If you forcibly tear the yellow cloth, it will injure your soul."

I said, "Then what should we do?"

Shiya said, "We can only take him to our master. Our master should have a way to free him from his restraints."

The spirit dog and I carried the Xuan Tan, which was still in a cross-legged position, towards the Qi Qiu Taoist Temple, with Shi Ya and the others following closely behind. As soon as we entered the main hall, we heard the voice of the Qi Qiu True Man: "You brat, you've come to cause me trouble again."

I initially thought that Master Qiqiu was referring to me, but Xuantan immediately replied, "You old codger, you're still a guest here. Can't you be a little more polite to me?"

"Do I need to be polite to you, you brat? Every time you caused trouble, I had to clean up the mess." Master Qiqiu pointed at Xuantan's nose and cursed.

“Hey, this isn’t my fault. It was my junior sister who caused this mess. In the end, it’s all because you didn’t take good care of us on behalf of Master that we’re in this situation today. It’s all your fault.” Xuan Tan retorted, not to be outdone.

"Alright, I'll teach you a lesson right now, you brat. I'll lock you up for ten days or half a month first."

"You're too cruel..."

After a round of commotion, Master Qiqiu finally released Xuantan from the "Eight Gates Soul Locking" restraints. Once Xuantan was free to move, his first reaction was to thank me and Shiya, but he ignored Master Qiqiu. Master Qiqiu seemed to know that Xuantan wouldn't thank him, and showed no displeasure.

I asked Xuan Tan what exactly happened, why he was involved with Leo and the others, and why he was imprisoned.

Xuan Tan sighed and said, "That's a long story. My master, Master Qingyan, only took me and my junior sister as his disciples. Although I am exceptionally talented, I am rather lazy and haven't learned even half of my master's skills. My junior sister, on the other hand, is diligent and eager to learn, but she is impatient and always wants to achieve instant success, so she often suffers from qi deviation. My master wasn't much better. At first, he was disappointed in us, but later he simply abandoned us, leaving us with Qi Qiuzi, and went to cultivate in seclusion in the mountains."

“Neither my junior sister nor I are obedient people. If our master doesn’t care about us anymore, we’ll rebel. I ran away and wandered around, living a carefree life. Occasionally, I would help those in need, which is why I was given the nickname ‘Reincarnated God of Wealth’.”

I said, "But as far as I know, a couple surnamed He went to jail with your 'help'."