Chapter 131: Chapter 49: The Spirit Disaster Bureau Has a Problem
As the old man stood, the palm-length smoking pipe in his hand had somehow transformed into a long rod, seventy to eighty centimeters in length. Placed on the ground, it could even serve as a cane.
This was the true form of the Supernatural Artifact.
It was quite convenient. When he wasn’t using it for other purposes, he could still use it to smoke.
Gao Tian remembered something Xu Yuan had said.
If Old Man Sun discovered an S-Level ghost early enough, he would send it flying with a single whack of his rod.
One whack.
Xu Yuan must have fought Old Man Sun before. That meant Old Man Sun’s Supernatural Artifact was a long, rod-shaped object.
There was a ninety-nine percent chance this "Wang Jianguo" was just Old Man Sun out for a stroll.
As the group left McDonald’s, Jiang Yang lingered behind, his gaze fixed on the back of the old man in the military greatcoat. He didn’t move for a long time.
Back on the bus, when the old man had claimed to be from the Spirit Disaster Bureau, Jiang Yang hadn’t believed him. He seemed unhinged, not like a normal person at all.
But now, it was basically certain the old man was a bigwig from the Spirit Disaster Bureau. He just had an odd personality and liked to put on a tough act for no reason.
"Sir, there’s one more thing. It might not be related to what’s happening at Longshu Temple, but I feel it’s necessary to let you know."
Jiang Yang spoke up.
Standing at the McDonald’s entrance, Old Man Sun paused with his hand on the glass door and squinted at him:
"Is there something that has to be said right here?
"Can’t it wait until I’m done with my business? You can tell me when I get back."
Jiang Yang:
"Delays breed trouble.
"It’s a very important matter. It won’t take up much of your time."
The main reason was that Jiang Yang was afraid he might die prematurely and be unable to pass on this crucial intelligence to the old man.
Old Man Sun took a deep breath, held it, then let it out in a rush:
"Fine. Spit it out."
Jiang Yang:
"Shanghai has seen a lot of supernatural incidents recently."
Old Man Sun put down his pipe, setting it to one side:
"So?
"The whole world is full of supernatural incidents. Every country is adapting to the resurgence of ghosts.
"Do you expect this old man to go and solve every single supernatural incident?
"Uh, do I look like some omnipotent genie in a bottle to you? A god?"
Jiang Yang:
"It’s true. Most of the smaller-scale supernatural incidents can only be handled by regular Ghost Hunters and the vigilance of the citizens themselves.
"But this time is different.
"A short while ago, in a subway station, I encountered a particularly unusual case of memetic contamination known as the Rainy Woman.
"This supernatural incident... I can feel it’s extremely dangerous. If she’s allowed to continue spreading her contamination like this, there’s a risk she could destroy Shanghai.
"I don’t know how the Spirit Disaster Bureau has assessed this incident. Currently, it seems they haven’t given it enough attention.
"If you don’t mind, after you’ve resolved the matter at Longshu Temple, I can report to you about her transmission methods and killing patterns, based on my personal experience and online posts from other victims."
Hearing Jiang Yang’s words, Gao Tian felt a surge of gratitude. His brother was really coming in clutch.
Because of the evil Buddha’s venomous oath, Gao Tian was forbidden from telling or even hinting to anyone about the Rainy Woman.
But Jiang Yang wasn’t bound by that rule. He had brought the matter up himself, completely on his own initiative.
This way, it couldn’t be said that Gao Tian had violated his oath.
’Hopefully, Old Man Sun will take this seriously now that he has the intel.’
’Otherwise, when the time is right, the Rainy Woman, the Artist, and Xu Yuan—three S-Level ghosts—will descend upon Shanghai at the same time. The entire Spirit Disaster Bureau would be torn out by the roots. Even someone as powerful as Old Man Sun, despite his heaven-defying abilities, would probably fall.’
"I see. So this is what you wanted to tell me."
Old Man Sun picked up the pipe he had set aside, put it in his mouth, and took a puff.
"This ’Rainy Woman’... I’ve seen her mentioned a few times before in the Spirit Disaster Bureau’s intelligence department.
"The department already sent Ghost Hunters to deal with it. The team that came back reported that they had successfully contained the ’Rainy Woman’ at the cost of one life.
"At the time, I didn’t pay it any mind. I look at hundreds of reports a day; typical supernatural incidents don’t pique my interest.
"So that case was never really closed, huh.
"Got it. After I get back, I’ll look into it."
Gao Tian’s heart sank when he heard Old Man Sun’s words. He had a very bad feeling.
’The Spirit Disaster Bureau’s subordinate department said the Rainy Woman was already contained?’
’That thing had never been contained. In fact, it was getting worse and worse.’
’It was thriving in Shanghai.’
’There were two possibilities for the false report from the Spirit Disaster Bureau’s Ghost Hunters.’
’First, it was like what happened to him with the urn... The Rainy Woman had countless memetic avatars. The Ghost Hunters might have contained just a tiny fraction of them, yet reported to their superiors that the containment was successful.’
’The Spirit Disaster Bureau... They shouldn’t make such a basic mistake.’
’The second possibility was chilling.’
’The Ghost Hunters who were sent out came back and, without batting an eye, delivered false intelligence.’
’What was going on? Had no one in the entire Spirit Disaster Bureau noticed that something was wrong with the Ghost Hunters who came back?’
’Had the Ghost Hunters sent to deal with it been replaced, or had they been mentally contaminated?’
Gao Tian didn’t know the specifics of the Spirit Disaster Bureau’s internal affairs.
’He could only investigate this matter after they had dealt with Longshu Temple and returned from the Inner World.’
In any case, the top priority right now was still to find "Mother" at the Observatory.
The old man:
"Alright, lads. This Observatory you’re talking about, the monster that came from the stars... where is it?
"Let’s hurry up and deal with it. After we get back, I’ll take a look at what’s up with this Rainy Woman."
’Where exactly was Yu Sheng killed? He hadn’t mentioned it in the previous loop.’
Unhurried, Jiang Yang pulled a simple, ancient-looking map from inside his coat. The moment he unfolded it, Longshu Temple, the surrounding wilderness, the mass grave, and a high, abandoned platform all rose from its surface like 3D images.
And farther out, the map was obscured by a fog impenetrable to the naked eye.
Jiang Yang explained:
"This Supernatural Artifact can display the nearby terrain for a short time, for a price.
"Of course, it only shows the terrain. It can’t show any people or ghosts moving around on it.
"I’ve heard there are higher-level maps that can even show you what every ghost is doing in real-time, like a live feed."
Once they found the Observatory’s location, the rest would be simple.
...
...
Yu Sheng wasn’t sure what he was feeling as he walked out of the gates of Longshu Temple. He retraced the small path he had walked countless times before, slowly making his way to the Observatory at the cliff’s edge.
His master had gone to Pagoda Primary School, and the Kalachakra Crow had been placed at Longshu Temple. As long as he could hold "Mother" here, the baton would be passed to Gao Tian and the others heading for the temple.
From Yu Sheng’s perspective, the reset meant he hadn’t been killed; he was only just arriving here now.
In the normal timeline, although Yu Sheng had successfully stalled the monster, he couldn’t stop it from letting out a series of bear-like death howls. As a result, Gao Tian’s group, having entered Longshu Temple, would die at nine o’clock, triggering another reset.
At the pinnacle of the Observatory stood a gentle-looking country woman. Her body was spattered with blood and her hands and feet were filthy, but the moment she saw Yu Sheng, her expression softened with a tenderness like that of a mother seeing her own child:
"Ah Bao, you’re back. Mother stayed right here, worried you wouldn’t have enough to eat while you were out wandering."
Listening to "Mother" call his pet name, her words carrying a thick, rustic accent. She was no different from his real mother. For a dizzying moment, Yu Sheng felt like he was seven or eight again. Back then, all the adults were still alive. Their little home may have been poor, but it was filled with joy and warmth.
A sudden, cold gust of wind from the Observatory’s cliff snapped him back to reality.
Yu Sheng looked at the woman with his "Mother’s" face and said calmly:
"You are not my mother.
"My mother would not kill so many people."
"Mother" smiled and took a step forward on the Observatory. The performance of motherly love was over; she didn’t seem to care in the slightest about his attitude.
She slowly craned her neck, tilting her head at a bizarre angle to look toward Longshu Temple.
"Odd.
"Why have so many living people suddenly appeared in the direction of Longshu Temple?
"Ah Bao, you rest here for a bit. Mother will go take a look. After I’ve dealt with the visitors there, I’ll come back and make you your favorite dish."
Yu Sheng, however, simply stood like a stone, coldly blocking "Mother’s" path with no intention of yielding.
"Mother" pushed him lightly:
"Ah Bao, what’s wrong with you? You’re being so strange.
"Step aside and let Mother pass, won’t you?"
Yu Sheng turned a deaf ear, lowered his head, and began to chant a mantra:
"’Subhūti then said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, if a good man or good woman brings forth the heart of supreme, perfect enlightenment, how should they stand, how...’"
Behind him, a seven-colored Buddhist radiance flared to life. This was his most powerful Supernatural Artifact; as long as he lived, no ghost, no matter how powerful, could escape its light. Even after his death, the light would continue to shine for five hours—long enough for everyone at Longshu Temple to evacuate safely.
Yu Sheng was already resolved to die here in order to trap "Mother."
Feeling her body being restrained, the gentle expression on "Mother’s" face began to change. Her voice, however, remained placid:
"Ah Bao, be good. Don’t cause trouble. Let Mother pass.
"If you keep misbehaving, Mom will just snap one of your arms off to teach you a lesson."
With the calm acceptance of death in his eyes, Yu Sheng continued his chant. Layer after layer of seven-colored lotus flowers flew out from behind him:
"You can kill me, Mother.
"You were the one who gave me this life, after all.
"Go ahead. I won’t blame you.
"But I will absolutely not let you pass."
A deep shadow gradually fell over "Mother’s" face.
She slowly reached out and placed her hand on the crown of Yu Sheng’s head:
"My child has just come back from the outside, and his heart has already gone wild. So disobedient.
"Deserves death."
Just then, a hoarse voice rang out from behind them—the voice of a peculiar old man:
"Your old mother’s lived for a thousand years and now she’s hit her rebellious phase. What do you do when she just won’t listen?
"You just have to give her a good thrashing."
Comments