The Eldritch Files

Chapter 19: Chapter 17: That Path

"Why isn’t Old Han out yet?"

In the empty lot in front of the Public Security Bureau compound, several cars were parked.

The one in the lead was a sleek, high-end black sedan. Its door was open, and Xu Ji was sitting on the running board, two bandages stuck to his forehead.

Not far off, a cluster of other cars was parked. A group of flamboyantly dressed young masters were waiting timidly over there; no one dared to approach Xu Ji to talk.

Standing beside Xu Ji was a slender man in a black suit. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and seemed to greet everyone with a smile. He was the one who had come to pick up Xu Ji—his father’s personal assistant, who also shared Father Xu’s surname, Xu.

He was now patiently speaking to Xu Ji, who was adamant about waiting for Han Su. "You should head back first. I’ll arrange for someone to wait here for Mr. Han."

"The master knows what happened to you and is very worried. From now on, you can forget about touching a steering wheel for at least the next two years."

"It wasn’t my fault...!"

Xu Ji grew anxious at the words. "We saw a ghost, Brother Zhuzi! Don’t tell me you don’t believe it. If it weren’t for Old Han, I would’ve been a goner back there."

"I do believe Mr. Han helped you again this time. As repayment, we will also ensure he walks out of the Public Security Bureau safely."

Special Assistant Xu said, "Wouldn’t it be better for you to go home and rest first?"

Xu Ji heard this and was instantly displeased.

He turned to the secretary, who maintained a smile and an immaculate suit and hairstyle no matter the situation. "Brother Zhuzi, why do the things you’re saying today sound so harsh?"

"When you see Old Han later, don’t you dare keep talking like everything is a transaction. Old Han is my brother, you remember that."

"I know a lot of people approach me because of the Xu Family, because of my dad, but Old Han isn’t like that. He’s a friend I genuinely want to make, from the bottom of my heart."

"Especially since he saved my life!!"

"..."

The secretary was not surprised by Xu Ji’s complaint. He explained patiently and gently, "You’re about to graduate. You should understand that all relationships—including friendship, and even love and family—are, in essence, transactions."

Xu Ji flared up. "You...!"

The secretary smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Also, you need to be careful."

"This incident isn’t over. In fact, it’s just the beginning. Did you think it was as simple as some insignificant illegitimate son of the Zhang Family dying while you were street racing?"

"You’ve alerted the people from the Disaster Management Bureau. That in itself is a huge deal—a fatal one."

"..."

Xu Ji was unconvinced and retorted stubbornly, "It’s not like I went looking for it! Besides, people at the club were talking about that... that thing. It sounded like a story. I’ve heard it all before, I just thought it was fake..."

"Shut up."

The secretary spoke abruptly, his expression unusually cold.

After startling Xu Ji into silence, he slowly began, "Do you know about Secretary No. 5 of Qinggang?"

Xu Ji was baffled by the question and ventured, "A temp?"

The secretary ignored him and continued, "Qinggang City has four secretaries, each responsible for different affairs."

"Their jurisdictions have a lot of overlap, and they cooperate frequently. But they aren’t the only ones running Qinggang City."

"The four secretaries are often on TV and in the papers. But Secretary No. 5 never collaborates with the others. Ordinary people don’t even know he exists."

"However, the special nature of his identity is something the other four secretaries cannot compare to."

"Let’s take an example."

He glanced at Xu Ji. "If, one day, your father decides to enter politics and accepts a commission from above to become the head of Qinggang City’s Administrative Hall, then I would become Secretary No. 1 by his side."

"Secretaries No. 2 and 3 would be chosen from the Xu Family’s corporations and from among the social elite."

"But Secretary No. 5 would still be Secretary No. 5. There would be no change."

"The same goes for the Abnormal Disaster Assessment and Management Bureau, which he directly oversees. Once a department under his direct management appears, everyone must make way for them."

He looked at Xu Ji’s expression, confident that, given his upbringing, he now understood the gravity of the situation. Only then did he continue slowly:

"Do you know what would happen to you right now if you weren’t a child of the Xu Family?"

Xu Ji, sensing the severity of the matter, slowly shook his head.

The secretary said faintly, "Undergo hypnosis, or be ’cleaned up’ as a deep-contact individual."

Xu Ji was completely stunned. "A ’contact’? ’Cleaned up’?"

The secretary didn’t answer, continuing on his own. "Hypnosis. And I mean real hypnosis."

"Once you undergo their hypnosis, no one can guarantee your mind will still be clean. You’ll lose the chance to take over the Xu Family’s businesses. A pity for the master and madam... at their age, they’d have to consider having a second child..."

Xu Ji: "?"

The secretary sighed, looking at Xu Ji with pity. "This time, the master used his connections and influence to spare you from this punishment."

"But as a price, you must promise to never speak of what happened that night to anyone, and you certainly cannot discuss it."

All of this shocked and confused Xu Ji. When he finally processed it, he suddenly thought of the key issue. "What about Old Han? What’s going to happen to him?"

"That’s what I was about to tell you."

Special Assistant Xu said faintly, "Originally, given his status and encountering this sort of incident at this time, the only outcome for him would be to undergo hypnosis."

"It’s even possible he wouldn’t be deemed worthy of the resources for hypnosis, and they would opt directly for the second method."

"However, he did indeed save your life—twice. So, not only will we ensure he gets out of here in one piece, but we will also pay him a very handsome reward."

"And the price..."

He paused, then said in an unquestionable tone, "...is that your friendship with him is, from this moment on, null and void."

"What the hell is this crap!"

Xu Ji’s face flushed red as he listened, and he sprang to his feet. "Old Han only ran into this mess because of me! He saved my life!"

In contrast to his anger, Special Assistant Xu remained unnaturally calm. He said faintly, "You’re angry because you don’t know what kind of trouble you’ve just caused. Or rather, that’s not right. You didn’t cause trouble; you just fell into someone else’s scheme."

"The boy from the Zhang Family was too ambitious. He wanted to use this method to get a position working under Secretary No. 5."

"But he was likely used by someone else, and ended up losing his life for it."

"Of course, nothing has been proven by the investigation yet, but I have already presented my suspicions to the master. Someone likely wanted to use this incident to frame you and turn you into a grotesque contact."

"The severity of this matter even surpasses murder."

"..."

"I haven’t fucking killed anyone..."

Xu Ji, in his usual state of impotent rage, suddenly flung his arm out, pointing toward the group of rich kids waiting in the distance. "It wasn’t just me and Old Han who saw it! What about them?"

"They were outside the shadow. They don’t qualify as deep-contact individuals."

Special Assistant Xu didn’t even look at him, speaking softly. "Besides, everything I just told you is what the master wished for me to relay to you. If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with him."

"I..."

Special Assistant Xu cut him off. "Believe me, if Mr. Han knew what this all meant, he would be thanking the Xu Family instead."

"Perhaps, in all of Qinggang City, only our Xu Family could possibly..."

"Which of you is Special Assistant Xu?"

But just then, Special Assistant Xu’s words were suddenly interrupted.

Xu Ji and Special Assistant Xu looked up at the same time and saw a woman in a black suit with a cold expression walking out from the Public Security Bureau. Her eyes locked onto them as she approached with a file in hand. She said coolly:

"Sign this, and you can go."

"This..."

This time it was Special Assistant Xu’s turn to be surprised. He took the file and glanced at it, seeing only Xu Ji’s name. He asked, surprised:

"There’s one more..."

The woman in the black suit cut him off. "He’s being kept."

"What?"

Special Assistant Xu’s expression changed slightly, while Xu Ji was already getting anxious. Just moments ago, he had vehemently opposed the assistant’s proposal, but now, hearing this, he was even more frantic.

He rushed forward and shouted, "What are you going to do to Old Han?"

Special Assistant Xu grabbed Xu Ji’s arm and stepped forward himself. He did not show any arrogance at this moment, striving to keep his voice calm and soft. "I just met with Miss Li."

"And I know that for the Highway 59 Ghost Truck incident, because the news has spread so widely, the threat Level has already..."

"Investigator Li?"

The woman in black looked up at him, a hint of mockery in her eyes. She chuckled. "Normally, her influence is enough. But this time, it’s out of her hands."

"Before that, I have a question for you!"

She looked at Xu Ji. "Your written statement is basically empty, so I have to ask you in person: when you encountered that strange truck, did your friend display any other... behaviors, aside from chanting that Spell?"

Xu Ji froze, thinking of the horrifying color that had seeped from Han Su’s blind right eye. He shook his head adamantly. "No!"

The woman in black glanced at him sideways. "Really? Nothing?"

Xu Ji said, "I just thought he looked incredibly cool. Does that count?"

The woman in black shook her head. "Just sign it."

Seeing that the capable woman was growing impatient, Special Assistant Xu also quickly calmed down.

It was obvious that the current situation was completely beyond even his expectations.

But he quickly adjusted his attitude. As he took the file, he asked rapidly, "In that case, may I ask if the outcome Mr. Han will face is the first kind, or the second...?"

"Him?"

The woman in black looked up slightly, a half-smile on her face. "Neither."

Upon hearing this, Special Assistant Xu froze on the spot. The man who had just insisted Xu Ji not speak of seeing ghosts now looked as if he had seen one himself.

Only after the woman with the flaxen hair left did Xu Ji seem to snap out of it. He asked urgently, "What exactly is going on?"

"What are they going to do to Old Han?"

"..."

Special Assistant Xu slowly shook his head. "Do you know that before the Zhang Family’s son died, he used his entire fortune to forge a path for himself?"

Xu Ji: "Huh?"

Special Assistant Xu said, "That path has now fallen to your classmate."