Early in the morning, Sun the Fatty and I arrived at the second basement level's training ground. Unexpectedly, Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo were already there before us. They led us into a training room made of glass panels.
Sun the Fatty and I had never been to this training room before. Inside, apart from Old Wang and Ouyang Pianzuo, there was also a man in his forties sitting in a chair at the center of the room. Saying he was sitting is generous—this guy was practically half-lying on the chair. If not for his body occasionally twitching, I'd have thought he had fallen asleep there.
"All right, everyone's here. Let's begin," said Ouyang Pianzuo.
Huh? What did he mean by that? Begin? Begin what? While I was still dazed, Hao Wenming said, "Today can be considered a real combat drill for you two. Your target is him." As he spoke, he pointed to the man slumped in the chair. "This man's name is Liu Fenghua, a farmer from somewhere near Shijiazhuang. Half a month ago, he killed his entire family of six. His neighbor called the police and had him arrested.
"According to forensic assessment, Liu Fenghua has a form of mental illness—hysteria, along with severe schizophrenia and delusions. This case was transferred to our Bureau of Paranormal Investigation five days ago. Not to brag, but take a look at him—do you notice anything unusual?"
Something's not right! He's not mentally ill. I looked closely at Liu Fenghua and saw two indistinct shadows on him. One of the shadows bore a ninety-percent resemblance to Liu Fenghua, but it was listless, suppressed under the other shadow, unable to resist at all.
The shadow pressing down on him was violent and savage, occasionally slapping and biting the other. But clearly, this shadow was extremely afraid of Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo. The moment either of them coughed, it shrank into a ball. As for Liu Fenghua himself, he looked dull and lifeless, completely devoid of vitality.
Before Sun the Fatty could speak, I said first, "He's not mentally ill."
"Oh?" The two directors looked at me with interest. Hao Wenming said, "Go on."
"He's possessed. An evil spirit has entered his body. I don't know the exact terminology, but it's that sort of thing…"
"You two will now verify whether Liu Fenghua is possessed, not just someone with schizophrenia," Hao Wenming said to Sun the Fatty and me.
Deputy Director Yi did mention a method for identifying this, something like lifting the eyelid and checking the pupils. But I couldn't remember it clearly.
As for Sun the Fatty—don't even mention it. During that part of the lecture, this guy was snoring like a dead pig, drooling all over his lap without even noticing. When he woke up and saw the wet patch on his crotch, he stared blankly for a while before shamelessly asking me whether incontinence was a sign of prostate issues.
I couldn't count on this fatso, so I had to do it myself. What's the big deal? I've taken down more than a dozen mummified corpses in the Water Curtain Cave. Why should I be afraid of some guy slumped in a chair?
I took a deep breath and stepped in front of Liu Fenghua. He still hung his head, with that same blank expression. Meeting his eyes, I saw they were half-shut, nothing odd about the pupils. He didn't look very dangerous just like that.
Taking the chance, I carefully reached out toward Liu Fenghua's eyes. Suddenly, from behind, that fat bastard lowered his voice and said, "Lazi, be careful. Don't let him bite you."
Damn it! Shut your damn crow's mouth. I cursed inwardly, not daring to say it out loud. But with his words, I really did start to get nervous.
Fortunately, Liu Fenghua didn't react. I nervously pried open one of his eyelids. Even though I had prepared myself, I was still startled by what I saw inside.
What was in there could no longer be called a pupil. It looked more like a white wax ball with a grain-sized black spot embedded in the center, presumably the pupil. As if that wasn't enough, the two waxy eyeballs were spinning wildly inside their sockets, making me inhale sharply.
This wasn't like the fear I felt facing the mummified corpses in the Water Curtain Cave—though I was tense, I wasn't panicking. I had people backing me up! There were two directors standing behind me, and no way did they look like pushovers.
Speaking of the two directors, I turned around to glance at them, hoping for some guidance. To my surprise, when I looked back, those two sly old foxes had vanished. Only the fatty was still behind me, eyes wide open, staring at my every move.
I was starting to lose my nerve. I shouted to the glutton, "Where did they go?" Sun the Fatty didn't get it at first, but then quickly caught on. He was standing where the lighting was best and immediately spotted the two directors already outside the glass training room. Ouyang Pianzuo was even locking the door.
This fatty had great instincts for danger—no wonder he used to be undercover. Realizing something was wrong, he rushed to the door and said, "Director Ouyang, open the door! I need to pee. Hurry, I can't hold it!"
Before Ouyang Pianzuo could respond, Hao Wenming chuckled coldly and said, "Just pee inside. I'll have someone clean it up later." Seeing the pained expression on Sun the Fatty's face, he added, "Not to scare you, but if you really can't hold it, go ahead. Just don't blame me if that leaks your yang energy. Most evil spirits are extremely sensitive to that. If it triggers this one, don't say I didn't warn you."
I had no time to worry about pupils or wax balls. I darted in front of Sun the Fatty and shouted through the glass door, "Directors, what the hell is this? You owe us an explanation!"
Hao Wenming gave me a cold look and said slowly, "Didn't I say this was a real combat test? It's your own fault for not being alert. The main evaluation this time is to survive for twenty minutes beside someone possessed—without prior preparation. If you can subdue him, even better. Not to brag, but take a look behind you." Hao Wenming pointed.
I didn't need him to tell me. I was already feeling something wrong. Laughter, a weird "gege" giggle, was coming from Liu Fenghua's direction, mixed with muttering in an incomprehensible language.
No way… this can't be that serious, right? At least in the Water Curtain Cave I had a rifle. What do I have now? A two-hundred-and-sixty-pound fatty?
"Lazi!" the fatty jabbed my lower back. No need to guess why. I didn't have time to look—running was the only option. It's just a glass door, right? If it won't open, I'll smash through it!
Gritting my teeth, I took a step back, jumped, and threw all my strength into my elbows, slamming into the glass door.
The result was completely unexpected. With a loud bang, I bounced off and landed on the floor. What kind of glass was this? Not a scratch on it! Instead, I'd hit a nerve in my elbow—it was numb and aching.
"Lazi!" Sun the Fatty's voice had turned shrill. I turned to look—Liu Fenghua was standing now, completely different from before. The violent shadow had already merged with his body, leaving no visible trace.
Liu Fenghua's blank expression was gone, replaced by a twisted grin. He occasionally spewed out yellow-green liquid from his mouth, and he was slowly walking toward Sun the Fatty and me.
"No worries!" I encouraged myself. "He's slow. The space here is big—about 130 meters. We can stall. Twenty minutes will pass quickly."
Spoke too soon. Liu Fenghua's steps grew faster. Clearly, the shadow had adapted to this body. In just a few strides, he was charging at us.
"Split up!" I shouted and ran one way while Sun the Fatty ran the other. Liu Fenghua hesitated, then chose me and charged.
He was far more agile than I'd expected. If I had known, I'd have brought some gear. Even a baton would've helped.
I could already smell his foul, fishy stench. His hands were nearly brushing my clothes. At the critical moment, my left foot shifted instinctively, and he missed me by a hair. I slipped past him.
He turned and lunged again, but I stuck to my steps and started circling him along the Bagua diagram on the floor. We were barely a meter apart, yet he couldn't catch me. Eventually, he gave up and turned toward Sun the Fatty.
Huh? All that electric training over the past three months finally paid off! Worth it! I realized what was going on and shouted, "Follow the Bagua steps!" Sun the Fatty's situation mirrored mine. Though Liu Fenghua was right next to him, he just couldn't catch him.
But Liu Fenghua wasn't a pushover either. The evil spirit possessing him didn't seem low on IQ—it actually forced Sun the Fatty in my direction. When they were about five or six meters away from me, Liu Fenghua suddenly gave up on chasing Sun the Fatty and redirected his attack toward me.
Same trick, different target. I continued with the same footwork, and Liu Fenghua still couldn't touch me. But when I shifted into position forty-two, I suddenly realized that Sun the Fatty was very close to me—this guy was standing at position forty-three.
What the hell! Why are you so close to me? There was no time to dodge. I watched helplessly as we collided head-on. Liu Fenghua grabbed both of us by the neck, lifting us off the ground.
"He… wants… to… do… what?" These words were squeezed out of Sun the Fatty's mouth. His face had already turned a deep purplish color. I couldn't see my own face, but I figured I looked about the same. "Why… don't… you… ask… him… yourself?"
Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo still had no intention of coming in. Was I really going to die here today? A master in my hometown once told my fortune—didn't he say I'd live to eighty-six? Just as I thought of that amateur fortune teller, a line he'd casually mentioned during small talk suddenly popped into my head: the fresh blood from a virgin boy's tongue is pure yang and the nemesis of evil spirits.
Screw it—I didn't have time to think. I bit down hard on the tip of my tongue, gathered a big mouthful of blood, and spat it straight into Liu Fenghua's face. The moment the blood splashed onto him, I could clearly feel the strength in Liu Fenghua's hands weaken significantly. His whole body even began to tremble slightly.
It worked! The virgin blood worked! One more shot! I spat out a second mouthful of blood immediately. Liu Fenghua let out a wretched scream, releasing both me and the fatty. He clutched his face with both hands, his entire body trembling violently. Though there was no visible change on the surface, I could see that violent shadow inside him beginning to emit white smoke—as if it had been doused with sulfuric acid.
"Huh? Lazi, you're coughing up blood. What happened to you?" Sun the Fatty was still dazed from being choked and didn't realize what was going on.
I snapped at him, "Just shut up and stay back!" My tongue throbbed with pain, making it hard to even speak clearly. Useless dead weight! I already knew you were bad luck back in the Water Curtain Cave—like a walking jinx, or the reincarnation of Halley's Comet. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to bite my tongue and spit blood in the first place. Just thinking about it made my tongue throb even more.
"Not bad. We gave you twenty minutes to hold out, and you managed to resolve it in under ten. Not bad at all. But seriously, who told you to use virgin blood to exorcise evil spirits?" Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo strolled leisurely into the room.
Ouyang Pianzuo walked up to Liu Fenghua, pried open his eyelids, and looked him over. "He's fine. Send him to Fourth Section for a round of treatment—he'll be good as new in a few days."
In my heart, I was silently cursing both of them and their ancestors, but I kept my face neutral and forced myself to say, "So, Directors, does this mean Monkey and I passed the assessment?"
"No need to sound so bitter about it. Every rookie has to go through this," Hao Wenming said calmly, not even blinking. "Besides, weren't we here the whole time? It's not like we'd let anything happen to you two."
Yeah, right. While I was fighting for my life, I could've sworn I saw the two of them casually snacking outside.
Seeing the sour expressions on both our faces, Hao Wenming finally got to the point: "Alright, starting today, Lazi and Sun Dasheng, you are officially investigators of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. Starting tomorrow, you'll begin working in First Section."