Chapter 65 A New Lease on Life
The girl in the photo is so familiar; it's none other than Asahi, the girl I've been longing for!
The photo was likely taken at night, as the sky is black. Ma Zao is walking along a deserted street; there are no passersby, and all the shops on both sides are closed. I recognize this street; it's a pedestrian street in the next district. It should be a much busier place normally, but the photo shows it so quiet, suggesting it was taken in the early morning hours.
Asaho's face, obscured by a mask, revealed no expression, but her gaze seemed to search for something around her, her posture subtly conveying vigilance and tension. Strangely, she appeared oblivious to the person taking the photos.
Why is Ma Zao in the photo Zhu Shi gave me? Aren't we talking about Fallen Witchers right now?
Luo Shan is looking for Ma Zao. Could it be that Zhu Shi also has a mission in this area? Am I being tested?
However, Detective Kong said that Zhu Shi and the group searching for Ma Zao weren't the same people... No, Zhu Shi was just not the same group as the group "using extreme methods to search for Ma Zao." They might be searching for more than one mountain. Besides, Detective Kong is dead; perhaps the mission originally belonging to Detective Kong has now fallen to Zhu Shi...
Perhaps my thinking has gone astray. The Fallen Witcher incident and Asahi aren't entirely unrelated. Before leaving, Asahi took Agent Kong's charred finger from my house, and Agent Kong was the previous Fallen Witcher…
"Zhuang Cheng, what's wrong?" Zhu Shi's voice suddenly rang out. "Is there a problem with this photo?"
I jolted awake, my mind still reeling from the shock, and a lie slipped out naturally: "Nothing, it's just that this photo is a little different from the others. Who is this girl in the photo? Is she related to the Fallen Witcher?"
"Didn't you ask me before who the girl that Detective Kong was looking for while disguised as a police officer was? Although she was wearing a mask, according to our analysis, she should be that girl." She didn't seem to realize I was acting.
"So that's how it is. She's the girl with amnesia. Detective Kong talked to me about her before he died..." I'm not lying. Detective Kong really did tell me.
“Since you know, then I don’t need to explain further.” Zhu Shi nodded. “This girl suddenly appeared while we were searching for clues about new Fallen Witchers. That being said, none of our people have directly witnessed her.”
"Didn't you witness it directly?" I asked, puzzled. "Didn't you take photos?"
“Zhuang Cheng, doesn’t this photo you’re holding look like a screenshot from a street surveillance camera? But actually, there are no cameras at this location on this pedestrian street.” She explained, “This photo was taken by someone from Luoshan who is skilled in divination and reconnaissance. They read the land’s memory along the route that the Fallen Witcher might have taken in the past, and then combined that with their telepathic abilities.”
"He originally wanted to divine clues about the fallen witcher, but he didn't expect this girl to appear in the photo formed by divination and writing."
No wonder Asahi in the photo didn't notice the photographer; it turns out this was "historical footage."
I asked with concern, "Does Luo Shan believe this girl is the Fallen Witcher?"
"Although she was in a vegetative state in the hospital for most of the time the Fallen Witcher was causing trouble, yes, we can't rule out the possibility you mentioned," Zhu Shi said surprisingly. "Because the Fallen Witcher is clearly not alone, and the source and motive of their power are both unknown. And this girl with amnesia also has 'unknown power,' and her motives for escaping the hospital and stealing guns and ammunition are also unknown..."
As she spoke, she lowered her head, seemingly beginning to seriously consider her words.
Oh no, did I give her some random ideas?
I can understand why Asa would appear when the divination of the Fallen Witcher was performed. Although I don't know the specific principles behind Rozan's divination, Asa does indeed have the charred fingers of a Fallen Witcher on her body.
What I'm most grateful for right now is the fact that "Mazao is still in Saltwater City".
I've been searching for Ma Zao for the past two days without success, and my biggest worry is that she might have teleported to another city. I've even considered asking Luo Shan for help in finding her, but I'm not a member of Luo Shan yet, and I don't have a plausible reason to do so. Unexpectedly, I ended up getting a clue about Ma Zao through Zhu Shi.
In my opinion, perhaps Asahi is also searching for a fallen witcher.
Her motives are still unclear, but in such a large city, her figure appeared on "the route that the Fallen Witcher was suspected to have taken," and she even had the charred finger of the Fallen Witcher on her body. It's hard to imagine that her current goal has nothing to do with the Fallen Witcher.
Of course, there is another possibility: that her jinxed nature is attracting the "Fallen Witcher Incident".
It doesn't matter which side has the truth. The most important thing now is to combine the two tasks of "finding the corrupt demon hunter who is threatening Chang'an" and "finding Ma Zao" into one.
Finding the former may lead to finding the latter.
Just when you think you've reached a dead end, a new path opens up before you!
Suddenly, I sensed something was off and asked, "Zhu Shi, are you showing me these photos because you want me to join you in the next operation?"
"Yes." Zhu Shi nodded readily.
"Has my application to become a member of the Luoshan Heretic Impermanence Cult been approved?" I asked.
"Not yet." She shook her head.
That's strange. Although I really want to get involved in investigating this incident, given Zhu Shi's extremely cautious nature when it comes to strange events, she probably wouldn't involve me, an outsider. Because I'm the "capable one," she thinks I should "do more"—she's not the type to think that way.
"Actually, the reason I asked you to participate in this incident is because it's related to your becoming the Heretic Wuchang..." Zhu Shi seemed to be trying to find an angle to start the conversation. "I don't know if Agent Kong mentioned it to you, but he was the agent in charge of the area around Saltwater University. Now that he's dead, this area naturally needs new personnel to take over."
I understood her underlying meaning: "Was my becoming the Heretic Wuchang also related to that new agent?"
“Yes, but now the ones taking over our area aren’t agents, they’re ‘patrolmen,’” she said.
"Patrol?" I immediately made a connection. "Is it the same patrol as 'Patrol God'?"
“Exactly.” She nodded.
In the folk beliefs of our country, there exist two kinds of deities: the Day-Roaming God and the Night-Roaming God, who are subordinates of underworld deities such as Yama and the City God.
They were also known as the Day Patrol and Night Patrol, and were responsible for monitoring good and evil in the human world.
“In Luoshan, the demon hunters who deal with strange phenomena are called ‘Wuchang’; while the demon hunters who investigate strange phenomena are called ‘Youxun’,” Zhu Shi said.
"And what about 'probes'?" I asked. "Aren't the agents' duties also to investigate the supernatural?"
She thought for a moment and then asked me a question: "Zhuang Cheng, don't you think that terms like 'probe' and 'agent' are too modern compared to 'unpredictable' and 'roaming'?"
"I do have that feeling," I admit.
“In ancient times, detectives were called underworld messengers or ghost soldiers, etc. Because they were actually ordinary people, Luo Shan did not consider them as part of her own group, but rather as a private force that patrolled the area,” she said. “In ancient times, the number of patrols was small, and it was very difficult to keep track of strange activities within their jurisdiction. Therefore, they had to cultivate their own power among the people. This is the predecessor of detectives.”
"It wasn't until modern times that the detectives were officially accepted by Luoshan. And because the detectives are the part of Luoshan that is closest to the people, they can't refer to themselves as underworld messengers or ghost soldiers when they are out in public, so they have chosen names that are in line with modern style."
"I see……"
I'm not entirely convinced by this explanation. Is it because they can't openly refer to them as underworld officials or ghost soldiers, so they're given a name like "probe," which has such a clear objectifying connotation? I feel that Luoshan might be subtly discriminating against ordinary people.
"You mean, the patrol officers are the agents' superiors?" At this point, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Detective Kong said that he disguised himself as a police officer to search for Ma Zao because of orders from his superiors.
Could it be...?
"Is the patrol officer now in charge of the area where our university is located, Agent Kong's superior?" I asked.
“Yes,” Zhu Shi said affirmatively. “At the same time, the patrol also has another job, which is to monitor the activities of civilian demon hunters. And if any civilian demon hunters are found to be capable of becoming heretics, the patrol also has the authority to examine them.”
"Originally, I hoped to use my family connections to help you bypass those procedures, but after the patrolman learned that you defeated Agent Kong, he proposed to use this Fallen Witcher incident as the test to examine your strength level."
After thinking for a moment, I asked, "Does that patrolman and Detective Kong have a good relationship?"
“Very good,” she said. “That patrolman was only promoted to patrolman last year; he used to be a highly skilled imposter.”
"I heard that twenty years ago, before Detective Kong joined Luoshan, he was caught up in a strange incident and almost starved to death in a maze of evil spirits. The person who saved him at that time was the wandering patrolman who was still Wuchang back then."
"I think he might have some issues with you right now and wants to trip you up..."
Before she could finish speaking, I heard a voice from the side: "It's not nice to talk about me behind my back, Zhu Shi."
“Lu Chan?” Zhu Shi frowned.
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man walking across the street. He was wearing a dark blue outfit that was both modern and had some traditional Chinese elements.
"Seeing that you suddenly ran off while analyzing the case and hadn't returned for so long, I came looking for you myself." The man spoke to Zhu Shi first, then looked at me and gave me a friendly smile. "This must be Zhuang Cheng. Nice to meet you. I am Lu Chan, the patrolman of Luoshan."
He extended his hand to me, and I observed him.
He was the one who ordered Detective Kong to find Ma Zao.
(End of this chapter)
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