"Mirrors are probably the key medium."
Luo Tianhe pinched the bridge of his nose and guessed.
"Zhang Qiang is already investigating."
I said it casually, and then looked at Li Huai and Luo Tianhe:
"How are you two feeling now? I was worried that you would be affected and controlled by that thing again. This time it is on guard. If that happens again, it probably won't easily step into the formation I prepared for you."
Upon hearing what I said, Li Huai and Luo Tianhe immediately looked troubled.
Although they felt that they were in great health and had a good appetite, just like before when they were affected, they were completely unaware of it. After all, they were just ordinary people.
I had also thought of this, so I took down the Xuanwu and Qinglong jade talismans from the formation and handed one to each of them.
"This is an old object, very spiritual. Take a look at it from time to time. If it suddenly becomes cloudy, it means you have been affected, and you must come to me immediately!"
"Does this stuff really work?"
Li Huai took it, examined it, and looked at it with some doubt in his eyes.
"Nonsense, otherwise why would I give it to you? Are you waiting for me to betray me?"
I scolded him irritably. Li Huai seemed quite clever at this moment, as he didn't seem to realize he had been affected at all.
Li Huai gave an awkward smile.
"Let's hang this on our waists. If we're affected, even if neither of us looks at it, you can check if we're normal by observing whether the color changes."
"This time you've actually said something sensible."
Luo Tianhe hung the jade talisman on his waist and patted Li Huai on the shoulder in approval.
Seeing how energetic they were, I felt a little more at ease.
“Let’s go find Zhang Qiang and see if we can find any clues,” I said. “Also, since you were so affected just now, did you inadvertently learn any information about the lair, even if it was very vague?”
Logically speaking, given how deeply Luo Tianhe was affected, it's impossible that he wouldn't have received any information at all; after all, such an influence is two-way.
After hearing what I said, he pondered for a moment before slowly speaking:
"Hearing you say that, it's like I have a blurry memory fragment in my mind, like looking through frosted glass, it's not very clear anyway."
"Go on."
My eyes lit up immediately; although it was blurry, it might be a crucial clue.
"There was a very narrow and steep stone staircase leading down. The walls were old red bricks, damp and covered with moss. At the end of the staircase was what looked like a heavily rusted iron gate with a blurry pattern painted on it, resembling an upside-down gourd."
"Red bricks, dampness, iron gate, not bad, the scope of the investigation has been narrowed down a bit."
I was somewhat excited. I had initially thought this thing was relatively harmless; after all, in over thirty years, it had only killed six or seven people.
Honestly, the number of people who die in drunk driving accidents in this city is many times greater than that.
But ever since it took control of Luo Tianhe and Li Huai, my disgust for these things has reached a new level.
I wish I could find it right now.
Although this thing acts strangely, its abilities are probably not very deep.
Without further delay, we drove to the police station immediately. On the way, I couldn't wait to call Zhang Qiang and tell him the key details of the scene that Luo Tianhe had just recalled.
When we arrived at the police station, Zhang Qiang was already waiting for us in his office.
On his table lay a map of the old town and some yellowed architectural archives, which were probably quite old.
He visibly relaxed when he saw the three of us come in together, and his gaze lingered briefly on Luo Tianhe and Li Huai's faces.
"Are you all alright?" After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked.
"It's been resolved." Before they could answer, I said, then pointed to the table and asked:
"So? Did you find an address that matches your criteria? This whole bunch of stuff on your desk can't just be for show, can it?"
Hearing my question, Zhang Qiang nodded.
There were only a handful of places in the entire city that met the criteria, so he dug out all the yellowed documents and carefully compared them one by one.
"This is it, Fu'anli Community. Before liberation, this was an affluent area. At that time, private air-raid shelters and storage cellars were built underneath, some of which were red brick structures. Later, during urban redevelopment, most of them were filled in or sealed off. However, some places were never completely dealt with due to their complex structures and property disputes; they were simply blocked off with the entrances."
Zhang Qiang pointed to a spot on the map and said.
"Hiss, a private air-raid shelter and storage cellar system. Capitalists before liberation were even more wicked."
Li Huai couldn't help but gasp and exclaim in amazement.
"The iron gate you mentioned should be located below No. 7 Fu'an Lane. As far as I know, it does have cast-on decorative patterns, but I'm not sure if it's gourd-shaped. It's possible that the specific design has changed because it's rusted too badly."
No. 7 Fu'an Lane!
"What's the situation there now?" Luo Tianhe asked urgently.
"The old houses over there are basically empty. It seems like something strange happened there. It might be that guy's doing."
"Something strange?"
I frowned and asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Qiang pulled out a photocopy of a community police report and pointed to it, explaining:
"It's nothing major. It's just that over the past ten years or so, residents in that area have frequently reported cases. There have been no murders, just things that sound like they're fabricated."
Hearing this, the corner of my mouth twitched involuntarily.
The police officers at the time probably didn't believe in ghosts and gods, and thought the residents were just talking nonsense.
In fact, these residents may not have been lying; they really did encounter something strange!
However, when they asked the police for help, the police didn't take it seriously.
Zhang Qiang clearly realized this as well, and gave a somewhat awkward smile before continuing:
"It sounds like there's a heavy object being dragged around in the middle of the night, and dogs become listless when they go there. Some people have also reported that mirrors suddenly break in the middle of the night, and the reflections they see are of people who don't belong to them."
"It's no wonder the police didn't take it seriously back then. The environment was much worse more than ten years ago, and there wasn't a sophisticated surveillance system at the time."
"You can see this by looking at the unsolved cases in our archives. The detectives back then were all extremely busy, and since no actual personal injury or major property loss occurred here, they naturally didn't care about it."
Zhang Qiang then offered a few more explanations for his senior colleague.
We nodded in understanding; things were indeed much more chaotic a decade or so ago.
I remember back then, the concept of extortion wasn't common, and when a fight broke out, it almost always resulted in bloodshed.
Seeing that we understood, Zhang Qiang shrugged and finally said:
"Later, rumors of it being haunted spread, and no one moved there anymore."
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