At the same time, in Longjing, the Imperial City, within the Taiheng Palace
A woman holding a palace lantern and wearing a white porcelain mask curtsied gracefully and said, "Three Sovereigns, Xin Lei seeks an audience."
Emperor Fuxi spoke almost simultaneously, "Announce him."
Xin Lei walked into the great hall and bowed to the three dragon thrones behind the screen, "Xin Lei pays respects to His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, His Majesty the Earth Emperor, and His Majesty the Human Emperor."
"Why does Xin Lei seek an audience?" asked Emperor Suiren.
"I have doubts that I cannot resolve, thus I seek an audience," Xin Lei said, looking up slightly. "Why did His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor send Mo Chuan, this newcomer who is still unpolished and lacking refinement, on such a dangerous mission?"
"There is destiny in the unseen," Fuxi said. "The cracked divination grass has already provided the answer."
His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is evading the answer to this question—this was the first time Xin Lei had thought this from the deepest part of his heart. Before this, Xin Lei, like many elders due to his seniority, had believed Fuxi's words without question.
As if sensing Xin Lei's thoughts, Fuxi slowly rose from the dragon throne and "walked" from behind the screen to Xin Lei's side—his upper body was an elder dressed in white brocade robes, holding a jade staff, but his lower body was clearly a snake tail, crawling on the ground and moving slowly.
He came to the center of the Taiheng Palace, pointed his staff at the palace ceiling above him. As the jade staff flashed, a mechanical sound echoed from above, and the dragon-patterned ornate ceiling split open, dividing into eight parts and pushing outwards in all directions.
A sphere of light, studded with stars and encircled by golden rings, slowly descended into the octagonal opening and came before Fuxi.
"Among the Seven Lords of the Big Dipper, the Lords of Wuju and Pojun shine brightest, holding the foremost position in the constellation."
"This indicates a major crisis, but also the possibility of rebirth after tribulation."
"In the Vermilion Bird constellation, Guixiu shines brightly, signifying that the turning point is here."
"Mo Chuan was born in the Year of the Sheep, in the summer, his element is fire, and he is a ghost cultivator, thus corresponding to Guixiu Gong Guixiu Yang in the Vermilion Bird constellation. Therefore, the turning point of this matter should be Mo Chuan."
"Now, the nation of Long is filled with chaotic stars, evil stars shining brightly, and the main star Ziwei lacks brilliance. One should trust the celestial phenomena, and acting recklessly will inevitably lead to disaster."
Looking at the shining blue stars, Xin Lei remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
...
Time returns to ten minutes ago, at the Thirteen Hangs Carnival in Huzhou, the "Zhongyuan Grand Auspicious" haunted house.
Guo Dahai was looking at the two people before him with a strange expression: one was a woman dressed in professional OL attire, and the other was a young boy who looked no more than ten years old.
The young boy had a sullen look on his face. He looked at the idol in front of Guo Dahai and snorted, "Old Long said that the bodies he's recently acquired are all with you. Give me one; I need to change bodies."
Guo Dahai was about to ask who the hell he was, but then he shivered, as if he understood something. He bowed to the front above him and said, "Your servant understands. Thank you, Master, for your guidance."
Then he stood up and walked to the giant idol behind him, saying, "Come, I'll take you to get it."
However, as soon as he raised his hand, he suddenly felt something and immediately looked in a certain direction, his brows furrowed.
...
"Brother Chuan, I just received an important piece of information," said Zhang Hanshan on the phone.
"What is it?"
"In Jianzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou, many upper-class individuals, especially entrepreneurs, businessmen, and members of the underworld, believe in a 'Nanda Cult.' I just saw a photo sent by Sister Four; she's currently negotiating business at a wealthy merchant's house in Yanzhou and discovered this idol. After inquiring, she learned this recent information, but this idol..."
"Is almost identical to the King of Wuguan?"
"Yes."
"The last time I investigated a case with your third brother in Jianzhou in conjunction with the Jianzhou Public Security Bureau, the head of that criminal organization had a King of Wuguan idol in his home," Mo Chuan said. "And when we conducted a secondary scene investigation, we were almost killed by King of Wuguan's puppets."
"Alright, I can't talk anymore. I need to go into the haunted house now."
Mo Chuan had long since changed out of his security uniform and put on casual clothes. He was slowly approaching the "Zhongyuan Grand Auspicious" haunted house.
The owner of the haunted house saw Mo Chuan's figure from afar and immediately signaled Xiao Zhao (the pale scholar) and Old Huang, who were drinking tea, to prepare inside the haunted house. With a fawning smile, he walked up to Mo Chuan, his face split into a wide grin, and said, "Hahahaha... Brother Mo, you've indeed come. What, are you planning to help scare people, or do you want to experience it again?"
Mo Chuan smiled slightly and said to the owner, "I have something to do this time and need to report to the Administration later, so I'm just here to play again today. Boss, please tell the NPCs to be mentally prepared. I'm going to play seriously this time."
A drop of cold sweat slowly trickled down the owner's temple. He maintained his somewhat stiff smile and said in a voice that trembled unconsciously, "This... alright, it's rare for Brother Mo to visit, we'll definitely make sure you have a good time."
...
As usual, Mo Chuan effortlessly passed through the previous levels (the old woman making bean soup was replaced by an old man). Amidst the screams and wails of several boss NPCs, he directly reached the final temple.
Along the way, Mo Chuan also activated his combat log, which he hadn't used in a long time, and noticed a serious problem—ever since he entered this haunted house, his status bar had continuously displayed "[Interference from unknown source]." Later, after entering the village, it upgraded to "[Pollution from unknown source]." Finally, when Mo Chuan entered the dilapidated temple, it had become "[Pollution from the idol]."
This haunted house truly aimed to control people by interfering with the tourists' minds.
Having confirmed his suspicions, Mo Chuan began to examine the dilapidated temple, but...
This dilapidated temple... seemed to have been renovated quite a bit?
The previously broken wooden stakes, the shattered offering table, and the tattered prayer mats had all been renovated, but the old monk was nowhere to be seen.
At this moment, eerie and calm narration came from the nearby speakers:
"You have finally arrived at this dilapidated temple, intending to explore the reason why this village has fallen into a curse. However, this strange temple makes you uneasy. To be safe, you decide to proceed cautiously, slowly approaching the small idol on the offering table step by step."
"Suddenly, you hear whispers from the idol. It speaks slowly, like a woman imprisoned within this clay figure. With that faint whisper, you know that the various problems you've encountered before seem to be on the verge of being solved..."
"You suddenly feel that something is wrong. No! You must destroy this strange idol immediately!"
After listening to the narration, Mo Chuan looked at the small idol on the offering table.