This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

"Goodness..." Zhang Chen looked at the screen and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This old ghost really gave me a big gift."

A-Yue also looked on curiously. She wasn't interested in the county chronicles, but her gaze fell on the prescription from the "former Qing dynasty official," as if she were pondering something.

Wang Xiaoer scrolled through the screen, quickly browsing these legacies from the "underworld," and a strange feeling arose in his heart.

His momentary kindness, or rather, his decision not to go all out, unexpectedly brought him such a rich and unexpected reward.

These "legacy" items from different eras are not only interesting, but also like keys that unlock countless doors to the past and the unknown for him.

As he was browsing through the old documents left by the group leader, his gaze was suddenly drawn to one of the manuscripts.

It was a map extracted separately from "Detailed Explanation of the Map and Waterway Geomancy of Jiangnan".

The drawing depicts the hydrological course of a local river bend.

A place name was heavily circled above with a vermilion pen.

Moon Bay.

Next to that place name were four elegantly written annotations.

There are evil spirits inside.

Wang Xiaoer's fingertip hovered over the old map on the screen.

"Fatty," Wang Xiaoer said without looking up, pointing at the three words, "what place is this? Is it far from here?"

Zhu Jun was engrossed in dealing with a huge lobster, the meat in its claws just dipped in sauce, when he heard this and leaned his head over in a muffled voice.

"Hmm? Moon Bay?"

He only glanced at it, then slowed his chewing and his expression changed slightly.

He swallowed the shrimp meat in his mouth, wiped his greasy mouth with a napkin, and his expression became somewhat serious.

"I know this place very well. It's in the eastern suburbs of our city, and it only takes a little over an hour to drive there."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"That place is a well-known 'wild swimming paradise' because the water quality looks exceptionally good, crystal clear, and unlike regular bathing beaches, it's not crowded and requires payment. In the summer, especially on weekends, many people drive there to swim and barbecue."

"Sounds good," Wang Xiaoer said.

"What?! Let me finish!" Zhu Jun slapped his thigh suddenly, his voice rising eight octaves, then realized they were in a public place and quickly shrank back.

He leaned closer mysteriously, as if he were talking about some top-secret information.

"This place is really eerie! Almost every summer, several people drown in Moon Bay, and it's on the news every year!"

"And what's even stranger is that almost all of the dead were young men in their early twenties, strong and excellent swimmers. You could say that landlubbers would drown, but how could swimmers get into trouble?"

Zhang Chen put down his chopsticks and interjected, "The conditions in wild waters are complex. Changes in water temperature can cause cramps or getting tangled in aquatic plants, which is quite normal."

Zhu Jun immediately retorted, "Brother Chen, I would have believed this before! That's what the official reports always say. But ever since this happened, I don't believe it anymore!"

He pointed to his phone on the table.

"Think about it, why are all the dead young men? They have so much yang energy! I suspect there's some kind of 'water ghost' looking for a replacement underwater!"

He became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, as if he had already discovered the secrets of heaven.

"Every summer is their prime time to recruit people and meet their sales targets!"

A-Yue, who had been quietly eating sea urchin, raised her head at this moment, seemingly showing interest.

She licked the sauce off her lips and added in a clear voice, "We have a similar term in Miao territory, but we don't call it a water ghost; we call it a 'water spirit.'"

"It is said that the resentment of those who drowned, combined with the yin energy of the deep pool that never sees the sun, formed a thing. It has no complete consciousness, only the instinct to drag people into the water, and it maintains its form by absorbing the yang energy of the living."

Zhu Jun nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! What Sister Yue said is more professional! That's exactly what I meant!"

Wang Xiaoer didn't say anything.

His gaze returned to the phone screen.

Next to the three characters "Moon Bay" was a note written by the group leader, Zhao Dechang, in vermilion ink.

There are evil spirits inside.

Water ghosts and water spirits, in the end, are just spirits with lingering obsessions.

However, the word "evil spirit" carries a completely different weight.

That represents active and pure malice; it is a vicious thing that will actively harm people.

The description of "evil spirits" written by a landlord from the late Qing Dynasty and a local tyrant who had been entrenched in the area for over a century is probably the closest to the truth.

What's in Moon Bay might be far more dangerous than a typical water ghost seeking a substitute.

Zhang Chen had clearly considered this as well, and he frowned slightly: "A malevolent spirit is an extremely ominous sign. If it were truly a malevolent spirit entrenched there, that place shouldn't be a place where several people die every year, but rather a desolate wasteland where even living people would find it difficult to approach."

Wang Xiaoer nodded, also finding it somewhat strange.

However, this was ultimately just a few casual words.

After all, in places like this, as long as they don't provoke others, they generally won't get into trouble.

Zhu Jun quickly turned his attention back to the lobster claws in front of him, muttering, "Anyway, I would never go swimming in a place like that. If I'm going to go, it has to be Sanya! Sunshine! Beach! Bikinis! Sigh! It's a pity I have to save up for a while longer."

This little episode about Moon Bay was quickly forgotten, overshadowed by the aroma of delicious food.

……

One night a few days later.

The office was peaceful.

Zhu Jun has already returned home, leaving only three people in the firm.

Wang Xiaoer was lying on the sofa, studying the "Tales of the Countryside," occasionally flipping through other documents and memorizing some interesting place names and legends.

A-Yue was arranging her bottles and jars on the balcony, which contained several strangely shaped beetles she had recently acquired.

Zhang Chen finally stopped playing games. He sat cross-legged on the carpet with a phone in front of him, idly scrolling through a local news app.

This has become a habit of his, a weekly routine to check if any strange, unexplained events have occurred locally, which can be considered as conducting "market research" in advance.

Of course, if the game maintenance ends early that week, he will postpone this habit until the following week.

Suddenly, Zhang Chen's fingers, which were scrolling through the screen, stopped.

"what?"

He let out a soft gasp and sat up abruptly on the carpet.

The commotion wasn't loud, but both Wang Xiaoer and A Yue immediately looked towards him.

Zhang Chen's face appeared unusually solemn under the glow of the phone screen.

"What's wrong?" Wang Xiaoer put down the ancient book in his hand and asked.

Zhang Chen didn't answer immediately. He frowned, looked at the news article again carefully, and then handed over his phone.

"Waiter, look at this."

His voice was somewhat deep.

Wang Xiaoer took the phone and his eyes fell on the screen.

It was a headline push notification from a local news app, with a bold black title that stood out prominently against the white background.

Three college students went missing while strolling in Moon Bay at night; police have launched a search and rescue operation, and their families are offering a 100,000 yuan reward for information leading to their arrest.

Moon Bay!

Wang Xiaoer's pupils contracted slightly.

The news article included two photos.

One photo shows three young boys, arms around each other, smiling brightly in front of the camera, radiating youthful energy.

The other photo was taken at night.

On the dimly lit river bend, beams of police flashlights pierced the darkness, sweeping futilely across the pitch-black water.

On the shore, several middle-aged men and women who looked like parents were embracing each other. Their figures were flashing in and out of the light of the police lights, and their faces showed undisguised anxiety and despair.

The dark body of water appears unusually calm in the photograph, yet it exudes a chilling stillness.