Bai Yulao: The Night Watcher's Debt to the King of Hell

Chapter Four: A bowl of plain noodles can't outweigh the debt owed to the King of Hell.

The morning sunlight streamed through the dusty glass windows of the small bungalow, casting dappled patterns on the cement floor.

A faint scent of cumin lingered in the air, and the suffocating chill of last night seemed to have vanished with the rising sun.

Su Wantang suddenly opened her eyes, clutching a soaking wet bed sheet tightly in her hand.

She subconsciously touched her forehead—smooth, intact, without any bloody hole.

"woke up?"

Lin Shoumo's voice came from the doorway.

He walked in carrying two steaming bowls of plain noodles, wearing that black T-shirt from several years ago, looking languid, as if nothing had happened last night.

"...Am I dreaming?" Su Wantang's voice was hoarse, her eyes somewhat dazed. She looked at the basin in the corner, which was empty. The terrifying black water and the pale human face seemed to be just her illusion.

"Thump!"

Lin Shoumo casually tossed a small, rusty bronze bell onto the table, making a crisp clanging sound.

Su Wantang shuddered, her pupils shrinking sharply. That bronze bell… it was it that stopped time last night.

"Have some noodles!" Lin Shoumo handed her chopsticks. "Plain noodles with a poached egg, to calm your nerves. This is the only breakfast service I offer; I usually only make it for those stray cats!"

Su Wantang took the chopsticks, her hands still trembling slightly. She looked down at the scallions floating in the clear soup and the golden-brown fried egg, her heart churning, yet the hunger was undeniably real.

"Last night..." She looked up, staring intently at Lin Shoumo, "What was that? Don't tell me it was a hallucination, and don't tell me about scientific phenomena! I'm a police officer, I know what it feels like to be shot. In that instant... I really thought I was dead."

Lin Shoumo slurped up a mouthful of noodles and mumbled, "Someone saw that your birth chart was strong and wanted to use your life to fill the hole in that unfinished building. But that guy's skills were lacking; he only managed to summon a half-baked spirit, and ended up with a 'defective' evil ghost."

"Defective product?" Su Wantang seized on this word.

"That's right!" Lin Shoumo put down the bowl, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "A normal vengeful ghost seeking a life goes straight for the kill, killing with a single blow!"

Last night, it clearly locked onto your brow, but then it got stuck. If it weren't for the fact that it was defective, I wouldn't have been able to save you!

He pulled a crumpled tissue from his pocket and unfolded it.

Su Wantang gasped.

The crooked rune that was originally drawn with charcoal on the tissue is now only half left.

The other half... vanished into thin air!

The edges are as smooth as a mirror, without a trace of charcoal powder residue, as if someone had used an eraser to wipe away a two-dimensional painting in a three-dimensional world, even cutting off the texture of the tissue paper completely.

"Did you see clearly?" Lin Shoumo waved the tissue in front of her, his tone turning serious. "I didn't wipe it off."

These are the "teeth marks" left by that thing last night. It didn't kill you, but it devoured a portion of your "luck." This tissue saved you from that fate, but now it's inanimate; even the words on it are gone!

Su Wantang stared at the tattered tissue, a chill creeping up her spine once more. This visceral, inexplicable physical absence was more terrifying than any ghost or monster.

"Is it that unfinished building case?" Su Wantang's voice was a little hoarse.

"Yes!" Lin Shoumo snapped his fingers. "I went to the scene last night. The place was filled with yin energy, but even more so with 'resentment'."

That's not just a simple ghost story; someone set up a "death trap" there, using living people as sacrifices!

You're being watched, and it might be related to the case you're investigating!

Su Wantang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fear in her heart. Her detective instincts made her quickly switch back to work mode: "I need to go back to the station to retrieve the surveillance footage around the unfinished building, and... I'm really investigating a company!"

"Who are you investigating?" Lin Shoumo asked.

The unfinished building is called "Jinxiu Tiandi". The original developer ran away three years ago when his capital chain broke down.

But in the last six months, a company called "Guixu Industry" quietly acquired that project! Su Wantang's eyes were icy. "Although it's officially an unfinished building, someone reported that they frequently transport strange black boxes into it late at night. We suspect they're connected to the recent disappearances!"

Upon hearing the words "Guixu," Lin Shoumo, who was clearing the dishes, suddenly stopped.

He turned around seemingly casually, using the act of putting down the bowl to conceal his instantly gloomy expression.

Guixu is the place where all waters converge, a bottomless abyss.

In the context of this civilization, those who dare to call themselves "Return to the Ruins" are usually only one type of thing—the destroyers!

"Senior sister," Lin Shoumo turned around, his carefree smile vanishing, "this case is too risky. Don't investigate it anymore!"

"And that company, 'Guixu Industry'!" He handed her the ledger. "It sounds like something you shouldn't mess with!"

Su Wantang looked at his nervous expression and chuckled dismissively. "Trying to play tricks on me? No way!"

She was eager to see just how deep Lin Shoumo's charlatan skills were.

She gritted her teeth and forced out a few words: "Lin Shoumo, if you help me find the guy behind this, I'll pay you back for the meal I owe you, okay?"

Upon hearing her words, Lin Shoumo's expression turned serious for a moment. After a brief pause, he looked past Su Wantang and gazed out the window: "You keep your word. This time, we're teaming up—a 'charlatan' paired with a 'cops'—we're sure to be unstoppable! After it's all done, you'll pay me back for the meal you owe me..."

……

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Century Center Building in Nandu City.

Inside a minimalist office, huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the entire city.

A man in a white coat is standing in front of a huge electronic screen, which displays a complex chart of celestial fluctuations.

"Experimental subject S-007, Su Wantang, failed to release the fetal light!"

"reason?"

The man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said calmly, "That 'array core' is still not stable enough, preventing the 'void passage' from closing!"

He turned around, picked up a photo from the table, and saw Su Wantang in a police uniform, looking dashing and heroic.

The man picked up a pen and drew a circle on Su Wantang's face. "This person knows something she shouldn't know. We absolutely cannot let her dig any deeper! Make her the next target for testing!"

"Oh, right," he suddenly remembered something, his gaze shifting slightly to a corner at the edge of the photo.

That was the background behind Su Wantang. You could vaguely make out the silhouette of a barbecue stall, with a man in a black T-shirt grilling skewers.

The assistant immediately retrieved the "observation data" sent back last night.

"Have you found out who the barbecue stall owner is?"

"We checked, he's just an ordinary person. He majored in philosophy in college and has been running a stall ever since! There's no record of him, and he didn't have any guidance from the night watchman!" the assistant replied dismissively. "He was able to intervene last night purely because that broken bronze bell he picked up from who-knows-where happened to be blocking our frequency!"

"Found it?" The man chuckled lightly, a smile devoid of any warmth. "Are you questioning my judgment, or are you questioning probability theory?"

He stretched out his slender finger and gently tapped the screen, zooming in on the image of the barbecue stall owner until only Lin Shoumo's eyes remained.

In those eyes, there was no fear of the unknown, only a kind of... cold indifference as if one had seen through the game of chess.

"Philosophy Department..." the man murmured, "Those who study the 'essence of existence' often know best how to make things 'not exist'!"

Investigate his background, find out which university he attended, and who his advisor was. If it's confirmed he's not a member of the Night's Watch...

He paused, a glint of fervent excitement flashing in his eyes:

"Then add him to the 'special consumables' list. I'm curious to know how many seconds he can last against 'absolute power'!"

"yes!"

The assistant turned and left, and the office door slowly closed.

The man turned around and faced the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

His near-perfect face was reflected in the glass window.

However, in that instant, his reflection suddenly gave him a strange smile—while he himself did not smile.

The man stared blankly at his own grinning reflection in the windowpane and said calmly:

"Don't worry, our time will come soon!"

The sunlight outside the window was still bright, but in that instant, the entire southern capital city seemed to be enveloped by an invisible shadow, silently and imperceptibly.