Huang Ran and the other two had already regained consciousness, though they still couldn't speak or move. Huang Ran appeared to be in his early forties, with a chubby figure and two thin mustaches perched on his upper lip. He had a naturally smiling face—despite his current condition, he still seemed to be grinning. He was the very image of a "smiling tiger."
Just moments ago, Hao Wenming had conducted a thorough search of the three. Aside from their scale-patterned bulletproof vests and a few outdoor survival tools, all three wore layers of thick armor around their necks, arms, and legs. Each of them had a Beretta pistol strapped to their waist and a dagger tied to their lower leg. Both Huang Ran and Zhang Zhiyan carried short-barreled double-barreled shotguns slung over their thighs. Whether it was the guns or the knives, every surface was densely etched with the same kind of talismanic script used by the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation.
Seeing all this, Hao Wenming let out a chuckle and said to Huang Ran, "You used the materials you stole from the Bureau back in the day to make all this, didn't you? I have to say, I'm impressed—looks like you've managed to mass-produce them now. Huang Ran, not to be blunt, but what exactly are you trying to do? Was it really so bad living abroad that you had to pull a stunt like this?"
Before Hao Wenming could continue, Sun Fatty interjected. "Hao, come on, asking him questions like that won't get you anywhere. Why don't you just let Yang Jun wake him up? A proper interrogation needs a back-and-forth."
Before Hao Wenming could respond, Po Jun stepped forward and said, "Better to leave him lying there. In fact, best if they never move again in this lifetime." As he spoke, he handed his phone to Hao Wenming.
Standing behind Director Hao, I could clearly see what was on the screen—Po Jun was showing him a series of photos he had just taken nearby, from various angles. The images showed a formation, not particularly complex. At the center were four yellow talisman papers marked with incantations, each pinned down with a bone from an unidentified animal. In the center of the talismans was a small ceremonial sword. Paper offerings were scattered all around.
A few of the images had close-ups of the talisman paper, and aside from the incantations, there were strings of numbers on them. One of them caught my eye: 198X-XX-XX—my birthday. On the other side, Sun Fatty was staring blankly at another talisman and said, "You've got to be kidding… This one's my birthday."
There was no way this formation was meant for blessings. It looked more like a death trap. My mind was spinning, trying to recall whether we had anything similar in the archives.
Hao Wenming's eye muscles twitched uncontrollably when he saw the formation. He squatted beside Huang Ran and muttered darkly, "You used to call me Director for a few years, didn't you? Was it really necessary to go this far? Those soldiers earlier were just bait, huh? This Soul-Destroying Formation is your real masterpiece? Didn't your elders ever teach you to leave yourself a way out?"
Po Jun remained by Hao Wenming's side, his face just as grim. I still couldn't recall anything specific about the Soul-Destroying Formation. Sensing this, Po Jun leaned in and whispered, "Lazi, don't bother trying. Huang Ran took all the documentation on the Soul-Destroying Formation when he left. That was a unique manuscript—we didn't have a backup. All we know is what little we could piece together."
After Huang Ran ransacked the archives, the Bureau tried to reconstruct what was lost. Despite years of effort, many of the unique records could only be partially restored from Ouyang Pianzuo's memory and historical references. The Soul-Destroying Formation was one of those lost entries—a lingering regret for both Gao Liang and Ouyang Pianzuo.
The Soul-Destroying Formation (also known as the Soul-Seizing Formation or Lineage-Cutting Formation) is an ancient forbidden array whose origin is unknown. It targets a person's soul (the hun and po). Once activated, it causes irreversible damage to the Celestial Souls and Earthly Spirits. Even in death, the victim's reincarnation is almost guaranteed to fall into the Animal Realm, with virtually no chance of returning to human form. As early as the late Song dynasty, the array was labeled inauspicious. In the sixth year of the Jiajing reign, the Taoist master Shao Yuanjie, Grand Overseer of the Zhengyi Dao, codified the "Ten Prohibited Spells," listing the Soul-Destroying Formation as the ninth.
According to Ouyang Pianzuo's recollection, setting up a Soul-Destroying Formation requires a location saturated with extreme yin energy. The target's ba zi (birth date and time) must be written onto the formation talisman. A killing blade is required, and the four directional gates must be pinned down using bones from a chicken, dog, rabbit, and turtle, respectively. But as for how to activate, evade, or dismantle the array, no records remain.
Po Jun had already stepped into the formation's range when he discovered it, breaking into a cold sweat on the spot. For some unknown reason, the array did not activate—he narrowly escaped with his life. Even so, he didn't dare touch the array or disturb it. He only took a few photos and left the bones where they were.
After seeing the images, Hao Wenming was visibly shaken. He pointed at Huang Ran, lying in the snow, and let out a torrent of curses. Meanwhile, Sun Fatty had also heard about the Soul-Destroying Formation from Po Jun. Squinting thoughtfully, he said to Director Hao, "Take a break, Hao. I'll handle the scolding later. There's something I don't get. Except for Yang Jun, all of our birthdays were included in that formation. And Dajun already asked Ruan Liang—this formation is set up directly in our path forward. Not to be paranoid, but they knew our route and our personnel well in advance. What I want to know is—how the hell did Huang Ran and his two lackeys know so much?"
Hao Wenming was no fool—it was just that the shock of seeing the Soul-Destroying Formation had made him overlook some things. Now, prompted by Sun Fatty, he turned back to look at Huang Ran and fell silent for over a minute. Then suddenly, he turned to Yang Jun and said, "Forget waiting for Director Gao. Wake those three up—I have questions."
Yang Jun scooped up a handful of snow and was about to shove it into Huang Ran's mouth when Hao Wenming stopped him. "Wait… Leave Huang Ran. Wake up the girl first."
Watching from the side, I understood clearly—Director Hao was still wary of Huang Ran. Even with Yang Jun by his side, he wasn't willing to risk letting him regain full consciousness.
Yang Jun didn't care. To him, Huang Ran and Meng Qiqi were no different.
Unexpectedly, though, after being force-fed a mouthful of snow, Meng Qiqi didn't stir at all. She just lay there in the snow, completely motionless. Hao Wenming glanced down at her and said to Yang Jun, "Try again?"
"No need," Yang Jun said expressionlessly.
Just then, the black cat waddled over to Meng Qiqi's side and, with a sudden leap, landed lightly on her chest. Its mouth was clearly holding something—it wriggled around inside. The cat placed its front paws on her shoulders, lowered its head, and pushed the object from its mouth directly into hers.
"Ugh—!" Meng Qiqi suddenly convulsed and rolled over, violently vomiting up the object. Along with the bile and half-digested mess came a small, furry mass—whatever the black cat had just fed her. Seeing what she had just expelled, her already pale face turned ghostly white. She knelt shakily in the snow, bracing herself with both hands as she dry-heaved again.
Before Hao Wenming could speak, Sun Fatty suddenly rushed over to Meng Qiqi's side. Resisting his disgust, he scooped up the little furball and rubbed it with snow. The creature squeaked wildly at Sun Fatty. Only now did we realize that the black cat had been holding Sun Fatty's Wealth Rat in its mouth the whole time.
"Can't you control your damn cat?!" Sun Fatty was shaking with rage, yelling at Yang Jun. Before Yang Jun could reply, the black cat slinked around to Sun Fatty's feet and let out a soft meow: "Nyeh…" Given what had just happened, that one word made Sun Fatty shudder involuntarily. He instinctively stepped back, unable to meet the cat's eyes.
Finding this uninteresting, the black cat turned its head and looked again at the Wealth Rat in the snow. The big rat didn't even squeak. It darted up Sun Fatty's pant leg and burrowed into his jacket pocket, peeking its head out to stare at the cat.
Hao Wenming ignored Sun Fatty. Once Meng Qiqi had mostly finished throwing up, he finally said, "Spit it out. Playing dead won't help you now." Meng Qiqi slowly got to her feet, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and scanned each of our faces one by one. But instead of answering Hao Wenming, she furrowed her brow and asked Yang Jun, "Who are you?"
Yang Jun didn't respond. He walked over to Sun Fatty. As if telepathically linked, the black cat suddenly turned around, crouched, then sprang directly onto Yang Jun's shoulder. Once settled, it tucked its hind legs and sat upright, baring its little black teeth and lazily uttering: "Nyeh…"
Meng Qiqi's eyes shifted from Yang Jun to the black cat. Her lips trembled, and she whispered that same word: "Nyeh…"
Hao Wenming had just been utterly ignored, and he looked slightly awkward. He cleared his throat and said again, "Seriously now—after meowing like a cat, maybe try speaking some human language? You didn't come all the way here just to enjoy the snow, did you?" Meng Qiqi finally looked away from the man and the cat. She turned to Hao Wenming with a cold stare and replied with stiff enunciation, "I don't understand what you're saying, sir. I'm French. I'm just here as a tourist. Is there some sort of misunderstanding?"
Hao Wenming hadn't expected Meng Qiqi to go all in on denial and was momentarily taken aback. She went on, "Who are you people? Am I being kidnapped? If so, I'm willing to cooperate. My family will too. They'll pay the ransom. Please, for the love of God, don't hurt me." As she spoke, she squatted down and began sobbing softly.
This woman was a born actress. If we hadn't already known who she was, that performance would've convinced even me. After dealing with so many demons and evil entities, now we were stumped by a crying girl. Hao Wenming sighed and said, "Meng Qiqi, what's the point of all this? We already know your background. You're just embarrassing Meng Eleven."
At the mention of Meng Eleven, Meng Qiqi showed no reaction—like she didn't understand a word—just continued to sob pitifully. Then, unexpectedly, Sun Fatty opened his mouth and let out a string of curly-accented foreign words. The moment he spoke, it was like Meng Qiqi had been struck by lightning. She didn't look at him—instead, her eyes locked on Yang Jun in utter shock. Sun Fatty said another foreign sentence, and Meng Qiqi's breathing grew rapid. After a few gasping breaths, she finally stared at Yang Jun and said, "If we had known you were here, we would never have come."
Apparently, Sun Fatty's foreign language skills were quite effective. Sensing an opening, Hao Wenming asked quickly, "What did you say? You wouldn't have come here for what?"
Meng Qiqi turned her head to him, and her tone had completely changed—no longer the frightened little girl, now cool and detached: "If you want answers, go ask Huang Ran. This whole thing was his idea."
She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, then continued, "A month ago, Huang Ran approached me and Zhang Zhiyan and asked us to do him a favor. If we pulled it off, we'd get to share the materials he stole from your Bureau of Paranormal Investigation."
Hao Wenming frowned in confusion. "Aren't you all with the Religious Affairs Commission? Haven't you already seen those files?"
Meng Qiqi sighed and looked over at Huang Ran, still lying in the snow. "Religious Affairs Commission… That dream is one he still hasn't woken up from. Huang Ran has spent his life trying to revive that committee. I really don't get it—what's the point of resurrecting a religious organization that's been disbanded for decades?"
Their intertwined loyalties took Hao Wenming by surprise, but there was no time to dwell on it. He asked, "What exactly did Huang Ran want from you?"
Meng Qiqi shrugged. "No idea… Don't look at me like that. I'm not lying. He just said to come to Tianshan. Didn't even seem sure himself what we were doing. In the whole month we've been here, all we've done is follow a wolf pack. Aside from one white wolf showing signs of demonic transformation, nothing else happened. Zhang Zhiyan and I asked him multiple times why we were really here—he never told us."
She took a breath and continued, "This morning, Huang Ran got a phone call. After the call, his face changed. He stopped caring about the wolf pack and started poring over maps. Then he rushed us over here and had us use Soul-Hiding Spells to knock out the soldiers at the outpost and lie in wait in the snow to ambush you. As for the Soul-Destroying Formation, that was all him. He brought that from the Bureau—we don't have access to that stuff yet."
"Huang Ran was supposed to lure you out, and Zhang Zhiyan and I were in charge of controlling those soldiers whose lives had been borrowed to attack you. We didn't expect…" Meng Qiqi trailed off, glanced again at Yang Jun, and gave a bitter laugh. "Dealing with just Wu Mian is already beyond our capabilities. But now there's also a Nyeh."
Wu Mian? That's when it hit me—Sun Fatty must have used that foreign tongue to say that Yang Jun was Wu Ren Di. No wonder Meng Qiqi's face changed so dramatically when she looked at him again.
I glanced over at Sun Fatty. He was playing with his rat like nothing had happened. Occasionally, he'd glance at Meng Qiqi, then go right back to fiddling with the Wealth Rat.
Hao Wenming also glanced at Sun Fatty, then turned back to Meng Qiqi. "Who made the call? What's their connection to Huang Ran?"
Meng Qiqi shook her head. "I honestly don't know. Huang Ran made sure to send Zhang Zhiyan and me away before taking the call. But now that I think about it, whoever it was didn't have very accurate intel—he didn't even know Wu Mian was coming with you."
This time, before Hao Wenming could say anything, Sun Fatty spoke up—not to Meng Qiqi, but to Huang Ran. He squatted beside him, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Maybe that guy does know everything… just didn't tell you. Tsk… You know too much about him. This day was bound to come."
Subtle, he was not. I couldn't quite grasp what Sun Fatty was thinking. If this was meant as a psychological tactic, it was too obvious. But it seemed to work—Huang Ran blinked several times, his expression twitching slightly.
Sun Fatty's smile deepened as he went on: "If you're lucky enough to see that guy again, tell him this—don't go wandering around if there's nothing urgent. Especially stay away from places like Kirin. When someone's giving birth, what business does he have being there and stirring up trouble? Does he think the Sixth Division is full of corpses? If he's got guts, go after Wu or Yang—stop dragging innocent people into it. Remember that. Stop dragging innocent people into it."
At this point, I finally understood. Sun Fatty was drawing a clear line—trying to shield the two of us from whatever shady figure was operating inside the Bureau. "Blame the guilty, not the innocent." That was the message. Of course, only he and I understood the context. What happened in Kirin had to do with Yang Xiao's newborn wife, and we hadn't dared speak of it after coming back. So now, both Hao Wenming and Po Jun were confused by Sun Fatty's cryptic remarks.
There was no more intel to get out of Meng Qiqi. Hao Wenming had considered waking up Zhang Zhiyan too, but after some hesitation, he gave up. They'd wait for Director Gao to arrive and handle it.
We dragged Huang Ran and Zhang Zhiyan back into the outpost. Hao Wenming didn't trust Meng Qiqi and didn't want to leave her unsupervised. He'd thought about tying her up—but she got lucky. Ruan Liang found two pairs of handcuffs in the outpost, apparently originally intended for people stealing military wiring. Now, they'd be used on her.
Sun Fatty was the one to cuff her. He showed no mercy, tightening them deliberately. Meng Qiqi didn't seem to care. Her attention was completely focused on Yang Jun. Ever since she'd mistaken him for Wu Ren Di, she hadn't stopped staring at him coldly. But Yang Jun acted as though she didn't exist, ignoring her gaze entirely.
Not long after we entered the outpost, it began snowing again. The sky darkened quickly. After an hour, the wind picked up. We could hear it howling outside, and through the windows, we saw gusts of snow swirling madly. Huang Ran and Zhang Zhiyan lay motionless on the floor. Without Yang Jun's intervention, they might've been unconscious much longer.
Hao Wenming stood at the window, frowning at the blizzard. He'd tried calling Director Gao several times, but none of the calls went through—likely due to the storm interfering with the signal. Slowly, unease crept into his heart. He turned to Ruan Liang. "Ruan, how long would it take someone to get here from the wolf-troubled area in this weather?"
Ruan Liang had no idea anyone was coming. He chuckled awkwardly. "Are you kidding? In weather like this, who dares wander in the mountains? You'd have to be suicidal. Whatever it is, wait until the storm stops."
With no better option, Hao Wenming sighed heavily, staring out into the snow.
While Hao Wenming was sighing, Sun Fatty and I were focused on food. Our last meal was on the plane—it had long been digested. Sun Fatty rummaged through the outpost and somehow came back with a dried pheasant and a rabbit. He chopped them up and threw them in a pot with potatoes and chili peppers. Soon, the pot was full of fragrant stew. Ruan Liang didn't stop us. In fact, he helped find a stack of 15 or so grilled nang breads.
Just as the stew was nearly done, Hao Wenming suddenly stood up and strode to the door. When he opened it, we saw six figures approaching through the snowstorm. They were wrapped tight in wind and snow, but the one in front was huge and round—there could be no mistake. Director Gao Liang had finally arrived.