It wasn't until we entered the main hall that I clearly saw who Gao Liang had brought with him—four Bureau directors, excluding Wu Rendi, and a local guide. What was unusual this time was that even Director Nicholas Hugo had come along. In the past, he had always been excluded from internal Bureau matters like this. All five of them had been chilled to the bone. Their faces were pale with a bluish tinge. Even though there was a fire burning inside the room, none of them dared to go near it. It took a while standing at the door before the color began to return to their faces.
Gao Liang, with his thick layer of fat, was the first to recover—this time, it worked to his advantage. He asked Hao Wenming for a cup of hot water, and after drinking it, he finally took off his overcoat and walked into the room. He glanced at Huang Ran lying on the floor, and once he confirmed the identity, a smile finally crept onto Director Gao's face. He turned to Director Hao and said, "Xiao Hao, wake him up. I want to hear what kind of story he spins this time."
Director Hao looked a little awkward, but Yang Jun quickly stepped in to help. He took the cup that Gao Liang had just used, filled it with cold water, and poured it down Huang Ran's throat. The cold water jolted Huang Ran into a fit of violent coughing, and then, with a twist of his body, he slowly sat up from the floor. Seeing this, Po Jun led Ruan Liang and the local guide that Gao Liang had brought into another room.
Seeing Gao Liang before him, Huang Ran actually smiled, as if reuniting with an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He grinned and said, "Director Gao, long time no see. After all these years, you haven't changed much."
Gao Liang stared at him expressionlessly and slowly replied, "You've got the nerve to show your face? Where are the things that belong to the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation? You've kept them for years—don't you think it's time to return them?"
Still smiling, Huang Ran said, "There must be some misunderstanding. What I took back then was originally property left behind on the mainland by the Religious Affairs Commission. Technically speaking, I was simply restoring it to its rightful owner. There's nothing to return."
Gao Liang snorted. "Don't play word games with me. Most of what you took were historical documents and materials excavated by our Bureau. And…" his tone dropped a few notches, "the things you stole from the Bureau's fourth basement level—those have nothing to do with your Religious Affairs Commission, right? So shouldn't those be returned to their rightful owner?"
The smile on Huang Ran's face faded slightly. After a pause, he said, "Those few items… let's just say I borrowed them. I'll return them after a while."
Gao Liang shook his head. "I can't wait that long—" Before he could finish his sentence, Hao Wenming leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
After listening, Gao Liang gave a small nod and continued speaking to Huang Ran. "Let's leave the past aside for now. Why don't you tell me what exactly you're doing here? Don't tell me you came all the way from Singapore just to admire the snow-covered scenery?"
Having finished his cigarette, Huang Ran wore his usual smiling expression once again. "That's right, I just happen to like the climate and the landscape here. It's not against the law to travel domestically, is it?"
Lin Feng chuckled and added, "And while you're at it, observing the local wildlife too? Like, say… wolf packs?"
"Wolves?!" Huang Ran put on an exaggerated expression of surprise. "No wonder I saw some strange animal tracks in the mountains earlier. Turns out they were from wolves. Had I known that, I wouldn't have come. Wait, did you say packs of wolves? So there's more than one? My God, this place is way too dangerous."
Seeing Huang Ran act all "startled," Gao Liang let out a cold laugh and cut him off: "Enough, Lin Feng. No need to waste time. Whatever we have to say, we'll say it back at the Bureau."
Director Lin nodded and stopped engaging with Huang Ran, stepping aside. Gao Liang looked at Huang Ran and said, "Didn't you do everything you could to get into the Bureau back then? Well, now you don't have a choice. Better get ready to spend the rest of your life inside."
At this point, the smile on Huang Ran's face became visibly stiff. He blinked and lowered his head without saying a word. His reaction pleased Gao Liang. The Director gestured for Yang Jun to come over and pointed at Zhang Zhiyan, who was still lying on the floor. "Wake him up too. Get ready—once the snow stops, we head down the mountain."
Then he turned to Hao Wenming and said, "After the snow clears, Yang Jun comes with us. You all stay here and take care of the wolf problem."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Meng Qiqi, from the other room, shouted at Yang Jun in frustration, "You're not Wu Mian?!"
Yang Jun ignored her. She turned her fury toward Sun Fatty instead, glaring at him while he tasted soup from a ladle over a large pot.
As Yang Jun was "pouring" Zhang Zhiyan awake, Po Jun had already brought Meng Qiqi into the room. But Director Gao wasn't really paying attention to her. Instead, it was Qiu Bulao—who still bore a grudge from earlier—who kept staring intently at her, quietly channeling his qi.
Director Gao asked her a few questions, but her responses were no different from what she'd said earlier, so they let it go.
Once Zhang Zhiyan woke up, he leaned against the wall coughing for quite a while. When he could finally breathe properly again, Gao Liang asked, "You're Zhang Zhiyan?"
Zhang Zhiyan didn't speak—he just nodded slightly. Gao Liang continued, "Why did you come up to Tianshan?"
Zhang Zhiyan hesitated for a long time, then pointed at Huang Ran. "Ask… him."
There was something strange about the way he spoke. Gao Liang was taken aback but pressed on, "What's the relationship between you three?"
Zhang Zhiyan again pointed at Huang Ran. His mouth opened and closed several times, eyes half-shut as if trying to gather his strength. After a long struggle, he finally forced out a halting phrase: "Keep… keeep… asking…"
Meng Qiqi raised both her cuffed hands and pointed at Gao Liang. "If you've got questions, ask Huang Ran. Why waste your time with a stutterer?"
Gao Liang couldn't help but laugh. No wonder he was called "Zhang Zhiyan" ("zhiyan" meaning "few words")—turns out the name was quite literal. No point in questioning him further. He ordered the three of them—Huang Ran, Zhang Zhiyan, and Meng Qiqi—to be placed in separate rooms. A director would personally guard both Zhang and Meng, while Huang Ran was watched by Yang Jun and Gao Liang himself.
The blizzard outside showed no signs of stopping, and the sky was growing ever darker. Gao Liang's brows were tightly furrowed—under these conditions, descending the mountain was practically impossible. It looked like they would have to spend the night here. The Director seemed to regret waking Huang Ran so soon.
Sun Fatty brought over a bowl of rabbit and chicken stew and offered it to Gao Liang. "Boss, have something warm—it'll help you feel better."
One thing about Director Gao: if the food tasted good, any displeasure would vanish into thin air. He picked up a piece of rabbit meat with his chopsticks, but before he could put it into his mouth, the snow-covered landscape outside suddenly rang with countless howls.
Hao Wenming burst into the room from the outer hall where he had been guarding Meng Qiqi and shouted, "Director Gao! Come out and take a look—the mountains are crawling with wolves…"
Gao Liang didn't react much after hearing it, but Huang Ran, standing beside him, couldn't help trembling all over the moment he heard there were countless wolves nearby. Although he quickly regained his composure, the unusual movement didn't escape the eyes of Sun Fatty. Gao Liang glanced at him and said, "So you're afraid of wolves." Then he chuckled coldly.
But Gao Liang had laughed too soon. As soon as he looked out through the window of the outer room and saw the scene outside, the smile on his face froze. The blizzard was still howling and swirling fiercely. Amid the snowstorm, countless white "snow mounds" had appeared on the snow-covered ground in the distance. These "snow mounds" occasionally stirred, shaking off the accumulated snow to reveal the glinting eyes of wolves and their grey-white fur. Every now and then, the "snow mounds" would rise as if trained, wolves lifting their heads in unison to let out long howls at the sky: "Awooo—"
"Huang Ran, why don't you tell us—what's with all these wolves?" Director Gao turned back to Huang Ran in the inner room. Huang Ran shook his head, looking genuinely puzzled. "Wolves? What about them? Is there a problem?" As he spoke, he stepped over and peeked out the window himself. "These are all wolves? Director Gao, this is a tourist area. How could there be this many wolves here?"
Gao Liang stared at him coldly, then suddenly cracked a slightly unhinged smile. He turned away from Huang Ran and said to Hao Wenming, "Director Hao, looks like you got the wrong guy. This isn't the Huang Ran we're looking for—same name, different person. Come on, apologize to this gentleman and escort him out."
Huang Ran had sensed something was off the moment Gao Liang said it was a case of mistaken identity. When he heard the part about being "escorted out," his face changed drastically. Before he could say anything, Hao Wenming was already standing in front of him.
Hao Wenming looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Mr. Huang, it was all a misunderstanding. Sorry for the trouble—we hope you'll forgive us." Then he shot a look at me and Sun Fatty. We both understood immediately and moved to either side of Huang Ran, grabbing him by the arms. Huang Ran didn't resist and let us drag him toward the door.
As we walked, Sun Fatty kept talking: "Mr. Huang, take care—we won't be seeing you off. I'll make sure to visit on September 14th and during Qingming Festival. Not to be dramatic, but you saw it yourself. If there's anything you want to pass on, say it now. I'll burn it for you when I get the chance. No need to visit me in my dreams otherwise."
That finally broke Huang Ran. Large beads of sweat rolled down his face. Though he said nothing, he seemed to be doing something in secret. After just a few steps, his body suddenly became incredibly heavy. Sun Fatty and I could barely hold him up by his arms. That's when Yang Jun silently walked up behind us and placed the black cat he had been holding onto Huang Ran's shoulder. Strangely enough, with the addition of the cat, Huang Ran's weight became much lighter. Realizing Yang Jun was behind us, he gave up whatever trick he was trying.
By the time we reached the main door, Hao Wenming had already opened it, just waiting for us to throw Huang Ran outside. That was when Huang Ran could no longer hold back and shouted, "Alright! Put me down first—we can talk! I'll tell you everything you want to know!"
Huang Ran was genuinely panicked. His last sentence was practically screamed. Hao Wenming smiled slightly, and with a signal from Director Gao, he gestured for us to release Huang Ran. However, Hao still kept the door half open, clearly prepared to throw him out if he tried to hide anything.
Gao Liang walked over, glanced outside again, then asked Huang Ran, "Where are the things you stole from the Bureau?"
Huang Ran sighed and replied, "I split them into two batches. The documents are in Taiwan, in the old building of the former Religious Affairs Commission. It's now a private museum." He paused briefly, took a deep breath, and continued, "The other items—not documents—are in Japan. I put them in a safe deposit box at a bank that does business with the new Religious Affairs Commission. Everything I took from the fourth underground level is stored there."
Gao Liang's face darkened slightly upon hearing this. After about half a minute, he asked, "Now talk about what's happening right now. Those wolves outside—they're after you, aren't they? What did you do to attract them?"
Huang Ran remained silent for a long moment, his eyes darting around constantly. Gao Liang noticed and sneered, "Still trying to play games in a situation like this? Shen La, Sun Desheng—throw him out."
As Director Gao's words fell, Huang Ran suddenly shouted, "The Tomb of a Transcendent Beast! We came looking for the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast!"
Upon hearing the words Tomb of a Transcendent Beast, Gao Liang's lips twitched several times, and his normally narrow eyes widened. "You're saying there is a Tomb of a Transcendent Beast here?" Beside him, Director Hao's expression also changed. After hearing Huang Ran's words, his first reaction was to close the main door, as if afraid that something outside might suddenly break in.
Huang Ran nodded and continued, "I don't know the exact location. Back then, among the materials I took from your Bureau, I found the location of an unnamed Yuan dynasty tomb. At the time, I didn't think much of it. But later, due to other incidents, I accidentally discovered that this unnamed tomb was the burial place of Liu Chuxuan, a so-called 'Longevity Child' of the Quanzhen Sect. So I opened the tomb and found a travelogue written by Liu Chuxuan, which recorded that there was a Tomb of a Transcendent Beast in the Tianshan Mountains. I came here once three years ago and almost found the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast, but unfortunately, the timing wasn't right. This time, I brought two helpers, thinking everything would be foolproof — but I didn't expect to end up attracting your attention again."
At this point, Gao Liang and Hao Wenming both fell silent. Just then, another wolf howl came from outside—this one more urgent. The howl had barely faded when Lin Feng suddenly shouted from the adjacent room, "Director Gao, come quickly—the woman's in trouble!"
There was only one woman on-site: Meng Qiqi. At that moment, Miss Meng was lying on the floor, convulsing violently. A yellowish, blood-tinged foam was gushing from her mouth.
Gao Liang frowned again. Lin Feng was pricking Meng Qiqi's brow with a silver needle, while beside him stood Nicholas Hugo. But Director Hugo appeared utterly helpless in this situation, merely watching Lin Feng try to save her. As the needle was withdrawn, blackish-purple blood streamed from Meng Qiqi's eyes. When Director Gao arrived, Lin Feng looked up and said, "Her soul was being taken. Luckily, I noticed early—she can still be saved."
Gao Liang was stunned. "Soul taken? Here? With you two guarding her, she still got soul-snatched?"
No wonder Director Gao found it unbelievable—even I, the greenest investigator here, thought Lin Feng must've made a mistake.
Ordinary spirit possession or "haunting" usually targets the living body, aiming to take over. But soul-snatching is different—it has nothing to do with the body. It refers to the soul of a living person being forcibly pulled away by a vengeful ghost or the spirit of a dead animal. This typically only happens in graveyards after midnight. If someone passes through alone, they might fall victim. But this wasn't a graveyard, and Meng Qiqi was once part of the Religious Affairs Commission. She was being watched by both Chinese and foreign directors—how could her soul be taken?
And yet, her symptoms clearly pointed to soul-snatching. Director Gao personally examined her: Meng Qiqi's face had turned yellow, as if jaundiced. She was only inhaling, not exhaling. Combined with the yellow blood-tinged vomit on the floor and the black-purple blood flowing from her eyes—this matched soul-snatching almost too perfectly. Fortunately, just as Lin Feng had said, he noticed early and intervened in time. Her condition had already started to improve.
After checking on her and pacing the room several times, Director Gao finally turned to Lin Feng and asked, "Did you see what took her soul?"
Lin Feng nodded and said only one word: "Wolf." Then he added, "As soon as the wolves howled outside, Meng Qiqi's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. I saw a wolf's spirit on top of her, biting her soul and dragging it outward. I hit it with my baton, but it reacted too quickly—I only caught its hind leg before it escaped. If I hadn't been worried about Meng Qiqi, I wouldn't have let that ghost wolf get away."
Hearing this, Director Gao blinked thoughtfully a few times. After a pause, he turned to Nicholas Hugo. "Do you have anything to add?"
Director Hugo shrugged dramatically and said, "Lin's account is accurate. Unfortunately, I wasn't much help. You know how it is, Gao—my reflexes aren't quite as fast as you Easterners. It all happened so suddenly. By the time I realized, Lin had already taken action. But I did clearly see the shadow of a wolf."