Chapter 2
Chapter 2
[The Shanxiao, which has never once gained the upper hand against a human, is beside itself with rage. But tales of mountain spirits and sea monsters no longer circulate in the mortal realm, and the gods who protect humanity have only just begun to awaken and seek incense offerings. They cannot yet move freely through the human world. Though versed in minor transformations, the Shanxiao is powerless to inflict a harsher punishment upon a cunning human such as you.]
[Perhaps it should return to Mount Zhaoyao and consult its wise mother. The round trip will require it to travel more than ten thousand kilometers through the human world, so it will not appear before you again for several days.]
Only after hearing the voice in her mind did Xie Qingling breathe a little easier.
But until the matter was resolved for good, the weight in her heart would never truly lift.
Auditory hallucination, Shanxiao, gods and spirits, or something else entirely – Xie Qingling felt she had to get to the bottom of it all.
“Let’s go back to the dorm,” Xie Qingling said, giving her roommates the first excuse that came to mind. “I’m not feeling very well. I want to rest.”
Jiang Lulu and Dong Jia nodded, then made their way down the stairs cautiously, gripping the handrail.
They were afraid another accident like the one before might occur.
Fortunately, nothing else happened.
Once they returned to the dorm, none of the three spoke.
There were basically no classes in the second semester of their fourth year, so each of them busied herself with her own affairs.
Jiang Lulu fretted over the job offer that had yet to arrive, while Dong Jia discussed the costume expenses for her department’s showcase with a boy in a lower year who was in charge of logistics.
Xie Qingling lay on her bed, phone in hand, searching for information about the Shanxiao.
She was soon disappointed.
“Shanxiao: a type of monkey, the largest primate in the monkey family…”
Everything she could find online concerned the biological meaning of “shanxiao.” Not one result mentioned the legendary creature.
Xie Qingling did not believe an ordinary monkey could have such a profound effect on her. More importantly, she could not even see the thing!
– But tales of mountain spirits and sea monsters no longer circulate in the mortal realm, and the gods who protect humanity have only just begun to awaken and seek incense offerings. They cannot yet move freely through the human world…
The words echoed in Xie Qingling’s mind, and understanding dawned on her at once.
Society had undergone earthshaking changes as it developed. Tales and legends about such spirits had long since been swallowed by the river of time.
Failing to find anything useful did not discourage her. She opened the largest public discussion forum of the Blue Star Era and posted a request for help.
[Title: Does anyone know any legends about the Shanxiao? It seems to come from a place called Mount Zhaoyao.
Post: Strange things have been happening to me lately, and nothing seems to be going right. Is there anyone who knows about this stuff and can take a look? I’m a broke student, but I’ll pay whatever is fair. Experts, please DM me. Thank you.]
The forum saw enormous traffic, with countless idle users killing time there every day. Replies soon poured in, and the comments grew lively.
– Hahahaha, what century are you living in? Don’t be so superstitious, okay?
– This kind of clickbait is so old it belongs on the cultural heritage list. Why are people always making up boring stories? That said, you have my attention.
– A Shanxiao? Isn’t that a monkey? If you’re going to make something up, at least make it convincing. Zero stars for shock value!
– But I found something online saying the mandrill got its Chinese name because its face has six brightly colored grooves and looks like a ghost. Maybe there really is a ghost called a Shanxiao, hahaha.
– I think OP did a decent job. They even invented a Mount Zhaoyao. The last post I read wasn’t nearly this rigorous.
– Rigorous nonsense, you mean? Hahahaha.
– Shut up, all of you. Are you trying to get us 404’d?
In an age of advanced technology, people rarely asked such old-fashioned questions anymore. The bored users quickly pushed Xie Qingling’s plea for help into the trending posts. The thread was full of jokes and laughter, but the one thing missing was the answer she wanted.
Her inbox remained silent too. Not a single private message arrived.
So much for that approach.
Xie Qingling sighed and turned off her phone.
If everything the hallucination said was true, then she still had some time to prepare before the Shanxiao’s next act of revenge.
Better to rely on herself than beg others for help. Another idea soon formed in her mind.
—
[Darkness is no longer the defining feature of night. Silvery moonlight cannot conceal the glittering revelry of the steel forest, and humanity has shattered the ancient rhythm of rising by day and resting at night with its own hands. Yet humans, oh humans, never underestimate the night. Countless eyes are still watching from the darkness.]
Eleven o’clock at night.
Xie Qingling found an excuse and left the dorm.
Ignoring the endless chatter in her head, she dressed, spoke to the dorm supervisor, and headed out.
The dorm supervisor remembered Xie Qingling. Seeing her leave so late at night, she assumed Xie Qingling’s condition had flared up again and that she was going out for medicine. Without suspecting anything, she unlocked the door and let her pass.
“Take your medicine properly. Don’t delay your treatment,” the dorm supervisor could not help reminding her. Xie Qingling’s fall had been a bad one, and the timid Dong Jia had called an ambulance immediately. No one else knew she had become a psychiatric patient in waiting who heard voices, but they did know the fall appeared to have left her with some serious aftereffects.
Xie Qingling forced a smile. The instant she stepped out of the dormitory, she made straight for the cafeteria.
Tonight, she would return to the “scene of the crime.”
At this hour, the cafeteria was empty. Its stairs were outside, so even with the doors locked, Xie Qingling could still examine them.
There had been too many people and too much chatter during the day. Now the night was deep and still, the moon bright and the stars sparse, with hardly anyone on the roads to notice her. It was the perfect time to search for clues.
By Xie Qingling’s reckoning, this so-called Shanxiao was troublesome, but not invincible.
Every method it had revealed so far relied on objects to set “traps.” It could not attack her directly.
The greatest fear came from the unknown. So, in the little time the Shanxiao had left her, she intended to examine it inside and out as thoroughly as she would dissect a corpse.
The cafeteria was some distance from the dorm. Getting there on foot meant crossing two intersections and walking for more than ten minutes.
She hurried all the way there. When she reached the stairs, Xie Qingling crouched and carefully felt across the floor with her hand, searching every edge and corner.
At last, her fingers encountered something slick in a crack at the turn of the stairwell. It felt like touching a slippery, moss-covered stone beside a river.
Xie Qingling blinked, and some of her tension eased.
It was just as she had thought.
Although the Shanxiao was invisible to the naked eye, its “traps” could affect humans. That meant they could be sensed and touched, at least to some extent.
Its attacks did not arise from nowhere, nor were they impossible to guard against.
She still had a chance to win.
[Bold yet meticulous humans sometimes possess astonishing powers of observation. You searched a corner no one else noticed and finally discovered the crux of the matter. Perhaps this will win you a slender chance of survival.]
[A goose leaves its cry behind as it passes; the wind leaves traces in its wake. A Shanxiao moving through the human world is certain to leave traces of its own. Spirit Wielders with vast divine abilities know how to use tools to reveal spirits that have vanished from sight. Unfortunately, no Spirit Wielders remain in today’s mortal realm.]
No Spirit Wielders remained?
What kind of joke was that?
She had finally made some progress. How could she possibly give up now?
There was no telling when the Shanxiao would return. Xie Qingling did not have time to search for some supposedly vanished Spirit Wielder.
“Would I count as a Spirit Wielder?” Xie Qingling suddenly asked under her breath.
In the night wind, her voice sounded ethereal, so very faint that it might never have been spoken at all.
She did not know whom she was asking. The words had simply come out on their own.
[Spirit Wielders are born different. They are the Chosen of the gods. Fortunate one, you have received a god’s favor, but you have been tainted by the filth of this world and lost your ability to commune with heaven and earth. Only with the aid of salt white as frost can you summon the faintest trace of a miracle.]
Salt?
That was easy enough. Tomorrow, she would buy plenty and keep it on hand.
Before that, however, Xie Qingling had one more thing to do.
She had to tell her roommates the truth.
The Shanxiao’s traps, though aimed at her, could injure the people around her. Xie Qingling had realized that during the day.
At first, she had planned to stay away from the dorm and avoid spending time around anyone she knew until she dealt with the Shanxiao.
But then another thought occurred to her. If she left without a word, what if the Shanxiao was petty but not terribly bright – what if it recognized places rather than people and went to the dorm to look for her anyway?
Her two oblivious roommates had made no mental preparations and knew no way to respond. Faced with a malicious Shanxiao, they would be nothing but easy kills.
She, on the other hand, had that strange voice assisting her. Whatever danger she encountered, at least she could react in time.
After thinking it over from every angle, Xie Qingling decided to come clean for the sake of her roommates’ lives.
Whether they believed her or took her for genuinely insane, at least a warning would prepare them somewhat. If they truly had to face the Shanxiao on their own, they would not be caught completely off guard – if matters were unfortunate enough to reach that point.
That was all Xie Qingling could do.
Her mind heavy with worries, Xie Qingling returned to the dorm.
It was already midnight.
Jiang Lulu and Dong Jia, who kept regular hours and usually went to bed early, were still awake.
When Xie Qingling entered, two dark, unsmiling faces greeted her and gave her a fright.
“It’s the middle of the night. Why aren’t you two asleep? What’s with sitting there scaring the life out of me?” Xie Qingling asked, still recovering from the shock.
Dong Jia switched on a desk lamp. Soft orange light bloomed, instantly illuminating their little corner of the dorm.
She muttered quietly, “Qingling, you disappeared in the middle of the night and wouldn’t tell us where you were going. How were we supposed to sleep?”
Fair enough.
Her fright faded, replaced by a current of warmth.
These two friends had been with her for four years. She did not want anything to happen to either of them.
If encountering these strange events was the fate of an unlucky wretch like her, then let them come for her alone.
Xie Qingling smiled faintly. For all her worries, she now felt a weight lift from her heart. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you. I’ll tell you everything tonight.”
Dong Jia and Jiang Lulu immediately assumed poses of rapt attention.
“Here’s what happened… After I fell last time, I started hearing a voice in my head. Until today, I thought it was an auditory hallucination, but it seems to be more than that…”
The Shanxiao, and the revenge it planned to take afterward… Xie Qingling related everything that had happened, slowly and in full.
The two women opposite her listened with wide eyes, stunned and frightened.
Jiang Lulu demanded agitatedly, “Are you under too much pressure? Have you been overthinking things so much that you’ve started hallucinating?!”
It sounded impossible. Completely unscientific!
Jiang Lulu feared Xie Qingling’s illness had grown more severe.
Her face was filled with the anxious concern of a patient’s family member outside a hospital ward. Every inch of it said, *Look at this poor child. She’s terribly ill.*
Xie Qingling gave a wry smile. “I knew telling you would only make you think I’d almost lost my mind… I’ve said what I needed to say. Tomorrow, I’ll move out for a while. You should buy some salt and keep it around. Pay closer attention to your surroundings, and once I’ve dealt with the Shanxiao, I’ll come back for you.”
Or perhaps she would never come back.
None of them had any experience dealing with something like this.
Just then, Dong Jia, who had remained silent until now, raised her head and said to Xie Qingling, “I believe you.”