Behind North New Village stands Twinhead Mountain. From a distance, it looks like two heads rising above the landscape. Deadwood Pond sits nestled between the two peaks. It takes no more than ten minutes to walk there from the village, but the path is narrow and vehicles can't get through.
We left North New Village and followed the river on our left. The water was crystal clear—this was the outflow from Deadwood Pond. I crouched down, reached out, and let the water run over my hand.
"As expected, the yin energy here is strong."
As I spoke, Justin Huang walked over.
"Something about this feels off, Ethan."
I gave a noncommittal grunt and turned to ask him. Miles Mao and Dalton Fang also came closer.
"It's the orientation of this place. When we arrived, I checked—the original directions should be: east is Zhen, south is Li, west is Dui, north is Kan. Southeast is Xun, southwest is Kun, northwest is Qian, northeast is Gen. At first, I thought I was mistaken, but I called Howard Lee to discuss it. Every direction is reversed. It's strange."
"In the water, I feel a trace of yin energy, but at this level, there might not even be a fierce ghost here. Are you sure you weren't mistaken?"
"Sigh, Ethan, I've never seen anything this weird before."
Miles Mao muttered, and Dalton Fang immediately started walking.
"Whatever happens, let's find the person first."
After walking for over ten minutes, I saw it—a large, elongated pond filled with floating dead branches. Only a thin stream flowed out, and both banks were bare and walkable. Apart from the trees on the mountain, I noticed something odd: nothing grew by the water, and the path up the mountain was barren too. It was only ten meters up before you saw any greenery.
Around the pond, footprints were everywhere—dense and overlapping.
"We searched all night last night, but couldn't find anything."
Miles Mao said this as Dalton Fang sighed.
"Damn it, maybe this time they'll finally learn their lesson. We've warned them more than once, but they just don't care."
"What can you do? The ratings for this Midnight Paranormal Show keep climbing. It's not just regular people—even some of our Ghost Burial Squad members, and those at the academy, love watching it. Sigh, they have no idea how terrifying ghosts really are."
As Miles Mao spoke, we reached the end of Deadwood Pond. Many dead trees were floating at the far end, and even more dead branches were piled along the shore, as if they'd been hauled up from the water.
Last night, Justin Huang was the only one at the scene. The other three slept in the car. The show started recording at 1 a.m., and to hype things up, they brought a small boat for two celebrities to paddle around the pond, testing for inspiration in groups.
"It's total nonsense. Damn it, I warned them several times last night, but they wouldn't listen."
Justin Huang then told me that Leah King disappeared in front of the cameras while partnered with a male celebrity.
Everyone was terrified, and the whole night passed without finding her. The production crew called the police that same night. By morning, the police and rescue teams had searched, but found nothing.
Now I finally understood why the three of them had come back. In such a small place, where could you even look?
"Did you check under the water?"
"Sigh, the water here is just over two meters deep, and it's a small area. We've already had people go down and check—there's nothing there. The outlet was checked too, it's just an underground stream. Beyond that, you can't go any further."
I recalled that time in Linland County, with the water ghost and the scrambled directions. That dead river had no source at all. I started discussing it with them.
"Is there any way to break the directional confusion?"
Miles Mao shook his head.
I sighed, not knowing where Basil Bertram had gone at such a crucial moment.
"Let me try." Miles Mao said, pulling out a loop of thin red string, some parts dark red. He had Justin Huang and Dalton Fang go to the opposite side, tie the string with a small awl, then toss four strands across.
"Lay them out according to the eight directions."
Once it was done, a rough octagon appeared over the pond, formed by the connected red strings.
Miles Mao bit his finger, raised a peachwood sword, and began to wave it by the pond, chanting under his breath.
"East, west, south, north—let the directions be restored..."
After chanting for a good while, Miles Mao took out a compass and started testing, then sighed.
"Just as I thought, it's no use. Nothing's happening at all."
"Ethan." A voice called out. I turned—Easton Grant was jogging over from a distance.
I gave a quick explanation to the group—we'd met Easton Grant in Exile Town.
"Mr. Grant, what brings you here?"
"Let me explain a bit, Ethan. This incident may be more complicated than it seems. There's a second-tier celebrity named Jenny Rou—she's acting strange. I've lived in Exile Town with ghosts for years, and you start to sense evil energy after a while. Last night, she was paired with Leah King, and she clearly harbored ill intentions toward her."
I immediately walked over and started asking questions.
Recently, there's a TV drama about to start filming called Sweetheart Hello. It's a youth idol show, and Jenny Rou was originally cast as the female lead, but for some reason her role was suddenly changed. It's adapted from a popular novel, so the ratings shouldn't be bad.
After Easton Grant explained, we headed into the village—a single street, really—and soon found the Midnight Paranormal Show crew at their inn. The place was old-fashioned, filled with people on their phones. Easton pointed out a bearded man in the corner, constantly calling—James Zhang, the production manager.
Apparently, the crew planned to keep filming tonight. I was furious and stormed over.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest!
"Mr. Zhang, could you step outside? We'd like to talk."
After leaving the inn, we went to a deserted alley beside it.
"Officer, have you found Miss Leah King yet?"
"I'm ordering you to stop filming this show immediately," I said firmly.
"What? Officer, I'll show you our production credentials in a moment. We haven't broken any laws. There's just been a minor issue during filming—you have no right to demand this."
Suddenly, Justin Huang stormed over, grabbed James Zhang by the neck, yanked off his big sunglasses, and glared at him fiercely.
In that instant, I saw James Zhang start to tremble.
"What... what are you trying to do... Somebody, help!"
Suddenly, a crowd gathered at the mouth of the alley. Miles Mao quickly pulled Justin Huang back, and Justin let go of James Zhang.
People all around started shouting, accusing us of abusing our authority and interfering with the show. They threatened to report us. With no other choice, the four of us left and got into the Ghost Burial Squad's car.
"I don't care anymore, damn it," Dalton Fang spat, his face twisted in anger. Everyone looked furious.
We sat quietly in the car. I explained to them that Basil Bertram wanted me to save Leah King. The three of them stared, mouths agape, utterly shocked.
"Hey, Ethan, why would the Ghost Lord ask you to do something like this? It's strange—I heard you were injured just the day before yesterday. Shouldn't you be resting?"
I sighed. Just then, Justin Huang nudged me and pointed at a woman stepping out of a gray sedan in front of us. She wore a thick white furry coat and fluffy shoes, and looked quite pretty.
"That's her—the actress Jenny Rou, who was paired with Leah King last night."
I hurriedly opened the car door, got out, and ran over. Jenny Rou had just touched up her makeup in the car—her eyes were large, with colored contacts. I rushed over.
"Miss Jenny Rou, hello. We're with the police and have a few questions for you."
As I approached, I could clearly sense a chill of yin energy emanating from her.
"Hi there, officer. What would you like to ask me?" Jenny Rou smiled, her voice crisp and clear. I felt a bit awkward.
Jenny Rou walked over to the Ghost Burial Squad's car, and I started questioning her.
"Miss Jenny Rou, it seems you and Miss Leah King have some history, don't you?"
"Officer, are you suspecting me? No, really—although Leah took my lead role, it was because I'm not strong enough, so... so..."
Jenny Rou started crying as she spoke. For a moment, I didn't know what to do—completely flustered.
Jenny Rou's crying drew a crowd, and with the constant insults, I was losing patience. Justin Huang was already cracking his knuckles, ready to fight.
Suddenly, the screech of car brakes echoed through the air.
"Sorry, everyone, please calm down. I'm their supervisor, and I apologize for my subordinates' rough behavior."
It was Hugh Thompson. He walked over, pushed Justin Huang and me aside, and kept apologizing to the production crew until things finally calmed down.
"What are you all trying to do? Justin, with your fists clenched so tight, are you planning to kill someone?"
Hugh Thompson said sternly. Justin Huang quickly relaxed his fists and managed a smile.
"Sorry, Hugh, I just lost my temper."
"No matter what, they're still ordinary people. And you, Ethan, you came here without telling me. Luckily, Vivian Wei notified me you were coming. I thought things might get tricky, so Old Stone sent me over to keep you all out of big trouble."
With Hugh Thompson here, we all crowded around him, our anger fading away. Oddly enough, everyone seemed to rely on and trust him—he always handled things perfectly.