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Sergeant Mandy Chung saw that he had calmed down a bit, so she finally let go of his hand holding the gun and said, "Sergeant Liu, could you please put your gun away? It's really dangerous to keep it out like that—"
"Oh—sorry, Mandy, I didn't realize it was you just now. It was a misunderstanding, I'm really sorry—" The male officer blushed, quickly holstered his service pistol, and then solemnly apologized to Mandy Chung.
"Sergeant Liu, what exactly happened here? And why did you react so strongly? Plus, what are all the other officers doing around here? Did you guys run into something terrifying?!" Mandy Chung asked, frowning.
"Yeah—Mandy, we're friends, and we graduated from the same police academy, so you know I never lie. Whether you believe it or not, I have to be honest with you: I—I got possessed by something evil—oh, to be precise, I've been haunted by a Nether Fiend! Sigh—" Sergeant Louis Liu hesitated, then spoke directly to Mandy.
"No way! How could you be haunted by a Nether Fiend!" Mandy Chung cried out, her face turning pale.
Sergeant Louis Liu saw Mandy's shocked reaction and thought she didn't believe him, so he quickly added, "Mandy, you have to believe me. It's not just me—these past few days, every officer at the station has run into those filthy things!"
"Ah—everyone's been haunted by Nether Fiends!!" Mandy exclaimed again, even more alarmed.
As they spoke, the other officers nearby noticed Mandy Chung and quickly gathered around. Since many of them used to be close colleagues with her, they not only asked how her new job was going, but also envied her for being transferred out of Sham Shui Po Police Station just in time. They kept complaining to her, saying she was lucky to have left early, or she'd be haunted by those filthy things too! Even praying to gods and burning joss paper secretly hadn't helped at all!
Listening to their complaints, Mandy quickly waved her hands and told them the truth: "Don't envy me—actually, I'm just like you. I've been haunted by a Nether Fiend too. Even after transferring out, I still have nightmares all the time! It's terrifying, I can barely sleep at night!"
"Uh—what?! Mandy, you—you've been haunted by a Nether Fiend too? I didn't expect that thing to be so fierce! Even you couldn't escape—so, what are you planning to do now?" Sergeant Louis Liu and the other officers erupted in shock at the news, their faces turning ghostly pale.
"Running away won't solve anything, so I came here today to deal with this problem!" Mandy Chung said.
"Oh, Sergeant Chung, you have no idea—we all want to solve this problem, but praying to gods and burning incense hasn't worked at all! Whenever it's time to sleep, that thing shows up in our minds, and sometimes we can even feel it right next to us. It's terrifying!"
"Yeah—even invited Taoist priests from Cloud Temple to perform exorcisms, wore Maoshan talismans, but—none of it worked! We still have nightmares about those filthy things—"
"That's right! Maybe the Nether Fiend isn't local? Could it be a foreign ghost that isn't afraid of Maoshan talismans? Should we try crucifixes and garlic instead?!"
"I don't think it's a foreign ghost. I couldn't see its face clearly, but I'm sure it's local—and it's a long-haired female ghost! We need to come up with another plan!"
The officers all started talking at once, discussing ghost-hunting and exorcism methods, but no one could come up with a real solution. After a round of debate, everyone fell silent again, looking anxious and worried. Seeing that Mandy was just listening and not offering any suggestions, Sergeant Louis Liu quickly asked, "Mandy, do you actually have a way to solve this? You know, we really don't want to report this to the higher-ups. We have no idea how to explain it—there's no way we'd dare write it up!"
"Oh—I don't have the skills myself, but I brought an expert in Taoist magic with me today. Honestly, I'm not sure how good he really is!" Mandy admitted.
"Oh, you've brought an expert?! Where is he?" Sergeant Louis Liu's eyes lit up as he asked.
"I'm right here—" Before Mandy could introduce him, Shawn Young, who was standing nearby, answered loudly.
Sergeant Louis Liu and the other officers turned to look, finally noticing Shawn Young in casual clothes, standing next to Rainie Cheng. At first, everyone was stunned, then fell silent—Shawn looked so young and dressed like a tourist, with none of the mystical aura of a Taoist master. Plus, he was holding Rainie's hand like a couple out on a date. Rainie's beauty caught their attention, but everyone was too worried to appreciate it for long.
Shawn Young ignored their curious stares, still holding Rainie's hand as they walked boldly up to the officers. He greeted them, "Hello, officers!"
"This is Mr. Shawn Young—he's my... my cousin's boyfriend!" Mandy Chung introduced him to Sergeant Louis Liu and the others.
"Oh—hello, Mr. Young. I'm Louis Liu, duty sergeant at Sham Shui Po Police Station!" Louis Liu politely shook hands with Shawn.
To his surprise, Shawn Young didn't let go after shaking hands, but instead said, "Sergeant Liu, nice to meet you! Oh? Your palm feels cold—have you been anxious and sleepless lately, with a dull ache in your left side?"
"Huh? Yes! Mr. Young, how did you know that?" Louis Liu exclaimed, astonished.
"Mhm, that's a sign of Dreadshade invading your body. You probably feel chills at night and haven't been drinking much water lately, right?" Shawn Young pressed his pulse point and asked.
"Wow, that's exactly right! Mr. Young, you're amazing—you figured all that out just by shaking my hand. That's incredible—" Louis Liu exclaimed again.
"I'm not a god. I just know you all must be experiencing the same symptoms! I bet everyone here has what I just described?" Shawn Young asked the group.
"Yeah, we've all got those symptoms! Master, please help us! We're all honest, law-abiding cops!" the officers cried out together.
"Mhm, Mandy brought me here today to fix this problem. Since everyone is affected, it looks like the feng shui at Sham Shui Po Police Station is either broken or really bad—or maybe there's another reason!" Shawn Young said to the group.