Chapter 9: Mountain-Protection Grand Array

Pang Xiaolei was from Wolong County.

But because of his parents’ work, his family had bought a home in the provincial capital years ago. Wolong County could only be called his hometown.

This trip back to Wolong County was because of an old case review. Three years ago, at the Yingchi Hotel on the outskirts of town, seven people had died overnight due to an electrical short circuit, including a family of four and three solo travelers.

In the initial accident investigation, all the evidence pointed to aging wiring. After every meticulous background check, including the victims’ social relationships and autopsy reports, it could be confirmed that this had been an accident.

The problem was that the hotel only had three floors in total. The flames had started on the third floor and spread downward, but not very quickly. The guests staying on the first and second floors that day all said the fire alarm had gone off immediately, waking them up, and they had escaped the hotel without trouble.

Yet not a single guest on the third floor had managed to escape. All of them had died in the hotel. Even though the autopsy reports afterward contained no suspicious points, the incident itself still carried something unclear and unresolved.

Although the Criminal Investigation Bureau had issued an accident announcement to the public, in reality, this fire had never been closed as a case. So Pang Xiaolei and his colleagues from the provincial criminal investigation team had returned to Wolong County once more to investigate the site of the accident again.

However, too much time had passed, and the hotel had also been renovated once. Even though they had brought more advanced criminal investigation equipment with them, after three consecutive days of work, there had not been the slightest progress.

Thinking that they would be heading back tomorrow, Pang Xiaolei returned to the hotel after finishing the day’s work, took out his phone, and started scrolling through short videos to kill the scraps of time before dinner.

He had not even watched two local videos before he saw a short video, filmed outside who knew which temple, full of some incomprehensible nonsense about founding a sect.

The uploader had a bird’s nest on his head, a bedsheet draped over his body, and a tree branch in his hand. When he earnestly said, in affected literary language, that he would “establish a sect in Wolong,” Pang Xiaolei’s face twitched.

Although his household registration had already been moved to the provincial capital, he still had some feelings for Wolong. Now that he saw this guy, who was willing to make a fool of himself for attention and even dragged his hometown’s name into it, he was more than just indignant.

“Nutcase!”

After muttering a curse to himself, Pang Xiaolei originally wanted to swipe to the next video.

But maybe it was just too bizarre. When he saw that the number of comments under the video had already exceeded a hundred, Pang Xiaolei resolutely opened the comment section in search of like-minded comrades.

[Clout-chasing nonsense.]

[Chen Yi: My name is Chen Yi. I’m sorry for embarrassing my hometown.]

[??? Sure enough, the world’s gone crazy. Any freak will do anything for fame now.]

[Spiritual energy is reviving, there are ghosts, gods, immortals, Buddhas, Daoist ancestors, and things invading us from other worlds. The times are about to change. I am the master of a sect, personally appointed by Heaven, because I am wise and mighty. So I established my sect in Wolong and named it the The Lurker Sect. Today, I’m here to advertise. Oh right, my name is Chen Yi.]

[I’m giving the Best Actor award to the Da Huang dog. That backward exit was kinda insane.]

[Aaaaaah! Can adults please not drag kids into it when they act stupid? I’m seriously done. With a dad like this, that kid won’t even be able to hold his head up in the future.]

[I just came in to see how many people were like me. Seeing everyone scolding him puts me at ease.]

At this point, Pang Xiaolei felt this buddy had spoken his heart. Seeing the uploader who had blackened his hometown’s name get cursed out by the whole internet made him feel comfortable inside.

Couldn’t he just be a decent person?

No bottom line just to get famous. People these days...

The short video was still looping. Pang Xiaolei glanced at the handsome, clear-eyed man in the video, shook his head, and swiped to the next one.

Less than two minutes later, someone knocked on his room door. He opened it and saw a colleague standing at the door with a middle-aged man.

The colleague said, “Xiaolei, let me introduce you. This is Village Chief Chen from Lishui Village. He’s looking for Wang Ping’an’s contact information. I remember you were pretty close to Wang Ping’an. Ever since he was transferred away at the beginning of the year, I haven’t seen him again.”

Pang Xiaolei looked at the weather-beaten middle-aged man.

The other man stretched out both hands, smiling until his face was full of creases. “Hello. My name is Chen Jiankang, the village chief of Lishui Village. I have something very urgent to find Wang Ping’an about...”

…

[Side Quest: Sect Founding Assembly (Optional)]

[Reward: Mountain-Protection Grand Array, Low-Grade Spirit Stones x5]

One: Successfully hold the Sect Founding Assembly. (1/1 Complete)

Two: Achieve reputation. (1232/100 Complete)

Chen Yi glanced at the reputation value, which had already reached 1,200 and was still constantly jumping, then shrugged.

Was this hard?

Under modern internet technology, it was just reputation. What could possibly be hard about it?

Hah!

Beaming with delight, Chen Yi accepted the five low-grade spirit stones rewarded by the system. Then his gaze fell on the Mountain-Protection Grand Array, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

The functions of the Mountain-Protection Grand Array were densely explained through the water mirror in text form.

To put it simply, it had defense, illusion, spiritual energy gathering, attack, and other functions. How many functions could be activated, and to what degree, required different amounts of spirit stones. There seemed to be no upper limit; even if he put in supreme-grade spirit stones, it could instantly suck them dry.

The few scattered low-grade spirit stones in Chen Yi’s hands would be no different from putting in nothing even if he stuffed them all inside.

The Mountain-Protection Grand Array was clearly a “money-devouring beast.”

But in the end, after Chen Yi placed the grand array, he still tossed in five low-grade spirit stones and activated the lowest-level passive defense function.

Since he knew he had been targeted by an aberration, he had to have a way to respond. No matter how many spirit stones he saved up, he had to be alive to spend them. Before the aberration was dealt with, even if he had to dig out the spirit stones he used for idle cultivation, he had to keep going.

After placing the spirit stones inside, Chen Yi sensed carefully. Passive defense would enter standby mode when there was no danger. Five spirit stones could barely sustain it for three days.

Three days was enough.

After that, he should have completed several main quests, and he himself would also have grown stronger. Then he would take the initiative and wipe out that aberration.

Thinking this, Chen Yi felt reassured and no longer felt heartache.

He lowered his head and continued studying the Mountain-Protection Grand Array so he could be prepared for any eventuality.

When it was almost six o’clock, his mother, Xiang Lan, brought another pile of things up the mountain. Before Chen Yi could ask, she said, “The timing really wasn’t good this time. All along the way, there were people cracking sunflower seeds, strolling, and digesting their food. I told them you were going to livestream and sell goods. That walk of mine, honestly.

“Oh right, what are we eating for dinner? How about egg and tomato noodles?”

As she spoke, Xiang Lan had already started bustling about efficiently.

Chen Yi helped from the side, looked toward the mountain gate, and frowned. “Where’s Dad?”

“He went to the county. Said he was going to find Wang Xiaosan and recruit him into the sect. Your dad said this matter was too huge and he had no idea what to do, so he might as well follow your idea. Wang Xiaosan really is a good candidate, too.”

Chen Yi stood up. “It’s already six? Is Dad coming back tonight?”

“Not necessarily.” Xiang Lan looked at Chen Yi’s expression and was a little frightened. “What’s wrong?”

“That head aberration is in the county.”

At the mention of the aberration, Xiang Lan’s face visibly turned ugly. She said, “Didn’t you say it had its eyes on you? Does it have anything to do with your dad too?”

Chen Yi’s heart paused. He realized he had forgotten to mention something.

He had not told his parents about the principle that “cognition is pollution.”

Nor had he told his parents that even if they had not encountered an aberration, after they cultivated the technique, actively absorbed spiritual energy, and became that “bottle,” the aberration would still be like a hungry wolf that had smelled something delicious and seek them out on its own.

Especially when they were close by, and especially after it could do nothing to Chen Yi, Comrade Chen Jiankang would inevitably be the one in the greatest danger.

When Xiang Lan spoke again, she was trembling. “It’ll go after your dad too?”

Then her voice rose. “Hurry and call your dad. Tell him to come back!!”

Chen Yi ran out to make the call, but no one answered the first time.

He glanced at the reddening sun slanting westward, and his heart shook.

Although aberrations usually awakened around midnight and could only move freely then, that did not mean they could not appear the moment night fell.

It was just that the yin energy was heaviest late at night, which made them more comfortable and therefore more active.

Last night, that human-head balloon aberration had suffered a loss on Chen Yi’s side. Now that a delicacy had delivered itself to its mouth, how could it possibly let him go?

“What do we do? Why isn’t your dad answering? Could it be...”

Xiang Lan stared at Chen Yi with a deathly pale face.

Chen Yi kept dialing while comforting his mother. “It won’t be dark until eight. If Dad takes an unlicensed motorcycle taxi, it’s not like he can’t make it back before then. Besides, when he left, he had already entered qi refinement. Yesterday, I was also newly entered into qi refinement when I sent that aberration flying with a punch. If things really get bad, there’s still room to maneuver. Don’t worry.”

He had only just finished speaking when the call finally connected.

Chen Yi’s face turned solemn, and he said to the person on the other end, “Dad, hurry back. It might come looking for you tonight.”

A sharp inhale sounded from the other end of the phone.

…

“Wang Ping’an changed departments. In the past six months, I’ve only managed to contact him once. I’m afraid it’ll be a little hard for you to see him. How about you tell me, and I’ll pass the message to him, all right?”

After inviting the man into the room, Pang Xiaolei listened to Chen Jiankang and spoke with a helpless expression.

He had a little more information than the others, after all. His father was in charge of work at the brigade, and he knew that because of special reasons, Wang Ping’an had been transferred to a highly classified special unit. Forget an outsider wanting to see him—even his own relatives, wife, and daughter would not find it easy.

Pang Xiaolei even felt that his promise to pass along a message for this man probably could not be fulfilled in the near term.

But Village Chief Chen, whose entire mind was set on finding Wang Ping’an, shook his head like a rattle-drum. Holding Pang Xiaolei’s hand, he was almost in tears. “Comrade, I’m begging you. I really have a matter so huge it reaches the heavens. Please help me find him. Thank you. Thank you.”

Pang Xiaolei could not refuse. Just as he was feeling troubled, he heard the phone in Village Chief Chen’s backpack buzzing for a long while and reminded him, “Your phone.”

Chen Jiankang was a little worked up and did not want to answer at first. When the call came in again, he still picked it up and took a look.

The moment he answered it, his expression changed completely.

After Village Chief Chen hung up, his face was white, and even his words began to tremble. “I, I’ll be going first. Something happened at home. I, I have to go back.”

Relying on his many years of case-handling experience, Pang Xiaolei sensed that something was wrong with Village Chief Chen’s condition and stopped him. “Did something happen?”

Chen Jiankang thought of Pang Xiaolei’s identity. The words came to the tip of his tongue, but he forced them back down. “Ah, no, no. You can’t make the decision on this. I still have to see Wang Xiaosan.”

After saying that, Chen Jiankang turned and was about to leave.

Out of courtesy and respect for the old village chief, Pang Xiaolei asked, “Are you planning to head back to the village overnight? Lishui Village isn’t close. If you don’t have a car, I can take you back.”

Chen Jiankang, who had already walked some distance away, suddenly froze.

Then he ran back like the wind, his eyes shining bright. “Good comrade, then I’ll have to trouble you!”

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