I could understand why Chang’an was reeling. Having two people burned to death right in front of him—and the one who did it being his own friend—had to leave anyone’s mind in knots.

  Even I wasn’t completely numb to it. But the time for brooding and guilt could wait. Right now the priority was handling the immediate mess.

  “Chang’an, listen to me, I—”

  Before I could finish, the situation shifted again.

  Through the lingering heat of the flames, I sensed the two corpses rapidly changing into something else. I turned just in time to see their bodies turn pitch black in an instant.

  It wasn’t ordinary charring from fire. It looked more like they had been soaked in ink—every trace of color erased. Their originally light skin, the white dress shirts under the black suits, the dark blue ties—everything had been swallowed by the same uniform, inky blackness.

  I recognized that black. It was identical to the shadowy substance the fallen demon hunters used to release.

  Once the transformation was complete, the bodies lost all shape, melting into thick, tar-like liquid that spread across the floor before simply fading away like dissipating shadows, vanishing into thin air.

  “They… disappeared?” Chang’an muttered after a stunned pause. “They weren’t human?”

  As he said it, he glanced at me again—and visibly relaxed.

  “…That’s exactly what I want to know,” I said.

  I crouched at the spot where the bodies had been, running my hand over the concrete. Not a single trace of the black substance remained.

  The two men who had tied up and beaten Chang’an were definitely connected to the fallen demon hunters. Their form of existence reminded me strongly of the demons that had once attacked me. Looking back now, those “demons” were probably creatures—or perhaps avatars—summoned by Agent Kong from the shadows.

  But Agent Kong was dead. So where had these things come from? Was there someone else out there with powers similar to his?

  Had the fallen demon hunter affair never really ended?

  What exactly had been the point of kidnapping Chang’an? Just to drag him out here and beat him senseless?

  I glanced at the ropes still binding him to the wooden chair. With a thought, the cords burned through and fell away. Freed, Chang’an struggled to his feet. The earlier beating had left him dizzy; he swayed slightly.

  He stared in disbelief at the scorched rope ends, then at me, clearly overflowing with questions but too overwhelmed to know where to start.

  “Chang’an,” I asked, “how did you end up tangled with those two?”

  “I have no idea…”

  Guided by my questions, he tried to focus and piece it together.

  Unfortunately he looked just as lost as I felt. The rapid-fire shocks seemed to have scrambled his thoughts.

  “I was just grabbing something to eat near campus. Next thing I know, someone knocks me out from behind. When I wake up I’m here, tied to a chair, and they’re just… hitting me nonstop…” He glanced toward where the men had vanished. “I thought maybe it was payback from someone I pissed off before. Figured they were finally giving me a real ‘lesson’ this time… never imagined…”

  Honestly, the same possibility had crossed my mind too. And now I finally understood why the firefly had waited so long to send the alert.

  As a fragment of my own consciousness, the firefly probably carried the same ingrained impression of Chang’an that I did: the guy who gets into trouble outside all the time, so getting dragged off and roughed up wouldn’t be that surprising. Unless the attackers had clearly intended to kill him, the firefly wouldn’t have registered it as mortal danger.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Think harder,” I pressed. “Aside from that hole in the fifteenth-floor apartment, have you run into anything else strange lately?”

  “Strange things…”

  Chang’an sat on the floor, arms wrapped around himself, head bowed, forcing himself to think.

  Suddenly his expression shifted—just a tiny flicker.

  I knew him too well. That look meant something had clicked.

  “You’ve got an idea. Tell me. I’ll help you,” I said.

  He lifted his head. His eyes were complicated—full of mixed emotions. “A-Cheng… if I tell you… what are you going to do?”

  I didn’t follow. “Help you. Like I just said.”

  “Will you kill people?” His voice dropped. “The way you killed those two just now.”

  “They weren’t human,” I pointed out. “You saw it yourself.”

  “But you didn’t know that at first,” he countered.

  “So… what are you saying? Because I might kill, you don’t want my help?”

  Sure enough, that stubborn streak of his kicked in.

  “When you were in danger, you didn’t let me help you either, right? This time… I already have a lead. I can handle it myself.”

  “How is that the same? Look at what just happened—I have powers. I can fight anomalous things. Do you?” I wasn’t about to stand by and watch him walk into danger. “If you do, then show me right now. Convince me. If not…”

  But no matter what I said after that, he simply shut down. Once he got like this, no one could talk him out of it.

  I gave up for the moment and changed tactics. I walked to the warehouse entrance and called Zhu Shi.

  Zhu Shi had two phone numbers: one for everyday student life, one for her demon-hunter identity. She’d given me both.

  At university she was the gentle, approachable female student Zhu Shi. In Luoshan she was the resolute, cold-blooded demon hunter Zhu Shi. The friends she made in her normal life knew nothing about the hunter side.

  Sometimes I couldn’t help but think she was living a double life straight out of a masked-hero story.

  Right now I was dialing the hunter number.

  She picked up almost immediately, voice calm and professional—the tone she used only for hunter business. “Z? What’s up?”

  If I’d called the student number, would she have answered with “Senior Zhuang”…? The thought flashed through my mind just as she continued: “Actually, I was just about to contact you. It’s about the fallen demon hunters—”

  She had something too? Curiosity tugged at me, but my priority was here. “What I’m calling about is also fallen demon hunters—and it involves Chang’an.”

  “What?” Her voice sharpened with alarm. “You first!”

  I gave her a concise rundown of everything that had happened. The moment I finished she said, “Send me your location. I’m on my way right now!”

  She hung up abruptly. I opened the chat app, sent her my coordinates, then walked back to Chang’an.

  He was still sitting on the floor, resting. Hard to tell how much he had recovered—his face was still a mess of bruises.

  He glanced at me, then said quietly, “Sorry… You came to save me, and I treated you like crap just now…”

  I wasn’t in the mood to let it slide. “If you really feel bad, then tell me everything you know.”

  “…By the way, you’re seriously a superpowered guy? I’m still reeling…” He changed the subject. “When did you even get powers? Was it that hole in the apartment? Some weird radiation leaked out and you awakened or something…”

  Seeing him dodge again, I just sighed and answered honestly. “About four and a half years ago. End of my third year of middle school.”

  “So early…” He froze. “…Come to think of it, back then you were obsessed with Taoist arts, magic, all that stuff… then you suddenly dropped it and switched to urban legends and creepy stories… I thought you just gave up because nothing worked. But it was because it did work…”

  How did he know me so well? I was pretty sure I’d never told him any of that.

  But he was right. The last time I tried to light a candle just by staring wasn’t because I planned to quit if it failed—it was because I had already awakened my ability.

  After that I did keep collecting materials on Taoist arts and magic for a while, but only superficially, so I never counted those attempts. Once I had real power in my hands, it made more sense to study and refine what I already had.

  “Zhu Shi will be here soon,” I told him. “Think about how you’re going to explain your current situation to her.”

  “Zhu Shi?” Chang’an blinked. “Why is she coming?”

  I wasn’t entirely sure myself. As far as I knew, she had always kept her hunter identity hidden from Chang’an. Was she planning to show up as an ordinary person this time? What could an ordinary person even do in a situation like this?

  Fortunately my worry turned out to be unnecessary.

  Not long after, Zhu Shi appeared in our line of sight.

  Perhaps to make her hunter identity clear in front of Chang’an, she had deliberately changed into her full gear: a brownish-black straw rain cape and wide-brimmed hat, a long sword sheathed in black and red strapped across her back. She strode through the warehouse entrance like an ancient wandering swordsman—posture straight, aura sharp and commanding.

  For a moment Chang’an seemed unable to recognize her. Only when she drew closer did pure shock register on his face.

  He must have already half-guessed. Still sitting on the ground, he ventured hesitantly, “Little sis… why are you dressed like that?”

  Zhu Shi didn’t answer right away. She studied his bruised, swollen face carefully. Then she let out a long sigh, reached into her robes, and pulled out a white talisman paper. With a flick of her wrist she tossed it toward him.

  The paper didn’t land on him. It disintegrated in midair into countless glittering white motes. When the sparkling dust touched his skin, the bruises on his face began to fade at an impossible speed. Within seconds his face was completely restored—as if he had never been hurt at all.

  Dazed, he reached up and touched his cheeks, then looked up at us, eyes darting back and forth between his friend (me) and his little sister (Zhu Shi).

  After a long silence, he finally spoke in a voice full of disbelief:

  “So… you two are both superpowered… and I’m the only one who had no idea?”