Saints and Madmen

After systematically organizing the historical documents and modern reports, Lin Jie and William had constructed a solid theoretical framework for their investigation.

But this was not enough, for history is cold text and rumors are hollow imagination; they needed the most vivid perspective from an "eyewitness" to breathe soul and detail into this framework.

Their target was the key figure Sergeant William had locked onto during that successful "pub investigation"—Ian MacGregor.

This old man was the direct source of the latest "monster" sighting report provided to the Inverness Courier, and he was the center of all recent gossip.

However, ever since that sighting, this man who was once the bravest old fisherman in Urquhart Bay had become a completely different person. He sold his fishing gear and hid in his wooden cabin all day, isolating himself from the world with cheap whiskey, becoming a "crazy old man" whom everyone avoided like the plague.

The next morning, a rented carriage carried the two men along the winding lakeside road of Loch Ness toward the remote fishing village where Ian lived.

The massive Loch Ness resembled an obsidian mirror embedded between the Highland mountains, reflecting the leaden sky with calm, rippleless water, while beneath that tranquility hid an unknown abyss over two hundred meters deep.

Fisherman Ian's home was a solitary wooden and stone cabin situated on the edge of the fishing village.

Before they even got close, they could smell a pungent odor of alcohol drifting out from the gaps in the doors and windows.

William stepped forward and knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside, only a string of drunken, slurred curses.

After several failed attempts, William had no choice but to give up in frustration.

"Perhaps we should try a different way of communicating."

Lin Jie did not feel disappointed; his gaze drifted past the cabin and landed on a dilapidated fishing boat dragged onto the shore nearby.

He glanced at the cabin window facing the boat, and a plan instantly formed in his mind.

"Sergeant William, can you find a way to lure him away from the house for even five minutes? I think this boat might be able to tell us more than its owner can."

William immediately understood Lin Jie's intention.

He nodded and circled to the back of the cabin. Before long, a series of violent thuds accompanied by several deliberately mimicked cries of a distressed deer rang out from the pine forest.

The cursing inside the house stopped abruptly. Immediately after, the cabin door was flung open, and a ragged, red-faced old man stumbled out clutching an old shotgun. He roared, "Which damn poacher is it?" and began to stumble toward the source of the disturbance William had created.

The opportunity had arrived.

Lin Jie immediately walked quickly to the side of the dilapidated fishing boat.

He did not touch it directly, but instead circled the hull like an experienced appraiser, observing it in detail.

He soon discovered several unusual, massive scratches on the keel at the bottom of the boat; the marks looked more like they had been left after the vessel was "lifted" by some object from underneath.

This discovery made his guess regarding the nature of the UMA even clearer.

He no longer hesitated, took off his leather glove, and pressed his entire palm heavily against the wooden planking of the gunwale, which was ice-cold from the lake water.

[Touch of Afterimage] was quietly activated.

Lin Jie's vision was immediately overwhelmed by fragmented sensory images mixed with lake water, moonlight, and a massive shadow!

He "saw" it!

He saw old fisherman Ian on that moonlit night, his boat losing control due to a sudden underwater current, on the verge of crashing into a patch of sharp reefs.

At that critical moment, a massive black shadow emitting a soft blue light rose slowly from the bottom of the lake, steadily supporting his small boat and pushing him away from the fatal danger!

At that moment, Lin Jie's consciousness was completely synchronized with old fisherman Ian.

He clearly "felt" Ian's true emotions at the time—it was not fear at all, but the extreme ecstasy and reverence of a devout believer who had finally witnessed the "deity" they had worshipped for a lifetime descend in an unstoppable, majestic posture, trembling and breathless with awe!

What old fisherman Ian saw was not some hideous water monster, but the benevolent and powerful "guardian deity" he had heard stories about since he was a child!

Lin Jie pulled his hand back, gasping for air.

He completely understood why old fisherman Ian drank all day and why he shut everyone out; it was not because of fear, but because of the deepest anger and disappointment!

He had witnessed a miracle, but when he shared this sacred experience with a mundane world already eroded by money and reason, all he received was ruthless mockery and insults.

He was treated by everyone as a madman.

At this moment, William's figure emerged from the pine forest, bringing the grumbling old fisherman with him.

Upon realizing he had been tricked, Ian turned red with rage, raised his shotgun, and prepared to drive these two damned outsiders away.

But just as he was roaring and cocking the weapon, Lin Jie slowly raised his head, met his angry gaze, and spoke a sentence in an extremely calm and understanding tone.

"The guardian deity of the Lake of Tears and Light... I understand."

Old fisherman Ian's angry, drunken roar stuck in his throat.

He stared in disbelief at the strange young Eastern man before him.

In the end, this Scottish Highland tough guy, who had been resilient his entire life, slowly knelt to the ground and let out a wail that had been suppressed for weeks.

After Ian's emotions calmed down, his attitude toward the two underwent a complete transformation.

He welcomed them into the small cabin and told them without reservation about his experience that night, and angrily denounced the "surveying tools that wanted to blast the lake bottom," which once again confirmed Lin Jie's hypothesis that human industrial activity was the main reason for the UMA's appearance.

After comforting the old man and promising to bring his "warning" to the "people who should know," Lin Jie and William left the solitary little cabin.

"It seems our mission report will be much more interesting than the Association expected."

Sergeant William said thoughtfully, "But we are still missing the final link, an 'academic' piece of evidence that can connect all these fragments together."

Lin Jie smiled and took a small piece of paper he had torn from a newspaper out of his pocket.

On it was an academic article titled "A Historical Examination of the Loch Ness Monster," signed by Alistair MacDonald, a local folklore "eccentric" who had been ostracized by the mainstream academic community.

Following the address provided by the newspaper office, they arrived at an old stone cottage on the other side of the Loch Ness.

Unlike Ian's residence, this place was old but kept in impeccable order.

The person who opened the door was a tall, thin gentleman who looked to be in his fifties, with graying hair but a spirited demeanor.

He wore a clean tweed jacket and thick, round-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, his eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

"If you are reporters here to dig up some cheap stories, then you may as well turn back."

Before Lin Jie could speak, he said in a tone that was polite yet kept people at a distance, "My time is reserved only for true 'seekers of knowledge'."

"I am afraid I must disappoint you, Mr. MacDonald."

Lin Jie smiled as he took out a manuscript he had drawn himself, containing a comparative analysis of the Loch Ness "guardian" legend and Celtic star charts.

"We are not reporters, merely two amateur enthusiasts who share the same awe and curiosity for the truth."

When the scholar's gaze fell upon the manuscript, which was filled with complex symbols and ancient maps, his guarded expression was quickly replaced by immense surprise!

"Good God... this method of comparative analysis..."

MacDonald was so excited he became incoherent, "Young man! Quickly! Please, come in!"

The eccentric scholar, who had just been keeping them at arm's length, ushered the two into the cottage, which resembled a private museum.

Every corner of the room was occupied by massive bookshelves and specimen cabinets, and the walls were covered with various hand-drawn hydrological maps and sketches of legendary creatures.

This was a sacred hall constructed by a man who had spent his entire life's blood on the "legends" he loved.

The scholar showed these two rare kindred spirits the precious "treasures" he had collected over a lifetime, ranging from prehistoric whale vertebrae fossils etched with ancient markings to incredibly detailed underwater topographical maps of Loch Ness.

He spoke incessantly, his profound knowledge and Lin Jie's analysis based on information from the Underworld forming a resonance that transcended dimensions and cognitive barriers at this moment!

"So, Mr. MacDonald, what is your final conclusion?"

After listening to the scholar's brilliant "lecture" for several hours, Lin Jie asked solemnly.

The scholar pushed up his glasses, his fanatical expression gradually replaced by solemnity and gravity.

"My conclusion is," he said, enunciating every word, "that there truly exists an unknown, ancient creature in Loch Ness."

"But it is absolutely not some bloodthirsty water monster."

"It is a higher-level existence."

"It is perhaps the last titan on this planet that still retains a pure 'natural divinity'."

"It is not our enemy; it is the last silent guardian of these highlands."

"And we, the so-called 'civilized people,' are using our arrogance and ignorance to push it step by step toward... a desperate situation where it will either be completely extinct, or... reveal to us the fangs it has forgotten for thousands of years."