"Gatekeeper"

On the evening of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month before the Lunar New Year, Guo Lin's father, Old Master Guo, suffered a heart attack and collapsed at the train station. He was later rescued and taken to the hospital.

When Guo Lin arrived at the hospital, the old man had already woken up, but he kept talking about seeing a "gatekeeper" at the moment of life and death. The implication was that he saw the afterlife and believed that Guo Lin's deceased mother was now in that world.

Guo Lin knew that his father was a soldier with a very tough personality and had never believed in such supernatural or superstitious things. The fact that his father could say those things meant that he had seen some kind of hallucination at the moment of life and death, and that it had left a very deep impression on him.

It's not surprising that when faced with the terrifying prospect of life and death, one might experience hallucinations that overturn previous understandings.

Seeing the picture on his old classmate's phone today, and listening to his account of the hallucinations the suspects in the two cases he had mentioned, Guo Lin instinctively recalled the "gatekeeper" his father had described.

Because both the picture on his old classmate's phone and the descriptions of the monsters by the suspects in the two cases reminded him of something his father had mentioned about the "gatekeeper"—many arms.

This gave him a strange idea: could the hallucination his father saw between life and death, the so-called "gatekeeper," be the same thing that the suspects in the two cases Old Xu mentioned saw?

Compared to Guo Lin, Chu Xiuwen knew far more information.

He had a chance encounter with Xiang Kun when he saw Zhou Yiqing off, and deduced from Zhou Yiqing's words that Xiang Kun was the one who saved Old Master Guo at the station on the night of the 29th.

Recalling Liu Feibao's earlier statement that Qi Haoguo might have been "frightened," he connected the two events and felt that what Old Master Guo saw during his brush with death, and what frightened Qi Haoguo, must be related to Xiang Kun.

Especially a few days ago, before the Lantern Festival, he met Qi Haoguo in Tongshi Town. Qi Haoguo had purchased a property in Tongshi Town. When he and Liu Feibao visited him, they happened to see staff moving various pieces of furniture into the house.

While several staff members were unpacking and arranging some items, Qi Haoguo, who had been chatting with them in the living room, suddenly became furious and rebuked the staff members who were unpacking.

Chu Xiuwen noticed that inside the box the staff member had opened was a wooden carving over a foot tall. He could vaguely see that the carving had many arms and multiple eyes on its head, giving it a strangely eerie feel.

However, under Qi Haoguo's reprimand, the staff quickly rearranged the box and, as he instructed, moved it to the bedroom upstairs in the mansion— Qi Haoguo said he wanted to handle the wood carving himself and forbade anyone else from touching it.

During the ensuing conversation, Chu Xiuwen casually mentioned the wood carving, but Qi Haoguo brushed it off and refused to discuss it further.

On the way back, Liu Feibao told him mysteriously that the wood carving was made by a wood carving master in the provincial capital after Qi Haoguo Xiang Kun and his group by chance before the New Year. Moreover, the image and all the details of the wood carving were determined by Qi Haoguo.

If it were before the Lunar New Year, upon hearing Liu Feibao's words, Chu Xiuwen would likely have focused more on Qi Haoguo's mental state. However, after the New Year, with the information he later gathered for comparison, he had more speculations.

Tonight, after listening to Xu Zhao recount the two cases as anecdotes, and seeing that picture, a flash of lightning seemed to strike Chu Xiuwen's mind, connecting the clues and making him feel that he was getting closer to the truth. But when he thought about it more carefully, he found that the surroundings were still shrouded in a thick fog, impossible to dispel and impossible to see clearly.

Of the two cases Xu Zhao mentioned, one occurred in Yungang District of Citong City. Xiang Kun was also in Citong City at that time, so it's quite possible that it's related to him.

But another case occurred in a city thousands of miles away from Citong, and it happened on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Xiang Kun was still in Citong.

Or perhaps the "monster with many arms" isn't just connected to Xiang Kun, but has influence throughout the country?

Then he wondered, what was the situation with these people who supposedly saw the "Many-Armed Monster"?

In the two cases Xu Zhao mentioned, there were a total of six suspects. Although the crimes they committed and the specific circumstances were different, they were all undoubtedly doing bad things and breaking the law.

Although he didn't know much about Qi Haoguo before, he knew that some of Qi Haoguo's businesses were more or less illegal and irregular, making huge profits by skirting the law. After being inexplicably "frightened" in Tongshi Town, he went back and, despite the fact that his businesses were still highly profitable, he closed them all down or transferred them. He even came to Tongshi Town and invested real money in many purely public welfare projects.

Old Master Guo suffered a sudden heart attack and was on the verge of death. Only then did he vaguely see the Many-Armed Monster, and he was the least affected.

Judging from these incidents, if the "Many-Armed Monster" they saw really exists, its logic in doing things is to save lives, punish evil, and persuade people to do good!

Is this because the monster is a "good monster," or is it that someone behind it is controlling and guiding it? Like Xiang Kun? Or perhaps the official forces behind Xiang Kun?

Or perhaps this is Xiang Kun's "official background".

People like Xiang Kun are numerous across the country; these "multi-armed monsters" are helping the authorities with things they don't have time for or can't handle themselves.

No wonder Chu Xiuwen couldn't find any relevant information through his connections; this is a completely different field, one that cannot be disclosed to ordinary people.

No wonder even someone like Ji Hang would have such a tone and attitude after the investigation.

Although he had a vague guess about the truth of the matter and saw a blurry outline, it was as if he had pushed open a door and found himself in another world full of mist. The more he knew, the more questions he had.

Xu Zhao looked at his two old classmates and asked curiously, "Why do you two look like that?"

Chu Xiuwen was the first to recover, and he smiled, saying, "I think it's quite well drawn. That Officer Zhao's classmate has quite a bit of artistic talent." He didn't tell anyone his judgment or the information he knew, including Guo Lin, Liu Feibao, or other relatives and friends. Since the authorities hadn't allowed the relevant information to leak out, and since even most people within the system didn't know, there must be a reason. If he rashly revealed it, it was hard to say what the consequences would be.

Guo Lin then said, "You know about my grandfather collapsing at the station entrance, right? Later, Xiuwen and I went to the hospital to see him, and he told us that when he was in a daze, he saw a 'door,' and in front of the 'door' was a 'gatekeeper' with many arms... When I saw this picture on your phone, I thought of the 'gatekeeper' he was talking about."

Xu Zhao said, "Most people in our country believe in Buddhism, and it's normal for Buddhists to have many images of people with three heads and six arms."

Guo Lin shook his head. "My old man doesn't believe in Buddhism."

However, they didn't discuss this issue much.

Xu Zhao suddenly remembered something and turned to Chu Xiuwen, asking, "By the way, Xiuwen, what's the situation in Tongshi Town lately? How come several big bosses from Citong want to invest in Tongshi Town? Some people have even asked me if there are any preferential policies or support from the government for Tongshi Town. How the hell should I know? I asked my friends at the city government, and they haven't heard of any related news either."

"But it is true that a lot of money is flowing into Tongshi Town. It's not just the wealthy people in Tongshi Town, but also those from the provincial capital, large groups and enterprises, and even people from other provinces."

"Xiuwen, you're from Tongshi Town and have connections in the province, so you're well-informed. Is there anything the province will do about Tongshi Town in the future?"

Chu Xiuwen shook his head and said, "I don't have any definite information." This was indeed the case; he had asked his friends in the province, but none of them had seen any relevant policy documents, nor had they heard a single word about it.

However, he then changed the subject. "Regardless of whether there are policies or not, Tongshi Town really needs to develop. My initial view, along with that of some local friends, is to focus on tourism-related industries first. And from what I understand, there is indeed a large amount of capital planning to enter Tongshi Town. You know Haoguo Group, right? If this trend really takes hold, even without policies initially, they will eventually come into play."

Guo Lin also said, "So I'm also planning to go to Tongshi Town with Xiuwen to see if there's a suitable opportunity to hitch a ride. I heard from Xiuwen that Qi Haoguo, the CEO of Haoguo Group, went to Tongshi Town on the third day of the Lunar New Year and bought a luxury house there, seemingly intending to live there permanently. He's not a local, so he definitely wouldn't do this unless he really thought it was a good opportunity."

Xu Zhao nodded in realization, but was still somewhat puzzled. "Besides tourism, what else can Tongshi Town develop? But if it's tourism, Wushu Mountain next door is too famous, it'll be hard to divert tourists, right? What resources does Tongshi Town have that it can boast about and promote?"

Chu Xiuwen did not answer the question. Although he knew what Liu Caifu and Xiang Kun were going to do in Chongyun Village and what projects they wanted to develop, he always felt that these things seemed to be just a pretext, and the real purpose behind them might be related to the "Many-Armed Monster" and the intentions of the authorities.

Qi Haoguo brought a large amount of funds to Tongshi Town and launched many public welfare projects. Perhaps this was not due to any advanced information or profit-driven motives, but rather to complete tasks assigned by the authorities. Other related capital may also be influenced by relevant official forces.

But whatever their ultimate goal is, the influx of so much capital into Tongshi Town will surely bring prosperity and development to the Tongshi Town, and the people of Tongshi Town will definitely benefit, especially since they are with Liu Caifu, You Meng, and others who are tied to Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun was naturally unaware that Chu Xiuwen, based on various fragmented pieces of information, had actually conjured up a vast network of information, a secret official organization.

Around 11 p. m., he successfully guided the dream through the chopsticks next to Lao Xia.

Lao Xia then "woke up" in the dream, and then entered the "world of consciousness" in the dream. Through the Black Circle Graffiti in the "vampire patient's" ward, he was guided to construct a "Dream Within a Dream".

With the help of Lao Xia's senses, Xiang Kun discovered that the "vampire patient's" dream was the interior of a dimly lit ancient castle.

However, after walking around with Lao Xia for a while, Xiang Kun was certain that the castle was just something the "vampire patient" had imagined, because the castle's internal structure was completely against spatial rules, consisting of a corridor and a room that kept repeating.

The "vampire patient," dressed in a slightly gothic black dress, sat elegantly by the fireplace, swirling a goblet filled with a viscous red liquid.

The "vampire patient" had extremely fair skin and looked much prettier than in the photos Alice had found. It was obvious that she had used a strong Photoshop effect in her mind to beautify herself.

Before the "vampire patient" stood a handsome man with a pair of sharp fangs. This man's appearance was basically the same as the "Bloodline" that appeared in Xiang Kun's past dreams that triggered the "vampire patient's" dreams.

After drinking together for a while, the two embraced, playfully biting each other and touching each other's hands, seemingly about to do something inappropriate for children.