The Kingdom of Hairy People

Of course, Jiang Ran kept his expression unchanged.

That didn't mean there was nothing wrong with the scene his profiling had shown him.

Psychological profiling was, at its core, the process of using observed details and psychological knowledge to infer a target's inner state and behavioral logic.

It produced possibilities, not real images.

A profile of a real monster like this was a first for him since he had gained the ability.

"President, time is almost up."

Beside him, Wang Zhenguo reminded him softly.

The voice pulled Jiang Ran back from his thoughts.

Jiang Ran nodded and said quietly, "You go ahead."

Wang Zhenguo was curious, but tactfully didn't ask any questions.

He turned and quickly left.

Jiang Ran watched the two of them turn into a side street. After a brief moment of thought, he followed.

But halfway there,

Jiang Ran stopped.

The two up ahead were clearly looking for a temporary place to stay, with their return time drawing near.

They stopped at a five-story apartment building. After checking the lock, they opened the door and went inside.

Although this area had been designated part of the Safe Zone, housing assignments and management were still in disarray. Most of the homes were vacant, and whoever got there first could claim one.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran found another building nearby.

He locked the door and drew the curtains.

He checked the time: 11:47 p.m.

Thirteen minutes left.

He walked into the living room and spotted a desktop computer in the corner. A thin layer of dust covered the tower, but it was still plugged in.

Jiang Ran pressed the power button. The screen lit up as the system began to boot.

While he waited, he went to the window and lifted the curtain a little to watch the building the two had entered.

A faint flashlight beam appeared in a third-floor window, then went out. The two had evidently settled in.

The computer finished starting up.

Jiang Ran sat back down, opened a browser, and entered search terms based on the scene he'd just seen, including monsters from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

The search returned plenty of results.

But none of them matched completely.

Jiang Ran furrowed his brows.

Given the knowledge base available today, a relevant term should have turned up if one existed.

Was he overthinking it?

Or was it some kind of monster not recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?

If he was overthinking it, that would be fine.

After all, the image came from a profile and couldn't be taken as entirely accurate.

At worst, the other person had a taste for human flesh.

Or was a cannibal.

But if it was an unrecorded monster, that would be terrifying.

It could disguise itself as a human, chat and laugh with others, and even speak.

A monster like that hiding among people...

You wouldn't know you were dead until it was too late.

But there was no time to investigate in the Abyssal Void. Jiang Ran checked the time.

He shut down the computer and stood in the open space in the middle of the living room.

The familiar sensation of dizziness came right on cue.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his bedroom at home.

It was early morning in the real world, and everything was as usual.

Jiang Ran went to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a sheet of paper and a pencil.

Ten minutes later,

a lifelike sketch was complete.

It showed the upper body of a man around thirty.

His face and body were twisted and deformed, and his entire body was covered in gray-black feathers.

Jiang Ran stared at the drawing for a few seconds, then folded it up and put it in his pocket.

He still decided to ask a professional about it tomorrow.

Then he returned to the middle of the bedroom and sat cross-legged.

He took out the Heavenly Net Pouch.

With a thought, a pile of grayish-white Spirit Crystals appeared on the floor in front of him. There seemed to be over a hundred.

Before leaving, Jiang Ran had just taken a nap, so he wasn't tired at all.

He might as well cultivate.

Holding a Spirit Crystal in each hand, he closed his eyes and focused, circulating the Blood-Qi Circulation Method.

A cool energy flowed up his arms and into his body, merging with the burning qi and blood in his dantian before surging along the circulation route.

One, two, three...

The grayish-white Spirit Crystals crumbled into powder one after another.

Time slipped by as he cultivated.

When the sky outside began to brighten and the first rays of morning light filtered through the curtains, Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes.

He looked down at the floor.

The small mountain of gray Spirit Crystals had all crumbled into powder, which now covered the floor in a thick layer.

Jiang Ran sighed softly.

"They're running out so fast..."

In one night, he had used up more than a hundred Gray Spirit Crystals.

Clearly, the Gray Spirit Crystals could no longer keep up with his current rate of cultivation.

Fortunately, he still had Blue Spirit Crystals, enough to last through tonight.

But Jiang Ran wasn't too upset about it.

The results of a night's cultivation were tangible.

The total amount of qi and blood in his body had clearly increased.

At this rate, he'd probably master the Blood-Sensing Chapter before long.

Jiang Ran got up and stretched his limbs.

His joints gave off a series of faint cracks.

He went to the bathroom, showered, and changed into a clean shirt and trousers.

Once he was ready, he picked up his backpack, put his lesson plans and textbooks inside, and prepared to head to school.

His first class this morning was Chinese, so he needed to get to the office early to prepare.

But just as Jiang Ran was about to pull the door handle,

Ding-dong.

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Jiang Ran paused, frowning slightly.

Who would come looking for him at this hour?

He looked through the peephole.

Two men in suits stood outside. They were both around thirty, with straight postures and serious expressions.

Jiang Ran opened the door. "You are...?"

"Hello, Professor Jiang." The man in front immediately gave him a warm smile and took an ID card from his inner pocket. "We're from the Federal Cultural Relics Bureau. My name is Zhou Yuan, and this is my colleague, Xiao Li."

He opened the ID and showed it to Jiang Ran.

It was indeed an employee ID from the Federal Cultural Relics Bureau, and the photo matched the man.

Jiang Ran frowned slightly. "What can I do for you?"

Zhou Yuan replied warmly at once. "We'd like to confirm a few details about the Tang Dynasty tomb excavation at Cuiping Mountain that you worked on with Director Wang Wenjuan. Would you have a moment?"

Jiang Ran's thoughts stirred, but he kept his expression neutral and nodded. "Sure, but I have to teach in a little over an hour."

He stepped aside.

"That'll be plenty of time, Professor Jiang," Zhou Yuan said, nodding.

The two men entered and sat down on the living room sofa.

Zhou Yuan took a tablet out of his briefcase, his tone still warm. "Professor Jiang, when you took part in the excavation of Tang Dynasty Tomb M47 at Cuiping Mountain last year, you were mainly responsible for preliminary exploration and structural analysis, correct?"

"That's right." Jiang Ran nodded.

"When we reviewed the files, we found that before the main burial chamber was opened, you made several predictions about the traps inside."

Zhou Yuan swiped the screen and brought up a hand-drawn diagram. "According to the records, you thought there might be a quicksand pit in the middle section of the passage and an array of arrows hidden along both sides of the corridor. Both predictions were confirmed during the subsequent excavation."

Jiang Ran calmly looked at the analysis diagram he had casually drawn back then. "I was just making reasonable deductions based on common Tang Dynasty tomb designs and the signs of subsidence on the surface at the time.

Director Wang and the other archaeologists had far more experience."

"You're too modest." Zhou Yuan smiled, then subtly changed the subject. "But what we're curious about is the specific basis for those judgments. For example, how did you determine the depth and extent of the quicksand layer?"

Over the next forty minutes,

Zhou Yuan asked more than a dozen questions.

Every question concerned the preliminary work before that excavation.

After more than forty minutes, Zhou Yuan and Xiao Li stood up with smiles.

"Sorry for the trouble, Professor Jiang." Zhou Yuan put away the tablet. "Would you like me to give you a ride to school?"

Jiang Ran smiled and shook his head. "No, thank you. I usually ride my bike."

Zhou Yuan didn't press the offer. After saying goodbye, he hurried away with Xiao Li.

Jiang Ran closed the door and stood still in the entryway for a few seconds.

Then he turned and gathered his things. For the first time in ages, he got on his mountain bike and headed to school.

The morning breeze was cool.

As he rode, Jiang Ran thought back over Zhou Yuan's questions, looking pensive.

Zhou Yuan had asked in great detail, but not a single question had been about the cultural relics.

He had asked only about what they'd seen before going inside.

When Jiang Ran and Wang Wenjuan first arrived, the tomb hadn't been fully opened.

It was well preserved, and its internal mechanisms were complex.

The archaeological team had carried out extensive surveying and exploratory excavation beforehand.

With his knowledge of ancient tomb structures, Jiang Ran had indeed offered quite a few suggestions and helped them avoid several potential hazards.

Most of Zhou Yuan's questions had been about that part of the work.

But the tomb had been fully excavated in the real world long ago.

The artifacts had all been catalogued and stored, and the excavation report had already been published.

It was clearly unusual for them to be asking about the process now.

So it only took a moment to figure out...

They were probably asking about the tomb in the same location in the Abyssal Void.

Jiang Ran looked thoughtful.

It seemed that the replica in the Abyssal Void might have undergone some kind of change.

But this was ultimately something happening in the Abyssal Void.

If he wanted to learn more, he could look into it next time he went in, if he had the time.

For now, he had to take care of things in the real world first.

Soon, Jiang Ran arrived at school.

He parked his bike and walked into the office just as morning study ended.

The first class for Grade 2 Class 15 today was Chinese.

Perhaps their previous conversation about the supernatural and knowledge had helped, or perhaps the troublemakers simply weren't acting up today. Either way, the class was much better behaved than before.

Jiang Ran stood at the lectern and surveyed the class.

Quite a few students were actually taking notes, and their eyes followed his explanations.

[Chinese experience +3]

[Chinese experience +2]

[Chinese experience +4]

The notifications on the panel appeared from time to time.

When the bell rang, Jiang Ran closed his lesson plan.

He'd gained quite a bit more Chinese experience this time than last, a full 51 points.

It seemed that more students had paid attention this time.

Jiang Ran was deeply pleased.

Before ten o'clock that morning,

Jiang Ran left school early.

But this time, he didn't hurry to the archery club. Instead, he turned toward a private library in the old town.

This library wasn't very large.

But it had a rich collection, especially local gazetteers, facsimile editions of ancient texts, and obscure scholarly works.

Jiang Ran pushed open the wooden door, and the bell rang out with a clear chime.

Behind the front desk sat a round-faced girl wearing glasses, her head bowed as she sorted catalogue cards.

Hearing the bell, she looked up. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jiang Ran. "Brother Jiang, you're here!"

Jiang Ran smiled as he walked over. "Xiao Shuang, where's the teacher?"

"He's wiping down the books on the shelves up front." The girl pointed toward the depths of the library. "It's been a bit humid lately, and he's worried the books might get damp."

Jiang Ran smiled and nodded to her. "Thanks."

Then he headed for the historical documents section.

There, an elderly man in a gray Chinese-style jacket stood on an old stepladder, carefully wiping the books on the top shelf with a soft cloth.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran hurried over. "Teacher, let me."

As he spoke, Jiang Ran stepped forward and helped the elderly man down. Then he climbed onto the stepladder himself and took the cloth. "I'll wipe the books up there. You sit down and rest."

The elderly man smiled and patted his arm. "You rascal, what brings you here today?"

The elderly man was named Li Baishi. He had once taught Jiang Ran about identifying cultural artifacts.

Embarrassed, Jiang Ran rubbed the back of his head. "I've been busy with school lately, so I haven't had a chance to visit."

Li Baishi rolled his eyes at him. "So now you're embarrassed, are you?

"Come on, what problem have you run into?

"You wouldn't come all the way here at this hour if you didn't need something."

Jiang Ran didn't bother with formalities anymore.

He took the sketch he'd drawn that morning from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to the elderly man. "You know the Classic of Mountains and Seas and ancient tales pretty well. I was hoping you could help me figure out whether the Classic of Mountains and Seas or any other ancient texts mention a monster like this."

As he listened, the elderly man took the paper and put on his reading glasses.

His relaxed expression gradually grew serious as he studied the sketch.

His brows slowly furrowed.

He stared at the drawing for more than ten seconds before finally looking up, uncertainty in his voice.

"A monster... I don't think so."

"But there's a people who look a lot like what you've drawn."

Jiang Ran's pupils contracted slightly. "A people?"

"There's a passage in the Classic of the Great Wilderness: North."

Li Baishi set down the sketch, went to a nearby bookcase, and deftly pulled out a yellowed, thread-bound facsimile. He quickly flipped to a certain page. "Look here..."

He pointed to the text on the page.

Jiang Ran looked down.

"North of it lies the Kingdom of Hairy People. They bear the surname Yi, eat millet, and command Exotic Beasts. The people of the kingdom are covered from head to toe in black hair, are vicious and cunning, and eat their own kind."

There was also an illustration beside the text.

Though rendered in an archaic style, its hairy body, mouth stretched to its ears, and protruding eyes bore a striking resemblance to the creature in Jiang Ran's sketch—at least seven or eight parts out of ten.