The Adventure Begins After Midnight

[Paper Figure]?

That message had appeared in the Urban Legend Alert too.

Fang Xian didn't speak right away. Instead, he secretly watched the innkeeper's expression.

His face was naturally pale and sickly, so the innkeeper mistook it for fear and burst out laughing. "Scared you, did it, young man?"

"Really... it's nothing serious."

"Thousand-Mountain Lake gets a few strange stories like this every year. Since Tremble took off, there have been even more of them. They spread for a few months, then die out."

"Don't worry too much. Just keep an eye out for that fish. I reckon it's some vicious species brought in from abroad. At that point, whether it has a human face hardly matters."

Hearing that, Fang Xian relaxed a little. "Boss, you really did scare me just now. I'm a coward. Look how pale my face is."

The innkeeper laughed.

After joking with the innkeeper for a bit, Fang Xian headed to his room.

The inn's second floor was much like the first, with wood throughout. Dim lights lined the corridor. At the far end was a window overlooking a pond that seemed to connect to the countryside around Changzhao Reservoir.

"Oh, nice. They put my room at the end."

"If anything happens, I can jump out the window. A fall from the second floor probably won't kill me."

Fang Xian was pleased with the room's location.

As far as he could tell, he was the only guest on the second floor. It was quiet and convenient.

"One camera on the second floor..."

Fang Xian checked, but it wasn't pointed at his room.

He nodded slightly, swiped his key card, set his hand on the cold doorknob, and turned it.

The room itself was more or less as expected. Fang Xian first checked for hidden cameras, then took some spare clothes out of his backpack to lighten the load.

"It's 9:27 p.m."

Fang Xian checked the time.

Then he lay down on the bed to rest.

The innkeeper brought him a late-night snack.

Sun Heng and the other two invited Fang Xian to play mahjong in the game room. Fang Xian said he was a little tired and planned to turn in early.

Fang Xian also wondered why there were only three of them.

Sun Heng said in exasperation that He Qi had taken his fishing gear and a little stool to the reservoir to bait a fishing spot.

That made Fang Xian like He Qi a little more.

11:03 p.m.

Sun Heng and the others were playing Fight the Landlord in another small room.

Fang Xian could faintly hear them.

The innkeeper had probably gone to bed long ago.

Fang Xian put on his little backpack.

"Chirp!"

On his shoulder, Xiao Jiu gave a tiny yawn.

"Everything's ready. Time to go catch an urban legend."

Fang Xian looked out the window.

At some point, a light rain had begun to fall.

He had no idea when it would stop. Fortunately, he still had the artsy senior's umbrella he had gotten from Song Yizhou last time.

"Wake up, Xiao Jiu."

"Let's go."

Fang Xian spoke softly.

Xiao Jiu, looking like a white cat, answered listlessly, "Chirp!"

The stairs creaked beneath Fang Xian's feet as he made his way down and left the inn without a hitch.

The air outside was even chillier.

Perhaps because a typhoon was approaching, Fang Xian felt a little cold.

"But... it's fine."

With his backpack on, Fang Xian followed the road into the dark night.

The strange, fishy smell of the outdoors and the crunch of gravel underfoot lent the trip a touch of wilderness charm. Or they should have, at least.

"The signal's getting weak. I wonder if the map can still guide me to Changzhao Reservoir."

Fang Xian held his phone, a little worried.

He had never been here before, and the area wasn't fully developed. Some female ghost from the countryside might easily take a fancy to him.

After all, he was so good-looking.

"Right, Xiao Jiu?"

Fang Xian asked.

Xiao Jiu didn't really understand him, but ever since they had entered the dark path, she had stopped looking so lazy. She watched their surroundings warily.

A fence separated the path from the vast lake below, slicing its surface into sections.

About half an hour later, he arrived at Changzhao Reservoir.

The rain was a little heavier than before, though it was still only a drizzle.

Fang Xian decided not to bother with the umbrella and pressed on through the rain.

Before coming, Fang Xian had looked up Changzhao Reservoir.

It was a small reservoir that didn't see many visitors. Even so, people came to fish and swim every year, and every year, people died doing both.

Over the years, fewer people had come. Perhaps, after the annual drownings, the Council had stepped in to regulate the area.

There was almost no sound of cicadas in the rain.

[Deep water. Danger.]

Fang Xian lowered his gaze from the warning sign. His footsteps mingled with the rain as he walked to a gap in the fence.

He looked both ways.

Then he took the Fire Axe out of his backpack.

Curious, Xiao Jiu passed straight through the fence.

Fang Xian watched enviously and swung the Fire Axe hard.

A few swift chops widened the gap from barely large enough for a dog to one he could squeeze through.

"Phew. I'm pretty capable."

Fang Xian brushed at the mud on his hands. When it wouldn't come off, he wiped them on his trousers instead.

He crouched halfway down and looked toward the far bank.

Fang Xian noticed a dim glimmer.

"Xiao Jiu!"

"Go take a look for me!"

Fang Xian cupped Xiao Jiu's face.

Xiao Jiu chirped in reply and scampered forward on all fours.

But she couldn't cross the water. She stopped halfway across.

Xiao Jiu kept crawling with all four limbs, but couldn't move another inch.

She chirped and strained with all her might, but still couldn't do it.

She could only shade her eyes with a hand and look ahead.

From the grass on the bank, Fang Xian saw everything.

"Urban legends... no. At least Xiao Jiu's range is limited."

"About fifty meters."

Fang Xian was precise about it.

Once Xiao Jiu was more than fifty meters from Fang Xian, she could go no farther.

"Chirp."

Xiao Jiu returned at once. Unable to speak, she began gesturing to show him something.

Fang Xian couldn't make sense of it, so Xiao Jiu acted it out.

The little girl sat on a rock and waved something back and forth in her hands.

"Oh... an angler sitting on a little folding stool."

Fang Xian narrowed his eyes.

Judging by the silhouette, it was probably a man.

Was it He Qi?

Fang Xian wasn't sure, but there couldn't be many people fishing here at this hour, could there?

Until he knew who it was, he'd avoid making contact.

Fang Xian opened his phone and turned the brightness all the way down.

[Activate Caller Alert Service].

That urban legend was his real target.

Anything else was a bonus. Catching urban legends required a plan.

But...

Fang Xian was having a hard time with this one.

The previous [Go Home] mission had been confined to North Bank Residential Community, which wasn't very big.

This urban legend, though...

The whole [Thousand-Mountain Lake–Changzhao Reservoir] area?

Who the hell could find it in there?

It was like looking for an urban legend in a haystack.