Preaching

"Hey, you little baldy. You're actually pretty harmless."

"Kind of cute, even."

Fang Xian opened the Urban Legend Compendium.

He tapped the little bald head on the chibi figure.

Huh. The little guy even reacted.

The bald man with yellow teeth waved at Fang Xian and wiggled his butt.

Fang Xian said, "Oh, never mind..."

There was no way this thing would become his first urban legend.

After following Lü Yaoyao and the others today, he'd felt himself getting into the role.

At this rate, wouldn't he actually become a stalker?

Come to think of it, Song Yizhou seemed pretty perceptive.

Fang Xian had noticed that even while he was using Stalking, Song Yizhou had still sensed him to some extent, however faintly.

Clearly, Stalking wasn't a superpower. It reduced the chance of being discovered; it didn't make discovery impossible.

If he ever stalked girls again, he'd have to avoid the highly sensitive ones.

Wait.

Why was he planning to stalk anyone again?

No. This was all that damned baldy's fault.

What have you turned an upright, kindhearted guy like me into?

Fang Xian snorted to himself.

The next day.

After his three morning drafting classes, Fang Xian returned to his dorm room.

He was thinking about what to bring.

"What do you need to catch an urban legend?"

Fang Xian opened the Che Hu app and posted this question for the ages, then kept thinking.

"ID card, phone, lighter... and a power bank. Condoms."

"Some compressed biscuits and bottled water, too."

"Most importantly, the Fire Axe."

Fang Xian had prepared thoroughly.

"Xian!"

The dorm room door opened, and Zhang Yuhang and the other two came back with food.

"Xian!"

"I heard Lü Yaoyao was followed on her way back last night?"

Zhang Yuhang frowned. "Do you think I should go comfort her?"

Wang Dashan said, "Gao Lu already told me about it. Lü Yaoyao freaked out for no reason. Maybe the alcohol went to her head... But she does seem pretty shaken. Now that I think about it, Fatty, you really should check on her."

Fang Xian, the stalker responsible, felt no guilt upon hearing this.

So what?

Hmph.

Lü Yaoyao could use a little discipline.

Besides, I paid ten precious days of my life for it.

Zhang Yuhang noticed Fang Xian packing. "Xian, are you going out?"

Fang Xian slipped the condoms into his bag without drawing attention. "Yeah. I'm meeting a girl to go hiking this afternoon. Don't wait for me at dinner."

Zhang Yuhang chuckled. "Careful she doesn't drain you dry, Xian."

Fang Xian narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Why don't you worry about comforting your precious Mei first, you lovesick fool?"

Urban Legend Compendium.

Launch!

Opening ad.

[Super Fun Platform—Every Second Is Shopping Time!!]

[Quiver—Show the World Who You Are.]

Without another word, Fang Xian accepted the urban legend mission "Going Home."

[Urban Legend: Going Home]

[Urban Legend Level: Lingering Fear]

[Urban Legend Type: Unknown]

[A child covered in wounds wants to go home. Her parents have waited far too long.]

[Urban Legend Location: North Bank Garden, Xinlin Subdistrict, Jiangcheng District, Jiangzhou City]

"This mission sounds heartwarming. Find a missing child—no, she probably doesn't count as a child anymore. After all these years, she must be about my age."

The mission only gave him an area. Fang Xian followed his navigation and asked for directions along the way, finally reaching Xinlin Subdistrict at dusk.

Jiangcheng District was one of Jiangzhou's bustling areas, but it was enormous.

Compared with its thriving center, Xinlin Subdistrict on the outskirts looked a little run-down.

There were hardly any tall buildings, mostly older four- or five-story structures.

It was only a little after six in the evening, yet few shops along the street were open.

Most were dimly lit.

The place felt worn with age.

"A lot of the buildings still have murals in the style of the years around the turn of the millennium."

Fang Xian walked along the road with his bag on his back.

Evening was falling.

There weren't many pedestrians.

Jiangzhou Normal University already stood at the edge of the urban area, and Xinlin Subdistrict was even farther out.

"The millennium... Fifteen years of the new century have passed since then."

Fang Xian marveled at how quickly time had gone by.

He'd heard from older people that many frightening things had happened that year.

Jingzhou's most luxurious department store in history, the First Department Store, had been reduced to ashes by an unprecedented fire.

Ads for the Three-Eyed Child Prodigy had been everywhere, then vanished just as quickly.

And there had been that supposed Millennium Bug catastrophe...

People said many had all sorts of emotional attachments, good or bad, to the millennium and the years leading up to it.

Fang Xian didn't understand, but he respected it. He set the thought aside and looked ahead.

At some point, a plainly dressed woman of about fifty had appeared across the street, smiling at him.

She had an oddly unsettling air of kindness.

It felt strange in the summer evening light.

"Am I really that handsome now?"

"Even older ladies can't resist me."

Fang Xian touched his face.

Still smiling, the woman crossed the road one step at a time. Every step was exactly the same length, as though she were some kind of puppet.

"Hello, handsome young man."

The woman's smile looked forced, making him uncomfortable. With a withered hand, she pressed a flyer into Fang Xian's palm.

[The Living Heaven and Earth Church wishes you happiness every day.]

[Forget your troubles and let happiness wash away your sins.]

Below were several uplifting slogans.

There were also spaces to fill in a name and phone number.

Proselytizing?

Fang Xian gave her a gentle smile. "You have a good eye."

The council's laws explicitly stated that spreading religious teachings in public was illegal.

Still.

In recent years, it seemed to have become increasingly rampant.

The woman stretched her mouth into a grin and moved a little closer to Fang Xian.

A peculiar fragrance drifted from her, seemingly some kind of sandalwood.

"Are you a student?"

Fang Xian looked harmless. "Yes. I'm a freshman at Jiangzhou Normal University."

The woman gave him a thumbs-up. "A good student! A good student!"

Fang Xian had never been one to turn down praise. "Hehe."

As she spoke, the woman moved even closer.

She was almost pressing against him.

Now, beneath the fragrance, Fang Xian could smell the sour reek of sweat.

"Our church is holding an event. Would you like to come try it?"

"It's a traditional Jiangzhou event."

"It'll take half an hour at most. It'll be quick."

"Auntie will treat you to dinner afterward."

The woman's eyelids drooped, and her fingers trembled incessantly. She looked more like a puppet than ever.

Fang Xian looked intrigued. "Oh? Where is it?"

The woman said kindly, "This way. It's about a twenty-minute walk."

Fang Xian was clearly tempted, but his expression turned conflicted. "I'm having dinner at my uncle's tonight. Maybe next time, auntie."

The woman's smile faded slightly. "Your uncle?"

"Handsome young man, where does your uncle live?"