Kormir's Statue
Not only Big Head and the others, but most readers familiar with The Oriole's Pursuit had also picked up on one particular implication.
Although the relevant laws and regulations prevented the editors from saying it outright, what they meant was that this article had been adapted from real events.
The heated arguments in the comments below were all about that, too.
Most people thought it might be an entertaining piece Yingying Monster had put together, a ghost story of the supernatural variety.
This time, however, the author's reply beneath such comments was simply, "Maintain a healthy sense of respect and vigilance."
Those who read stories purely to pass the time naturally laughed it off.
Those inclined to take things seriously, and who placed greater trust in The Oriole's Pursuit, would not immediately believe that the evil spirit in the story truly existed, but their curiosity had certainly been piqued.
Some longtime readers on good terms with the editorial team also contacted its members privately through chat apps.
They asked things like, "Where did you find this story? At the end of the article, you said we could contact you if we ran into trouble. Does that mean you can find the expert mentioned in the story who drives away evil spirits?"
Since these conversations took place in private groups, Cui Ying and the others were not as constrained as they had been when writing the article.
They told them frankly that at least eighty percent of the events in the story had been faithfully reconstructed, and that they were currently unable to contact the exorcist either.
But if a reader really encountered something similar, the editorial team could at least contact the previous victim's family, giving them a chance to try finding the expert through them again.
After