The Eldritch Files

”A distortion of fate?”

Han Su arrived at a room that resembled a tea parlor and knocked on the half-open door.

Inside the room, several people immediately turned to look. It was Xu Ji, Special Assistant Xu, and an old woman in strange attire. She wore a deep gray robe of a material that was not quite leather, her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in years, and she even had some bone ornaments on her person.

The one who had just spoken was this old woman. She must have heard Han Su approaching long before, and upon seeing him knock, she gave a slight nod.

Xu Ji, however, stared with wide, round eyes, apparently having not expected Han Su to be called over as well. Then, as if remembering something, he gasped in alarm and wailed, ”No way, man! Did you follow me home to tattle on me?”

”Mr. Han is here because I specifically asked for his help.”

Special Assistant Xu shot Xu Ji a glare before stepping forward to shake Han Su’s hand. ”Thank you for making the trip, Mr. Han.”

Before inviting Han Su into the tea parlor, he added in a low voice, ”After you two ran into that truck, the Master specifically invited this Mysticism expert to the house. The goal is to resolve the mysterious residue on him and free him from his status as someone who has had deep contact with the paranormal.”

”Honestly, after that expensive treatment, we thought the problem was solved. We observed him for a considerable period before finally lifting the Young Master’s confinement, but...”

At this, he glanced over at Xu Ji with a worried expression, shook his head, and sighed. ”It seems we were too optimistic.”

”You certainly should be careful.”

Han Su nodded. ”So why was I called here?”

”The Young Master wouldn’t run into these strange things for no reason. It can only mean that the residual Mysterious Power on him is still affecting him—or rather, distorting his fate.”

Special Assistant Xu said in a low voice, ”In that case, we need to determine whether the deepest influence on the Young Master is still from that original truck with the dead, or from something else.”

”You were together when you encountered that truck, so theoretically, you should have been contaminated in the same way. Therefore, if we have the scholar check whether the influence on both of you is consistent, we can get our answer. It’s just...”

He paused, then asked hesitantly, ”Mr. Han, do the rules of your... organization have any restrictions on this sort of thing?”

Han Su understood what he meant. He shook his head and smiled. ”Not for this, no.”

’So, this old woman is the expert the Xu Family hired to solve Xu Ji’s problem?’

Entering the tea parlor, Han Su sat down next to Xu Ji and slapped away the hand Xu Ji was extending toward his briefcase. He then looked up to size up the old woman across from them.

She looked like a reclusive and solitary old lady.

Her face had too many wrinkles, yet they didn’t seem to be from natural aging, making it hard to guess her exact age. Her clothes, meanwhile, gave off a neurotic vibe.

So, back then, Xu Ji had neither accepted hypnosis from the Disaster Management Bureau nor chosen to join it. Instead, his solution was to find a Mysticism expert outside the Bureau to solve his ”contactee” problem?

”Heh heh, don’t you worry, young man. We’re all people who have registered with the Disaster Management Bureau...”

Across from them, the old woman was also subtly sizing up Han Su. Her gaze finally landed on the briefcase in his hand, and she chuckled. ”However, we don’t usually have much dealing with people from the Disaster Management Bureau.”

”Our line of work is like treating illnesses.”

”We diagnose illnesses a person has, or illnesses that might appear. Using certain professional methods, we help people escape the troubles of the paranormal without their minds and wills being affected.”

”But for those who work for the Disaster Management Bureau, from top to bottom, what part of them *isn’t* an illness?”

She shook her head as she spoke, silently studying Han Su. ”Even their very existence has become a sickness.”

The two of them sized each other up, scrutinizing one another. Only Xu Ji, off to the side, was resentfully rubbing his slapped hand, thinking, ’Old Han has really changed. I haven’t seen him in just a few days, and he’s already so cold to me... ’

’He won’t even let me touch his briefcase...’

”...”

Han Su listened to the old woman’s words and nodded slightly, forming a theory about her identity in his mind.

She had opened by saying she was registered with the Disaster Management Bureau, which meant the Bureau knew about her. Could she be the same type of person as those from the Mysterious Organizations?

It was just that the people from those Mysterious Organizations were all insane. She, on the other hand, seemed somewhat neutral...

He suddenly smiled and retorted, ”If we’re all sick from head to toe, then what about you?”

The old woman gave a dry laugh. ”I’m sick beyond cure. All I can do is earn a little pocket money to enjoy life before those things come and drag me away.”

”Drag you away?”

Her strange choice of words caught Han Su’s attention, and he looked up at her.

”You must have already received training in Mysterious Power.”

The old woman looked up at Han Su and smiled faintly. ”Hasn’t the Disaster Management Bureau warned you? Anyone who comes into contact with Mysterious Power establishes a connection with those things beyond reality. This connection only grows deeper and deeper, until you’re dragged away by it.”

”It’s a gradual, irreversible change, like a magnetic force on your body growing stronger and stronger.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Xu Ji with a smile. ”The reason Young Master Xu encounters these things is also due to this connection at work. And the influence on us, of course, is far greater than it is on him.”

While speaking, she lifted a grimy box from her feet. After carefully opening it, she revealed a crystal-clear crystal ball.

Han Su couldn’t help but stare at it intently. Having just gone through the Crystal Skull incident, he was a bit sensitive.

Fortunately, though, it really was just a crystal ball.

The old woman placed the crystal ball in the center of the table, grabbed Xu Ji’s hand, and looked up at Special Assistant Xu. ”After that car crash incident, Young Master Xu was indeed affected, like a nail that has come into contact with a magnet.”

”I previously used expensive incense to fumigate his body, which is similar to degaussing him. In theory, it should have cleared away the hidden connection he formed from encountering the paranormal.”

”But now, it seems it wasn’t completely eliminated. The Mysterious Power on him is still affecting him, even more strongly than before. That’s why he’s running into these things.”

”...”

As she spoke, she placed her other hand on the crystal ball. Instantly, a red thread, like a tiny snake, appeared inside the sphere, swimming lightly within it.

The old woman released Xu Ji’s hand and nodded slightly at Special Assistant Xu. She didn’t need to explain further; the trace in the crystal ball proved her speculation was correct.

Special Assistant Xu rubbed his face, feeling a little helpless.

No wonder everyone said that paranormal entity haunting the highway outside the city was so troublesome...

”Now, let me take a look at the other one, and I’ll know for sure.”

The old woman cast an inquisitive glance at Han Su. Seeing him nod, she slowly took his right hand.

”This young Investigator must have many traces of Mysterious Power on him. After all, their job is to come into contact with these things.”

As she spoke, she slowly raised her hand and placed it on the crystal ball. ”I live in Qinggang City, so of course I know the rules. I won’t dare to look too closely, nor will I look at too much.”

”As long as I can confirm that this gentleman also has the same residual Mysterious Power as Young Master Xu, we’ll have found the root of the illness.”

In that instant, it was as if his own direct contact with the crystal ball triggered some kind of change within it. In the sphere where a single red snake was slowly dissipating, Han Su saw another trace suddenly appear.

It was extremely similar to the previous red trace. The two even seemed to be drawn to each other, as if about to swim together.

However, before they could touch, the first red trace vanished.

Immediately after, more and more traces of different colors began to surface in the crystal ball, creating a vibrant, multicolored display. Even the old woman couldn’t help but laugh.

”Truly worthy of someone from the Disaster Management Bureau. And you must be highly valued, or you wouldn’t have come into contact with so many things. But, young man, you...”

While she was speaking, all sorts of different colors and threads continued to appear inside the crystal ball, quickly filling the entire sphere. In fact, a few of the threads filled the entire ball the instant they appeared.

The old woman’s words trailed off. Her expression turned to shock as she stared at the crystal ball in disbelief.

”CRACK...”

During her pause, it was as if two different energies inside the crystal ball had expanded in an instant.

Vaguely distinguishable as black and white, they grew rapidly, devouring all the other colors and suffusing the entire crystal ball.

The next moment, these two energies actually collided. The instant they touched, the crystal ball was suddenly covered in cracks and then exploded into smithereens.

The abrupt event startled everyone present. Han Su frowned, lifting his briefcase to shield himself and Xu Ji, which saved them from being hit by the crystal ball fragments.

’Where’d she buy this piece of junk?’

But across from them, the old woman’s face had been scratched in several places by the crystal fragments. As if electrocuted, she flung Han Su’s hand away. Her aged body actually leaped up, knocking over her chair, and she scrambled away from Han Su as if she’d seen a ghost, crying out:

”This is bad! This is very bad...!”

”If there’s a problem, go to the Xu Family! I’m just a hired hand...!”

”...”

As she spoke, she grabbed her bulky bag from the floor. Ignoring the shattered crystal ball, she tried to leave, but Special Assistant Xu frowned and blocked her path.

”Don’t ask! You saw it yourself! It’s definitely related to him.”

The old woman anxiously cut him off before Special Assistant Xu could even speak. ”The residual Mysterious Power on them is the same! The distortion of Young Master Xu’s fate comes from him...!”