Celestial Human Diagram-Chapter 78 - 68: Urban Legend

After leaving the invitation-only class, Chen Chuan attended a public lecture before heading back to his dorm. He had just entered the lobby when the dorm manager said to him, "Chen, a teacher from the Enforcement Department is here to see you."

Chen Chuan looked over and saw a young teacher walking toward him. The man first showed his Name Card, then said politely, "Hello, Chen. I’m He Mei from the Enforcement Department. You can call me Teacher He. I need to discuss something with you. Could we talk in your room?"

"Of course," Chen Chuan said.

He and Teacher He took the elevator upstairs. After leading the man into his dorm room, he invited him to sit and poured him a glass of water.

"Chen, please don’t trouble yourself. Have a seat," Teacher He said. Once Chen Chuan was seated, he continued, "I came to see you about Qiu Xin. The matter has been cleared up. Qiu Xin was entirely at fault."

Chen Chuan asked, "Is it because of Zhongwu?"

"Yes," Teacher He said. "Qiu Xin has always been close with Zhongwu, the student from your assessment. After he heard what happened to Zhongwu, he immediately resigned from his position and returned to the university to work as an assistant for various invitation-only class instructors."

"He’s usually a quiet person who works hard without complaint, so the teachers didn’t mind having him around."

"However, he also admitted that the only reason he came back to the university was to wait for an opportunity to attack you. He knew you would eventually attend an invitation-only class. He said that even if it took three years, he would have kept waiting. So, what happened this time was highly likely to occur sooner or later."

Chen Chuan found himself somewhat impressed by the man’s perseverance and obsession. After a moment of thought, he said, "Qiu Xin’s attack was vicious. If I hadn’t been prepared and something had actually happened on the platform, his actions couldn’t be excused as a mere accident. He wouldn’t have been able to escape the consequences."

"That’s right, and he admitted as much," Teacher He said. "He told us he had asked for help, but no one was willing to stand up for Zhongwu, so he had to do it himself. He also said that since he’d chosen this path, he didn’t care about the outcome. His only regret was failing to achieve his goal. But he has paid the price for his actions."

He paused for a moment before adding, "The medical report indicates his internal organs are under excessive strain. He will likely be bedridden for the rest of his life. Considering his friendship with Zhongwu, we’ve arranged for them to be together. We thought it was the humane thing to do."

"Is that so?" Chen Chuan said. "Thank you for informing me, Teacher."

Teacher He smiled. "It’s nothing. It’s our duty. Well, I should be going now." He stood up as he spoke.

Chen Chuan stood up as well.

"Chen," Teacher He said, "a tree that stands taller than the forest is bound to be struck by the wind. Be careful. But the more people target you, the more it proves how exceptional you are. I look forward to your future accomplishments." After speaking, he extended his hand, shook Chen Chuan’s, and then took his leave.

Chen Chuan thanked him once more. After seeing the teacher off, he went into his training room and resumed his daily practice.

As night began to fall, Cheng Zitong came to find him. He walked in and asked, "I heard about what happened this afternoon. Are you all right?"

"Don’t worry, Teacher," Chen Chuan replied. "I wouldn’t have gone if I wasn’t prepared."

"I’m not worried about that. You know what you’re doing," Cheng Zitong said. "Besides, you’ve mastered a Force Technique now. It’s wise to be cautious when you lack the strength, but once you have it, you must resolve your problems. There’s no sense in letting them fester."

"That’s what I thought too, Teacher," Chen Chuan said.

Cheng Zitong grunted in agreement. "I’ve already handled the paperwork for the Weapon Permit. But once you apply, a test mission could be assigned at any time. We don’t know what the content will be yet. Based on past cases, it will be one or more designated assignments, which could be local or in another city. So you need to be ready at all times. Use this next month to consolidate your skills as much as possible."

Chen Chuan nodded. "I understand, Teacher. The Weapon Permit is very important."

"Good. As long as you understand. You must find a way to get it, the sooner the better," Cheng Zitong reminded him again. Then, after a thought, he added, "Right, there’s something else I need to discuss with you."

"Your future training will likely require more real combat and more medicinal supplements. Your previous earnings probably won’t be enough. I have some commissions here that I’m thinking of having you take on. It would also let you gain experience handling them on your own. What do you think? Are you willing?"

"I couldn’t ask for anything more, Teacher," Chen Chuan said.

Cheng Zitong seemed to perk up at that. "Alright, then let me explain. Choosing a commission is a delicate matter. If the level is too low, it lacks prestige. Even if you earn an ’excellent’ rating every time, the clients won’t think much of you."

"And I dare say there are quite a few students trying for the Weapon Permit right now. High-level, high-paying commissions will definitely be fought over. That’s where connections and behind-the-scenes influence come into play. But it’s not worth competing for those, and it’s a waste of time. So, we don’t need to get bunched up with them. We can take a different path."

"What’s your plan, Teacher?" Chen Chuan asked.

Cheng Zitong looked at him and asked, "Have you heard of urban legends?"

Chen Chuan was slightly surprised, but he quickly answered with a nod, "I’ve heard of them. My uncle is with the Patrol Bureau, and he says most of these urban legends show signs of human involvement."

Cheng Zitong nodded. "Your uncle is right. That’s true for most urban legends, but there are exceptions. The next commission I’m arranging for you is to solve a case involving an urban legend. Don’t worry, I’ve researched this area for a long time. I won’t lead you into a trap. As long as you follow my instructions, you’ll be perfectly fine."

"Of course I trust you, Teacher," Chen Chuan said.

Cheng Zitong was very pleased. "Wait a moment," he said. He took a stack of papers from his briefcase and pushed them in front of Chen Chuan. "I’ve prepared this for you. This is the file. Take a look. I’ll handle the client. You just need to focus on completing the commission."

Chen Chuan took the file and began to flip through it. A thought stirred in his mind. ’Well Doll? I think I’ve heard of this urban legend before, back when I was a kid...’

In fact, almost everyone born and raised in Yangzhi City had heard the strange tale of the Well Doll as a child.

Legend had it that every year between October and November, after nine o’clock at night, if you poured half a bowl of soybeans and half a bowl of black beans into a well, a beautiful child would pop its head out from inside. The well water would then turn into wine.

Adults who drank this water felt nothing, but a child who drank it would fall into a deep sleep for an entire day. Children loved this because it meant they could skip school. However, most children would wake up with no memory of the past day or two, and occasionally, a child would become mentally impaired as a result.

It wasn’t as if no one had ever tried to solve the problem, but none had succeeded. In the end, adults could only keep a close watch on their children, yet stories like this would still pop up from time to time.

He remembered that his predecessor had tried it once as a child with a group of friends, but aside from wasting half a bowl of black beans and soybeans, they hadn’t seen a thing.

But as he continued to read through the detailed records in the file, he realized his predecessor’s attempt had been useless.

The "Well Doll" only appeared in the area around the Old City God Temple in the North Suburbs, and its appearances followed a pattern.

It always started in October, appearing in old wells in North City that were at least thirty years old, following a specific pattern. The file even contained a hand-drawn map showing the distribution of these wells.

Judging by the movement curve on the map, it seemed to follow the flow of groundwater. Therefore, if a well wasn’t directly on its path and you put the "bait" in the wrong place, you would definitely never encounter it.

Below the map was a paragraph written in red ink. It stated that if you could accurately predict the next well the Well Doll would appear in, you just had to draw a bucket of water from it a few minutes before nine at night. Then, after pouring half a bowl of soybeans and black beans into the bucket, the Well Doll would climb up the well wall and hop into the bucket on its own. All that was left was to take it away and deliver it to a designated location.

The file contained a detailed map that marked the location of every old well in that area, with corresponding dates noted below each one.

With this, the task became much simpler. Even if he couldn’t be certain at first, he had a general area and could use a process of elimination to find the correct target.

Chen Chuan looked up and asked, "Teacher, did you compile all this?"

"That’s right. I enjoy studying these sorts of things in my spare time," Cheng Zitong said. "The old man is always scolding me for not focusing on my proper duties. Sigh... what do you think?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment before answering seriously, "I think it’s wonderful. These mysterious phenomena present us with so much of the unknown. The feeling of exploring that unknown, the process of searching for answers... it’s a beautiful thing."

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