Ch. 83 - Black Mount—Urban Legend

Su Yuening froze at Bai Wan’s voice, then forced a sheepish smile, “No, no, I was just… going to the washroom…”

Bai Wan eyed her suspiciously. “The washroom? Then why were you sneaking around? You’re not trying to run away too, are you, hairy weirdo? You’re my best friend, you know!”

Su Yuening looked torn. She had just accepted Bai Wan’s expensive gift—White Hair’s Descent. The name might sound ridiculous, but it was something countless Para-Hunters would kill for.

To reject him right after would feel a bit… cold-blooded.

Sigh…

After a long hesitation, she put on a resolute, death-row expression. “Alright… but give me a moment, I have some things to take care of first.”

“Oh?”

“It’s almost my mother’s birthday. I want to prepare her a present—she raised me all these years, so let me celebrate it one last time. And my dog…I should decide which friend to give it to. Ah…and I’ve always wanted to travel across the country, so give me time for that too. Oh… and there’s this cake I’ve wanted to try forever.”

She pulled out a notebook and began jotting them down seriously, one after another.

Bai Wan stared blankly at her, watching her list things like she was drafting a will. “Uh… that’s… unnecessary. It’s just joining a team, not—”

Su Yuening ignored him, flashing a relaxed smile. “Bai Wan, when I die, please bury me with my grandfather. And whatever you do, do not come to visit.”

She paused to stress, “I mean it—never visit.”

Bai Wan: “…”

Come on!! It’s just becoming his teammate, not marching off to fight an unsolvable paranormal entity! The overreaction is absurd!

“I’m going to the library for a bit…see you…I guess.”

Head hanging low, Su Yuening left, mumbling a book list under her breath—The Last Leaf, If I Had Three Days to See, If Life Had Only Three Months Left…

Bai Wan’s mouth twitched. 

Why does it feel like, compared to an unsolvable paranormal entity, I’m the scarier one? Well… I do burn through friends pretty fast. That much’s true.

Hopefully, one day, I can catch another meteor shower and make another wish. Who knows if the first wish even got granted when it went back to Namek? Such lousy efficiency… unbelievable.

With the operations room now empty, Bai Wan lost interest in staying. Still, at least he’d secured one teammate. The second member could be Liu Tong—weak, sure, but cunning enough to survive.

…

After a brief rest at home, he deliberately prepared a children’s storybook. In reality, his bug physique was quite formidable—reading the right story could make it manifest, and since Black Mount was said to be dangerous, he needed every trump card possible.

He planned to recite The Old Fool Who Moves The Mountain ten times right in front of it.

If there really was a mountain god, the stubborn old man would tear it down.

Packing the book, he slung the photo frame on his back and boarded the high-speed train to Jingnan City. The train started smoothly—plus its survival rates were way higher than on planes.

Feeling reassured, Bai Wan leaned back, setting the frame beside him, resting his head lightly against it while listening to his family’s quiet chatter from within. Seeing this, his family went quiet, quietly munching the snacks he’d sent into the frame—along with some cat food.

This time, he’d brought them all along. With his sister now possessing the Hanged Ghost’s power, she was another ace in his hand.

He couldn’t help but anticipate—if all his family gained unique powers one day, his photo frame might just become the most terrifying paranormal artifact in existence.

Jingnan City’s layout was much like Lan City’s. As soon as Bai Wan stepped off the train, he spotted members of the Jingnan branch waiting for him.

A tall young woman approached warmly. “Excuse me, are you… Family?”

Luo Lan had worried she might miss him, but in the crowd, she immediately spotted the young man carrying an oversized photo frame, muttering to himself like he was mid-argument. Everything matched the HQ profile—constantly talks to himself, suspected schizophrenia, possible fetishism, and always carries a shabby photo frame.

There was no mistaking it, this had to be him.

“Yes, I’m Family. The name’s Wan—Bai Wan.” he nodded.

Luo Lan was taken aback for a moment before saying: “Oh, you can relax. We Para-Hunters have always been on good terms internally—no rivalries or hostile relations here. We’re all rigorously trained, so you can trust us. No need to give a fake name.”

Bai Wan blinked, then apologized. “Ah, my bad. My name's Liu Tong, pleased to meet you.”

“No problem, no problem. It’s understandable not to trust strangers at first—an honor to meet you, Liu Tong.”

“Everyone else from HQ is here already—we were just waiting for you. I’m Luo Lan, acting captain of the Jingnan branch,” she said with a polite smile.

She led him to the Jingnan HQ operations room. It was larger than Lan City’s but lacked the snacks and games—clearly a real ops room. Lan City’s was a little too laid-back…

Bai Wan thought ahead to having his own ops room someday and felt a bit excited.

But the real attention-grabber was the people already inside.

A middle-aged man with a fishing hook strapped to his back sat reading. Beside him, a blonde woman was scribbling notes, deep in study. 

Across the room, a cocky-looking young man lounged with his legs crossed, playing on his phone and swearing: “Idiot jungler… how do you get lost in the jungle?! Trash…”

Bai Wan narrowed his eyes. These had to be the HQ specialists for the case—each member radiated a powerful presence. Despite the imminent mission, they were completely at ease, focused on their own tasks. Clearly seasoned… and that also meant the case was serious.

Noticing Bai Wan, the three paused, eyeing the photo-frame-toting newcomer.

Luo Lan glanced at him, smiling. “Alright, the last one’s here—our captain for this operation, Liu Tong.”

She watched their reactions carefully.

None of the three were pushovers—

Su Lingling, deputy head of the Genius Research Division, hailed as the next Paranormal Doctor.

Jiang Zai, veteran A-rank captain, the strongest present.

And Lin Baoyu, a prodigious Para-Hunter—B-rank captain in just three months, already strong enough to challenge A-rank. Recently handled a major case and was riding a wave of fame.

Yet HQ hadn’t picked any of them to lead. Instead, the position went to Family, a complete newcomer…

Now, the three seasoned hunters turned their attention fully on the so-called legendary rookie.

So… this is him?

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