21 Zhu Shi2

Continue talking about Zhuang Cheng, but this topic still has to start with his brother.

Although it was our family's original plan to pass the Magic Artifact to my brother, he was actually not favored at home.

Or rather, it was because he was not favored that he was chosen as the inheritor in the first place.

The standard of the Zhu family's demon hunters had been declining generation by generation. By my grandfather's generation, there were already plans to withdraw from the demon hunter world.

However, withdrawing was not something that could be achieved overnight. The Zhu family still had some unresolved grudges and favors in the demon hunter world, and either my brother or I needed to step up as a transition. Grandfather was fed up and wary of the demon hunter world, so he decided to place this perilous responsibility on my brother.

My brother's position in the family was awkward—our father was an outsider who had married into the family, and my brother was his illegitimate child from an affair. My mother was deeply loved by my grandfather, so naturally, Grandfather deeply resented father's affair and was unable to show any affection towards my brother.

Logically, since my brother was to become a family demon hunter, the family was in need of him, and showing disdain was inappropriate. Moreover, the blame should have fallen on my father. However, understanding something rationally does not mean emotions are easily managed. Grandfather was someone incapable of hiding his love and hate. With our father missing for many years, and unable to be confronted, Grandfather's accumulated rage had nowhere to vent.

In such an environment, my brother was exceptionally depressed. Since high school, he had developed the bad habit of getting into troubles with unsavory friends, and hence I progressively distanced myself from him, and his behavior worsened after he started university.

Since his reckless behavior intensified, the disasters he caused outside naturally compounded. I later heard that he was somehow blindfolded, kidnapped to the wilderness, and severely beaten up by someone's hired thugs.

Though the beating did not break his bones, it was not because he was tough, nor was it that the attackers showed mercy; rather, he was rescued by a passerby during the beating.

This rescuer was none other than Zhuang Cheng, who was at the time investigating strange events in the wilderness.

The two only truly got to know each other at this point, although my brother had long admired Zhuang Cheng from one side. Being rescued by the one he had long respected, my brother was of course deeply grateful and took the initiative to befriend him, and their relationship was quite good during this period.

However, this did not last long, as Zhuang Cheng soon heard about the past misdeeds of my brother, even witnessing him in the act. This time, Zhuang Cheng rescued the victim, gave my brother a beating, and broke off their relationship on the spot.

This incident dealt a heavy blow to my brother. After reflecting deeply, he gradually changed himself and eventually reestablished a friendship with Zhuang Cheng.

Their relationship is now very good—at least that's what my brother boasts to me. I don't know if it's true or false.

I am very happy about my brother's transformation and also immensely grateful to Zhuang Cheng.

At the same time, I also became worried.

In the future, Zhuang Cheng is very likely to encounter real supernatural beings. If it were an honest, normal-living person, it would not be easy to encounter such things, but someone like Zhuang Cheng—who is "not honest"—might already have encountered them... It's not just the frequent odd occurrences in recent years; he might have been exposed to strange events even in his childhood. Otherwise, why would he so steadfastly track down clues of these strange events?

His middle school classmates mentioned that he used to stare obsessively at candles, as if possessed by something filthy... Could this distinctive behavior also be an influence of some external supernatural force?

More importantly, will he bring danger to those around him in the future?

To confirm this, I arranged to meet him personally through my brother's connection.

It was the Winter Solstice of the twenty-second year, and I was still in my senior year of high school, planning to apply to Saltwater University, where my brother and Zhuang Cheng were studying. The meeting place was set near a commercial center close to Saltwater University. The pretext I used was "to go to the newly opened hotpot restaurant nearby," where I saw him and my brother at a steaming-hotpot table.

Seeing is believing. Just by looks alone, one could hardly imagine he was someone filled with wild, fantastical thoughts.

He was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, his down jacket hung over the back of the chair. He wasn't playing with his phone but was intently staring at the bubbling white broth of the heating hotpot, seemingly daydreaming. At a glance, from appearance to dress, he looked no different from any ordinary college student you might see on the street.

If there was something particularly distinctive, it was that he seemed aloof, not concerned with the realistic matters around him, often likely to be immersed in his inner world.

But is that really so special? Isn't that how many young people are?

When I walked over, he just glanced at me once before his attention returned to the hotpot. I understood; I also really wanted to eat hotpot, and when eating with friends, I preferred to focus more on eating than chatting.

"My sister is here," my brother introduced me from across the table, "little sis, this is Zhuang Cheng. Ah Cheng, this is my sister, Zhu Shi."

Seeing Zhuang Cheng turn his gaze back to me, I recalled the many "insensitive" things he had done in the past, and I couldn't help but feel a blend of respect and the desire to keep my distance, involuntarily addressing him with: "Senior Brother Zhuang, hello, I am Zhu Shi."

He was firstly taken aback, then said, "Sister Zhu... no, Zhu Shi, you can just call me Zhuang Cheng."

"Okay..."

Unless the person is an older relative, I also usually prefer to call someone by their name directly.

In daily life, I played the role of an ordinary person. The problem was, I didn't know what it was like to grow up as an ordinary person. I forget who once said that when a person imitates a role they are not familiar with, they often reflect the stereotypes about that role. My portrayal of my normal self was based on those powerless women I had read about in online novels, sometimes I might have overdone it.

That is to say, well, how should I explain this, in short, some people in class would say I was somewhat too dramatic. Unlike when I was working as a demon hunter, my usual speaking tone was quite different. By the time I realized this wasn't working, it was too late to change; those who were consistent inside and out probably wouldn't understand how hard it is to defy the "persona" one has already crafted.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, have you ever encountered ghosts or demons?" I found an opportunity at the dinner to ask the question that served as the purpose of this trip.

Zhuang Cheng did not correct me again, but just shook his head regretfully, "No, not even once."

"Really?" I doubted.

"I really wish it were a lie," he said, helplessly pulling at the corner of his mouth, his expression of coming away empty-handed seemed genuine.

I still found it hard to believe.

Though not as enthusiastic as my brother, I had also continuously followed up on the investigations into Zhuang Cheng, which yielded suspicious results. In this era when the supernatural was becoming increasingly active, it seemed as though Zhuang had no findings in his supernatural investigations.

I had also visited places he had investigated; these places weren't completely normal—some even harbored brazenly disruptive demons. And yet, he always seemed to just miss them, as if... as if the supernatural occurrences themselves were afraid of him.

Could that be possible?

Or was it that he had remained out of harm's way until today purely because of good luck?

I was more inclined to believe he was hiding his actual encounters.

However, after multiple rounds of tests, my heart gradually leaned toward believing his statements were all true.

Following that, I tried to persuade him to give up investigating the supernatural. Clearly, my pleas couldn't sway his resolve, which he had held for many years. Similarly, I had no way to persuade my brother to cut ties with him; privately, my brother was downright his hardcore fan.

I had no choice but to exchange contact information with him, using the excuse of wanting to stay updated about my brother's situation to chat with him online and gather intelligence about his activities, keeping a close watch on his moves. Though we didn't meet often in person, our online interactions were numerous.

Unconsciously, I too developed a considerable fondness for him.

Contrary to the rumors, he wasn't a reckless madman, but a rational and conscientious young man who just loved ghost stories more than anyone and occasionally acted heroically.

At least that's what I believed.

That's why I thought all the more that he shouldn't be involved in the supernatural... entangled in the dangers of our world.

He was also someone I, as a demon hunter, needed to protect.

Then, the night before yesterday, my brother told me about the "cave".

Only then did I learn that he had recently moved into a house that a Fallen Demon Hunter had worked a case in, but since I couldn't reveal my identity as a demon hunter in front of him, I had no choice but to ask Agent Kong to investigate the authenticity first.

Unexpectedly, Agent Kong not only confirmed the existence of the cave and the ritual array but also brought me another shocking piece of news—my brother had actually taken Zhuang Cheng to see the cave and ritual array firsthand.

This turn of events nearly made me blackout.

It wasn't Zhuang Cheng who brought the supernatural occurrences to my brother, but my brother who introduced them to Zhuang Cheng?

What are you doing, brother?

Given my brother's timidly cautious nature, he most likely wouldn't approach the cave on his own, but what about Zhuang Cheng? He must have been eager to investigate the cave. Such a clear-cut supernatural event wouldn't escape the notice of someone like him.

Though I heard the cave had temporarily disappeared, since it had appeared a second time, it would surely appear a third and a fourth time soon... What if he decided to risk entering the cave to investigate it...

No, no, no, that's still not possible.

Even someone as obsessively determined as him wouldn't risk entering such an unknown realm, knowing full well that the entrance could disappear at any moment.

Just in case, once it's daylight and other demon hunters have come to relieve me, I'll immediately go and deal with the cave situation.

I am Luo Mountain's demon hunter, and Zhuang Cheng is now also my friend. Even if it's out of personal feelings, I must protect his life and rescue him from the potential dangers of the supernatural.