Yan and Jue Jue had only been back ho for a few days when they received more detailed updates regarding the "Beautiful Red Envelope Group" case.
What they didn’t expect, however, was that the latest case records weren’t sent by Officer Zheng Yi or Sister Li.
Instead, the files were transmitted by Ding Ling, who had returned at so unknown ti.
Under the scrutiny of the state apparatus and the relentless, near-sleepless efforts of countless investigators, preliminary findings about the Beautiful Red Envelope Group had begun to surface.
Given the sheer number of victims involved, it was said that the country’s limited "suture masters" and "bone molders" had been mobilized—reconstructing bodies with almost supernatural precision, while restoring displaced souls seed like child’s play in comparison.
As for the mastermind behind it all, the so-called "Group Owner," his cris were so heinous that even death by a thousand cuts would be too lenient.
Manipulating human nature, harvesting lives, and inflicting unspeakable suffering were just a few items on his long list of atrocities.
According to the reports from Officer Zheng Yi and Sister Li, the Group Owner was soone who had acquired extraordinary abilities.
To Yan, this man was undoubtedly a "halo bearer."
He had obtained the "Red Envelope Group" program, allowing him to arbitrarily add people to the group, where "red envelopes" were exchanged.
But in this context, the "red envelopes" never contained money or material goods.
Instead, they traded organs, lifespans—things that, once lost, could never be regained.
If the Red Envelope Group were a scale, with its mbers standing on either end, then the Group Owner was the one controlling the balance.
He dictated the rules, manipulated the scale, and stood firmly on one side.
Within this group, he was a god.
Or perhaps, the unwilling mbers saw him as nothing less than a deity.
To make matters worse, the Group Owner was no ordinary man.
He was a practitioner of the occult.
A solitary cultivator, pursuing immortality through thods passed down in secrecy.
He mastered ghostly arts, conducted rituals in cursed lands, and summoned spirits with soul banners. From ancient tis to the present, he had gathered every sinister technique imaginable—all to push the limits of personal power, striving to refine his body into a vessel for ghosts, rge yin and yang, and transcend mortal lifespans to beco an "earthly ghost immortal."
Legend had it that centuries ago, his ancestral master had co within a hair’s breadth of achieving this breakthrough.
That master had even nurtured a powerful ghost king, but when he went to claim his prize, he vanished without a trace, leaving behind only fragnted manuals and ancient texts.
As the world entered an era of dwindling spiritual energy, this lineage had nearly faded into obscurity, with none reaching the heights of their predecessors.
Until now.
The current Group Owner had surpassed even his own master, reviving the darkest arts of the past.
Trapping souls, harvesting lives, nailing fates to banners…
And with the sudden appearance of the "Red Envelope Group" bestowed upon him, he was convinced his ti had co—that he alone could accomplish what his ancestors had failed to achieve.
Unlike the immortals of old, who sought only the harmony of yin and yang or the fusion of man and ghost, he wanted more.
In this modern era, power and wealth were just as enticing.
Why dirty his own hands hunting victims when he could let the truly powerful and wealthy do the work for him? All it took was the right temptation.
He preyed on human desire—on their deepest vulnerabilities.
Especially for those in power, clinging to their influence—who wouldn’t want to prolong their reign?
In the Beautiful Red Envelope Group, the label "beautiful" was rely a facade.
So mbers sought beauty in appearance, while others craved youthful organs.
Lustrous eyes, healthy viscera, nimble limbs…
"Beauty" was just the shallowest layer of what this group truly traded.
As for the naless realm Yan and the others had stumbled into—it was the Group Owner’s breeding ground for gathering resentnt, refining ghosts like venomous insects.
The investigation records left Yan and Jue Jue breathless.
And this was only a preliminary report. According to Ding Ling, deeper investigations were still underway.
Neither Yan nor Jue Jue had imagined that a single call from Lu Chen would unravel such a vast conspiracy.
"The comrades working day and night to investigate and rescue the victims… they’ve really been through so much," Yan murmured.
"That Group Owner is truly terrifying. Especially with the Red Envelope Group under his control—even the mbers end up manifesting halos," Yan said with a shudder.
"Looking at it this way, we’ve been lucky," Zhu Jue replied softly. "Halos manifest differently in different people. We’ve always encountered good ones."
Yan rested her head on Jue Jue’s shoulder. "That’s because there are still more good people in the world."
"If halos had fallen into the hands of evil people—or twisted them into monsters—the world would’ve fallen into chaos long ago."
"Though it’s already chaotic enough as it is," Yan added after a mont’s thought.
"But like Professor Gao we t in Bin City… the authorities must know sothing and have asures in place," she guessed.
Professor Gao, with the title "Space-Ti Diary" hovering above his head, was clearly not senior enough to warrant a bodyguard based on his age. Considering certain information, it was evident that this illustrious figure had voluntarily dedicated himself to the nation.
Yan exited the forum on her phone—the link had been sent to her by Ding Ling, leading to an internal discussion board.
[Yan]: Ling, when did you get back? Are you assigned to this case now?
Back in Bin City, no one had been able to reach Ding Ling. Her mysterious absence left everyone wondering what she had been up to—even the Special Case Unit had to contact her via satellite phone.
Unexpectedly, just days after Yan and Jue Jue returned to Ning City, Ding Ling reappeared.
[Ding Ling]: I got back a few days ago. I’m now one of the leads on this case.
Ding Ling’s fingers hovered over her phone as she typed and deleted words, hesitating before finally erasing the line, "Once again, I’ve troubled you all."
Since Yan and Zhu Jue had helped and then left without involving themselves further, it was clear they wanted to remain detached. Better not to bring it up—just keep the gratitude in her heart.
The ti Ding Ling had "disappeared" was spent dealing with personal matters.
Ever since discovering the remnants of the Nanyue tribe in Yangcheng and regaining her mories, the longing to revisit the past had weighed heavily on her mind.
She needed to find the place where she and Ding Ling had once been.
But ti had changed everything. The land beneath her feet had transford beyond recognition.
This was no longer the path she had walked in the past.
Yet, she wanted to see the ghosts of bygone days.
Ding Ling knew it was a futile hope, but she had to try.
She hadn’t told anyone the real reason for her journey, only ntioning private matters.
The once-wild mountains of Xiangxi, shrouded in miasma and isolation, had now beco tourist hotspots.
Her phone had signal, but Ding Ling chose not to contact the outside world, only using the satellite phone to confirm her safety.
She rembered the place where she and Ding Ling had been trapped—surrounded by endless mountains and towering peaks. When she had left, the dense forest seed to swallow her whole, stretching endlessly.
The mories were vivid yet distant. The terrain had shifted, rocks had moved. Using the routes of the corpse drivers she had once encountered, Ding Ling cross-referenced historical records of Xiangxi’s corpse-driving paths from the Special Case Unit’s archives.
She walked those ancient roads, slow and deliberate, pausing often.
Ding Ling deliberately abandoned modern conveniences, trying to reconnect with the past.
She retraced every docunted path, visited every marked location, but still couldn’t find the place where they had once been trapped.
Originally, she had planned to make one last search before the sester began, but a recent satellite call shattered that plan.
Xiao Gua inford her that they had found the person behind the "Soul-Imprisoning Array" used to harm Xie Jin—a major case. She rushed back imdiately.
It wasn’t the sa dark practitioner from back then, but a descendant of that lineage.
From Xiao Gua, Li, and other mbers of the Special Case Unit, Ding Ling learned what had happened in her absence.
When she heard that Yan had sohow acquired a door capable of "ti travel," Ding Ling wasn’t shocked or surprised.
This was Yan, after all!
Nothing Yan did could ever be unexpected.
The owner of that wooden door might even be a descendant of theirs.
As for Yan and Zhu Jue leaving imdiately after delivering the door, Ding Ling thought, "Typical of them."
Strike hard, solve the critical problem, then vanish as if nothing happened—she was used to their style.
[Yan]: Glad you’re back~
Reading Yan’s ssage, Ding Ling couldn’t help but smile.
In truth, she had been summoned back by Yan.
During her ti in Xiangxi, she had missed countless ssages from Yan and their friends.
While she hadn’t found the place from her past, Yan had already captured the dark practitioner’s descendant—the "Group Leader."
Perhaps she could uncover clues about the past from him.
Before returning from Xiangxi to Bin City, Ding Ling wasn’t sure if she’d find any answers.
But sothing told her that the place she sought might lie sowhere in the Wuling Mountains.
So, before leaving, she visited one of Xiangxi’s most famous landmarks—the Zhangjiajie Tiann Mountain, renowned for its wingsuit flying.
Standing at this place, said to be the closest to heaven, Ding Ling looked down at the land below.
She thought to herself, if Ding Ling were still here, she’d probably blurt out, "So many people!"
What had once been a desolate, scarcely populated wilderness was now a bustling 5A-rated tourist attraction.
Amid the cacophony of loudspeakers, cara shutters, and chatter, only the wind flowing beneath the Heavenly Gate seed to hear her whisper.
"Ding Ling, I’ve returned from your holand in Songjiang."
"This place has changed so much. I couldn’t find where you are."
"If I still can’t locate where we once were after this trip, I’ll co back to this gate and tell you about it next ti."
"It’s very high up here. There’s wind."
"The wind chis ring with every breeze, and you should be able to hear them."
"You once told I'm the biggest, loudest, and most extraordinary little chi in the world."
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