Chapter 44: Ascending to Immortality via the Heretical Path

This man was an actor active in Hong Kong films in the real world. Thanks to his exquisite acting skills, he had won numerous trophies and earned the title of Best Actor.

He had once acted in a triad movie, and a line of his had become a viral meme for years.

"I have finished speaking. Who is in favor, and who is opposed?"

A thought stirred in Li Xuan's heart as he looked at the man and asked, "May I ask who you gentlemen are?"

The man was wearing a simple T-shirt and a jacket, his face full of exhaustion. Hearing Li Xuan's question, he reached out and touched the badge hanging on his chest, saying, "Taipei Police Department handling a case."

Huang Huo-tu, Foreign Affairs Division of the Taipei Police Department.

Swish, swish, swish...

A black notebook appeared out of thin air, its pages flipping automatically to reveal rows of text: [Contacted key character, initiating current world introduction.]

[Double Vision: Ancient Jiaozhi Taoist priests reincarnated as twins. The elder sister attained immortality within the womb, while the younger sister, Xie Ya-li, manifested in the real world and replicated a Taoist temple in Taipei. She used the "Five Pains" tortures to murder five "sinners," intending to use police officer Huang Huo-tu's hands to complete the "deliverance and ascension to immortality" ritual. Huang Huo-tu, eroded by hallucinations, shot and killed Xie Ya-li, enabling her successful "ascension."]

The plot of the movie *Double Vision* flooded into Li Xuan's mind in the form of a video playback.

He finally understood why he had felt a sense of familiarity when he first saw the newspaper headline about Liao Zhen-fu drowning in his office at the entrance of the bubble tea shop.

It was because in reality, when browsing short videos, he had stumbled upon a commentary about this movie.

Unfortunately, the commentator was a hack who only showed a quarter of the plot and cut off at a crucial moment, trying to lure netizens into searching for his name to gain clout.

Li Xuan refused to play along and did not search for it, which was why he only knew a small fraction of the plot of *Double Vision*.

Now, having "watched" the full version of the movie, he understood the whole story crystal clear and finally knew why the Taipei police officers, including Huang Huo-tu, were here.

To achieve immortality, Xie Ya-li imitated the ancient method of the Five Pains, slaughtering specific wicked people—the "human ghouls"—to accumulate merit before breaking away from her mortal shell!

Li Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly. Such a maneuver by Xie Ya-li was a path of crooked and evil magic.

She truly deserved to die...

Setting aside the human ghouls, take her two disciples, Lin Dao-sheng and Huang Yi-feng, for example. When the police went to the True Immortal Temple to investigate, in order to guard the secret of ascension, they actually incited believers to go on a bloody rampage against the police! Severed limbs and broken arms littered the ground, blood flowed like a river, and numerous innocent lives were harmed...

Those who seek immortality ought to be figures of righteous awe and virtuous individuals who have attained the Dao!

Their behavior had plunged them into the demonic path, reducing them to evil cultivators...

Secretary Liu's voice interrupted his deep contemplation: "Excuse me, what agreement did President Liao discuss with you prior to this? Why am I completely unaware of it?"

She was a woman of prompt and resolute action, and Liao Zhen-fu usually consulted her beforehand on most matters.

***

Although Li Xuan had already mastered the key intelligence, he still needed to exchange a few words with Secretary Liu to maintain his cover and leave naturally without appearing abrupt. Pondering for a moment, he raised his head and smiled:

"Naturally, it's about the wastewater treatment project for the Taipei factory. President Liao was deeply troubled by the villagers on both banks of the river; they kept reporting the issue, and if things went on like this, problems were bound to arise. As it happened, a middleman we both knew introduced us, so we met a few times."

Where on earth did this wet-behind-the-ears punk come from!

Secretary Liu's eyelid twitched. Although wastewater discharge was no longer a secret, there was no need to blurt it out in front of these police officers! Did she, the secretary of the Taifeng Group, have no pride to maintain?

It seemed that the Oiler Company, which President Liao had negotiated with personally before his death, was nothing more than a superficial, substandard firm. After all, major corporations would never dispatch such a foolish employee to handle negotiations.

Thinking of this, she said coldly, "Sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about!"

She couldn't even be bothered to cast her gaze upon Li Xuan. Sitting on the sofa with an arrogant attitude, she said, "President Liao's log of pending matters contains no record whatsoever of the words 'Oiler Company.' The Taifeng Group has been very busy lately. If we happen to find any cooperation contract related to Oiler Company, we will notify you. That will be all..."

Li Xuan put on an expression of "embarrassment."

The surrounding police officers also felt their heads ache upon hearing this, especially the team leader, who thought to himself, "This young man is completely clueless about social tact; he is practically as stubborn as Huang Huo-tu when he reported his own brother-in-law!"

Huang Huo-tu had no idea what his teammates were thinking, but hearing Li Xuan's blunt dialogue, a strange sense of finding a "comrade" welled up in his heart. In this world where black and white were indistinguishable and chaos reigned, where good and bad were hard to tell apart, they desperately needed such a straightforward young man to inject fresh blood.

Pity that he was just a company representative and not a police officer.

Otherwise, if they became partners, they would surely get along very well...

Li Xuan left the conference room looking crestfallen.

Huang Huo-tu sighed, looked at Secretary Liu, and said, "Liao Zhen-fu's cause of death is far too suspicious. This is a homicide case; it's not something you can just sweep under the rug simply because you choose not to pursue it. He died in his office. Strictly speaking, everyone working in this building, especially those who worked closely by his side, is a suspect. All of you must report to the Taipei Police Department before leaving Taiwan."

Secretary Liu felt her anger flare up instantly.

She stood up abruptly, stepped closer, stared at Huang Huo-tu's badge, and said coldly, "Officer Huang... Huo-tu, what a grand display of official authority! Merely out of suspicion, you want to restrict the freedom of law-abiding citizens who diligently pay their taxes every year! You will be held responsible for every single word you just uttered. I will definitely file a complaint against you..."

"Please excuse yourselves, gentlemen, I have matters to attend to!"

Skipping all polite formalities entirely, Secretary Liu left the conference room with a cold face, slamming the door shut with a deafening bang.

The expressions of the people inside the conference room varied; some gloated, while others sighed in despair.

The team leader reached out and patted Huang Huo-tu on the shoulder.

***

He wanted to say something, but didn't know what words to use. After choking back his thoughts for a long time, he finally said, "I know you're eager to solve the case, but leave the interactions with outsiders to the other colleagues from now on."

The few of them walked out, leaving Huang Huo-tu standing alone, dazed in his spot.

He licked his dry lips and caught a glimpse of his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling glass window—his haggard face, sunken eye sockets, and dark circles made him look less like a living person.

Why...

Where did it go wrong...

Huang Huo-tu walked out of the conference hall in a daze.

His mind was a complete blur: his wife's disappointed gaze, his daughter's silent treatment, his colleagues' alienated attitude, and the transfer order he received not long ago that reassigned him from the Major Crimes Unit to the Foreign Affairs Division.

Stepping out through the main entrance of the Taifeng Group, his colleagues had driven away without even waiting for him...

Huang Huo-tu looked at the bustling, traffic-choked street, suddenly feeling how unfamiliar this world had become. When he was young, he had aspired to become a hero who eliminated evils for the people.

Back then, the world in his eyes had a filter.

Good and evil could never coexist!

Yet...

Yet now, aside from his daughter, he had almost nothing left...

Out of the corner of his eye, Huang Huo-tu suddenly spotted a figure squatting on the concrete flowerbed beside the entrance—it was the young man who had spoken with such righteous sternness in the conference room upstairs.

The young man looked somewhat dejected, sitting on the edge of the concrete with his hands supporting his knees, his head lowered in frustration, looking utterly desolate... practically a carbon copy of Huang Huo-tu himself.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he walked over and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Li Xuan raised his head, his face full of sorrow and exhaustion as he replied, "Where else can I go?"

Huang Huo-tu felt a pang in his heart and spoke without thinking, "If... if you don't have pressing matters, why don't we find a place to sit and talk?"