World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 41 The Ghost Reappears
Adria Hughes...

This is a name that haunts Lin An's dreams.

From a very young age, Lin An realized that he was different from the people around him in some ways.

That's a difference between the root cause and the essence.

This is very painful for the child because when he has done nothing and is incapable of doing anything, he cannot prove whether his ideas are harmful or simply unconventional and different from the norm.

If Lin An had a trustworthy, loving, and unique adult by his side, his confused life might have been somewhat comforted, but he didn't meet such a person.

Lin An received unconditional love from his father, but Lin Hainan did not have this painful trouble. He could always quickly integrate into his environment and get along well with everyone.

He couldn't tell Lin An how to live his life from now on.

One day, Lin Hainan mentioned Lin An's mother, Adria Hughes, saying that Lin An was just like her—a staunch mystic, a woman not accepted by the mainstream.

So Lin An began to learn about the occult, initially to please his mother, but gradually became obsessed with it.

When he was five years old, his father left the Dragon Kingdom. For some reason, he chose to cut off contact with Lin An and sent a sum of money to Lin An's aunt every year. Relatives said that he had started a new family in the Southern Continent; his mother took on the responsibility of raising him.

Lin An thought he could finally confide his troubles to his mother, but Adria told him:

She was very busy with work and couldn't stay in one place for too long. Moreover, she had no intention of playing along with Lin An's naiveté and wanting to gain recognition. He would have to find a way to keep up with her pace.

A few words touched a certain emotion deep within Lin An's heart, echoing repeatedly in a secluded place.

Regardless, Lin An was deeply disappointed at that moment.

Growing up, Lin An thought he had forgotten the role his parents played in his life, but he didn't expect that when his mother sent him a message, he would find it hard to keep up the pretense and his hands would tremble.

After a long pause, he wrote a defiant, evasive reply.

Cabin in the Woods: Sorry, Mom, I got a part-time job. To make commuting easier, I've been living at the company lately.

Cabin in the Woods: What date did you buy your plane ticket? I left the key under the carpet in the apartment beforehand.

It's unclear whether Adria noticed Lin An's resistance; her tone remained self-assured and indifferent, even somewhat pleased.

Adria: That's a shame, Anne. Mom will be staying in Dietrich for a month. Come back and visit when you have time.

Adria: Have you read those ancient books? What did you think of them?
The cabin in the woods: It's quite nice. Apart from ancient books, I've put all the other ordinary books in a bank safe deposit box, and there's a stack of stamped documents proving the storage in the apartment.

Adria: Is that so? You're wonderful, my dear child.

Adria: Your great-grandfather was an extraordinary Romanian nobleman whose connections and status allowed him to access secrets unknown to others. According to my research, the *Complete Book of Magic* is the only handwritten copy in the world.

Adria: I will also talk about this when I give lectures at the University of Ann Arbor. I will send the lecture schedule to your email in a bit. Remember to find some free time to attend.

Adria: Mom looks forward to having a real academic exchange with you, Annie.

Cabin in the Woods: Okay.

Lin An looked away from his phone and met Ruan Ruyun's gossipy face. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"It's my mom."

Ruan Ruyun's eyes widened slightly, her tone a little nervous: "Remember to say hello to Auntie for me and wish her a happy Winter Solstice!"

"Let's settle the bill, junior," Lin An changed the subject. "We'll split the main course and tip, and you can treat yourself to dessert."

"No, no, no, I'll pay this time. Next time, your senior can treat us." Ruan Ruyun playfully hinted, "When you have time, send me an invitation on Green Bubble."

The cold winter wind blew through the bustling city of Dietrich. Lin An saw off his junior classmate and headed towards the bus stop.

Pedestrians brushed past him. In this bustling winter festival, Lin An was isolated. Titan had banished him, and he allowed himself to drift away from the center of society.

Lin An gazed at the night sky beyond the neon lights. A bright moon hung above New Babylon, its soft light spilling onto the shadowy pine forests of the neighboring country.

The moon is rising.

A warm feeling of warmth and gratitude welled up in his heart.

The moonlight was dim, the neon lights were dazzling, but he knew that this light was already mixed with shadows projected from that world.

"Comers" embraced Lin An. The favor of the divine medium replaced the sense of identity with Titan, filling that empty corner of his heart and making him daydream.

What if radiation destroys the existing laws of physics...

What if Comors' orbit overlapped with Titan's...

I wish it could last forever...

The unrealistic thought flashed through Lin An's mind, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it.

Back in his apartment, he took out the third book in the series from the outermost shelf of his bookshelf. Lin An's recent goal was to translate this book and then add it to the system.

"The Complete Book of Magic III: Playing Pan's Flute - The Natural Worship of Those Familiar with Oak Trees." A few days later, Lin An leaned back on the sofa, logged into the World Tree Forum via the cloud, casually browsed a few posts, changed his location to Dietrich City, and looked through some interesting recent posts.

While waiting for the other two team members to pass the newcomer assessment, in addition to collecting documents, Lin An also wanted to find an opportunity to test the newly collected Tu Ting Secret Manual.

The "prophet" medium is too mysterious; no definite explanation of its effects has been found from the system.

True knowledge can only be gained through practice.

A headline caught his attention.

[Mirage or Reality? My Experience Encountering 'Orcs' Near the International Bridge]

…………

The four members of the foundation looked at the completely transformed dojo and were at a loss for words.

The police received a report from a mother and daughter. The moment they arrived at the scene, they knew this was no ordinary crime and immediately notified the St. Anne's Foundation in Michigan to report the incident, which was clearly related to "paranormal phenomena."

The four-person team that was handling the aftermath in another city arrived by helicopter overnight, and it was already noon the next day.

The captain read the case file.

"The deceased was named Kim Ji-eun, a Chinese national and an international student at the University of Ann Arbor. He bought this place about six months ago and converted it into an Aikido education and training base. During his studies, he occasionally did some fortune-telling business."

"According to eyewitness accounts, they met Kim Ji-eun through an Aikido recruitment advertisement. They overheard him revealing his divination skills and tried to have their fortunes told. Because of the extremely high accuracy rate, almost 100% correct, the mother believed it to be true."

"She didn't want to go into the details of what happened, but in short, Kim Ji-eun tricked her into performing an evil ritual on her daughter. The mother resolutely refused—here the daughter says she was interrupted—Kim Ji-eun was furious and locked them in the office, releasing 'zombies' to bite people."

"Zombies?" Caroline asked.

"The eyewitness's exact words. Perhaps he's Kim Ji-eun's puppet, if he's the medium of the 'War Emperor'."

“No, Kim Ji-eun is a ‘prophet’ mystic.” Vanessa withdrew her crimson hand that had been floating in the air. “This medium is weak in combat, but adept at blending into crowds, observing people’s expressions, and getting along with everyone.”

“Well, thankfully, they escaped,” Caroline concluded. “And the fact that they didn’t recognize the Mysterious One means they have no radiation levels and only need to be placed under ‘Level 5 Control’.”

“He’s the ‘weirdo’ Lin mentioned,” Hector interjected.

"Oh right, that name sounds familiar," Caroline suddenly realized.

"This is the second incident this month involving students from the University of Ann Arbor. Don't you think something's a bit...?"

“Vanessa, you understand the cunning of the ‘Prophet’ mystic. We were too negligent in not investigating ourselves,” the captain interrupted. “This situation will improve once Mr. Lloyd’s control team begins operations.”

“I hope so.” Vanessa said noncommittally. “Kim Ji-eun’s cause of death was ‘soul shattering.’ It’s exactly the same method as the previous murders. It was done by ‘the ghost.’”

Caroline looked around. The dojo was a mess. The concrete floor had been completely torn up. She also saw several clods of dry soil. It was as if an invisible hand had descended from the sky, digging three feet into the ground and turning it upside down. She couldn't help but gasp.

“We haven’t seen him for a week, and ‘Ghost’ has grown stronger, but we still can’t find a single clue about him. We don’t even know if he is male or female, human or monster.”

“This doesn’t seem like the work of ‘Ghost.’” Vanessa stomped her heel on the ground. “It’s not murder, but destruction of the scene.”

"Do you think there are two mysterious figures dealing with Kim Ji-eun?"

“It’s just a guess. The wheel-like marks that tore the earth apart, the stripes of dust—didn’t they remind you of a mysterious figure who follows the Witch of Bavomet?” Vanessa said cautiously. “A bird-headed, snake-bodied basilisk.”

The control team suddenly shivered, and after a long while, the captain sighed.

"Could it be that 'Ghost' has joined the ranks of the Free Mystics?"

The report was sent back to St. Anne-Loff, and less than three hours later, Doris lazily picked up the incessantly ringing phone.

"Hey?"

"Jin is dead."

Doris paused, fiddling with a small roly-poly toy, and said casually, "I glanced at the 'Holy Grail' back then. Could it be that he was eaten by the basilisk the moment he lost his protective charm? What a coincidence. Wasn't he quite lucky?"

"No, miss, a body was left behind. It wasn't the basilisk that did it." The processed voice buzzed, "But I don't have enough authority to know the specifics."

"Galla."

The roly-poly toy's head was pressed against the table by a finger, then bounced back in a circle.

“Understood. I’ll ask the witch about it. As for you…” Doris said lightly, “Well done, Cardenas, but I think you could have done better.”

The voice on the other end paused for a moment before replying respectfully.

“Yes, Miss Esther, no investigator in the field department has ever been, is, or will ever be able to obtain information about you—never.”

Thank you, Master Miaosheng, for the monthly ticket (I couldn't think of a better name!), and thank you everyone for the recommendation tickets and for following along!

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(End of this chapter)