Qingfeng Longying Xianfei Jue

At three in the morning in London, a thick fog, like a heavy shroud, shrouded the entire city. The streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow, struggling to create blurry patches of light in the fog. A black carriage sped past, its wheels crunching over the cobblestones with a crisp, rapid sound, breaking the deathly silence of the night.

Inside the detective agency, Linton sat at his desk piled high with documents, studying old case files by the flickering candlelight. The kerosene lamp on the desk suddenly flickered a few times, casting a swaying shadow on the wall, as if something indescribable was lurking in the darkness. Just then, a rapid knocking sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Linton put down the documents in his hand, stood up, and straightened his slightly wrinkled shirt. The door was pushed open abruptly, and a thin, flustered young man rushed in. His hair was disheveled, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his clothes were stained with mud.

“Mr. Linton, I…I need your help!” The young man’s voice trembled. “My name is Tom, and my sister Lucy has gone missing. She went out yesterday evening and hasn’t come back. I’ve searched everywhere she might have gone, but I haven’t found any clues.”

Linton frowned slightly, his gaze sharp as he looked at Tom: "Don't rush, take your time. Let's start with what happened before Lucy left."

Tom took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down: "Yesterday afternoon, Lucy received a letter and seemed very upset after reading it. I asked her what was wrong, and she just said she had to go out to take care of some things. I wanted to go with her, but she insisted on going alone."

Linton seemed thoughtful, picked up the notebook on the table and began to take notes: "Is that letter still there? Did you pay attention to the contents of the letter or the sender?"

Tom shook his head: "Lucy took the letter. But I remember the envelope was black with a strange badge on it, like a coiled snake."

“The serpent emblem…” Linton murmured to himself, his mind racing through several recent bizarre cases. The victims in these cases were all young women who had received letters bearing the serpent emblem before their mysterious disappearances, their whereabouts unknown to this day. Linton had a vague feeling that these cases were intricately connected, and that Lucy's disappearance might be the key to uncovering the truth.

The next morning, Linton took Tom to the neighborhood where Lucy had disappeared to investigate. The streets reeked of coal smoke, and pedestrians hurried by, seemingly indifferent to the tragedy unfolding around them. Linton carefully observed the buildings and shops on both sides of the street, trying to find some clues.

Linton stopped in front of a bakery. He noticed the shop owner's expression was strange; when asked if he had seen Lucy, the owner's eyes darted around, and he stammered that he didn't remember her. Linton's keen intuition told him the owner was lying.

“Boss, please think about it again. Lucy is a young and beautiful girl, wearing a blue dress, who passed by here yesterday evening.” Linton’s voice was deep and powerful, his eyes fixed on his boss.

The boss's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his hands unconsciously rubbed his apron: "Well... I did see her. Yesterday evening, a man in a black cloak stopped her, they said a few words, and then Lucy followed that man. I thought it was a little strange at the time, but I didn't think much of it."

"Did you get a good look at the person in the cloak?" Tom asked eagerly.

The shopkeeper shook his head: "The fog was too thick, I could only see a blurry outline, I couldn't make out his face. However, I noticed that he was wearing a ring on his hand, with a snake pattern on it."

Linton's heart skipped a beat; this case seemed far more complex than he had imagined. He decided to start his investigation with the serpent emblem and the ring. After some inquiries, Linton learned that the serpent emblem was the symbol of a mysterious organization called the "Shadow Order." This organization had been lurking in the shadows of London for years, engaging in various shady dealings, and was rumored to possess immense power and mysterious abilities.

Linton realized that to find Lucy, he needed to gain a deeper understanding of the Shadow Order. Through his network, he contacted an informant who had previously been in contact with the Shadow Order. The informant met Linton in an abandoned warehouse; he appeared very nervous, constantly looking around.

“Mr. Linton, you’d better be careful. The Shadow Order is not to be trifled with; their informants are all over London,” the informant said in a low voice. “All I know is that they’ve been conducting a secret ritual recently that requires the blood of young women. Those missing girls are very likely victims of their ritual.”

Linton's expression turned serious: "Do you know where their ceremony is held?"

The informant shook his head: "I don't know the exact location, but I heard they have a secret outpost on the banks of the Thames."

After saying goodbye to their informant, Linton and Tom immediately headed to the Thames. Night fell again, the fog grew thicker, and an eerie atmosphere permeated the Thames. They cautiously searched along the riverbank when suddenly, Linton spotted an abandoned factory ahead, surrounded by a pungent chemical odor.

“Tom, I think this place is suspicious. Let’s be careful,” Linton said in a low voice, pulling a pistol from his pocket.

The two approached the factory quietly and peered through the dilapidated windows. In the dim light, a group of people dressed in black robes formed a circle, and in the center lay a young woman—Lucy. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and she wore a white ceremonial robe.

"Lucy!" Tom couldn't help but shout. Linton quickly covered his mouth: "Don't make a sound, we have to think of a way to save her."

Just then, a tall, masked man stepped forward, holding a dagger and muttering incantations. Linton knew the ritual was about to begin, and if he didn't stop it in time, Lucy's life would be in danger.

Linton and Tom rushed into the factory. Linton, holding a pistol, shouted, "Don't move! Your actions have been exposed!"

The members of the Shadow Order were stunned by this sudden turn of events, momentarily at a loss. The masked man reacted, brandishing a dagger and charging at Linton. Linton nimbly dodged the attacks, engaging him in a fierce struggle. Tom seized the opportunity to rush towards Lucy and untie the ropes binding her.

After a fierce battle, Linton successfully subdued the masked man, and the other members of the cult scattered like birds. Linton removed the mask from the man and discovered that he was a nobleman who had once been quite famous in London's high society.

"Why did you do that?" Linton asked angrily.

The nobleman sneered, "To gain greater power, only through this ritual can we control the fate of this city."

Linton shook his head: "This is insane! You will pay for it."

After handing the nobleman over to the police, Linton and Tom left the factory with Lucy. The morning sun pierced through the mist, illuminating the streets and alleys of London, as if to dispel all darkness. Linton knew that although the case was closed, countless secrets and crimes still lurked in the dark corners of London, waiting for him to uncover them.