Young women in Xianyin Village had mysteriously vanished since fifteen years ago. But every time the police investigated, they found no leads.
A year ago, someone from the Xuanmen stumbled upon the village and sensed malevolent god-like energy, reporting it to the SRB.
After a year of observation, the SRB decided to act during tonight's sacrifice.
According to their intelligence, every villager in Xianyin Village worshipped a malevolent god called the Twin Gods.
But in truth, there were no Twin Gods earlier. Only the over two-hundred-year-old scholar tree at the village entrance.
As the tree aged, villagers gradually revered it as divine. Many prayed to it during festivals and holidays, infusing it with human worship energy.
Scholar trees are innately Yin-aligned. Soaked in human devotion, it slowly developed god-like power.
Later, a wandering Taoist passed through Xianyin Village. He carved two pieces of wood from the scholar tree for the villagers to worship, proclaiming them the "Twin Gods."
From then on, every household paid homage to these Twin Gods.
The Twin Gods absorbed more worship, evolving into nascent demi-gods.
Lacking enough pure worship to ascend fully, it resorted to a desperate measure. Each year, it infiltrated villagers' dreams, demanding a young maiden sacrifice. It absorbed the girls' vital essence and life force to fuel its power.
This year marked the fifteenth sacrifice.
Success now would have elevated it to full godhood.
This was the SRB's verified intel. They were confident no other supernatural forces existed in Xianyin Village.
As Cai Zeyu puzzled over Yun Jianyue's conflicting account, a team member entered quietly and whispered in his ear.
"We confirmed it. The altar candles were tampered with. The sacrifice wasn't meant for the Twin Gods... but we can't trace who or what it was intended for."
Yun Jianyue lifted her chin. "So I was accidentally delivered to that handsome guy?"
The SRB agent jumped. "You heard that?! But I was whispering!"
"Obviously," Yun Jianyue retorted dryly. "This room is tiny. We're barely a meter apart. You think this is a TV drama?" She genuinely questioned the SRB agents' collective IQ. Most hailed from esoteric sects, secluded during training. Their grasp of modern life often did come from TV.
Cai Zeyu dismissed the agent with a nod. "An accident it was. Since you're unharmed, we move on."
"Aren't you pursuing that evil god? He's far more dangerous than the Twin Gods," Yun Jianyue pressed.
"The world teems with demons and monsters," Cai Zeyu sighed, weary. "We're swamped daily. No time to hunt an untraceable evil god. Besides, you said he resided in an underground palace—clearly uninhabited by humans."
Uninhabited meant non-threatening. They fought actual public menaces daily—no resources for a hermit evil god.
Yun Jianyue applauded slowly, genuinely impressed. "Spoken like a true master of the corporate slave soul."
Post-interrogation, Cai Zeyu compared notes. Yun Jianyue, Zhou Benxin, and Lu Changxue's accounts aligned perfectly. They were released.
Lu Changxue vanished into her jade pendant, delighted to recuperate. The SRB team packed up to leave.
"Hold it." Yun Jianyue snagged Cai Zeyu and Du Minghao.
Both men stiffened, bracing for yet another exhausting demand.
"Sis, what now? I'm off duty. Seriously done with overtime," Du Minghao pleaded. This operation wasn't even their jurisdiction. The local SRB had requested HQ backup, claiming they couldn't handle the Twin Gods. HQ dispatched their entire team. Now, finally clocking out, they faced a roadblock.
"Got any beginner's guides to the Xuanmen? Self-study stuff." Yun Jianyue flashed her friendliest smile. Tonight's ordeal cemented a truth: lacking skills meant walking death.
She'd subtly waved her wrist before them earlier. None saw the faint, shimmering red thread binding it. Its purpose was unclear, but her gut screamed it linked her to the robed evil god.
Cai Zeyu frowned. "Sure, we have books. But self-study? Not advisable."
Du Minghao yanked Cai Zeyu aside, whispering urgently about Yun Jianyue's previous "self-study success" with the ghost-binding contract.
Cai Zeyu choked back a shocked expletive. He composed his face, masking his shock. "Alright. Return to A City, see me for the books," Du Minghao conceded.
"Another thing: what happens to the villagers?" Yun Jianyue asked. Zhou Benxin leaned in intently. Though the villagers had attacked, for him, they were childhood neighbors and family.
Cai Zeyu answered: "Depends on police findings. Uninvolved in deaths? Probably fines, education, detention for illegal superstitious activities. Blood on their hands? Prison. Possibly death."
"Oh!" Cai Zeyu snapped his fingers, remembering. "Speaking of Wang Hui: sentenced. Two confirmed murders, heinous acts. Death penalty, execution scheduled in six months." He immediately bolted, desperate to escape before another task emerged. Si Wuming had sneaked out hours ago. They'd handled the grunt work. He was done.
The SRB agents vanished. Dawn approached.
Over the next few days, Yun Jianyue helped Zhou Benxin arrange his grandmother's funeral with proper rites.
As they left Xianyin Village, elderly villagers unconnected to the deaths were already released. They looked decades older, spirit broken. Their children and grandchildren had descended, lecturing them sharply on abandoning superstitious practices.
Driving away, Yun Jianyue saw the village entrance scholar tree. Though still standing, its unnatural aura was gone. Scorched wood fragments and snapped ritual candles littered its base.
"Worshipped for decades. Now... nothing," Lu Changxue murmured from the back seat, visible now Zhou Benxin knew her secret. Though lacking the resentment for corporeal manifestation, she spoke freely, unheard by Zhou Benxin.
"Their bodies absorbed the Twin Gods' Yin energy," she observed. "With the Twin Gods gone, they won't last long." In their final years, disease and misfortune would plague them relentlessly. The cosmic repayment her friend had spoken of. A darkly satisfying sort of justice.