As day fell, Tiandu City lay beneath an eerie red sunset that cast long, twisting shadows across the streets and buildings. The sky was a turbulent hue of deep crimson and maroon, swirling like a raging sea. It looked as if the sky was bleeding, a vivid warning to those who dared to gaze upon it. Zhuo Yichen, chief investigator of the Zhuo Gui Agency, sat in his office on the top floor of a skyscraper, watching through the large window that framed this unsettling spectacle.
The air inside the office was charged with an almost palpable energy that extended beyond a normal person's senses. Only those like him, gifted with paranormal abilities, could perceive this dark energy seeping from the horizon, snaking through the veil like wisps of smoke. The strange feeling vibrated against his skin, sending tingles down his spine as if invisible eyes were watching him from beyond the veil of reality.
Yichen's office was dimly lit, adorned with protective talismans and a few relics they had collected over years of ghost hunting, on a long shelf next to the reference books and files. Shadows danced along the glass as he flicked on a lamp. The remnants of daylight barely reached him now, swallowed by the sinister glow emanating from beyond. He could almost hear whispers in the wind, echoes of lost souls yearning for release. It was the price he paid for being born with a gift too strong for a single human to possess.
From birth, Zhuo Yichen was special. His dark blue eyes, coming from a Chinese family that had never mingled with foreigners, were just one visible aspect of how different he was from the rest. Then, as he grew up, his latent abilities began to awaken one after another, making the difference even more evident, even though he was born into a family of ghost hunters, already accustomed to paranormal phenomena.
The gifts bestowed upon him, perhaps by the heavens themselves, proved to be too powerful for a child to handle, and so his training, which might have begun when he was a little older, was rushed so that he could learn to control and channel all that inner spiritual power that was too strong to contain. Thus, his training began when he was old enough to understand and follow instructions, at the tender age of six.
Of course, in the old world where the paranormal was something worthy of fantasy novels, movies, television series, or at most, pseudoscience (not completely ruled out, but not completely proven either), his abilities would have been problematic and a cause of great distress for him and the rest of his family every time he lose control in front of other people that didn't understand about the things that existed beyond the veil.
However, fortunately for him, he grew up in the modern world where supernatural phenomena were now a legitimate science and almost an everyday occurrence somewhere in the country (or rather, like in most parts of the world), his skills, as well as the teachings his family had passed down through generations, make him valuable in the role of a paranormal ghost hunter, and an essential member when called to places where some sort of disturbance has occurred, to conduct investigations and ultimately deal with the problem, be it a simple bonding spirit or a summoned lesser demon.
The list of paranormal beings who crossed realms or simply stayed out of spite or resentment was endless, but their Zhuo Gui Agency specialized in cases that conventional ghost hunting agencies couldn't handle, as spirits or even monsters were too dangerous for humans without proper training or natural abilities, like theirs. Their impeccable work well done had earned them an enviable reputation that placed their Zhuo Giu Agency at the top of an ever-growing business, alongside the Chongwu Agency, which was equally well known, though not as popular, as strange things happened when they handled their cases, although they always ended up doing the job.
Therefore, their services were in high demand, making their company quite successful and prosperous. However, in cases where lives were at risk, their Zhuo Gui Agency worked closely with a special police division to take on those cases pro bono. This was what made their business so coveted, as although the money was good, saving human lives was a priority. Thus, half of the cases they handled each year were brought by the police to protect citizens when no one else would accept them free of charge. This allowed their agency to expand its operations, and currently, his brother and father were working in a new office in Japan.
In Tokyo, where paranormal phenomena were more prevalent, they were well welcomed throughout their stay of nearly a year. As a result, Yichen was given control of their China office along with Fan Ying, his maternal uncle, and his daughter Wen Xiao, who was actually his first cousin but who also served as his coworker, helper, best friend, and self-described aunt. In addition to those from the police force, that had also done a decent job on their own, along with their team of experts.
Working directly with them was Ying Lei, a monk from Mount Kunlun, whose expertise in chanting mantras, charms and talismans to bind, seal or banish spirits and demons, was second to none. Bai Jiu, who was Ying Lei's best friend, or perhaps more than that, was a healing specialist with an innate talent for channeling nature's energy, as well as channeling his Qi into others, enabling him to heal wounds or calm agitated spirits, alleviating the suffering of the living or the restless dead.
Wen Xiao, meanwhile, who had learned about exorcisms from her mother, (who was a priestess at a local temple before she and Fan Ying fell in love in one of the Zhuo Gui Agency's cases and she gave up her vocation), could cast spells, use silent incantations, and through carefully drawn symbols or hushed words, could exorcise or trap demons or malevolent spirit. She also possessed an innate ability to sense the emotional state of ghosts or people with the spiritual empathy of a medium. This allowed her to read the lingering emotional energy of a place, deciphering the hidden motives of spirits, which made her an excellent negotiator with spirits, as she could understand their true desires and needs so that they could move on to the place where they truly belonged.
As for him, Yichen was gifted with an extreme amount of spiritual energy, making him capable of not only performing clairvoyance (allowing him to see beyond the veil), but also the use of psychokinesis at different levels, creating energy shields, communicating with spirits, sensing disturbances in the spirit world, expelling or purifying spirits, performing astral projections from where he could project his consciousness into the spirit realm and perform energy blasts that could severely injure or kill a high-level demon. His vast amount of energy also made him a talisman specialist, capable of warding off evil spirits, and with a special type of talismans that only he could create, when burned or placed in strategic locations, they could act as barriers or seals much stronger than others, almost unbreakable even by the strongest demons.
Of course, all of that requires a lot of energy, but that was precisely why he had been trained in Tai Chi and Qigong on Mount Kunlun, to balance and harmonize his energy flow to the point where he could better control it and tire less. Still, using his psychokinesis always took its toll, so he tended to use it mostly in emergencies, while the rest of the time he used talismans imbued with his spiritual energy, which were equally effective in the long run. And finally, there was his sword, inherited from his ancestors, which helped him channel external energy and deal with demons or monsters much stronger than the common spirits.
Yichen sighed as he looked outside again, and with each passing second, he felt more in tune with the strange vibrations coursing through the streets of Tiandu. The city was alive, yet shrouded in death, a paradox that mirrored his own existence as a truth-seeker in a world plagued by shadows. Then he felt an incoming call, which eased his restlessness and made him smile fondly at his cell phone before it lit up with (Unintentional Big Dream), the theme music to his favorite supernatural drama, "Fangs of Fortune," played by Gong Yuanzhi, the handsome young actor he admired. The reason he smiled was because the caller was his beloved Ge, whom he missed dearly.
"Ge, I miss you..." He answered, and from the other end, he could hear Yixuan's soft laughter.
"Xiao Chen, I know you usually answer me like that after I moved to Japan, but please, could you greet me properly for once? How about a polite way of saying 'Hello Ge, how are you?' Then I miss you..." He joked, and Yichen smiled.
"Hi, Ge, how are you? I miss you so much..." Yichen humored his dear brother with a broad smile plastered on his handsome young face.
"I miss you too, Xiao Chen. How are you and how are things at home? There's something in the air this evening that unsettles me a little more than the usual strange energy of big cities, so I thought it would be more intense for you, since you're very sensitive to energy fluctuations, so I called to check on you. It's a reddish evening here in Tokyo, with darkness beginning to envelop the land, trying to devour all the light."
"That was very poetic, Ge. And yes, I see the same eerie red here, carrying traces of dark energy as far as the eye can see. The air even feels oppressive, as if something bad is going to happen tonight. Tiandu City is becoming more chaotic, with truly strange sightings all over the country. The scientific community may never have had an explanation for how the world became this way so long ago, but I have a feeling that what happened then was anything but natural. As someone who grew up with Taoist teaching, I don't believe this is part of a natural flow of the universe, but no matter how hard I try to put the pieces of this puzzle together, I end up just like the scientific community, clueless about what drove our world into this spiral of chaos. But enough with the philosophy for now. How are things in Japan?"
"Let me tell you, the situation in Tokyo is just as crazy as the one in Tiandu, if not more so. To be honest, for both us, and the local Japanese ghost hunters, this work is endless. We have so many cases to attend to that we're forced to delay our return home a little longer. The new branch is going quite well, obviously, but as you know, we value life more than money, and with so many things to attend to, it's still too soon for it to operate on its own, otherwise we'd be overworking our teams to death."
"Should I go too? I miss you, Ge..." Yichen pouted, and Yixuan could almost imagine it, so he laughed again.
"We need you there, Didi, so please bear with us a little longer. As soon as things calm down, we'll book the first flight back to China. Now, let me ask you, how is Wen Xiao? Is she still glued to her desk, typing up case results and investigations that you're too lazy to write yourself?"
"Come on, Ge, paperwork is boring, and she's happy to file everything we do, so it's beneficial for both the Agency and me." Yixuan laughed again.
"I swear, Didi... sometimes you're just too much. Well, she loves writing and books, so it suits her. And what about Uncle Fan Ying?"
"He's bored too. Administrative work isn't his thing, he rather stay in the field handling cases like the rest of us."
"Sure, but with his sister doing most of the work, he's just like you. How's Mom?"
"The same, giving me headaches. She keeps telling me to retire from this position, even though I just got it and I'm barely twenty-five, so I have many years of work ahead of me."
"She's a mother, Didi. She will nag you about this or that until you're a hundred. That's how she cares for her beloved younger son."
"Yes, I know."
"So, any cases lately that may have give you some troubles?"
"Of course not! Just a minor one, nothing to worry about. It was solved in a day, the fastest so far." Yichen said with pride.
"Ah, I see you're already breaking records."
"Of course, I'm very good at my job." Yixuan laughed.
"Oh my... what a humble little brother I have..."
"Then come home and teach me better. Our apartment is lonely without you there and its been so long since I felt your presence before falling asleep. I may start having nightmares again..."
"I'm sorry, Didi, but using that emotional bait won't work on me this time. I love you endlessly, Xiao Chen, but there are things beyond our control, and you're doing very well with our Zhuo Giu Agency. I've heard nothing but praise from our colleagues in China, and it shows that you're destined for great things, in your own way. This will help you grow stronger, gain more experience, and learn about the great responsibilities we all carry on our shoulders. I've always been proud of your accomplishments, but I know this opportunity will make me even prouder. Take care, Xiao Chen... things get more complicated every day, but I know you can handle them."
"Thank you Ge, I love you too and I will do my best not to disappoint your trust and expectations. You have always been the best brother, tell father I miss him too." Yixuan smiled.
"We will see you soon. I have to go back now. Don't push yourself too hard on the cases. It's not good for your health, as mother always said. You may have been born with great powers, but you're still human. Remember that."
"Will do... be careful, Ge." He said just before his brother ended the call and looked back at that eerie red sky that seemed like a warning that something bad was brewing somewhere.
He hated red sunsets the most, and as if he'd mentally summoned it, his cell phone lit up again, but this time it didn't bring a smile to his beautiful face, but rather a tired sigh. The name, in bright red letters, shone like a traffic sign warning of danger. Captain Pei Sijing was calling, and he answered, hoping it would be resolved like their last case, quickly and safely. But he doubted it, since her calls always ended in dangerous, long-investigated cases.
"I knew tonight was going to be difficult. What do you have for me this time, Captain Pei Sijing?" Yichen asked the woman he had worked closely with on police cases, for the past five years. She was a strong and beautiful woman, but a bit on the stoic side, sometimes bordering on being too strict with herself and others.
However, despite her cold personality, Yichen had to admit that he preferred working with her over other police officers because she was quite good at her job and knew how to handle the paranormal well. It had been a bit difficult at first, but over the years, she had taught herself about the paranormal world and how to defend herself against spirits and the like, adapting her work to each situation.
Therefore, at this point, she no longer needed protection, as she was much better than other, less talented ghost hunters. Her quick learning was thanks to Wen Xiao, who had seriously instructed Pei Sijing, and as she did so, it was hard not to notice the sparks that flew whenever they were together, the glances, the discreet touch, the gentle smiles, Pei Sijing's protection of Wen Xiao, even when Wen Xiao can protect them both. Their growing attraction was so evident that sometimes he just wanted to tell them to just get together and stop pretending like no one noticed their feelings for each other.
"You have an annoying knack for answering the phone. Have anyone ever told you that?" She scolded him.
"Just now for my older brother." He replied.
"Good for him to be honest with a spoiled brat like you."
"Come on Captain Pei, aren't you going to ask for a favor from me? Don't be rude, I am just four years younger than you and I'm not a brat anymore."
"Alright, I got a case for you, but from what I've investigated so far, it's going to be a long and quite dangerous one. You'd better gather your entire team and take all your glowing talismans with you, along with your precious sword. There's a village in the mountainous region, quite isolated from almost everything, where many people have disappeared without a trace for centuries. The case is old, but back then, the disappearance of villagers was attributed to fleeing in search of a better life or human trafficking."
"Captain Pei, that's not within our jurisdiction. We deal exclusively with the paranormal, you know that."
"Of course, Zhuo Daren, and believe me, this is paranormal, and one of the most serious. Disappearances were occasional in the area, so the case was simply dismissed as trafficking, fleeing or people lost in ancient mountains. That was a long time ago, but in these modern days, it's happening again. It turned out that the Chongwu Agency had opened its recruitment process for more ghost hunters, and someone had the brilliant idea of recording a video of a ghost hunting adventure to submit to the hiring committee in about a month. Of course, the amateurs who thought of that, had to choose that mountain to make their video as terrifying as possible while demonstrating their talent, which were quite questionable in my opinion. They went camping and having an adventure in the forest surrounding an abandoned mansion. Then, they disappeared... only their belongings were found in the skirt of the forest and so the local police contact me." And then her voice broke for the first time since he had known her five years ago, which surprised him and make him alert instantly.
"Pei Daren, what is affecting you personally in this case?" Yichen asked, and he heard her almost sobbing, which set off an alarm in his instincts even further.
"I try to make this as professional as I could, but... my little brother... Yichen, Siheng.. he..."
"Please don't tell me he went there with a group of amateurs into a real haunted forest..."
"Yes, he did. You know he was trying to prove he could do everything I could, and not joining the police force because he was sick at the worst possible time had made him desperate. I don't know how he contacted this group of ghost hunters, but he had been missing for four days. I was not aware that he had go out of the city, as you know he lives alone by his own choice... I only know he was there because they find his backpack with his ID and they contact me as a procedure to missing people."
"That idiot... Pei Daren, it must be hard for you. Forget professionalism, you're a sister too, and you've been having a terrible time with a sick brother. Let your feelings out, it will only make it harder if you keep them locked away." She sobbed.
"Please, Yichen, there's a local legend that says that in this forest, in that abandoned mansion, a powerful demon resides, and I've confirmed that something disturbing has been happening there for centuries. And if it's true..." She explained, while Yichen rubbed his forehead as he began to feel dizzy having a very bad feeling.
"There is something to this... I'm starting to having a vision..." Yichen said as he pressed the speaker on his phone and placed it on his desk littered with papers and talismans.
"Zhuo Daren, are you okay? Is Wen Xiao nearby? You shouldn't be alone when you have visions." She said in a worried voice, but for Yichen it was like listening to her from afar, as his vision began to blur and a dark void claim him.
Having visions triggered by information alone was rare for him and that have only happened once when he was very young and unaware of the extents of his abilities, but since he knew Pei Siheng personally, even when they weren't close, he at least had a feeling of his energy that he could use to get a glimpse of what was happening to him and hopefully at least find out if he was still alive.
Then he closes his yes and plunges into a realm where reality distorts like rippling water and darkness envelops him, heavy and suffocating. He feels pain, a sharp reminder echoing around him, and confusion morphs into familiar and strange shapes. His heart races as he senses another presence lurking beyond his perception. Suddenly, a crimson flash shines in the abyss, and a pair of red eyes stare at him intently. They glow with danger, but also with allure, and Zhuo's instinct screams at him to get away from that presence, but he finds himself drawn deeper into this disturbing vision of despair and chaos.
"Pei Siheng!" He screams hoarsely into the dark void around him, feeling completely alone, yet deeply aware of being watched by something very powerful and ancient. The air around him thickens with terror as the shadows draw closer, whispering secrets he cannot decipher.
At that moment, an echo resonated in his consciousness, a fleeting image of Pei Siheng's face appeared before him, weak, exhausted, and confused, trapped in an endless loop caused by the thick dark energy surrounding him. Then, fear burned through him like a scar, and panic gripped Yichen like never before. The demon sealed in that place was reaching for his mind, deeply searching into his memories, the core of his spiritual power and getting a taste of it. He knew he must free himself from that mental prison before it consumed him completely, or he could be lost forever.
"Find me... Zhuo Yichen and I will keep him alive." The presence whispered softly, as if coming from right behind his ear, threatening to trap him deeper into the darkness and coldness of a seal pulsing with an unknown, twisting energy, attempting to hold him there and expel him at the same time with a sudden wave of dark energy.
Opening his eyes abruptly, Zhuo Yichen found himself back in his office, drenched in sweat despite the air conditioning that fanned his skin. The sight of the mansion and its inhabitant loomed menacingly behind him, as if mocking his momentary plunge into despair. He looked again at the reddish sky, now a little darker than before, like an invitation, or perhaps a warning? He no longer knew.
In that moment of hesitation, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest, perhaps from the surge of energy that had hit him during the vision, and a ribbon of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. A sign that he had overdone it and used far more spiritual energy than he intended.
"Zhuo Daren! Zhuo Daren! Answer me! I'm calling Wen Xiao right now!" Yichen heard Pei Sijing's cry from his phone, concern quite evident in her voice, while the call remained connected. With a groan of pain, Yichen picked up the phone and tried to focus on what he needed to do before fainting, something he knew was about to happen.
"Sijing... Your brother is still alive, but there's a high-level demon near him. We must hurry before it's too late... Call Wen Xiao and tell her to get me in our office, because I'm about to faint..." With that warning, he let the darkness take him once more and passed out on his desk, out cold.
AN: Yep, in this story, Yichen actually watched Fangs of Fortune, (more or less same story with different names) like Yichen been replaced by Gong Yuanzhi and Zhu Yan by Tian Yao ( from Back from the Brink) and so on. 😂 Zhuo Gui = (Ghost Hunt/Ghostbusters) Hope you like this, as Ghost Hunt (the anime) was my very first fanfiction in this site and I kind of miss my roots. Thus this story is going to go back to that.