The immortal is beside me

Chapter 6 Hidden in History
The dusty elevator rumbled downwards, and the red numbers on the wall slowly jumped, stopping at the -2 floor.

When the elevator door opened again, the scene before her made her pupils tremble.

In contrast to its plain and elegant exterior, the interior of the building is unexpectedly dark and depressing, and the feeling of depression on this floor is several times worse than on the ground.

What she saw was a long corridor with rows of iron doors lined up on both sides of the wall. The doors were as heavy as a vault. Armed police officers with live ammunition stood in front of each door, and the cold smell of metal hit her in the face.

If she were asked to find a word to describe what she saw at that moment, the most appropriate word would be "prison".

"This is the third observation station, used to contain individuals involved in destructive paranormal events."

Li Yulan finally revealed the true purpose of this trip: "Those who are imprisoned here are mainly monks who have displayed socially harmful behavior, their collaborators, and, do you know the Jie tribe?"

The question came unexpectedly, but Qin Jiajia reacted quickly. "Is it one of the Xiongnu tribes that invaded the Central Plains during the Five Barbarians' invasion of China? They were said to be incredibly brutal, slaughtering at least hundreds of thousands of Han people, even calling them "two-legged sheep." They took living people with them on marches, treating them like slaves on weekdays and killing them for food when needed... They were the most murderous and brutal of the Five Barbarians."

"Yes, that's right," Li Yulan said as she led her forward. "According to historical records, the Jie people were very small, so small that they could hardly be called a tribe. They were simply a slave army under the command of the Xiongnu nobles. Even with such a small number of people, the Jie slaughtered far more Han people than any other Hu people, and for a long time they were unrivaled."

"Many historians have questioned why the Jie tribe possessed such destructive power. Before the discovery of the extraordinary, most believed that it was the inaction of the Han government at the time, allowing foreign tribes to wreak havoc."

"That's certainly one of the reasons. But there's another force at work behind the scenes."

While they were talking, they had already reached the end of the corridor, where stood an open room, surrounded on three sides by special metal. There was only a window made of bulletproof glass on the side close to the corridor for peeking into the room.

Through the glass window, she could vaguely see that the room was about ten square meters, with a "hospital bed" in the middle and a man lying on it. Dozens of black special restraints fixed him firmly to the bed, wrapping him up like a dumpling with only his face exposed.

Qin Jiajia instinctively raised her hand to cover her mouth. From this angle, she could see the skin peeling off, revealing patches of bright red muscle. Those muscles were twisted and tangled like tree roots, squeezing the facial features and bones out of shape. It looked more like some kind of carnivorous beast than a human face.

"Transcendent number 5821 was originally an ordinary worker. However, a month ago, while working on a project at Baiyun Mountain, he accidentally unearthed a Transcendent inheritance buried underground."

"After our investigation, we found that the inheritance he encountered originated from a certain immortal cultivation sect founded by the Hu people, and contained the sect's unique techniques. These techniques were once circulated among the Jie people as sorcery, allowing them to strengthen their bodies through killing. However, the Jie tribe was destroyed over a thousand years ago, but the extraordinary power behind them has survived into the modern era."

"The techniques of the immortal sects are being spread among the barbarians as witchcraft?" Qin Jiajia realized something and tried hard to control her voice from trembling. "What does this mean..."

"It seems you have guessed it."

Li Yulan pushed her glasses slightly, which was a common action she took when facing major events.

"The Jie people's historical strength and brutality were largely due to the behind-the-scenes support of the immortal cultivation sects. The Hu Jie regarded immortal cultivators as gods, offering sacrifices to them in exchange for the favor of some extraordinary powers. This was also one of the main ways that immortal cultivators influenced history."

"The Jie tribe is just a very small example. In fact, most of the famous forces in history—from small tribes to large dynasties—have the support of immortal cultivators. There are many ways to support them, and providing magic is only the simplest and most direct one. And it doesn't come without a price."

Li Yulan turned her head slightly and looked again at the body behind the glass that was no longer in human form.

"While coming into contact with the inheritance, No. 5281, originally a mere mortal, gained incredible power. However, he was also infected by the spiritual imprint left within the inheritance, causing his personality to change drastically overnight. He killed dozens of fellow workers at the construction site before being apprehended by the arriving armed personnel."

"When we first found No. 5821, he looked just like an ordinary person. But after being brought back, his body has been decaying and changing daily. His original soul has been completely disintegrated. Now, he's nothing more than a puppet assimilated by the consciousness of an ancient monk—and his flesh simply can't bear the weight of that consciousness."

"This is the extraordinary. It can be a miracle, but it can also be a nightmare. In the eyes of those immortal cultivators, most mortals are nothing more than fish on the chopping board."

Li Yulan spoke while watching the reactions of her subordinates.

As she expected, Qin Jiajia's lips were trembling at this time. Like every newcomer she had seen who witnessed the truth, she could not even react in surprise, and her pale face was full of dullness.

Is this also a cultivator? Wielding unimaginable power, secretly manipulating thousands of years of history, while the mortals being manipulated are unable to even detect their existence?
This kind of horror originating from history has appeared in modern cities, mixed in the vast crowd, or perhaps right next to you.
Her heart raced, the immense impact making Qin Jiajia feel dizzy. She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, trying to maintain composure and avoid losing her composure. "Remember what you're feeling right now. Fear isn't a bad thing; it makes you constantly wary and cautious of cultivators. This will be the foundation of your ability to protect yourself in your future endeavors."

Li Yulan patted her shoulder and said, "We've finished looking at this room. Take a moment, and then we'll go to the next one."

Qin Jiajia took a long breath in and out, adjusting herself to calm herself down in a few breaths. She nodded, turned around, and tried to catch up with the director, but her foot froze in the air.

It was like invisible needles pricking her back, a chill running down her spine and sweeping through her entire body. She turned her head almost reflexively, her gaze meeting a pair of red eyes.

Those are the eyes behind the glass.

The moment Qin Jiajia turned around, the puppet that had been sleeping for a whole month suddenly opened its eyes, and its gaze pierced through the bulletproof glass and looked straight at her.

"He's awake!"

Like rocks falling into water, the chaotic sound of footsteps instantly filled the entire corridor. Several armed police officers waiting on the side loaded their guns in a second, and the doctors in white coats stood up from their seats like a whirlwind. Qin Jiajia didn't know what they were about to do, but she clearly saw the look of fear on everyone's face.

Before she could react to what was happening, a hand slammed down on her shoulder.

"Don't look that thing in the eye!" Li Yulan shouted, a rare outburst. "It's been possessed by the spirits of those ancient cultivators! If you get locked onto it, it might just target you!"

The shouting rang in her ears like thunder, but Qin Jiajia did not respond.

In an instant, she felt as if the body behind the glass had turned into a magnet, drawing her sight firmly. She could clearly see the expression on the distorted face.

The moment his eyes met hers, the thing seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then the muscles on his face suddenly twitched, his eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, and an inhuman scream came out of his mouth.

"Smell. There is Zhou Fan's breath! Zhou Fan is here!"

The chaotic sound of footsteps paused, and not only Qin Jiajia, but everyone who heard this was stunned for a moment. Then they saw the puppet twisting wildly and shouting hysterically.

"No, no! Don't kill me! Zhou Fan! Don't kill me!"

He kept shouting and struggling desperately, with such great movements that it seemed as if he would overturn the bed.

"Don't kill me! Zhou Fan, I won't dare to do it again. Please don't kill me again! Don't kill me!!!"

Qin Jiajia stood there in a daze. At that moment, the world in her ears suddenly became monotonous. The sounds of footsteps, shouts, bullets being loaded, and instruments seemed to fade away. Only those few screams lingered in her ears.

The other person's eyes were clearly looking at him, and what he called out was indeed "Zhou Fan". Could it be that he saw the aura of that "Zhou Fan" from him?

The person before her, carrying the fragments of the ancient cultivator's consciousness, was a true soul from a thousand years ago. She had only personally seen one person who could be related to such a being in her entire life, and that was...
"Step aside!"

A man in a white coat rushed forward, pushed her aside, opened the small operating table outside the room, and slapped the button on it.

The machines inside the room began to roar, and the tubes connected to the puppet trembled as a sedative ten times the lethal dose was injected into it. Qin Jiajia watched through the glass, watching the puppet's pupils gradually dilate, its frantic screams gradually weakening, and finally becoming completely silent, its eyes closing as it fell back into deep sleep, as if nothing had happened.

The magnetic attraction disappeared, and she took a deep breath like a drowning person emerging from the water. When she turned around, she found that the armed police, doctors, and even Li Yulan behind her were all looking at her. The gazes from all directions seemed to penetrate her.

"Who is Zhou Fan?"

(End of this chapter)