My girlfriend is a Miao demon.

"Okay, reporter, what do you want to know?"

"I want to know what happened on the night of November 8th, specifically Professor Zuo..."

"The exact time is unclear because he lived alone, and no one knows the exact time. I only know that the forensic doctor determined it was between 10 pm on November 8th and 1 am the next day," Shen Feng recalled, his brows furrowing slightly. "The first person to discover my husband's death was reportedly an employee of the real estate company. All the apartments in the Circle Art City were rented out through the same real estate company. My husband had booked a flight back to Youdu for noon on the 9th, so he arranged with the real estate company to check out in the morning. The people from the real estate company came to collect the keys and settle the accounts. I heard that no one answered the door when they knocked, and no one answered the phone, but they saw that the lights were still on inside. Since the real estate company also had keys, they just opened the door and went in. When they went in, they found that he was already gone."

At this point, Xiang Nanfeng noticed that Shen Feng's voice had become hoarse, and his Adam's apple trembled from time to time. It wasn't just grief that made him seem more like a tension stemming from an unwillingness to mention or recall the events of that time. Xiang Nanfeng had a premonition that Zuo Sigong's death was definitely not ordinary.

"Did you see what was inside the house at the time?"

"I haven't seen it in person, but I've seen photos."

"The situation at the time was...very bad, wasn't it?"

Xiang Nanfeng could sense the apprehension in Shen Feng's tone, but in order to achieve his goal, he had no choice but to press on.

"Yes, in fact, it was terrifying." A hint of fear flashed in Shen Feng's eyes, as if he had been to that suffocating house himself. "I've seen the photos. The professor's expression when he died was very... very terrifying."

"horrible?"

"Yes, it was like that... his face was contorted in a grotesque expression. It was as if he had seen something incredibly terrifying. And the first real estate company employee who entered the house said that when he came in, there was a smell of burning paper money inside, so he must have burned some documents before he died. Also, his laptop was left on, and when he turned it on, it was found that it had just been formatted."

"So, Professor Zuo destroyed all the data before he died?"

"Yes."

"This is really too abnormal, too abnormal..." Xiang Nanfeng muttered to himself, feeling the coldness at his fingertips spread through his veins throughout his body. "Was he threatened in some way?"

"Probably not. Professor Zuo is a renowned scholar after all. The police investigation was very thorough. The doors and windows were intact, and they checked the surveillance footage. He was the only one in the house."

"What about suicide?" Xiang Nanfeng asked again. "What if someone contacts him via phone or the internet, coercing him to do something unusual like destroying data, and then he commits suicide?"

"That's impossible. Professor Zuo doesn't possess any military secrets, and his work doesn't involve any security issues. Who would threaten him to destroy any data?"

"So how exactly did he die?"

"The doctor suspects it was sudden cardiac death, saying that his contorted expression of pain is consistent with sudden death. After all, he was almost 70 years old, so it's understandable that he had some heart problems."

"Doubt?" Xiang Nanfeng keenly grasped the key words in the conversation and continued to press, "In other words, Professor Zuo's cause of death is actually uncertain."

"Yes, an autopsy is necessary to confirm this. But after consulting with the family, they felt it was unnecessary."

"That's true." Xiang Nanfeng nodded. In this world, probably only he and Abbot Mingyuan of Zhenru Temple knew that Zuo Sigong's death was related to the mysterious wolf-faced man and the Miao demons. But since it was the Miao demons who killed him, and Xiang Nanfeng had already experienced the power of witchcraft, he knew that even an autopsy would not reveal the true cause of Zuo Sigong's death. Xiang Nanfeng paused, realizing it would be difficult to get any further clues about Zuo Sigong's death from Shen Feng, so he decisively changed the subject and asked:

"Professor Shen, based on your intuition, what do you think is the purpose of Professor Zuo's visit to China this time? Could it be related to his recent research direction?"

"Well... I'm afraid I can't tell. As for his research direction in recent years, I did talk about it when I met him in August. He seems to be more interested in the indigenous people of Taiwan and the Maori culture of New Zealand. As you know, Mr. Zuo has a wide range of interests, especially in the area of ​​primitive cultures, which is very broad."

"Yes, I understand. Did he also discuss other areas with you?"

"He also mentioned that he recently read some research papers on the Yi people of Yunnan and was particularly interested in using ancient Yi script to interpret oracle bone inscriptions and the Jiahu inscriptions. I know he did several months of fieldwork in Yunnan more than ten years ago. This is roughly the direction of his research on China that he has published in recent years and that he has mentioned to me. But as for why he came to Wangshan and stayed for so long, I'm not quite sure. I feel it has nothing to do with academics, since Wangshan has almost no connection to the primitive culture he studies. There are no Neolithic cultural remains here, not even Paleolithic ones. So I think it must be for personal reasons, unrelated to work."

"Really? Then what about that interview of his? The problem with the religious architectural heritage of the Ming Dynasty is..."

"Oh, speaking of that..." Shen Feng first clicked his tongue in surprise, then said with a puzzled look, "That matter is indeed very strange. In early November, he suddenly called me and asked if I could help him contact a well-known local media in Wangshan City, saying that he had a new research result to be announced to the public."

"Is that the Ming Dynasty religious building complex?"

"Yes. I found it very strange at the time. I'm not a local of Wangshan, and I really don't know much about its history. But I do know my professor's research interests. I was wondering why he was suddenly studying Ming Dynasty architecture when he was researching prehistory. From an anthropological perspective, primitive cultures from different regions and countries are interconnected, and if the principles are the same, then spatial overlap is certainly possible. But while space is possible, time is not. The development processes of civilizations in different eras and civilizations are different, and it's impossible to cross eras. From prehistory to the Ming Dynasty, I found it very incredible. Moreover, I had always heard that Wangshan's history was very short."

"Yes, and it's in Shounan Mountain? Not in Wangshan City?"

"Yes, that's right. So I was very confused at the time."

"So, did you ask him that at the time?"

"Of course, of course I asked. But he still wouldn't say, he just asked me to help contact the media. And I know him pretty well, he doesn't like the limelight. Back in Youdu, when he published a book, the publisher wanted to hold a small launch event for him, the kind with only a few dozen people, but he refused. He's the kind of traditional scholar who never takes the initiative to contact the media. I don't know why he's doing this this time."

"So you found us?"

"Yes, my undergraduate classmate is the secretary to the director of your Wangshantai. He introduced me to the 'Wangshan Memories' program team and also found the assistant producer at the Science and Education Center, named Nian Daqi. That's it."

"Oh, oh," Xiang Nanfeng nodded in agreement, "That's such a pity. Although Professor Zuo's previous research direction is quite different from the discovery he wanted to announce, I believe that with his scholarship and academic ability, he must have found solid evidence. It's just a pity that we didn't preserve this precious footage. Otherwise, we wouldn't have missed this major discovery."

"Sigh, it's all fate's arrangement," Shen Feng echoed.

"By the way, Professor Shen, you just mentioned that Professor Zuo's research is very cross-cultural. To your knowledge, does his research include any content related to Germany, especially Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?"

Xiang Nanfeng glanced at the three characters "Nanshan Pavilion" marked in red and circled in the interview notes. In fact, at this moment, only he knew best that the Ming Dynasty religious buildings in Shounan Mountain that Zuo Sigong discovered undoubtedly referred to Miaoyao Pagoda and Miaoyao Zen Temple, and that Miaoyao Pagoda, after collapsing in the early years of the Republic of China, eventually became the Nanshan Pavilion of the German merchant Nicholas.

If Xiang Nanfeng wants to find Zuo Sigong's secret, he first needs to determine how Zuo Sigong discovered Miaoyao Zen Temple and Miaoyao Pagoda. Did he also find them through Nanshan Pavilion, just like he did?

However, Shen Feng shook his head, giving a very firm no:

"That's impossible. Professor Zuo's entire research has focused on East Asia. He only focuses on the primitive culture, religion, and folk customs of East Asia. How could he possibly have ventured into Europe? Especially Germany, a country with a relatively short history even in Europe?"

"What about Gothic architecture?" Xiang Nanfeng persisted, pressing on. "After all, his final research claimed to have discovered Ming Dynasty religious architecture. So what about European architecture that's almost contemporaneous with the Ming Dynasty? Do you think he would have done any research on Gothic architecture?"

Shen Feng hesitated for a moment, then put on a strange expression:

"To the reporter, if I may be frank, I find your questions increasingly strange. Why do you think this way? Is there any specific basis for your opinion?"

His question caught Xiang Nanfeng off guard. Xiang Nanfeng could only shrug awkwardly and say:

"No, no, I might be a little neurotic. It's probably because there were too many coincidences in Professor Zuo's accident and my accident, and Professor Zuo's visit to Wangshan and his interview before his death were too unusual, which made me overthink."

"Well, it's inevitable. Our teacher spent his whole life studying those mystical and primitive cultures, and there are indeed many strange and inexplicable things. He spent his entire life trying to explain these inexplicable things, and yet he left us in this way. Perhaps it was all destined."

"Yes, it was destined."

Both sighed softly, gazing out the window at the sky, as if yearning for each other through the hazy gray clouds. The damp, cold wind outside seemed to be visible even through the drifting clouds, and Xiang Nanfeng shivered involuntarily. He knew it was time to take his leave. But just as he was about to utter the words of farewell, perhaps driven by professional instinct and intuition, he suddenly thought he should ask one more question:

"By the way, Professor Shen, you just said that Professor Zuo passed away and his relatives gave up an autopsy. Was it his wife?"

"Oh no, it's his daughter."

"Daughter? That makes sense. Professor Zuo is nearly 70 years old. This kind of thing should be left to his daughter to handle."

"No, no, her daughter is quite pitiful; she's only 19."

"19 years old?"

"Yes. My teacher's wife passed away three years ago. My husband only had one daughter, whom he had late in life. She was studying in the United States, a sophomore. However, she has now suspended her studies."

"Because of her father's situation?"

"Yes. It happened very suddenly. After the incident was discovered on November 9th, we contacted Youdu University first, and then Youdu University contacted her daughter. The school originally wanted to send someone to pick up her daughter, since the child was still young and the teacher's wife was no longer alive. But before anyone could go, the girl came directly to Wangshan. It was probably the weekend at the time. As soon as the school reopened, they took the ashes back."

"Alone? 19 years old, so strong?"

"I met her twice when I was studying with my teacher in Youdu, back when I was in junior high. This girl knows kendo and karate, and she's top-notch at that. I don't know the specifics, but anyway, don't underestimate her just because she's young. She first took a leave of absence from school in the United States, and then flew to Youdu alone. Her father has lived in Youdu for thirty years, and his home and property are all there. Zuo Hezi went there to handle the inheritance first, and then dealt with insurance and real estate, all by herself. Until last week, she finished dealing with everything in Youdu and returned to Wangshan."

"What? Looking back at Mount Huiwang?"

Xiang Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

"Yes, he left in a hurry last time and some procedures were not completed. Also, his father had some belongings that he did not have time to deal with."

"You mean, Professor Zuo's daughter, Zuo Hezi, is currently in Wangshan?"

"Well..." Shen Feng raised his hand, looked at his watch, nodded, then shook his head. "Maybe it's still there. We spoke on the phone yesterday, and she said she'd finished everything and was planning to take a flight back to the US this afternoon to go back to school. As for now..."

"Teacher Shen, could you help me make contact? If possible, I'd like to meet this Zuo Hezi!"

Xiang Nanfeng's voice trembled uncontrollably, his fingertips gripping the hem of his clothes tightly, his knuckles gradually turning white.

Shen Feng nodded and took out his phone. Xiang Nanfeng watched as he scrolled through the contacts, page by page, searching for Zuo Hezi's number before dialing, his hands trembling with anxiety. In the teachers' lounge, the air was quiet yet suffocating.

Answer it, answer it quickly!

The call had been dialed for a long time, but there was still no sound. Xiang Nanfeng, fearing his hearing was faulty, even impolitely leaned closer to the receiver, but the other end remained as silent as an abyss. Then, a cold, mechanical, yet familiar standard announcer's voice shattered the silence, crushing Xiang Nanfeng's hopes: "The number you dialed is out of service."

"Is the system down?"

Xiang Nanfeng's voice suddenly rose, his lips twitched involuntarily, and he made an exaggerated and incredulous expression.

"It seems so. After all, the business is done, and it's time to leave China."

"Teacher Shen, is Zuo Hezi's flight this afternoon?"

"Yes, that's what she said yesterday."

"Does she live in that studio her father rents? In the Circle Art City?"

"Yes, but isn't it too late?"

Shen Feng glanced at the time on his phone again; it was 11:32. Xiang Nanfeng's outburst made him frown slightly.

"I'll try my luck! I'll just try my luck!"