Volume Ten: Crossroads Chapter Three: The Eyewitness

At the crossroads, Yaoguang and her companions stood on Xiling Street, gazing at the intersection for a long time. They wandered around nearby for quite a while, yet discovered nothing at all.

“This is truly strange, there’s nothing here at all,” Huo Mingkun said. “There aren’t any traces of spiritual fluctuations nearby either.”

Yaoguang stood on the somewhat deserted street, equally at a loss.

“Yaoyao, most paranormal incidents involve a death. That is to say, someone must have died on this road. Is there any evidence or record showing someone died here in a traffic accident?” the King of the Underworld asked.

“I’ve sent Xuanchen to investigate. Beyond that, I can’t say. If someone had died here, why is the intersection so clean, without the slightest trace of spiritual activity?” Yaoguang sighed.

“Phoenix, over the past year, there’ve been seven traffic accidents at this intersection, but the problem is, all of them were minor and no one was injured or killed. We contacted the people involved, and they’re all alive and well,” Xuanchen called to report.

“Alright, I understand.” Yaoguang looked at the others. “Seven accidents, and everyone involved is alive and kicking.” She hung up.

“Uh…” Everyone was stumped.

“Let’s go back,” Yaoguang said, frustrated.

Back at the police station, everyone sat in silence. Yaoguang poured a cup of water for the King of the Underworld. “Are you tired?”

“Not at all, it’s quite interesting,” the King of the Underworld replied.

“Phoenix, your older cousin is prettier than you—does she have a boyfriend?” Tianyou teased.

“You’re bold. My cousin isn’t an ordinary person. I don’t even dare joke around with her, yet you have the courage to tease her. That’s admirable,” Yaoguang said with a smile, handing a peach to the King of the Underworld. “Don’t take him seriously.”

“Hehe, I’m not angry,” the King of the Underworld replied with a laugh.

“Phoenix, there’s a lady here to report something. But what she’s saying is rather strange, you should hear it for yourselves. I’ve brought her in,” Captain Song announced, entering with a woman in her thirties and a little girl. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you, Captain Song. Hello, ma’am, please have a seat,” Yaoguang offered.

“I’m not here to file a report. I want your help to find the person who saved our lives,” the woman said.

“A lifesaver? Please tell us more,” Yaoguang prompted.

“My surname is Tian, and this is my daughter. Two nights ago, after eleven, I was taking her home from her grandmother’s. We passed the Xiling Street intersection, and as we were about to cross, I realized my shoelace had come undone. I told my daughter to stay put, but she’s mischievous and ran off on her own. I chased after her, but she’d already reached the middle of the street. Just then, a car sped towards her. I couldn’t reach her in time. I was terrified. When the car passed, I thought my child was done for, but then I heard her calling for me from the other side of the street. I looked up and saw her standing on the sidewalk. I asked how she got there, and she said an uncle pulled her over just as the car was about to hit her. I asked which uncle, but she said he left without saying a word. I searched the area, but there was no one around. I once had a serious injury and it took great effort to have this child—she is my life. Please, you must help me find this benefactor. I need to thank him properly,” Mrs. Tian pleaded, holding her daughter tightly, her eyes full of hope.

“Mrs. Tian, please don’t worry. May I ask your daughter a few questions?” Yaoguang soothed.

“Yes, of course,” Mrs. Tian nodded.

“Little one, don’t be afraid. Auntie wants to ask: did you see what the uncle looked like?” Yaoguang asked gently.

“No, he kept his head down. I couldn’t see his face. He set me down on the sidewalk and left without saying anything,” the little girl replied in her childish voice.

“Did you notice what he was wearing?” Yaoguang continued.

“Not clearly—just that his clothes were black,” the girl answered.

“Did you see which way he went?” Yaoguang asked.

“No, uncle is a superhero. He appeared out of nowhere, put me on the sidewalk, and then vanished. Auntie, he’s a superhero,” the child declared.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Yaoguang said, rising to her feet. “Mrs. Tian, thank you. You can go home now. We’ll contact you if there’s any news.”

“Thank you so much.” Mrs. Tian left, expressing her gratitude repeatedly as she took her daughter away.

Watching the mother and daughter depart, Yaoguang turned to Tianyou. “Xiling Street again, the same intersection.”

“Master, we’re back,” Jiang Yun’s voice called from outside.

“Welcome back. Did you find anything?” Yaoguang asked, noticing a man in white following the three young people.

“We brought back someone involved in the case. You can ask him yourself,” Jiang Yun said.

“Hello, my name is Li Junzhe. I saw them inquiring about the intersection, so I followed them here,” the man introduced himself.

“If you know anything, please tell us in detail,” Yaoguang gestured for him to sit.

“Frankly, I feel I may have caused trouble,” Li Junzhe admitted.

“How so?” Yaoguang inquired.

“I posted that article on Weibo,” he said, embarrassed. “I wanted to attract attention, but I didn’t expect such a big reaction.”

“Why did you post it?” Yaoguang pressed.

“Well, I don’t know if you read it carefully, but the title was ‘Paranormal Events at Midnight: Seeking the Mysterious Benefactor at the Crossroads.’ Our initial goal was to find this benefactor, but I wrote it that way to get more clicks,” Li Junzhe confessed, scratching his nose awkwardly.

“Please tell us the details,” Yaoguang requested.

“I’m an outdoor enthusiast and belong to a hiking group. We frequently pass the intersection of Xiyang Street and Xiling Street. When we gather, we often talk about strange things we’ve experienced. That day, I remembered something that happened to me there about half a month ago. After a get-together, I was driving home. As I approached the intersection, I saw the light across was about to change, so I tried to speed up. Suddenly, a voice behind me said, ‘Don’t run the red light.’ I thought I was hearing things, but the voice spoke again, louder: ‘Don’t run the red light.’ I hit the brakes. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw someone sitting in the back seat. I turned around—no one was there. I checked the mirror again—no one. But I know I heard the voice and saw the silhouette. I was so frightened I didn’t recover for days. Later, at a gathering, I shared my story, expecting everyone to laugh it off, but another friend said he’d had a similar experience. He was crossing the street around midnight when he saw no cars and didn’t wait for the green walk signal. Halfway across, a car sped toward him. Just as he was about to be hit, a hand yanked him back onto the sidewalk. He turned to thank his savior, but there was no one there—he was alone on the street. Who saved him? Another friend, riding his e-bike through the intersection, was held back by someone just as a car ran the red light, narrowly missing his front wheel. Shocked, he turned to see who’d saved him, but no one was there. The car that ran the light stalled just a short distance away. He walked over, and the driver said the car had suddenly shut off. So, you see, I think we all encountered someone invisible who saved us. That’s why I posted on Weibo. I never expected such a big response.”

“You didn’t really cause trouble. None of us expected this to happen. Take down the post, and be mindful in the future. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll handle the rest,” Yaoguang said, shaking her head in resignation.

“Alright, then I’ll take my leave,” Li Junzhe said, turning to go.

“Phoenix, the fingerprint comparison is complete. The only prints on Ming Cheng’s phone are his own. We also checked his call history. At 12:10, there was a call made to the traffic police,” Tianyou reported, holding the file.

“All evidence now points to this intersection being the site of a true paranormal event. But what, exactly, is saving people there?” Xuanchen wondered.

“So far, apart from the little girl, no one has seen this figure. I suspect the problem lies with the intersection itself. If we can’t find it, we’ll resort to the old method—lure it out,” Yaoguang decided.

“Lure it out?” The King of the Underworld asked curiously. “How?”

“Hehe, I’ll take you with me tonight,” Yaoguang replied with a mysterious smile.