Logan Sullivan propped his long legs up on the desk, the book resting on his knees, and flipped through it with a frown.

The legends about Nüwa are extremely fragmented and scattered everywhere. The book in his hands was titled "Ancient Secret Records," which specifically listed a chapter called "Feng Clan Nüwa." It was probably written by a cultivator after the Song Dynasty, author unknown, original version unknown, and this was an audio-visual edition published after the founding of the country.

Right at the beginning, it quoted the account of Nüwa creating humans from the "Taiping Yulan": "It is said that when heaven and earth were first formed, there were no people. Nüwa molded yellow earth to make humans, but the work was so heavy that she could not keep up, so she dragged a rope through the mud and lifted it up to make people."

The author then added a note: "Humans, with faces and five features, all resemble the appearance of Empress Nüwa. They can speak and converse, emerging from clay forms. The heavenly wind ignites their three fires, and the turbid earth gives birth to their three corpses. They are undying and indestructible, intelligent yet impure. From infancy to old age, born in the morning and dead by night, Empress Nüwa pitied them, so she established marriage, thus becoming the matchmaker, allowing generations to continue endlessly."

Logan Sullivan casually reached for a black pen from the desk and drew a heavy line under "the heavenly wind ignites their three fires, and the turbid earth gives birth to their three corpses." Then, after a pause, he flipped further down to the section about "patching the sky."

"The 'Huainanzi' says: In ancient times, the four pillars collapsed, the nine provinces split, the sky could not fully cover, the earth could not fully support, fire blazed without ceasing, water surged without end, fierce beasts devoured the simple people, and predatory birds snatched the old and weak. So Nüwa smelted five-colored stones to patch the blue sky, cut off a turtle's legs to set up the four pillars, slew the black dragon to save Jizhou, and piled up reed ash to stop the flood. The sky was patched, the four pillars were set right; the floodwaters dried up, Jizhou was at peace; evil creatures died, and the simple people lived."

Below was another note: "The old turtle severed its legs as an offering, and Empress Nüwa, moved by its great virtue, bestowed brocade garments as fins. The four pillars stabilize the four directions. The northwest sky tilts, and Kunlun seals it with a verse: 'A stone old before its time, water cold before it freezes, a body dead before it lives, a soul transformed before it burns. All these are impossible things, sealed in an unreachable place, as the Four Sages. If the sky does not fall and the earth does not sink, the Four Sages will not emerge, and the world will be at peace.'"

Logan Sullivan absentmindedly stroked Darrin Grant's fur and said softly, "It says that the six impure roots of humans come from the clay bodies, and then Nüwa used the old turtle's legs to prop up the sky pillars to patch the sky. Kunlun gave these four pillars a sealing verse—how can a mountain speak? Here, 'Kunlun' should refer to Lord Kunlun. Besides, I've heard this prophecy before."

Darrin Grant: "Where?"

"At the foot of the Mountain and River Cone," Logan Sullivan said. "'Impossible things'—if that refers to the Four Sages, does it mean that if you obtain the Four Sages and accomplish these 'impossible' things, you can reach the four great sky pillars?"

Darrin Grant circled his hand, muttering, "What a mess, it's making my head spin."

、

Logan Sullivan ignored it, seemingly just talking to himself to sort out his thoughts: "The five-colored stones patch the sky, so if I'm not mistaken, the four pillars are probably used to stabilize the 'earth.' This 'earth' should be the one from the time of human creation... That makes sense. No wonder Masked Wraith is determined to obtain the Four Sages. If he gets them, he'll be able to find the method to destroy the four pillars."

Logan Sullivan reached for some dried fish snacks, his fingers carrying the aroma of fried fish. Although Darrin Grant didn't want to seem so undignified, it simply couldn't resist its instincts, desperately sniffing between Logan Sullivan's fingers, following the scent in resignation, while asking, "Who exactly is this Spirit Mask you're talking about?"

Logan Sullivan briefly recounted the events at the Mountain and River Cone to Darrin Grant. After finishing, his expression grew a bit grave: "Spirit Mask wears a mask, but I can more or less guess what he looks like."

Darrin Grant: "Could it be..."

"I'm afraid he looks almost exactly like William Sherman." Logan Sullivan sighed softly. "That man, he thinks too much, treats everyone well, but just can't let himself go. I don't know why he holds such a grudge against himself. I'm really worried about him..."

Darrin Grant looked up: "What?"

Logan Sullivan lowered his gaze slightly, meeting the black cat's eyes. Suddenly, he put his feet down from the desk, sat up straight, and said in a low voice, "Someone's coming."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of clappers echoed from afar, drawing closer and closer. The dense, chilly air became more and more distinct. The northwest wind rattled the window frames, but Logan Sullivan calmly pulled out a small bundle of incense from the drawer, lit it, and stuck it in the flowerpot on the desk. He then pulled out a porcelain basin from under the desk, took out a bundle of spirit money, lit it, and tossed it in. Amid the rising smoke, he put away the book and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

This time, the visiting underworld messenger had learned his lesson and stopped some distance from the door, calling out in a loud voice: "An uninvited guest from the underworld seeks an audience with the Guardian Order Commander. Might the Master spare a moment?"

Logan Sullivan eased his stern expression and cleared his throat: "Please."

The door to the Criminal Investigation Department office creaked open. As soon as it did, the visitor caught the strong scent of incense and spirit money in the room—money can indeed make ghosts turn millstones. Sure enough, the visitor's expression softened, and instead of speaking, he smiled first, hurriedly bowing: "Master, you're too polite, far too polite."

Logan Sullivan was also taken aback to see the visitor. After a moment, he stood up and said in some surprise, "What wind blew Arbiter here?"

Judge still looked as genial as ever, smiling so kindly that he seemed less like an underworld official and more like a god of wealth or a matchmaking old man.

After coming in, he exchanged pleasantries with Logan Sullivan for quite a while. Then the two of them sat down politely, each harboring their own motives. Darrin Grant leapt into Logan Sullivan's lap, its tail hooking around his wrist, saying nothing, its green eyes coldly fixed on Judge, as if in a protective stance.

Only then did Judge become serious: "I wouldn't come to the temple for nothing. To disturb you in the middle of the night, there is indeed something I must ask. I hope, for the sake of the greater good, the Master can lend a hand."

"Oh, please," Logan Sullivan quickly waved his hand. "Don't flatter me. I'm just an ordinary mortal who knows a few tricks. Thanks to everyone for treating me like I'm something special, but I really don't dare take myself too seriously. You're being so polite, I'm at a loss. Whatever it is, just say it. If it's within my ability, I'll do my best to help."

Judge sat there sighing for a long time, trying to prompt Logan Sullivan to ask, but Logan Sullivan just sat there drinking tea, completely ignoring his hints. After a while, Judge couldn't hold it in anymore and finally asked, "This evening, you must have noticed the warning from the Ravenkind, right?"

Logan Sullivan looked utterly confused: "No, I spent the afternoon at my mom's watching a replay of the Spring Festival Gala. Honestly, I didn't notice anything."

Judge: "..."

Logan Sullivan asked innocently, "What's up with the crows?"

Judge knew full well that Logan Sullivan was playing dumb. He was the last person who wanted to deal with this Guardian Order Commander. For one, Judge was among the few who knew some of Logan Sullivan's background and neither wanted nor dared to offend this big shot. For another, this big shot was shameless, cunning, and a master of three tricks—rascality, deflection, and evasion—any one of which was enough to give others a headache.

"Crows only bring bad news, never good. Black clouds are rising in the northwest. Someone, unafraid of divine retribution, has set up a great formation at the marshes atop Kunlun Mountain, intending to extract a soul fragment from every living being."

Logan Sullivan was stunned and blurted out, "Every living being? The Earth's population is about to explode—can he even manage that?"

Judge: "..."

Logan Sullivan chuckled, "I'm really confused. You'll have to explain. Who went up to the top of the snowy mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet line, set up what, and for what purpose?"

Judge pulled a wanted notice from his sleeve. Logan Sullivan glanced at it—an old acquaintance: Spirit Mask.

"This person is the king of the filthiest creatures born of the earth. It's a long story. Back in the primordial era, during the war between gods and demons, he was personally sealed under a thousand-zhang-deep Yellow Spring by Nüwa herself. Over the years, Nüwa's seal has gradually weakened, allowing him to break free. Master, you are a wise man, so I'll be frank—right now, he's still eighty percent sealed by Nüwa's divine mark. If we join forces, we still have a fighting chance. But if he fully escapes..."

Logan Sullivan listened to his half-truths and couldn't help but curl his lips in a slight smile, not picking up on Judge's worried tone. Instead, he pretended not to understand and pressed on, "Oh, that's serious. A demon sealed by Nüwa—so that's not the same as the usual demons, right? Which is more powerful?"

Judge: "..."

Logan Sullivan continued with interest, "So why does he want so many souls?"

Judge finally managed to catch his breath: "His goal is to force out the Virtue Quill. Every person carries a soul fragment that records all their deeds, good and bad, in this life and the last—red for merit, black for fault. If he extracts this soul fragment and gathers them atop Kunlun Mountain, the Virtue Quill will naturally appear. We absolutely cannot let him obtain the Virtue Quill, otherwise..."