Ma En didn't scream, yet couldn't help but take a step back, stepping onto the empty space of the stair, losing his balance entirely. If not for his right hand tightly gripping the railing, he would have tumbled down several times. His heart pounded violently, the chill brought by the fright instantly crawling all over his body. He subconsciously shone the flashlight towards that cat head, then fixed his gaze again, yet it was a woman once more.
It was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Her body wasn't naked, nor as mature as he had seen before; she was properly dressed in blue and white sportswear, the style suggesting a female student from the nearby high school. This girl was currently trying to block the direct light with her hands, her face turned to the side. The illuminated half of her face was fair and smooth, her shoulder-length hair even darker, shinier, and smoother, a red fruit-decorated hairpin faintly reflecting light.
Ma En blinked his eyes in disbelief. What he saw before, was it all hallucination? At this moment, he conversely felt a bit uncertain.
"What are you doing!?" the high school girl screamed.
"..." Ma En was speechless for quite a while. He looked around; there was nothing else unexpected, but no more residents came out either. The entire building was still dark, silent, as if besides himself and this high school girl, there was no one else staying in the building.
The high school girl had already stood up, somewhat fearful, but still kicked towards him. However, he instinctively caught this foot, pulled it back, nearly causing the high school girl to fall down. Fortunately, he reacted in time, catching her again. This time, the high school girl looked frightened and unsettled again, her whole body frozen stiff.
Ma En held the flashlight, carefully examining this high school girl, confirming she was indeed not the cat-head monster he glimpsed for a moment, and quickly helped her up. He still couldn't be sure exactly what had happened, but he also had common sense, knowing his actions were definitely wrong towards this high school girl.
"S-sorry, it was too rushed just now," Ma En apologized repeatedly. However, this series of abrupt changes always made him feel awkward.
The high school girl's stiff body hadn't recovered at all; she curled up, shivering uncontrollably. Ma En quickly helped her lean against the stair railing, feeling as though this high school girl was about to be scared to death. After quite a while, the high school girl's pale, stiff, expressionless face finally softened again.
"Are you feeling better? I'm really sorry," Ma En tried to converse again.
The high school girl lifted her face, met Ma En's gaze, and her body immediately shrank back. Then, Ma En faintly smelled some kind of damp odor. Meeting her gaze, he only felt extremely awkward.
"If you're alright, I'll leave first." Saying this, Ma En stood up, thought for a moment, then said to the high school girl: "I'm also a resident of this building, Apartment XXX, my name is Ma En."
He felt that if he stayed here any longer, even out of apology and wanting to compensate, it would absolutely be impossible. This situation was simply not one for further conversation; his leaving could instead allow the other party to calm down.
Ma En returned home and immediately locked the door from the inside. At this moment, the power suddenly came back on; the household appliances that had stopped working all started running.
He turned on the lights in all the rooms, strode quickly to the bookshelf, took out that nameless book – affixed with the label "Seven Revolutions Cave Profound Secret Record," but this was just a name he conjured up – opened it. The content inside, just as he had guessed, had undergone new changes. No, it should be said, regardless of whether the content had changed or not, it wouldn't surprise him. He had prepared for such peculiar things for a full twenty years; he began recognizing characters at age two, started learning mathematics at three, and from age four began absorbing the nourishment for imagination from those popular science readers for adolescents. He knew the story of Lord Ye who loved dragons, and from then on decided that one day, if he truly found peculiar things, no matter what happened, he would not regret it, even if it was dangerous, terrifying, something beyond his imagination cultivated over so many years.
Therefore, although he now felt fear – a terror that wouldn't diminish due to his own will – he did not feel regret.
All of this was within expectations.
What he saw in the book now was no longer that incomprehensible text, but rather the entire book had become empty of content. Those strange, never-before-seen characters, not a single one remained, all had disappeared, leaving only blank pages. With a cautious attitude, he counted from the first page to the last, immediately discovering that even the number of pages had decreased by almost one-third. However, just looking at the book's exterior, the thickness hadn't changed at all. Next, he deliberately weighed the book; the weight hadn't changed one bit either.
Ma En held the book, sat down heavily in his office chair, and remained silent like this for a full half minute. He was very certain that what this book and these encounters brought him was not just fear.
This was what he wanted, the thing he had searched for for so many years.
Something potentially beyond his imagination, beyond the scope of mathematics and physics he knew, an inexplicable peculiar thing, had finally appeared before him. He wasn't completely certain, but this possibility was already enough for him to use as a starting point.
He knew he wasn't the smartest person in the world, nor the most knowledgeable. Expanding the base to the "entire world," who knows how many people, like him, imagined some peculiar things, and who knows how many had his kind of resolve and ability to act. But, not all these people could encounter the things he had experienced these past days, nor could everyone find a peculiar, incomprehensible thing that clearly existed.
He was unfortunate, and also fortunate. Ma En thought, what dissatisfaction could he possibly have with those ordinary twenty-four years? Even if in the time to come, he would have to worry about those terrifying and dangerous things brought by this book, even lose his own little life, suffer a kind of pain unimaginable to ordinary people. But, it didn't matter anymore, it was worth it, he had obtained what he wanted, this was the best outcome so far.
The only thing to worry about was that those terrifying and peculiar things brought by this book would not only harm himself, but also harm the people around him – when pursuing peculiar things, he had long been mentally prepared for this. Within the imaginable scope, involving others was difficult to avoid, but, if possible, he certainly didn't want these things to happen.
Must leave here, must reduce contact with family and close friends. Furthermore, must not let those calamities implicate his own country. Must go to a place where he knows no one, and no one knows him. That should be a foreign country, one full of legends, possessing diverse religious beliefs, having a high tolerance for peculiar things, possessing sufficient resources and population, a country where criminal investigation technology and manpower have not reached top levels. Further still, it would be best if this country was in a state of incomplete independence, and also could not hold a core position internationally.
Such a country needed to satisfy his "refuge" requirements in terms of thought, culture, resources, and sentiment.
He had long prepared for this day; he had long thought about which country he needed to go to incognito once this day arrived.
— Japan (Rìdǎo).
He needed to go to Japan. That neighboring country, not too big, not too small, not too far, not too close. It was a loser in the war. Although it strove hard after defeat, the consequences of defeat still shackled it like leg irons, causing it to consistently fail to enter the correct development track. This was a country that constantly sought independence but never achieved full independence and autonomy, a country deliberately restricted by all the United Nations giants, including his own motherland. Everything there, in terms of politics, economy, and culture, highly possessed the requirements for his research into peculiar things, and also perfectly met the condition of "keeping calamities away from relatives."
Before finding a definite peculiar thing, going to Japan was meaningless; he wasn't that fond of going abroad. But, starting today, going to Japan gained necessary meaning.
Ma En had already thought of an excuse, made all preparations regarding visas and money. It was truly a case of everything being ready, just waiting for the opportune moment (lit: lacking the east wind). He knew he would very likely spend his miserable life in that foreign country, perhaps his bones wouldn't even remain, nor could he ever return to his motherland and hometown. This was the price of pursuing peculiar things, and he had long been prepared to pay such a price.
Ma En placed the nameless book on the desk, dipped a calligraphy brush full of ink, and wrote the characters "Seven Revolutions Cave Profound Secret Record" on the book's cover. From now on, he would no longer call this book the "nameless book." Although this name was something he conjured up the first moment he got the book, so many seemingly coincidental yet peculiar experiences made him even more convinced that "Seven Revolutions Cave Profound Secret Record" should be the name of this book.
Having done these things, he took a deep breath. Setting the book aside, he took out a treasure box from the desk drawer. This treasure box was just a plastic toy, a birthday gift his parents gave him when he was a child. Although made of plastic, it had an exquisite lock, and this lock was now rusted. He kept the things needed for this day – things he had imagined over the years, assuming he would use them – all locked in this child's toy treasure box.
Now, it was their time to be used.
He opened the lock, opened the treasure box, and saw the paper he always kept on the very top of the items: on it was a child's naive drawing, drawn by him, depicting him sitting alone in a small boat, sailing towards the hazy junction of sea and sky amidst stormy waves. This was the best proof of his twenty-four years of existence.
"You've worked hard," he said softly, carefully taking out the drawing, placing it aside. Then, he took away all the things in the treasure box, stuffed them into the luggage case that was also long prepared – a huge luggage case, long equipped with necessities for long journeys and survival. He updated the items inside every month, therefore, now he didn't need to do too much.
Next, he began writing a resignation letter. He happened to have perfectly concluded his current work, just waiting for his replacement to take position. Every year, he left all his windfall savings, including assets obtained through back doors using his civil servant status, totaling perhaps several million, entirely to his parents. But this year's portion, he had to keep for himself, in order to get through the most difficult beginning in a foreign land.
He somewhat wanted to write a will, but then gave up. He didn't dare; if he could survive, he still hoped to leave some thoughts or memories for his family.
So, just let the family think he went abroad to seek employment. Anyway, nowadays many people go abroad for study, travel, and work. Just use excuses like he didn't want to be a civil servant anymore, wanted to broaden his horizons and see the world.
It would probably make his parents very angry. But, it didn't matter, time would dilute everything.
Ma En thought this, rubbing his cheeks forcefully. Now, what else had he missed? Right, that high school girl, he thought, if she couldn't come find him in the near future, then they probably would never see each other again. He felt deeply apologetic for frightening her earlier; it should have been him hallucinating, rather than any problem with her herself – peculiar things in this world, how could they appear so easily? He only hoped the calamities brought by this "Seven Revolutions Cave Profound Secret Record" would not involve this high school girl, because he still didn't have enough confidence to resolve these calamities.
"Let it be," he muttered to himself. Gradually, that churning inner heart finally calmed down.