Chapter 4: Invisible Doubts

The night had deepened, the city's clamor gradually subsiding, with only occasional car horns breaking the stillness. In Long Hua's apartment, the desk lamp cast a warm halo of light as he finally finished grading the last test paper and rubbed his tired eyes.

The wall clock pointed to eleven-thirty. Long Hua stood up to stretch his stiff body and walked to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of warm water. Through the rising steam, his thoughts involuntarily returned to today's conversation with Lin Ruoxi.

"People who can see the 'Thousand-Eye Light' have a special connection with the universe..." he softly repeated Lin Ruoxi's words, feeling a sense of wonder. For over thirty years, those special light phenomena had been his secret; he had never imagined they might mean something.

Returning to his bedroom, Long Hua's gaze fell on an old photograph on his nightstand. In the photo, his young parents stood in front of an ancient pavilion, his father's arm around his mother's shoulder, both faces radiating happiness. The background showed a lush green mountain with the faint outline of an old pavilion at its peak.

Long Hua picked up the photograph, gently wiping away the dust. This was one of the few keepsakes his parents had left him, taken shortly before his birth. His father had been a high school physics teacher, perhaps the reason Long Hua had chosen the same career path.

"Dad, I met someone strange today..." Long Hua spoke softly to the photograph, as if his father could hear him. "She seems to know something about that light I can see."

He opened the drawer of his nightstand and took out an ancient wooden box. The box was intricately carved with celestial patterns and looked centuries old. His father had given it to him before passing away, instructing him to keep it safe, but never explaining its origins.

Long Hua carefully opened the box, revealing yellowed papers and a small bronze compass. He took out the compass, holding it in his palm, feeling its weight and the cool touch of metal. Unlike ordinary compasses, its needle didn't point north but moved irregularly, as if searching for a specific direction.

For years, he had tried to understand the principle behind this compass, using various physics knowledge to explain the needle's abnormal behavior, but never found an answer. His father had never mentioned it either, only saying enigmatically on his deathbed: "One day, you will understand."

Placing the compass back in the box, Long Hua took out several sheets of paper. These weren't ordinary paper but made of some special material that felt like a combination of silk and paper, covered with strange symbols and patterns—somewhat resembling star charts but not quite the same.

Long Hua had always suspected these patterns were related to the light phenomena he could see but had never found a definite connection. Lin Ruoxi's appearance today rekindled his hope of exploring this mystery.

"Maybe I could show her these patterns tomorrow..." Long Hua pondered, but then hesitated. "No, better wait a while. We've just met; talking about these things would seem too strange."

After putting away the box, Long Hua lay down on his bed and turned off the lamp. In the darkness, moonlight spilled into the room, giving the furniture a silver outline. He closed his eyes but found himself unable to sleep, his mind continuously replaying the day's events.

Lin Ruoxi's face, the patterns in the ancient book, and her mention of the "Clear-Eyed Ones"... these fragments intertwined in his consciousness, forming a blurry yet vaguely visible picture.

"What does all this mean?" Long Hua asked himself softly, feeling a previously unknown emotion of intertwined unease and anticipation.

With these complex feelings, he finally drifted into sleep, only to have a strange dream.

In the dream, he stood beneath a star-filled sky, surrounded by the boundless universe. Countless points of light encircled him, forming complex geometric patterns like the symbols he had seen on those special papers. In the distance, a blurred figure reached out to him, seemingly calling him. He tried to approach but found himself unable to move, only able to watch helplessly as the figure receded further and further...

"Long Hua..." a deep and distant voice echoed through the universe. "The time has come... Find the key..."

Long Hua woke with a start, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding. Outside, the eastern sky was already showing the first light of dawn—the beginning of another morning.

He sat up, recalling the dream scenario, feeling an indescribable shock. That voice had been so real, unlike an ordinary dream. Even stranger, he could clearly remember every detail of the dream upon waking, whereas dreams usually quickly dissipate after awakening.

During his morning routine of washing up, Long Hua's thoughts still lingered on the dream. "Find the key..." What did these words mean? Did they refer to a physical key or some metaphor?

Dressed and ready, Long Hua habitually took his father's compass from the drawer and placed it in his pocket. This had been his habit for many years; the compass was like a talisman, giving him an inexplicable sense of security.

Today was different from usual. When his fingers touched the compass, he felt a slight sting, like being struck by static electricity. Even more strangely, the compass needle no longer swung erratically but pointed firmly in one direction—toward the school.

Long Hua stood there, staring at the compass, his heart racing. Was this coincidence or some kind of omen?

"Perhaps something will happen today..." he said softly, carefully putting the compass back in his pocket and deciding to leave earlier than usual.

Opening his front door, Long Hua took a deep breath of the morning air. Today's sunshine was particularly bright. Pedestrians on the street wore busy yet relaxed expressions—everything looked so ordinary. But Long Hua knew that beneath the ordinary appearance might lie extraordinary secrets.

"First to school, and then..." he silently formulated his plan, walking determinedly toward the bus stop. "Then see where this compass leads me."

The bus slowly approached. Long Hua boarded and found a window seat. Outside, the city was awakening in the morning light, with skyscrapers reflecting the golden sunlight.

His hand in his pocket, feeling the shape of the compass, his heart was filled with curiosity and anticipation. His life, calm as still water for thirty years, seemed about to face a storm. At the center of this storm might be the mysterious woman who had just appeared in his life yesterday—Lin Ruoxi.

Long Hua gently closed his eyes, immersing himself in this wondrous premonition. The bus continued forward, carrying him toward an unknown destiny.

He completely failed to notice that not far behind the bus, a tall figure in a black coat was quietly observing him, then quickly dialing a mysterious number.

"Target confirmed, on his way to school," the figure in black said in a low voice. "Yes, the abnormal energy fluctuations are becoming more noticeable... I will continue monitoring."

Hanging up, the black-clad figure merged into the morning crowd, silently following in the direction of the bus.

The wheels of fate had begun to turn.