Chapter 4: The Shadow Observer
As night deepened, warm yellow light illuminated the maps and documents spread across Long Hua's desk in his apartment.
He carefully studied the local chronicles and Dragon Mountain tourist maps borrowed from the library, comparing them with the sketch drawn by the mysterious elderly librarian Zhou Dao, planning tomorrow's route. Dragon Mountain wasn't particularly tall, with an altitude of just over 700 meters—a relaxing excursion for experienced hikers, but Long Hua hadn't engaged in such outdoor activities for quite some time.
"Should prepare some food and water," he muttered to himself, listing items needed for tomorrow on paper. "Flashlight, spare batteries, compass..."
Thinking of compasses reminded him of his father's bronze one. Under the desk lamp, the rune patterns on the compass's surface gleamed with a strange luster, its needle still pointing east—toward Dragon Mountain. Long Hua gazed at this mysterious object, his mind filled with countless thoughts. If Lin Ruoxi's guess was correct and Li Tianming was indeed his ancestor, then this compass might have been passed down through his family for hundreds of years.
"Dad, why didn't you tell me about these things earlier?" Long Hua asked softly, as if his father could hear him. He vaguely remembered that when he was young, his father occasionally took him to the outskirts to observe stars, teaching him to recognize various constellations and planets. In retrospect, those might not have been merely ordinary astronomy lessons but the beginning of some kind of inheritance.
After putting away the compass, Long Hua walked to the window and gazed eastward. Stars dotted the night sky, with Dragon Mountain's silhouette barely visible against the backdrop of city lights. By this time tomorrow, he might have unraveled part of the mystery.
Just as he was about to draw the curtains, an unusual sight caught his attention. On the rooftop of the building opposite, a figure appeared to be moving. Long Hua narrowed his eyes, trying to see clearly, but the night was too dark—he could only discern a vague black outline.
"Probably maintenance personnel on the roof," Long Hua reassured himself, yet felt an inexplicable unease.
Just as he was about to close the window, the black shadow suddenly turned toward him, as if staring directly into his eyes. Long Hua's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively stepped back. When he looked at the rooftop again, the shadow had vanished.
"An illusion?" Long Hua rubbed his eyes, deciding not to dwell on it. The strange events of late were already overwhelming; he didn't need to tense up over every small anomaly.
However, as he turned to continue preparing for tomorrow, a feeling of being watched lingered. This wasn't the first time—over the past few days, he had often felt someone observing him from the shadows, especially at school and on his way home.
"Perhaps I should tell Lin Ruoxi," Long Hua considered, picking up his phone. They had exchanged contact information to prepare for tomorrow's trip. After a moment's thought, he put the phone down. Without concrete evidence, speaking up would only make him seem paranoid.
By the time he finished preparing, it was nearly midnight. After washing up, Long Hua lay in bed but found himself unable to sleep. The shadow on the rooftop, the mysterious elderly librarian, and the impending mountain trip—all these thoughts tumbled through his mind, dispelling any drowsiness.
He picked up a physics magazine from his bedside table, hoping reading would calm him. The magazine featured an article on the latest research in quantum entanglement—normally a topic of great interest to him, but tonight he struggled to concentrate.
Setting the magazine aside, Long Hua turned off the light and forced himself to close his eyes. In the darkness, the occasional sound of passing cars and distant barking dogs became a lullaby. Slowly, fatigue overcame tension, and he drifted into sleep.
---
"Tick-tock—tick-tock—"
A rhythmic sound jolted Long Hua from his sleep. He opened his eyes to find the room pitch-black, with only the digital alarm clock emitting a faint red glow, showing 3:15 AM.
The sound seemed to come from the living room. Long Hua sat up alertly, listening carefully. It was a metallic tapping sound, evenly paced, like some kind of signal or code.
"An intruder?" Long Hua whispered, carefully getting out of bed, grabbing his phone and a baseball bat from beside the bed, then tiptoeing toward the living room.
The living room was unlit, with only faint moonlight through the curtains outlining the furniture. The sound continued, and Long Hua traced it to its source, finally locating it on his desk.
Turning on his phone's flashlight, the beam illuminated the desk. Long Hua was astonished to discover that the source of the sound was his father's bronze compass! Its needle was swinging continuously, striking the inner wall of the compass, producing the regular "tick-tock" sound.
Even more shocking, the runes on the compass's surface were emitting a faint blue glow in the dark. The light fluctuated with the swinging of the needle, brightening and dimming as if breathing.
Long Hua could hardly believe his eyes. He carefully approached and reached out to touch the compass. The moment his fingers made contact with the metal surface, the compass jerked violently, its needle stopping and pointing directly east—toward Dragon Mountain.
The blue glow intensified at that moment, illuminating the entire desk. Long Hua stepped back in surprise as the compass's light began flashing in a specific rhythm, as if transmitting information.
"Is this... Morse code?" Drawing on his amateur radio knowledge, Long Hua attempted to decode the flashes but quickly realized the rhythm was too complex, not conforming to standard Morse code rules.
Suddenly, the compass's glow ceased abruptly, and everything returned to normal, as if the strange phenomenon had never occurred. Puzzled, Long Hua picked up the compass and examined it, finding nothing unusual. The needle had resumed its random movements, and the surface runes no longer glowed.
"Am I dreaming?" Long Hua pinched his arm to confirm this was reality.
Just then, a slight noise came from outside the window, like something moving quickly. Long Hua cautiously approached the window, slightly pulling back the curtain to peek outside.
In the moonlight, a black figure swiftly crossed the street, disappearing into an alley opposite. The figure moved unlike an ordinary person—too fast, with movements too fluid, like a trained agent or martial arts expert.
Long Hua's heart raced as that sense of being watched returned, stronger than before. He hurriedly drew the curtains, returned to his desk, placed the compass back in its wooden box, then checked all the door locks and windows to ensure everything was secure.
Back in his bedroom, Long Hua lay in bed, unable to sleep. The compass's abnormal behavior, the shadow outside the window—all these pointed to the fact that he had been drawn into the vortex of some mysterious event, and this was just the beginning.
Not until the eastern sky began to lighten did Long Hua finally find some semblance of sleep. In his half-awake state, he seemed to hear a deep voice whispering in his ear: "The time has come, Clear-Eyed One. Find the key..."
---
At six in the morning, the alarm clock rang punctually. Long Hua opened his tired eyes, last night's experience still vivid in his mind. He got up, washed, ate a simple breakfast, shouldered his prepared backpack, and set off toward the eastern suburban bus station where he had arranged to meet Lin Ruoxi.
The streets were sparsely populated, with morning mist shrouding the city in a hazy veil. Long Hua occasionally looked back to ensure no one was following, but the streets held only elderly morning exercisers and early commuters hurrying to work.
"Maybe I really am overthinking," Long Hua reassured himself, though remaining vigilant.
When he reached the bus station, Lin Ruoxi was already waiting. She wore light outdoor clothing, carried a compact hiking backpack, and looked vibrant and energetic.
"Good morning," Lin Ruoxi greeted him with a smile. "You look a bit tired. Didn't sleep well last night?"
Long Hua hesitated briefly before deciding to tell her the truth: "Some strange things happened last night. The compass lit up and made sounds by itself, and I felt like someone was watching me."
Lin Ruoxi's expression turned serious. "Tell me more."
Long Hua detailed last night's experiences, including the compass's unusual behavior and the shadow outside the window. Lin Ruoxi listened attentively, nodding occasionally.
"This is no coincidence," she pondered. "The activation of the compass and the appearance of that person in black both indicate we're approaching some significant juncture." She glanced around, ensuring no one was eavesdropping. "We must be careful. Someone may not want us to discover those secrets."
"Who do you think it is?" Long Hua asked.
"Not certain yet, but ancient texts mention 'Guardians' who are responsible for preventing certain secrets from becoming known to outsiders." Lin Ruoxi spoke very softly. "If that legend is true, we may have already attracted their attention."
"So, should we abandon this trip?" Long Hua asked, though he already knew his own answer.
Lin Ruoxi looked directly into his eyes. "Do you want to give up?"
Long Hua shook his head. "No. This concerns my family and those light phenomena I've been able to see since childhood. I need the truth."
"Then let's go," Lin Ruoxi smiled. "We'll face any challenges together."
The bus slowly arrived, and they boarded, heading toward Dragon Mountain. Outside the window, the eastern sun was rising, coating the city in a golden glow.
Long Hua gazed out the window, feeling both anticipation and slight trepidation. He didn't know what today's mountain trip would bring, but he was certain that his life's trajectory was about to change because of it.
In the rear of the bus, a man wearing sunglasses silently observed them, holding a small communication device in his hand. The device flashed slightly, emitting an almost imperceptible blue light.