Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 156 - 138: Butterfly

When Chen Chuan arrived at the company, he was met by a man in his thirties dressed in the uniform of the Affairs Department. The man’s eyes lit up upon seeing Chen Chuan, and he eagerly stepped forward to shake his hand.

"You must be Expert Chen," he said. "I’m Wang Bian, from the Jia County Administrative Office. You can call me Manager Wang, or even just Xiaowang." He was extremely enthusiastic, completely lacking the usual airs of an administrative official and instead showing a hint of deliberate eagerness to please.

Chen Chuan shook his hand. "Hello, Manager Wang."

Once greetings were exchanged, they both sat down. Manager Wang sighed. "This weird tale has everyone in a panic lately. We’re at our wit’s end, so we reached out to Yangzhi City. A colleague at the Administrative Affairs Hall recommended your company. Oh, and I heard you were the ones who solved the Flying Head Monster incident. That’s remarkable, truly remarkable."

Chen Chuan said, "I was given a brief overview before I came. Manager Wang, could you give me the details?"

Manager Wang said, a troubled look on his face, "Well, it all started like this..."

As he spoke, Chen Chuan, Ren Shu, and the others began to understand the situation.

Due to local customs in Jia County, tattoos are quite popular among the youth. Recently, however, people have been discovering butterfly-shaped patterns inexplicably appearing on their bodies—patterns that are impossible to wash off.

The tattoo is exceptionally beautiful, vibrant, and lifelike, seeming to dance gracefully with the body’s every movement. As a result, those who had one would show it off to others. But when asked where it came from, no one had an answer.

But these young people quickly realized something was wrong. The tattoos multiplied almost daily, and within just a few days, their entire bodies were covered.

What was most terrifying was that the tattoos would overlap until they formed a dense layer. Once there was no bare skin left, they would transform into real butterflies and fly out of the body. They didn’t just emerge from the skin; butterflies would even fly out from their internal organs.

Only then did people realize the tattoos had been inside their bodies all along, just hidden from view. All that remained of the victim was a pile of hole-ridden flesh and bone.

As Manager Wang reached this part of the story, his eyes filled with terror. He had seen one of the bodies himself. He’d thrown up on the spot and had nightmares for days afterward. Now, the first thing he did every morning was inspect his entire body for any sign of a butterfly tattoo.

In just ten short days, the local Administrative Office had received over a dozen similar reports. And those were only the ones that were filed; there was no telling how many more went unreported.

If it had only affected the common folk, it might have been manageable. But the officials at the Administrative Office grew worried that they, their families, and their friends could be afflicted next. They ordered the victims to be rounded up, but this only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. The incidents continued.

What was most exasperating was that some people—who knows what goes through their heads—actually started getting these tattoos deliberately after hearing about the phenomenon. This made the situation even harder to manage and forced the office to seek out experts for help.

After hearing the full story, Chen Chuan’s expression grew serious. He thought for a moment. "I understand the situation. I’ll need to research some materials. I’ll have a reply for you this afternoon."

Manager Wang said, "Excellent, excellent. We’re counting on you, Expert Chen. I’ll wait right here at your company for your response."

Back in his office, Chen Chuan began to look through the files on weird tales that Cheng Zitong had given him. He had been studying them in his spare time every evening to broaden his knowledge and expertise, but there were so many that he still hadn’t gotten through them all.

He checked the master index but confirmed that the butterfly tattoo was not listed among the recorded weird tales. This meant it was a phenomenon even Cheng Zitong had never seen or heard of.

He wasn’t very confident about a case like this and could have easily turned it down. However, after careful consideration, he decided to give it a try anyway.

He had encountered enough weird tales and seen enough examples to have accumulated some experience of his own.

Most of the weird tales he’d dealt with before, including those in his files, were confined to a specific location with a limited range. They might cause localized chaos, but they rarely caused widespread social turmoil unless there was a human element involved, like with the Flying Head Sect.

’A communicable weird tale like this must have a source,’ he reasoned. ’Eliminate the source, and the problem will be solved.’

Come to think of it, most of the weird tales he’d handled in the past were already documented, with precedents he could follow. He just had to go by the book. He had never tackled an undocumented phenomenon like this on his own.

But as he took on more cases, he knew he was bound to encounter undocumented phenomena sooner or later. This time, he wouldn’t shy away from it. He would try to solve it himself.

But despite his resolve, he didn’t abandon his usual caution. He called Cheng Zitong to ask for his advice and share his analysis.

After listening, Cheng Zitong said, "Xiaochuan, your line of thinking is sound, assuming your information is accurate. Sometimes, the thing that clouds your judgment isn’t the weird tale itself, but the people involved."

Chen Chuan replied, "Teacher, I understand. Because weird tales affect people, solving them first requires navigating human affairs—and human affairs are often far more complex than the tale itself."

"Exactly," Cheng Zitong said. "So be prepared. Solving a weird tale is about more than just the phenomenon itself. You need to be especially careful once you’re outside Yangzhi City."

"I understand, Teacher," Chen Chuan said.

Cheng Zitong grunted in acknowledgment. "If you need my help with anything, just call."

After ending the call, Chen Chuan thought for a moment before calling the company. He told them he was taking the case and needed to head to Jia County immediately.

Ren Shu immediately relayed this to Manager Wang, who was overjoyed to hear that Chen Chuan would be departing right away. He eagerly agreed and said he would come pick him up at once.

Half an hour later, Chen Chuan was in Manager Wang’s car, on his way to Jia County. To make it easier to discuss the case, he and Manager Wang sat in the back while a chauffeur drove. Since he was traveling to another county, the company had arranged for a second, empty car to follow them, ensuring Chen Chuan would have transportation.

Of Yangzhi City’s six counties, Jia County was the smallest and located at the northernmost edge of the southwestern region. The county seat itself was surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it difficult to access. However, a tributary of the White River curved through an opening in the mountains, making river transport convenient and keeping the county from being completely isolated.

A little over two hours after leaving Yangzhi City, the car turned onto a winding mountain road. About ten minutes later, the light suddenly dimmed as they entered a narrow gorge, the sky obscured by towering cliffs on either side.

Manager Wang explained to Chen Chuan that this was Pingkong Gorge. In the old days, it was known for being a treacherous pass, but it had been widened during the Great Expansion. Aside from the river, this road was the only way into the county.

Chen Chuan glanced up, noticing the old sentry posts and cliff-side paths carved into the rock, relics from the Great Expansion.

Just then, a series of motorcycles sped past them. One rider even deliberately swerved in front of their car for a moment before speeding off.

Manager Wang looked a little embarrassed. "Just some rich kids," he explained. "They come from Jia County and a few of the neighboring counties. They love racing through this gorge."

A few miles later, they finally emerged from the gorge. The sudden return of bright daylight felt like rejoining the world of the living.

Shops and apartment buildings began to line the road. The county seat was small, which seemed to make the population feel denser; the streets were crowded with people.

Manager Wang said, "I’ve arranged a place for you to stay, Expert Chen. The accommodations are a bit simple, but I hope you won’t mind."

"Let’s not rush," Chen Chuan said, picking up a map. "I was just looking at this. The first butterfly tattoos appeared around Chang Street, Po Street, and here..."

He circled several locations on the map with a pen, then drew a larger circle encompassing them all. He handed the map to Manager Wang. "Manager Wang, I need you to get some men and drive this route."

Manager Wang took the map, his expression growing serious as he studied it. "I need to make a call." After the car pulled over, he went to a roadside phone booth. Fifteen minutes later, two vehicles from the local public security office arrived. He got back in the car. "The men are here, Expert Chen. Shall we go?"

Chen Chuan nodded, then added, "And tell them not to drive too fast."

"Got it."

After driving for about ten minutes, they reached the outermost street on the map. Chen Chuan noticed colored streamers and lanterns decorating both sides of the road. Shops had lanterns hung high, and pedestrians had streaks of red paint on their cheeks. "Are you celebrating a festival?" he asked.

"We are," said Manager Wang. "In two days, it’s our local Qixi Festival. The custom is to weave textiles and paint our faces with festive colors. The Administrative Office is worried something might happen during the celebrations, which is why we’re so desperate to resolve this quickly."

Chen Chuan then turned his attention to his Second Self. His plan was simple. Whenever he encountered a weird tale, his Second Self would turn illusory. He would have them drive a circuit around the areas where the butterfly tattoos had primarily appeared. If anyone afflicted with this particular weird tale was nearby, he was certain to detect them. ’From there,’ he thought, ’I can trace their movements over the last few days. If I’m lucky, it should lead me to the source.’

The area circled on the map wasn’t very large; it took the cars just over an hour to complete the circuit. He found nothing. "Narrow the search area," he said. "Let’s drive the route again."

Manager Wang didn’t understand Chen Chuan’s method, but he trusted that the expert had his reasons. He instructed the driver to follow Chen Chuan’s orders.

As they continued to circle, constantly narrowing the search area, the driver remained silent. However, the public security officers in the other car grew impatient and came over to complain. Manager Wang quickly calmed them down before giving Chen Chuan a troubled look.

Just then, Chen Chuan asked, "Manager Wang, you have night markets here, don’t you?"

"We do," Manager Wang replied. "Especially with the Qixi Festival coming up. The young people love to come out at night, so the markets have been particularly lively."

Chen Chuan said, "Tell them that if we don’t find any clues now, the search will have to continue into the night. But if they can just put in a little more effort now, we won’t need to trouble them later tonight."

"Right, right."

When Manager Wang relayed the message, the public security officers stopped complaining. They even felt a bit of pity for the poor souls who would be stuck with the night shift, feeling like they’d gotten off easy.

By now, the cars had reached the innermost street of the search area. One more pass and they would have covered the entire section marked on the map.

But just at that moment, Chen Chuan saw his Second Self flicker, turning faintly illusory for an instant before returning to normal.

He whipped his head around to look at the side of the street, where a bald man with a dull, wooden expression was walking past. Despite his vacant look, the man’s body was incredibly muscular. Chen Chuan’s eyes narrowed. "Wait," he said sharply. "Stop the car. Stop that man."

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