Mystery: From Celestial Venerable's Backup to Red Priest

Chapter 1 Door-to-Door Visit

At dawn, as the sun began to shine brightly, it awakened the entire city of Tingen. The fresh air was invigorating, and the chirping of birds echoed in the distance, making everything seem so beautiful.

In the Golden Rooster district, the heart of Tingen’s city center, there is a house with a huge garden, surrounded by tall iron railings, making it seem somewhat isolated from the world.

The road leading directly from the main entrance to the three-story villa is lined with many marble sculptures that are four or five meters high. The road is so wide that three carriages can pass side by side. In the middle of the flowerbeds, you can faintly see fountains that are constantly gushing out. All around are craftsmen who are busy tending to the flowers and plants early in the morning.

Just then, the sound of the large iron gate opening came from the main gate, causing the busy craftsmen to look up in surprise and gaze in the direction from which the sound came.

"Who could be visiting so early? The moon, a symbol of the goddess, hasn't even fully set in the distance!"

Two uniformed police officers entered through the large iron gate.

"This house is really big! Captain, is this the last suspect we've investigated?" Leonard, a handsome green-eyed man who could easily grace the cover of a magazine, looked at the somewhat aged sculptures in the corridor and casually glanced at the craftsmen curiously observing them from among the surrounding flower bushes, and remarked casually.

"Keep your voice down. This is Earl Ahova's residence. The person we're investigating is no ordinary individual. Be careful what you say!" A middle-aged man with gray eyes beside Leonard gestured to the male servant leading the way and whispered a warning to Leonard.

The one giving Leonard the instructions was naturally Dunn, the captain of the Tingen Market Nightwalker team. He had come in for a formal visit because the house was too big and exceeded the scope of his ability to pull people into dreams.

Upon hearing this, Leonard raised his lips slightly in a flippant manner, but ultimately said nothing more. After all, Tingen was the capital of County Akhova, and as a local, he naturally knew the weight of the Earl of Akhova.

In Tingen, almost everyone's family history traces back to their time as subjects of the Earl of Akhova's territory.

On the way here, Leonard had already looked at the information about the final target that he had obtained from the police station in the carriage.

Evan Horn, 22, a native of Tingen, is a recent graduate of Hoy University and lives at 33 Golden Apple Street in the Golden Planewood District. He is a rising political star and the younger brother of Congressman Robert Horn. He was a classmate of the victims Welch and Naya in a different department but in the same year. It is possible that he went through the notebook with them. He has been behaving normally recently and showed no abnormalities when attending Welch and Naya's funeral.

Leonard believes that if Evan had looked through that notebook and there was really something wrong with it, he would have committed suicide in a horrific way on that terrifying night, just like his two unfortunate classmates, and wouldn't be alive now.

Unless he's as lucky as his new teammate Klein, but the odds of two lucky people appearing in one extraordinary event are too small.

The man led Dunn and Leonard to the meeting room, where they met Mr. Buck, the housekeeper.

After explaining their purpose, Mr. Buck had a servant serve them coffee and then left the meeting room.

After Dunn and Leonard had already had two refills of coffee, and Leonard was about to lose his patience, their investigation subject, Evan Horn, finally arrived late.

Before the door to the meeting room was even opened, Dunn and Leonard could faintly hear a young man complaining. Although the voice was soft, Dunn and Leonard, being extraordinary beings, could still hear it clearly.

"What could possibly wake me up so early? I just attended Mrs. Sharon's birthday party last night and didn't get home until 3 a.m. I've only slept for less than 4 hours! Goddess above, Mr. Buck, how could you deprive me of my right to a good night's sleep?"

"If I don't get enough sleep, my skin will definitely get worse, my energy will definitely be low, and my lifespan will definitely be shortened. I wonder how many young girls will be heartbroken because of me then!"

Meanwhile, the butler, Buck, kept explaining, but the young voice was not satisfied with the butler's explanation and instead spoke more and more harshly.

"What's so great about the police? They're just a bunch of incompetent black dogs. Welch and Naya couldn't possibly have been killed by robbers. It must have involved some mysterious force. They're incapable of solving cases. They're just here to ask for a tip. Just give it to them..."

Upon hearing the young voice, even Dunn, who was relatively good-tempered, turned cold, while Leonard unconsciously clenched his fists. Although they were members of the Church of the Night, they were still legitimate police officers and received an extra salary from the police station, so they were naturally unhappy with these words.

As the sound drew near, the door to the reception room opened, and a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes, at least 175 cm tall, walked in wearing a bathrobe. He glanced at Dunn and Leonard, who had stood up, and then sat down on the sofa.

Wearing a bathrobe to meet guests is already extremely impolite, let alone not even greeting them.

Looking at the rude young man in front of him, Leonard had an urge to punch him, but Dunn stopped him. Seeing that things were not going well, Mr. Buck, the butler, quickly stepped in to smooth things over and introduced the two sides.

Seeing the urging look in Butler Buck's eyes, Evan Horn reluctantly stood up and shook hands with Dunn, completely ignoring Leonard, whose rank was obviously lower than Dunn's, which made Leonard so angry that he almost jumped up and down.

Upon seeing this, Dunn frowned, but still spoke without any emotion:

"We've taken the liberty of bothering you this time mainly because of the case of your two classmates from Hoy University. The reason we're visiting so early is because we've been conducting investigations all night." As he spoke, Dunn looked at the young man in front of him, hoping he would take back what he had said earlier.

To Dunn's surprise, the young man in the bathrobe chuckled, picked up a newspaper from the side, unfolded it, placed it on the coffee table between them, and pointed to the contents, saying:

"The newspapers have already published the news that Welch and Naya were killed by robbers, which means your police department has already closed the case. How could you still be investigating the case overnight?"

"Speak! Are you investigating this case without authorization, or are you here to collect a reward?"

Looking at the newspaper spread out, still bearing his signed approval and the released case report, Dunn was extremely embarrassed. He had completely forgotten about the matter. It was Leonard, standing beside him, who quickly interjected to help him out:

"We just heard what you said. Why are you so certain that Mr. Welch and Ms. Naya weren't killed by robbers?"

Evan Horn raised an eyebrow, gave Leonard a disdainful smile, and only after Leonard could barely contain his anger did he speak:

"I've seen their bodies. They all exhibit typical suicide characteristics. It's impossible for them to be the work of robbers. How could a victim drown while being robbed at the entrance of a building? There must be some mysterious force at play. The fact that your superiors are in such a hurry to close the case further indicates that there must be something wrong with it, and that they have definitely handed it over to the relevant people to handle. They don't need you ordinary police officers to get involved."

Okay, since you're here because of Welch and Naya's case, I won't report you to the police. You can all leave now, don't disturb my nap.

When Evan deduced that the police officers in front of him were investigating the case without authorization, Mr. Buck, the butler, was already regretting that he hadn't discovered it earlier. Now, hearing that Evan wanted to see the guests out, he immediately opened the door to the living room and asked Dunn and Leonard to leave.

Dunn hadn't expected that this frivolous young man would be so quick-witted. He had only intended to teach him a lesson and teach him some manners, but he hadn't expected to expose such a big flaw, which the young man had so keenly seized upon.

But he hadn't even started questioning them yet, so how could he just leave like that? He used his Nightmare ability to pull Evan, the butler, and everyone else into his dream and began interrogating them there.

"Mr. Evan, you've always been a well-known occult enthusiast at the university. Did you see the book that Mr. Welch and Ms. Naya recently bought, a book that dates back to the Quaternary period?"

In his dream, Evan still had the air of a rich kid, but he was much calmer and less grumpy than he was in real life. He answered honestly:

"I've heard about it, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet. After finishing my graduation thesis, I was invited by Congressman Maynard and Mrs. Sharon to go hunting in the countryside. I only heard about their deaths the day after I returned!"

I saw the scene and their bodies; this was definitely not an ordinary criminal case, it must involve some mysterious force.

I know you don't understand your superior's hasty decision to close the case and conduct a private investigation. You're much more conscientious than those bloated, corrupt police executives, but this case isn't what you think. Getting involved won't do you any good. Just give up the investigation!

Looking at Mr. Evan, who was earnestly advising him not to get involved in the matter in his dream, Dunn was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the seemingly frivolous and impolite rich kid would actually be considerate of others. The real Evan was quite different from the Evan in his dream!

"I think you've become obsessed with the mystical arts; there's no such thing as mystical power in this world!"

Dunn deliberately said this in a disbelieving, mocking tone to provoke Evan.

Sure enough, upon hearing Dunn's words, Evan jumped up in anger and said excitedly:

"I've gone mad from studying the occult! I... I don't need to explain to a lowly policeman like you. You know nothing about mystical powers. Alright, you guys hurry up and leave. I need to catch up on some sleep."

For some reason, Evan suddenly suppressed his urge to show off his knowledge of the occult in his dream. His eyes darted around, and he tentatively asked:

"I heard your brother is Congressman Robert, a real rising star in politics, a truly important figure. Did he tell you anything?"

"He's so tight-lipped, how could he possibly tell me anything? But I've attended many occult conferences, studied many ancient books, and witnessed some amazing divinations, so I once tentatively asked him about it, but he didn't admit it and even told me to stay away from these things."

However, he's just trying to cover it up. The more he denies it, the more it proves to be true. I'll find this mysterious power sooner or later, and once I learn it, I'll definitely give him a shock.

Dunn simply smiled at Evan's ambitions and then continued to ask:

"Why do you think that the police department's quick resolution of Mr. Welch and Ms. Naya's case must be due to the involvement of people with mysterious powers? I've been in the police department for many years and have never heard of any team that handles such mysterious cases."

"Of course your police station can't control or manage people with these mysterious powers, but they definitely do! And right in front of us are the seven major righteous churches on the continent. If the authorities have mysterious powers, they must come from the churches. Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. I'll find these people sooner or later."

Alright, you guys should leave now, and don't investigate Welch's case anymore; it won't do you any good.

Dunn hadn't expected this young man to be so perceptive. It seemed he needed to warn the police not to let this young man find any clues.

Seeing that there was nothing more to ask, Dunn left Evan's dream.