[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heavenly-official-bestows-evil":3,"chapter-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-50":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heavenly Official Bestows Evil",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2316669,4530,"Chapter 50: Monotonous City","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-50",50,"\u003Cp>Wu Xian concluded the prisoner had no mental illness for three main reasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were three primary reasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First: if the demons the prisoner described did not exist, then whether he was truly psychotic or faking it, Wu Xian wanted him dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second: if the demons did exist, then he was not lying, and ruling him mentally healthy was correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third: the inspector’s attitude was the most critical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian was not a real doctor; since the inspector wanted the prisoner deemed mentally healthy, complying with his wish minimized the risk of exposing his true identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the path he had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The office door opened, and the nurse poked her head in, staring at Wu Xian in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian still needed to prepare some things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had to describe it, it was monotonous and dull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His irritation wasn’t entirely from that dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the barber shop’s entrance, a bright spinning neon light played energetic music, its avant-garde style utterly out of place in the entire city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian combed through all patient records; each contained photos, but none showed the prisoner’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buildings were all roughly the same height, conservative in style, painted mostly in light red, light blue, and other pale tones—almost no vivid colors. Street signs reading “Welcome to Xianwei City” appeared everywhere; the streets looked like copies pasted from the same template.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the way home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian drove slowly, observing the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Enjoy your birthday. Don’t do anything beyond your family’s scope.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian’s teeth felt sour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian stared at the ceiling, unable to find any answer for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned the office upside down, searching for every scrap of information he could find.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian had intended to stop and gather some intelligence here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The call ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the sun dipped westward; it was already dusk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian stomped on the accelerator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This city was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several places especially caught Wu Xian’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First: the city had an abnormal number of cosmetic clinics—there was one every few blocks, and ads for cosmetic procedures were everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian reversed into his parking spot; as soon as he stepped out of the garage, he heard a dog bark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian thought for a moment, then called the investigating officer, Inspector Jia, using the phone number on the appointment slip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He endured the barking, hesitated at the door for a moment, then opened it and stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gripped the railing, eyes wide with terror, staring at Dr. Xu’s window—large splashes of blood coated the glass, slowly dripping downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wooden floor beneath the desk was pitted and uneven, as if words had been carved and then scraped away; the notebook was only half the thickness of its cover, with many pages torn out…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian didn’t reach his home until long after dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian had already found the city’s map, his home address and family details, and a key to a Guandi electric car while searching for clues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, he noticed several oddities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to stay longer, but the Juanrendudie  in his eyes began to flicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no means of self-defense—he couldn’t afford to attract the attention of a demon now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this Dr. Xu had a complete family within this Fudi—was this Wu Xian’s version of playing house?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed a weapon, but in the psychiatric hospital, the only weapons he could find were sedatives and syringes; using his identity, he bundled them up and took them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never known a normal family; he was raised by a scruffy old detective, so…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the prisoner’s first words to Wu Xian were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the clinic’s steps sat a fat woman with vividly red lips and pale skin; she held a pipe, her bulging, goldfish-like eyes fixed on Wu Xian’s car the entire time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man glanced at Wu Xian, then at his home; his lifeless eyes slowly filled with terror. He screamed and slammed the window shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he walked, stopped, and observed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, Inspector Jia…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The prisoner escaped en route to prison; we’ve lost all trace of him. Dr. Xu, if you see him, flee immediately, then contact us…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian was shoved out by the nurse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dog…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, Dr. Xu, you’re still not home? Today’s your birthday—your parents, wife, and daughter are waiting for you at home. Work can wait a day or two. Go home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Say goodbye to the past. Let everything begin anew.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed going home was a necessary task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Change yourself. Start a new life.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And also.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian was deeply annoyed by the black dog: “Friend, can you control your dog?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the demon hadn’t appeared yet, this Fudi made him uneasy—he needed more information to feel safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[We meet again.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, another line of text appeared in Wu Xian’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before going home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian felt no longing for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian returned to his office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His home was a single-family house surrounded by identical houses and identical green spaces; every view looked the same, differing only by house number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than guess blindly, it was better to ask directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed this neighbor had problems too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Scarless cosmetic surgery. Rapid healing.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because of family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The neighbor’s first-floor window was open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as Wu Xian slowed his car, he saw a client getting a haircut suddenly spurt blood from his neck—his corpse was dragged backward by some invisible force, disappearing behind the curtain at the rear of the barber shop…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The neighbor kept a large, fat black dog that barked furiously at Wu Xian, baring its teeth in an attack posture; had it not been for the railing, it would have already lunged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The text made Wu Xian sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a barber shop named “Perfect Hair Art.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was evidence someone was trying to cover something up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had the doctor met the prisoner? What role was the prisoner playing? Was he key to Wu Xian’s survival in this Fudi?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even despised and rejected warm families, unwilling to let such things taint him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The neighbor stepped out again, quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But every clinic was closed, their signs black and white; along the entire street, Wu Xian saw only one clinic with a pink sign open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gaunt man, ashen-faced and with hollow eyes, stood by the window drinking coffee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian feared being eaten alive by a demon at home more than being sued for violating hospital rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this body—his arms and thighs bore irregular scars, as if once severely burned over large areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blood was mixed with foam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And still fresh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1110,"2026-06-20T14:31:06.102Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","16f48c42d5f5d7433408861a8e7265451136c0a6522717f1d836d83fd8747987","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-51","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-49",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheavenly-official-bestows-evil-cover.jpg"]