Although the old Daoist priest inwardly agreed with Kuang Feifan’s assessment, he wasn't about to chime in. Instead, he urged, "If you didn't see Feng Tian there, come back quickly. Don't linger; it’s too dangerous."

"When was this theater built?" Kuang Feifan had no intention of leaving yet, and he pressed on with his questioning.

"The year before last, I think," the old Daoist recalled.

Kuang Feifan couldn't help but ask, a note of curiosity in his voice, "If my memory serves me correctly, creatures like Water Monkeys don't just form overnight. Not every body of water where someone has drowned necessarily spawns them. Why is it that this place, only dug out for less than two years, already has one, and a mutated one at that?"

The old Daoist let out a few helpless, dry chuckles. "I'm not entirely clear on that either. It’s only been in the last year or two that strange occurrences have started happening in the town. Not only have there been more Water Monkeys in the artificial lake, but rumors of hauntings have begun circulating in the newly built residential buildings. In all my years here, I haven't heard as many odd things recently as I have now. It's a pity; I can only guard the temple grounds."

Kuang Feifan pursed his lips. He felt the old priest's inner nature was vastly different from the outward appearance of Daoist detachment and otherworldly grace. While it was true he was stationed in the back courtyard watching over the strange house with the formation set up, it hadn't yielded much success—didn't an incident still happen? Constantly citing the guarding of that house as an excuse while letting strange events plague the town suggested his cultivation wasn't profound at all.

Despite his thoughts, he kept them to himself over the phone. After a moment of contemplation, he decided against leaving immediately. He had a feeling that Feng Tian was likely nearby, perhaps even deeply connected to the Water Monkeys in this lake.

In fact, this wasn't a wild guess. Ji Ping had come looking for the person in charge at the gas station surnamed Lu, and Feng Tian was looking for Ji Ping. Near that person’s home was this haunted artificial lake, and coincidentally, all three seemed to have vanished. Most tellingly, the path to this lake had been guided by a butterfly. There had to be a connection, even if the exact nature of it remained unclear for now.

Kuang Feifan’s gaze fell once more upon the mist-shrouded surface of the lake. Just then, his eyes widened suddenly. He saw a flickering light deep within the water, and immediately, a point of light broke the surface. Gradually, he made it out: the point of light grew larger as it emerged, soon coalescing into a glowing orb. Though its color was faint, it was brighter than the thin mist surrounding it. And within that luminous sphere, unmistakably, was another small butterfly, fluttering delicately.

Though this butterfly wasn't purple, Kuang Feifan had the subconscious conviction that it belonged to the same category as the one that had guided him earlier.

Faced with this unknown phenomenon, Kuang Feifan’s heart tensed. He stared intently at the butterfly above the water. He was now certain: this was no living creature. No butterfly could emit light and fly out of the water like that.

Under his watch, he saw the butterfly slowly but surely fly directly toward him, beating its wings. This realization immediately put him on guard. He held up the hand wearing the prayer beads across his chest, adopting a defensive posture.

But he had no intention of turning and fleeing. Since the butterfly seemed to be heading straight for him, this thing appeared far less dangerous than the Water Monkeys. If possible, he hoped to glean some clue about Feng Tian from it. He desperately hoped this butterfly was a manifestation conjured by Feng Tian's power, though it was, at best, a suspicion, not a certainty.

In fact, this suspicion was soon confirmed. As the butterfly drew closer, he saw it stop in the air a short distance from his body, hovering up and down, occasionally circling once, but never advancing closer. Its tentative movements suggested it was wary of the prayer beads on Kuang Feifan's hand.

Kuang Feifan hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved his hand behind his back. Indeed, the butterfly moved closer once more, descending slightly in the air. This made him feel puzzled. He lowered his gaze and suddenly noticed that the butterfly seemed to be heading toward the hand hanging loosely at his side.

He paused, raising that hand. He was currently holding Feng Tian’s phone. As his hand rose, he saw the butterfly instantly fly up into the air directly above the phone, circling continuously.

In the midst of the strangeness, Kuang Feifan watched the circling butterfly—after how many revolutions he couldn't tell—suddenly stop and slowly begin to fly back toward the nearby lake surface.

Although Kuang Feifan was too astonished to speak, seeing a butterfly capable of such actions strongly suggested it was the work of Feng Tian, who always seemed to carry an assortment of odd items.

He fixed his gaze on the butterfly, following it until he was very close to the water’s edge, where he instinctively stopped. He watched the butterfly fly out over the lake, stopping in the air not far from the deepest central point, before it plunged resolutely into the water and vanished.

What did that mean? Was Feng Tian in the lake?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Kuang Feifan's mind, causing his expression to shift rapidly. What if the butterfly wasn't Feng Tian’s doing, but an illusion conjured by the Water Monkeys? Were they trying to lure him into the water?

To be honest, that possibility couldn't be dismissed. Legends mentioned that Water Monkeys employed all manner of intricate methods to trick people to the water’s edge. It was entirely plausible that this butterfly was a device used by it, or them, to draw people in.

This idea grew stronger in Kuang Feifan’s mind. He anxiously swung his flashlight back and forth across the distant lake surface, hoping to catch any trace of Feng Tian beneath the water. At least that would be more concrete than a flying butterfly. Even with the strong beam, the light could not penetrate far through the mist; the farther it went, the more scattered it became, as if swallowed by the fog, revealing only a murky, dark green lake surface exuding a sinister and terrifying aura.

Perhaps from staring at the water for too long, a feeling of dread suddenly washed over Kuang Feifan. He felt an intense premonition that a red-eyed Water Monkey would leap out and pounce on him the very next second.

Abruptly, the water surface moved, startling him so much that he involuntarily staggered back two steps. Fortunately, the flashlight beam never left the water. Next, he saw a small, pale object float up from below. Since it was still some distance from the shore, Kuang Feifan couldn't immediately discern what it was, though its shape seemed strangely familiar.

Luckily, as the water gently rippled with the breeze, the object slowly drifted toward the bank with the current. Gradually, illuminated by the scant flashlight beam as it neared the shore, he finally saw clearly what was floating over: a small bottle. And it was a bottle he knew intimately, as he carried one himself—the "Ghost Repellent Spray" in his pocket.

Kuang Feifan gasped inwardly, immediately realizing that it most likely belonged to Feng Tian. But why was it floating in the water? Watching the bottle bob on the surface, his heart sank.

If Feng Tian were truly underwater, an ordinary person would have drowned long ago. Unless he was superhuman, or possessed some incredible skill.

Kuang Feifan knew he himself could probably only last about five minutes in the water. Considering how long it had been since Feng Tian went searching for Ji Ping, even accounting for the time it took him to arrive here and find his phone, several five-minute intervals had already passed. Reportedly, the maximum breath-holding time for an average person underwater is around seven minutes, though one foreign illusionist master supposedly managed seventeen minutes. So, unless Feng Tian could match that feat, he was probably now just a "floating corpse."

Truthfully, based on proximity and connection, Kuang Feifan was currently far more concerned about Feng Tian than Ji Ping or the supervisor surnamed Lu. Their shared history was one factor, but equally important was the fact that Feng Tian was supposed to accompany him back to deal with the haunted building.

Therefore, no matter what, even if it was only a possibility, Kuang Feifan decided he had to enter the water and check for himself. Not knowing the truth felt like a massive stone weighing on his heart, preventing him from feeling at ease.

Just as Kuang Feifan was undoing the buttons of his outer garment, preparing to enter the water, he suddenly heard faint footsteps in the otherwise profound silence of the night. They sounded hurried, approaching from a distance, as if someone was rushing toward this location.

The sound seemed to come from behind him. Kuang Feifan tensed up completely, instinctively turning his head to determine the direction of the noise. Before he could pinpoint the source, a rather dazzling beam of light flashed from another direction behind him.

The moment the light appeared, Kuang Feifan extinguished his flashlight and instantly darted to crouch beside a nearby statue. He could tell it was someone holding a flashlight emerging from the crossroad over there, seemingly headed his way. But in such a bizarre environment, the sudden, unexplained appearance of a person made it impossible not to be suspicious.

If it were just a passerby, they would likely walk along the path. But Kuang Feifan watched as the silhouetted figure holding the flashlight approached step by step toward the small plaza by the lake where he was positioned. The glaring light prevented him from clearly discerning the person's features; he only knew their destination was the artificial lake not far behind him.

PS: Making up yesterday's update; aiming for another chapter before midnight.