Free Web NovelIn the dimly lit corridor, the wall paint was stark black and white, the ceiling with crystal lamps showed signs of peeling paint, and the heavy, dark grey lead doors on both sides were intricately carved with patterns, through which mercury-like golden liquid metal flowed.
Although it was impossible to see what was confined behind the doors, being in the corridor, one could feel the intense malice emanating from each of those lead doors.
Jiang Li finally managed to quiet Bai Kai with the accusation of “you unauthorizedly misappropriated a D-class Ling Neng item for personal use,” and he followed them out of the dissection room.
However, An Qing felt that it would have been fine to let him roll around on the floor a bit longer, and it would have saved her the trouble of cleaning for the week.
After passing through the long corridor and ascending the spiral staircase carved with grotesque beast patterns, they finally saw light again after an unknown amount of time; just then, Bai Kai suddenly stopped.
“Why aren’t you moving?” An Qing asked, looking at Bai Kai with confusion, “Didn’t you say the person involved is your godson? Wouldn’t it be better for you to handle it personally?”
“I’ve thought about it, and I won’t go. I don’t want Xiao Bei to know what I do.”
Bai Kai leaned against the wall at the stairwell, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled the smoke.
“Clap, clap—pat, pat—!”
“Hiss—whoosh—!”
“If it weren’t for this messed-up situation, I wouldn’t even want him to know about the existence of Weird tale!” Bai Kai said, his eyes sharply glancing at Jiang Li as he spoke, a sword-like gleam surging within them.
“Why?” An Qing was puzzled, “Isn’t it good for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps? I heard he even had a prophetic dream. I think he seems quite talented! Hua City is so short-staffed now, having one more operative would be great!”
“What do you know?” Bai Kai pouted, just about to say something more when Jiang Li interjected.
“I understand his thoughts. He doesn’t want his junior to end up like those people downstairs, locked up forever, which is why he doesn’t want him involved in Night Watch affairs, right?”
Bai Kai, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at Jiang Li, rolled his eyes, and snorted coldly, “Hmph! You finally said something sensible! But don’t think for a second that I’ll forgive you for this!”
“You misunderstand. I understand you, but I don’t entirely agree with you.”
Jiang Li gently shook her head.
“Your approach is putting shackles on him and blindfolding him. Do you think not knowing anything will truly lead to a happy life?” freewebnovёl.ƈom
“As an independent individual with his own thoughts, you should let him choose such matters for himself.”
“And then?” Bai Kai retorted, raising his voice a few octaves, “Become like us, monsters, fighting and killing all day, not knowing when we’ll die? He’s only eighteen!”
As he spoke, Bai Kai looked at Jiang Li’s still childish face and suddenly remembered that she was only a teenage girl, even a year younger than Lu Yibei. It was only because she was caught in a highly dangerous Weird tale incident and miraculously survived, becoming a Psychic, that she ended up like this.
Although he felt some sympathy for her plight, wasn’t she the best proof of what happens after joining the Night Watch? Some people are alive, but she is already dead!
Thinking of this, Bai Kai stopped talking, snorted coldly, and walked away with a flick of his sleeve.
“Hmph!”
Apologizing is impossible! Never in this life will I apologize! That would tarnish my image as Hua City’s number one cool and arrogant handsome man! Bai Kai thought.
An Qing watched Bai Kai walk away, then looked at Jiang Li, blinked her big eyes, pointed at the tip of her nose, and said with a bitter smile, “Do I look like a monster? I feel pretty good myself! Outside, a lot of young men ask for my WeChat!”
Her smooth, porcelain-like face was stained with a few tiny blood spots, a faint crimson hint lurked in her deep brown eyes, and when she smiled, two sharp canine teeth showed between her bright red lips, her hands covered in dark red patches from dried blood.
Jiang Li examined An Qing, then nodded expressionlessly, “Yes, you do!”
...
After the inquiry and recording were completed, the Little Maid led Lu Yibei to the reception room next to the interrogation room, dropped the phrase, “You wait here!” and then left.
The moment the wooden door closed, the sound of it being locked clearly came through, as if afraid Lu Yibei would run away.
“Hmph! Judging a gentleman by one’s own mean measure!” Lu Yibei muttered, his gaze involuntarily drawn to the window.
Through the gaps in the blinds, he could vaguely see ginkgo leaves falling with the wind in the garden outside, as if a golden drizzle was falling.
“Click—clack—!” The sound of the window being pried open echoed in the reception room, then fell silent.
Lu Yibei, “...” I was just checking if their windows were sturdy, I didn’t intend to escape!
Lu Yibei didn't know how long he had been in the reception room, only remembering “checking” the solidity of the doors and windows, rummaging through the displays on the book shelf, and finally, just as he was about to confirm if the golden terracotta warrior model on the coffee table was real gold, the reception room door opened, and a silver-haired girl with delicate features and a cold demeanor limped in.
When Jiang Li entered the reception room, she immediately saw Lu Yibei, who was holding a terracotta warrior’s head in his mouth and looked bewildered. She calmly said, “It’s fake.” Then, as if she hadn’t seen anything, she walked over and sat opposite him.
Lu Yibei shrank his neck, slowly spat out the terracotta warrior’s head, carefully placed it back on the coffee table with both hands, and returned to the sofa, sitting upright.
“Hello, my name is Jiang Li. I will be explaining the follow-up matters to you. Once I’m done, you can go back.”
Lu Yibei tilted his head, asking in surprise, “Just go back like that? What if that Mr. Rabbit comes looking for me again?”
“So you’re just going to wash your hands of it? It’s not that I’m narrow-minded! It’s just that what you did before was too dishonest, and I can’t feel at ease!”
Lu Yibei said earnestly, his words imbued with a sense of “how can I sleep peacefully while the villain lives?”
“Aberrants are not malevolent spirits; generally speaking, they won’t excessively pester one target,” Jiang Li explained. “After all, we’re not your nannies; we can’t watch over you all night. If we saw anything private, wouldn’t it be awkward for everyone?
“You recently had three bad Website browsing records, thirty-two fanfiction Website browsing records, and...”
Lu Yibei’s face remained impassive, but his cheeks were already crimson. He couldn’t help but interrupt, “Stop, stop! Are you checking household registers? Please don’t say such things! I’ll go back, alright? Can’t I just go back?”
“Mhm!” Jiang Li nodded, “Don’t worry, I didn’t say I wouldn’t take care of you, did I?”
“According to the information, your family used to live on Peony Street? If possible, please return to your old house there for a while. That way, we can ensure your safety very well.”
“You mean...” Lu Yibei frowned, glanced out the window, and asked curiously, “This place is very close to Peony Street?”
“In fact, it’s on Peony Street,” Jiang Li said.
“Uh...” Lu Yibei paused, leaned slightly closer to Jiang Li, held up a hand, and whispered, “You told me the address of the organization’s base. You won’t kill me to silence me later, will you?”
“No,” Jiang Li said calmly. “To outsiders, we are just a subordinate unit of the Cultural Bureau. If you speak out, I can contact my colleagues at Yun Kang Mental Hospital to take you away on the grounds that you are a mental patient.”
“Hiss—!”
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Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei gasped.
Lu Yibei had long heard of Yun Kang Mental Hospital; it was said that only severely mentally ill patients were confined there, and once inside, they almost never came out. He hadn’t expected this mysterious organization to have a collaboration with that place!
Could it be that those confined in Yun Kang Mental Hospital were actually people whose minds had been affected after being attacked by Weird tale? Or perhaps they were even Weird tale themselves!
Lu Yibei thought, and the more he considered it, the more terrifying it became, a chill running down his spine.
“Then, don’t you have any recruitment plans here?”
Clinging to the coattails of this mysterious organization was something Lu Yibei had originally planned. Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he naturally wouldn’t let it slip away easily.
Of course, he wasn’t aiming to be the type to charge into battle, but rather the “man who silently supports a successful woman” type.
“Yes, we do, but if you want to join, you need at least one or two special skills. We don’t support idlers,” Jiang Li said, a hint of difficulty appearing on her face as she spoke. “Additionally, if you lie and are found out later, you will also be sent to Yun Kang Mental Hospital.”
“...” Lu Yibei hesitated, secretly pondering.
The dream of seeing Mr. Rabbit kill might have been a fluke, and he didn’t know if it would be accurate again in the future. If it wasn’t, and he was caught lying, it would be troublesome.
He also didn’t know what purpose the girl’s silhouette he saw in his dream served, and telling her might also lead to being sent to the mental hospital.
So what other skills do I have? Cooking?
At this thought, Lu Yibei weakly asked, “Does cooking count? If not, I can only do a split for you.”
“Yes, it does.” Jiang Li nodded, and as she spoke, she took out a contract and pen she had «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» prepared from her small bag and handed them to Lu Yibei. “Then let’s sign the temporary employment contract first. It’s in duplicate, for a period of one month. After the Mr. Rabbit incident is resolved, whether or not to renew will be up to you.”
Lu Yibei looked at the contract on the coffee table, scratched his head, and thought to himself, “A split works too? Why do I feel like she intended for me to join from the start, and just went in circles, waiting for me to say it myself?”
Jiang Li seemed to have read Lu Yibei’s mind. After seeing him sign his name on the contract, she quietly said, “Yes, that’s right.”
Lu Yibei, “???” Why do I have a bad feeling? It’s like I signed a contract of servitude.
Jiang Li carefully put away the contract and looked at Lu Yibei, saying, “Now you are a temporary operative of our Night Watch. To ensure your safety, you can choose a D-class Ling Neng item for self-defense.”
“Hmm...” Lu Yibei thought for a moment. “Can you give me back the mingwang statue then? I heard that Little Maid say it was a D-class Ling Neng item, right?”
“Don’t you want to choose again?” Jiang Li frowned slightly, “In fact, we have thirty-three other D-class Ling Neng items for you to choose from.”
“Among the numerous D-class Ling Neng items, the Blessed great sun mingwang statue can be considered the largest in volume, and it might not be convenient for you to carry it with you.”
“No, I’m sentimental,” Lu Yibei said expressionlessly. “I’ve been sleeping with the mingwang statue lately. Without it, I’m worried I’ll have insomnia.”
...
Half an hour later.
“Phew, finally out!”
Standing on the bluestone street of Peony Street, Lu Yibei stretched, letting out a long breath, and inhaling the damp, fresh air, feeling a sense of rebirth.
Jiang Li hadn’t lied to him; the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration was not far from his old family home, a straight distance of no more than two hundred meters. Even with the winding ancient streets, it took him less than three minutes to return to his doorstep.
White walls and green tiles, the antique architectural style was no different from other houses on the street.
Beneath the eaves, two stone drums stood, and the main door, studded with copper rings, was tightly locked, already covered with a thin layer of dust. Above the door hung a wooden plaque, bearing the simple shop name “Lu’s Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant.”
This was where Lu Yibei’s old family home was located. A long time ago, his family wasn’t this big; the first floor was a breakfast shop, and the attic upstairs was living space. Together, they were only a little over thirty square meters, and his childhood was spent in this somewhat cramped house.
Two years ago, his father spent most of his savings to acquire three or four adjacent storefronts, knocked down the walls, and after a major renovation, enthusiastically prepared to open his restaurant, only to find that...
Standing in front of his own door, Lu Yibei gently shook his head, sighed, “Alas! The late emperor’s grand enterprise collapsed midway!” He took out his key and opened the door.
The old house had been uninhabited for a long time. Ever since Lu Yibei was discharged from the hospital, he had been living in his new home on Xuefu Road. Even though Shui Ge occasionally came to help clean, it couldn’t prevent it from becoming desolate. As soon as Lu Yibei opened the door, a faint smell of mold mixed with dust wafted towards him.
Seeing this, he sighed, placed the mingwang statue on the dining table in the hall, rolled up his sleeves, walked to the bathroom, and fetched a broom and rag to start cleaning.
He was halfway through cleaning when a light knock on the wooden door sounded from behind him.
“Ding-dong—!”
“Whoa! Why is your house so dirty? You stinker, how long has it been since you cleaned?”
Lu Yibei heard the sound, put down the broom in his hand, and turned around to see the burly, dark-skinned man in a long gown, with a full beard.
Despite his rugged appearance, the man had a delicate name, Su Mi. His family had been in the handmade Shu embroidery business for generations and lived across the street. He was Lu Yibei’s old neighbor and the same age as him.
“Tsk, isn’t it because I haven’t been back in a long time? Isn’t it normal for it to be this dirty?” Lu Yibei pouted, “Why didn’t you help me clean, you rascal?”
Su Mi was stunned for a moment, “Haven’t been back in a long time? No, that’s not right. I’ve been hearing someone in your house all along! That night, I even heard a girl singing! I thought you had a girlfriend...”
Halfway through his sentence, Su Mi noticed Lu Yibei’s expression was a bit off, and his words abruptly stopped.
“No?”
“No...”
“Hiss—!”
Lu Yibei expressionlessly looked around. The antique, somewhat rustic-style shop suddenly took on a chilly aura.
This guy isn’t joking and trying to scare me, is he?
This place is so close to the Night Watch, and Weird tale still dare to cause trouble?
But what if?
Thinking this, Lu Yibei threw down the broom in his hand, expressionlessly hoisted the mingwang statue onto his shoulder, walked over to Su Mi, and said, “Forget it, it’s too dirty. I won’t clean it for now. I’ll stay at your place tonight! It’s not because I’m scared, we haven’t seen each other for so long, I mainly want to catch up with you.”
Having said that, he quickly locked the door and darted into Su Mi’s house.
Su Mi turned to look at Lu Yibei’s old house. Through the cracks in the window, he seemed to see a figure flash inside the house. He thought about how he had planned to eavesdrop on Lu Yibei and his “girlfriend” doing embarrassing things just a few days ago, and a chill ran down his spine. He turned and ran.
“Hey! You stinker, wait for me! Wait! Don’t you have any loyalty?!”
