Free Web NovelJust past eight in the morning, a sliver of fish-belly white had just appeared on the horizon. As the first ray of dawn sunlight spilled onto the bed, Lu Yibei jumped up as if startled awake by a nightmare.
He sat on the bed, staring blankly at the gradually brightening sky outside the window. After a long time, he let out a soft sigh, rubbed his messy hair, and reluctantly got out of bed.
After being transformed into a Strange Tale, this'setting' where he had to bathe in the morning sun the next day to return to normal was simply too tormenting. It had forcibly turned a teenager who loved to lie in bed into this state.
After changing his clothes, going downstairs to wash up, and draping his red and white windbreaker Coat over his shoulder, Lu Yibei went to check on Ju Meng.
Last night, Ju Meng, who had indulged in spending her points, stayed hyped up until nearly dawn before lying down. At this moment, she was sprawled on the sofa, a few strands of crystal saliva at the corner of her pink lips, still muttering dream talk about definitely getting mythic items this round.
Lu Yibei, "..."
He didn't know if robots dreamed of electric sheep, but he had seen a mythic Strange Tale dream of getting mythic gear.
But...
Keep dreaming, Smelly Girl!
Muttering in his heart, Lu Yibei gently placed Ju Meng's hands and feet that had fallen to the floor back onto the sofa, smoothed the blanket over her, and tucked in the edges.
Before leaving, he found the urban legend in a dark corner near the apartment bathroom and pulled the dying Maotuan (Hairball) aside.
"Devil Woman, it's not that this humble one wants to disobey you, it's just... could you please have them try the medicine this time?" Maotuan (Hairball) followed Lu Yibei to the side, and before he could speak, it blurted out.
"I'm really sorry about last night!" Lu Yibei said, rubbing his forehead. "However, I came to you for something else today."
"Then... is it to test a Spell?" Maotuan (Hairball) asked weakly.
Lu Yibei, "..." What kind of image do I have in your minds? A devil? Can't I come to you for anything other than using you as test subjects?
After complaining a few times in his heart, he gently shook his head and said, "Listen to me, I'm going out to do something quite troublesome this time. It's very likely I won't be back for a while."
"If... I mean, if I'm not back after a week, tell Ju Meng that I won't be returning. Tell her to figure out how to heal herself and go back to Taoyuan as soon as possible, understood?"
Although, setting flags like this before even entering the Bamboo Scroll Illusion feels a bit inauspicious.
However, this trip is likely to be dangerous. If something goes wrong and he can't come back, wouldn't that leave Ju Meng waiting in vain?
That would be too irresponsible! Lu Yibei thought.
"..." After hearing Lu Yibei's words, Maotuan (Hairball) carefully pondered the meaning behind them, and its mood became heavy.
Although the Devil Woman didn't say it explicitly, her meaning was clear: she would likely leave and not return.
But what troublesome matter could the Devil Woman not solve? With the Spiritual Energy fluctuations she displayed, she could probably face any higher-level Strange Tale and retreat unharmed, right?
Could it be... that she's planning to organize a Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, confront the Night Watch head-on, and turn the entire Hua City, or even a wider area, into her territory? Or is it something else equally dangerous?
Thinking of this, Maotuan (Hairball)'s fur trembled all over, and it said in a serious tone, "Devil Woman, please rest assured! Although this humble one can't help with other matters, I can definitely accomplish this one!"
"Alright! Then I'm leaving!" Lu Yibei reached out and gently ruffled Maotuan (Hairball), slung the modified guitar bag leaning against the wall onto his back, and walked towards the apartment door.
Maotuan (Hairball) watched Lu Yibei leave, the faint golden outline of the dawn light tracing his figure. For a moment, that slightly thin back view seemed to gain a touch of inexplicable tragic grandeur, completely devoid of its usual lazy, slightly decadent, and cowardly appearance.
"Devil Woman!" It finally couldn't control itself and cried out with a choked voice.
Hearing the shout from behind, Lu Yibei's body trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat. He glanced nervously at Ju Meng, then turned around and made a shushing gesture towards Maotuan (Hairball).
"Shhh—Shhh—! What are you doing? What if she hears you shouting so loud?"
Maotuan (Hairball), "..."
That's right, this is our Devil Woman.
...
After leaving the residential area, Lu Yibei didn't go directly to school but went to the unfinished building near the University City.
The not-so-effective divination coins, the mingwang statue, the modified Poker Pistol, the ancestral kitchen knife, eighty-two First Light Spring Wind Curses, two types of Spells, a laptop - oh, wait, that doesn't count, that's for writing the speech later.
Spreading everything out on the ground, Lu Yibei surveyed and counted for a while, then nodded slightly.
Excluding the uncontrollable terrifying power within his body, these were all the things he could utilize.
There were quite a few things, but he still felt it wasn't enough. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
If only, last night when he asked Ju Meng to teach him Alchemy, she had taught him how to conjure blood potions with his bare hands instead of telling him to get lost, it would have been even more perfect. Lu Yibei thought.
...
The school anniversary speech was scheduled to start at three in the afternoon, and as one of the last few people to go on stage, he still had several hours to complete a hastily written speech draft.
After absorbing the memories of Lu Xu, a graduate student from the School of Literature, the problem of writing a speech draft that had troubled him for a long time was suddenly solved.
Although Lu Xu's memories were not enough for him to write a profound speech, a barely passable one was certainly possible.
It was nothing more than life's misfortunes, plus a bit of inspirational talk, overflowing positive energy, and extremely correct values—things that weren't too different from each other.
These things were good in themselves and could easily stir the audience's emotions; no one could completely deny them.
However, if someone wanted to learn something from it, that would be almost impossible.
...
Eleven in the morning.
Under a barrage of urgent text messages, Lu Yibei finally submitted ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) his speech draft late to the school anniversary preparation office.
Although it was called the school anniversary preparation office, the people handling student-related matters for the anniversary were mostly from the student union, and the location of the preparation office was also a temporary section of the school student union office.
In the corridor outside the school anniversary preparation office.
Dozens of students were busily running around, preparing props, confirming attendance lists, and coordinating with TV station cameramen who were adjusting lighting and camera positions.
Everyone seemed to have something to do, and everyone exuded the unique vitality of eighteen or nineteen-year-olds.
Consequently, Lu Yibei, who was idling like a salted fish, looked particularly out of place among this group.
Where did they get so much enthusiasm? I'm so envious! Compared to them, I feel like a dead dog with half my body in the grave. Lu Yibei, unable to find the speech preparation group office, stood in the corridor, staring blankly at the students coming and going.
"Classmate, your phone has been ringing, aren't you going to check it?"
"Oh, thank..." Lu Yibei's "thank you" was just about to come out when he turned his head and saw the girl who reminded him, freezing slightly.
The person who reminded him was Lin Yiqi, wearing a long white formal dress, with that eerie Ghost Infant still perched on her shoulder.
At this moment, the Ghost Infant's unformed eyes, covered by pink membranes, were less than half a meter away from Lu Yibei. It craned its head, and the two dark holes below its collapsed nose bridge twitched slightly, as if sniffing out a strange scent from Lu Yibei.
Staring at the Ghost Infant, Lu Yibei's scalp tingled. Just as he was hesitating about how to handle the situation, Lin Yiqi's voice sounded again.
"Classmate, what's wrong? You look a bit pale, are you feeling unwell somewhere? Do you need me to take you to the medical station?"
Hearing this, Lu Yibei came back to his senses and gently shook his head. "I'm fine, I just can't find the speech preparation group office, and I'm a bit anxious."
"The speech preparation group?" Lin Yiqi smiled sweetly, raised her slender arm to point ahead, and said softly, "It's over there, 407."
"Okay, thanks." Lu Yibei nodded expressionlessly. After speaking, he turned and walked towards the office with the metal plate labeled "407." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
He hadn't walked far before Lu Yibei couldn't help but stop and glance back at Lin Yiqi.
From a distance, surrounded by a group of girls, she was laughing and chatting. Her graceful figure paired with her beautiful face gave her a sense of standing out from the crowd.
He wondered what the girls around her would think if they knew she had once dismembered a living person, hidden the body parts inside a vent doll, and currently had a grotesque Ghost Infant perched on her shoulder?
As soon as this thought popped into Lu Yibei's mind, he quickly shook his head gently, shaking the idea away.
Those girls wouldn't know. They were not only less likely to be targeted by urban legend but also unlikely to come into contact with such terrifying things. They were all lucky ordinary people.
Thinking this, Lu Yibei gathered his thoughts, took a few steps forward, and gently knocked on the door of "407."
"Knock, knock, knock—!"
"Who is it?" A slightly effeminate male voice came from behind the door.
"Lu Yibei."
"Who? Lu what?"
"Eighteen Blades." Lu Yibei said flatly.
"Oh, oh, it's you! Everyone else's drafts are in, we were just waiting for you. Why were you so slow! You're killing us! Hurry up and come in, hurry up and come in!" The boy behind the door complained.
"Oh..." Lu Yibei replied expressionlessly, pushed the door open, and entered.
Just as the door closed and Lu Yibei's figure disappeared behind it.
In the corridor, Lin Yiqi suddenly said goodbye to the girls around her, walked to a corner, and looked towards the 407 office with a gloomy gaze.
"Baobao, what did you say just now? You said that person has a faint Spiritual Energy fluctuation?" Lin Yiqi spoke to the Ghost Infant on her shoulder in a voice so low only she could hear.
After receiving the Ghost Infant's affirmative response, Lin Yiqi briefly recalled Lu Yibei's reaction when he saw her just now. "Could it be that he's already discovered your existence?"
"Can't determine if the Spiritual Energy fluctuation is coming from his Coat or from himself? This..."
Lin Yiqi bit her lip, lost in thought.
Ever since she was targeted by the Night Watch more than a year ago, she had been living very low-key to escape being captured, quietly leaving good impressions and building relationships.
All of this was to wait for a certain moment to naturally return to the center of the social circle in a not-so-flashy way.
But now, an existence suspected to be a Psychic had suddenly appeared from nowhere.
What if...
"Baobao, do you remember what that uncle looked like just now? Later, try to find a way to trap him somewhere deserted. Release him after the party ends, okay?"
"Yes, just trap him and scare him a bit, don't let him detect your presence, and don't hurt him."
After Lin Yiqi finished speaking, the Ghost Infant perched on her shoulder tilted its pink little head. After a moment, it nodded gently.
