Free Web NovelHalf an hour before Lu Yibei witnessed Gu Qianqian being dragged underground by the Strange Tale.
Jingyi Apartment.
Donning the Coat cursed by Mr. Rabbit, Lu Yibei turned on the lights and stood before the mirror in the entryway, appraising herself from head to toe.
In the mirror, the young girl was exquisitely beautiful, her petite frame enveloped in a wide red and white windbreaker. The long hem of the Coat hung down, revealing her legs, making her look like a little girl who had secretly worn her father's Coat, utterly adorable.
Adorable? Why would I think of myself like that?!
A strange sense of shame rose in her heart, and Lu Yibei's face flushed slightly. Her long hair, like red ink dripping onto white paper, spread a hint of red, and immediately after, the Coat on her body began to struggle uneasily.
“Uh... sorry!” Lu Yibei rubbed the Coat, took a few deep breaths, and turned around to open the guitar bag placed in the entryway.
She clasped her hands together and bowed to the mingwang statue, then took it out.
After her transformation into a Strange Tale, her seemingly slender and soft arms possessed far more strength than Lu Yibei had imagined. The mingwang statue, which she had previously struggled to move with both hands, could now be easily lifted with just one.
Due to a miscalculation and using too much force, she nearly stumbled.
After steadying herself, she muttered, “For now, this will have to do!”
Lu Yibei had encountered too few urban legend, fewer than ten in total, and five of those were the imposters from her own home.
As a result, her understanding of the combat power of urban legend was very vague.
This made her somewhat worried that she might not be able to defeat her hunting target.
Although she had the “glorious record” of burning down a resort hotel by herself, that was under abnormal circumstances.
After that, she tried, but she didn’t even know how to conjure a fireball the size of her palm!
This is ridiculous! How can a witch not even know how to use magic?!
She just inexplicably heats up! She's practically a walking human barbecue grill!
So, to be safe, Lu Yibei still decided to bring the mingwang statue.
The mingwang statue is at least a D-class psychic item; it should be able to increase her combat power somewhat, right? Lu Yibei thought.
However...
How did Shui Ge get a D-class psychic item?
And he even gave {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} it to me as a gift. Could he also be a member of the Night Watch?
When Lu Yibei was in the hospital, all she thought about every day was how to fool the doctor and the Little Maid A Hua and prevent her identity from being exposed.
It wasn't until she returned home and took the mingwang statue out of the guitar bag again, recalling its origin, that she suddenly realized that there was a big problem with Bai Kai! frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
She must find him later and get a clear explanation! Lu Yibei thought, clamping the mingwang statue under one arm and turning the doorknob with the other hand before stepping out.
Carrying the mingwang statue, she walked down the stairs of the apartment building and arrived at a straight road in the residential complex.
Lu Yibei looked straight ahead, exhaled a mouthful of stale air, and then started to run forward. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
She ran faster and faster, objects blurring in her peripheral vision. The moment she reached maximum speed, she suddenly stomped on the ground, and her entire body shot into the sky like a cannonball, a faint trail of exhaust following behind her.
Then...
Like another cannonball, she arced through the air and plunged headfirst into the artificial lake in the residential complex.
...
A few minutes later.
Lu Yibei hailed a taxi at an intersection near University City.
“To Linjiang Avenue, I’m in a hurry, please be quick, thank you.”
The car started, and Lu Yibei sat in the back, holding the mingwang statue, gazing thoughtfully at the scenery outside the window. The night was deep, and her exquisite profile was reflected on the glass.
If what that mysterious girl said about me possibly destroying the world in the future is true, then did she already know that Shui Ge is a member of the Night Watch, which is why she didn't want me to clash with the Night Watch?
Although Lu Yibei outwardly acted as if she wished Bai Kai dead, she still cared about him. After all, since her father's passing, Bai Kai was the only close person she had left in this world.
If possible, Lu Yibei hoped Bai Kai could remain a wanderer forever, but ideally, he wouldn't interfere with her life while doing so.
However, the current situation seems a bit tricky!
If the event described in the newspaper article was indeed caused by a Strange Tale, and False Tooth could notice it, there's no reason the Night Watch wouldn't have noticed.
It seems that upon arrival, if Night Watch members are found staking out, she'll just have to give up for now. Lu Yibei thought, sighing softly.
Ever since Lu Yibei got in the car, the taxi driver had been constantly observing her through the rearview mirror, wanting to speak but hesitating, then wanting to speak again. After several repetitions, he finally couldn't help but speak after she sighed.
“Little girl, are your family aware you're out so late? Have you encountered something unpleasant?”
Lu Yibei's attire and the way she was holding a bronze statue were quite strange, making it hard for him not to pay attention.
“Ah?” Lu Yibei was startled, but she didn't avert her gaze, looking out the window and replying expressionlessly, “It's fine, I'm the only one left in my family.”
“And nothing unpleasant has happened, it's just that I've encountered many things I've never experienced before recently, so my brain is a bit overwhelmed.”
“Haha!” Uncle Driver seemed to be a cheerful and optimistic person. Hearing Lu Yibei say this, he laughed, “It’s fine, that’s just how life is, take your time! Haste makes waste.”
“By the way, what are you going to Linjiang Avenue for so late at night? That’s not a good place!”
“Do you know, there are urban legend haunting that area! I heard a few days ago, a young man was jogging there at night and encountered a strange person whose body was bloated from being soaked. Then he disappeared, and when the police found him, his body was completely entangled in aquatic plants, floating beneath the Kua Jiang Bridge.”
“There wasn't a single expression of pain on his face, which a drowned person should have. Instead, he was smiling, and he looked very happy, as if he hadn't encountered something terrifying, but had peacefully fallen asleep.”
“Do you know what's the most bizarre thing? The most bizarre thing is, when the forensic doctor dissected his body, they found a lot of sand in his respiratory tract, and his blood vessels were full of fish eggs! Those fish eggs were still alive, some had even hatched!”
“...” Lu Yibei felt a little creeped out listening to him. She retracted her gaze from the window and was about to say something when she suddenly saw Uncle Driver’s familiar face in the rearview mirror and couldn’t help but be slightly startled.
Damn it! How is it you again?!
I was wondering! It's late at night, and a passenger is going to a place where someone died, how can this driver not be panicked at all!
Always making up urban legend stories and telling them in the car, what good does it do you to scare passengers to death?
That’s right, the person Lu Yibei encountered was none other than the taxi driver who had driven her to the Hua Yu Sunshine Resort Hotel last time!
“Haha, little girl, were you scared? Actually, that story just now was based on a real event that I adapted, there’s a lot of artistic embellishment, you can’t believe all of it.”
“Oh! I wasn’t scared, in fact, I found it very interesting.” Lu Yibei responded indifferently, then changed the subject, “To repay Uncle for telling me an interesting story, how about I tell you one too?”
“Oh? That would be great! To tell you the truth, besides driving a taxi, I also host a midnight radio show. After this trip with you, I’m going back to start my broadcast! Hearing more stories helps me gather material!”
“Mhm.” Lu Yibei nodded slightly, recalling some urban legend novels she had read before, dissecting and combining their contents, adding a few details, and then lowering her voice a few shades, she slowly began to speak.
“A long time ago, near the Kua Jiang Bridge, there lived a fisherman couple who had a daughter with naturally white hair. Seeing their daughter’s strange appearance, they worried about her future and arranged a child marriage for her early on.”
“As time passed, their daughter grew more and more beautiful, and the couple regretted it. They no longer wished to marry their daughter to the family they had made the child marriage agreement with, but they didn't know their daughter had already fallen in love with that foolish boy. Not long after, the foolish boy unfortunately met with an accident, and they originally planned to cancel the engagement, which would have made everyone happy.”
“Who knew that on the day of the foolish boy’s burial, their daughter secretly put on the foolish boy’s Coat, climbed into the coffin, and was buried with him in the tomb. Staying in the dark, sealed coffin, she didn’t know how much time passed, then she regretted it. She was very hungry and wanted to eat something, and then...”
Lu Yibei paused, as if deliberately omitting certain details, and continued, “In short... she had a full meal.”
“Ha, haha...”
Feeling the temperature in the car inexplicably rise, Uncle Driver let out two dry laughs, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Lu Yibei through the rearview mirror. He saw a delicate and beautiful, yet expressionless and lifeless face, and his heart couldn't help but pound.
“That’s, that’s quite interesting, huh!” he said weakly.
“Mhm, I think so too.” Lu Yibei replied.
Although making up stories based on myself is quite embarrassing, I have to say, I really do have a talent for storytelling! At least more talent than my dad!
Lu Yibei thought, glancing out the window. They were almost at Linjiang Avenue.
“By the way, Uncle, didn’t you just ask me what I’m going to Linjiang Avenue for? Me, well...”
“I’m going home!”
“Screech—!” The piercing sound of brake pads rubbing against tires suddenly erupted, and the taxi stopped in the middle of the road, white smoke billowing from its tires.
“I’m not going, I’m not going further, get out quickly! If you don’t get out, I’m calling the police!”
Seeing this, Lu Yibei burst into laughter inwardly, then said expressionlessly, “Uh, wait a moment, I’ll pay you.”
“No need, you get out, I don’t want the money, get lost!” the Uncle Driver shouted, his voice trembling.
Who would accept this money? What if it turns into ghost money in the blink of an eye?
“Bang!” Lu Yibei got out of the car, holding the mingwang statue. As soon as she closed the door, she heard the roar of an engine beside her. The next moment, a gust of wind swept by, and the taxi sped away.
From a distance, Lu Yibei saw a line of text scrolling on the taxi's rooftop display—【SOS!!!】
Lu Yibei, “...” Did I go a little overboard?
Standing near the entrance of Linjiang Avenue, watching the taxi drive away, Lu Yibei frowned.
Is it my imagination? Why does the hunger seem to have eased a bit?
