Free Web NovelThe blockade dispersed, and the sky gradually cleared.
Dawn was approaching, and feeling the Spiritual Energy within her body stirring, Lu Yibei's eyes trembled slightly, and she stopped the mutual harm with Zhang Huainan.
“Junior Brother, you want to see Lu Yibei, right? I'll go find her now, give me five minutes... no, how about I make her appear before you in three minutes?”
The morning sun was about to shine down, and her body changing in front of the two of them would truly be "lying on a board, sleeping in a coffin" level social death.
She had to quickly find a place to return to normal... Lu Yibei thought.
'Stinky brat, what kind of tricks is she trying to pull now?' Zhang Huainan muttered inwardly, then nodded, "That's very good, then I will wait here for three minutes."
Zhang Huainan wasn't worried that Lu Yibei would slip away during these three minutes; let alone three minutes, even if he gave her another thirty minutes, she couldn't escape the range of his spiritual sense detection.
Furthermore, while seeing Lu Yibei in an awkward, difficult situation was interesting, it wasn't the main business. Obtaining information about the urban legend behind the Secret Society from Lu Yibei was the top priority.
Seeing Zhang Huainan agree to her request, Lu Yibei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, walked over to Hua Sang's side and said, "Well..."
Hua Sang, who was immersed in her own world with chaotic thoughts, heard Lu Yibei's voice ring in her ears, her face instantly turned redder as if it were on fire, her body trembled slightly, and she moved aside, muttering softly, "You, you speak."
Like a startled little beast, she lowered her head, not daring to even look at Lu Yibei.
In the past decade or so, she had always lived passively, slacking off and avoiding things she couldn't solve. Worried about the Spirit Mark going out of control, she used Spiritual Energy as little as possible. Afraid of harming the fiancé she had never met, she simply pretended the engagement didn't exist and didn't contact him.
Like a little turtle, always hiding herself under a thick, hard shell.
But now, her fiancé was right in front of her, not only would she not harm him, but he might even cure her problem of the Spirit Mark going out of control. For a moment, she didn't know how to handle it.
Things in the world were unpredictable, like a ruthless large hand, determined to drag the little turtle shrinking into its shell out of its safe haven.
Seeing Hua Sang's strange appearance, Lu Yibei tilted her head in confusion, but didn't ask further, instead continuing, "The timing isn't great right now, I'm afraid I can't talk to you for the time being..."
"It's, it's okay," Hua Sang replied quickly.
"Uh, that's good..." Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head, "How about this, I'll come find you tonight?"
"Huh?" Hua Sang looked at Lu Yibei in surprise, her eyes wide, "Wh- why tonight?"
"It's more convenient at night!"
"Con- convenient for what?" Hua Sang asked blankly.
"Convenient for talking!" Lu Yibei said, puzzled, "Otherwise, what else? Of course, if you want to play Ludo all night, I can accompany you."
Hua Sang was startled for a moment, quickly withdrew her gaze, lowered her head again, and nodded, "Okay, see you tonight."
"Alright then, see you!" Lu Yibei responded, no longer lingering, and quickly ran towards the residential building not far away.
Watching Lu Yibei's receding back, Hua Sang lightly bit her lip, her expression complex.
At this moment, Zhang Huainan stepped forward, gently patted her shoulder, and sighed silently.
Through divination, he had already sensed that Lu Ming's mischievous idea had worked, knowing that not only had Lu Yibei's fate trajectory changed, but the fate of the person bound to her by marriage had also been correspondingly disturbed.
The most obvious now was Hua Sang; she should have been enduring the torment of the Night's erosion within her body until one day she could no longer bear it, her Spirit Mark would go out of control, she would become a urban legend, and finally head towards death.
But now, things had taken a turn.
However, where did that kid, Lu Yibei, get that strange ability to absorb the Night's erosion and convert it into Spiritual Energy?
From his great-grandfather to his father, I watched them all grow up, and their family didn't have Spirit Marks in this area... So, perhaps it was her own fortuitous encounter?
Could this also have been within that kid Lu Ming's expectations?
Zhang Huainan felt that he was increasingly unable to figure out Lu Ming.
Although Lu Ming was limited by talent and it was almost impossible for him to become a Calamity level Psychic, the secrets hidden within him seemed to be far more numerous than those of many Calamity level beings.
----
When the bright morning light awakened the land that had slept soundly all night, Lu Yibei, having returned to her human state, walked out of a residential building, then quickly hid behind a stone pillar, peeking out halfway, looking around furtively.
Seeing that Zhang Huainan was no longer in sight, her urge to slip away began to stir again. Just then, a human-shaped shadow cast from above suddenly entered her vision.
Immediately following, a familiar voice rang out beside her ear.
“What are you looking for?”
“I'm looking for...” Lu Yibei opened her mouth and spoke a few words, then immediately realized something was wrong. She abruptly looked up and saw Zhang Huainan standing behind her, maintaining the same posture as her, looking out towards the street outside the residential area.
“...”
At this moment, Lu Yibei suddenly realized clearly that this Old man was immensely powerful, and she couldn't escape from his grasp.
Even though she had already dispelled the urban legend transformation and had her Coat help her conceal her presence, she was still caught by Zhang Huainan.
Seeing that Lu Yibei was speechless for a while, Zhang Huainan smiled and patted her shoulder, “Lu Yibei, right? Let's go, I know there's a century-old breakfast shop nearby. How about we go there to talk? We can have breakfast while we're at it.”
“Mm, okay,” Lu Yibei replied obediently.
Whatever you say goes! Is there any way I can resist?
Lu Yibei thought, secretly making a decision: if Zhang Huainan used force to coerce her into doing something against her principles, she would have to find her "parent" to help her get even later.
The Ancestor will definitely be on my side, right?
Lu Yibei thought, then pursed her lips, “But before that, I still have something to do. Please wait for me for a moment...”
“Oh?” Zhang Huainan frowned, “What else is there?”
“Don't worry, I won't run away. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't!” Lu Yibei said, “Anyway, it won't take more than a few minutes. Just watch.”
Zhang Huainan's lips parted slightly as if to speak but he stopped, then nodded.
Immediately following, he watched as Lu Yibei walked towards the pile of corpses by the roadside, bent down, rummaged around for a while, and dragged out a pretty "girl" from within.
Zhang Huainan, “...”
Was this the Night Watch operative who appeared on Xuanwu Slope before?
Was he also involved in this incident?
To actually hide someone in a pile of corpses, this kid really knows how to play.
-----
As Lu Yibei and Zhang Huainan walked side by side out of the residential area, Qingxia Zi had already led a group of Da Chunyang Palace disciples to the scene and begun the cleanup work.
Caution tape was pulled up at several intersections around the residential area, hundreds of metal wedge nails engraved with solidified Spells, used to interfere with perception, were neatly hammered into the ground, and over a dozen Da Chunyang Palace disciples wearing special protective suits were spraying Alchemy potions to eliminate Spiritual Energy residue in various corners of the residential area.
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For urban legend incidents of this level, completely eliminating the impact is impossible; simply limiting the spread of the urban legend lore and preventing secondary harm requires a lot of manpower and resources.
Among the busy Da Chunyang Palace disciples, Fu Xinyi stood in front of a residential building, holding a tablet and meticulously recording something.
After Lu Yibei handed the unconscious Fang Ji to the Da Chunyang Palace disciples responsible for medical care, she passed by Fu Xinyi and happened to encounter Yi Sihan, whom she had seen before, walking out of that residential building with slightly red eyes and a solemn expression.
“How is it?” Fu Xinyi looked up and asked Yi Sihan, “Did you find any survivors?”
Yi Sihan shook his head, raised his hand to wipe away the tears that were about to well up, and choked out, “Senior Sister Fu, they're all gone, all four hundred and seventeen people in one building are gone... How could they do it?!”
“...”
From a distance, hearing the conversation between Fu Xinyi and Yi Sihan, Lu Yibei's steps paused slightly. She turned to look, couldn't help but clench her fists, and a faint flicker of anger danced in her eyes.
That's right, how could they do it?
Seeing this, Zhang Huainan reached out a hand and gently placed it on her shoulder.
Feeling the weight on her shoulder, Lu Yibei turned to look at Zhang Huainan and said in a heavy tone, “Someone told me that when it comes to matters concerning the Secret Society, I can trust you unconditionally. I trust her, so I plan to tell you everything I know. After that...”
Zhang Huainan seemed to guess Lu Yibei's thoughts and smiled, “You want this Old man to help avenge these innocent people?”
Lu Yibei nodded.
According to Chatterbox Girl, her strength alone was not enough to deal with the Secret Society, but Zhang Huainan had enough strength.
Zhang Huainan shook his head, “This Old man will naturally find the culprit behind all of this, but not for the sake of avenging these people, but to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.”
Is there a difference? Lu Yibei looked at Zhang Huainan, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
“Of course there's a difference. Doing the same thing with different purposes, the methods used and the final results can be vastly different... Anger and hatred are most likely to blind people's eyes.”
He paused, and seeing the confusion still in Lu Yibei's eyes, Zhang Huainan sighed silently, “Never mind, let's go?”
Zhang Huainan knew that given what the Eclipse Society had done to Lu Ming and his wife, Lu Yibei would sooner or later clash with the Eclipse Society.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with dealing with the Eclipse Society, but it shouldn't be done with thoughts of revenge. The Eclipse Society would have ways to exploit such relatively extreme emotions.
If Lu Yibei's actions were swayed by emotions during a confrontation with the Eclipse Society, as she was at this moment, she would definitely suffer greatly.
It was alright that Lu Yibei didn't understand now; fortunately, there was still time, and he could slowly guide her in the future.
However...
Who could be the person that kid mentioned, the one who said I could be trusted unconditionally?
Could it be Senior Brother Qingji?
Hehe, thinking about it like that makes this Old man feel quite embarrassed! Zhang Huainan thought, a hint of youthful, shy smile appearing on his aged face.
----
A moment later.
Near Bu Ye Street, that century-old breakfast shop.
Inside the breakfast shop, in a relatively secluded corner, on a square wooden table, sat two bowls of plain porridge and two plates of delicate side dishes. The side dishes and plain porridge seemed to have been left for a long time; they were already cold and had no steam. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Lu Yibei and Zhang Huainan sat on opposite sides of the wooden table, exchanging whispers about something.
“...Regarding the urban legend hidden behind the Secret Society, this is all I know.”
Lu Yibei recounted the information she had obtained from Chatterbox Girl to Zhang Huainan in detail, then picked up the plain porridge on the table, slowly ate it, and waited for a response.
Although the plain porridge was already cold, it tasted good, sweet and delicious, truly worthy of being a century-old brand.
“...” Zhang Huainan's expression was solemn after listening. After carefully analyzing the information Lu Yibei provided for a while, he nodded, “The information you've given is very detailed. Knowing the reason for the opponent's Power formation, this Old man has a seventy to eighty percent certainty of being able to pinpoint its existence.”
“Huh? Only seventy to eighty percent?” Lu Yibei widened her eyes, put down the porcelain bowl in her hand, and said in surprise, “How is that different from not finding it? I say, Old man, are you capable?”
Zhang Huainan, “???”
“Since when is seventy to eighty percent considered unreliable? Why don't you try?”
A look of disdain appeared in Lu Yibei's eyes, “It's precisely because I'm not capable that I told you all this! If I were capable, would it be your turn to show up?”
With the most assertive attitude, saying the most cowardly words, she was always capable of it.
“...”
Zhang Huainan was silent for two seconds before continuing, “However, if I can capture a Secret Society member and seize the corrupted item in his hand, this Old man will have a hundred percent certainty.”
“A hundred percent?” Lu Yibei smacked her lips and nodded thoughtfully.
A hundred percent is just barely... still acceptable, I guess!
“Right, the person you mentioned earlier, his alias is Gu He, right?”
Seeing Lu Yibei nod, Zhang Huainan continued, “This Old man has heard of this name. I heard he is a very excellent disciple. Thinking carefully, it seems he has only emerged in the past four years.”
“When you mentioned him just now, I already contacted the Elders under my command to investigate. I believe we will have results soon.”
“However, putting that aside for now, this Old man still has a point of confusion that requires your answer.”
“Please speak,” Lu Yibei nodded.
“According to your description of the reason for the urban legend behind the Secret Society and its Power formation, this Old man judges that it may currently be within a God Kingdom formed by its Power, and with the characteristics of its Power, it is impossible for it to only harm Da Chunyang Palace or Shizhou City.”
The exit of its God Kingdom may exist in various corners of the world, and those places could all become targets of its harm.
He paused, looked at Lu Yibei's expression, and continued, “This Old man will not pry into who the person who informed you is; that is your secret. But this Old man thinks, if possible, you should ask that person again what other places the urban legend has harmed besides Da Chunyang Palace.”
“No problem!” Lu Yibei readily agreed, “Leave this matter to me! I'll go do it right now.”
For such a small matter, Chatterbox Girl shouldn't refuse to tell.
Seeing Lu Yibei getting up to leave as she spoke, Zhang Huainan raised a hand and stopped her, “No rush, no rush, this Old man hasn't finished {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} speaking yet?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Lu Yibei asked, puzzled.
“I mean, I want you to help guard the mountain...”
Before Zhang Huainan could finish speaking, Lu Yibei's face instantly turned pale, and she exclaimed in shock, “Damn it! You really want to catch me and make me a Zhenshan Divine Beast, don't you? No, absolutely not, I won't go even if you kill me!”
As she spoke, she quickly backed away. She even suspected that Zhang Huainan would pull out a collar the next moment.
Zhang Huainan, “???”
