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As the door lock emitted a soft sound, the main door closed, and this "warehouse" located deep within the Li Gate returned to quietness. The individual Hunqiu in the crystal jars extinguished their faint light, darkness spread, and only blurred outlines remained within sight.
After a long while, a chilling sound came from the darkness.
On the display shelf, a crystal jar shook a few times, and the Hunqiu sealed within gradually lit up with a sky-blue faint light.
"Mr. Unmyouki, Mr. Unmyouki..."
Hearing the call from the corner, the Hunqiu Luming, whose light had faded, once again emitted a faint golden light, lifted the lid of the crystal jar, floated out, landed on the small table facing the display shelf, looked around the display shelf for a while, and found the source of the sound.
"Oh? So it's you? What's your name again?"
"My name is Ding Yi," the sky-blue Hunqiu introduced himself. "I'm the leader of a little-known small gang."
Little-known? I'm afraid it's not that simple, thought Hunqiu Luming.
For a remnant soul to be specially collected by the Eclipse Society and locked deep inside the Li Gate, he must be at least an A-level Spirit Ability User.
An A-level Spirit Ability User, in a godforsaken place like Liming City, could never be just the leader of a little-known small gang.
However, Lu Ming had never heard of the name Ding Yi, and he didn't intend to delve deeper.
Anyway, having fallen into the hands of the Eclipse Society and being locked up here, everyone was the same, everyone was a "ball."
"Speaking of which, why did you suddenly call me?" asked Hunqiu Luming. "We don't seem to have any connection, do we? Could it be that you plan to participate in my escape plan?"
"Uh, I wouldn't dare to escape, nor do I have the ability," said Hunqiu Ding Yi. "I just heard you and that man talk about the Maitian God and Hua Qianli just now, and I wanted to ask you about some past events."
"Ask about some past events? What do you want to know?" Lu Ming asked, puzzled.
Ding Yi sighed and explained, "To be honest, when the Maitian God attempted to trigger the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons in Liming City, my wife and children happened to be visiting relatives there and were unfortunately trapped."
"I should have rushed to Liming City to reinforce them, but on the way, I was assassinated by a hostile gang. By the time my consciousness became clear again, I was already in this godforsaken place."
"I just wanted to ask you, Mr. Hua Qianli, when he stopped the Maitian God from triggering the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, what was the casualty situation in Liming City?"
As soon as Ding Yi finished speaking, another emerald green Hunqiu on the display shelf lit up with a faint light and interjected, "I've heard about this. There were quite a few injured, but actually not many people died."
"However, since the topic has come up, I'm a bit curious. Since Mr. Unmyouki was near Liming City at that time, why didn't you take action?"
"Logically speaking, what descended upon Liming City was merely a clone of the Maitian God, with only seventy to eighty percent of its strength. If Mr. Unmyouki had personally intervened, perhaps Hua Qianli wouldn't have had to die, right?"
Although Unmyouki was not an official Guardian of the Night Watch, he was rumored to be a Psychic whose danger level was second only to Zhang Huainan.
Anyone who had heard rumors about Lu Ming would likely believe that such a Psychic, let alone facing a clone of the Maitian God with only seventy to eighty percent of its strength, should have a chance of winning even against the Maitian God's main body.
Lu Ming was silent for a few seconds, then chuckled dryly, "Ha! I say, aren't you overestimating me a bit too much? Rumors are just rumors, they can't be trusted."
"I'm just a mere A-level Spirit Ability User. Facing a top-tier Calamity level strange story, it's good enough if I can save my own life. How could I possibly defeat it?"
"Furthermore, when a man has shown all his vulnerability and then shows his final stubbornness, I don't think I have a reason to stop him."
All the Hunqiu thought, "Believe you? Only a ghost would!"
After a pause, Lu Ming continued, "However, since you want to hear about Hua Qianli's messy business, I can tell you. It's been a long time anyway, and it's not a secret. It's a good way to pass the time."
"Actually, this matter has to start from when I participated in an operation organized by the Night Watch in Hundred Island City, related to the Dream Come True Journey. During the operation, I met an agent named Du Heng. That guy told me that Hua Qianli was a Psychic potential candidate he discovered and someone he watched grow up."
"But ever since Hua Qianli avenged his wife and chased a branch organization of the Wanderers Poetry Society all the way to that organization's headquarters in Liming City, he lost contact. No one knew if he was dead or had been turned."
At this point, Lu Ming paused, perhaps recalling that he too had a similar experience to Hua Qianli's.
He saw his own reflection in Hua Qianli.
Immediately after, a knowledgeable Hunqiu spoke up, interrupting Lu Ming's thoughts that were about to drift off, "A branch organization of the Wanderers Poetry Society? Could it be the Afterglow Tea Party?"
"Exactly!"
"Good heavens! It turns out the Afterglow Tea Party was destroyed by Hua Qianli. No wonder it suddenly disappeared."
Eight years ago.
After participating in the operation organized by the Night Watch in Hundred Island City, Du Heng, Agent Number Three of Hundred Island City, found Lu Ming and asked him to go to Liming City to find Hua Qianli, Agent Number Nine of Hundred Island City, who had been out of contact for a long time.
After some pushing and shoving, and reaching certain unspeakable dirty deals, Lu Ming set off from Hundred Island City and successfully arrived in Liming City two days later.
Lu Ming stayed in Liming City for several days, putting in a lot of effort, and finally found Hua Qianli in a trash can in the alley behind an underground casino—
"The dignified Mr. Unmyouki had to expend so much effort to find one person? Even in a place like Liming City, which is full of mixed characters, was he hiding very well?" a Hunqiu couldn't help but ask.
"What do you know?" Lu Ming said. "Actually, if he had still been in his peak state, it should have been easier to find him, but he was completely ruined at that time."
"I understand this!" the emerald green Hunqiu interjected. "There are billions of people in the world, a vast sea of humanity. Sometimes, finding an ordinary person is much more difficult than finding someone or a strange story emitting Spiritual Energy fluctuations!"
"That's true," Lu Ming agreed.
After Hua Qianli destroyed that branch organization of the Wanderers Poetry Society and successfully avenged his wife, he also suffered severe injuries that were difficult to heal.
At first, he could suppress his injuries with Spirit Marks, but as time went on, the injuries festered more and more severely. He also had to rely on alcohol and addictive substances to numb himself and alleviate the pain slightly.
Under the multiple torments of his injuries, alcohol, and drug harm, in just a few years, he was tormented into a shadow of his former self.
In the information Du Heng gave Lu Ming, Hua Qianli was a handsome man who looked clean-faced and elegant, and his Spiritual Energy fluctuation level was high.
But when Lu Ming found him, what he saw was a middle-aged man with a full beard, dirty and worn clothes, and a foul odor emanating from his body.
Moreover, his Spiritual Energy fluctuation was only at about a C-level.
He lay quietly in the trash can. If his numb and lifeless eyes were still following the flying flies, moving slowly, he looked completely like the corpse of a homeless person who had frozen to death on the street and was unclaimed.
After losing his wife, Hua Qianli seemed to have fallen back into the abyss he had stayed in for nearly ten years, perhaps even deeper.
Hearing this, a Hunqiu couldn't help but sigh, "Tsk, he's become like that, what's the point of living? Might as well end it."
"What the hell do you know?!" Hunqiu Ding Yi swore. "Didn't Mr. Unmyouki just say? He still has a daughter! If he ends it, what about his daughter?"
"Speaking of which, he's become like that, how does he support his daughter? He can't possibly let his daughter suffer with him, can he?"
"What else can he do?" Lu Ming said. "He can only engage in shady, illicit businesses, or rely on his identity as a Psychic to mix into local organizations, freeloading until he gets discovered!"
At this point, Lu Ming suddenly thought of Hua Qianli's daughter, showing extreme disgust and contempt towards him because she didn't understand her father.
If my brat looked at me with that kind of look, like looking at a dead dog, I'd probably be very sad, right?
However, if I'm sad, I'm afraid he won't have it easy either! thought Lu Ming.
When Lu Ming found Hua Qianli, Hua Qianli had already shut himself off and didn't communicate with anyone at all.
He tried to talk to Hua Qianli several times, but all attempts failed.
Hua Qianli seemed to have lost interest in everything in the outside world, even food and water.
Even though his stomach was making strange noises from hunger and his lips were dry and cracked from thirst, he ignored the bento and mineral water Lu Ming offered him.
After replacing the mineral water with alcohol, he did have a slight reaction, but after drinking a few sips, he also threw it aside without much interest.
Seeing Hua Qianli in that state, Lu Ming's mood was very complicated, as he too had once had an experience of taking his child and avenging his wife.
However, though both sought revenge, he walked out of the shadow after completing his revenge, while Hua Qianli allowed hatred to consume him.
Hua Xizhuang became the last faint light in his world, guiding him like an insect drawn to light, following his final instinct, constantly moving forward.
"Speaking of which, at that time, I originally planned to tell that guy Du Heng that Hua Qianli was already dead," Lu Ming said. "But before I could tell Du Heng, the Maitian God descended."
"Speaking of which, in the initial stage of the Maitian God's clone descending, none of you should have noticed, right?" a Hunqiu with a hoarse voice asked.
"Indeed," Lu Ming said somewhat awkwardly. "You can't just assume the Maitian God is causing trouble every time there's heavy fog, can you? Liming City is quite polluted, so it's not strange for smog to appear." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
As Lu Ming said, in the initial stage of the Maitian God's clone descending, almost no one or strange story in Liming City noticed.
At first, it was just a brief heavy fog that would dissipate within two or three hours.
Following that, the city was engulfed in thick fog night after night, and the air also began to emit a slightly irritating smell.
As the heavy fog lasted longer and longer, dominating the night and starting to extend into the daytime, gradually people in the city began to suffer from respiratory illnesses of varying severity.
Those with mild symptoms were suspected of having a cold, while those with severe symptoms were suspected of having pneumonia.
After nightfall, the strange stories in Liming City also became much more active than usual.
Many local cult organizations that secretly believed in the Maitian God also took advantage of the chaos to secretly abduct a large number of Psychic potential candidates to be used for producing source spirits, preparing for the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.
At the same time, under the secret manipulation of the Maitian God's group of fanatical believers, a rumor spread in Liming City.
【Three days of heavy fog, no sunlight, and then, Liming City will have no dawn forever.】
As the rumor spread, an atmosphere of unease silently spread among the Psychic and ordinary people in Liming City.
By the time Lu Ming realized that something was wrong and identified the Maitian God among the strange stories that could cause heavy fog, people had already lost their lives to the thick fog.
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He immediately made preparations to fight the Maitian God's clone alone before reinforcements could arrive.
It was on the day the first death occurred that Hua Qianli, to Lu Ming's surprise, came knocking, holding his daughter in his arms.
"She inhaled the fog and got sick," Hua Qianli told him. "Without her mother by her side, she's been weak since childhood. I'm afraid she won't make it through."
Lu Ming had thought Hua Qianli came to him wanting his help to treat Hua Xizhuang, but to his surprise, he had guessed Hua Qianli's intention incorrectly.
"I know that the reason for the heavy fog is very likely the legendary Maitian God preparing to unleash the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons in Liming City. The only way to cure my daughter is to stop it; otherwise, any treatment method will only be a temporary solution."
"I will handle stopping the Maitian God. The Power of my Spirit Mark has a certain restraining effect on it. I came to you because I've heard of Unmyouki's name and know that you must have a special Spell here that can grant me the power to contend with the Maitian God in a short period."
Yes, there is, but it will take your life! Lu Ming thought this in his heart, but looking at Hua Qianli, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Survival is human instinct, but in Hua Qianli, he saw a strong will to die.
In fact, he had already died twice. The first time was after his happy family was shattered, drowning in the tide of the era. The second time was the moment he witnessed his wife's chest bloom with crimson.
Killing all the members of the Fading Light Church with his own hands didn't truly free him. He knew clearly that there was another murderer who killed his wife still Lived in the Human Hell, and that was himself.
From then on, he was trapped in the mire of self-reproach, waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to die a worthy death and prove that he had truly lived through in this world.
Now, this opportunity had arrived!
He had the chance to die for the countless ordinary people of Liming City, and even more, the chance to die for his daughter.
Therefore, although his heart was set on death, Hua Qianli at that moment looked more genuinely Lived than any second in the past ten-plus years.
His back was straight, his eyes were bright like stars, and he directly called out the Maitian God's name without any hesitation, as if he wasn't afraid at all that the Maitian God would know that in a corner of Liming City, a seemingly insignificant "ant" in its eyes was planning to disrupt its grand scheme.
That feeling was like pointing at the Maitian God's nose and roaring, "Come on, I'll kill you!"
Lu Ming saw through Hua Qianli's thoughts, sighed heavily, and said, "I can teach you that special Spell, but I have one condition."
Lu Ming raised his hand and pointed at the feverish girl in Hua Qianli's arms. "How about this: Let her and my son get engaged?"
A flicker of anger briefly flashed in Hua Qianli's eyes, but then, as if he understood something, his brows relaxed, and he said solemnly, "Thank you!"
He had been somewhat worried that Hua Xizhuang wouldn't be able to survive alone after he was no longer in the Human Hell. Now his last concern was gone.
"If possible, could I trouble you to help her draw Spirit Marks in the future?"
"Alright!" Lu Ming pouted and said, "It just so happens that I have several Spirit Mark drawing methods and material locations on hand. What do you think of Ifrit?"
"No need for that," Hua Qianli frowned and said, "Just like her mother, draw the Sheng Cai Gui Spirit Mark."
"Although that Spirit Mark can only bring her some unexpected wealth and isn't a long-term solution, when she encounters difficulties in the future, she won't be so poor she starves to death."
"Are you sure?" Lu Ming sized up the girl in Hua Qianli's arms and asked, "I think she has good Spiritual Energy potential. If she's well-trained, reaching A-Level will be no problem at all."
"Certain," Hua Qianli replied firmly. "Being a bit ordinary is fine. As for Spirit Marks, as long as they can ensure she won't be bullied, that's enough."
Lu Ming was stunned for a moment. "That's pretty similar to what I think."
As he spoke, he looked at Hua Xizhuang again, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What's this Miss's name?"
"Hua Xizhuang, the Zhuozhuang of vigorous growth," Hua Qianli said indifferently.
"Huh?" Lu Ming had a bewildered look on his face and said, "No, you just gave your own daughter such a terrible name? No «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» wonder she hates you. If I were her, I'd hate you too!"
Hua Qianli was silent for a moment and said, "You can help her change her name later."
"Change her name?" Lu Ming thought for a moment and asked, "What was her mother's name?"
"Gong Yu."
"Alright!" Lu Ming slapped the table and said, "I know what she should be called in the future!"
"You go back first? I'll send over the method for performing that special Spell and the gift I prepared for your daughter later."
"Gift?"
Lu Ming rolled his eyes and pointed at Hua Xizhuang. "She has a high fever! She can't keep going like this, right? What if she burns her brain out?"
"I don't want my son to marry a mentally challenged wife in the future."
Hua Qianli opened his mouth, wanting to say something but holding back. Then he bowed to Lu Ming and turned to leave Lu Ming's temporary residence.
As he saw Hua Qianli off, Lu Ming gazed at his back for a long time, lost in thought.
After a long while, when Hua Qianli's figure finally disappeared into the thick fog, he sighed, "I wonder if one day, I will also generously face death like this for that stinky brat of mine?"
That night, as promised, he sent the method for performing that special Spell and the Alchemy potion to alleviate Hua Xizhuang's symptoms to Hua Qianli's house.
Lu Ming saw Hua Qianli for the last time on the evening of the third day the heavy fog enveloped Liming City.
When he arrived at Hua Qianli's house, he was startled by Hua Qianli's appearance.
Unlike his appearance two days prior, which was like a vagrant, Hua Qianli had showered, shaved his beard, combed his hair meticulously, and changed into an Italian custom-made suit, just like the photo in the Night Watch's file.
No, even more handsome than the photo in the file!
The only slight imperfection was that after more than ten years of hellish torment, he was much thinner than before, and the suit was likely from his affluent youth, fitting him slightly awkwardly.
Just as Lu Ming was about to see Hua Qianli off, Hua Xizhuang pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing his daughter, Hua Qianli hesitated for a few seconds and said stiffly, "From now on, you'll follow him!"
Hearing Hua Qianli's words, Hua Xizhuang was clearly startled and fled, like a frightened little Fox.
Seeing his daughter run away, Hua Qianli looked at Lu Ming and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Lu Ming rolled his eyes and said irritably, "What do you think? Are you out of your mind? The child heard you say that and might even think you're selling her to me!"
"Sorry," Hua Qianli frowned and said, "I rarely interacted with that child before, and now I don't know how to talk to her properly."
"Even if you don't know how to talk, you shouldn't say it like that!" Lu Ming waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, I'll go after her and check on her for you. You go do whatever you need to do!"
"Okay!" Hua Qianli responded. After Lu Ming had walked a distance, he suddenly called out to him again, "Can you tell me the new name you thought of for Zhuozhuang?"
"Hua Xieyu."
"Xieyu, Xieyu..." Hua Qianli repeated it several times in his mouth, nodded, and smiled. "Thank you. Then I shall go."
"Take care!" Lu Ming said solemnly.
The story was nearing its end, and Lu Yibei's cooking was also about to be finished.
Hearing Chatterbox Girl talk about Hua Qianli's daughter running out the door, she couldn't help but stop what she was doing and asked, "So, Hua Xieyu ended up misunderstanding her Old Dad?"
"How could she not misunderstand?" Chatterbox Girl spat and said, "Pfft, think about it, if you encountered that situation, what would you think?"
Lu Yibei frowned and thought about it, putting herself in the situation.
Her usually sloppy Old Dad suddenly looked like he'd won the grand prize in the lottery, dressed in a high-end custom suit, looking like a proper person.
urban legend events had recently occurred around their residence, and evil cult organizations were frequently harming people.
One day, she returned home and found her Old Dad talking to a mysterious, suspicious person, and seeing her, he even said something like that.
"Holy crap!" Lu Yibei withdrew her thoughts and said, "Then I'd probably have to find a way for that mysterious person to buy my Old Dad! His Spiritual Energy potential is higher than mine anyway!"
Chatterbox Girl was speechless for a while and retorted, "You're something else!"
"What happened after that?" Lu Yibei asked. "Did Hua Qianli just die like that? What about the process of him fighting the Maitian God?"
"I don't know about that," Chatterbox Girl said. "My friend didn't say, and he probably didn't see it himself."
"However, he told me that late that night, a rare strong storm descended upon Liming City without warning, dispersing the fog that had lingered over Liming City for several days."
"Some people say that the rain that fell in the storm was scarlet and scalding, like someone's blood."
"Some people say that when the fog dispersed and the moonlight first appeared, they heard someone shouting above the city: Who said Liming City would never have dawn?"
"Others say that in the strong wind, they heard whispers: The Feilian can cause wind and qi, learn the news of the eight winds, understand the climate of the five movements, stir it with thunder, and moisten it with wind and rain."
"That's the description of the Power of a 【Mythical Species Feidu】, which is one of the advancement directions for Hua Qianli's Spirit Mark. Its upper limit can reach Calamity level," Chatterbox Girl explained.
"So, he advanced from C-level to Calamity level in one night?" Lu Yibei exclaimed in surprise. "Go ask your friend what method that was! I want to learn it too!"
"Why do you want to learn everything?" Chatterbox Girl asked, both annoyed and amused. "Heh, do you want to die too?"
"No!" Lu Yibei said without hesitation.
"If you don't, then hurry up and let that old Fox taste your dish!"
"Although... I don't think the ending of your story fits the standard of Human Hell!"
"Pfft, when have I ever lied to you? I told you to let him taste it, so just let him taste it. Why so much nonsense?"
"Oh, oh!" Lu Yibei responded perfunctorily twice, withdrew her gaze to look at the beer-braised chicken wing roots in the pot that were basically done, and quickly took the dish out of the pot and plated it.
"Boss Hu, have a taste!" Lu Yibei handed the plated dish to Boss Hu and introduced, "This dish of mine is called, Lived!"
Yes, at the last minute, she changed the name of this dish to one she felt was more fitting.
Boss Hu,
