Free Web NovelWalking deeper into the alley, the noise of Peony Street gradually faded away. Soon, the two ancient stone lions came into view. Behind them, the large copper-ringed gate, with its peeling red lacquer, stood wide open, and the small garden behind the gate was lush with vegetation.
Lu Yibei paused briefly at the gate, then ascended the steps, entered the small garden, and found Gu Niang squatting in the corner. He handed her the freshly squeezed corn juice he had bought on the way, with a straw inserted.
Gu Niang took the corn juice, sniffed at the straw opening with her nose, and a slight light flickered in her numb, vacant eyes. She opened her small mouth, took a sip, and let out a satisfied exhale.
Seeing that Gu Niang seemed to really like the corn juice he brought, a gentle light appeared in Lu Yibei's eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and then walked towards the Special Operations Team.
However.
As soon as he turned around and took a step, he was tugged at the corner of his clothes by Gu Niang from behind.
Lu Yibei quickly turned around, looked at Gu Niang, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"
Gu Niang held the cup of corn juice in one hand and pointed with the other towards the path leading to the back door of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration. She looked up into Lu Yibei's eyes and said, "Over there."
The person you were looking for just left from that direction."
"Left?" Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion, "Why would she leave? Didn't she say she had something important and had to see me to tell me?"
"She was taken away by a Special Operations Team member. I don't know about the rest." Gu Niang shook her head. "After all, I'm just a mushroom."
Lu Yibei was speechless for a moment. He nodded at Gu Niang, turned around, and quickly chased after her in the direction she pointed.
Gu Niang wouldn't lie. As Elder brother Dong said, Yu Jianqiu was waiting for me in the Special Operations Team's lounge.
But now she was suddenly taken away? And she was taken away by a Special Operations Team member? Could it be that the Hua City Si Ye Hui has other moles besides me? freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Something is very wrong! There must be something fishy going on here, Lu Yibei thought.
"Um, that big..." Hua Xieyu followed behind the young man for a while before she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, how much further is the teahouse where Lu Yibei is?"
"Almost there," the young man replied. "It's just ahead."
As he spoke, he continued walking forward without looking back, leaving Hua Xieyu with a sturdy back view that carried a hint of laziness. "How far is 'ahead'?" Hua Xieyu asked again.
The young man pondered for a moment, then said in a muffled voice, "Just follow me."
Hearing this, Hua Xieyu looked around, then turned her gaze back to the young man, frowning.
After leaving the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration, the young man leading the way had been silent, just walking forward. At this moment, although they were still within the confines of Peony Street, they were no longer in the scenic area.
All around were the old buildings of Peony Street's old street, ancient structures located even more remotely than the Lu Family Old House.
More than half of these buildings were empty, with hardly any signs of human habitation, exuding a cold and quiet atmosphere.
Along the winding clear stream, deep and narrow alleys extended in all directions, as intricate as the roots of a plant. Would there really be a teahouse in a place like this?
Even if a villain killed someone here and dragged the body into an uninhabited old house, it's likely no one would discover it before the body started to decompose, right?
The more I think about it, the more something feels wrong. Could it be that they want me to disappear without a trace?
Hua Xieyu thought, then looked at the young man ahead again. Her gaze lingered on his thick arms that strained his black T-shirt taut, and then she looked at the bulging area around his waist, where it seemed a firearm was concealed.
Her heart rate quietly accelerated.
Such a robust adult male, even if he wasn't a Psychic and had never received systematic training, she wouldn't necessarily be his match. Not to mention, the other party was not only an ungraded Psychic whose body had been strengthened by Spirit Mark, but also a well-trained Special Operations Team member.
People like him could potentially beat low-level urban legend to death just with close combat.
"How about... should I just leave? I'll make a separate appointment with Lu Yibei another day."
Although continuing to follow the young man only meant a *possible* encounter with danger, Hua Xieyu didn't want to face even a tiny bit of danger. It wasn't absolutely necessary to see Lu Yibei today. If something unexpected happened today, she might never have the chance to pass on what she knew.
The young man glanced at Hua Xieyu out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you say it was a very serious urban legend incident that you had to tell Staff Lu in person? Is it still possible to make an appointment another day?"
"I..."
"Just follow me!" The young man said, placing a hand on his waist without a trace, "Since there's a urban legend incident, we can't delay."
Hearing this, Hua Xieyu lightly bit her lip, staring at the young man's back. She hesitated for a few seconds, as if making a risky decision, and her eyes deepened.
Then.
Just as the two passed a low courtyard wall, Hua Xieyu lightly leaped, skillfully climbed onto the top of the wall, and stood there, looking back at the young man.
Seeing that he was still walking forward, seemingly unaware, Hua Xieyu gave him the middle finger behind his back, then gracefully jumped into the courtyard behind the wall.
She landed like a feather, stepping onto the grass without making a sound.
Upon landing, she didn't linger at all. She immediately sprinted across the empty courtyard and climbed over the low wall on the other side of the courtyard.
Just after Hua Xieyu climbed over the wall and escaped, the young man who was walking forward suddenly turned around, looked in the direction she had left, and sighed silently, seemingly with no intention of chasing after her—
—-
After all, Hua Xieyu was a Psychic. Her body had been strengthened by Spirit Mark, making her much stronger than ordinary people. It was easy for her to move freely in a place like Peony Street, with its complex terrain and buildings of varying heights.
After leaving the small courtyard, she continued to run towards the Peony Street scenic area without looking back.
She wasn't sure if the young man had chased after her, and she didn't dare to return to the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration. In fact, she only trusted Lu Yibei in the entire Hua City Si Ye Hui.
Therefore, she could only run towards crowded places.
Even if that young man really had malicious intentions, he couldn't possibly act in broad daylight, could he? Hua Xieyu thought. This was an experience she had summarized after countless escapes in Liming City.
While thinking, Hua Xieyu leaped from the roof of a small building and landed on the balcony of a residential house. Just then, a hoarse voice, as if there was thick phlegm stuck in its throat, entered her ears. "Little Girl, what are you doing?"
A voice suddenly rang out in her ear. Hua Xieyu, whose nerves were already tense, was startled. Her body trembled slightly. She turned around and realized that in the attic behind her, an old man with white hair and a pale face was leaning on a reclining chair, staring intently at her.
His eyes were cloudy and numb, with dark circles around his slightly sunken eye sockets. He seemed very tired, yet also carried a hint of deep lifelessness.
"You look flustered. Are you being chased by something? Do you need my help?"
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Hua Xieyu stared at the Old man, at his dark circles. She felt a sense of familiarity, yet she couldn't recall where she had seen him before.
Immediately after, seeing the old man get up and walk towards her unsteadily, she suddenly felt as if she was hallucinating, a creepy sensation arose, and she got goosebumps.
That was clearly just an old man in his twilight years. She could take him down without any effort. There was nothing to be afraid of.
But her body, as if by instinct, exhibited a series of reactions that only appeared when she was terrified.
That feeling was as if she had experienced something particularly terrifying in the past, her brain had been overly stimulated and had selectively forgotten, but her body still remembered.
"No need!"
Hua Xieyu let out a light cry. Without time to think further, she climbed onto the balcony railing, leaped down, and landed steadily in the alley below the balcony, which was paved with bluestone slabs.
She ran wildly along the alley.
Before long, Hua Xieyu stopped again.
A sign that read 【Construction Ahead, No Entry】 blocked her path.
Staring at the sign, Hua Xieyu narrowed her eyes slightly. Instead of kicking it away as she usually would, she quickly turned around and ran towards the corner on the left.
For a moment, she herself was surprised by her own actions.
As someone from Xiang Niangzi Cave, normally, let alone a 【Construction Ahead】 sign, even a 【Nuclear Waste Disposal Site Ahead】 sign wouldn't be able to stop her from going where she wanted to go.
However, when she saw that sign just now, she felt as if there was a voice in her mind constantly whispering to her, forcing her to obey the rules and making her change her route.
After turning left and walking along the alley, a breakfast cart passed the alley entrance ahead and unexpectedly tipped over, blocking the way. The route changed again.
Continuing forward, safety belts pulled up for circuit maintenance, teenagers wrestling in the alley, a rotten old tree blown down by the wind, lying across the middle of the road...
Hua Xieyu constantly encountered unexpected situations, repeatedly being forced to change her route.
Unknowingly, her path drew a crooked circle on the old street of Peony Street. When she came back to her senses, she saw a young man leaning against a utility pole ahead, smoking a cigarette.
The young man looked at her from afar, his eyes lifeless and with thick dark circles—
—-
Not long after chasing in the direction Gu Niang pointed, Lu Yibei sensed that something was wrong. The black sun totem on his back began to burn without warning.
To be precise, it was the hardly noticeable red dot on the pirated black sun totem.
That feeling was as if someone was holding a long incense stick for ordination and fiercely poking him in the back. But people usually poke the top of the head with long incense sticks, who pokes the back?
That abbot probably has some perverted Hobbies? What the hell is Chatterbox Girl doing?
Lu Yibei thought, his steps paused slightly. Just then, he suddenly noticed that the burning sensation from the red dot on his back suddenly lessened significantly and was still continuously fading.
He was slightly stunned, stood still and pondered for a few seconds, then raised his head, looked at the intersection ahead, chose a direction, and jogged forward for a distance, but soon returned and changed direction.
After repeating this, trying ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) all three directions, he frowned.
""
Going forward or left, the burning sensation in his back would weaken. But when walking to the right, it would get stronger. Is this some kind of guidance?
Lu Yibei thought, and without hesitation, chose to proceed to the right.
He had been guided by the burning sensation in his eyes countless times. After a brief analysis and thought, he quickly connected the two burning sensations and made a judgment.
As for what the burning sensation from the pirated black sun totem was pointing to... it was obvious, most likely Eclipse Society members!
Could it be that the two Eclipse Society members who infiltrated Hua City, the ones Chatterbox Girl mentioned, were the ones who took Yu Jianqiu away? Lu Yibei thought as he walked.
Speaking of which, the Hua City Si Ye Hui actually has more than one mole besides me?
Could that guy be the one who held me out and handed me over to the Cicada back then?
Well, if that's the case, I'm going to settle both old and new scores today! Lu Yibei thought.
Seeing the young man, Hua Xieyu's eyes widened in disbelief. Her body trembled uncontrollably as if struck by lightning. In just over twenty minutes, she felt like she had run very far.
She didn't expect to have circled back to the starting point!
Scenes of being forced to change direction repeatedly just now surfaced in her mind, and her heart skipped a beat. Was this a coincidence? Or...
At this moment, the young man threw away his cigarette butt and slowly walked over. "Miss Yu, where did you go just now?"
He doesn't suspect that I ran away? Hua Xieyu frowned slightly, then forced a smile and said, "I, I suddenly needed to use the restroom just now, so... I'm sorry."
"Is that so?" The young man nodded. "Why didn't you tell me when you left? You made me wait."
"Alright! Since you're back, let's hurry up and go?"
As he spoke, the young man turned around, led the way forward on his own, and continued walking, as if everything that had just happened hadn't occurred at all.
Hua Xieyu stood frozen in place, looking at the young man's back. Her eyebrows were knitted together, her face slightly pale, and her feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
Returning to the same situation as before, she felt that things were getting increasingly strange.
For a moment, she even felt like she was a lamb being guided by a whip, and the young man in front was the shepherd holding the whip.
Seemingly sensing that Hua Xieyu hadn't followed, the young man stopped, turned around, and stared intently at her, asking in confusion, "What's wrong, Miss Yu? Why aren't you walking?"
"We've been delayed for so long, Staff Lu must be getting impatient."
Just as Hua Xieyu slightly parted her lips, unsure how to answer the young man's question.
A figure suddenly jumped down from the adjacent wall, blocking the space between the two. He stood tall and proud, and called out softly.
"Because I really couldn't wait and came looking for her myself! Elder brother, since you were originally taking her to see me, it should be fine to hand her over to me directly now, right?"
The young man looked at Lu Yibei, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he nodded without saying a word.
