Free Web NovelThe Qixinggang area of Shancheng has been a frequent site of urban legend events since ancient times, with the earliest urban legend events even dating back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
It is rumored that after Zhang Jingxuan captured Tongyuan Gate and entered Shancheng in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, he killed many people and left their bodies exposed at Seven Star Ridge. The corpses piled up into a mountain, and the stench of death lingered in the air for days. At night, the screams of the dead could often be heard echoing across Seven Star Ridge. From then on, Seven Star Ridge became a gathering place for urban legend that people feared.
For a long time after that, no one dared to approach Seven Star Ridge at night. It wasn't until the Anti-Japanese War era, when Shancheng became the temporary capital and the main urban area became overpopulated, forcing development into the suburbs, that the mass graves were filled with soil and houses were built, leading to the Seven Star Ridge of today.
Facts prove that the horror of poverty and urban legend are often on par, sometimes even surpassing each other.
In modern times, Seven Star Ridge has also seen many occurrences, such as urban legend driving humans mad, or men mysteriously dying in rented rooms with their bodies highly decomposed and covered in broken yellow paper, and other such rumors.
With the mysterious and eerie atmosphere brought by these rumors, coupled with the surge in the number of urban legend in recent years, Seven Star Ridge has gradually become sparsely populated after the night grew longer. Many residents with means have moved out of Seven Star Ridge, and those who couldn't move generally do not go out at night.
Shancheng in summer is always rainy. When Lu Yibei arrived at Qixinggang Lower Lane, a light drizzle began to fall, and distant thunder rumbled, signaling the imminent arrival of a downpour.
Looking around, on the empty old street, many streetlights were damaged, making the street appear dismembered, flickering on and off intermittently.
Under the night sky, the interconnected rooftops of the buildings undulated with the terrain, like the spine of some colossal creature. The sparse lights in the old buildings along the street were like eyes growing on the body of that giant creature, peering into the darkness. freewebnσvel.cøm
“Good heavens, this is far worse than the urban village in the South Suburb of Hua City, isn't it?” Looking at the scene before her, Lu Yibei couldn't help but exclaim.
Almost every city has one or two areas rich in urban legend legends, such as Seven Star Ridge, or the South Suburb of Hua City, near the slaughterhouse in the South Suburb urban village. However, the scale of the South Suburb urban village is considerably smaller than Seven Star Ridge.
Actually, at first, Lu Yibei didn't understand why that painter would open a studio in such a dreadful place as Seven Star Ridge, but after carefully pondering the female university student's words, she understood.
The reason is very simple, basically the same as the original cause of Seven Star Ridge—poverty!
Lu Yibei learned from the female university student that the painter's life was very difficult. He didn't have extra money to open a studio in the prosperous areas of Shancheng. The place where he now has his studio is his family's house, combined with the house of his neighbor, which he rented long-term at an extremely low price and renovated.
As for why the painter was so impoverished, it's easy to understand by considering the awkward situation of various art creators.
Don't be fooled by famous paintings easily selling for millions; many works by second and third-rate painters often have no market, and while unable to sell their art, they must also bear the high costs of equipment, pigments, and field trips required for painting.
So, being impoverished is normal.
However,
“If he were willing to humble himself and draw some nice Misses on P-site, and take on more commercial commissions, he wouldn't be this poor, right?” Lu Yibei grumbled, “Is lewd art not art?”
“Lewd art? What lewd art?”
Still looking at lewd art while waiting for your girlfriend to arrive for a date? What kind of scum would do something like this?
Can't your girlfriend satisfy you?
It seems she really can't? Then it's fine.
Hearing the voice from behind, Lu Yibei's body trembled slightly. She turned her head and saw the young woman examining her, freezing for a moment.
Wheat-colored skin, golden wavy long hair, a black camisole under a short, navel-baring denim Coat, and a short skirt with a diagonal splice design that left her long legs completely exposed.
Who are you, hot girl?
Oh, Miao Miao Jiang, right?
It took Lu Yibei a second or two to realize that Jiang Ge had specifically dressed up to match her identity as Wang Bu Liu Xing after her urban legend transformation.
“What lewd art? I don't know!” Recovering her composure, she changed the subject, “Since we're here, shall we set off?”
“Okay.” Jiang Hao nodded. “But, since we're here, can you tell me where exactly we're going?”
Her work attitude has always been very proper. Now that the original date has turned into overtime, her attitude has habitually become a bit more serious and earnest.
“It's not far ahead.” Lu Yibei pointed to a low building in the distance. “It's in that brick house, a painting studio.”
“Painting lewd art?” Jiang Ge tilted her head.
“Of course not, it's legitimate art creation!” Lu Yibei explained, “Earlier, I heard that the Master of that studio, a few days ago, when he was out collecting inspiration, saw some terrifying things. Afterwards, he used those things as a theme to create three sets of paintings.”
“And those three sets of paintings actually caused even C-Level Psychic to feel fear. I think there must be something strange going on, and it's necessary to investigate it thoroughly, so—”
She paused, then changed the subject, “But it's okay, we can reschedule our date for tomorrow night!”
Jiang Hao rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei, and said seriously, “We'll talk about tomorrow night's matters tomorrow night.”
“Since we're investigating, have the preliminary preparations been made? Have you checked the painter's background? Speaking of which—”
Mid-sentence, Jiang Li looked around, frowning slightly, “Why would someone open a studio around here?”
On the way here in the car, she had carefully read the Night Watch's information regarding the Seven Star Ridge area. After the night grew longer, this vicinity was definitely not a suitable place for living. If possible, Night Watch agents would even advise residents here to move out.
Various urban legend rumors are widely circulated in this vicinity, which causes corresponding urban legend, even if they are cleared, to reappear much faster due to the spread of their urban legend rumors.
After several consecutive encirclements, the Shancheng Si Ye Hui had no choice but to settle for the next best thing: sealing off the more dangerous urban legend and regularly reinforcing the seals.
As long as there is no death, there is no possibility of revival and reappearance in the rumors.
When sealed urban legend no longer create urban legend events, related rumors will inevitably decrease. Over time, their Spiritual Energy fluctuation levels will also decline. After declining to a certain extent, eradicating them will significantly reduce the possibility of their reappearance.
This plan, apart from the necessary resource consumption for regularly reinforcing the seals, has only one drawback: occasionally, during the sealing period, unaware individuals might stumble into the sealed areas.
And those unfortunate people who stumble into the sealed areas will likely end up like those in movies who accidentally discover a box sealing demons or evil spirits in the attic of an old house and foolishly open it.
Therefore, the vicinity of Seven Star Ridge is truly not a suitable place to live.
To live here, one must be able to endure abnormal phenomena such as hearing meat being chopped upstairs every night, mournful cat cries coming from downstairs all night, knocking sounds at midnight from an unoccupied house next door, and strange dark shadows occasionally flashing outside the window.
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“What else could it be?” Lu Yibei pouted and replied, “Of course, it's because he's poor! However, according to the informant who provided me with the information, this Mr. Painter claims to have opened a studio here to gain inspiration.”
“Oh, and he also said some strange things to my informant, and he wasn't in a normal state when he said them.”
“Strange words? What did he say?” Jiang Li asked with interest.
“The painter said, don't look at these buildings as being from the last century, old and small, but they have witnessed far more than those skyscrapers. It is the changes and instability witnessed by these old buildings that have given them unique life and charm.”
What the painter said up to this point was still normal, but then the style gradually became unsettling.
“He also said that almost every night he could hear these old buildings whispering about the past, see excellent models wandering in secluded alleys, and smell the sweet fragrance drifting in the air—and all of this brought him inexhaustible inspiration for his paintings.”
“Naturally high Spiritual Energy?” Jiang Hao looked at Lu Yibei, her gaze lingering on her for a few seconds unnaturally, “Like you....”
Lu Yibei shrugged, helplessly saying, “It's not entirely the same, is it? At least when I see those strange things, I know to run away quickly.”
Probably only someone with an abnormal mind would treat things captured by Spiritual Energy as creative inspiration.
Yes, from the female university student's description, the painter's mind was already somewhat abnormal even before creating those three sets of paintings. And when he saw some extremely terrifying existence and began creating those three sets of paintings, his mind had probably completely broken down.
The two walked forward while talking.
Lu Yibei had originally hoped that in such a dilapidated, decaying, and eerie environment, a suspension bridge effect would occur, subtly enhancing her relationship with Jiang Li.
But clearly, an A+ level Spirit Ability User and an A-level Spirit Ability User walking together could only cause a suspension bridge effect among the urban legend hiding in the shadows nearby.
Although Lu Yibei had the detailed address of the painter's studio obtained from the female university student, the old buildings, almost identical in appearance, and the highly similar intersections still made them wander in the intricate alleys, giving them a sense of being lost.
A straight distance of about one kilometer took a full twenty minutes to cover without finding the destination. The roads in Shancheng are just that unfriendly to outsiders.
The rain grew heavier, and white mist quietly drifted around, adding a gloomy haziness to the already oppressive alleys.
Just as Jiang Li and Lu Yibei were feeling annoyed by the complex terrain and considering whether to “fly over roofs and walk on walls,” a voice laced with a sob suddenly came from behind.
“Lost, can't find it, can't find it...”
Hearing the sound, the two stopped in their tracks, pricking up their ears to listen carefully to the source of the voice. But the voice was erratic, shifting left and right, up and down, as if coming from the thick mist that rose with the rain.
【Is it a urban legend?】 Lu Yibei frowned, exchanging glances with Jiang Li.
Jiang Hao gently shook her head.
Lu Yibei looked into Jiang Li's eyes again and nodded. She really wanted to tell Jiang Li that if it was a Psychic or a urban legend with the Power of the Eclipse Society President, it might also be impossible to detect Spiritual Energy fluctuations, but in the end, to avoid making Jiang Li worry, she held back.
【That's right, no Spiritual Energy fluctuations detected. If it's a person, maybe we can ask them for directions?】
Jiang Li hesitated, then lightly nodded her chin.
At this moment, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out behind them.
“Hehe, found it, found it!”
The laughter was very strange, as if something was in her mouth, and hearing it gave one the illusion of a sticky, slimy crawling insect moving across the back of the neck.
The two spun around abruptly, and a white shadow flashed quickly across their vision.
Upon seeing clearly what the white shadow was, the two, who had already prepared for battle, immediately relaxed, but then their expressions became peculiar.
Lu Yibei looked at the woman in the white dress in the alley in the distance, who was crawling on all fours like a dog, with ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the backs of her hands and feet touching the ground, while muttering to herself as if searching for something. She gave Jiang Hao a look.
【No Spiritual Energy fluctuations, so she should be human. Why is she crawling on the ground?】
“Maybe she's treating lumbar disc disease? But most likely, she's mentally unstable,” Jiang Hao said faintly.
However, for someone to be wandering around Seven Star Ridge in the early hours of the morning, being mentally unstable is actually normal.
“But we can ask her about that Hanye Studio...” Lu Yibei hadn't finished speaking when the woman crawling on the ground suddenly let out a sharp cry, like a dog's whimper, and then, using all her limbs, she bolted forward.
Her fleeing back gave the impression of someone desperately trying to escape.
Hanye Studio was the destination of this trip.
The unexpectedly appearing woman, upon hearing “Hanye Studio,” fled in panic as if very afraid. freeweɓnøvel.com
Does she know something important?
After a brief thought, with almost no communication, the two tacitly chased after her.
However, within just a second or two, the woman had vanished near the alley corner, leaving no trace. Since no Spiritual Energy fluctuations emanated from her, and they missed the first opportunity to cast a sealing Spell on her, their Spiritual Energy could no longer pinpoint her location.
She seemed to have melted into the surrounding white mist.
That strange woman, like the fog and rain of Shancheng, came without warning and left without a sound. Helpless, the two could only continue forward.
Perhaps it was because they stumbled upon the correct direction while chasing the strange woman, but five minutes later, they finally reached their destination.
Ahead was a five-story terraced building with four units. Perhaps due to Shancheng's consistently humid climate, many dark green mosses grew on the grey-black exterior walls of the building.
The night blurred their vision, making the color of the moss even darker, inexplicably reminding them of the discolored patches that appear on the skin of the dying.
Lu Yibei looked up and roughly counted. The entire terraced building probably had forty households, but only the top floor of the first unit had lights on. Other than that, the entire terraced building was a dark, black expanse.
The painter's studio was on the first floor of the fourth unit, with a very noticeable sign outside the door that read “Hanye Studio” in large characters.
Although the lights around the sign were not lit at the moment, its high-quality materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and vibrant colors seemed out of place with the old building behind it, creating a rather absurd and comical feeling.
Standing in front of the small building and observing for a while, Lu Yibei turned to Jiang Li and asked softly, “Shall we go in now?”
“Yes, let's go in,” Jiang Ge nodded.
As her voice fell, she witnessed a scene that somewhat surprised her.
Lu Yibei actually flashed past her, taking the lead and walking towards the dark staircase.
In the past, Lu Yibei would never have been the first to enter a place where potential dangers had not yet been investigated.
Looking at Lu Yibei's back, a look of relief appeared on Jiang Li's face, her slightly narrowed eyes seemed to say, “My child, you've finally grown up, Sister is very happy!”
