Chapter 151: The “Lively” Street
Passing through the weathered, nearly white gate, Luxianbei paused in front of it, turned around, and glanced up at the sign with faded letters, tilting her head slightly.
Had Xia Lianqing mentioned that this place was called Dai Mu Institute?
Mumbling to herself, Luxianbei withdrew her gaze, stepped down the stone stairs in front of the gate, and upon reaching the street, seemed to sense something. She froze for a moment and then slowly raised her head to look at the sky, muttering to herself, “This senior really isn’t very reliable…”
Although Huaiyuan Jun had told her that inside Yumen Pass, there was no distinction between day and night, as it was almost always shrouded in darkness, after seeing it with her own eyes, she realized that there was indeed a slight difference.
A very subtle difference.
In fact, if one observed carefully, even if it was the same night, there were distinctions. The sky just after nightfall was definitely not as oppressive and dark as it was in the early morning.
The difference in the sky between day and night in Yumen Pass was roughly comparable to the difference between seven or eight o’clock at night and midnight.
Perhaps it was because Yumen Pass, aside from being a border garrison, essentially was still a God Realm, so the entire area of the pass was much larger than Luxianbei had imagined before entering. As she looked around, she couldn’t even see the dozens of meters high city walls at the edges of the garrison.
Unlike the existing ruins of other garrisons, it was on a scale that could rival a medium-sized city in modern society.
Of course, it could also be that the existing ruins of those garrisons had been reduced to just the garrison itself over time, while the surrounding residences, fields, and so on had long been swallowed up by the river of history. In contrast, Yumen Pass had preserved these completely due to the power of the God Realm.
“……”
She didn’t know how she had crossed such a great distance when she was sucked into the gate and directly reached the inner region of Yumen Pass.
Did she fall like a meteor across the sky?
What a pity, she thought, there was clearly an opportunity to experience flying…
Following the path she had walked with Xia Lianqing in her memories, she proceeded down the street, everything around her shrouded in shadow.
The street, wide enough for five horses to run side by side, was lined with buildings that had long been abandoned. Doors and windows were broken, the insides pitch black, resembling a gaping maw waiting to devour someone.
On the vacant ground in front of the buildings, scattered remnants of wood lay on the ground, making it impossible to determine what they originally were. A layer of dark, sticky substance covered them, and faintly, she could see outlines of bones beneath that sticky matter.
But Luxianbei knew, she had seen it with her own eyes.
There used to be a small tea stall there, and a long time ago, a little girl stood in front of the stall, excitedly handing her “fortune” from selling flowers to her grandfather.
I wonder how they fared later on?
Did they receive news before the Shaman Queen entered the city and escape Yumen Pass?
Could the faintly visible bones beneath the ruins of the tea stall belong to the little girl and her grandfather? Had the two of them been companions all these years?
And the foot shop nearby, its doors and windows smashed to pieces—who had done such a thing?
Not to mention the honest young man from the spice shop and the fierce, somewhat proud girl—did they end up together?
…
The street was desolate and dilapidated, showing no signs of life, and faintly, she could hear the distant sounds of heartbreaking screams carried by the breeze. It was likely another unfortunate soul encountering the bloodthirsty Shaman Queen.
Yet Luxianbei, who had seen the past scenes of this street, felt a profound subtlety as she walked on it.
It was lively.
It felt like when she was a child, camping in the countryside with her father, and on the way back, they fortuitously encountered the lively market.
Many people have experienced such oddities: certain places where they had never been before felt strangely familiar upon their first visit, as though they had lived there at some moment, leaving traces in every corner.
Some say it’s memories from a past life suddenly awakened under specific conditions.
In my case… should it be considered that I didn’t drink the Meng Po soup? Luxianbei thought.
————
The small courtyard that her friend entrusted Xia Lianqing to look after was less than three kilometers from Dai Mu Institute. Although Luxianbei took her time walking there, it only took her about ten minutes to arrive at the small courtyard.
Looking up, she was taken aback.
Having seen the tragic form of the urban legend that Xia Lianqing had transformed into at Dai Mu Institute, she had expected this small courtyard, devoid of caretakers, to be as dilapidated as the shops along the street. However, to her surprise, the small courtyard was remarkably well-preserved.
It looked as if someone had lived there just a hundred or two hundred years ago.
While in general terms, a building that hadn’t been inhabited for one or two hundred years was already quite old, compared to those shops that had been vacant for thousands of years, it was still in much better condition.
“……”
Could it be that there had been an urban legend dwelling here like at Dai Mu Institute?
Who could it be?
Was it those Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers?
Luxianbei thought, feeling a surge of vigilance rise within her, and then her mind shifted, causing Ling Tai Purification’s armor to cover her body.
Just then, as she prepared to take out Xuan Ying Luo Fu from the God Realm Prototype, she suddenly froze there.
The passage connecting to the God Realm Prototype wouldn’t open, seemingly restricted by some force.
After pondering for a moment, Luxianbei realized it was only natural to be restricted from carrying out such nested operations within the God Realm.
It was like trying to play Super Mario in a real-time strategy game.
Was that even possible? Absolutely not!
But the thought of not being able to access the God Realm Prototype made her heart sink.
Her Xuan Ying Luo Fu, Zhipianxian, and a bunch of miscellaneous charms and alchemical potions were all stored in the God Realm Prototype. Now that she couldn’t take any of them out, it wouldn’t strip her of her combat capability, but losing several “skills” at once would certainly be disorienting.
Moreover, she had originally planned to throw out the false calamity as a meat shield to block attacks if necessary.
As Luxianbei thought, her gaze unintentionally swept over the front of the small courtyard, then quickly returned, focusing on a red spot on the ground, her eyebrows furrowing. “Hmm? What is that…”
She bent down and touched the red spot on the ground with her fingertip, then brought it to her nose for a sniff. A strong scent of bl**d immediately assaulted her senses.
As expected, it was bl**d—fresh bl**d, with some moisture still present.
Luxianbei pondered for two seconds, gently placed her hand on the wooden door of the small courtyard, and cautiously pushed it. The door opened silently, and as her gaze peered inside, her breath hitched slightly.
Inside the small courtyard, the ground was speckled with bl**d, forming a winding trail that extended deep into the courtyard.
“……”
Someone had entered the small courtyard before her, and they were seriously injured…
Probabilistically speaking, that person most likely had no idea what had happened in this small courtyard, and their entry might have been a result of a conflict with a hostile Spirit Energy Organization or an ambush by the Shaman Queen…
For that person, my entry into the small courtyard should be considered unlikely. Additionally, since they were injured, if I took advantage of these two points and ambushed them, I could likely subdue them successfully…
After briefly analyzing the situation, Luxianbei sent a message to her coat via the kinship mark, concealing her spirit energy fluctuations and scent before she exited the main gate of the small courtyard.
Though she didn’t know whether the person hiding inside the courtyard was an enemy, she had no intention of “taking advantage of their misfortune.”
However, in a place as eerie as Yumen Pass, encountering such circumstances and taking the initiative to control that person was certainly the right approach!
With that thought, Luxianbei shifted her form, silently leaping over the courtyard wall and sneaking inside.
Just as she landed and steadied herself, before she had a chance to explore, she found herself frozen in place at the sight before her.
In the open space behind the courtyard wall, a slender figure lay in a pool of bl**d, a white garment stained mostly crimson, and on the white ankle that peeked out from beneath the hem, a string of bronze bells was faintly visible…
Luxianbei, who had almost thrown out a spell formula in surprise, thought, “????”
What on earth? Is that Xiao Hua? Why is Xiao Hua here?
