Chapter 92: Urban Legends Chat Group
The system did not expect that Gu Qiqi would claim to take Luxianbei home, and she really brought this world-destroying element back to her house.
Luxianbei also did not expect that when Gu Qiqi said she was poor and lived under a bridge, she actually lived under the bridge.
…
Due to Luxianbei not having any money on her, and Gu Qiqi being reluctant to spend money on transportation, the two walked nearly ten kilometers to reach the third bridge hole under the Cross-River Bridge from University City.
All the way, Luxianbei kept a distance of one or two steps behind Gu Qiqi, following her while secretly observing. She placed her backpack in front of her and kept her hand on it, ready to take out the kitchen kn*fe inside at any moment, remaining silently vigilant.
Even though she had decided to go to Gu Qiqi’s “home,” she did not completely trust her. After all, Gu Qiqi might be a spiritual ability user, or even an urban legend, and they weren’t that familiar with each other.
What if she had malicious intent? Didn’t her previous words sound a bit strange?
Therefore, the most basic precautions were necessary.
As Luxianbei followed Gu Qiqi through the muddy path hidden in the bushes near the Cross-River Bridge, climbed down an unguarded iron ladder, and reached the shed, she was momentarily stunned by the sight before her.
There is a saying in the “Records of the Grand Historian” called “a family with nothing but four walls,” which describes extreme poverty.
However, at Gu Qiqi’s house, there weren’t even four walls. Strictly speaking, there were only three walls. It was unclear if a piece of iron sheet leaning against the bridge pier could be counted as a wall. The roof was made of a plastic sheet and wooden boards, forming a makeshift shelter.
However, upon entering the shed, Luxianbei was surprised by its arrangement.
Although on the muddy path leading to the bridge hole, there had been an indescribable strange smell all the way.
Gu Qiqi had kept the entire shed very clean, without a trace of odor, and even had a faint scent unique to a girl’s room.
A patched-up second-hand sofa was draped with a cover similar to the one from her grandmother’s house.
In front of a window that overlooked the river, several cut gasoline barrels were placed, within which tomatoes, cabbage, and watermelon were planted.
Clear spring water sprang from the rocky wall by the window, being precisely channeled into a worn-out fish tank used for holding water with several segments of bamboo.
A small platform extended outside the window, upon which there was a reed-woven cage containing a few pigeons.
A black-and-white television, acquired from who knows where, was steadily placed on a TV stand made of bricks, with wires neatly arranged behind it, connecting to the streetlight’s electricity without permission.
A round table missing a leg was propped up by bricks, surprisingly stable, on which a pile of unfinished handicrafts was placed.
Luxianbei recognized those semi-finished handicrafts; she had seen many similar items in various souvenir shops on Mudan Street.
What astonished Luxianbei even more was that this already small space was divided into areas like a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room, each section appropriately partitioned with wooden boards.
The entire shed could be said to have everything essential in a small size, making Luxianbei internally marvel, this girl is quite impressive, isn’t she?
From the various details Luxianbei observed upon entering the shed, it was clear that Gu Qiqi had at least mastered skills in carpentry, cooking, masonry, electrical work, farming, pigeon breeding, and crafting.
Originally, Luxianbei had some sympathy for Gu Qiqi’s situation and thought she looked a bit naive. But now, in comparison, she felt like a useless person.
Why should she sympathize with others? Why should she say that Gu Qiqi wasn’t clever enough?
However…
Luxianbei looked at the vegetables and fruits growing in the painted barrels, furrowing her brows, silently analyzing.
She had vegetables planted at home and raised pigeons, which should be her personal provisions.
This essentially ruled out the possibility of her being an urban legend.
It seemed that she should be a solitary exorcist as mentioned by Du Sixian.
Ever since experiencing a hunger unique to urban legends not long ago, Luxianbei still had little interest in human food, especially vegetables, which were almost impossible for her to swallow.
Since she was a solitary exorcist, as long as she maintained a good relationship with her, it should allow Luxianbei to achieve her goals.
Just as Luxianbei was pondering, Gu Qiqi’s laughter interrupted her thoughts. “Hehe, little sister, you’re in for a treat today!”
“Hmm? What?” Luxianbei was a bit dazed, not understanding the reason for Gu Qiqi’s sudden strange laughter.
“Just wait!” Gu Qiqi said as she took a few steps forward, reached the window, opened the small door of the cage, and reached inside to comfort the pigeons. She then turned back with something in her hand.
“Look!”
She walked in front of Luxianbei and opened her hand, revealing two pigeon eggs in her palm.
“I’ll treat you to pigeon eggs later,” Gu Qiqi said with a hint of pride, raising an eyebrow at Luxianbei.
Luxianbei, “…” Am I to understand that your pigeons are for eating, not for laying eggs?
So…
“Why not raise hens? Hens lay eggs, that’s gotta be more efficient, right?”
“That won’t do, it’s too troublesome!” Gu Qiqi waved her hand and said, “Raising pigeons is different. I let them out in the morning, and they go to the park by themselves to beg for bread.”
“In that case, although the eggs are fewer, I save a lot of time on collecting chicken feed every month, and with the extra time, I can work a short job!”
Luxianbei, “…”
Impressive! Are you a master of time management?
Gu Qiqi placed the two pigeon eggs in Luxianbei’s hands, turned, and picked up a fishing rod from the corner, saying, “By the way, do you want to eat fish?”
Perhaps seeing that Gu Qiqi was overly enthusiastic towards Luxianbei, worried that she had forgotten her initial intent and was truly treating Luxianbei as a friend, the system quickly reminded her in her mind, “Hey, hey, Gu Qiqi, don’t put too much trust in her, or you’ll get hurt!”
“Eh!?” Gu Qiqi froze for a moment, muttering to herself, “Almost forgot.”
Luxianbei looked at Gu Qiqi’s expression, which seemed like a child who had made a new friend eagerly sharing toys, and found it hard to refuse. Just as she was about to agree, she heard Gu Qiqi’s voice suddenly drop in a mock fierce tone.
“Hold on tight, we’re going to the riverside to dig worms and fish!”
“I won’t tell you that autumn is here, the fish in the river are fat and easy to catch, you’re definitely gonna like it! Hmph—!”
Immediately, her expression darkened as she forcefully shoved a fishing rod into Luxianbei’s hands.
Luxianbei, “…”
What’s wrong with this girl? Why is she suddenly acting so tsundere?
Forget it, it doesn’t matter. After all, people who have had more contact with urban legends tend to have a few psychological issues.
…
Luxianbei agreed to go fishing with Gu Qiqi, and she, once again, witnessed Gu Qiqi’s new skill—finding fish nests!
Not the half-baked level of Water Brother or Old Man, but truly the caliber of a fishing expert.
Luxianbei suddenly felt curious about this girl who seemed to know almost everything except for having a sharp mind; what more could she do?
Sitting on a protruding rock near the water’s edge, quietly waiting for the fish to bite, Luxianbei seized the opportunity to start chatting with Gu Qiqi.
After some aimless, completely unproductive small talk, Luxianbei glanced at Gu Qiqi, her eyes glancing around, seemingly casually asking but striking directly at the main topic.
“By the way, Gu Qiqi, haven’t we met several times at places where urban legends appeared? What were you doing there?”
“I was going to complete a task…” Gu Qiqi instinctively opened her mouth, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by the voice of the system ringing in her mind.
“Gu Qiqi! You revealed too much! Quick, think of an excuse to brush it off, um… just say you went to exorcise.”
As the system spoke, it could not help but curse inwardly, see, this is the true nature of calamity, appearing harmless while being extremely insidious and cunning!
“Oh!” Gu Qiqi replied in her mind to the system a couple of times, then turned to look at Luxianbei and said, “Hmph—! I’m an exorcist.”
Is she really an exorcist? Luxianbei was taken aback but didn’t completely believe Gu Qiqi right away. Instead, she looked her up and down and pressed, “Really? So, do you often exorcise?”
“Tell her that it’s occasional, only when receiving commissions,” the system suggested in Gu Qiqi’s mind.
“Occasionally, only when there is a commission,” Gu Qiqi replied.
“Commission?” Luxianbei was momentarily stunned again, thinking, no wonder she said she was completing a task.
Could it be that besides the Siye Society, there are others secretly commissioning solitary spiritual ability users to hunt urban legends?
“Right, it’s a commission,” Gu Qiqi responded according to the system’s guidance.
“Where do you take commissions? I’m a bit interested!” Luxianbei asked.
What she said was the truth; she thought, she originally needed to hunt urban legends a few times each month. If she could grab some bounty for free, that would be a great deal, right?
Moreover, at the place where commissions were taken, she should be able to meet more spiritual ability users, right?
With an endless supply of urban legends’ core bodies, maybe she could trade them for something useful. Luxianbei thought.
“It’s a chat group, but you wouldn’t know it if I told you,” Gu Qiqi said dismissively, following the system’s instructions. “That chat group is very special; if you don’t know the group number and no one invites you, you can’t find it at all.”
The system believed that calamity would find out about that chat group’s existence sooner or later, and it didn’t matter whether it was disclosed by itself. The key was to fool her for the moment.
If she were to join it too early and get into conflict with those monsters inside, causing a dog-eat-dog scenario, it might be beneficial for itself!
“Chat group? What’s the name?” Luxianbei tilted her head and asked expressionlessly.
“University City Urban Legends Chat Group,” Gu Qiqi replied, “but even if you know the name, it’s useless; there are more than ten chat groups with that name!”
“I’m sorry, but according to the rules, I can’t tell you which one is real and which one is fake. You have to find a way to get an invitation for yourself or discover the correct method to join.”
Gu Qiqi was still rambling on according to the system’s instructions, trying to distract her attention.
Yet when Luxianbei heard the words “University City Urban Legends Chat Group,” her mind buzzed, and she couldn’t help but recall the reason Pharaoh and others met their fate, losing interest in what Gu Qiqi was saying.
Luxianbei initially thought that they were targeted by the Solar Eclipse Society by chance.
But now it seemed that things were not so simple; they might have inadvertently entered the chat group referred to by Gu Qiqi or had been invited by someone. In simple terms, it was…
“Eh! Eh! The fish is biting!”
Just as Luxianbei was lost in thought, Gu Qiqi’s shout and the tug on the fishing rod in her hands interrupted her train of thought.
