Chapter 118: I Must Protect Him
It felt like an illusion as the strange old man in the photo suddenly blinked his eyes.
Luxianbei locked eyes with him, feeling something cold and nauseating slowly crawling along his spine.
A strong sense of discomfort made his hands shake uncontrollably for a moment, and the photo quietly drifted to the ground.
In the next moment, a painful sensation began in his eyes, and the scenery around him became blurry, nearly formless.
His vision flashed with indescribable shapes, some even transparent as if they didn’t exist, and he saw streams of different colored light. Then those lights began to fade, and the illumination in front of him dimmed.
Luxianbei steadied himself, lifted his hands to examine them, and, upon discovering that his hands had become small and fair, nodded thoughtfully.
Was it because of that photo that an illusion related to Xue Hua was triggered?
It seemed that, just as he thought, ever since he had consumed the Witch’s Egg, whenever he entered these illusions, he would also become influenced by urban legends. Luxianbei contemplated.
Since the last time he had been caught up in an illusion caused by the bamboo slips and spent some time there, he had had this guess.
However, until now, the illusions had always been passively triggered, and he hadn’t had the chance to verify it.
Returning to the present, Luxianbei looked around and found himself in the corridor of the sports equipment room at Huacheng University, just like in the photo.
The sports equipment room at Huacheng University had been built a long time ago, dating back to the very establishment of the school.
The architectural style of that time appeared rather unique now, a four-story square building tucked in a corner with only one entrance close to the right side of the building, no windows in the corridor, and the left side looking especially dark and eerie.
This architectural layout meant that after the night grew long, the entire building became deserted, often in a state of abandonment.
There were many things stacked inside the small building; aside from some old sports equipment, there were also many idle costumes and props from various clubs… Over time, even those who had originally put those things in couldn’t clearly say what was stored inside.
These ordinary, rarely used items, like this almost deserted small building, were mostly forgotten in the dark corners.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for the various clubs in the school intensively preparing for the school anniversary, which might have needed some of the props from before, the doors of this small building should have been locked.
In the picture taken by the counselor just now, there were hardly any photos of the sports equipment room.
Perhaps it was because the door was opened during the school anniversary that he took the opportunity to sneak in and take pictures, satisfying his strange hobby? Luxianbei thought as he walked down the corridor towards the location captured in the photo.
The dimly lit corridor was silent, cheap stage costumes were carelessly thrown on the floor, and the old, broken sports equipment had begun to rust.
In the distance, a few props from the drama club lay askew on the ground. Though they looked worn, the craftsmanship was still high, and their limbs could be freely bent.
However, it was unclear which play the drama club was rehearsing when they deliberately made the facial features of the puppets look comically distorted, complete with heavy blush, reminiscent of paper effigies used for tributing the dead.
And as the colors on those puppets’ faces faded and flaked away, they became even more unsettling.
If there were an urban legend hidden in these puppets, secretly watching passersby, I wouldn’t find it surprising. Luxianbei thought.
Just as he pondered, a sudden sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor. He turned his head to look in the direction of the sound and saw someone on the other side of the corridor peeking curiously, half of their body leaning out.
Seeing this, Luxianbei frowned slightly, glanced around, and hid among a pile of stacked cardboard boxes.
Although on several occasions when entering illusions, the people or urban legends within them hadn’t noticed his presence.
However, after the experience in the bamboo slips illusion, he felt that it was safer not to interact with the people in the illusions.
Just as he concealed himself, he heard someone muttering to themselves.
“Nice, the atmosphere here is great! The photos taken here must turn out fantastic! This issue’s booklet is sure to sell for a good price.”
Is that voice… the counselor? Luxianbei frowned, peering through the gap between the boxes and saw Xue Hua, camera in hand, with an excited face.
Luxianbei watched as Xue Hua repeatedly snapped pictures of the surroundings, secretly feeling disdain.
Who would have thought the counselor was secretly selling “urban legend photo books”?
Though everyone has the right to choose their own interests, seeing this scene made Luxianbei want to complain that this hobby was downright dangerous!
“Urban legend photo books” are like how many people enjoy looking at and willingly spend money on beautiful girls’ private photo shoots.
As the night grew long, some people, in pursuit of excitement, developed a hobby for photographing or buying so-called real “urban legend photos.”
Luxianbei had only heard of this niche hobby before and had seen photos shared by group members in the Urban Legends Chat Group, but she never expected Xue Hua to be one of the photographers.
She truly didn’t understand what was appealing about such things. Didn’t looking at them too much cause nightmares at night?
While she thought this, she suddenly heard Xue Hua exclaim in the corridor.
“Wow—!”
What happened? Did that strange old man appear? A chill ran down Luxianbei’s spine, and she focused her attention on the corridor.
She saw Xue Hua surrounded by the drama club puppets, excitedly posing them in exaggerated and twisted postures and taking more pictures.
The puppets’ pale faces, with paint peeling off, flickered with the flash of the camera in the darkness, creating an inexplicably eerie sight. Coupled with Xue Hua’s intense expression, Luxianbei felt an unsettling sensation in her heart.
Luxianbei observed Xue Hua as he posed different puppets in various positions and took numerous photos. Suddenly, an unsettling feeling arose in her heart, and she then saw Xue Hua paused in front of a large metal storage cabinet.
The cabinet wasn’t locked, and its rusted doors were slightly ajar, revealing a shadow inside.
“Hmm?! Is there someone hidden here?”
Xue Hua discovered the figure concealed in the metal storage cabinet, gasping in delight, and then he stepped closer to open the doors while Luxianbei watched.
At the instant when Xue Hua opened the doors, Luxianbei felt a sharp and intense pain in her eyes, as if warning her that something terrible was about to happen.
Luxianbei frowned slightly. Once her eyes adjusted to the pain and her vision stabilized, she turned to look at Xue Hua, only to be shocked by what she saw.
Xue Hua was standing in the corridor, cradling the strangely dressed, gray-skinned old man wearing a bright ceremonial robe in his arms, pulling him out of the storage cabinet and placing him gently on the ground, looking around, then draping an arm over his shoulder, taking a selfie with his camera.
Immediately afterward, he lifted up the strange old man in a bear hug and walked a short distance before setting him down securely on a long table not far away.
“The craftsmanship is outstanding; it feels like silicone. This great puppet just left here unused? Such a waste!” Xue Hua admired the “puppet” on the table while muttering to himself, “This time my photos are definitely going to sell well!”
Luxianbei knew what that strange old man was; while the scene in front of her appeared somewhat humorous, flipping her perspective and considering Xue Hua’s situation, she felt an unsettling chill in her heart.
He wouldn’t really take that urban legend old man for a puppet and prepare to take his photo, would he? Even if it was fake, shouldn’t he keep his distance from such things?
This…
She never expected that her usually gentle and ordinary counselor would actually have such great courage! Luxianbei thought.
Just as she pondered this, Xue Hua took a few steps back, adjusted his camera’s aperture, positioned himself facing the old man’s feet, looked down, and pressed the shutter.
“Click—!”
The soft sound of the shutter echoed in the quiet corridor, accompanied by a flash of light that brightened and then dimmed again.
Luxianbei clearly saw that in the darkness, the old man lying on the long table quietly sat up, his lifeless face almost touching Xue Hua’s.
Unaware of this, Xue Hua pressed the shutter again. As the flash went off, a pair of murky, bloodshot, malevolent eyes suddenly broke into his vision from the camera lens.
“Ah—!”
Xue Hua screamed, panic setting in as he stumbled backward, falling off the long table, ignoring the pain in his body as he scrambled to escape.
The sound of objects crashing filled the air as, in the darkness, a bl**d-red lantern slowly illuminated.
Xue Hua’s screams echoed in the corridor, “You, don’t come any closer! You… d*mn it!”
However, what puzzled Luxianbei was that she didn’t hear much fear in Xue Hua’s screams; she even saw him intermittently raising his camera to keep snapping photos of the strange old man.
Was he seriously thinking about taking pictures at a time like this? Wasn’t his behavior a little strange?
Luxianbei thought. The next moment, her vision fell into complete darkness.
…
On the other side, in Xue Hua’s dorm.
The Decapitated Senior had been quietly watching Luxianbei from the side. Seeing him take the photo, she suddenly fell into a peculiar state as if her soul had left her body, feeling some concern.
She stepped forward and gently tapped Luxianbei’s shoulder, her lips parted as she was about to ask him something when suddenly she sensed a terrifying spirit energy fluctuation.
In that moment, she distinctly felt the approach of d*ath—an overpowering, violent presence that was enough to break rules, coming from the high-level urban legend’s spiritual energy, suppressing her to the point where her body trembled instinctively.
Is it the terrifying urban legend I discovered before? Has it noticed this place?
The Decapitated Senior thought in such a way, not having time to dwell on it too much, she suddenly picked up the dazed Luxianbei and turned to dash quickly out of the dorm.
However…
That powerful spirit energy fluctuation, which made her feel utterly devoid of any desire to resist, didn’t fade away; it was like a parasite, sticking closely, as if a high-dimensional being had casually locked onto her with its gaze…
This is bad, this is bad! Where is it?! Why can’t I sense it at all? The Decapitated Senior thought, glancing at the Luxianbei on her shoulder. No! I brought him into this; I must protect him!
