Chapter 155: Past Events
Many years ago, when Lu Xibei was still in elementary school, the length of day and night was quite normal, and urban legends typically existed only in stories passed by word of mouth. The area around the school gate was still bustling with activity after dark.
At just past nine in the evening, the small shop on the long slope by the school gate was still brightly lit. The elderly gentlemen and ladies who had just finished their square dancing passed by the shop, their spirits high and faces glowing, unable to help but be drawn to the two strikingly handsome young men.
One was wearing a rather flashy floral shirt, the collar slightly open, characteristic of the popular “bad boy” style of the time.
The other was completely the opposite, radiating a warm and gentle demeanor, with deep, calm eyes that resembled the soft clouds drifting in the sky.
The two sat on a bench outside the small shop, sipping orange soda, creating a striking contrast akin to a painting of black and white that attracted many glances.
As they watched them,
The ladies thought, unfortunately, they are already married, with children who are so grown up.
The gentlemen thought, what handsome young men; they are only slightly less charming than I was in my youth.
…
“Hey, Xiao Bai, do you know that taking care of kids is really a hassle…”
“Whew—!”
Bai Kai drained his glass bottle of orange soda and let out a long sigh, glancing sideways at the boy on Lu Ming’s shoulder and rolling his eyes, showing no hesitation in his disdain.
“I told you not to let your lower half run wild, otherwise one day there would be trouble, but you didn’t listen! Now look at the mess you’re in? You dodged the zombie nurse, avoided the fierce female police officer, and turned down the intellectual female teacher, yet in the end, you still got caught?”
“Now you realize that a four-legged gold-eater is hard to raise? I can only say, you deserve it!”
Lu Ming shot a sidelong glance at Bai Kai, his gaze moving from his face down to his pants, and smirked, “Bai Kai, I don’t think you have the right to talk down to me, do you?”
Bai Kai crossed his arms defiantly and rebutted, “Are you kidding? I’m not like you! You are all about pure love, while I have everything but pure love. I don’t develop real feelings!”
“Speaking of which, it would be great if you could just work with Old Liu Head. We wouldn’t have this many issues.”
Old Liu Head’s full name is Liu Wei. He got to know the two handsome young men when they had just returned to Huacheng from the Gobi Desert while dealing with the first urban legend attack incident. He is a lone wolf spiritual ability user and a partner at a nightclub.
After resolving the urban legend incident, Liu Wei extended an olive branch to the two relatively good-looking boys, offering them jobs at the nightclub, performing but not selling themselves.
Bai Kai gladly accepted the offer, thus becoming the nightclub’s human marquee.
Lu Ming wanted to join too but was interrupted by a bold woman who knocked him out and took him home, and then… well, that led to the birth of a “young cub.”
Lu Ming remained silent for a moment, forcing a wry smile, then changed the subject with a hint of melancholy, “Xiao Bai, I don’t want to hunt urban legends anymore.”
Bai Kai was taken aback and quickly realized, surprised, “What? If you don’t do this, what else can you do?”
“Wait!” He suddenly narrowed his eyes, scanning Lu Ming up and down, “You can’t be thinking that if that woman is dead, you’ll be free and can mess around at Old Liu Head’s, right?”
“Though as your brother, I don’t oppose you doing that—I’m even welcome to it. Just think about it, the two of us roaming the world, carefree and wild, sounds pretty thrilling.”
“But as an adult, I think it’s not suitable for you to engage in that kind of job, it wouldn’t be good for a child’s upbringing.”
“Do I look like someone who would sell myself?”
Bai Kai pondered seriously for two seconds, then looked at Lu Xibei in Lu Ming’s arms and nodded, “Very much like it! And the kind that could accidentally risk a lifetime.”
Why does he always think I was deceived? That was genuine love, okay! Lu Ming thought to himself, deciding not to dwell on this issue with Bai Kai.
“I plan to become a chef. Anyway, my family has a family recipe. I’ll renovate the old house, and then I can start operating it.”
“Wow! Your family’s recipe, is it even fit for people to eat? Or are you planning to open an urban legend-themed restaurant?”
“Everything’s for sale! If I can’t make money, that would be a sin.” Lu Ming smiled cheerfully.
“……” Bai Kai slightly opened his lips, a myriad of discouraging words flashing through his mind, but in the end, he only said lightly, “You’re courting d*ath.”
“It’s quite risky, so, Xiao Bai, I want to ask you for a favor.” Lu Ming turned around, his expression serious as he looked at Bai Kai, “If one day I end up dead due to my own recklessness, please help take care of Xiao Bei.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Kai shot a scornful glance at the young Lu Xibei, “What else?”
“He is your son with that woman. You can’t possibly have no expectations for his future, can you?”
“Don’t you want him to become the strongest spiritual ability user and unify the southwest? That’s actually quite simple.”
Lu Ming remained silent and shook his head.
“Then how about being rich and prosperous? That might be a bit challenging since we’re not great with money, but if we have Old Liu Head handle it, it’s feasible.”
Lu Ming shook his head again, and then, before Bai Kai could speak, said calmly, “I just want him to grow up healthy and live a happy life.”
Upon hearing this, it was Bai Kai’s turn to fall silent. He quietly fished around in his pocket, unhurriedly took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
“Very difficult…”
“Hmm?”
Bai Kai glared at Lu Ming fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying, “I mean, wanting someone to live a happy life is really very hard! Lu Ming, you’re trying to dig a pit for me!”
Lu Ming broke into a warm smile, reminiscent of spring, and patted Bai Kai on the shoulder. Bai Kai, noticing this, suddenly felt like running away.
“What are you planning to do? I warn you, don’t go overboard!”
This brother of his was full of tricks; whenever he showed such a smile, someone was bound to get hurt. Yet, due to his gentle appearance, everyone believed he was a “good person.”
There were no other people or urban legends around, so the one in trouble would have to be him.
“I’m not planning anything! I just wanted to say, Xiao Bai, you need to work hard for the future!”
“Hey—!” Bai Kai stared at Lu Ming for a few seconds, letting out a frustrated sigh, “What if Master brings Xiao Hua to find a husband later?”
“That’s a problem…” Lu Ming propped his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds and stated earnestly, “At that point, I’ll just tell Master that I had a daughter. I couldn’t end up with Xiao Hua, so we can only be sisters.”
“You dare to deceive Xiao Hua’s feelings? If Master finds out what you did, you won’t d*e, but you’ll be skinned alive!” Bai Kai rolled his eyes.
“No problem, Master can’t beat me now!”
“……” Bai Kai fell silent for a moment, glancing at the young Lu Xibei, his eyes flashing with a cold light, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll end up killing him? He’s that bad woman’s son.”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know I won’t?” Bai Kai sneered.
“Because…” Lu Ming opened his mouth, about to say something when Lu Xibei in his arms gently wriggled and slowly stirred awake.
He opened a pair of eyes that were completely untainted by time, clear enough to purify the human soul, looking bewildered as he scanned his surroundings before his gaze landed on Bai Kai, breaking into a grin.
“Hehe~ Godfather! Hug!”
In an instant, Bai Kai felt his heart melting, involuntarily beaming as he lifted Lu Xibei into his arms and turned toward the small shop.
“Xiao Bei, be good! Come and see! Say what you want to eat, Godfather will buy it for you!”
“Xiao Bai, the child can’t eat too many snacks; you can’t…”
“Get lost!” Bai Kai shot a glance at Lu Ming with his peripheral vision, “I’m talking to my son; you don’t have a place to interrupt!”
“Do you want ice cream?”
“Yeah!”
“And?”
“This, this, and this…”
“Alright, everything the boss picked out, put it all in a bag for me!”
Lu Ming, “???”
Is he my son or your son? Aren’t you a gigolo? Why are you acting like a human trafficker?
…
In the deep mountains hundreds of kilometers away from Huacheng, a figure wrapped in silver light dashed through the forest before suddenly landing and standing atop a prominent giant rock.
As the light faded, a flamboyant young man gradually revealed himself.
“Strange, why did I suddenly think of things from so long ago?” Bai Kai tilted his head and muttered to himself.
“Looking back, Xiao Bei was so cute back then! Now he won’t even call me ‘Godfather’ anymore. Is his rebellious adolescence lasting a little too long?”
As he spoke, he gazed far into the distance toward Huacheng, subconsciously stroking the core of the Ifrit urban legend he held close, his expression darkening.
Old Lu, don’t blame me for not keeping my promise; this is Xiao Bei’s own choice. Even if I don’t help him, he will find someone else to assist him.
Rather than letting others mess around, it’s better for me to help him choose a core for the urban legend that matches his spiritual energy potential.
You probably didn’t expect the world to change this way, did you? Urban legends are everywhere now. As long as you have the potential for spiritual abilities, how could anyone live a happy life? Bai Kai thought.
In fact, before heading to the Gobi, he had been hesitating because of a past promise, but… how should I put it?
After all, he was his master. That night of sharing the same bed and candlelight chats woke him up with just one remark from his master.
…
At that time, his master said, “There’s an ancient poem that I think is well-written. It goes, ‘Coming out of the cave, no one can match me; leave room for others where you can’, meaning…”
Before his master could finish, Bai Kai jumped in, “Master! I understand! You mean, only by making Xiao Bei unbeatable can he have choices and true happiness, right?”
“No, what I meant was…”
“I get it, I understand! With your reminder, it’s like enlightenment. You’re right; drawing spirit patterns for Xiao Bei doesn’t conflict with happiness, but rather complements it.”
“I…”
I™ just wanted to say, let Xiao Bei come to my den and train until he’s unbeatable, so he won’t harm my granddaughter!
And then…
His master was almost driven to d*ath by Bai Kai.
