Chapter 7: Did His Parents Not Have This Kind of Talent?
After finishing the morning classes, Lu Yibei left school early and took the bus to Mudan Street.
Looking at the constantly retreating autumn scenery of the city outside the window, Lu Yibei couldn’t help but recall a question he had discussed with Jumeng earlier.
……
One afternoon a week ago.
“Mengmeng Jie, I have a question…”
“What the hell? Don’t call me so familiar; we’re not that close!”
Something strange was afoot. Jumeng, seeing Lu Yibei, who usually had a bad attitude, suddenly becoming eager, immediately became alert.
“Look at what you’re saying; just yesterday, when we were on the bed, you didn’t say that.”
“That was…” Jumeng glared at Lu Yibei, “Speaking of which, you should have called someone to fix the air conditioning in the living room earlier! It’s not convenient for me to go upstairs to borrow the AC every day, is it?”
“I don’t mind; I actually like you borrowing it. You can borrow it for as long as you want,” Lu Yibei said softly, his only movable facial feature wriggling as if it were dancing.
“Ew—! That’s disgusting! If you have something to ask, just hurry up and leave; don’t disturb me while I play games!”
Jumeng said with a face full of disdain, stretching out a delicate little foot to press against Lu Yibei’s chest, gently pushing him back as he tried to lean in.
“So I’m asking now? Ahem!” Lu Yibei cleared his throat, sitting up straight, “I’m about to become a full member of the Siye Society, and I heard they’re going to draw spirit patterns for me soon. While I was mulling this over the past few days, I suddenly thought of a whimsical idea…”
As he was halfway through, he stole a glance at Jumeng and, after confirming that her expression was normal, continued, “What would happen if spirit patterns were drawn on an urban legend?”
“Pft! You call that a whimsical idea?” Jumeng slapped Lu Yibei’s shoulder, seriously saying, “Little brother, don’t be too full of yourself!”
“What you guys can think of, do you think so many pioneers couldn’t think of it? Strengthening an urban legend by drawing spirit patterns is something others have already tried.”
So there have already been urban legends that attempted to have spirit patterns drawn? Lu Yibei scoffed inwardly and asked, “So, that means drawing spirit patterns on urban legends isn’t dangerous?”
Jumeng stared intently at the computer, pursing her lips, “Generally speaking, drawing spirit patterns on urban legends is just like humans getting tattoos on themselves; how could there be any danger?”
“Except for a bit of pain, there’s nothing dangerous about it.”
Lu Yibei slightly narrowed his eyes, sensing the nuances, “You said, generally speaking?”
“Yeah.” Jumeng shrugged, “Special circumstances refer to situations where the core of the urban legend used to draw the spirit pattern is at a higher tier than its own; in that case, it might get replaced.”
“Just like humans tattooing over all their skin, wouldn’t that still look like a person?”
A situation where the tier is higher than oneself… Lu Yibei frowned slightly. I’m just an ordinary temporary worker; the Siye Society wouldn’t use a higher tier urban legend core on me, right?
So, that means there’s no danger! Lu Yibei thought, feeling a twinge of joy in his heart.
“Oh, and one more thing…”
“What?”
“When is your family going to get a bigger sofa? That little sofa is so uncomfortable for me to sleep on.”
Lu Yibei, “……”
It’s supposed to be uncomfortable; are you planning to stay long-term or what?
Fortunately, when I moved, I didn’t listen to Water Brother’s nonsense.
“A man without a spacious and comfortable sofa isn’t happy. You’re growing up; remember to lay a blanket on the sofa in advance; it’s hard to wash if it gets dirty, got it?” Bai Kai told him that back then.
A pure child like me, of course, still thinks the bed is more comfortable! Lu Yibei thought.
……
Just as Lu Yibei was heading towards Mudan Street.
At the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, in An Qing’s office.
An Qing sat before the computer, entering the dissection data of the urban legends from recent days into the records. Just then, the office door suddenly knocked.
“Knock knock knock—!”
“Come in.”
An Qing paused her work and gently called out, and the office door was pushed open. Du Sixian walked in, holding a pink laptop.
“Qing Jie, take a look; can I post this video like this?”
Opening the video, it featured a woman wearing a mask, dressed in a white coat, with a seductive figure, beside a large bonfire.
Under the deep night sky, a figure could be seen struggling in pain amidst the enormous fire.
The masked woman softly explained beside it, “Hello everyone, today I’m going to perform a barbecue on a zombie. If we get more than a hundred thousand likes, I’ll upload the eating process.”
The video was decorated with some comical post-production effects, making it look like those exaggerated, absurd attention-grabbing contents on certain platforms, clearly fake.
“Not bad!” An Qing smiled and nodded, “I made the right decision assigning this task to you. Upload the video, and then you can go back and rest; you were busy following me around last night.”
“Okay.” Du Sixian nodded, turned, and was just about to leave when she suddenly seemed to remember something, stopping in her tracks and asking An Qing, “Qing Jie, I have one more question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Last night…” Du Sixian paused, whispering, “You didn’t really roast that zombie to eat, right?”
Upon hearing this, An Qing’s lips curled into a slight smile, “How could that be possible! Of course I really ate it!”
Du Sixian, “？？？”
Even though she already knew no one in the Siye Society was normal, now suddenly realizing that An Qing could eat urban legends, she still felt a bit of disbelief.
“Look how scared you are; I’m just joking! Now hurry back and rest.”
That sounds right; how could Qing Jie possibly do something so terrifying? Du Sixian thought inwardly, nodding her head and leaving An Qing’s office.
As Du Sixian left the office, it fell silent again. An Qing once again focused on the data entry. Meanwhile, she casually took a bl**d bag from the drawer and inserted a straw.
“What a silly child; what’s so delicious about zombie meat? There isn’t even a drop of bl**d.” An Qing mumbled as she drank.
……
Du Sixian followed An Qing on a few tasks. Although she was just a trainee and couldn’t help much, she was still quite exhausted as she hadn’t yet gotten used to the Siye Society’s schedule.
After walking through most of Mudan Street, she arrived at the guesthouse where she stayed for a long time. As soon as she returned to her room, she threw herself into the soft bedding.
Lying in bed and staring blankly at the ceiling, Du Sixian furrowed her brows in thought.
She couldn’t sleep yet; the spell formula she learned recently wasn’t fully mastered, and she had to review it well.
“Wasteland, grass, bones, ignite the fire of the night, brilliant and shining…”
As she chanted the spell formula, Du Sixian suddenly stopped. Once the spirit energy within her, which had already become restless, gradually calmed down, she began her second practice.
Spell formula number sixteen, Wasteland Flame Break, already possessed a certain level of destructive power. Just thinking about casually releasing it might blow a hole in the ceiling made her feel quite pained.
Yes, quite pained; in order to make commuting easier, she had bought this guesthouse.
……
“Wasteland, grass, bones…”
Du Sixian lay in bed, unsure how many times she had practiced the spell formula. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by fatigue, and her vision darkened as she fell into a deep sleep.
……
The bone-chilling cold wind wrapped in a slightly choking mist struck Du Sixian’s face, waking her up abruptly.
After a brief daze, she looked at the decayed streets before her that seemed to be from many years after humanity’s disappearance, her expression gradually becoming strange.
She hadn’t entered this peculiar dreamscape for a long time.
In the past month or so, aside from practicing spell formula number nine—Crimson Chain, she hadn’t been able to enter here during the time spent practicing other properties like Earth Flow, Vine Ensnare, Surge, and so on.
This had made her progress irregularly slow when practicing those other spell formulas.
As expected, after practicing the fire attribute spell formula for the third time and appearing here again, she suddenly felt a flash of insight.
Could it be… that one can only trigger some special conditions to enter this strange dreamscape when practicing fire attribute spell formulas? Du Sixian thought.
Thinking of this, she suddenly recalled what An Qing had told her before.
An Qing said to her, “There’s a saying that might make you a bit upset, but I have to say, the gap between geniuses can sometimes be unimaginable.”
“But don’t be disheartened; legends are called legends because they cannot be surpassed. Even if you can’t compare to that genius who developed the wasteful stream, you’re still amazing. Perhaps…”
“Perhaps you should consider specializing in a certain attribute of spell formulas.”
Specializing… Du Sixian frowned slightly, looked around, and clenched her delicate fist.
This needs further thought. Anyway, since I’m already here, I might as well practice Wasteland Flame Break well. Du Sixian thought.
“Wasteland, grass, bones, ignite the fire of the night, brilliant and shining, burn completely, strike spell number sixteen, Wasteland Flame Break!”
As Du Sixian finished chanting the spell, flames suddenly ignited in her palm, swirling red light gathering into a vortex before rapidly compressing into a disk. With the pull of spirit energy, it shot out and fell to the ground, triggering a violent explosion, with thick smoke billowing everywhere.
……
When Lu Yibei arrived at the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, Jiang Li had long been waiting at the entrance.
Seeing Lu Yibei approach, Jiang Li remained as indifferent as ever, just nodding slightly and softly saying, “Follow me; everything has been prepared.”
After finishing, she turned, limping slightly as she walked deeper into the building.
Lu Yibei followed behind Jiang Li, his lips opening and closing several times in hesitation before he couldn’t help but ask, “Leader, is it dangerous to draw spirit patterns?”
Although he had received a positive answer from Jumeng, Lu Yibei felt that Jumeng and Jiang Li often had differing views on various matters, so he wanted to confirm again to feel more at ease.
Jiang Li cast a sidelong glance at Lu Yibei and nodded, “Yes.”
There’s really danger? Lu Yibei was momentarily taken aback.
“Even staying at home, you can encounter earthquakes, floods, and gas leaks. In this world, anything related to spirit energy isn’t absolutely safe,” Jiang Li remarked indifferently.
Watching Jiang Li’s back, Lu Yibei frowned slightly and muttered under his breath, “There’s no need to mention such low-probability events, right? Isn’t it more dangerous to work for the Siye Society in the future?”
“That’s true…” Jiang Li said, slowing her pace and walking beside Lu Yibei, glancing at him and saying, “But aren’t you good at slacking off and running away?”
“This…” Lu Yibei scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “That doesn’t seem right, does it?”
Jiang Li retracted her gaze, looking ahead coldly, “There’s nothing wrong with that; of course, if you want to be laid to rest someday under the mourning owl flag, I can help you pick a good feng shui spot.”
Lu Yibei, “……”
“Let’s discuss how to slack off and run away!”
……
Once inside the Siye Society, aside from the seven offices marked with special numbers at the start, walking further seemed to lead to an endless corridor. The lights in the corridor grew dimmer, with identical gray iron doors embedded with rivets lining both sides.
As they walked, Lu Yibei often caught glimpses of silk-like shadows gliding past him; they looked like urban legends but didn’t exude the filthy, unclean vitality typical of them. Instead, they only brought a slight chill, like a tangible wind blowing by.
Lu Yibei followed behind Jiang Li, silently counting the gray iron doors on either side. When he reached the thirty-second door, Jiang Li stopped, took out a copper key from her double-breasted jacket, and unlocked the door.
“Go in, take off your clothes, and check your body.”
Lu Yibei looked at Jiang Li, tilting his head as if confirming she really wanted to check his body.
However, having a beautiful girl see his figure didn’t seem like too bad of a thing? Lu Yibei thought.
As if guessing the thoughts in Lu Yibei’s mind, Jiang Li glanced at him with an expressionless face and said coldly, “Put away your strange thoughts; you don’t need to take off your underwear. Besides, to me, you wearing clothes or not makes no difference.”
The room was simply decorated; aside from looking quite clean, it resembled a makeshift underground clinic or some perverted dissection room. In the large space, there were a few glass cabinets and a multifunctional medical bed.
However, unlike the medical beds Lu Yibei had seen in the hospital, this room’s medical bed featured several restraints made of cowhide.
It looked… a bit strange? Lu Yibei frowned slightly, and just then, Jiang Li’s voice came from behind.
“A person capable of drawing spirit patterns only comes out of Huacheng once a year. That bed was moved from Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, and it’s temporary for you to use.”
“Now, hurry up and take off your clothes and lie down; time is precious, and we shouldn’t waste it.”
How did she manage to say such a midnight radio host line with such a cold tone? Lu Yibei chastised inwardly, following Jiang Li’s instructions and taking off his clothes.
He lay back, leaning against the pillow, boredly gazing at the ceiling, his eyes dazzled by the shadowless light.
He slightly parted his lips, about to say something when Jiang Li suddenly approached, tightened the restraints, and firmly bound him to the bed. Using the shadowless light, he saw a pair of cold eyes.
Lu Yibei, “……”
In that instant, he realized Jiang Li had not lied; in her eyes, it seemed he was no different from a butchered pig.
d*mn! This woman is brutal!
While Lu Yibei was lost in thought, Jiang Li nodded at him, saying coolly, “That should be enough; just wait here. I’m going to call the person who will draw the spirit patterns for you.”
Lu Yibei, “？？？”
“Aren’t you the one helping me draw the spirit patterns?”
“Of course not. Drawing spirit patterns is a skilled task that requires a high level of alchemy. Only two people in the entire Huacheng Siye Society can do it.”
Jiang Li concluded, lightly patting Lu Yibei’s head, “Alright, just lie still like a good boy. After it’s done, come to my office; I’ll explain other matters to you.”
After saying this, she turned and walked toward the door.
Only two people can do it? A bad premonition suddenly rose in Lu Yibei’s heart, and he couldn’t help but yell, “Leader, wait! Who are the two people you’re talking about?”
“An Qing and Bai Kai,” Jiang Li stated flatly before slamming the door shut with a “bang”, plunging the room into silence.
Lu Yibei, “……”
Bai Kai? That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?
d*mn! Now is not the time for self-deception!
“Wait, leader! Hey! Come back!”
“Leader! I don’t want Bai Kai; I want An Qing! Not Bai Kai—”
Bound to the bed, Lu Yibei squirmed like an excited maggot, shouting loudly. Just then, the door creaked open, and a figure quickly dashed in.
The person was wearing a mask and medical cap, dressed in a full white protective suit, entirely wrapped up. Yet, Lu Yibei recognized him at a glance; it was Bai Kai. No one else could exude such a charm wrapped in wildness.
Lu Yibei had always felt that after his father passed away, Water Brother had transferred his odd feelings for his father onto him. Now, being bound to the bed, unable to move, and falling into Water Brother’s hands, he would either face disaster or be played with—either way, it was a troublesome situation!
Bai Kai pushed a medical cart filled with various materials and a liquid nitrogen container.
He approached Lu Yibei, raising an eyebrow, “Little friend, I heard you want big sister An Qing? You seem to really like her, huh?”
Looking at the restraints that held him tightly, Lu Yibei dared not speak and nodded his head like a chick pecking rice.
“It’s alright; just treat me as big sister An Qing. Come on, let uncle check how well your body has developed.” Bai Kai said in a mocking tone, his fingers lightly brushing across Lu Yibei’s chest, raising goosebumps all over.
“……”
As the saying goes, one either erupts in silence or is extinguished in silence. So after a few seconds of silence, he erupted.
“Help! Leader, help! If you don’t come, my virtue will… ah, gurgle——!”
Lu Yibei was mid-scream when Bai Kai suddenly stuffed something into his mouth, filling it to the brim. The moment that thing melted in his mouth, he didn’t have time to react before it integrated into his body.
“What did you just make me eat?”
“Good stuff; don’t worry, uncle would never harm you. It’s just an o*al high-purity alchemical anesthetic; since it’s your first time, it’s better to use this. Otherwise, it’ll hurt a lot, and I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to stand it.”
Bai Kai said, an unsettling grin in his eyes.
Lu Yibei, “？？？”
At such a time, please don’t say things that raise doubts! Lu Yibei initially wanted to say that.
But when he opened his mouth, he realized the anesthetic had already taken effect; his tongue wouldn’t listen to him.
“Ah… ah… mmm…”
Then.
“It seems the dosage of the anesthetic isn’t enough!” Bai Kai said, stuffing another lump of o*al alchemical anesthetic into Lu Yibei’s mouth.
Feeling his mouth filled, Lu Yibei widened his eyes, slightly propping himself up. After producing a few strange sounds, his vision blacked out, and he collapsed onto the bed.
……
“Thud——!” Lu Yibei’s head hit the bed, producing a muffled sound, and the room soon fell silent.
Seeing Lu Yibei passed out, Bai Kai swiftly took action, stepping forward to the door, pressing his ear against it.
After confirming that nobody was outside, he quickly flashed around the room, setting up soundproofing and spirit energy fluctuation-blocking spell formulas in the four corners before returning to Lu Yibei’s side.
He gently caressed Lu Yibei’s forehead, then turned around and vigorously slammed the lid of the liquid nitrogen container. In the next moment, a spiky, ruby-like urban legend core flew out.
It was the core of Ifrit. Bai Kai had sustained serious injuries to obtain this core, spending over half a month lying in his master’s cave.
As soon as the frost-covered urban legend core touched the air, it began to shine with golden-red light, and the frost rapidly melted away, spreading a dense white mist.
While the urban legend core was heating up, Bai Kai skillfully took various materials from the cart with his left hand, while his right hand erupted with a silvery sword light resembling a storm.
Rainbow shards, yin iron, frost silver, glacier stone… various auxiliary materials were instantly shattered into powder upon touching the silvery sword light and subsequently blended together precisely to 0.1 milligrams under the control of spirit energy.
By the time Bai Kai had prepared the auxiliary materials, the Ifrit urban legend core had heated up to a terrifying level, floating in midair like a miniature sun.
Bai Kai quickly used spirit energy to draw the mixed auxiliary materials and let them fall onto the urban legend core.
In an instant, dazzling flames erupted, incinerating the spirit energy sword handle into a burning red.
The sword howled, releasing sounds reminiscent of steel colliding, intertwining with terrifying wails as if they came from the void.
A tremendous terrifying shadow was cast on all four walls of the room; it was a robust figure with two horns, an evil spirit from legend.
After the final burst of radiant light, the occurring light and shadow began to shrink violently, and in an instant, they completely condensed onto the spirit energy-infused sword handle.
Bai Kai held the glowing red energy sword, stepped forward, raised it with both hands, and fiercely thrust it toward Lu Yibei’s chest.
Releasing the spirit energy sword, he took two steps back and pulled out a stopwatch from his pocket, gently pressing it.
“Tick-tock!”
The whole process, including the time it took to say that line, took exactly three minutes, to the second.
“Alright, Xiaobei, now let me see whether you inherited more of your father’s talent or that bad woman’s talent!”
“Zing——!” With a soft sound, the smell of burning flesh filled the entire room.
The next moment, after absorbing the light and heat from the Ifrit urban legend core, Lu Yibei began to convulsively shake violently.
A pitch-black liquid, like an ocean, surged forth from the split in his chest.
“d*mn! d*mn! What… what is this?”
What on earth?! Why is there so much disaster in Xiaobei’s body?
I figured his parents didn’t have any of this talent!
This is bad; what do we do now?!
Bai Kai was stunned, even panicking for a moment, considering whether his good brother had become a pawn and whether the evaporated disaster had seeped into his nostrils, leaving his mind in a complete blank.
