Chapter 27: I Know Who You Are
Jiang Li and Zhang Dexian’s silhouettes flashed past the mass of rotten flesh and bl**d.
Fists enveloped in golden lightning and a long kn*fe spitting out azure flames struck simultaneously at Li Weiyi’s battered body.
After what felt like a long moment of brewing, a thunderous roar erupted a few seconds later.
bl**d gushed forth like a waterfall, spraying out and immediately turning into decaying flesh, which then spontaneously ignited.
Mosquitoes and flies that emerged from the tainted bl**d buzzed around, dispersing like billowing smoke.
Pale flames sprang from its chest, quickly spreading out, and with a crack of shattering noise, the massive body was burned to black smoke, disappearing in an instant.
Moments later, only a singed outline remained on the ground.
In silence.
Jiang Li and Zhang Dexian exchanged glances, asking each other with their eyes how to deal with the urban legend that was exhausted of spirit energy and unable to move.
After a brief hesitation, both turned their gaze towards the direction of Luxianbei, only to be taken aback.
There stood Luxianbei, having risen to her feet at some point, staring at the two, clapping her hands and saying expressionlessly, “Wonderful, wonderful! The boss is dealt with, what should we do next?”
“Are you not…” Jiang Li abruptly turned around, looking at Luxianbei in surprise, a twitch forming at the corner of her mouth.
“Unable to move?” Luxianbei smacked her lips, saying as if it was the most natural thing, “I couldn’t move just now, but now I can!”
“Your recovery ability…” Zhang Dexian frowned.
Luxianbei waved her hand dismissively, “You can’t generalize everyone’s physical condition. Is it not allowed for me to recover particularly quickly?”
Tsk! If it weren’t for seeing you two give each other glances like you were plotting something, I would have actually liked to lie down a bit longer… Luxianbei added silently in her heart.
The depletion of spirit energy was, of course, all an act. Although her spirit energy was significantly drained, it wasn’t to the point of being immobile; she could even still release two more spells.
However, that was just enough for two, and if considering an emergency escape requiring spirit energy to activate the God-like armor horse, she might only have enough for one shot.
Such critical spirit energy, how could she use it to finish off an opponent?
Life is dangerous everywhere, and it is reasonable for me to keep a big move’s spirit energy when I have no teammates around, right?
Moreover, that urban legend looked awfully sinister.
What if it was playing dead? What if it went berserk before dying? What if it self-destructed, wanting to take two down with it? What if after exhausting its spirit energy, those two creatures plotted something? Luxianbei thought.
So she held back a trump card? Jiang Li gazed at the expressionless white-haired girl ahead, hesitant to speak… If she really was Luxianbei, making such a choice in the presence of danger was indeed understandable.
However.
Further confirmation was still required.
While pondering, Jiang Li subtly raised an eyebrow, intending to approach Luxianbei for a conversation, when suddenly a cold and chaotic fluctuation of spirit energy intruded into her sensation range.
Her expression shifted slightly, and she turned toward the source of the fluctuation, only to see a shadow rapidly approaching from the South Suburb Slaughterhouse, landing in front of them.
A wide black cloak, a skull-shaped humorous badge, and a pair of furry ears twitching cautiously left them face-to-face with a cute girl who looked like a pink lump.
Seeing the three gazing at her with wary eyes, as if facing a formidable enemy, the girl grinned widely, “Hehe, you guys don’t need to be afraid. I’m not your enemy. My name is Miao Xiaoqi. You can call me Xiao Qi or one hundred and two-thirds of a cat.”
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, the review has ended early. Congratulations, you all passed the review ahead of time!”
So it was her? Jiang Li’s eyes slightly trembled as she coolly assessed the girl before her, deep in thought.
Luxianbei stood to the side, observing Miao Xiaoqi with excitement sparkling in her eyes. Her lips parted hesitantly, ready to ask the question she had long awaited, when a shadow dashed past her side, bolting forward and standing like an iron tower, blocking the space between her and Miao Xiaoqi.
“d*mn! You’re the one who calls yourself one hundred and two-thirds of a cat? You were the one who pulled me into the group but wouldn’t allow me to leave, and wouldn’t even let me report you?” Zhang Dexian pointed at Miao Xiaoqi, “I’ve put up with you for a long time!”
Seeing this, Miao Xiaoqi displayed a business-like smile and explained, “Please don’t be agitated. I can understand your feelings. The reason we do it this way is for the organization’s secrecy.”
“Actually, it can be reported…” Luxianbei whispered to Jiang Li beside her, explaining it to her.
Miao Xiaoqi’s words came to a halt as she heard Luxianbei’s voice drifting in, suddenly recalling some unpleasant memories. Her mouth twitched once and she paused for a long moment before continuing to explain to Zhang Dexian.
“The reason for this is to verify everyone’s strength. If strength is lacking…”
“And, as long as you’re bold enough, you can tease the administrator…”
“Also, I made over twenty bucks using that group to forward ads! You should give it a try later!”
“Can you stop already!?” Miao Xiaoqi exclaimed angrily.
As if unable to notice Miao Xiaoqi’s murderous gaze, Luxianbei patted Jiang Li’s shoulder, “I’m talking about you! Don’t interrupt!”
That serious look made it seem as though the one who had just been whispering was not her at all.
Jiang Li tilted her head, looking at the girl beside her with sincere eyes, her large eyes filled with confusion.
“…”
After a brief interlude, Luxianbei finally stopped talking, and Miao Xiaoqi, after enduring patiently, finished her repeatedly recited introduction and briefly explained what the Urban Legends Chat Group was all about.
“…That’s all I wanted to say. For the questions you each want to know, I’ll message you later, and I’ll also provide the website for the urban legend network. I hope everyone can get along well in the future.”
“Now, you may leave.”
Miao Xiaoqi said, her face breaking into another business-like smile, bowing to the three, then turned to leave, swiftly taking off with a tiptoe.
Luxianbei watched Miao Xiaoqi’s figure disappearing into the distance, her brows furrowing slightly.
Who knows when they’ll send someone to form an ally contract with me? It definitely can’t be done now; the contract must use real names, and with someone who looks like Jiang Li beside me, if the contract vow is heard by her, I’m done for.
As Luxianbei was thinking, she caught sight of the girl beside her had been secretly watching her, a pair of clear eyes fixed intensely on her as if trying to see through her shell to discover the dirty little secrets hidden deep within her heart.
“Ahem…” Luxianbei cleared her throat, avoiding Jiang Li’s gaze, muttering, “It’s getting late; it’s about time to go to sleep.”
As she spoke, she was preparing to leave when a slender, fair hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
Instinctively turning back, Luxianbei saw a terrifying smile that looked like it had come from hell.
“Don’t go yet; I want to talk to you.”
Luxianbei, “…”
————
When Miao Xiaoqi found the tall, thin man near the bushes by the entrance of the South Suburb Slaughterhouse, he had already lost all semblance of humanity.
He lay there like a pile of mud by the roadside, disheveled, covered in bruises, his head full of lumps from blunt force trauma, and his mouth looked like it had been hit with a pair of spicy sausages.
He appeared as though he had suffered from a relentless attack, leaving him in a grotesque state.
“Cat… cat… I’m over here!”
Seeing Miao Xiaoqi pass by him, the thin man struggled to rise and shouted incoherently, spewing bl**d foam as he spoke.
When Miao Xiaoqi traced the sound and parted the bushes to see the thin man, she took a step back in shock, “Ah! What happened to you like this?”
“Can’t you tell? I got beaten up!”
“…”
Miao Xiaoqi fell silent for two seconds, looking at the thin man with obvious disdain, coldly stating, “Traveling at night, who doesn’t run into ghosts? You deserve it!”
“That ghost you’re talking about, is it a male ghost or a female ghost?”
Miao Xiaoqi, “…”
The thin man sat up, covering his swollen face, mumbling, “Is everything done?”
“Done, but unfortunately…”
The cat-eared girl recalled her earlier opponent, her gaze turning cold.
Though the members of the Solar Eclipse Society summoned by Li Weiyi couldn’t save his life, they created a perfect opportunity for Shuo E to escape.
Not long ago, just as she was about to achieve victory, Shuo E sensed the projection from the higher-ups of the Solar Eclipse Society arriving and unhesitatingly removed the Wall of Bones, exposing the Black Sun Totem on her back.
As the powers of the Black Sun Totem and the projection from the Solar Eclipse Society resonated, Shuo E’s body shifted between reality and illusion.
Only a shadow remained where she once stood.
In the next moment, Miao Xiaoqi arrived in pursuit, and the illusion shattered; she vanished without a trace.
“Ran away?” The thin man asked when Miao Xiaoqi remained silent for a long time.
“Yeah.”
“Eh! Forget it, it’s alright. Didn’t the boss say? We’re still in the early stages; we can’t compete with huge organizations like the Siye Society and the Solar Eclipse Society.”
“Meeting those members, winning is great, but losing isn’t shameful either.”
“By the way, can I borrow your phone for a moment…”
“What for?” Miao Xiaoqi glared impatiently at the thin man.
“Of course, to search for some lewd pictures to recover a bit! Otherwise…” The thin man’s eyes leered through his swollen eyelids, lingering on Miao Xiaoqi, mumbling, “Otherwise, am I supposed to pet a cat to recover?”
“Ugh! You’re disgusting! How come that urban legend didn’t k*ll you?”
As Miao Xiaoqi spoke, she shivered, her face reddening, and she hastily pulled out her phone and tossed it at the thin man before swiftly darting away.
“Hey! Where are you going!?”
“Of course, I’m going back first!”
“I need to quickly inform that girl about the news of Li Weiyi being thoroughly dead! She’s put in so much effort for revenge against that scumbag; if I delay, she might fall!”
“Moreover, if I don’t leave, am I supposed to stay here and watch you… DIY?”
The thin man, “…”
What are you saying! There’s no way I would do that in front of a little girl!
Besides, as a high-end, cultured old pervert, what I seek is never the physical pleasure but the fulfillment of artistic beauty and spiritual cultural satisfaction!
——————
Thus, a commotion came to an end.
The review process for the Urban Legends Chat Group was also concluded ahead of time.
Those who participated in the review would receive the answers to their desired questions from Miao Xiaoqi via private message shortly after.
And in this world, there’s no wall that doesn’t let the wind through; the incident at the South Suburb Slaughterhouse would soon be discovered by the Siye Society. It wouldn’t be long before members of the Special Action Team filled the vacant lot at the slaughterhouse.
However, what happened next no longer concerned Luxianbei.
All she wanted now was to leave this place as soon as possible; she knew nothing, nothing at all…
“Luxianbei! I’m talking to you, can’t you hear me?”
Oh no, it’s over… Luxianbei’s heart tightened, her expression unchanged, her pace steady as she continued forward.
Just as she was about to feign ignorance and pass through the gate, a long leg wrapped in black stockings suddenly shot out from the side, “Bang!” It slammed against a stone pillar, blocking her path in a leg-thumping pose.
Luxianbei looked emotionlessly at the girl blocking her way, her eyes innocent as she replied, “Huh? Were you talking to me just now? Sorry! I was lost in thought and didn’t hear.”
Jiang Li narrowed her eyes, pondering for a moment before tentatively asking, “It’s fine. I just wanted to ask you something.”
May I ask.
If a person’s special ability is spell amplification, with a lower limit greater than zero and less than one, an upper limit greater than fifty, particularly talkative, and seemingly expressionless, what is the probability that she is Luxianbei?
Jiang Li estimated the answer to be ninety percent. If the person standing in front of her were not a girl, especially not a powerful girl, she wouldn’t even have a doubt about that ten percent.
With characteristics as obvious as Luxianbei’s, such a criminal would be the first to be arrested.
However, due to personal reasons, she couldn’t expose her identity for the time being; she couldn’t let the members of the Solar Eclipse Society know what she was doing, nor could she allow the Urban Legends Chat Group to cease to exist.
After all, private involvement in the activities of the urban legend organization was a serious crime.
Until.
She grasped enough information to find that long-lost gambling game.
“You can ask; we’ve fought together, so we’re barely friends, right? As long as it’s not too excessive, I can answer you.” Luxianbei said calmly.
Jiang Li stared intently into her eyes, coldly asking, “Are you Luxianbei?”
d*mn! Is it that straightforward from the get-go? Luxianbei scolded silently in her heart but quickly calmed down.
Luxianbei could now be a hundred percent sure that the girl in front of her was indeed Jiang Li.
Otherwise, would she be bored enough to come and probe for fun?
And if she were Jiang Li, facing an urban legend, logically, she should have drawn out her long kn*fe over four meters long long ago to attack.
But she hadn’t; even just earlier in the South Suburb Slaughterhouse, she had plenty of opportunities to backstab, yet she did not. That indicated she had reasons for not taking action.
And the fact that she had come here, disguising herself as Miaomiao Sauce using some unknown method, showed she had reasons for not revealing her identity.
Since that’s the case…
We’re both actors; let’s showcase our acting skills to one another? I’m an award winner at the Huacheng Sunflower Kindergarten Drama Competition!
Unlike Jiang Li, Luxianbei simply wanted to pass off as someone else, not wanting to be sent to Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, and continue surviving.
She thought, tilting her head in a bemused manner, “Who?”
“Luxianbei.” Jiang Li said solemnly, “A member of the Siye Society, gender male, a facially expressionless chatterbox, with many stains awaiting investigation—perhaps several m*rder cases to her name!”
“If you know him, you need to be careful!”
“Trying to trick me? Since when do I have suspected stains? I’m completely unaware!” Luxianbei thought to herself, shaking her head, “The Siye Society, right? I know about that; I have a colleague who works part-time there, but about that one you mentioned, I’ve never heard of.”
“Oh, by the way, when I last went there, I also met two girls. One looked like a mushroom, while the other was rather handsome; unfortunately, she was a cripple.”
“Alright, I’ve answered your question. Can I go now?”
As Luxianbei spoke, a hint of impatience flashed in her expression, and before Jiang Li could respond, she gracefully tossed her guitar bag over her shoulder and turned to walk away.
Since I’ve said this, and she didn’t react, it indicates she wouldn’t expose me today. As long as she doesn’t expose me today, there won’t be another chance after this, Luxianbei thought.
She had barely walked a short distance when she suddenly heard a voice calling her from behind.
“Luxianbei, do you want a set of Bai Xiaohua summer festival swimsuit figurines?”
Luxianbei froze for a moment, almost answering with an “I do,” but she quickly bit down on her lip and stifled her inner desire, continuing to walk forward.
Watching the girl’s retreating figure, Jiang Li narrowed her eyes.
Is she really determined to keep pretending?
In the moment Jiang Li was slightly lost in thought, the girl ahead suddenly turned back, asking, “By the way, do you want to play some mahjong together?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li bit down on her tongue, forcing out the “Sure!” back down her throat.
The two of them remained in a prolonged silence, eyeing each other, reflecting a sense of approval, as if saying, “Not bad! You managed to resist this.”
It was also as if they were teasing one another, “I know who you are, and I know you know who I am, but I just won’t say it. For now, keeping our waters separate is mutually beneficial.”
Then again, as if warning each other, “If you let this out, you’re done for!”
After a brief, tacit understanding exchanged through complex gazes, they both suddenly broke into smiles.
At that moment, having read Miao Xiaoqi’s private message and bandaged his wounds, Zhang Dexian walked out from the South Suburb Slaughterhouse. As he passed by the exchange of glances between the two, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Then he looked around, giving himself a jolt, almost bursting his recently treated wounds.
What the hell is going on?!
Late at night, with two girls, one smiling like a rigid plaster statue, the other smiling like a demon crawling out of hell, both gazing at each other in front of the slaughterhouse’s gate—are they trying to scare me to d*ath?
I thought a new urban legend was about to emerge! Zhang Dexian pondered.
