Chapter 57: The Correct Use of Dependents
Above the gray, dark sky, the clouds disturbed by sword energy had yet to disperse.
In the restless and noisy wind, Qing Ji stood with one hand holding his sword and the other propping up his chin, pondering for a long time. He nodded at Luxianbei and said, “Very well, my daughter-in-law’s talent has three-tenths of my former flair. I am quite gratified.”
“What a pity…”
As he spoke, his gaze gradually lowered, settling on Luxianbei’s lower abdomen, revealing a contemplative expression.
“You, please speak properly, stop staring at my belly!” Luxianbei said weakly.
“Uh… Sorry.” Qing Ji scratched the back of his head, feeling lost. “I just suddenly thought that someone as wise and gifted as you, with such excellent roots, is on the earth because my unfortunate great-grandson is still alive. The children born of you two in the future will surely be even more outstanding. I was momentarily lost in thought.”
“…”
Luxianbei remained silent for a moment, deciding to push through her panic forward, she stood up and patted Qing Ji’s shoulder. “No one wants this to happen, how about I give you a bite?”
“Forget it, I’m just a remnant of a shadow now, I can no longer enjoy heavenly delicacies.” Qing Ji shook his head and said, “Never mind, I will demonstrate ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’ to you once more.”
As he finished speaking, he kicked off the ground lightly, stepping into the air a few times, accompanied by a sharp sword energy, breaking through the sky, merging with the winds and clouds at the horizon.
Luxianbei gazed at the sky, her thoughts deepening.
She certainly knew that Qing Ji’s swordsmanship was profound. Even if she memorized it in a muddled way, fully executing it would likely take a long time. If possible, having Qing Ji teach her step by step from the very basics was naturally the best approach.
But she couldn’t wait that long.
When she obtained the ancient sword and arrived near the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, it was already past 4:40 AM. By the time Qing Ji began demonstrating the sword technique to her, over an hour had already passed.
If this continued to be delayed, dawn was approaching. She, standing in the open space near the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, would surely be illuminated by the first light of dawn and then, bathed in the morning sun, revert to her original form.
At that time, the illusion before her would likely dissipate, right?
Therefore, to avoid any mishaps, she had to memorize everything her ancestor taught her during this short time.
Though sometimes her mind wasn’t very sharp, she was quite confident in her ability to learn. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to complete her school work in a very short time while wreaking havoc in her neighborhood as a child, earning high scores that served as a shield against being punished.
What can’t I learn? .JPG
Luxianbei thought resolutely, watching Qing Ji finish his sword technique demonstration, she raised her head and called out, “Please demonstrate again, Ancestor!”
Qing Ji, suspended in the sky, glanced at Luxianbei out of the corner of his eye and chuckled in response, “Heh, no problem!”
A long time later.
“Again, again…”
“Alright!”
…
Luxianbei stared transfixed at the figure weaving through the clouds in the sky, her eyes peering through the haze to capture every move he made. Her brain operated rapidly, like recording video, imprinting those fluid movements into her mind.
Once, twice, again and again…
After the demonstration of sword techniques finished, it was time for the spell formulas.
Spell formulas are varied but share the same principle—using the power of language to create resonance between one’s own spirit energy fluctuations and the spirit energy of heaven and earth. This calls upon the spirit energy of the world to create small miracles mimicking the grand miracles of nature.
Qing Ji’s spell formulas seemed very simple. Even the incantations were much shorter than those Luxianbei interpreted from the Great Serpent God’s memories, as well as the few basic formulas she learned from the Siye Society.
However, these overly simplified incantations, transforming from detailed textual descriptions into mysterious code-like spells, were able to produce effects nearly indistinguishable from normal spell formulas.
Luxianbei, “…”
This…
I really can’t learn this right now, nor can I memorize it.
She was genuinely trying hard to memorize, but those obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations felt as though they were in a completely different dimension, passing through her mind like smoke, lightly drifting towards the void and vanishing without a trace.
As she saw Qing Ji’s figure becoming increasingly faint in the sky, Luxianbei felt anxious, unable to help but curse under her breath.
“d*mn it, if only there were a portable hard drive or something that could download this stuff for me to understand at my leisure later!”
Just as her words fell, the air behind her suddenly rippled with layers of waves as if time and space were distorted. A figure slowly emerged and sat down beside her.
A petite body, pinkish-white long hair, an exquisite face with red lips and white teeth, bundled in a large yellow-black contrasting tactical jacket, the girl today seemed particularly vibrant.
“Yo, long time no see!” the mysterious girl patted Luxianbei’s shoulder.
Luxianbei fixed her gaze on Qing Ji’s figure in the sky, pushing the mysterious girl’s hand away, “Don’t mess around, I’m busy!”
“I know! I’m just seeing you’re in trouble, so I stopped by amidst my busy schedule to provide a solution!” said the mysterious girl.
“Busy? What could an NPC like you be busy with?” Luxianbei retorted.
The mysterious girl shifted her position, crossed her legs facing Luxianbei, and pouted, “Do you believe me if I said I’m busy destroying the world?”
“You? You can destroy the world, I can save it!” Luxianbei said flatly.
“Ambitious, but…” The mysterious girl’s tone became serious, “saving is much harder than destroying. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“…”
Luxianbei was taken aback by her sudden change, momentarily forgetting to continue learning from Qing Ji, staring blankly at her and unsure how to respond.
“Look at you scared, I was just joking!” Seeing her reaction, the girl pouted and, while looking at the sky, continued, “Is it the original spell formulas? They are indeed difficult to learn. You’ve already learned enough today; your mind probably can’t handle anymore, and continuing is futile.”
“Then what should I do! Shouldn’t I ensure the continuation of my family’s lineage?”
“Lineage?” The girl nodded thoughtfully and said earnestly, “If you really care that much, then you should get started on having babies soon!”
Luxianbei looked down at her belly, then at the girl, darkening her face, “I can’t produce offspring. I’m very sorry.”
“I’m not asking you to give birth! Didn’t I tell you to sleep with Jiang Li? Did you do it or not?”
Luxianbei, “…”
Where did this shameless person come from?
Let me clarify, I’m really not familiar with her!
“Never mind, let’s talk about serious things.” Seeing Luxianbei remain silent, the girl pointed to the ever-changing figure in the sky, “Though you can’t learn anymore now, why not let your immediate dependents learn instead?”
“If she learns, wouldn’t that be equivalent to you learning as well?”
“Ah…” Luxianbei was stunned and exclaimed, “Dependents can be used this way? Doesn’t that make them a tool?”
The girl rolled her eyes, “What else?”
“Unless it’s an unequal contract-dependent, in most situations, dependents are pampered and taken care of, while ensuring their safety and providing them with gear, almost like raising alternate accounts.”
“If there’s no benefit, what’s the point in raising so many dependents? Are they for their looks or their big butts for having babies? Is it because they do good work? Of course, it’s for them…”
Luxianbei glanced sideways at the girl next to her, saying solemnly, “You seem to know a lot about this? You’ve done that shameless thing quite a few times, haven’t you?”
Luxianbei had already been about sixty percent confident in identifying this mysterious girl as a manifestation similar to her double.
But now, hearing the girl’s lewd remarks, it felt as though she had just eaten a Jumeng directly, and she suddenly wasn’t so sure anymore.
How could I harm innocent girls?
“Ahem!” The mysterious girl cleared her throat, looking a bit embarrassed. She waved her hand to change the subject, “That’s not the point. The point is how you should operate to let your dependents help you endure and learn the side effects of this vast amount of knowledge.”
“…” Luxianbei rested her chin in thought for a moment before saying seriously, “This thing doesn’t require life points, right?”
“Definitely not! Am I not familiar with you? The life point package is generally not recommended here!” The girl waved her hand.
“That’s great!” Luxianbei felt delighted. “Then let’s discuss how to take advantage of Du Sixian!”
Upon hearing this, the girl looked distressed, pressing her forehead. “Why is it still Du Sixian? Don’t you have any other dependents?”
“Why do you think I recommended a dependent to you with such earnestness? Have you even listened to me and looked for those people?”
Luxianbei carefully recalled her recent activities and patiently explained, “No!”
“Then what have you been busy with?!”
“Survival?” Luxianbei said softly.
The girl twitched the corner of her mouth and patted Luxianbei’s shoulder, praising her, “As expected of… uh, the woman I have my eye on, well done!”
“Let me tell you, dependents are very useful…”
“What kind of useful?” Luxianbei interjected.
“Useful in every sense.” The girl smiled meaningfully, “But this time our beginner’s tutorial mainly revolves around sharing spirit abilities.”
“How do I use Du Sixian?” Luxianbei asked, “Uh, regarding spirit abilities…”
The girl turned towards the dilapidated city and pointed in the general direction where Du Sixian frequently appeared.
“It’s very simple, you just need to confirm her location, call her name loudly, and simultaneously transmit the content that flashes through your mind during your learning…”
“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Get up and pee!”
Before the girl could finish her sentence, Luxianbei, facing the direction where Du Sixian was, shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Your video views have exceeded a million!”
“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Your tenant hasn’t paid rent!”
…
Luxianbei was usually annoyed by Du Sixian, but this time she finally got the chance to fight back!
“…”
The girl crossed her arms over her chest, standing behind Luxianbei, tilting her head to observe her, falling into a moment of silence.
That Du Sixian, is she really her dependent?
Why do I feel like she seems to want to k*ll Du Sixian?
Let’s hope nothing goes wrong, just like back then…
A sweet-smiling girl suddenly flashed through the girl’s mind, a smile like a sunflower blooming in the bright sunshine, piercing through her heart.
That girl was the only dependent she had not recommended to Luxianbei…
————
Mudan Street, Sizheng Homestay.
Du Sixian had recently been making very slow progress in practicing spell formulas.
Ever since she finished learning the basic spell formulas and started trying to learn the refined ones, she didn’t know if it was the influence of the plum horizontal fish spirit patterns, but she felt some regression in her memory, like a fish with only seven seconds of memory.
This made her start to doubt whether An Qing had been comforting her.
Perhaps she wasn’t some “genius of the dead crowd.”
Recently, even that strange dreamscape had appeared quite rarely. Even when it did appear occasionally, she hadn’t seen that suspected divine figure in the dream anymore.
“Why don’t…” Du Sixian blankly stared at the ceiling, struggling for a long time before sighing and talking to herself, “Sigh, I’m really useless. Apart from collecting rent, I’m practically good for nothing!”
“Forget it, sleep! Considering the date, I should probably go collect rent tomorrow!”
Grumbling to herself, she hugged her pillow, turned over, and closed her eyes.
————
“Boom—Boom—Boom—!”
Amid the earth-shattering sounds of a train passing over the tracks, Du Sixian suddenly woke up.
She opened her eyes, perplexedly surveying her surroundings.
This was a very old subway car, with handrails and window ledges covered in rust. The car’s interior was empty, devoid of anyone, and the overhead lights flickered as if not making good contact.
After surveying the surroundings, Du Sixian quickly recognized that this subway was almost identical to Huacheng’s subway, but for some reason, it looked as though it had been eroded by time.
Outside the window, the familiar, dilapidated city seemed especially quiet.
Only the dust silently fell from the sky, dancing in the sunlight.
“So it’s this strange dreamscape again?”
Realizing she had once again entered this bizarre dreamscape, Du Sixian felt a little relieved, leaning back in her seat, gazing outside, admiring that nearly dying city.
After a long time, a faint chanting, akin to a gentle knock on the door that suddenly echoed through the long, dark night, grew increasingly intense.
It felt like destiny.
Destiny was gently knocking on the door.
In an instant, countless terrifying images flooded into Du Sixian’s mind, and her eyes gradually lost their focus.
Shooting stars falling, mountain floods surging, hurricanes rushing, monstrous waves rolling, tens of thousands of soldiers wielding weapons, brutally clashing in the wilderness…
In the city outside, time seemed to accelerate and pass quickly.
In an instant, it transformed from noon to dusk, and the clouds gathering in the sky reflected the rosy glow of sunset.
At the same moment, the terrifying scenes before Du Sixian’s eyes vanished, replaced by the sound of shattering.
The nightmarish, elongated daze finally ended.
“Ah—!”
Du Sixian called out as she woke from her bed, fragrant sweat soaking the sheets beneath her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she couldn’t help but gasp for breath.
Once she regained her composure, she sat up, staring at her hands, lost in thought.
Like an illusion, she felt as though she had already learned those daunting refined spell formulas.
————
Above the ruins of the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, the cool autumn wind wandered.
After a long time, the sun slowly rose.
The rising morning sun spread its light, inch by inch illuminating the location of the incident from a few months ago.
The major suspect returning to the scene sat up from a pile of dark ash, gazing in the direction where the sun was rising.
A figure carrying a long sword and dressed in a dark long gown briefly appeared in the sunlight, only to swiftly dissipate.
That young man who once wandered across the land alone during the chaotic years had thus briefly appeared in Luxianbei’s life before quickly disappearing…
“Daughter-in-law, do you know where my son Yuebo’s grave is? I would like to go see it.”
Hearing the sudden voice from the broken sword in hand, Luxianbei’s heart skipped a beat.
What the hell, he hasn’t vanished yet?
Oh no, will my ancestor think I have some strange f*tish and is trying to hit on his grandson because he sees me like this?
“Daughter-in-law?”
Luxianbei, “…”
It seems like he can’t see me in my current form?
“Daughter-in-law, are you still there? Say something!”
Luxianbei glanced at the buzzing, vibrating broken sword in her hand and silently pulled out her guitar bag, rummaging through it to find a plastic sheet, wrapping the broken sword up with layers and layers, and then “bang,” she closed the guitar bag.
“Wuwu…Wuwu…”
Listening to the barely audible faint sounds from the guitar bag, Luxianbei nodded in satisfaction.
————
Luxianbei was hiking back to the city center of Huacheng from the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel with her guitar bag on her back.
A total of twenty-four kilometers, even longer than a half-marathon, and there were simply no taxis or Didi drivers willing to come to pick her up.
She tried reporting drivers for refusal, but it was useless.
Places like the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, daring drivers to come pick up passengers were as rare as ants on a mountain.
For someone whose physical exam for university barely passed the thousand-meter run, this journey was nearly life-threatening.
By the time she spotted the first bus stop and a small convenience store by the roadside, it was already noon.
She bought a bottle of soda, sat at the bus stop, enjoying a refreshing drink while waiting for the bus. Just then, her phone vibrated twice, causing the culprit who made her so exhausted to send a message.
Genius Mahjong Girl: “When are you coming back? [heart emoji]”
Wang Buliu: “After dark. [dog sticking out tongue emoji]”
Genius Mahjong Girl: “That’s fine, but you better come back quickly.”
Genius Mahjong Girl: “The property management of Happy Neighborhood has somehow managed to rent out all the houses that were idle after someone passed away, and the welcoming party has been moved up to Friday night. Everyone will be there.”
Wang Buliu: “Alright, I’ll hurry.”
Putting down her phone, Luxianbei’s gaze sharpened slightly.
It’s time!
Now that I have the talk of the Happy Neighborhood urban legend, my odds have risen to around ninety percent; I can cautiously make my move. Luxianbei thought.
