Chapter Sixty-Five: This Love Is Not That Love
“Ding——Ding——Ding——!”
The sharp and piercing sound of metal colliding, accompanied by bursts of air-piercing noises, echoed through the hall of the Clear Bar, creating sharp currents that carved trenches into the walls, stone pillars, tables, and chairs.
Jiang Li was never the type to easily give up. Seeing that she was just a step away from killing the urban legend, how could she easily concede?
Since Lu Xianbei had no way to control the sword, she had to take matters into her own hands.
With her stubborn temperament, in just a few seconds, Jiang Li had exchanged blows with the troublesome broken sword dozens of times, feeling her palms tingle and her wrist ache.
As her spirit energy was depleting, her breathing became increasingly rapid, forcing her to temporarily retreat and adjust her state.
Once she stopped attacking and calmed down a bit, Jiang Li realized that Lu Xianbei’s broken ancient sword was quite peculiar.
The fluctuations of its spirit energy were not particularly strong, and there was no sword-wielder present, yet it exhibited great power and exquisite sword techniques.
In a daze, Jiang Li actually felt as if she were battling a sword master.
Fortunately, the broken sword only guarded the urban legend and had no intention to k*ll; otherwise, having a sword master along with an urban legend of A Grade spirit energy would make things very tricky.
It was definitely not as simple as one plus one equaling two.
Jiang Li muttered to herself, turned to look at Lu Xianbei, and her eyes twitched uncontrollably.
Lu Xianbei was standing nearby, “di di da da,” playing the suona, her slim waist twisting like a water snake, her brows dancing along with the music.
Although Jiang Li knew that Lu Xianbei was playing the suona non-stop to suppress the urban legend, she couldn’t help but feel a high level of animosity toward her appearance.
Suppressing her impulse to punch someone, Jiang Li said to Lu Xianbei, “What’s the origin of this sword? Why can’t you control it yourself?”
Lu Xianbei thought for a moment and throw Jiang Li a determined look.
【Inherited.】
Jiang Li, “……”
Inherited?
But the background check on the Siye Society showed that her family has been running restaurants for up to three generations!
How could such a dangerous spirit energy item have been passed down?
Seeing that Lu Xianbei had no solutions for the current situation either, Jiang Li shifted her gaze back to the urban legend, abruptly stepping forward, swinging her long kn*fe in a horizontal arc that emitted a bright blue light, the sound of metal ringing out.
“Ding——!”
Hearing that piercing sound, Lu Xianbei frowned, deep in thought about what Qing Ji had said, hoping to find a way to control Ling Tai Purification.
At that moment, the broken sword let out a sudden hum, sending layers of faint golden ripples spreading through the dim environment, followed by Qing Ji’s voice.
“Stop hitting it, stop hitting it!”
Lu Xianbei’s ancestral broken sword actually had self-awareness? Jiang Li was shocked, instinctively retreating to create distance.
Something with self-awareness, straddling the line between an urban legend and a spirit energy item, was something she had only heard about and was seeing for the first time.
As Jiang Li was lost in thought, the broken sword hummed again, and Qing Ji’s voice came through.
“Daughter-in-law, why are you making things difficult for this little guy? There must be some misunderstanding.”
“……”
Jiang Li looked at Lu Xianbei in astonishment, tilting her head and pointing at her own nose.
【Daughter-in-law? Is that me?】
Thinking back to the embarrassing sweet dream the urban legend fabricated for her earlier, her cheeks flushed again.
d*mn it, was Lu Xianbei that b*stard saying something strange to her family’s ancestral ancient sword? Jiang Li wondered.
Lu Xianbei looked expressionlessly at Jiang Li, her eyes gradually showing indifference.
【You’re overthinking it; it’s… talking to me.】
Jiang Li, “???”
For a moment, she doubted that the person playing the suona not far away was Lu Xianbei; instead, it might be a girl named Wang Buliu, whose temperament and style were remarkably similar to Lu Xianbei’s.
Otherwise, how could someone come up with the bizarre maneuver of “I am your wife”?
However…
Jiang Li underestimated Lu Xianbei’s lower limits.
Just as she was looking at Lu Xianbei, wanting to say something but hesitating, a sudden change occurred, and an unfamiliar opera melody emerged, with a strange tone echoing.
The urban legend that had been retreating to a corner suddenly moved; its corpse twisted along with its body, producing “ka ka” sounds.
Within its massive form, something else was stirring, emitting a wet and sticky sound, as if flesh was sliding within its cavity.
At the sound, Jiang Li turned back suddenly, and her expression became serious.
She saw that the skeleton of the urban legend had inexplicably grown a faint ghostly light, as if a door had been pulled open, revealing the figure hidden beneath the bones.
It was a woman, with slender hands and feet sinking amidst the heap of bones, her alluring figure crawling with charred little hands, her delicate face adorned with a green-faced mask, giving her an eerie beauty.
Her long hair, extending from the back of her head, gradually transformed into weightless ethereal strands, merging into the thick smoke and morphing into countless pale tendrils.
At the moment the woman appeared, the fluctuations of spirit energy surged violently, and the scenery before her suddenly turned upside down and distorted, scattering chaotic streams of light all around, amidst which echoed bursts of laughter.
It contained “sweet dreams,” spirit energy that was almost tangible.
Confronted with the suddenly transformed urban legend, Jiang Li felt an overwhelming sense of danger, her grip on the long kn*fe sweating. Just then, that urban legend parted its red lips slightly.
“Benefactor? Has it returned?”
As if communicating with someone, the urban legend whispered, its gaze searching the surroundings with a forlorn look, finally landing on the broken ancient sword, falling into silence.
Seeing this, Jiang Li furrowed her brows and turned to Lu Xianbei with a questioning look.
【Are you its benefactor?】
Lu Xianbei shook her head like a rattle drum, hurriedly denying it.
【You’re overestimating me; I thought it was you!】
Jiang Li, “……”
Lu Xianbei, “……”
If neither of us is, then could it be…
After a brief silence, both of them seemed to have thought of something at the same time, turning their gazes toward the ancient sword floating before the urban legend.
Is it it!?
Jiang Li was momentarily stunned, looking back at Lu Xianbei with a puzzled expression.
Lu Xianbei frowned, calmly analyzing and making a quick judgment, nodded, and returned a determined look to Jiang Li.
【I know where the problem lies; when the time comes, you control the erhu to suppress the urban legend, and let me handle the rest!】
Looking at Lu Xianbei’s confident demeanor, Jiang Li fell silent for two seconds, flipped her wrist, sheathed her long kn*fe, stepped aside, picked up the erhu from the ground, closed her eyes to recall the score, adjusted her posture, and played the first note.
As the heartbreaking tune poured from her fingers, she turned to look at Lu Xianbei, and almost interrupted her playing upon seeing Lu Xianbei.
Lu Xianbei had pieced together several chairs, draped a few layers of tablecloths over them, and was lying down resting her head on a pillow she didn’t know where it came from, closed her eyes.
Jiang Li, “？？？”
Shocked! What was she doing?
Was the so-called solution to give up resisting, find a comfortable position, and lie down awaiting d*ath?
Knowing Lu Xianbei, she really could do something so distressing.
Of course, Lu Xianbei was not lying down to wait for d*ath; she had only realized that Ling Tai Purification was very likely controlled by Qing Ji, and wanted to have a friendly communication with him.
The simplest method she could think of to enter that peculiar dream realm was simply to fall asleep.
“……”
Of course, if she really encountered a situation that was unbeatable, unapproachable, and unavoidable, then waiting for d*ath like this wasn’t too bad.
With the erhu accompaniment, it was a great deal; they might even save money on funeral music.
Lu Xianbei thought to herself, calming her mind, silently reciting a segment from within her body, then emptied her mind…
And fell asleep.
————
As she had so many times before, Lu Xianbei felt herself gradually breaking apart, diffusing like an intangible gas, sinking amidst the meaninglessly murmuring voices.
Then suddenly, her back touched the icy hard ground, and she awakened on that familiar rooftop.
Before she could open her eyes, she felt a sudden chill at her chest, followed by a heat.
She was dead, but she felt happy.
Receiving Qing Ji’s special “welcome gift” confirmed that she had successfully entered the dream realm.
It was as if an invisible force had pulled her out of the pitch-black mire, and Lu Xianbei suddenly woke up.
Opening her eyes, she saw a sword coming at her. With a swift turn, her body twisted and evaded it in an unusual manner.
Once steady, Lu Xianbei looked ahead, where Qing Ji stood with his sword drawn, and quickly said, “Ancestor, wait! I have something unclear I’d like you to clarify!”
The movement of Qing Ji preparing to attack halted; he crossed his arms over his chest, gripping his sword and coldly said, “Speak!”
“Were you just controlling the sword?”
“Hmm?”
Seeing Qing Ji’s expression slightly change, Lu Xianbei abandoned mimicking his speech and hurriedly explained, “Uh… I mean, were you the one controlling the sword?”
“Naturally it was me.” Qing Ji raised his chin slightly, glancing at Lu Xianbei sidelong, “Do you know why I simply suppressed it instead of eradicating it?”
“Because you couldn’t do it,” Lu Xianbei blurted out.
Qing Ji had personally told her that he was incapacitated with more than thirty bullets lodged inside him, severely injured, incapable of wielding spirit energy, and wasn’t able to k*ll the urban legend at all.
“b*stard! What do you mean by saying I couldn’t do it?” Qing Ji’s lips twitched, angrily retorting, “If that malignant spirit truly deserves punishment and is poisoning a region, having suppressed it, can I not wait a bit longer until my strength has returned to eliminate it?”
“If I cannot do it, then my son Yuebo can’t go? If Yuebo can’t go, then his son can surely go, right? This idea of offspring continuing on, it’s a boundless principle—you understand?”
Now that trouble has arisen, it’s my turn to suffer, huh? Lu Xianbei thought to herself.
Seeing that Lu Xianbei had no words to say, Qing Ji adjusted his breath and continued, “The reason I didn’t eliminate it after suppressing it was that I discovered during our battle its nature wasn’t evil. It still has hope.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Turning away, Qing Ji let out a long sigh, “Sigh! The existence of malign spirits comes from rumors in the marketplace, grievances of living beings, and unfinished obsessions in their lifetimes. The birth of this little guy was just due to some unfulfilled agreements.”
“Agreements?”
“Exactly.” Qing Ji looked at Lu Xianbei, “When it was alive, it wanted to protect those poor children. To give them confidence to endure in the dark, food- and water-deprived tunnels, it made many promises, weaving numerous sweet dreams for them. But who would have known…”
Lu Xianbei nodded, recollecting, and interjected, “It got buried under artillery fire, right?”
“Precisely.” Qing Ji affirmed, “After I suppressed it, I waited five to six years for my strength to recover, then returned to exterminate it, but when I went there, I saw a sight that astonished me.”
“Do you want to guess what I saw?”
“Seventeen or eighteen wild ghosts, dressed in bright red clothes and flower shorts, holding hands and jumping to Pure Land?” Lu Xianbei blurted out.
“Ah?” Qing Ji paused for a moment, looking at Lu Xianbei with an odd expression.
Lu Xianbei lightly slapped her mouth, explaining, “Uh… don’t mind me. If you ever hear me say anything strange, just take it as junk and continue.”
Qing Ji frowned, continuing, “When I arrived, I found that the once deserted and dilapidated village had surprisingly gathered a dozen households in just five or six years. The weeds had turned into fertile fields, and every household was thriving in happiness.”
“Ah… could it be that the urban legend had an influence?” Lu Xianbei asked in astonishment.
“Indeed!” Qing Ji nodded.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xianbei couldn’t help but fall into recollection and contemplation.
She vaguely remembered that when she was younger, before the Happy Neighborhood area was developed into commercial housing, the residents living there indeed thrived.
The crime rate around here was incredibly low; she had never heard of thefts occurring—even occasionally seeing those residents walking through the ancient alleys always brought smiles to their faces. Many top scorers from Huacheng’s college entrance examinations had also come from here.
The entire street resembled an old street that would only appear in sweet youth stories, where every tale unfolding was warm and delightful.
In fact, when the first phase of properties in the Happy Neighborhood was put on sale, they used the gimmick of a “favorable feng shui land” as part of their marketing strategy.
If Qing Ji’s words were true, then this must have something to do with the urban legend providing protection in the shadows.
“But…” Lu Xianbei said, “Some people told me there are no good spirits among urban legends.”
“Is there such a thing? That’s pure nonsense! Which b*stard said that? Let’s beat the hell out of him!” Qing Ji exclaimed angrily.
Lu Xianbei, “……” Regardless of the matter regarding Bei Bei, Bei Bei didn’t know. That comment was made by the one you mistakenly referred to as “daughter-in-law” earlier.
Qing Ji cast a glance at the silent Lu Xianbei, “It’s suppressed by the sword hilt of Ling Tai Purification; to say it’s hiding a needle in a woolly cot, plotting something else is impossible. Thus, I believe it still has hope.”
“Furthermore, since ancient times, there has been a custom of honoring deities and praying for blessings, hoping for good weather and prosperity year after year. Many deities originally came from malignant spirits; are they all false?”
“It is my belief that malignant spirits or deities are but a thought apart. If it can transform into a deity and bless a region, it is a good thing for later generations to accumulate virtue.”
“Ah? Then why is my… uh, why is my husband so unfortunate?” Lu Xianbei stammered.
Qing Ji looked seriously at Lu Xianbei without speaking, his deep gaze seemingly saying, “Take this look of mine and figure it out yourself.”
Lu Xianbei, “……” I understand; you’ve done even more wicked things, right?
After a brief contemplation, Lu Xianbei redirected the topic away from why her husband was so unfortunate, back on track, “However, Ancestor, the situation is different now!”
“That urban legend, I’m afraid, has run into big trouble. It has started killing people…”
Lu Xianbei described the detailed situation in the Happy Neighborhood to Qing Ji. His expression changed, and after pondering for a long time, he muttered to himself, “With the sword hilt of Ling Tai Purification suppressing it, how could this happen? Unless someone…”
Halfway through his sentence, Qing Ji’s expression darkened. He raised his head to look at Lu Xianbei with piercing eyes, as if he were looking at a wayward descendant, veins bulging on his hand gripping the sword, his entire being radiating a fierce energy, though it was not released, it was an impressive momentum.
Seeing that the ancestor was about to purge the ranks, Lu Xianbei was startled and quickly explained, “No, it wasn’t me who drew the sword; it was someone else. I just got it back not long ago.”
“Wait, there’s a problem! Could it be…”
Lu Xianbei suddenly recalled the strange statue she saw at the Hongshan villa in Li Tanghan’s home, which symbolized that filthy and extremely twisted urban legend.
And the sword hilt of Ling Tai Purification was in Li Tanghan’s home. Qin Dalin said the person who drew the sword was found through Li Tanghan’s father’s connections; there might be some subtle relationship in this.
Seeing Lu Xianbei deep in thought, Qing Ji seemed to have grasped some key point. After a moment of contemplation, he stepped forward and squeezed her shoulder firmly.
“Daughter-in-law, it seems you have some inkling of the obstructing person, but now isn’t the time to think about these things. The most important thing right now is to resolve the immediate issue.”
Lu Xianbei was taken aback and weakly asked, “How do we resolve it? I can’t beat that guy! To be honest, if it weren’t for bringing friends, I was thinking of slipping away just now.”
“I didn’t tell you to k*ll it; if you k*ll it, that’s when the real trouble starts…” Qing Ji said.
“Killing the urban legend would create real trouble?”
“Isn’t it?” Qing Ji countered, “If, based on what you say, you were to k*ll it, then countless people, due to its dreams, would awaken, and the pain of those shattered dreams—how could anyone bear it?”
“But that is…” Lu Xianbei began to speak, but Qing Ji interrupted.
“Fake, right?” Qing Ji smiled silently, “Silly child. If a sweet dream can last a lifetime, what’s the difference between the real and the fake?”
“……”
That’s right, fake shoes can still be worn, and fake textbooks can also lead to high scores… Lu Xianbei thought to herself, looking seriously at Qing Ji, “I understand now. What should I do?”
Qing Ji shrugged nonchalantly, “Love it! That’s what I did back then.”
What kind of cliché tactic is this? Are the male leads from over a hundred years ago this greasy? Lu Xianbei looked at Qing Ji in alarm, her gaze examining him as if she had just seen a pile of lard, “You… loved it?”
I thought you spared it out of goodwill, but it turns out you were lusting after its body? Lu Xianbei thought to herself.
“Love!” Qing Ji said firmly.
“……” Lu Xianbei rested her chin in thought for two seconds, then seriously said, “Does my great-grandmother know about this?”
What to do when you accidentally discover your great-grandfather’s extramarital affair? This is urgent.
Qing Ji, “……”
Although this love is not that love, Yan Zhi truly had no idea.
