Chapter Eleven: Is This How You Solve Problems?
The scream coming from the master bedroom was fleeting, quickly swallowed by the cacophony of voices downstairs. It seemed that no one noticed the anomaly.
Perhaps this was for the best. If there were too many witnesses, the situation would become complicated… Luxianbei thought to himself, lightly touching the d*ath-Owl Badge on his chest to contact Du Sixian.
“Du Sixian, what’s going on over there? Why was there a scream?”
“It’s Jacob. It seems something went wrong while he was in the bathroom completing the second phase of the process. The door is locked from the inside, and we can’t get in. We don’t know what happened.”
Luxianbei, “…”
That little group, when triggering an urban legend event, the first to “d*e” really is Black Uncle, isn’t it?
Luxianbei silently scoffed and touched the badge again.
“I understand. I’ll head over and check the situation.”
After responding to Du Sixian, Luxianbei turned to the muscular brothers of the Special Action Team beside him and the boy who was already bound and subdued on the ground, rubbing his forehead.
“Brothers, I’ll go check it out first. If there’s a situation, please contact the hotel to evacuate the people downstairs, then come in to provide support. I’ll try to buy enough time.”
Luxianbei chose not to have the brothers of the Special Action Team forcefully break in and provide warmth. Making a big noise like that with so many people downstairs would be problematic. If those who were frightened panicked and scattered, the aftermath would be very difficult to manage.
So, confirming the manifestation of the urban legend before letting the brothers take action was not the best choice.
Jiang Li’s various little tips had proven very useful, and Qi Dong, after hearing Luxianbei’s more thoughtful plan, was stunned for a moment.
Then he flashed a bright smile at Luxianbei, “Agent Lu, you can rest assured! We have a lot of experience with things like this.”
Steady as a rock, moving like a tank, that was them.
Luxianbei nodded and was about to leave the small gym room, his gaze sweeping over the bound boy once more.
He saw that the boy was lying on the ground, his bound body writhing and struggling, with muffled groans escaping from his gagged mouth.
Seeing this, Luxianbei frowned and pondered for two seconds, shaking his head helplessly. He approached and squatted down, saying, “Bro, I really can’t be blamed for this. No one wants something like this to happen! At worst, I’ll have the muscular brothers get you something to eat later?”
The boy, “？？？”
The way you say that seems a bit off?
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be off then. Make sure to get along well with the brothers!” Luxianbei said, shrugging, standing up, and walking out of the gym towards the master bedroom.
He wasn’t worried at all that the boy would suffer any harm at the hands of the Special Action Team’s brothers.
Dealing with the witnesses who accidentally wandered into the urban legend event scene, the Special Action Team had plenty of experience.
Aside from some routine confidentiality processes, the Siye Society also had an alchemical potion, humorously called “amnesia water,” which was colorless, odorless, harmless, and good for beauty, promoting dopamine secretion.
Just a drop or two would end the suffering in thirty seconds.
Apart from a potential short-term side effect that might make ordinary people more able to see urban legends, it was far more effective than the hodgepodge of potions advertised in public restrooms.
“Uuuuuu—!”
Just as the gym door was about to close, the boy let out a wail that would make listeners grieve and spring tears.
Luxianbei turned back and said with a straight face, “Don’t be scared! Under the care of the muscular brothers, soon, you’ll only be left with happiness!”
The boy, “！！！”
In the next moment, his vision was filled with the strong physique of the Special Action Team members.
“Hehehe—!”
Accompanied by laughter like the clanging of barbells, looking up, all he could see were muscular men grinning widely, showing off white teeth…
————
After leaving the small gym, Luxianbei walked briskly, turning a corner and arriving at the master bedroom door.
This should be the place… he thought, silently taking out the Blessing God Copper Coin from his pocket.
Whether or not there was an urban legend in the room, the front indicated yes, while the back indicated no.
“Ding——!”
The back, no… Luxianbei pondered the predicted outcome, furrowing his brow.
If there were no urban legends inside, then where was that strange spirit energy fluctuation coming from, except from Du Sixian?
Thinking this, Luxianbei tossed the copper coin into the air again.
“Ding——!”
The previous divination result hadn’t been disturbed; the front indicated yes, and the back indicated no.
…
Luxianbei silently murmured, tossing the copper coin into the air and quickly catching it. He repeated this three times, tossing a total of six times before nodding.
It’s better to be a bit cautious on the first investigation of an urban legend event.
After tossing the coin six times, and all results indicated no urban legend present in the room, only then did he confidently raise his hand and knock on the door.
Although the divination result showed no urban legend in the room, as long as he could confirm that the odd spirit energy fluctuation originated from the urban legend game, he could use the props obtained from the Siye Society to continue the investigation.
So Luxianbei felt it was still necessary to check the situation.
“Knock knock knock——!”
He knocked rhythmically three times and stepped back graciously after hearing hurried footsteps behind the door.
With a creak, the door opened, and Du Sixian came to meet him. According to their prior agreement, she pretended not to know Luxianbei at all and asked in surprise, “Uh? May I ask what you need?”
Luxianbei slightly bowed, “Well, I’m the service worker for you guys. I heard someone seemingly screaming upstairs, so I came to check the situation.”
While speaking, Luxianbei let his slightly heated gaze sweep into the room. His sight brushed over the trio from Yang Yi’s group, and he couldn’t help but pause slightly.
In the room, besides Du Sixian, every person was entwined with a semi-transparent red thread, with some wrapped around fingertips, some at the hair tips, and one extending into the bathroom.
However, Yang Yi’s red thread even pierced through his chest!
This was likely related to the differences in each person’s operation processes during the urban legend game…
But why didn’t Du Sixian have one? Was it because she was a spiritual ability user?
Luxianbei pondered and discreetly extended his spirit perception along the red thread towards the bathroom to detect the situation there.
In the bathroom, separated by just a wall, the spirit energy fluctuation of the urban legend had not intensified, and Jacob showed no signs of gradually losing his life. For now, there appeared to be no danger.
After a brief silence, Luxianbei quickly retracted his mind and slightly nodded at Du Sixian, “May I ask if there’s anything I can help you with?”
Just then, as Luxianbei was conversing with Du Sixian, Yang Yi, who had been trying to enter the bathroom to check the situation, looked over.
Upon seeing Luxianbei at the door, he was momentarily stunned, his complexion shifting between white and blue, exclaiming, “Luxianbei, how are you here? What are you doing?”
During this time, Luxianbei had been subtly warning them not to participate in the urban legend game.
They had never encountered someone as nagging as Luxianbei, who was more persistent than a hen laying eggs and could appear as mysteriously as a teacher by the window, moving faster than a wild horse.
Like a ghost, he brought them immense psychological trauma.
Now, with the shock Jacob had brought them not yet faded, Luxianbei suddenly appearing here was truly the worst of times, with trouble not arriving alone!
“What am I doing here?” Luxianbei took half a step back, slightly displaying his uniform to Yang Yi, “Can’t you tell? I’m just working part-time!”
Indeed, it was a part-time job, although not as a hotel service worker, but rather as a part-time investigator for urban legend events.
Luxianbei added in his mind, continuing, “But what about you guys…”
He spoke while glancing around, his gaze pausing on the large bed in the room, large enough to accommodate four to five people for a group activity, squinting his eyes.
“What are all of you doing gathered up in this room? You better not be doing anything inexplicably troublesome that would cause issues for the hotel!”
Yang Yi furrowed his brow slightly, his peripheral vision drifting towards the tightly closed bathroom door, his eyes gradually filling with panic.
He wondered just what was happening to Jacob inside the bathroom. If he really encountered an urban legend attack, it was possible he had already…
If the hotel’s service workers discovered a dead person in their room, wouldn’t they definitely call the police?
If the police came, would they be able to explain themselves at all?
If this matter was reported by the police to the school, their chances in the next election would probably be dashed…
Yang Yi’s thoughts darkened, and without revealing any emotion, he shifted his body to block the bathroom door, saying sternly, “We… we haven’t done anything. Right?”
Luxianbei, “…” Never noticed before, but this guy is quite dark!
Black Uncle is likely stuck in the bathroom and may have encountered an urban legend, and he still wants to hide it?
Seeing that Luxianbei had no intention of leaving, Yang Yi turned away and signaled to the green tea girl and the silly sweet girl inside the room.
“Mmhm.” The silly sweet girl nodded, her face unable to hide her worry.
“That’s right! We’re just playing games!” The green tea girl showcased her remarkable acting skills, innocently declaring, obviously the main player in this.
Seeing this, Yang Yi secretly sighed in relief.
His thinking was quite simple; just get the hotel employee Luxianbei out of the way and then plan after confirming the situation in the bathroom.
If someone indeed died, he could just push the blame onto Du Sixian. After all, it was her party and her idea for this urban legend game.
He thought the process was simple, but he didn’t realize there was an “inside man” among them!
“We were playing an urban legend game!” Du Sixian suddenly stated.
Yang Yi, “…”
“An urban legend game?” Luxianbei raised an eyebrow, surprised, “Could it be ‘Hide and Seek Alone’?”
Yang Yi looked displeased, staring deeply at Luxianbei, “Does it have anything to do with you? We…”
Before Yang Yi could finish his sentence, Du Sixian interrupted again, “Exactly! It’s the game you mentioned!”
She, Du Sixian, was the old insider.
“You really played that game?” Luxianbei pretended to be serious, “This is bad! I’ve warned you guys time and again not to participate in that game. Why didn’t you listen?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Yi’s brows furrowed tightly, “When did you…”
Halfway through, a flash of memory crossed his mind, recalling the times Luxianbei had been nagging them, and his expression changed. His words abruptly cut off.
He suddenly realized that aside from Luxianbei’s eight parts of trash talk, there was indeed a sliver of warning hidden among the remaining content: this game was dangerous!
“You’ve known this game was dangerous all along?!” The silly sweet girl finally caught on and exclaimed, as if she had discovered treasure, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
Luxianbei, “…”
Girl, people shouldn’t…
Forget it. Who told you to be the silly sweet girl?
In Luxianbei’s brief silence, the green tea girl suddenly leaned closer to him, grabbing his wrist and speaking in a tone that seemed to be coaxing, “Luxianbei, actually, I’ve always thought you were a pretty good person…”
“Don’t say that. If your boyfriend hears it, he might get angry,” Luxianbei interrupted.
This way of speaking felt oddly familiar… The green tea girl froze for a moment but continued, “I don’t have a boyfriend! A girl like me usually doesn’t attract anyone, you know?”
“Good that you know!” Luxianbei replied, expressionless and firmly.
The green tea girl, “…”
She looked at Luxianbei, as if the Longjing tea from West Lake was looking at the Biluochun from Dongting Lake, confirming they were on the same wavelength, so she stopped the teasing and got to the point.
“Luxianbei, since you know that this urban legend game is dangerous, you must also know how to solve the danger, right?”
The silly sweet girl perked up upon hearing this, “Right! Luxianbei, you must have a way, right? Please help us!”
Luxianbei opened his mouth, ready to say something when Yang Yi interjected in a strange tone, “What good is it to ask him for help? If he could help, he wouldn’t just be discouraging us!”
At that time, when nothing had been confirmed, what else could I do besides warning you? Luxianbei privately grumbled, shaking his head at Yang Yi, “They can be saved, but you… might find it difficult!”
“You…” Yang Yi pointed at Luxianbei, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
“What do you mean, what?” Luxianbei brushed his hand away, pouting, “I’ve seen it; your situation is different from theirs. Your operation process during the urban legend game must also differ from theirs, right?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Yi’s face instantly turned pale. He subconsciously clenched his fist, hiding the wound from a needle prick on his fingertip.
The green tea girl, who had continuously persuaded Yang Yi to drop bl**d into the doll’s body, changed her expression as well. Without giving any indication, she moved away from him, retreating to the farthest corner.
“Looks like I’ve hit the nail on the head,” Luxianbei said calmly. “However, on behalf of everyone being classmates, as long as…”
Luxianbei initially wanted to say that he would help resolve the issue for a fee of a few thousand or eight thousand but noticed Du Sixian’s serious expression and couldn’t bring himself to say it. He could only clear his throat and shift the topic.
“Ahem, as long as you all cooperate well, I will try my best to help you.”
In front of his fellow members and colleagues, it wasn’t good to act as he pleased, which would tarnish his grand image; that made him quite annoyed! Luxianbei thought.
“Can you really do it?” Yang Yi asked cautiously.
“Why not?” Luxianbei shot him an eye roll, “Although I appear to be an ordinary college student, I’m actually a disciple of the Dachunyang Palace…”
… next to the Nameless Taoist Temple. Luxianbei secretly added.
“Oh my god! Is it really that legendary Dachunyang Palace?!”
As soon as Luxianbei’s words fell, Du Sixian couldn’t help but exclaim. It was hard to tell if she was playing along with Luxianbei’s act or if she genuinely knew about Dachunyang Palace, but it was certainly extravagant.
Seeing this, Yang Yi furrowed his brows and asked, “Miss Du, it seems you know about that… what’s the name of that palace?”
“As an urban legend enthusiast, how could I not know? I’ve heard many people go to that place seeking ways to resolve urban legends, and the purple micro fortune talisman obtained there is particularly effective at protecting one’s self!”
Luxianbei, “？？？”
Wait! What?
The purple micro fortune talisman isn’t something the Ancestor originally created to swindle donations, right? How did it end up in the hands of Dachunyang Palace? Can’t you respect intellectual property?
No, I mean…
I, the grandson of Qing Ji, need money!
Luxianbei mused, secretly adding another course to the lessons he would be learning with Qing Ji—drawing talismans.
No matter how bold and showy ordinary people were, when faced with d*ath, they would inevitably lose their nerve.
Seeing Du Sixian praise Luxianbei’s alleged mentorship highly, Yang Yi finally moved aside, gesturing for Luxianbei to proceed, “By all means, if you can get in.”
Luxianbei stepped forward, turned the doorknob, and furrowed his brow.
He had tried hard but only received faint “clicking” sounds in return; the door had been locked from the inside, and he even sensed a weak spirit energy fluctuation from the doorknob.
“…”
After pondering for two seconds, Luxianbei said, “No worries—it’s a minor problem; I have a way to solve it! You all stay put and don’t wander around; I’ll be right back.”
Saying this, he turned and left the master bedroom, heading to the adjoining gym to find the guitar bag that the Special Action Team brothers had helped carry, retrieving the Ming King Statue.
One minute later, he returned to the master bedroom, holding the Ming King Statue in one hand, locked the main door again, and under everyone’s astonished gaze, stepped forward, lifting the Ming King Statue to aim at the bathroom door lock…
Everyone, “？？？ Is this how you solve problems?”
“DUANG——DUANG——!”
With two muffled sounds, the door lock fell off, and Luxianbei turned to the crowd, “Did you say anything just now?”
Everyone, “No, please go on.”
And count you as DIO!
“Creak——!” Luxianbei gently pushed the door open.
A wave of cold wind rushed in, biting to the bone. The bathroom window had unknowingly opened, and Jacob stood by the window, eyes closed, a faint smile on his lips, clearly a bit out of his mind.
His upper body was pulled outward at about a seventy-degree angle by the red thread, and he was about to topple out the window.
Inside the bathroom, a small mirror faced the window, but the reflection was pitch black; Jacob’s figure didn’t show, nor did the view outside the window, but it reflected a pale, grim-faced boy floating in the air.
The boy was suspended, with his abdomen split open. Four red threads extended like intestines spilling out, with the other ends connected to the four members of Yang Yi’s group.
Seeing the bizarre situation in the bathroom, Yang Yi and the others were stunned in fear, standing frozen in place. In their daze, Luxianbei swiftly stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Jacob’s waist, and pulled him back inside.
Then, reaching out, he grasped one of the red threads in front of him and swiftly wound it several times tightly around his own hand.
Got you! You little 0.7 rabbit! Luxianbei thought, his gaze sharpening slightly.
