Chapter 30: Snatch!
“……”
In the silence, Bai Kai looked at Lu Yibei. His face was still that of a poker face, and he was still that young man, yet he felt somewhat unfamiliar.
While drawing spirit patterns for Lu Yibei, he had already discovered that Lu Yibei had somehow obtained the powers of the witch-themed urban legend, but it wasn’t until five minutes ago that he considered it seriously.
After all, a quarter of an urban legend’s bloodline is still an urban legend’s bloodline!
As one grows older, it’s not surprising to find some powers of urban legends emerging within oneself.
A long while passed.
Bai Kai suddenly laughed, “Not that, Xiao Bei, why do that? Don’t you know I’m currently investigating this matter?”
“You can change the subject; I can help with anything else.”
“Water Brother…” Lu Yibei said seriously, “This time’s Hundred Demons Walk may be far more serious than you understand. Relying solely on the Siye Society may not be enough to cope with it.”
Bai Kai frowned slightly, then relaxed and smiled, continuing to brush it off, “Xiao Bei, you’d better not get involved. The Siye Society has more experience in dealing with the Hundred Demons Walk.”
“By the way, you can let me know those things you just said, but don’t let other Siye Society members hear them, especially Li Xuan. If he hears it, he might report you to the Siye Association Headquarters!”
Seeing that he could not convince Bai Kai, Lu Yibei pondered for a moment and then suddenly asked, “The Pestilence Taijie is the heavenly emperor of the year, so it must not be provoked. If provoked, it brings disaster…”
“Water Brother, have you heard any descriptions of this urban legend’s powers somewhere?”
Although Lu Yibei did not perfectly recount the whisper he heard from Mu Se in his dream, doing so could very likely attract the attention of some dangerous existence.
The last time he randomly mentioned Zigu’s description, he had worried for a long time, eventually attracting Jumeng, a particularly terrifying urban legend. He did not want to make the same mistake again.
But even this incomplete content was enough for Bai Kai to think of many things.
Upon hearing Lu Yibei’s words, Bai Kai’s expression changed slightly, his gaze deepening, “X Taijie? Could it be that this Hundred Demons Walk is being orchestrated by it?”
“X Taijie?”
Upon hearing Bai Kai blurt out the name of the urban legend, Lu Yibei was taken aback, “What kind of urban legend is that? It sounds strangely cyberpunk.”
To be honest, when Bai Kai mentioned “X Taijie,” Lu Yibei had already visualized a bizarre, enormous creature in his mind.
Its pink, slick body was interwoven with various futuristic metallic instruments, covered in neon lights that seemed to serve no purpose aside from creating light pollution.
Could it be a creation born from the Solar Eclipse Society’s mad experiments?
Seemingly sensing Lu Yibei’s confusion, Bai Kai explained, “Xiao Bei, for cataclysm-grade urban legends, even if their descriptions of powers aren’t fully stated, just calling their names can elicit a faint response.”
“Though that level of response usually isn’t dangerous, to be safe, the Siye Society internally conceals part of their names.”
Lu Yibei, “……”
Ah, didn’t Jiang Li just call out Haze God, uh, the Teletubbies the other day?
Is she not afraid of being targeted?
Then with me constantly mentioning Jumeng, she wouldn’t have a response to that, would she?
Thinking of this, Lu Yibei rested his chin in contemplation for two seconds, then slightly nodded.
It should be unlikely; the Stinky Sister is just a noisy character; apart from tricking people into food and drink, she has no real skill.
Muttering in his mind, Lu Yibei asked, “Water Brother, what’s the origin of X Taijie? Is it very terrifying?” he further inquired.
“……”
Bai Kai fell silent for a moment, glanced around, and beckoned Lu Yibei, saying, “Xiao Bei, let’s move to another place to talk.”
Ever since the night became longer, excessive discussions surrounding an urban legend had indeed invited attack incidents. Discussing a cataclysm-grade urban legend on the street isn’t wise, even without directly mentioning its name.
Not to mention, this is the entrance of Mudan Street, less than five hundred meters from the Siye Society Headquarters…
————
The Siye Society first discovered the existence of Pestilence Taijie four years ago.
At that time, the night had just begun to grow lengthy, daylight had only decreased by less than half an hour, and people’s lives had yet to be significantly impacted.
The discovery of Pestilence Taijie occurred in a relatively large private sanatorium located in a remote area.
On the surface, this sanatorium provided various healing services, but in reality, it treated infectious diseases, tumors, and certain injuries that were best kept hidden, while also…
Extracting small items from some unclaimed corpses for a bit of extra cash.
…
In a luxurious private room completely sealed off by Bai Kai’s spell formula within an underground entertainment club.
Lu Yibei couldn’t help but interrupt half of what Bai Kai was saying, “Wait a second, Water Brother, isn’t it illegal for a private hospital to treat infectious diseases?”
“So they’re operating under the guise of a sanatorium!” Bai Kai rolled his eyes, “Besides, how could such a luxurious hospital be built in such a remote place without some issues?”
“In this world, there are always people who find it hard to speak about their illnesses for various reasons, fearing the judgment of others, and lacking the courage to go to a proper hospital for treatment.”
“Moreover, it was later discovered that the hospital was secretly selling the organs of corpses.”
“Got it!” Lu Yibei nodded.
Just like those scammy black clinics, or the underground hospitals often featured in gang movies that help the boss take out bullets, or the quick remedies cancer patients resort to when they have nowhere left to turn.
Rich people also likely need places like this, right?
Just that one leads to money and d*ath, while the other might only be out for profit without killing. Lu Yibei thought.
…
Where there’s demand and profit, there’s supply. Thus, a hospital claiming to “perfectly protect patient privacy” was born.
This private hospital was situated on a hillside next to a small town that can no longer be found on the map.
That town was beautiful, with a pleasant climate and a legend that offered considerable psychological comfort to the sick.
According to legend, long ago, a sorcerer who learned to master the arts of ghost and deity served in the imperial court shortly after being recommended by someone, quickly gaining the emperor’s trust.
One day, the emperor asked the sorcerer about the method of attaining immortality; he told the emperor all sorts of magical medicines from ancient texts.
The emperor was overjoyed and immediately rewarded him with a thousand taels of gold, ordering the sorcerer to seek materials for concocting those magical medicines.
The sorcerer took on this task for six years, during which he traversed numerous famous mountains and rivers, collecting a large number of treasures believed to prolong life. However, he could never find the legendary elixir of immortality.
Six years is a long time, enough to wear down someone’s patience; as the emperor aged and grew physically weaker, his thirst for immortality grew stronger, eventually ordering the sorcerer to bring back the elixir within a year or face dire consequences.
Under the weight of imperial power, the sorcerer dared not delay. The next day, he left the capital with a horse caravan of over a dozen people, embarking on the quest for the elixir.
Later, during their expedition to search for the legendary mountain, the caravan was caught in an earthquake while traveling at night. The horses panicked and fled in all directions, leading to a loss of supplies and casualties, making it impossible to continue.
In desperation, the sorcerer commanded his subordinates to find a clear area to camp and bury the deceased while sending others to surrounding towns to purchase supplies.
After setting up the camp and burying the dead, about half a day later, the subordinates sent to buy supplies returned with a peculiar item.
They brought back something that filled a pottery jar, its entire body resembling red jade, round and soft to the touch as if it were meat, but even more pliable, with a layer of slippery and sticky substance on its surface.
What surprised the sorcerer most was that when he cut off a piece with a kn*fe, there was no bl**d, and within an hour, the cut had healed perfectly.
After studying it closely, the sorcerer suddenly recalled an ancient text mentioning a strange object called “Taijie,” which greatly resembled what was in the jar.
Observing its color, it was even more likely to be the top-grade “bl**d Taijie” among spirit mushrooms.
Recalling the description in the books that “the Taijie, when consumed, can regenerate and restore the body,” the sorcerer promptly ordered his men to bring the injured members of their caravan. They cut a piece from the bl**d Taijie brought back by his subordinate and fed it to them. Within half an hour, the injured fully recovered and resumed running as before.
Seeing the injured heal, the sorcerer realized he had found the substance the emperor coveted for immortality. He was overjoyed and asked the subordinates who recovered the bl**d Taijie where they found it.
They replied that twenty miles away from the camp, there was a mountain village wrapped in white clouds, surrounded by peaks, and flowing water like a mirror. After the earthquake, the villagers went to investigate and found the item among the mountain’s fissures.
Upon seeing birds and beasts in the mountains consume this item, the villagers took it home and cooked it.
Later, the sorcerer sent people to the mountain village to search for bl**d Taijie and found a total of seventy-two pounds and six ounces, which they transported back to the capital and presented to the emperor, helping him extend his life for over eighteen years.
…
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei couldn’t help but exclaim, “The emperor ate such a thing and didn’t d*e? Even more ridiculous, people actually believed it!”
“If such legends spread, wouldn’t it really give rise to an urban legend?”
“Who knows!” Bai Kai shrugged, “Up to now, there are still two different viewpoints within the Siye Society regarding the origin of Pestilence Taijie.”
“Some believe it was born from that legend.”
“Others think that the sorcerer didn’t manage to gather all the bl**d Taijie back, and the remaining part regenerated over hundreds of years, fed by the tainted waste water released by that hospital, which contained significant amounts of viruses, bacteria, and internal organ scraps, ultimately becoming an urban legend.”
“In fact, records show that a large number of the people who went to that private hospital for treatment were drawn there because of the legend about bl**d Taijie…”
…
Using slogans like “Protecting patient privacy, restoring your health,” and backed by local folklore, the name of that hospital, already floating on the legal gray areas, quickly gained popularity.
Initially, many who sought treatment there miraculously recovered, further solidifying beliefs among some that the sanatorium housed bl**d Taijie.
Before long, it gathered numerous wealthy and powerful patrons, many of whom faced imminent d*ath, as well as plenty of schemers hoping to find bl**d Taijie.
At its peak, the sanatorium hosted around five hundred patients and over a hundred medical staff.
This situation persisted until a single patient went missing, leading to gradual changes.
He was a man suffering from a rare lung disease, whose lungs were filled with strange tissues like fragments of leaves, barely able to survive through repeated lung wash surgeries.
Sometimes, when regular medical treatment proves ineffective, people tend to seek more esoteric remedies.
Thus, the man came to the sanatorium.
…
“Leaf-like growths in the lungs?” Lu Yibei frowned, “That sounds like Nightfall Syndrome, doesn’t it?”
“It indeed had a high probability of being Nightfall Syndrome,” Bai Kai remarked. “But a few years ago, that term didn’t exist, and people were too ignorant of Nightfall Syndrome, considering it just a rare illness.”
“And then?” Lu Yibei pressed.
“Then…”
…
The man’s illness was so severe that he died that same night upon arrival at the sanatorium.
According to insiders who once worked at the sanatorium, that man was repeatedly tormented by despair and horror from suffocation throughout the night, producing terrifying groans that lasted until the early hours.
Soon, his d*ath sent the sanatorium into a panic.
In past cases of dying patients, those with families would usually notify them to take their loved ones home, while unclaimed bodies would be disposed of by the sanatorium through undisclosed means.
However, the man’s situation was too unusual. After learning of his d*ath, his son and remarried wife got into a dispute over the inheritance, causing a commotion at the sanatorium, yet no one offered to take his body away.
Thus, the body, which had been acknowledged but unclaimed, was temporarily stored in a small room next to the waste disposal area.
Then.
The next night, his body vanished…
Immediately after, the night-shift nurses frequently heard strange sounds in the corridor late at night, like someone running, footsteps sounding as if they were stepping on something slippery and sticky, along with whispered voices, yet nothing was found when they followed the sounds.
Even more strangely, food and medical supplies in the sanatorium often inexplicably grew significant amounts of mold.
The growth rate of that mold was exceptionally quick; sometimes, it would be absent one moment, and in the blink of an eye, it would appear on food or bed sheets like a hallucination.
However, while the sanatorium was busy dealing with disputes with the deceased’s family, they were also focused on covering up their misdeeds regarding the unclaimed body, and these unusual details went initially unnoticed.
It wasn’t until a caretaker died in the wastewater treatment pool that anything changed. Nobody knew why she went there late at night, only that she vanished for a couple of days and her body was already highly decomposed, as if corroded by acid.
Following that caretaker’s d*ath, a rumor began circulating that anyone who came into contact with that mold would attract the urban legend and d*e in the wastewater treatment pool.
As the urban legend spread, panic set in, and the once-thriving sanatorium quickly emptied, leaving only a few dozen unclaimed patients and several medical staff.
Not long after, dozens of people also went missing…
When those missing people’s families contacted the police, the police then reported to the Siye Society, which sent investigators to investigate, only to find Pestilence Taijie in the wastewater pool beneath the sanatorium.
That twisted and bizarre urban legend frightened the investigating Siye Society operatives, as its existence felt like a desecration of nature’s creations. They immediately eliminated it and sealed its remains.
…
“Wait a minute! Water Brother!” Lu Yibei interrupted again, “Was it really eliminated and sealed? How could it still develop into a cataclysm-grade urban legend? Did something go wrong in between?”
“If it were that easy to eliminate, that would be something!” Bai Kai replied sternly. “While it may only be ranked twenty-sixth on the Siye Society’s wanted list, it’s definitely among the hardest urban legends to deal with. Based on evaluations every year, it rises two or three ranks—I can tell that much.”
“I’ve heard that if you leave it even a grain-sized piece of its tissue, it can quickly regain its strength.”
“And by the time that operative discovered it at the sanatorium, its tissue had long since spread into the underground water layers of the sanatorium, contaminating the entire city along with the water flow.”
“Less than three months after that operative eliminated it, an emerald green poisonous fog engulfed the entire city, and everyone who inhaled it became a breeding ground for Pestilence Taijie.”
“Not long after, the Siye Society in that city… was completely wiped out!”
Bai Kai paused after saying this, raised the amber liquid in his glass, and downed it in one gulp, then murmured, “Xiao Bei, do you still dare to go against it now?”
Actually, there was nothing to be afraid of. Nothing happened when I offended the Haze God, right?
Lu Yibei thought, staring directly into Bai Kai’s eyes, and said seriously, “Water Brother, I heard from someone that if I can connect my aura with the veins of Huacheng through the Hundred Demons Walk, I can stop Pestilence Taijie.”
“Is that saying reliable?”
“Who told you that?” Bai Kai asked in surprise.
“A friend,” Lu Yibei said expressionlessly. “Don’t mind who it is; just tell me if it’s reliable or not.”
“It is indeed possible, but…” Bai Kai hesitated.
“At a time like this, don’t hesitate!” Lu Yibei interjected. “If it’s possible, why don’t you let me try? Besides me, which urban legend is suitable for this?”
“This…” Bai Kai rubbed his forehead, speaking earnestly, “But Xiao Bei, the Hundred Demons Walk is not as simple as you think.”
“First, you need at least a couple of followers.”
“I have two,” Lu Yibei replied.
“……”
Bai Kai stared at Lu Yibei for a few seconds in silence before continuing, “Secondly, you need a large number of urban legend followers, and most urban legends in your Hundred Demons Walk area must know of your existence. That’s quite difficult…”
“I probably meet that condition too.” Lu Yibei nodded.
With the name Wang Buliu, formerly Lu Yibei, the Huacheng Bomber, once mentioned, many urban legends should know, right?
Bai Kai, “……”
What has Xiao Bei been up to that I don’t know about?
How does this sound even scarier than what Xiao Hua has done?
He stared blankly at Lu Yibei, feeling a complex mix of emotions that made him feel as if he had aged decades in an instant.
It felt like having originally thought his child was a top student, harmless and just a bit mischievous, only to find out unexpectedly that they had secretly become a bigwig in the underworld.
“Lastly, and most importantly,” Bai Kai looked straight into Lu Yibei’s eyes, “You might have to face the challenge of all the urban legends in Huacheng. Do you think you can win?”
“Uh…” Lu Yibei frowned, calmly analyzing, thinking for a moment, and then said seriously, “What am I thinking! Of course, I can’t!”
Bai Kai, “……” That’s my Bei Bei for you!
After a moment of silent pondering, he seemed to make a decision, clenched his fist, and said, “Then there’s only a clever way to do it, which will allow me to help you!”
If we utilize the power of the Huacheng Barrier, Xiao Bei’s safety should barely be guaranteed, but afterward… Bai Kai thought.
“What’s the plan?”
Upon hearing Lu Yibei’s question, Bai Kai refocused his mind and blurted out, “Snatch!”
