Chapter 32: Hair and Song
One hour ago.
In the basement of the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel.
In a vast and dark space, faint light shone from an invisible source, and the air was filled with a damp, rotten smell.
A number of electric steam boilers had long ceased operation, lying dormant in the shadows like gigantic coffins. Occasional surreptitious sounds made one feel that terrifying monsters were imprisoned within those cylindrical metal boilers.
This was the boiler room and wastewater treatment station of the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel.
In the darkness, Luxianbei muttered nervously.
“These high-end resorts really are heartless. They advertise themselves as hot springs hotels, but the water is all boiled! And they hide the boiler room so deep underground. Tsk, I really want to report them…”
A man replied, “…… Mind your own business! You sound surprisingly just!”
“…… If I report them, there should be a reward, right?”
In the darkness, the man’s mouth twitched subtly.
Even in a situation like this, he’s thinking about a reward. What is wrong with this person’s brain?
“You know, with such poor sanitary conditions, wouldn’t bathing with the water cooked here lead to skin diseases? Oh, by the way, in your urban legends, is there anyone who mutated into a legend because of skin diseases, like a sewer mermaid or something?”
“No!”
“Oh, that’s a pity!” Luxianbei sighed. “By the way, what type of urban legend are you? Aberration type? Evil spirit type? Surely not witch type?”
The man frowned, impatiently growled, “d*mn! Don’t you fear d*ath?”
“Of course I do!” Luxianbei replied gloomily. “I’m scared to d*ath!”
How could one not be afraid after witnessing such a scene?
In fact, even now, he felt as if he could still hear the raucous cicada calls mixed with the sound of flesh being chewed.
……
A few minutes ago.
The man who broke into the resort hotel was stopped by operatives from the Siye Association stationed there.
Just when Luxianbei thought he had encountered a savior and a brutal battle was about to erupt, the bloody scene extinguished the flicker of hope that had just risen in his heart.
The Siye operatives rushed in, and in the next moment, a cacophony of cicada sounds filled the air. They stopped a couple of meters away from the man, their bodies seeming to freeze in place.
The cicada sounds, filled with madness and malice, erupted from the man, growing stronger.
Following that, the ghastly scars on his body were torn apart by something, releasing a foul odor.
Bloodied cicadas crawled out from the gaps in his flesh, and his body quickly withered away, leaving only a skeleton and a skin.
The bl**d-drenched cicadas took flight, accompanied by dense, noisy sounds that made one’s head spin, resembling a swarm of dark red clouds, charging toward the Siye operatives.
The cicadas were ruthless, flooding into their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, and with cries of anguish, their living bodies burst into showers of bl**d, leaving only white bones in an instant.
Those cicadas were eating people!
Luxianbei’s temples throbbed, and his stomach twisted uncontrollably.
After rabbit meat and frozen food, cicada pupae were also crossed off his gourmet list.
Witnessing such a scene, feeling unwell and afraid, but still…
“But the more scared I am, the more I want to talk! I’m desperate too! Anyway, you won’t k*ll me for now, so talking a bit can ease my anxiety. You’re carrying me the whole time, it must be pretty boring, right? Come on, let’s have a chat!”
“Shut up! If you keep talking, I’ll cut off your tongue and stuff it in your a**! Pull out all your teeth and stick them on your face!”
I’ll talk to you! Do you even know what situation you’re in right now?
At first, the man thought taking Luxianbei from that person and bringing him here would be an easy job, but it turned out to be a tough one!
This guy is really annoying!
After the shout, it was quiet for less than a minute.
“I… actually know a little ventriloquism.”
Luxianbei’s voice faintly emerged from the darkness.
At the moment when the facial injuries were the most severe, Luxianbei couldn’t even open his mouth; he thought he would never have the chance to speak again. In preparation for the long haul, he had indeed studied ventriloquism for a while.
The man, “……”
A vein on his forehead suddenly bulged, and with a thud, he threw Luxianbei onto the stone cover of the wastewater pool.
His back violently hit the concrete slab, feeling as if he had been struck by a giant hammer, and Luxianbei let out a muffled groan, feeling that all his bones were about to fall apart.
Revenge! Pure and unadulterated revenge! Is it too much to talk a little bit?
I’ve been cooped up in the hospital for almost two years, accumulating a pile of things I want to say! Now that I’m about to d*e, can’t I let it out a little?
As Luxianbei pondered, he suddenly felt a chill, as if something had its eyes on him.
“Rustle——!”
In the darkness, a series of faint sounds reached his ears. Threads of darkness extended from the gaps of the wastewater pool stone cover, flowing like dark water.
In the weak light, Luxianbei barely discerned their form; those sneaky sounds in the darkness were all hair!
Strands coiled together, twisted into the thickness of an arm, crawling toward him like venomous snakes, wrapping around his limbs and binding him tight against the stone slab of the wastewater pool.
The dry and coarse touch on his skin sent chills down Luxianbei’s spine.
“Wait, big brother, can you not use this stuff to tie me up? Please! It feels weird; I won’t run away, I can’t escape, right?”
“Shut up! Do you have a choice?” The man growled, eyes gleaming with malice.
Luxianbei shrank his neck, “…… I shouldn’t expect these urban legends to have any humanitarian spirit towards captives.”
Seeing Luxianbei quiet down, the man coldly snorted, ripping open a scar on his body with bare hands. He pulled out a palm-sized iron box, opened it, and took out a crystal bottle.
The crystal bottle contained a gelatinous light-colored liquid, approximately half full, emitting a faint, ghostly glow.
The man applied slight pressure with his fingertips, and the bottle shattered with a pop, turning into powder that quickly dissipated into the air.
The pale gelatinous liquid floated before him, and as it encountered air, it seemed to sense the breath of freedom, emitting piercing screams as it began to writhe wildly, revealing twisted faces in agony.
This was the Primordial Spirit, enough for three people.
Whether used to enhance strength or to cast spell formulas, it was more than enough.
“Pop——!” The man rubbed his index finger and thumb together, a wisp of bl**d-red flame ignited at his fingertip. He brought the flame to scorch the writhing Primordial Spirit while chanting a spell in a language Luxianbei could not understand, quickly forming complex hand seals.
Soon, the screams ceased.
Replaced by silence.
The Primordial Spirit was drawn by some force, stretching and outlining strange incantations in the air.
The dense incantations resembled a sun totem but lacked any warmth or hope.
As the spell gradually took shape, a cold smile appeared on the man’s lips, thinking, once that rabbit arrives and completes the witch’s egg nurturing ritual, I can reap the fruits of victory, right?
From the beginning, he never intended for Mr. Rabbit to succeed.
The reward of ten Primordial Spirits would not satisfy him; even with the twenty promised by Mr. Rabbit once the deed was done, it wouldn’t be enough!
However, with just a little effort to capture a newly formed witch-type urban legend and refine it slightly, he could gain over two hundred Primordial Spirits!
The man’s sinister grin emerged under the glow of the Primordial Spirit, causing Luxianbei to ponder inwardly.
What’s going on? Something seems off! Is this the rhythm of black eating black?
Time ticked by, and a few minutes later.
The spell to confine Mr. Rabbit was ready, the light gradually fading. With the man’s back, he slowly vanished into the darkness. Just as the light of the spell completely disappeared, an anomaly arose.
A dazzling crimson light instantly enveloped the entire underground boiler room.
It was as if the spirit energy of the entire space had solidified in this brilliant light, and the man’s form instantly froze in place.
The hair wrapped around Luxianbei suddenly became frenzied, rustling and crawling, followed by the stone cover beneath him shaking violently, as if something were about to escape from the wastewater pool.
Feeling the spirit energy around him turning into a quagmire, sealing his body, and draining his internal spirit energy little by little, the man’s expression changed dramatically.
“d*mn! That rabbit actually dared to…”
The man never expected that Mr. Rabbit would dare risk offending the Solar Eclipse Society and expend a large amount of Primordial Spirits to augment the spell, hoping to refine him.
In his rage and surprise, he was ready to cast a spell to break free when a loud noise came from the direction of the wastewater pool.
“Boom——!”
Luxianbei noticed the hair wrapping around him retreating; his mind was a fog. Before he could get up, the stone cover of the wastewater pool suddenly exploded, and a strong gust of wind instantly sent him flying.
Foul-smelling wastewater splattered everywhere, and the long hair wrapped in crimson light soared like a dragon, rising from the wastewater pool, following the spirit energy fluctuations, rushing toward the confined man, wrapping around his body inch by inch before he could cast his spell, sealing his mouth and nose.
Those strange hairs, summoned using the hair of the deceased to cast a spell, were set by Mr. Rabbit for the man and the soon-to-arrive An Qing and Jiang Li. Once they sensed the spirit energy fluctuations, they would launch a fierce attack.
Luxianbei emitted no spirit energy fluctuations, so he did not attract the hairs’ attention; he only got thrown around and left in a daze.
When he finally managed to collect himself, bracing against the wall and standing up, he turned to look back and could no longer see the man’s figure. All that was left in his sight was a gigantic cocoon woven from hair.
Those hairs, like serpents, continuously writhed and tightened, making rustling noises, while more hair crawled from the shadows, overwhelming him, sending shivers down his spine.
“Holy cr*p, is this the legendary black eating black? I can’t stay here!”
Luxianbei murmured quietly to himself while recalling the route he had mentally noted earlier, turning around and running toward the exit of the boiler room.
……
“Whoosh—— whoosh——!”
Under a canopy of crimson light, Luxianbei ran with his head down, when suddenly, a sound like ethereal singing filled his ears, like whispers carried by the wind, echoing from deep within his soul.
“…… Borrow me a pair of wise eyes ~♪
So I can see this chaos clearly and truthfully ~♪”
Luxianbei, “……”
d*mn! Here it comes again!
The last time I was attracted by this song, I ran into Mr. Rabbit and had a terrible time; I absolutely will not get close this time!
However, while his mouth refused, his body was honest.
He was drawn by the song, his legs uncontrollably taking steps toward the source of the sound.
Moving through a dark and narrow alley, the song became clearer. Soon, an open space came into view.
Suspended above the clearing was a fresh corpse, directly below it was a stone platform, almost covered with twisted crimson incantations extending from all sides toward the platform.
That bizarre stone egg Luxianbei had seen in the illusion was prominently placed on the stone platform.
“Tap——!”
bl**d dripped from the air, just landing squarely on the stone egg. The twisted female faces on the egg were instantly illuminated by the crimson glow, emanating inaudible whispers, which intertwined and transformed into song, drilling into Luxianbei’s mind.
At the same time, a similar voice echoed from deep within Luxianbei’s soul.
The two songs sang softly, one responding to the other, gradually forming a strange yet harmonious resonance, driving Luxianbei, like a walking corpse, to slowly approach the stone egg.
Greedy light flickered in his crimson eyes, and his dry, cracked lips moved as he muttered in near-madness, “Mine, that’s mine…”
Faint spirit energy fluctuations began to surge throughout his body, growing increasingly intense.
Then, from the darkness came a series of surreptitious sounds; the hair, having caught the scent of spirit energy on him, quickly surged over.
The song echoed in his mind as Luxianbei, in a daze, gradually drew closer to the stone egg.
Just as he reached out his hand, his fingertips about to touch the stone egg, a violent burning sensation warned him, causing him to suddenly awaken.
“d*mn!”
Seeing that his fingertips were less than a centimeter from the stone egg, Luxianbei’s pupils dilated slightly, he cursed under his breath and hurriedly pulled back.
This thing is way too sinister!
Even if it means ascension after acquiring it, I don’t want it!
Gotta run! I can’t risk something crazy happening again!
As Luxianbei thought this, he suddenly turned around, only to have a black strand of hair stealthily wrap around his ankle, silently creeping up his leg.
Then…
It suddenly pierced through his chest.
