Chapter 15: The Great Pharmacy and Old Friends
Jiang Li? Why is there a missing person notice with her picture here?
Didn’t she go on vacation? How could there be a notice that looks like it has her photo on it?
Wait, could her vacation route be the Dream Come True Journey?
After a brief reflection, Lu Xibei suddenly stood up, pressed against the car window, and reached out to grab the fluttering missing person notice to see what was going on.
However…
That thin piece of paper danced up and down in the strong wind created by the giant train, like a butterfly fluttering freely—it was clearly in front of her, yet she couldn’t grasp it at all.
In the end, she could only watch it fly away.
Two seconds after the missing person notice vanished from view, Lu Xibei made a bold decision: she was going to jump from the train.
Although this sounded dangerous, as someone who had seen the precious video compilation—”Railway Guerrillas”—of humans taming trains in their early days, she was confident she could land safely.
“Whoosh!” She pulled down the window, and a fierce wind rushed in, sweeping her fiery red hair around.
Standing at the open window, she tightened the strap of her guitar bag and crouched down, ready to jump outside.
Then.
She swiftly pulled back.
It was too high; she didn’t dare jump.
The giant train was traveling at a considerable speed and had already left the station with the Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop; below the tracks lay an abyss that seemed bottomless, from which eerie and terrifying roars faintly echoed.
Lu Xibei, “…”
Impulsive, impulsive! Even if that really is Jiang Li, I can’t risk my life for her!
Since the notice was posted, there had to be more than one, maybe the next station would have another.
Even if the next station didn’t have one, I could wait for the train to return and then look for it at Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop, right?
Lu Xibei thought to herself and quickly convinced herself with reason.
————
Not long after Lu Xibei left Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop station.
As the giant train departed, the passengers who got off at this station were gradually led away by the welcoming girls, disappearing through different exits, leaving the platform feeling increasingly desolate.
However.
Biesuzhen remained rigidly standing at the edge of the platform, afraid to move.
Seeing the number of people and urban legends on the platform dwindle, she knew this was not a solution—if she couldn’t find someone to help her, she would have to wait for the next giant train to come through.
That would mean waiting for more than thirty hours!
Just as Biesuzhen was pondering how to save herself, a surprised voice came from behind her.
“Su… Su Zhen? Is that you?”
She turned around to see an empty platform, and a familiar face appeared behind her, eyes wide with surprise. “What are you doing standing here?”
“You should report to Grandma now that you’re back! You’ve been gone for so long without a word. We thought something happened to you!”
The newcomer appeared to be a woman in her thirties to forties, her face fairly delicate but marked with fine wrinkles. She wore a wine-red bodycon dress that accentuated her alluring figure, giving off an air of “Though Xu Niang is old, she is still passionate.”
Seeing the woman, Biesuzhen felt as if she were looking at a family member, her nose tinged with emotion and nearly crying on the spot.
“Model sister, I’m so glad to see you. Please help me.”
The woman, known by the name Yun Jin, was a legendary presence at Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop.
As a human, she joined the custom shop at eighteen and had been there for twenty years, effortlessly transitioning her persona from the younger sister type to the older sister type and then to the mother type, fully embodying the spirit of dedication.
“Help you? How can I help you?” Yun Jiao suddenly noticed the exquisite little item in Biesuzhen’s arms, her eyes brightening. “Oh? What is this? It looks beautiful. Did a client give it to you?”
As she spoke, she reached out to take the glass bottle from Biesuzhen’s arms.
Many women have a natural resistance to beautiful things, and that small, exquisite glass bottle shimmered with dazzling rose-colored light, vaguely exuding waves of spirit energy, reminiscent of gems containing spirit energy.
Seeing Yun Jiao’s hand reaching out, Biesuzhen’s pupils constricted, and she hurriedly stopped her. “Don’t touch that! It’s a bomb!”
Yun Jiao, “???”
In the next three minutes, Biesuzhen, with a sobbing tone, briefly explained to Yun Jiao how she was abducted after being invited out at a high price and how the king of urban legends in Huacheng had forced a pile of bombs into her arms when she got off.
“Model sister, don’t be scared; it seems safe for now…”
“I-I’m not scared.”
“Not scared? Then why are you hiding so far away?” Biesuzhen rolled her eyes at Yun Jiao, who had retreated twenty meters and was crouched behind a stone pillar. “Anyway, hurry back and report to Grandma. I believe this is probably…”
“A terrorist attack!”
Upon hearing this, Yun Jiao quickly nodded, not daring to delay, and turned to sprint toward Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop.
Within Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop, there were over ten thousand guests every day, including several thousand employees. In such a densely populated place, leaving behind five devices capable of killing B-grade urban legends was indeed quite serious.
————
Twenty minutes later, inside Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop.
Biesuzhen was guided into a grand, antique room deep within the shop. Upon pushing the door open, a room rich with antiquity came into view.
This was a spacious room, adorned with a domed ceiling painted with golden peonies, supported by several carrara marble pillars. The walls were made from carved white stone bricks, adorned with gold orchids that bloomed splendidly amid the white stones, and red gauze curtains swayed gently in the breeze.
On a mahogany court lady’s chair, leaned a woman in sheer garments, her silky black hair styled into a snake braid. With gentle yet slightly heroic willow leaf eyebrows, her almond eyes carried a hint of weariness, and her black dress accentuated her slim figure, with two fair legs peeking out from beneath the skirt.
She looked like a thriving demonic flower, an ever-blooming black peony in Lan Zhe Inn.
This woman was the owner of Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop, known as Black Peony.
As Biesuzhen entered, the different-colored eyes of the sunflower parrot in the woman’s arms suddenly flapped its wings and landed on the ground. A flash of light, and a girl in a white dress appeared.
The girl was not only Black Peony’s pet and dependent but also her assistant, known as Xiuqiu.
However, the girls in the custom shop usually added “Miss” after her name.
“Su Zhen, I’ve already examined those little items you brought back; they are not bombs at all. You were tricked.”
Xiuqiu said, glancing at the dismantled alchemical dirty bombs on the nearby Eight Immortals table. “According to my analysis, the main components are only alchemical residues and a small amount of calamity water.”
“Such a mixture is typically quite stable and poses no danger.”
Upon hearing this, Black Peony stood up and walked over, gently patting Xiuqiu’s shoulder, softly saying, “Xiuqiu, sometimes we can’t simply consider the usual; after all, the other party is the king of urban legends in a city, and their actions cannot be assumed to follow common sense.”
As she spoke, she beckoned to an alchemical dirty bomb on the Eight Immortals table that had not yet been disassembled, and it floated up to her.
As her delicate fist surged up into the air, a powerful wave of spirit energy erupted forcefully from her delicate body.
Triggered by the surge of spirit energy, the pale light from the bottle intensified until it became blinding, and a small palm print slowly appeared on the small bottle.
Then, a violent burst of light gushed forth from the cracked bottle, spreading out in all directions, and a massive explosion erupted.
“Boom——!”
However, amid this violent explosion, no one showed fear; at most, they just raised their hands to shield their eyes from the intense light.
Every industry has its rules, but the premise for others to follow the rules is to possess enough strength. In places like Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop, this is even more crucial.
And Black Peony is the rule of Lan Zhe Inn. It is her very presence that has compelled those chaotic urban legends and vicious human criminals to gather without ever causing any trouble.
It could be said that Lan Zhe Inn is absolutely safe for those who abide by the rules; conversely, if necessary, she would also transform into the most terrifying of urban legends.
It is said that an A-grade urban legend once tried to cause trouble due to its overwhelming strength, but Black Peony made it silently disappear from Lan Zhe Inn in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.
As the roaring subsided, the explosion was firmly sealed within a certain range by Black Peony’s overwhelming wave of spirit energy, until the pale flames completely dissipated.
“See, Xiuqiu, this thing is quite powerful! I almost lost control.” She said softly, “I wonder what the intention of that urban legend king was in leaving behind such a thing.”
As she spoke, she turned to look at Biesuzhen, her demeanor calm yet somewhat indifferent.
“She…” Biesuzhen slightly parted her lips, pausing for a few seconds before explaining, “Reported to Grandma, the calamity said this was left for my self-defense.”
“Oh?” Black Peony raised an eyebrow, seeming somewhat surprised by Biesuzhen’s answer. “Then why did you tell Yun Jiao that this is a terrorist attack?”
“Uh, because…” Biesuzhen said weakly, “When she left, she didn’t tell me how to use it. I thought…”
“Alright.” Black Peony interrupted, “I generally understand. It seems she didn’t have obvious malicious intent. You can leave and rest for now!”
“Yes!” Biesuzhen responded, leaving the room with Yun Jiao, who had brought her there.
Once Biesuzhen and Yun Jiao walked far away, Xiuqiu leaned closer and quietly asked her master, “Mistress, are we not going to pursue this matter any further? After all, she also came from Huacheng; could there be some issues?”
Although Lan Zhe Inn, Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy, and Dream Come True Entertainment City were all on the same travel route and operated independently, the intelligence and news due to their proximity tended to be interconnected.
Recently, a mysterious girl from Huacheng had challenged the big boss of Dream Come True Entertainment City fourteen times, repeatedly failing, and her mysterious disappearance had long spread.
Xiuqiu could roughly guess where that girl had gone, so upon hearing about the king of urban legends from Huacheng appearing, she couldn’t help but feel a little sensitive.
“Of course not.” Black Peony squinted her eyes. “So you follow her and see what exactly she is up to.”
“Understood.” Xiuqiu bowed slightly and replied, then, with a flash of light, turned into a parrot and flew out the window.
————
If Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop is like paradise for some people or urban legends, decorated by its enchanting scenes, then Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy is pure hell.
Before the giant train reached the station of Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy, Lu Xibei already caught a whiff of the strong medicinal smell wafting in through the window.
That scent did not resemble the faint fragrance typical of Chinese medicine shops; it was more like a mixed odor of chemical agents combined with Chinese medicine, quite pungent.
Lu Xibei was very familiar with this smell; she had encountered it while making alchemical potions, and alchemical residues often had a similar scent.
As the train slowed down, a ravaged city came into view, giving off a sense of time displacement, as if having traveled to a wartime era.
The train traversed through the city, and what lay outside was a desolate view with remains and decaying steel scattered everywhere, and shadowy figures—emaciated, deep-set eyes, as if suffering from extreme malnutrition—stood in the dark corners beside the tracks, glaring at the train with unfriendly gazes, as if plotting something illicit.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and a large amount of dust floated in the air, making the city appear as if heavy machinery were in operation, with loud rumbling sounds. Towering smokestacks belched out acrid black smoke, and gaps in low buildings faintly revealed glimmers of lava-like flames.
Watching this devastated city, Lu Xibei couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
This place bore a striking resemblance to the city in her dreams; the difference was that in the dream city, it was silent as if it had already perished after a disaster.
Here, however, it seemed sick, gravely ill with no cure, merely dragging on and gradually moving toward decay.
Before Lu Xibei could scrutinize the ruined city further, the giant train had already passed through it, entering a dilapidated station marked by the signs of time, coming to a halt at the platform.
At that moment, the train’s broadcast sounded.
“This is the site of Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy. There’s not much to introduce; it’s just a place that sells medicine—everything you can imagine.”
The introduction from the man wearing a round top hat sounded rather dismissive, with a tone that seemed to carry some disdain.
Everything you can imagine? Lu Xibei repeated the man’s words in her mind, pondering.
The train’s broadcast sounded again.
“In short, if any passengers need to get off, please do so here. Once you disembark, avoid contact with strangers as much as possible. Other passengers need not leave the carriage arbitrarily, or you will bear the consequences!”
Just as Lu Xibei was listening to the broadcast, she saw several men wearing oversized coats with low hats sneakily get off the train. As soon as they stepped off, figures resembling mummified corpses sprang out from the darkness and surrounded them like wild beasts hunting.
Then, one of the men struck with a thunderous blow, mercilessly smashing the head of one of the figures into pieces, causing the others to flee in a panic.
“So that’s how it is?” Lu Xibei murmured, preparing to retract her gaze and sit back down.
At that moment, a familiar figure hurriedly passed by…
“Ah… Ahua?” Lu Xibei called out tentatively.
The girl froze for a moment, slowly turning around to meet Lu Xibei’s puzzled face, her eyes expressing a sense of “Who are you?”
The girl was Ahua.
This was her third day at Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy, and the fifth day since Jiang Li had gone missing.
In these three days, she had thoroughly scoured this desolate city, filled with addicts resembling wild beasts, plastering missing person notices all over the streets but had still not found any trace of Jiang Li.
Moments earlier.
She had arrived at the station of Dan Sha Gu’s Great Pharmacy, seemingly looking for something, anxiously scanning the surroundings, before silently sighing and taking out a missing person notice she always carried, affixing it to a nearby stone pillar.
This was her last time coming here; if she couldn’t find her miss again, the only place left to check was Lan Zhe Inn’s custom shop.
Yet, without her miss by her side, she had no confidence that she could resist temptation once she entered that kind of place, let alone leave smoothly.
After all…
She was well aware that she could be a bit infatuated and easily fall for the sweet temptations offered by the charming boys in Lan Zhe Inn.
Just as Ahua affixed the last missing person notice and prepared to leave, a soft call from behind broke her thoughts. Turning around, she saw the red-haired stranger from the giant train.
“……”
Strange, do I know her?
She felt somewhat familiar with her but couldn’t recall where she had seen her before.
But if she didn’t know her, how did she know my name? Ahua thought, puzzled.
While she was in doubt, the girl jogged off the train, crossed the platform, and approached her.
The girl glanced at the missing person notice on the stone pillar, slightly furrowing her brow with surprise. “So Jiang Li really is missing? I didn’t dare confirm it until I saw you!”
Ahua looked the girl up and down, taking a step back in caution. “Who are you, and how do you know our names?”
In her words, she deliberately concealed her relationship with Jiang Li.
“Ah, me?” Lu Xibei was taken aback. Ahua did not recognize her in her current disguise and certainly wouldn’t know about the Hundred Demons Walk of Huacheng, so she explained, “I’m Jiang Li’s… uh, urban legend informant from Huacheng. You might not have seen me, but I’ve seen you before.”
“Informant? What’s your name?” Ahua asked fiercely.
Jiang Li had those urban legend informants, and she was quite clear about them—none of them were like this girl.
Lu Xibei pondered for a moment. “Wang Buliu!”
“Wang Buliu?” Ahua repeated the name softly, squinting her eyes.
Jiang Li had always regarded her as a sister. When she initially speculated whether Lu Xibei was Wang Buliu, they had seriously discussed the probability.
In the end, both agreed that the probability was over ninety percent.
If she really is Wang Buliu, that means she is Lu Xibei, right?
How dare she call herself an informant; shouldn’t it be the other way around?
What does she want here? Ahua wondered.
However, despite her doubts, a warm feeling began to rise within her.
After Jiang Li went missing, she had experienced so much deception, often feeling lonely and on the verge of breaking down.
Now, encountering a familiar person suddenly, even if it was someone she disliked, it eased her frayed nerves a bit.
If she is willing to help, perhaps the chances of finding the miss would increase significantly.
However, before that…
There were still some things that needed confirmation, Ahua thought.
