Chapter 6: “The Diagram of the Dragon”
3:45 AM, Eight Days Express Hotel, in a certain suite.
Huasang lay on the soft bed, hands spread out, her delicate white feet dangling off the edge, slightly drooping.
Her long, unkempt hair spread out behind her, and her small, oval face was speckled with dust, skin pale, with tiny beads of sweat on her forehead.
A pair of round and alluring apricot-shaped eyes stared blankly, with a small tear mole at the corner.
Her exquisitely shaped willow-leaf lips were slightly parted, breathing heavily.
This girl was very beautiful, but her usual slovenly habits, casual attire, slightly hunched posture, and the dark circles under her eyes, which seemed to be branded on her face, entirely concealed the fact that she was actually a stunning beauty with long black hair.
“……”
After being forced to “study” for nearly two hours, the mysterious voice that had emerged fell silent, and Huasang lay motionless on the bed, as if she were dead, but her heart was already leaping with joy.
That must have been a new symptom of the spirit pattern disorder, right?
Hmm, this time it was relatively acceptable, Huasang thought.
She had long been accustomed to the various strange symptoms accompanying the loss of control of spirit patterns.
Symptoms similar to auditory hallucinations of signal interference were at least far better than being covered in black hair, having a distorted sense of direction, or seeing everyone as a giant turtle; compared to the unbearable weight pressing down on her, which seemed to grow heavier by the moment, these were trivial.
As long as she could endure this phase, it would be fine, right?
Although most of those things had been covered once already, reviewing them again would still be beneficial.
It’s a pity that today she was in no condition to meet that mysterious senior and would have to wait for another time…
Huasang thought optimistically, took a deep breath, forced a smile, and then slowly closed her eyes, emptying her mind into a meditative state.
In a daze, the sound of flowing water echoed in her ears, and a gentle breeze brushed against her face. The darkness before her seemed to dissipate like thick fog, gradually revealing a wide river before her.
Bright sunlight poured down, and the river surface shimmered with golden waves.
Suddenly, the breeze picked up, whistling as it brought clouds in from the horizon. In an instant, the sky was filled with dark clouds; just a moment ago it had been a clear day, and the next it was as dark as night.
“Boom—!”
Thunder rumbled, and dazzling lightning danced among the leaden clouds. In a flash, a torrential downpour poured down, enveloping the entire river.
The sky grew darker, the black clouds churned incessantly, accompanied by a streak of lightning that pierced through heaven and earth, as if splitting the river surface in two, sending water splashing over ten feet high on both sides. From a distance, a white line wound along the river, stretching for miles.
The black clouds rolled in like ink, the mist roiled, and the crashing waves sounded thunderous.
Then, a massive shadow slowly rose from beneath the river, breaking the waves, revealing a fierce visage: a large snake, entirely covered in a greenish-purple hue, with prominent horns.
In an instant, the wind and rain surged, and the river roared, echoing like thunder.
The great snake darted eastward along the river like an arrow…
————
Inside the suite, filled with moisture, tiny droplets began to gather on the glass windows, smooth metal surfaces, and the TV screen…
Suddenly, the entire suite shook violently, as if struck by some immense object, causing the teacup on the table to clink lightly.
As if awakened by that sound, Huasang, lying flat on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes. Those once dim and lifeless eyes were now incredibly clear, resembling two deep, dark jewels, brimming with spirit.
A large snake, with prominent horns, slithered through the depths of her gaze.
It was as though the scene she had just witnessed had been imprinted in her eyes.
Soon, as the giant snake vanished from her vision, she closed her eyes once more.
With her thoughts drifting far from her, something in the darkness began to writhe, emitting a slick, sticky sound. The next moment, a ghostly outline of a giant turtle, exuding an aura of filth and impurity, leaped from the darkness as if emerging from a swamp.
The giant turtle was colossal, appearing as large as a mountain, its form thin and ethereal, like a mist that could dissipate at any moment.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning cracked through, and heavy rain poured down from the darkness. As if sensing something, the giant turtle raised its massive head.
The greenish-purple large snake descended from above, wrapping around the turtle’s enormous form the moment they made contact.
Then, it began to constrict, tightening, as if trying to strangle it.
“Roar—!”
“Aw—!”
Two earth-shattering roars erupted almost simultaneously.
In an instant, Huasang’s consciousness faded as if it had been cut off, plunging into brief silence.
————
In the unlit suite, Huasang, with her eyes tightly shut, suddenly convulsed.
At that moment, a black iron ruler shot out with a whoosh, darting towards Huasang’s head.
Then, it hovered above her brow and gently tapped.
A faint golden ripple spread through the air.
In an instant, Huasang seemed to awaken from a nightmare, her eyes wide open, her pupils shrinking to the size of a grain of rice, trembling violently.
An overwhelming pressure materialized from thin air, crushing her limbs and the rest of her body, the sound of her bones cracking continuously echoed, ultimately breaking through the restraints of her body, stirring the air, and unleashing waves of tiny cyclones.
“Crisp—!” The mattress, comforter, pillow, robe, underwear… instantly exploded into fragments, producing a chorus of light sounds.
Pure white, light blue, pink… various pieces of fabric danced wildly in the air like flocks of birds, swept up by the swirling currents.
Then, a metallic sweetness surged up her throat, and as Huasang opened her mouth, she expelled a mouthful of clay-like black bl**d.
Black bl**d splattered onto the suite’s carpet, immediately crackling with a sizzling sound.
As wisps of blue smoke rose from the carpet, Huasang collapsed softly onto the damaged bed. Through the pile of fabric fragments, her graceful figure could be vaguely seen.
After a round of spirit seal practice, though her spirit energy fluctuation had weakened to the extreme, her complexion had noticeably improved, and a hint of pink flush emerged beneath her pale skin, reminiscent of cherry blossoms.
In the darkness, a pink lace fabric, about the size of a palm, floated down, covering her face. She remained silent for two seconds, slowly reaching out from the pile of fabric fragments, grabbing a scrap of her robe, wiping her sweat, tossing it aside, and then letting out a long sigh.
“Alas, the spirit seal of this ‘Diagram of the Dragon’ is becoming less and less effective; I wonder if I can still suppress that giant turtle next time…”
As she spoke, she tilted her head, her expression serious as she glanced at the black iron ruler beside her, her brow furrowed.
Though the senior had always told the truth, having fished for so many giant turtles in the back mountain, how come she had never been able to reel that thing in? Huasang mused.
————
In the dead of night, in a certain high-end apartment complex.
Li Xuan, looking haggard with slightly sunken cheeks, sat on the toilet with a roll of toilet paper in hand, staring blankly at the drain in the corner.
Suddenly, a wave of spirit energy fluctuation swept over him.
He froze for a moment, trembling as he turned his head towards the direction of the spirit energy, frowning.
He sensed that the spirit energy fluctuation was coming from Huasang’s location.
“……”
In silence, he set down the roll of paper, pulled out his phone, and with shaking hands dialed a string of garbled numbers.
“Beep——!”
“Hello? Is this Agent Li Xuan? Did you call because you sensed an abnormal spirit energy fluctuation? We just detected it too; the Night Erosion level is at 6.2, a high reading.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh…” Li Xuan replied weakly and then took a deep breath, saying to the person on the other end of the line, “This… just leave this matter to me; you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Understood, thank you for your hard work!”
After ending the call, Li Xuan’s hand went limp, and his phone fell to the ground.
“d*mn it, this junior sister really has poison!”
Accompanied by a painful shout, his stomach suddenly churned violently, and a mask of pain slowly settled on his face.
The poison he referred to was literally poison, as after eating just a few peanuts tainted with Huasang’s saliva, he suffered from mild Nightfall Syndrome-like diarrhea.
Had he not been a spiritual ability user, tonight would have been his last.
Cause of d*ath: dehydration.
But who could have imagined that the loss of control of Huasang’s spirit patterns had become that severe?
Though he didn’t know what methods she used to suppress the loss of control of the spirit patterns, to prevent any impact on the outside world, in her body, even the Night Erosion level of her bodily fluids had exceeded 3.0, comparable to late-stage severe Nightfall Syndrome.
With how the Chief Priest had “express-shipped” her to him, he wondered if he was considering using her as a long-range toxic gas bomb.
It’s hard to say she looks like a lazy girl, a shell of herself, but the mere fact that she is alive is a miracle to Li Xuan.
Thinking of how Huasang had been silly and carefree these days, and shamelessly asking for this and that, Li Xuan rolled his eyes and cursed, “I can’t believe she can still smile!”
————
Morning, Huacheng University, College of Arts and Literature’s counselor’s office.
“…At that time, in order to prevent that girl from being taken away by bad people, I shouted and rushed out, but who would have thought there were not just one, but over fifty burly men. As soon as I made a move, over fifty of them stood up from the barbecue stall next to me,” Luxianbei excitedly said to the middle-aged woman before him.
“Over fifty! Counselor, do you know what it means to face over fifty burly men?!”
The middle-aged woman stared blankly at Luxianbei, shaking her head.
“Let me tell you, it was a scene like a swarm of bees; although I have practiced some combat techniques, but two fists cannot overcome four hands, right? Soon I was surrounded, but I didn’t back down!”
Luxianbei continued animatedly while gesturing.
“I pointed at the scar-faced leader and said: ‘We are in a society governed by law; just try to touch me! See those cameras on the street? If you touch me, you won’t be able to escape!’ What do you think he said?”
“……” The middle-aged woman shook her head again.
“He said: ‘I know this street well; if I didn’t already know those cameras were broken, how would I dare to surround you, little b*stard?!’”
“Then…” Luxianbei glanced at various proofs Jiang Li had helped him obtain, a hint of pain flashing through his eyes, and continued, “Then I ended up in the hospital for ten days.”
The middle-aged woman was left speechless, her mouth twitching violently for a while before finally speaking, “Uh, Student Lu, I roughly understand the situation; I’ll contact the professors later. You… you can go to class now?”
Although it sounded overly fantastical for one person to be beaten by over fifty burly men, with hospital and police reports, coupled with Luxianbei’s vivid recounting of events, she ultimately chose to believe him.
“Thank you, Counselor!” Luxianbei thanked her, stood up, bowed slightly, and quickly left the office.
As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he heard whispers coming from inside the office.
“Ha, this Student Lu is still impressive; last time he was stabbed eighteen times, and now he’s challenged fifty burly men alone—amazing!”
“Amazing, indeed, but… why does he keep getting into these situations?”
“Maybe… he is the chosen one?”
Hearing the discussions from inside the office, Luxianbei suddenly stumbled.
What the hell, the chosen one!
If it weren’t for that absurd proof, would I need to exert so much effort to fabricate something?
The leadership really has an unrealistic understanding of the combat capabilities of ordinary people, Luxianbei thought.
But can we totally blame the absurdity of the proof on the leadership?
After all, she had lived a pampered life as a child and after becoming a spiritual ability user, immediately reached B rank, blurring her concept of ordinary people’s combat capabilities—five burly men or fifty, in her eyes, there was hardly a difference.
Or perhaps… she thinks I’m quite impressive, and in her view, I can truly take on a hundred?
Luxianbei pondered quietly for a moment, conceitedly concluding that the latter possibility seemed more likely.
……
Spending quite a bit of time in the counselor’s office, the first class of the morning had already ended.
When Luxianbei hurried to the classroom for the second class, he entered to see a familiar face.
Luxianbei, “……” Oh no, the torment of the empty-nester 2.0 is coming!
As usual, there were few students in the classroom, and Professor Ma had already arrived early to prepare for the lesson.
Seeing Luxianbei appear at the door, Professor Ma’s eyes briefly lit up with joy, but his expression quickly turned serious as he opened his mouth to say something when a “Proof of Heroism” was presented to him.
After glancing at the proof, Professor Ma paused in surprise, looking at Luxianbei, “You again…”
“Shh, shh!” Luxianbei made a silencing gesture, winked at Professor Ma, and lowered his voice, “Professor, you know, sometimes I don’t have a choice.”
Professor Ma glanced around and replied quietly, “I understand; handling mysterious events, right? Alright, find a spot to sit and pay attention in class; this semester’s difficulty is much greater than last semester.”
“You’re really good at…”
Luxianbei was about to praise Professor Ma for his understanding when he heard him say, “Come to my office after class; I have some good things for you.”
Good things? Don’t you want to exploit my labor again?
Luxianbei silently complained, shifting the topic back, said in a low voice, “You’re really good at looking out for yourself!”
Bad things!
“You’ve lost your credits…”
“This… you misunderstood; I meant that one should always act in their own interest, or karma will strike. You are truly my spiritual mentor, my guiding star!”
“Hmph! Smooth talker.” Professor Ma snorted lightly and said softly, “Hurry up and start the class; find a place to sit down and listen!”
“Okay!”
Luxianbei responded and quickly ran to a seat near the window in the second-to-last row, settling into what he needed to think about during the class’s start, quietly reflecting.
While I’m busy figuring out how to sneak into Dachunyang Palace to steal the last fragment of Ling Tai Purification, I’m at risk of leaving Huacheng at any moment and surely going to miss a lot of classes. This can’t go on!
It seems that the 1:1 replica of Zhipianxian I had Du Sixian prepare beforehand may come in handy.
I just wonder if she has finished it yet; luckily, there’s still some time. After passing by Siye Society, I might go to Happy Neighborhood later. Luxianbei thought.
To avoid neglecting my studies and smoothly obtaining my graduation certificate, to realize my dream of renovating the old house, opening a small tavern, and writing motivational nonsense part-time, getting a paper talisman to help me with attendance is essential!
————
After two classes, totaling ninety minutes, had concluded.
As the class bell rang, Luxianbei watched Professor Ma leave and then stood up, complaining silently about the old man as he hurried to catch up with him, heading towards the College of Arts and Literature’s office.
Exiting the teaching building, Luxianbei intentionally avoided the same path as Professor Ma to reach the office, opting for a longer route close to Gate Four.
It had been a long time since he had seen the Decapitated Senior.
Although Du Sixian and the urban legends of Huacheng had been taking care of Decapitated Senior and the small urban legends within the School of Technology, Luxianbei still wanted to check in on her.
……
At noon, the sun of early summer was already somewhat fierce, making it hard to bear.
After finishing lunch, the students of Huacheng University returned to their classrooms or dormitories, leaving the campus relatively quiet.
Luxianbei walked alone along the main path leading to Gate Four, heading towards the abandoned warehouse where Decapitated Senior and several small urban legends frequently gathered.
Arriving in front of the small warehouse, Luxianbei, as usual, leaned against the rusty iron door and gently knocked, softly calling, “Senior, are you there? I came to see you!”
“……” After waiting for a moment, there was no response.
“Senior? Are you there?”
“……”
Luxianbei called again, but still received no reply.
“Strange, where could she have gone? Did she go to class?”
“DONG, DONG, DONG——!”
Just as he began to grow doubtful, a dull clanking sound of metal colliding with the ground reached his ears. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Mr. Lu Xun, the statue in front of the library, had somehow appeared around the corner of the small warehouse, poking half of its body out from the wall.
“d*mn! Mr. Lu Xun, why are you here in broad daylight?” Luxianbei exclaimed.
In broad daylight, the statue actually got up and moved away; if any other students saw it, they would be terrified!
“Hmph——!”
“Mr. Lu Xun” let out a cold snort, imbued with an arrogance reminiscent of “facing a thousand accusations with a defiant glare.”
Luxianbei, “???” It seems he isn’t too happy?
“Mr. Lu Xun? What’s going on…?”
“Hmph——!”
Hearing the cold snort once again, Luxianbei recalled that it wouldn’t speak; it used to be unable to make sounds at all, and this cold snort might have been a “new skill” it had developed recently.
With that thought, Luxianbei took out a notebook and a pen from his backpack, handed it to “Mr. Lu Xun,” and gently said, “Sir, do you know where the Senior went? If you do, could you please write it down for me?”
“Hmph——!”
“Mr. Lu Xun” snorted coldly, taking the paper and pen from him, and after writing for a moment, handed it back to him.
“……”
Upon reading what was written in strong handwriting on the notebook, Luxianbei tilted his head, looking quizzically at “Mr. Lu Xun,” and asked, “Are you saying she has been hiding lately, as if she encountered something terrifying?”
“Hmph——!”
“Mr. Lu Xun” let out another cold snort, nodding in affirmation.
Luxianbei, “……”
How strange; the urban legends of Huacheng are harmonious like a family; there shouldn’t be any legends attacking Decapitated Senior!
If it were an external urban legend, I would have sensed it the moment it entered Huacheng.
If it’s neither the urban legends in Huacheng nor an external one, what is she afraid of? Luxianbei pondered in confusion.
