Chapter 76: A Good Chat
At 2:35 AM, in Room 306 of Chenyi Inn.
Huasang, who was lying on the bed in deep sleep, was tossing and turning, having a strange dream.
In the dream, everything was pitch black, and she was surrounded by formless tendrils that tugged, contracted, and enveloped her, layer upon layer, causing her soul to gradually deviate from its course.
In a daze, she felt as if she had transformed into a cup of water, a book, a phone, and various other objects, held by a pair of invisible hands, wandering here and there, adrift and unable to act on her own.
Whispers echoed in her ears, as if someone was secretly conversing, drawing closer, the words gradually becoming clearer.
“He knows all secrets because He spies…”
The whispers stirred Huasang’s consciousness. She didn’t understand their meaning, yet inexplicably felt fear, accompanied by her spirit patterns restlessly disturbing her.
The turtle and snake rarely united in their battle lines, issuing a deafening roar together.
Suddenly, in the pitch-black dreamscape, thunder and lightning erupted, and torrential rain poured down.
Yet the roaring and the thundering rain could not at all mask the bizarre and unnatural whispers.
It was like a ghostly presence, following closely behind.
“…He spies, from the wind, from the water, from every single molecule, with no way to hide, no way to obfuscate, no way to evade…”
The whispers continued ceaselessly, the turtle and snake’s roars gradually intensifying to an unbearable extent.
At last, Huasang jolted awake from the dream.
She opened her eyes, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.
In the next moment, something intruded into her spiritual perception zone, a strong sense of crisis, like a current flashing through her mind, violently stimulating her nerves.
Her muscles tensed suddenly, and she sprang up from the bed like a carp leaping from water, one hand gripping a ruler, guarding in front of her, her eyes warily scanning the surroundings.
The room was dark with no lights on; under the cover of darkness, the wardrobe, wooden table, air conditioner, television… everything had become merely dark silhouettes.
Huasang felt that among these silhouettes were hidden people or urban legends, and not just one.
She sensed it!
She felt that in the darkness, countless deep-set eyes were scrutinizing her, silent and ominous.
In the dark, Huasang held her breath, remaining on guard for potential attacks from any direction, cautiously moving her body to lean against the wall by the bed.
“Click!”
Gently pressing the switch, the light didn’t turn on, making Huasang’s heart tighten slightly. She repeated the attempts a few times, and finally, the lukewarm light illuminated the entire room.
In the air lingered a faint, fishy smell like water plants, the residue of Night Erosion.
In an instant, the unsettling feeling of being watched by countless eyes vanished, disappearing along with the darkness.
“……”
Huasang fell silent, biting her silver teeth, forcing down the discomfort as she activated her spirit energy, seizing the Night Erosion before it spread further, absorbing it all into her body.
Once the faint fishy odor in the air completely dissipated, she silently exhaled, mumbling to herself.
“Was that just… an illusion?”
She glanced around the utterly ordinary single room, frowning deeply.
The feeling of being spied upon reminded her of the times when her grandmother was not home, and Aunt Li from next door would tell her urban legends to make her behave and sleep.
In the stories, there were tales of creatures hidden in the dark corners of rooms, waiting for the lights to be turned off late at night. When one lay in bed not sleeping, they would gaze in from beneath the bed, from the crack of the wardrobe, or from the half-drawn curtains, poised to act.
However, that kind of tale, known to less than a hundred people in the countryside, was unlikely to give rise to urban legends, let alone generate ones that would unsettle a high-level spiritual ability user like her.
“……”
But I clearly felt it just now…
And that segment of whispers in the dream definitely pointed toward some terrible urban legend.
Could it be the Secret Society? The true culprits who caused my Big Brother’s demise…
This sudden twist left Huasang completely unable to sleep.
Even though the pressure from the spirit patterns weighed heavily on her, making her exhausted, the dream and the post-awakening experience of being observed by an unknown presence left her nerves incredibly tense.
It felt as if a significant exam awaited her the next day, and here she was at dawn, having not yet begun her revisions, bringing a sense of anxiety that wouldn’t allow her to feel sleepy at all.
This feeling was highly uncomfortable for someone used to being laid-back.
The Elder of the Sect really was pushing her to the brink; ordinarily, in just a few hours, she would be lying on the rocks by the Cold Pond on the back mountain, bathed in the morning sun, fishing for turtles.
“……”
If the Secret Society had already set their sights on me, would Luxianbei, who had also interacted with Big Brother and even killed the out-of-control Big Brother, be targeted as well?
Here I am, in the Siye Society’s contact point, and they dared to act so recklessly; isn’t it even more dangerous for Luxianbei to be moving about alone?
Maybe I should tell her about this situation and remind her to be careful? Huasang wondered.
Although Luxianbei had killed her Big Brother, attracted the Elder of the Sect’s close attention, and displayed abilities not recorded in the Siye Society’s files after leaving Dachunyang Palace, changing identities multiple times, and deceiving Qing Ji… she was indeed very suspicious.
It was impossible for her to suddenly harbor no animosity toward Luxianbei, and even to develop a good impression of her.
However, it was equally impossible for her to simply stand by and watch as Luxianbei was targeted by the Secret Society, falling into danger, without taking any action.
After all, the Secret Society was identified as the true culprit by her Big Brother, and she had notified her master of Big Brother’s last words. From her master’s reaction, the Secret Society definitely had significant issues.
As for Luxianbei, she was merely suspicious and had yet to commit any blatant illegality.
After pondering for a while, Huasang sighed silently, speaking to herself, “Forget it, I’ll contact her first…”
After learning that Luxianbei was also engaged to Qing Ji’s descendant, aside from reminding her to be cautious of the Secret Society, Huasang genuinely wanted to have a good chat with Luxianbei.
Talking face-to-face was more reliable than wild guesses and more straightforward.
She thought that her previous suspicion of Luxianbei being in a fraudulent marriage, especially after witnessing Luxianbei k*ll Big Brother, had been too emotional; upon reflection, it seemed a bit hasty.
Perhaps Luxianbei and Qing Ji’s descendant were genuinely in love?
It was not impossible! Nobody stipulated that such a situation couldn’t be true love, right?
If it were indeed the case… I wonder if she would be willing to introduce that yet-to-be-met fiancé? Huasang thought.
She knew that the Uncle who arranged her engagement to his son intended to leave her a glimmer of hope in her desolation, however small, to prevent her from being consumed by the out-of-control spirit patterns before mastering the means to suppress them.
But now, besides the engagement, she had more substantial sources of mental support—her master, her junior sister, Qing Ji, and the Elder of the Sect. There was no need to maintain the engagement, especially since she could never truly marry that person, which could endanger his life!
She was well aware that someone like her, with sheer husband-killing tendencies, marrying meant harming others, and she might one day lose control over her spirit patterns and cause her husband and his family to perish in the throes of intense Night Erosion.
So she was only suited for one person…
It appeared that she lived freely and casually, but in reality, she was merely surviving.
“Speaking of which, isn’t Luxianbei also involved with that Agent Jiang… How could she also be entangled with Qing Ji’s descendant… balancing on two boats?”
Huasang shrugged nonchalantly.
“Forget it, this matter doesn’t concern me; overthinking is exhausting.”
Even though those two individuals always appeared cold, the entire Huacheng Siye Society saw that something was amiss, except for Li Xuan and Meng Meng.
Li Xuan only cared about his beloved car; it seemed that feelings were not something he understood.
Huasang took out her phone and sent a message to Luxianbei.
Huasang: “Are you free to meet now?”
————
On the other side.
As Luxianbei accelerated the alteration of Song Wei’s dreamscape, countless fleeting images flashed before her eyes.
Morning classes at Qing Hui Hall, tranquil winding mountain paths, the metallic-tinged corridor within Chi Li Hall, hurried Dachunyang Palace disciples…
Various people and objects darted by.
Finally, the speed of the surrounding environment transitioning began to slow, and her gaze fixed upon the door of a production room on the fourth floor of Chi Li Hall.
It was a very ordinary metal door, embedded with semicircular rivets, just like the vast majority of production room doors on the fourth floor of Chi Li Hall. A metal sign hung on the door, inscribed with the characters “424”.
“Knock, knock, knock——!”
Song Wei rapped on the copper ring on the door, and soon a voice came from inside.
“Come in! The door is unlocked.”
Luxianbei, “……”
Was that Hu Chuan’s voice? A person who had contact with Zhang Shuo… the one who harmed the Decapitated Senior… related to the Secret Society…
Just the thought of soon seeing Hu Chuan’s appearance, whom she had searched for days, made Luxianbei inexplicably nervous, her heart rate subtly accelerating.
Song Wei gently turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, the scene before her transforming once again.
The room was very dim, the curtains tightly drawn, and in the center of the room, a wooden long table had several alchemical cauldrons bubbling, exuding a hazy mist.
Through the mist, she could vaguely see a bare-chested man sitting on a sofa, his face shrouded in shadow, revealing only a blurred outline. His exposed chest bore an astounding musculature, interspersed with numerous gruesome scars that traced the contours of several faces.
As he breathed, his chest heaved, and those faces also writhed as if they had come to life.
Was that Hu Chuan? Why did he have so many injuries? Did a panda scratch him while he was foraging for bamboo?
Luxianbei strained to see Hu Chuan’s face, only catching a glimpse of his significant gaze.
“Oh? Song Wei, I remember I asked you to come find me alone, didn’t I? Why did you bring a guest?”
Luxianbei, “……” A guest? Is there someone who followed Song Wei here? How did I not notice at all?
Just as she was puzzled, she suddenly realized that although Hu Chuan appeared to be gazing at Song Wei, that look gave the impression that he was actually watching someone behind her.
Luxianbei slightly adjusted her line of sight and glanced around Song Wei, but found no trace of a third person.
Suddenly, an unsettling thought flashed through her mind.
Could it be that the “guest” Hu Chuan mentioned is me?
How could that be?
This is clearly just a dream constructed through Meng Meng’s ability…
As Luxianbei thought, she glanced at Hu Chuan, then at his eyes that held a hint of mockery, and the anxious thought in her heart grew stronger.
At that moment, Hu Chuan spoke, “Guest, stop looking. Since you’re here, let’s have a good chat, shall we? Let’s discuss why you’ve been secretly investigating me…”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei’s heart suddenly felt as though it had been tightly squeezed, skipping a beat, and her pupils shook violently.
