Chapter 100: How is that Transportation?
In early summer, the afternoon sun was scorching, tormenting the streets of Shizhou City. Heatwaves from the asphalt road spiraled upwards, and just looking at the scene made one feel an intense heat surging within.
However, only a hundred meters away from the sunlit road, an area lay perpetually shrouded in shadow.
This was a small commodities wholesale market built in the early century, surrounded by blocks of residential buildings, with large metal canopies constructed from corrugated steel. On those buildings, homes converted into short-term rentals and Mahjong parlors had sprouted countless signs of various sizes, as if they were errantly grown plants.
The word “chaos” could precisely describe this place.
Although the saying “the great hides in the crowd” is often misused to mean “hiding among many people,” such a place is indeed an excellent hiding spot from pursuers.
Thanks to Huasang’s timely intelligence reaching Qing Xiazi, the response from Dachunyang Palace was remarkably swift. Hu Chuan barely managed to leave the Zhenwu Mountain scenic area before the entire Shizhou City was secretly locked down.
Teams composed of Dachunyang Palace disciples, various Siye Society communication points, and the extensive city barriers seemed to weave into a large net within Shizhou City, leaving the “big fish” within it nowhere to escape.
Thus, after fleeing from Dachunyang Palace, Hu Chuan had been hiding here.
No, he never went to that tube building in the suburbs of Shizhou City.
The three Dachunyang Palace disciples who were killed were completely led there by their dear junior sister and a series of erroneous intelligence reports.
Years ago, with the temporary awakening of the “fateful calamity” granting Hu Chuan partial powers to act, he was easily able to facilitate this.
Zhang Hainan might be the strongest spiritual ability user in Shizhou City, but he, Hu Chuan, was the true master of this city!
…
In the cramped short-term rental, the curtains were tightly drawn, and an old television played advertisements for health products deceiving the elderly. The speakers were likely damaged, causing the voices to carry a slight distortion.
A faint musty smell lingered in the air, while in the corner, a cockroach writhed in agony under the gnawing of a swarm of ants.
In the dim light, Hu Chuan slowly opened his eyes, a beast-like glint flashing in his gaze. A somewhat sickly pale face broke into a cruel smile.
The confusion of the Dachunyang Palace disciples during their ambush and the terror they struggled to conceal upon discovering fellow disciples were slaughtered pleased him greatly, refreshing his mind and body.
“Do you want to catch the turtle in a jar? You all seem to have misunderstood who the real prey is…”
He now only needed to create slaughter.
Using slaughter to instill fear in the Dachunyang Palace disciples pursuing him, and more importantly, using slaughter to create diversions!
Just as now, after receiving a rescue signal, many participating Dachunyang Palace disciples had already headed towards the incident location or were on their way.
When most of them arrived at the scene, the next slaughter would erupt twenty-five kilometers away in an abandoned power plant.
That Dachunyang Palace disciple obsessed with electronic cigarettes had already led his group members to “stand by” near the abandoned power plant…
Twenty-five kilometers was neither too far nor too close, a perfect distance where, after almost an hour since the first “attack,” it was reasonable for a spiritual ability user to escape.
Soon, those gathered near the suburban tube building of Dachunyang Palace disciples would converge towards the abandoned power plant like big fish attracted by bait.
And through the secret society members unknowingly hidden among the Dachunyang Palace disciples, Hu Chuan would witness the entire process.
It was as though he were watching a comedic performance.
When most of the pursuing Dachunyang Palace disciples, filled with fear, rushed between sudden d*ath scenes, he would have the chance to break free from the “net.”
But before that, he needed a small change…
Just like when Zhang Shuo had chased him to the brink of despair.
“Buzz—buzz—!”
In the quiet room, a deep buzzing suddenly sounded.
Hu Chuan looked towards the sound, picked up the badge on the bedside table, marked with complex polyhedron designs, and lightly touched it. Immediately, a slightly panicked voice echoed in his ear.
“I’ve contacted the person you mentioned, but they said the item you want will take at least a day to get! What should I do now?”
“Ha!” Hu Chuan chuckled lightly, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. “Wang Elder, you seem quite afraid?”
“Of course!” Wang Elder shouted hoarsely, “Do you know how serious this situation is? If I hadn’t reacted quickly and escaped in time, I might have already been captured by Qing Xiazi!”
“And also, the Black Emperor left for Shengjing early this morning. He has organized a meeting about this matter, inviting three guardians!”
“Guardians?” Hu Chuan laughed dismissively. “You need to trust that person is beyond the guardians. As long as you do what I say, nothing will happen.”
“But…”
“But?” Hu Chuan interrupted, “Since you left Chenyi Inn, Qing Xiazi already sent people to hunt you down, yet since you’ve followed my instructions, have you encountered a single person from the Dachunyang Palace?”
“……” Wang Elder fell silent for a moment, heavily sighing. “I understand. So, what should I do now? Just wait for that person to bring you what you want?”
“Just wait!” Hu Chuan casually replied. “I’ll contact you if there’s any development!”
And now…
Hu Chuan cut off communication with Wang Elder, set down the badge, closed his eyes, concentrated, and moved the “piece” he had placed at the abandoned power plant.
————
In the afternoon.
A taxi carried Huasang and Luxianbei from the vicinity of the tube building in Shizhou City towards the Zhenwu Mountain scenic area.
The car sped along the road, passing through the city and into the mountains, with the two remaining eerily silent along the way.
This was something they had agreed upon before getting in the car.
Having witnessed such scenes last night, they understood that anything visible could potentially be Hu Chuan’s “eyes” and “ears,” making it difficult to ensure the taxi held none.
If they discussed various details in the car, Hu Chuan could easily overhear them.
Only upon entering the Dachunyang Palace’s mountain gate, under the protection of the mountain array, could Hu Chuan’s “snooping” be restrained.
However, this kind of silence usually felt eerie, leading the taxi driver to think he was transporting two disabled individuals and wanting to offer a discount on their fare.
Upon getting out, Luxianbei graciously accepted the taxi driver’s kindness, expressing his gratitude.
Meanwhile, Huasang paid the full fare, much to the driver’s dismay.
……
“Why did you pay the full fare when that uncle offered us a discount?”
“Rare luck, and you turned it down? Are you foolish?”
“Also…”
After holding back the whole way, as soon as they got out of the car, Luxianbei’s words gushed forth like a flood, pouring into Huasang’s ears.
Huasang glanced at Luxianbei and said lightly, “That driver clearly thought we were mute. I don’t like being pitied.”
“Is that it?” Luxianbei rolled his eyes. “I’m quite the opposite. I’d love for the whole world to pity me. If they could each give me ten or eight bucks out of sympathy, I’d even live-stream for twelve hours every day crying through a storm!”
Huasang, “……” What about your bottom line?
————
Upon entering the Zhenwu Mountain scenic area, the two did not take the sightseeing cable car back to Dachunyang Palace, nor did they take the wide official path, but chose a narrow, abandoned trail that had seen no modern repairs for many years.
Huasang had known Qing Ji from the ruler for many years and was familiar with almost all the little-known trails within the Zhenwu Mountain scenic area, which was crucial for avoiding being punished by her master or the elder He Zhuyan whenever she made mistakes.
Walking along the overgrown, rugged path surrounded by dense forest, and avoiding possible surveillance by Hu Chuan, they finally began to communicate in earnest.
“On the way here, I thought carefully, and something seems suspicious…” Luxianbei said. “If the Dachunyang Palace’s lockdown in Shizhou City is truly as tight as you said, Hu Chuan shouldn’t be appearing in the suburbs.”
“That place is nearly outside Shizhou City’s limits. If you go forward ten more kilometers, there are several Dachunyang Palace lookout posts and numerous city barrier formations. If he’s not foolish, he wouldn’t just barge in.”
“If it was me, I would definitely hide in the densest population and most complex building terrain right within Shizhou City… By the way, do you know any places like that?”
Huasang recalled slightly and said, “There are two I can think of for now, one near the old auto repair town and the other at the Baitang Small Commodities Wholesale Market. More places can be researched at Dachunyang Palace.”
“Hmm…” Luxianbei nodded, “And one more thing, he’s bound to find a way to alter his appearance and create a new identity since this isn’t his first time doing it.”
Disguising was something he was quite familiar with! The benefits of evading pursuit were definitely more than one, and if conditions allowed, Hu Chuan would definitely find a way to do it, Luxianbei thought.
“I had previously investigated him secretly, and the person who helped him forge his identity is already dead. He doesn’t need anyone’s help to forge ID documents now, so he will likely only seek to change his appearance…”
At this point, Luxianbei suddenly recalled a detail he got when asking Lin Nian for help in investigating Hu Chuan earlier, furrowing his brows as he asked Huasang, “Do you know of any methods to change one’s appearance that require using fresh placenta?”
Previously, he found it strange when Lin Nian mentioned Hu Chuan had asked someone to acquire fresh placenta. Now, thinking about it, it could be the material needed for altering appearance.
Placenta, for ordinary people, might only be used for health, but for spiritual ability users, it has many more uses, including as alchemic materials for certain sinister rituals associated with urban legends.
“……” Huasang pondered seriously for a moment, frowning. “Yes, I’ve seen a strange ritual spell that can achieve the effect of changing one’s appearance in an ancient text.”
When she first arrived at Dachunyang Palace, Huasang had read numerous books on sinister spells, trying to find the reason for her spirit patterns going out of control, but found nothing, only acquiring some knowledge she thought she would never use in her life.
“Oh?” Luxianbei tilted his head and gave Huasang an inquisitive look.
“The materials that ritual requires aren’t placenta; technically speaking, it’s the unborn fetus.” Huasang explained. “If used before the fetus completely loses vitality, it can snatch away a part of its life…”
“So I sort of get it!” Luxianbei said. “I guess the cost of that ritual is losing one’s own appearance, becoming more like what the fetus would have turned into if it had lived, right?”
“……” Huasang contemplated for a moment and nodded. “That would be a fair assessment…”
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I wanted to mention when we got out of the car earlier. If we continue to pursue Hu Chuan by car, it’s likely we’ll face more situations like the awkwardness we had earlier, so we need to find a way to solve that problem.”
“A problem? I don’t think it’s a big deal?” Luxianbei said, raising his hand and pointing ahead. “Look, how about that transportation?”
Hearing this, Huasang looked forward and just then realized they had unknowingly arrived in front of the Dachunyang Palace’s mountain gate.
Following Luxianbei’s direction, under the bright sunlight, a Shuishu Beast was happily swimming in the pond in front of the mountain gate…
