Chapter 86: The Shepherd and the Lamb
Walking deeper into the alley, the noise of Mudan Street gradually faded away. Soon, two ancient stone lions came into view, with the weathered red-painted bronze door behind them swinging open, revealing a small garden lush with greenery.
After pausing briefly in front of the door, Lu Yibei stepped up the stairs, entered the small garden, and found the girl in the corner, who he had bought fresh corn juice for on the way. He inserted a straw and handed it to her.
The girl took the corn juice, sniffed the straw with her nose, her dull eyes momentarily lit up, then she opened her mouth, took a sip, and let out a satisfied exhale.
Seeing that the girl seemed to really like the corn juice he brought, a soft light appeared in Lu Yibei’s eyes. He shrugged and headed in the direction of the Special Action Team.
However.
As soon as he turned around and took a step, he was tugged at the corner of his clothes by the girl behind him.
Lu Yibei quickly turned around and looked at her, asking, “What’s wrong? Is there something else?”
The girl held the cup of corn juice in one hand and pointed toward a small path leading to the back door of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau. She looked up at Lu Yibei and said, “That way.”
“The person you’re looking for just walked that way.”
“Left?!” Lu Yibei was taken aback and said, “How could she leave? Didn’t they say that there was an important matter and they had to see me in person?”
“She was taken away by a member of the Special Action Team; I don’t know about the rest,” the girl shook her head, “After all, I’m just a mushroom.”
Lu Yibei was silent for a moment, nodded to the girl, turned around, and hurried in the direction she pointed out.
The girl wouldn’t lie. Old Brother Dong said that Yu Jianqiu was waiting for him in the Special Action Team’s lounge.
And now she had suddenly been taken away? The one who took her was actually a member of the Special Action Team? Were there other traitors in the Huacheng Siye Society besides him?
Something felt very off! Lu Yibei thought.
“Hey there!” Huaxie Yu followed closely behind the young man, after walking for a while, she couldn’t help but ask, “Excuse me, how far is it to that teahouse where Lu Yibei is?”
“Almost there.” The young man replied without looking back, “Just ahead.”
As he spoke, he continued to walk ahead, leaving Huaxie Yu with a somewhat languid, robust silhouette. “How far is ‘ahead’?” Huaxie Yu asked again.
The young man pondered for a moment and replied gruffly, “Just follow me.”
At that moment, Huaxie Yu glanced around and then turned her gaze back to the young man, frowning slightly.
After leaving the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, the young man had remained silent, leading the way without saying a word. At this moment, while they were still within the bounds of Mudan Street, they had already left the scenic area.
All around were the ancient buildings of old Mudan Street, positioned even more secluded than the Lu Family Manor.
Over half of these buildings were vacant, almost devoid of human presence, exuding a chill and serene atmosphere.
Following the winding clear canal, a series of deep and narrow alleys extended in all directions, intricately woven like the roots of plants. Did a teahouse really exist in such a ghostly place?
Even if a criminal were to k*ll someone here and drag the body into an uninhabited old house, no one would notice until the body started to smell, right?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was off. Could it be that they wanted her to vanish without a trace?
Huaxie Yu pondered and looked at the young man ahead, her gaze lingering on his muscular arms, which strained against the fabric of his black T-shirt, and glanced at his waist, which seemed suspiciously full, as if hiding a weapon.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Such a strong adult man, even if he weren’t a Spiritual Ability User and hadn’t received system training, she might not be a match for him. Not to mention that the opponent was not only enhanced by spirit patterns but also a trained member of the Special Action Team.
With someone like him, relying solely on physical strength could easily lead to defeating low-level urban legends.
“Maybe I should just abandon this and go meet Lu Yibei another day.”
Though she was following the young man, the risk felt palpable. She didn’t want to face even the slightest danger. Lu Yibei was not someone she absolutely had to meet today; if something happened today, she feared she might never have a chance to relay what she knew.
The young man glanced at Huaxie Yu from the corner of his eye, “Didn’t you say there was a serious urban legend incident that you had to tell Officer Lu in person? Isn’t it too late to postpone?”
“I…”
“Then come with me!” The young man said as he discreetly placed his hand on his waist, “Since there’s an urban legend incident, we cannot afford to delay.”
With that, Huaxie Yu bit her lip lightly, stared at the young man’s back, hesitated for a few seconds as if making some risky decision, and her expression deepened.
Then.
Just as the two passed a low courtyard wall, Huaxie Yu lightly jumped, skillfully climbed onto the wall, and turned back to look at the young man.
Seeing that he continued forward, seemingly unaware, Huaxie Yu gave his back a middle finger and then gracefully jumped into the courtyard behind the wall.
She landed like a feather, making no sound as she touched down on the grass.
After landing, without any pause, she immediately sprinted across the empty courtyard and leaped over the low wall on the other side.
Just after Huaxie Yu escaped over the wall, the young man, who had been moving forward, suddenly turned around and looked in the direction she had left, silently sighing, seemingly with no plan to pursue—
—
After chasing in the direction the girl pointed out for a short while, Lu Yibei sensed something was amiss. The Black Sun Totem on his back suddenly burned with pain without warning.
Specifically, it was the imperceptible red dot on the counterfeit Black Sun Totem.
It felt as if someone was pressing a long incense stick against his back. But typically, one would press it on the top of the head, not the back!
That abbot must have some weird preference. What is the Proxy Player Sister up to?
Thinking this, Lu Yibei’s footsteps momentarily paused, just then, he suddenly noticed that the burning sensation of the red dot on his back lessened greatly and continued to fade.
He was taken aback, standing still deep in thought for a few seconds, then raised his head to look at the crossroads ahead and chose a direction to jog toward. However, he quickly turned back and picked another direction.
After trying all three directions, he frowned.
Moving forward or to the left reduced the burning sensation, but the moment he walked right, it intensified. Could this be some sort of guidance?
Lu Yibei pondered, then chose to move to the right without hesitation.
He had been guided by the burning sensation before, and after minimal analysis, he quickly connected the two feelings and made a judgment.
As for where the burning sensation from the counterfeit Black Sun Totem pointed to, it was clear it most likely indicated the members of the Solar Eclipse Society!
Could the one who took Yu Jianqiu be the two members of the Solar Eclipse Society that the Proxy Player Sister mentioned, who infiltrated Huacheng? Lu Yibei thought as he walked.
In that case, the Huacheng Siye Society indeed had more than just him as a traitor?
Could that guy be the one who previously dragged him out to hand him over to the cicada?
Goodness, if that’s the case, he would settle the old and new scores today! Lu Yibei thought.
Seeing the young man, Huaxie Yu’s eyes widened, disbelief flooding her senses, her body trembled uncontrollably as if struck by lightning. In over twenty minutes, she felt she had run far away.
To her astonishment, she ended up back at the starting point!
Images of having her path forcibly altered flashed through her mind, and her heartbeat skipped a beat. Was this a coincidence? Or—
At that moment, the young man dropped his cigarette b*tt and leisurely walked toward her, “Miss Yu, where did you go just now?”
Does he not suspect that I escaped? Huaxie Yu furrowed her brow slightly but quickly forced a smile and said, “I… I just suddenly needed to take care of something, sorry.”
“Is that so?” The young man nodded, “Why didn’t you tell me when you left? I was waiting for you.” “Alright! Since we’re back, let’s hurry and go!”
As he spoke, the young man turned around, leading the way as if nothing had happened just moments before.
Huaxie Yu stood rooted in place, looking at the young man’s back, her brows knitted tightly, her complexion pale, and her feet felt as heavy as if filled with lead.
Returning to the same situation as before, she felt increasingly uneasy.
For a moment, she even felt like a lamb being directed by a whip, while the young man ahead was the shepherd wielding the whip.
Noticing that Huaxie Yu had not followed, the young man stopped, turned around, and stared at her with a puzzled expression, “What’s wrong, Miss Yu? Why aren’t you coming?”
“We’ve wasted so much time, Officer Lu should be getting impatient.”
“Just as Huaxie Yu was about to open her mouth, unsure of how to respond to the young man’s question, a figure suddenly leaped down from a nearby wall, blocking the way between them, standing tall and proud, softly exhaling.
“Because I really couldn’t wait, I came looking for you! Brother, since you were supposed to take her to meet me, it should be fine to just hand her over to me now, right?”
The young man looked at Lu Yibei, surprise flashing in his eyes, then silently nodded.
