Chapter 85: Siye Society, Hurry Up and Manage Her!
After expressing her stance to the man, Luxianbei turned around expressionlessly, placed her hands against the wall, tilted her head back slightly, then suddenly exerted force and slammed her head against the wall.
It was as if she were an ancient minister who had smashed his head against a pillar in the golden hall.
Perhaps Mr. Zhong Hui, who possessed the Spirit Pattern of the “Supreme Ghost Marshal,” would feel an inexplicable familiarity with such behavior?
After all, in legends, his spirit pattern’s original form died this way, Luxianbei thought.
She was currently suspected to be trapped within a dream within a dream constructed by the man. If the man insisted on playing some sort of captivity play with her, she thought that using normal means to interrupt the dream and leave would definitely be futile.
Left with no choice, she thought of resorting to extra-dream means.
She vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that if one dreams of something particularly painful or terrifying, the body would, out of self-protection mechanism, forcefully wake the person up.
Though this seemed somewhat foolish, and she didn’t know if it would work against the man’s monstrous methods, it was better than sitting idle and waiting for d*ath.
Even if it couldn’t stimulate her to wake up, what if that man’s heart softened?
At the very least, dreaming of being heavily injured might provoke some physical reaction; Jumeng, noticing her anomaly, would surely find a way to wake her up.
The only tricky part was that this damned dream didn’t have any sharp objects.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The muffled sounds were incessant. Watching Luxianbei’s suicidal actions, the man’s lips twitched as he continued to coax, “Miss Calamity, don’t do this. I just want to tell you a few rule-compliant facts.”
“……” Luxianbei remained silent, seemingly having not heard the man’s words, continuing to crash around.
Like a little bee trapped inside a glass bottle.
The “Zuo Zhuan” records: “Human fire is called fire; heavenly fire is called calamity.”
The “Shuo Wen” also states: “Calamity is harm. The gods do not bless.”
What good meaning can these two characters have together?
To some people, “calamity” represents disasters and human misfortune; Luxianbei had long been aware of this.
But why can’t “calamity” mean dispelling disasters and avoiding misfortune?
If that doesn’t work, she could still enjoy the misfortune of others or take pleasure in calamity!
“If you refuse to accept your fate, refuse to become a true calamity, you may very well never be able to advance to the Cataclysm Grade.” The man continued, “That’s the rule…”
Hearing this, Luxianbei paused slightly but soon began crashing around again.
Becoming Cataclysm Grade, and even the most powerful urban legend of the current age, if it were a year ago, might have been incredibly tempting for her, such as when she was almost sacrificed, or when she was nearly possessed, or when she was chased by a pack of wolves…
Back then, she just wanted to live.
As long as it meant she could stay alive, she would pay any price.
If someone had told her there was a way to become the most powerful urban legend, she would have unhesitatingly followed that person’s guidance, then smashed the heads of Miss Rabbit, the Great Serpent God, and the Big Boss.
But now…
Although she still wanted to live, she was unwilling to pay some prices.
Could this be considered an inexplicably added weakness? Luxianbei thought, suddenly recalling the image of Proxy Player Sister.
She vaguely remembered how Proxy Player Sister looked when she first appeared before her, that seemingly frail and weak figure standing on the crumbling rooftop, clearly saying nothing and doing nothing, but emanating a strong sense of desolation and loneliness.
How to say it?
It was somewhat like a little abandoned kitten trying to survive in the dark corners of a steel and concrete jungle, constantly competing for food with stronger, more experienced peers, escaping multiple times from the fangs of stray dogs, enduring storms and diseases, eventually emerging with a body full of scars, transformed into a formidable old cat.
But, there was no one left to cradle it in their arms, to gently stroke its fur.
Luxianbei suddenly felt curious about whether anyone had ever said similar words to Proxy Player Sister.
If so, what choice did Proxy Player Sister make?
Would she sever all her fated connections?
If so, how would she do it?
Find those fated connections and then cut ties, or… k*ll her sister to prove her path?
Under the influence of her irreverent nature, Luxianbei’s thoughts unintentionally began to deviate again.
The figure of Proxy Player Sister swirled in her mind like a devil, one after another erasing the beautiful sisters from existence.
If she did that, it seemed to align perfectly with the core characteristic of the witch-type urban legend’s essence?
Maybe she could really advance rapidly!
Luxianbei’s thoughts continued to dash in an off-track direction, her body still crashing around. The next moment, it sounded like a faint glass object shattered.
Immediately afterward, it felt as if she had accidentally triggered a bizarre bug in a game that made collision volumes ineffective. She watched as she collided with the ground, passing right through, her vision swallowed by an abyss that felt deep yet seemed to glow and emit heat, and then began to fall.
Even without the sound of wind and lacking a sensation of weightlessness, she still felt her body falling.
Falling back into the dream woven for her by Zhang Yu.
Luxianbei thought, “……” Did she just shatter the dream within a dream crafted by that man?
Soon, as her body fell, the man’s voice rang in her ears.
“Miss Calamity, I’m sorry. It was rude of me to keep you that way just now.”
Luxianbei thought, “……” That man seemingly couldn’t bear to watch any longer and decided to let her go.
“Now, perhaps you still don’t realize the importance of what I said, but one day you will understand.”
A forced fruit is not sweet. He believed that Luxianbei’s current rejection of his words was because she had yet to undergo certain necessary experiences, just as he hadn’t done before leaping off the rooftop.
“If you don’t follow the rules, you cannot advance to the Cataclysm Grade. Without advancing to the Cataclysm Grade, you won’t have enough power to do what you want to do, such as protecting those around you…”
“If one day in the future, when you find your power is insufficient to achieve those things, I hope you remember what I told you today, as it may provide you with a small bit of help.”
After concluding, the man’s voice lingered in Luxianbei’s ears as if he were trying to imprint this content deep into her consciousness.
After a long while, the echoes of the man’s words finally dissipated, and in the next second, the darkness before her opened up suddenly, as if countless black mists rapidly dispersed. Luxianbei once again saw the light.
As she left the dream within a dream created by the man, she was forcibly expelled from Zhang Yu’s dream…
That man seemed to have really left just like that.
Luxianbei raised her head, looking at the lights on the hospital ceiling, which emitted a ghastly white glow, lost in thought until a hand quietly grasped her wrist.
The fingers of that hand were somewhat thick, seemingly belonging to a man.
Wait, a man’s hand?
That man?
Oh no! He chased her out of the dream?
Luxianbei’s heart jolted, and she instinctively called out.
“Ah! No, don’t do anything reckless. The one who deployed the parasitic urban legend was Miss Rabbit and Shuo E. It was Huaxie Yu’s idea to let me investigate the Lime Men; everything has nothing to do with me!”
“……”
Juemeng glanced sideways at Luxianbei. After pausing for a few seconds on her pale, ashen face, her gaze slowly shifted down to Zhang Yu’s hand, which was tightly wrapped in bandages, then sighed silently, patted Luxianbei on the shoulder, and pointed to Zhang Yu, whose lips were moving.
She understood Luxianbei’s feelings of being targeted by the Solar Eclipse Association President, but considering how long ago everything had happened, wasn’t this reaction a bit too extreme?
Upon seeing Juemeng’s actions, Luxianbei finally snapped back to reality from the shock brought on by that man, following the direction Juemeng pointed and looking towards Zhang Yu.
He seemed to have something he wanted to say to Luxianbei.
Luxianbei, “……”
——
Zhang Yu thought he was already dead.
Maybe he was killed by the offspring of the Haze God, or perhaps he died from the last voice he heard before losing consciousness…
Anyway, after hearing that voice, he couldn’t catch his last breath and fell unconscious.
Even during a certain period of confusion in his consciousness, the flickering images of his youth, rumored to be seen right before d*ath, flashed before his eyes.
However, he soon realized, for some unknown reason, that he was actually still alive.
Then, as he tried to perceive everything around him, he heard words like “Lime Men” and “Ying Huo.”
Lime Men are an important stronghold of the Solar Eclipse Society, while Ying Huo are the codename of the Elders’ Council members… In almost an instant, he judged that the speaker was a member of the Solar Eclipse Society.
And they could very well be from the Elder faction.
Why did they appear here… to take advantage of the chaos?
This was indeed very much in line with the operational style of Solar Eclipse Society members.
Upon realizing this, a bold thought suddenly emerged in his heart.
In fact, if it weren’t for the strong desire to stop the ritual supporting him, he might have died long ago…
Now, someone appeared at the ritual site, possibly someone from the Solar Eclipse Society. He felt it necessary to try asking these two shadows for help to fulfill his final wish, even if one of these shadows was very likely the person whose words had nearly caused his early demise.
Thus, he struggled, using up the last bit of his strength to grasp the hand of the figure closest to him.
“Do you have something to say?”
Vaguely seeing that figure leaning down to question him, his once dull eyes regained a glimmer of light.
“You’re injured this badly; wouldn’t it be better to d*e quietly?”
d*e? No, he couldn’t d*e yet! Zhang Yu thought, struggling to squeeze out a hoarse, painful groan from his bloodied teeth.
“I still can’t d*e… I haven’t… stopped…”
“Stop the ritual?”
Luxianbei studied the man on the hospital bed, who was scarcely alive, contemplatively.
She perceived a strong power of belief emanating from this man.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, a glint of fox-like cunning flashed in her eyes, and she discreetly activated her charm ability.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you, but I can tell you how to stop the ritual.”
As soon as these words left her mouth, Jumeng turned to look at Luxianbei, her eyes widening slightly, lips parted.
What does that dog think it’s doing?
The core of the Haze God offspring’s urban legend essence was almost taken back to the Peach Source by sister me to fill up the treasury’s deficit, so how could she be stopping any rituals?
Thinking this, Jumeng was about to say something to Luxianbei when Luxianbei’s hand quietly covered her mouth, and she shot her a look, signaling her to be quiet.
Don’t say a word; just watch me perform!
This is something I just learned from his superior…
Luxianbei thought sneakily, speaking to Zhang Yu, “If you want to stop this ritual and protect the city you hold dear, I can bestow you with power and let you live on.”
“The… cost…”
“You’re quite aware, huh!” Luxianbei nodded slightly, “Indeed this opportunity isn’t given for free, but requires you to pay a price. As long as you become my vassal, you can go and accomplish everything you desire!”
In fact, Zhang Yu was not necessarily doomed. Even if his life force had been severed, he could continue living by becoming a vassal of an urban legend.
When the coat was severely injured by Mu Se and nearly died, wasn’t it thanks to this method that it survived?
However, using this method required Zhang Yu to be willing.
“Vassal…” Zhang Yu’s voice trembled, hesitating, clearly caught in intense inner turmoil.
Yet, Luxianbei knew that this was precisely the moment to deceive him while he was confused!
“Think carefully; you’re almost dead. If you don’t accept my terms, you won’t survive. Even if you manage to survive by chance, you won’t have enough power to do what you want to do, such as protecting this city…”
“Or do you want to just let go of everything and allow this city to plunge into chaos, letting the morals you uphold completely collapse?”
As she spoke, Luxianbei slightly increased the output of her charm ability.
The limited glimpses of Zhang Yu’s past she had seen revealed to her that he deeply loved this mountain city and had inherited his so-called morals from his late father.
Given that Zhang Yu was already in such a grave state and still fixated on stopping the ritual, she felt it was likely she could sway his mentality.
In fact, after a bit of thought, she believed making Zhang Yu her vassal would be extremely beneficial. Not only would it add another pawn within the Solar Eclipse Society, but it would also allow Zhang Yu to personally provide her with intel about the Lime Men. Furthermore, she could leverage Zhang Yu’s capability to summon vehicles!
That was simply too cool!
If luck was on her side, she might even be able to summon a mecha? That was one of a man’s ultimate dreams!
Most importantly, Luxianbei respected him as a man.
If every land had someone who was willing to risk their life for it, there wouldn’t be any natural disasters or man-made disasters…
Aren’t you trying to brainwash me? Watch me first pry your subordinate from your grasp! Luxianbei thought fiercely.
Such behavior indeed contained some elements of deliberate retaliation.
After listening to Luxianbei’s words, Zhang Yu fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “I… agree to sign the vassal contract…”
He wasn’t afraid of d*ath at all; otherwise, he wouldn’t have faced Zhang Shuisheng and the soon-to-be-born Haze God offspring alone. But after hearing Luxianbei’s words, the fear of dying and the rising regrets made him feel an unprecedented sense of loneliness and sadness, and in that moment, he suddenly felt afraid of d*ath.
So, he chose to accept Luxianbei’s terms.
After all, for the things he upheld, he already acted as a lackey for the President’s faction once, so he didn’t mind being a lackey for the Elder faction again.
“Wait, let me correct that, it’s not a vassal contract, but a slave vassal contract.” Luxianbei said expressionlessly. “What I want is everything besides those things you uphold!”
Upon hearing this, Jumeng stared wide-eyed at Luxianbei, as if looking at a monster.
“???”
What the hell? Where did this come from, a sorceress trying to corrupt minds and induce people to fall?
Such an outrageous condition had not even been mentioned by me when I violently handled those urban legends trying to invade the Peach Source; how dare you!
Siye Society? Siye Society, hurry and manage her!
