Chapter 134: Touching the Corpse
The earthen house, sealed for many years, had long been eroded by the power of time, crumbling to the point of being as fragile as a simple folded cardboard. Under violent collisions, it could collapse in an instant.
Watching the rising dust not far away, Luxianbei narrowed her eyes slightly, pondered for two seconds, and followed the guidance of her instincts, turning to leave.
That silhouette, which had been sent flying, could lift a stone tower several stories tall with just one hand; at the very least, it was a Spiritual Ability User or urban legend focused on physical strength.
And that “giant” lying motionless on the palace-like stone structure gave off a terrifying oppressive feeling even when still.
Luxianbei felt that, just based on surface strength, she had no confidence in dealing with any of them.
The current situation was like two wild dogs with sharp teeth and claws fighting to the d*ath on the street, while she was just a little kitten passing by. If she got caught up in their war, it would be disastrous.
So… if not now, then when?
She had just entered Yumen Pass, and everything here was unknown to her. There was no time to deal with someone else’s problems.
She had a pile of things to handle herself!
Such as finding Water Brother, observing and familiarizing herself with the environment, clarifying her situation, and quickly locating the main force…
Any major force would do.
In any case, she was confident in easily infiltrating the enemy’s interior, then taking advantage of the situation whenever possible.
It was much easier to do things with more people around, whether it involved pulling someone to block a kn*fe during an attack, tricking others to take the lead as cannon fodder, or, when necessary, stirring everyone’s emotions to help her do something—everything would be very convenient.
But soon, after walking a short distance, she suddenly noticed that the figure that had fallen from mid-air had remained still. Even after the dust from the collapsing house had completely settled, there was no one crawling out from the ruins. She couldn’t help but slow down her pace, eventually coming to a complete stop.
Seeing that the wild dog had fallen and lost its power to resist, the “little kitten” began to have bad thoughts.
“……”
Could that guy be dead? If so, maybe she could score some benefits?
Although curiosity about such things carried a significant risk of misfortune, one couldn’t be unlucky all their life, could they?
Moreover, she had just absorbed a large amount of “luck” from Fang Ji; based on previous experience, a MAX luck buff would at least last for a couple of hours.
At worst, after searching that guy’s corpse, she would stab it a few more times to destroy the evidence! After all, in a place like Yumen Pass, it’s not unusual for someone to d*e or two, and no one would associate it with her, Luxianbei thought.
Hey! Maybe this really is a way?
Hanging out with the main force, although it might be relatively safe from a certain perspective, also had its obvious drawbacks; that was, the target was too big and too likely to attract the attention of unknown, terrifying entities within Yumen Pass.
In contrast, if she found the main force and followed them silently, letting them help her pave the way, then collecting corpses or delivering finishing blows as needed would surely earn her a windfall.
The more Luxianbei thought about it, the more excited she felt, and she decided to put her thoughts into action.
Pulling back her thoughts, she returned to the window, leaned against the wall, carefully used her spiritual sense to probe the surroundings, and waited for a moment, ensuring that no premonitory thoughts flashed through her mind before she flipped out of the window and suddenly accelerated, dashing into the ruins where the silhouette had fallen.
The giant’s punch was so powerful and heavy that when that silhouette fell, it completely destroyed the small earthen house, even creating a large pit in the ground.
Decay wood beams, compacted yellow earth, broken tiles—all covered the area, burying the silhouette, leaving only a small portion of an arm exposed.
That hand had slender fingers, and even though stained with a bit of bl**d, it still appeared beautiful?
Could it be a girl? Luxianbei thought, but then the image of Fang Ji flashed through her mind, and she immediately dismissed that thought.
Those who looked like girls weren’t necessarily girls, and besides, merely having hands that looked like a girl’s didn’t mean anything.
After arriving at the ruins, Luxianbei briefly observed her surroundings before commencing her corpse-searching mission.
Like a mouse scavenging through the wasteland, she carefully dug through the rubble, avoiding any physical contact with the buried person to prevent an attack from an unknown force. About three minutes later, a heavily injured girl appeared in her line of sight.
She had short golden hair that brushed her ears, with a few strands of blue hanging down in front. Her outer clothing was completely torn, leaving barely a few strips of fabric, indistinguishable in style. Only a women’s sports tank top covered her crucial parts, exposing her bl**d-stained, wheat-colored skin.
Her figure was tall and her limbs slender, yet she didn’t appear weak; the subtly visible muscle contours beneath her skin and her prominent abdominal muscles gave her a sense of beauty in strength, radiating an aura reminiscent of a cheetah.
An athletic girl, huh?
Tsk, too bad she’s not my type!
But she must be dead, right? A bone spear as thick as an arm was embedded in her stomach, and her intestines were almost coming out; if she were alive, one would have to question whether she was a member of the Miracle Cult…
Luxianbei grimaced, withdrawing her gaze from the girl’s body, focusing instead on her crossbody bag.
That crossbody bag was entirely black, glimmering with a faint metallic sheen, and it was unclear what material it was made from; shockingly, it remained intact despite such a degree of assault.
Before opening the crossbody bag, to avoid being harmed by any dangerous items inside, Luxianbei took out two Gray Owls and retreated two meters away, commanding the Gray Owls to unzip the bag and rummage through its contents.
Soon, the two Gray Owls had pulled everything out of the crossbody bag.
A half-eaten peanut-flavored energy bar, a dead cellphone, a girl’s manga titled “Romantic History of Fox Demon Harem,” and several bottles of unknown alchemical potions… that was all the stuff in the crossbody bag.
Upon seeing that there were only these items in the bag, Luxianbei felt a wave of disappointment wash over her.
Is this it? Just this? What kind of junk is this?
You were at least an A-Class Spiritual Ability User; how could you end up so poor? Were you here hiking?
d*mn it, I took such a huge risk to come touch a corpse, and all I got was these almost negligible gains, is this worth the luck I absorbed from Fang Ji? Luxianbei thought indignantly.
But then again, she considered it might make sense.
If she hadn’t absorbed a wave of luck from Fang Ji, rushing over here recklessly to touch the corpse might have had consequences far worse than just “zero drops.”
However…
She glanced again at that crossbody bag, still feeling frustrated.
In her anger, with a flick of her thoughts, the two Gray Owls grabbed the crossbody bag and shook it violently, as if trying to jostle the bag’s interior out.
Then, with a vigorous shake, a glimmering object fell out of the crossbody bag, landing amidst the rubble with a light “clink.”
Hearing the sound, Luxianbei’s eyes lit up.
Could it be something good?!
The pleasant jingle accompanying that glimmering light had at least an eighty percent chance of being something valuable!
Luxianbei thought as she quickly rushed over, scanning the rubble until she found the item that had just fallen from the crossbody bag, her complexion turning pale in an instant.
It was a Mourning Gray Owl Badge…
Bright green, translucent, resembling a jade carving.
The jade Mourning Gray Owl Badge, Luxianbei had only seen in one place—Zhang Hainan’s possession.
This meant that the girl beside her had, at the Siye Society, at least a status close to Zhang Hainan.
Could she be a guardian?
Uh… maybe not? Is there really such a young guardian?
However, it was certain she held a rank higher than her godmother’s position; after all, even the inspectors had golden Mourning Gray Owl Badges.
In an instant, Luxianbei felt a headache coming on.
What is this?
Touching a corpse, not only did she find no treasure, but she also dug up a ghost—it felt like she had drawn the short straw after eight lifetimes of bad luck.
Just as Luxianbei was grumbling in her heart, a sudden, painful groan reached her ears.
“Ugh… cough cough…”
Following the sound of the groan, she saw the girl who had been lying motionless a second before, her eyelids fluttering twice, then suddenly sitting up with her eyes wide open.
Great, she’s been caught by the ghost on the spot…
Their eyes met, and Luxianbei’s body stiffened, frozen in place.
However, the girl seemed not to have noticed what Luxianbei had just done; after studying her for a few seconds, her eyes brightened. “You are a Dachunyang Palace Disciple, right?”
“Uh…” Luxianbei opened her mouth, then nodded firmly, “Ah yes, yes, I am a Dachunyang Palace Disciple. I saw you fly over from that direction and got buried down here, so I specially came to dig you out, but I thought…”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to the girl’s stomach.
Seemingly sensing Luxianbei’s attention, the girl laughed heartily, “Ha! This little wound is nothing!”
Luxianbei, “???” You call this a little wound? What monstrous vitality is that?
However, the next second, the girl proved with action that being pierced by a bone spike as thick as an arm indeed counted as a minor injury for her.
With a “pop,” she pulled out the bone spike, disregarding the large wound that bled profusely, and lifted her bloody hand to pat Luxianbei’s shoulder.
“Although I’m not heavily injured, I suggest we leave here quickly. We caused such a commotion just now that those ghostly things are definitely going to be drawn here; if we’re not careful, we might get devoured.”
Those ghostly things? What could they be? Can even A-Class Spiritual Ability Users be devoured? Could they be Cataclysm Grade? Luxianbei’s heart was filled with shock.
Before she could voice her doubts, the surroundings suddenly began to darken, as if night were gradually swallowing the sunlight; the already dim light rapidly faded until everything was enveloped in darkness.
Every visible object was reduced to vague outlines.
The darkness seemed influenced by some power, tinted with malicious deep red; the surrounding air appeared to stop flowing, becoming exceptionally thick, permeated with the scent reminiscent of raw iron.
In her ears, that chilling laughter grew clearer, seeming to come from right behind her, or perhaps from within the bl**d-painted, twisted patterns on the walls of those houses.
As the laughter echoed louder, Luxianbei faintly made out whispers mingling with it.
A long, complex, and dizzying sound filled the air, with each syllable broken and difficult to distinguish; it spread through the shadows enveloping the surroundings, flooding her ears and making her brain feel like it would explode with sharp pain.
In the next moment, the writhing darkness seemed to come alive, convulsing spasmodically, as countless scarlet eyes emerged from among it, gazing in all directions.
Luxianbei, “……”
