Chapter 35: I Want to Fly Higher!
Huacheng, Linjiang Road, a secluded riverside park.
Since the nights have become long, very few people have visited here, and the maintenance workers from the landscaping unit are clearly less engaged. The whole park presents a scene of decay.
In the greenbelt, shrubs and weeds are intermingled and growing wildly, the broad leaves of lush banana trees hang down, casting a shadow, under which large rats scurry about.
In the dark corners, something gray and dim is surging silently, twisting into various strange shapes.
In one corner of the park, the public restroom’s two large doors are tightly closed, with rusted chains and a large iron lock dangling from them, and faint sighs can be heard from behind the door.
Suddenly, the dark and dilapidated park is illuminated by flames.
As if sensing something, the rats in the shadows flee in panic, the bizarre shadows stop twisting, and the faint sighing sounds in the restroom also quiet down.
In the next moment, a girl’s youthful shout echoes above the park.
“Ah—! Stop, stop, stop!”
“Crash Vallardo!”
“d*mn!”
The girl’s shouts get closer, and a gust of wind sweeps through, causing the vegetation in the whole park to rustle, followed by a fireball descending from the sky, crashing into the flowerbed in the center of the park and creating a deep pit.
Dirt and stones fly, thick smoke with a sulfurous smell fills the air, and the fallen leaves and dry branches crackle as they burn.
Once the dust settles, a proportionate and slender yet curvy little leg appears at the edge of the pit, spasms a couple of times, and retreats inside.
“Phew—! What is that smell? It’s disgusting!”
Cursing with a childish voice, Luxianbei crawls out of the pit, spitting out a tree root from her mouth, looking gloomy.
At Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, things were urgent, and she was solely focused on following the mysterious girl’s guidance to swiftly escape Jiang Li and the impending reinforcements from the Siye Society.
After leaving the resort hotel, once her emotions calmed down slightly, the first thing she thought of was to study the changes in her body.
After some contemplation, she realized that a perfect place for this was here, a riverside park far from the urban area, as it could meet both conditions of having a mirror and being alone.
After all, with urban legends becoming prevalent, at night, such a secluded small park would even deter the homeless.
However, she encountered a serious problem just before arriving here.
Just like how she had no idea how she had flown up, she also had no idea how to land. After multiple “attempts,” she was ultimately forced to choose a “face-plant” landing.
In fact, when preparing to land, she found that she had no clue how to reduce her speed and momentarily thought that falling from such a high place would result in serious injury, if not d*ath.
Fortunately, the strength of this body was much higher than she had imagined.
“Phew——!” Sitting n*ked by the edge of the pit, Luxianbei finally regained her composure, letting out a breath of earthy-smelling air, and got up to walk towards the mirror in front of the restroom.
The reason she came here was initially to study her body; although there had been some unexpected complications during the process, she…
Now that she was here, she still needed to do what she came to do!
…
Luxianbei stood in front of the mirror at the washbasin, raised her hand, and saw the cute little hand, paused for a moment, then brushed away the dust accumulated on the mirror.
As the dust cleared, illuminated by the firelight behind her, the reflection revealed the outline of a petite girl.
Luxianbei steadied herself, and soon her eyes seemed to gain night vision, gradually bringing the image in the mirror into clarity. She was surprised for a moment, then leaned in closer.
In the mirror.
The girl had pinkish-white long hair hanging down, with bangs revealing a heart-melting, delicate oval face, flawless white skin flushing with a faint rosy hue, and dark red eyes that glimmered with a molten glow.
Though small in stature, she wasn’t weak; beneath the proportionate frame, there was a slight baby fat, adding a cute feel to her beauty.
Luxianbei carefully touched the barren chest, the smooth and elastic texture igniting a sense of indescribable shame within her.
As that strange feeling arose, her body trembled slightly, and she immediately felt the vibrant heartbeat beneath this body.
“She” was indeed alive, not a statue or an artwork!
Perhaps due to that inexplicable sense of shame causing her to feel slightly hot all over, her long hair gradually turned red, and the temperature around her suddenly rose a few degrees, then…
“Sizzle——!” The stagnant water on the washbasin began to boil away with a light sound, snapping Luxianbei back to reality, after which her mood quickly sank.
As her spirits fell, the “researching her body” plan got thrown out the window; she was more worried about what would happen next.
“Is this… the price for surviving?” Luxianbei murmured in a daze.
What am I going to do!
To survive, I can sacrifice my innocence, but I never said I’d sacrifice all dignity…
Tsk, I could actually do without dignity, but this situation is just too…
Too hard! Too embarrassing!
I don’t know if what that mysterious girl said about bathing in the morning sun would temporarily restore my original appearance is true.
What if it doesn’t work? Will I have to maintain this appearance indefinitely?
Even if it were possible, I wonder what she meant by having a few days like that every month.
Luxianbei really wanted to confide in someone about her current frustrations, but upon reflection, she suddenly realized that in this situation, she didn’t have a single person to share her thoughts with.
If her father was still alive, they could have talked heart to heart, but with his personality, encountering something like this, he would surely suppress his laughter, even openly guffawing, saying “Not bad, regardless of whether you have a boy or girl.”
Water Brother, being a good buddy of her father, would probably think similarly.
Besides, although Su Mi was a childhood friend, their relationship wasn’t close enough for her to bare her heart, and that mysterious girl also said not to tell anyone about her identity.
As for other friends… she hadn’t kept in touch with any during her two years in the hospital.
“Hey——!” After a long contemplation, Luxianbei leaned against her forehead with a long sigh, feeling that life was a bit of a failure.
Anyway, I should get back to the hospital, wait for daytime to see if I can truly revert to my original state!
If that doesn’t work, I certainly can’t follow the mysterious girl’s advice to return to the ward as if nothing had happened.
In this form, even if I pretend to be oblivious, the Siye Society’s people definitely wouldn’t act as if nothing happened.
Looking at how Jiang Li reacted earlier, it’s like he wanted to perish with me! Scared the hell out of me!
Forget it, these issues can’t be resolved right now, let’s just get back to the hospital first, Luxianbei thought, turning away from the wash basin in front of the restroom.
As she turned around, she completely failed to notice that in the mirror behind her, the reflection had not changed at all; the girl in the mirror stood still, watching her retreating figure, shivering nervously.
This is so incredibly scary!
In such a secluded little park, waiting for a year and a half without seeing a single prey is one thing!
Now, finally a “human” showed up, and she’s a high-level urban legend! This is just too difficult!
…
Leaving the washbasin in front of the restroom, Luxianbei walked to the empty space in the middle of the park, expressionless, resting her chin in thought for a while, then struck a superhero flying pose, firmly stomping the ground with her feet and leaping upwards.
“Boom——!” With a crash of earth and rock collapsing, she rocketed upward like a cannonball, quickly disappearing from sight.
Dozens of seconds later.
“Ah——!” With a shriek, she fell again, crashing down into the ground once again and creating a deep pit.
Her body ached, her mouth filled with the taste of soil, and Luxianbei lay in the pit for a while before slowly crawling out.
Sitting on the edge of the pit, looking at the charred remains within, Luxianbei wore a troubled expression.
Now, she felt like she was guarding a massive treasure that looked embarrassing on the outside but had no key to open its doors.
She couldn’t fly anymore, and it was unclear if she was doing something wrong or if her “fuel” had run out; in any case, she just couldn’t fly.
What am I supposed to do now? If I can’t fly, do I have to run back to the hospital n*ked?
Actually, that’s not impossible? Luxianbei squinted her eyes, as if weighing something.
Imagining a white-haired girl, running down a deserted street at midnight without clothes, that girl probably should be herself…
Luxianbei’s cheeks instantly flushed red, and the dirt beneath her bum made a “sizzling” sound, releasing puffs of white smoke.
No, no! Absolutely not!
Luxianbei shook her head vigorously, throwing that bizarre thought out of her mind.
Luxianbei thought as her gaze slowly shifted to the pit beside her.
What if… I try again?
Let’s try! After all, I won’t d*e from a fall!
…
“O burning, eternal flame! Magical girl! Transform, change!”
“Boom——!”
“I want to fly higher! Ah~♪”
“Boom——!”
“O great spirit of air elements! Hear my call! Levitation!”
“Boom——!”
…
Once again, as she fell from the high sky, Luxianbei lay sprawled out, bare-chested in the pit, resembling a fish that had lost its dreams.
She realized something: the kind of instant skill acquisition after leveling up in video games does not exist in reality.
This won’t work! It’s almost dawn! I’m afraid I really need to…
Luxianbei was contemplating when her peripheral vision caught sight of the burning banana leaves overhead, a bold idea suddenly came to mind.
A few minutes later.
Looking down at her body wrapped in banana leaves, Luxianbei nodded in satisfaction.
This should do it, right?
A little cover is better than going completely n*ked!
Even if accidentally seen, it could at most be taken as performance art and wouldn’t be regarded as bizarre behavior.
Finally solving one major source of anxiety, Luxianbei let out a long breath and turned to walk out of the park.
Not long after, it seemed she remembered something important, hurriedly ran back, stopped in front of the mirror, gazing at the girl inside, trying to force a smile, but her expression gradually grew grim.
A big hole like that in my chest has healed, but this face paralysis problem, is it really not going to get better!?
Not even that mysterious power could cure it!?
“d*mn!”
Luxianbei suddenly yelled, and in the next moment, she saw the reflection in the mirror tremble violently, scream, and run off, disappearing from view.
“…”
As the figure in the mirror ran away, Luxianbei outside the mirror froze for a few seconds, her pupils dilating, and screamed, replicating exactly the same posture as she dashed off, and as she ran, the banana leaves on her body caught fire.
In a mix of fear and anxiety, it was as if some hidden potential was awakened within her; she sped up, leaving trails of flames on the road, and then…
She flew into the air.
That night, with the help of the mirror ghost, Luxianbei learned to fly.
…
At 6:37 AM, under the night sky, the Huacheng Central Hospital was completely serene.
“Whoosh——!” A figure flew from the horizon, stirring up gusts of wind in the sky, then plummeting downward, nearing the rooftop of the inpatient building.
Just as Luxianbei was two or three meters away from the rooftop, she suddenly crashed into something.
Above the inpatient building, it was as if an invisible barrier had opened; Luxianbei, flying at high speed, crashed into it unprepared.
“Boom——!” With a thud, she found herself n*ked, suspended in the air in a big letter shape above the rooftop as her long hair flew behind her, then slowly landed like a thin layer of duvet.
The violent impact left her momentarily dazed, and before she could regain her senses, a dazzling sea blue light burst forth before her.
In the light, countless playing cards flew towards her, battering her like a torrential downpour, as if a pair of strong hands grabbed her petite body and tossed her outward.
“Bang—— Crash—— Crack—— Whoosh——!”
Luxianbei traced an arc in the air, landing on the terrace of the outpatient department’s fifth floor, bouncing once, and then flying out again, crashing into the lush treetops nearby, slowing down, breaking countless branches, and hanging upside down on a sturdy branch.
“……”
What the hell? What happened? What was that just now?
Hanging upside down on the branch, Luxianbei only saw gold stars before her eyes, feeling as if every bone in her body was about to fall apart, everything ached.
“The patient I admitted a couple of days ago might have Nightfall Syndrome, with fish eggs growing in the bl**d vessels, this symptom has never been heard of! So pitiful!”
“Hey——! Who says otherwise? I want to help him, but I’m powerless; I can only find ways to alleviate his suffering a bit.”
Voices floated in the air, and through the window ahead, Luxianbei saw two figures approaching in the corridor. She froze for a moment, then snapped back to reality, quickly sat up straight, crawled a short distance along the branch, and hid.
“Wait! What’s that?”
“What, what? Don’t joke around!”
“I just saw… gurgle! I saw someone hanging outside the window, a head, like a baby, head down, white, white-haired… before I could clear it up, it disappeared with a whoosh!”
“d*mn! Don’t talk anymore, I want to go back!”
“Didn’t you say you were going to the restroom together? Why…”
“I have a urinal in the duty room!”
Hearing the conversation between the two doctors, Luxianbei silently thought, “Sorry, I didn’t want this!”
But…
You are the baby! At least look more closely!
Even though I’ve changed, I might be a bit young, but I’m still a girl, right?
After some complaints, she turned her gaze towards the direction of the inpatient building, her eyes narrowing slightly as she pondered.
What was that situation just now? A formation? A seal? A restriction?
Luxianbei furrowed her willow brows, searching her mind for terms from various novels, anime, and films, but couldn’t figure out what that array of blue-light-flying playing cards was.
But regardless of what it was, its function was likely to prevent the urban legends from entering the inpatient building.
Feeling slight discontent rise within her, she sensed a sense of unjust treatment.
Only at this moment did she truly realize that she had indeed transformed into an urban legend.
What to do?
With such things around, won’t I be unable to get in?
How can I pretend nothing happened and return to the ward?
Sitting on the branch, her petite body hidden among the dense canopy, staring at the direction of the inpatient building lost in thought for a while, Luxianbei suddenly thought of another serious question.
If she couldn’t enter the inpatient building, how did that man who controlled the cicada swarm bring her out from inside?
Did he bribe someone in the hospital?
But…
When I woke up, I was far away from the hospital; even if I fell into deep sleep, if someone carried me out of the ward and ran that far, I couldn’t have noticed anything at all, could I?!
How strange!
…
“There’s a problem! Something’s very off here!” In a speeding car, Bai Kai’s puzzled voice echoed in the cabin.
A little over ten minutes ago, Bai Kai had arrived at the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, and upon finding An Qing and Jiang Li unconscious in the fire, he immediately brought them to a safe area and provided them with purified silver.
That was a type of high-purity silver mixed with special spices, crafted through alchemy into a model of the Primordial Spirit, resembling mercury, and effective for healing the wounded spirit ability users.
Once the two woke up and he heard their accounts of what had happened, Bai Kai was overwhelmed with confusion.
Bai Kai cupped his chin, his expression serious as he muttered to himself, “You’re saying that the witch didn’t k*ll you after awakening, but instead ran away?”
“That makes no sense! Both of you, one is close to A-grade spirit energy, and the other just barely reached A-grade, with a bit of refinement, that’s hundreds of portions of Primordial Spirit!”
“Isn’t a newly born witch supposed to need the Primordial Spirit to consolidate her power? How could she just let you go?”
“This is akin to winning millions in the lottery and not claiming the prize, isn’t that a bit foolish? Or is there some hidden transaction going on?”
Hearing this, Jiang Li, who was still feeling weak, sat up straight, her face cold, “Are you doubting me?”
“This…” Bai Kai scratched the back of his head, “Not really, it’s just that this matter is too strange.”
Bai Kai naturally didn’t doubt Jiang Li; due to personal experiences, she was the most hostile towards urban legends in the entire Siye Society. Given the opportunity, she would want to eradicate every last one of them.
“Alright, alright.” An Qing saw that the atmosphere was becoming tense and quickly stepped in, “Currently, it’s a blessing that there were no casualties, right?”
At this moment, the driver, Agent Li Xuan, also shifted his body and said cheerfully, “An Qing is right; facing an urban legend of that level, surviving is already good!”
“As for what that witch’s purpose is…”
“We will slowly investigate that later; we will not show any leniency!”
With this declaration, the expressions of the four agents in the car grew solemn, and they all nodded in agreement.
In the next instant, An Qing felt a tremor from the badge on her chest. Her fingertips brushed against it, reading the information hidden within the wave pattern, before twitching her lip.
“Everyone, it seems we need to turn back.”
“What’s up?” Bai Kai frowned, “What other issues have come up?”
“It’s not that.” An Qing rubbed her forehead, “It’s Gu Xiliu; she left Qingyuan Ferry Dock and just reached the resort hotel; seeing that no one is around… she cried.”
“……” The others fell silent for a few seconds, then the cabin echoed with a simultaneous sigh.
(Editing is complete; I’ve added a bit of detail; can this count as a little bonus update?!)
emmm
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The previous chapter felt a bit abrupt, so I added some details. Friends who are interested can look back and check it out~ @@
