Chapter 11: Do You Know Him?
At noon, inside the “Half Hour” Water Bar located at the front gate of Huacheng University.
Lu Yibei sat alone in a corner, staring at the clean A4 paper on the small round table, sorting through his various doubts in order to extract information from Jiang Li indirectly in the afternoon.
He thought that if he mentioned the different categories of urban legends and basic knowledge related to spirit energy, Jiang Li would likely share information with him voluntarily.
However, for more in-depth information, he might not be told since he was merely a temporary worker and not a spiritual ability user.
After pondering for a moment, he picked up a pen and began to write on the paper.
【1. The relationship between the Ming King Statue and Water Brother.
2. What does the Black Sun Totem represent?
3. The methods by which urban legends absorb spirit energy.
4. The specific days of each month…】
Lu Yibei scribbled five or six urgent questions that he wanted to know on the paper. After glancing at it for a moment and memorizing the contents, he tore the paper into shreds and crumpled it into a ball.
He glanced around to make sure no one was watching him and seemingly casually tossed the paper ball into the trash can beside his feet.
“Hey—!”
After doing all this, Lu Yibei supported his forehead with both hands and let out a long sigh.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a silly and thrilling daily romance drama? Why does it feel more like a detective story now?
I’m really not good at this kind of intellectual game!
Lu Yibei thought to himself as he picked up the cup on the table and gulped down the cola inside.
It felt like he had just consumed strong liquor, with a stinging and burning sensation flowing down his esophagus into his stomach, rolling around for a moment before settling down.
“Ah—!” Feeling the discomfort in his stomach gradually fade, Lu Yibei let out a sigh of relief.
In the “hungry” state where he couldn’t eat human food, he found that he could drink water, which was something he had discovered accidentally; thus, he tried everything from plain water to sugar water and then to soda.
After experimenting, he found that soda, which had only marginally more beneficial ingredients than sugar water, was his limit.
If he tried anything richer, like fruit juice, dairy products, or functional drinks, he would still vomit due to intense discomfort.
Although drinking cola didn’t completely solve the problem, it could at least replenish a little sugar.
Who would have thought that a terrifying urban legend that burned down a resort hotel and a ten-mile radius of primeval forest would now have to rely on junk food soda to sustain itself?
Lu Yibei mocked himself as he glanced at the time; it was 1:47, about time to meet Jiang Li.
……
At the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, in Office “V.”
After eating the lunch that Ahua brought over, Jiang Li rested for a short moment, then got up, slowly brewed herself a cup of strong tea, and opened her laptop.
There was still some time before Lu Yibei arrived, so she could play a couple of rounds!
This beautiful girl seemed to have a mysterious obsession with mahjong, engrossed in the game to the extent that she didn’t even notice when the little maid led Lu Yibei into the office.
From standing at the entrance of Mudan Street to entering Jiang Li’s office, Lu Yibei’s mood was quite complicated.
He wasn’t sure if there were any early warning systems regarding urban legends near the Huacheng Folk Culture Management Bureau, how extensive they were, or if they could discover his secret.
Until he walked into Jiang Li’s office, he was worried that an alarm would suddenly blare, followed by a dozen men in black jumping out from nowhere to beat him up.
Now that his worries had not come true, his feelings were still complex and subtle.
Previously, when he was a normal human, he was always captured. Little did he expect that now, with the layer of identity as an “urban legend,” he could walk in so boldly.
It felt a bit like a wanted criminal swaggering into a police station, ready to chat amicably with the chief of the homicide unit.
When Jiang Li looked up and saw Lu Yibei enter the office, she frowned slightly, “You arrived much earlier than we agreed.”
Lu Yibei scratched the back of his head, “Better to arrive early than late!”
Am I going to tell you that I came early because I was worried about being discovered as an urban legend? I just didn’t expect to get in so smoothly.
Tsk, scout! The more I say, the more I feel like a criminal, Lu Yibei thought.
“Hmm. You can look at it by yourself; wait until I finish my tasks, and then I’ll answer your questions,” Jiang Li said, nodding slightly while pointing to “The Book of Siye” on the desk.
It was a book entirely wrapped in dark brown leather, similar in thickness and size to the “Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary,” with no excessive decorations on the exterior, only the three golden characters “The Book of Siye” on the cover.
“Go ahead and do your thing, your matters are important, I’m just background noise!”
Hearing this, Jiang Li subtly assessed Lu Yibei before shifting her focus back to the computer screen.
Lu Yibei stepped forward, took “The Book of Siye” in both hands, and unconsciously shifted his gaze to Jiang Li.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a thin layer of light gold over Jiang Li’s figure.
Women focused on their work always possess a unique beauty, and Lu Yibei found himself momentarily captivated, until…
Until a soft, cute sound of winning in mahjong came from the computer’s speakers, and Jiang Li calmly turned down the volume.
Lu Yibei, “……” Sorry, I overthought it.
……
Sitting on the guest sofa with “The Book of Siye,” just as Lu Yibei was about to casually flip open a page to read, he suddenly realized that “The Book of Siye” was not the ordinary book he had imagined.
This thick book couldn’t be flipped randomly! It could only be flipped page by page following the page numbers, and when he tried to open it from the middle, the pages felt as though they were glued together, as hard as a brick.
Recognizing this, Lu Yibei patiently turned to the first page.
The first page contained no preface or table of contents; the first thing that caught his eye was an overview of urban legends.
A large amount of text speculated about the origins of urban legends, citing various national texts, histories, and orally passed-down legends as evidence, which were complex and difficult to understand.
Lu Yibei felt his head throb and retained no deep impressions, gradually entering a distracted, mechanical flipping state, until he came across the section about the eating methods of urban legends, which helped him regain focus.
【……Regarding the eating methods of urban legends, studies and evidence suggest that they can generally be divided into two categories: hunting and reverence…】
Seeing this, Lu Yibei squinted slightly. This was information he intended to inquire about indirectly, but he ended up reading it straight from “The Book of Siye.”
He already knew that urban legends supplemented energy by hunting humans and other urban legends from his friends at home.
What truly caught his attention was the latter method — absorbing energy through adoration, belief, fear, etc.
Could it be that the hunger he felt earlier was alleviated not only because he scared the driver but also because he turned my fabricated story into something real?
This method seemed relatively peaceful! I like it!
But since there’s such a peaceful method, why do those urban legends still hunt? I have to remember to ask this later.
Lu Yibei thought, continuing to flip, the subsequent content once again became tedious until he reached the last page of the overview of urban legends and saw a bold line of text, stopping him once more.
He blinked slightly.
【In summary, once the number of people who strongly believe in a certain urban legend reaches a certain threshold, that urban legend may become real.】
Lu Yibei, “……”
He stared at the line of text for a few seconds, and then began to mumble in his heart.
Bai Xiaohua is real, Bai Xiaohua is real, Bai Xiaohua is…
“Even if you repeat it many times, your two-dimensional wife won’t appear before you. Even if she really appears, she will likely k*ll you. Once she becomes an urban legend, you cannot hope she still retains humanity.”
Jiang Li’s voice unexpectedly interrupted at the wrong moment, stabbing into Lu Yibei’s chest like a kn*fe, making him feel a wave of pent-up frustration rise to his throat.
“d*mn, I clearly didn’t say anything out loud! How does she know?” Lu Yibei muttered softly.
Jiang Li crossed her arms and said indifferently, “Because you stared at that line too long.”
“Once, there was an agent who was a huge fan of the ‘Alien’ series. Guess what happened later?”
“Did he get face-hugged?”
“……” Jiang Li paused for a moment and then said coldly, “His city can no longer be found on the map.”
“Gulp—!” Lu Yibei’s throat moved slightly.
Jiang Li walked over and firmly closed “The Book of Siye,” staring at Lu Yibei, “Alright, you can stop here for today! Receiving too much information at once isn’t conducive to understanding and absorption.”
“After everything you’ve been through recently, I’m sure you have many questions for me, right?”
Here it comes! The most important part! Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up slightly; if it weren’t for his emotionless face, he might have shown an excited expression immediately.
“Um… let me think about where to start asking. There’s so much going on that I can’t come up with anything at the moment.”
Lu Yibei pretended to have no preparation, feigned contemplation for a moment, then asked the first question according to his plan.
“By the way, let’s start with the Ming King Statue. I’ve had it for quite a while, but I still don’t know its proper use!”
“Hmm, okay.” Jiang Li nodded slightly, “Regarding that D-class spirit energy item, for an ordinary person like you, its main function is probably just a minor evil-repelling effect.”
“Minor?” Lu Yibei asked in confusion, “What about for non-ordinary people?”
“A stronger evil-repelling effect,” Jiang Li said mildly, “When infused with spirit energy, it emits mimetic sunlight and chants sutras, exerting a suppression and expulsion effect on C-class urban legends and below.”
Wait a minute! Lu Yibei recalled the scene of using the Ming King Statue on the Lingjiang Boulevard last night, “Then… can it explode?”
Jiang Li tilted her head slightly, “Why do you ask that?”
“Uh… doesn’t it carry a nuclear warhead? I thought…”
After hearing Lu Yibei’s explanation, Jiang Li nodded slightly, “There is such a possibility. Some researchers speculate that when the purity and strength of the spirit energy emitted by the user reach a certain threshold, the mimetic sunlight and sutras it produces will be compressed into a solid form, which will explode upon contact with urban legends.”
Lu Yibei, “……” So that means I’m very pure and strong?
After a pause, Lu Yibei suddenly had a light bulb moment and pretended to recall some detail, following up with, “By the way, speaking of the Ming King Statue, I suddenly remember that it was initially given to me by an elder named Bai Kai. Do you know him? Is he a member of the Siye Society?”
When Bai Kai was mentioned, a hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Li’s eyes, and she paused for a second or two before saying lightly, “I don’t know him.”
Lu Yibei, “……” She knows! I can tell! But why is she hiding it?
