Chapter 80: The Nemesis of the Emotionless Fraudster
The fiery red light illuminated the sky, as if branding a hideous scar upon the clouds.
Du Sixian was still unsure how to gauge the strength of the spirit energy fluctuations, but as a spiritual ability user, she instinctively felt the terrifying presence of the person casting that spell formula.
Who could it possibly be?
Why does the spell formula I recited resemble the Red Flame Flash so much? Is it an advanced spell formula?
Did she intentionally let me hear it? Du Sixian wondered.
She could sense that a powerful individual was hidden atop that towering building.
However, such a far distance, along with the pale steam and dark red mist, obscured her vision, and she could only see a tiny silhouette flicker past in her line of sight.
After pondering for a long time, Du Sixian withdrew her gaze, slowly raised her hands, and assumed a position to cast the spell formula, silently recalling the incantation that had just echoed in her ears.
During her practice of the Red Flame Flash, Du Sixian had distinctly noticed that in this strange dream realm, casting spells wouldn’t put too much strain on her body.
Thus, for the time being, she interpreted the mysterious person’s action, which she learned was called the Crimson Flame Fire Spell, as a benevolent gesture.
“Wilderness of desolation, straw, remains, stir up the fire-laden wind, burn the horned beast and illuminate, foreseeing calamity, Crimson Flame Fire!”
Du Sixian recited the incantation she had just heard, and the next moment, she felt a turmoil within her that was several times stronger than when she cast the Red Flame Flash, and then…
There was nothing after that.
The Crimson Flame Fire spell seemed to summon an endless vortex within her, crazily pulling and squeezing her spirit energy. Soon, she felt completely drained, her body spasmed uncontrollably, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
In the instant before her consciousness fell into silence, Du Sixian realized one thing.
The spell formula, as a truly existent entity, could not be treated like skills in an RPG game.
In games, casting a high-level skill that cannot be temporarily deployed would prompt a system message stating “Insufficient mana.”
But high-level spell formulas do not do that. Carelessly trying to cast one would only drain one’s spirit energy and lead to a breakdown of the body.
…
At eight in the morning, Luxianbei was awakened by the alarm clock.
A prolonged irregular sleep schedule had made him feel somewhat unadapted when faced with this normal early rising and sleeping routine.
After getting out of bed, he swiftly drew open the curtains, letting sunlight fall upon his face. He recalled the expression on Du Sixian’s face from last night’s dream, which had been completely ruined, and he felt a tinge of guilt rise within him.
No, no, she ruined herself; it wasn’t me who did it. I don’t need to feel guilty.
After reassuring himself with this thought, Luxianbei felt much better and turned to change out of his pajamas, rummaging through the wardrobe to take out a knitted sweater and a pair of jeans before going downstairs.
When he arrived downstairs, Jumeng was sitting cross-legged on the couch, intently staring at the television, where a melodramatic romance series was playing.
She had been watching when Luxianbei returned yesterday, and even while lying in bed and sleeping, he had vaguely heard lines like “I’m sorry, perhaps I came at the wrong time…” and “No, you came at just the right time.”
Luxianbei found it puzzling why she, an advanced urban legend, loved such melodramatic soap operas. Perhaps it’s something that people of a certain age enjoy?
“Are you up? Ready to go to school?” Jumeng tilted her head and asked when she saw Luxianbei come down.
“Yeah.” Luxianbei replied perfunctorily as he walked toward the entryway.
“Make sure to pay attention in school, don’t argue with the teachers, and get along well with your classmates, okay~!” Jumeng advised, “Be careful on the road, and remember to eat breakfast.”
The tone of this conversation… Luxianbei frowned slightly and looked at Jumeng, “Are you my mom?”
“Eh?” Jumeng paused for a moment, looking a bit shy, “Though my age could definitely qualify me to be your mother, I actually prefer the title ‘sister.’”
“However, if you insist, then from now on, we’ll each have our own way; you call me ‘mom,’ and I’ll call you ‘brother’?”
“…”
Luxianbei nearly fell off the chair while changing his shoes, stabilizing himself and casting a mournful glance at Jumeng.
The audacity of an urban legend must surely grow with age; otherwise, how could she be so thick-skinned?
While Luxianbei was mentally criticizing this, scenes from last night’s dream suddenly flashed in his mind. He became stunned for a moment, then quickly asked Jumeng, “So, do you know what Crimson Flame Fire is?”
“Ah? What did you just say?” Jumping out from the false romance of the TV show, Jumeng froze upon hearing the term “Crimson Flame Fire” and looked at Luxianbei seriously, “Where did you hear this spell formula’s name?”
Is there something wrong with this spell formula? Watching Jumeng’s reaction, Luxianbei was secretly stunned but maintained an expressionless demeanor, shrugging, “Just heard it by chance.”
“Let me tell you, the Crimson Flame Fire is a highly powerful and precise spell formula whose power is not weaker than that of forbidden spell formulas. It’s even numbered in the eighties within the Siye Society. With your level of spirit energy, trying to cast it recklessly could turn you into a dry corpse on the spot.”
“You can’t act recklessly; if you d*e, no one will help me gather the core essence of urban legends to heal!”
Luxianbei, “…” Am I your slave? I was just a bit touched at first!
After a moment of silence, he replied, “You’re overthinking it; I only know a name.”
He said this with a calm exterior, but in his heart, he was already in disarray.
d*mn! Why do I know such a high-level spell formula?
Although Luxianbei didn’t know what the concept of a spell numbered in the eighties entailed, from what Jumeng said, he felt that if Du Sixian used it recklessly, she would definitely be done for.
What do I do now? Inciting familiars to infiltrate the Siye Society, secretly teaching them to approach powerful forbidden spell formulas, and who knows how many years she’d get if caught?
Thinking of this, Luxianbei suddenly felt as if he had been dumped with a bucket of cold water, completely chilled.
If all else fails…
His gaze slowly shifted toward Jumeng, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Think of a way to bind her and take her to the Siye Society to turn herself in, hoping to gain leniency for a few years off her sentence.
“Luxianbei…” Just as he was pondering, a chilling voice from Jumeng suddenly reached his ears.
“Hmm? Ah? What’s wrong?”
“Are you plotting something detrimental to me?” Jumeng’s expression darkened.
“Not at all!” Luxianbei lied earnestly.
He was very familiar with lying; thanks to his poker face, he had never failed, and by now, he was confident he could deceive anyone.
However, this time he had encountered his nemesis! The nemesis of the emotionless fraudster!
“Really? But…” As Jumeng spoke, she raised her right hand, revealing a luminous pattern of intertwining leaves and flames on her fair skin.
“Do you know what this represents?”
“Uh, where there are dancing leaves, flames also flourish endlessly?”
“…” Jumeng rolled her eyes at his response, “This represents that you are plotting to violate our cooperative agreement.”
“Oi, how can you be so heartless? I’m getting old; you stabbed me in the back, leaving me bedridden while risking being devoured by other urban legends, and here I am still considering your safety, yet you actually want to harm me? Hahaha, men…”
Jumeng began pressuring Luxianbei psychologically, resembling a small grievance, and just then, Luxianbei slowly raised his right hand, directing the glowing pattern on his palm toward Jumeng, silencing her immediately.
We’re both ancient foxes; who do you think you’re playing this chat with?
They exchanged glances across the space, and the room was filled with an awkward atmosphere.
Jumeng, “…” Hiding snacks—does this also count as plotting against him?
