Chapter 119: Over-preparation is Always Better than Being Unprepared
At 10:37 AM, Huacheng University.
It was the second period of the morning; students without classes had already returned to their dorms, while those with classes were mostly staying in the classrooms, either listening intently or passing time on their phones.
At this moment, two figures sneaked out of the teaching building, glancing around before quickly running towards the school gate.
“See? I told you!” said a tall, slender boy disdainfully, “At this time, there’s no teacher wandering around outside. Nothing will happen!”
His slightly chubby companion looked worried and replied, “I’m still a bit uneasy. I’ve never skipped class to go online before, what if we get caught…”
“Tsk!” The tall boy spat, clearly impatient. “It’s not that easy to get caught. I’ve done this several times! I’m telling you, the teacher won’t take attendance again after calling it once!”
“Is that even a reason to think you won’t get caught? If we do get caught, it would be like running into a ghost during broad daylight!”
As the tall boy spoke, he turned around to look at his chubby friend, only to find him staring straight ahead, his face pale, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you come along to level up? Why haven’t you gone outside? You’re so scared you look like a ghost!” the tall boy snapped.
“You just said if we got caught, what would you call that?” the chubby boy replied weakly.
“I said, if we got caught, it would be like encountering a ghost in broad daylight, what’s wrong with that?”
“Gulp—!” The chubby boy swallowed hard, pointing into the distance with a trembling voice, “What’s that over there?”
The tall boy followed the direction his friend was pointing and saw a figure in front of the teaching building, floating above the empty street, swiftly passing by, appearing and disappearing under the bright sunlight.
When they finally snapped out of it and fumbled to capture this bizarre scene, the figure had vanished in the direction of Gate Four.
“…”
What was that just now? Was the sun too bright, or did I see things? I heard from a senior that Gate Four is rumored to be haunted?
A myriad of thoughts filled their minds as the two boys, who were ready to skip class for an internet café, exchanged looks, shivering in silence.
After a long pause, the tall boy reluctantly said, “Uh, I think I forgot my ID. How about we go back first, and after class, we can go back to the dorm to get it?”
“…” The chubby boy pondered for a few seconds before nodding, “Then let’s head back? I suddenly feel like I actually love studying; going online doesn’t seem that important after all.”
“By the way, my mom mentioned that there’s a very effective temple of the Goddess of Childbirth in the western suburbs. How about we go check it out after school?”
“Sure! Please make sure to take me with you!”
…
Feeling the overwhelming pressure of the spirit energy fluctuations, the Decapitated Senior felt trapped in a maze woven from spirit energy, unable to escape the fear that clung to her like a shadow no matter which direction she took.
All she could do was keep running to escape.
Though in this state, she couldn’t ensure that passersby couldn’t see her, as if Luxianbei was suspended in mid-air.
But she didn’t dare to stop for even a moment; she had a feeling that if she lingered for just a few seconds, that terrifying invisible presence would catch up to her.
So she ran frantically until she reached the main road to Gate Four, just about to enter the abandoned duty room where she usually hid when that dreadful spirit energy fluctuation suddenly disappeared.
It felt like the gloom hanging in the sky had been dispersed by a gentle breeze; her burden lessened drastically, and she collapsed in front of the abandoned duty room.
At that moment, Luxianbei awoke.
He lay on the ground, suddenly sitting up straight, gasping for air like someone pulled from drowning, opening his eyes wide.
He still clutched that strange photo in his hand, and all he could see was a scene of desolation and overgrown weeds.
“Where is this…” Luxianbei muttered in confusion.
“This is the duty room near Gate Four.”
“Uh?” Hearing the Decapitated Senior’s voice beside him, Luxianbei turned to see the slender figure without a head.
The gory neck stump of the Decapitated Senior filled his vision, and Luxianbei felt his heart clench; he quickly averted his gaze and weakly asked, “Y-Your head is missing? And, uh, how did we end up here? Weren’t we just at the staff dormitory?”
He furtively glanced back at the Decapitated Senior.
What’s going on with her to make such a bizarre sound?
d*mn it, it’s really too curious, but I can’t dare to ask. Luxianbei thought.
“Head?” The Decapitated Senior was taken aback by Luxianbei’s question, reaching up to feel her empty shoulders, exclaiming, “Oh no! I ran too fast just now and it fell off!”
“But it’s okay, we’ll find it later. The important thing is that we escaped.”
Luxianbei, “…”
So…
Her body and head’s connection might not be as strong as I imagined?
Luxianbei thought, pressing for more information, “You just said we escaped? Does that mean that the terrifying urban legend you mentioned earlier actually appeared?”
“No!” the Decapitated Senior replied seriously, shaking her head. “It’s an even more terrifying urban legend. Although I didn’t see its form, I can sense it’s far stronger than the one I discovered yesterday. No, at least two or three levels higher!”
Luxianbei, “…”
From what she said, there’s actually an urban legend hiding within the school that’s several levels higher than that bizarre old man?
Oh my! Isn’t this just an ordinary university? Why are there so many urban legends gathering here?
Is studying even possible anymore?
As Luxianbei contemplated this, the Decapitated Senior continued, “Last night when I sensed that terrifying urban legend attacking the counselor, I just felt a chill all over, like a filthy cold wind swirling around me, but…”
“But just now, that urban legend was different. Really, facing it was like standing before a volcano that could erupt at any moment. No matter how I ran, there was no way to escape the eruption’s radiation. It was terrifying, truly terrifying.”
Luxianbei, “…”
Why does that feeling sound so familiar?
d*mn it, I can’t remember where I’ve heard it before.
Luxianbei thought, gently patting the Decapitated Senior’s shoulder, “It’s okay, don’t be scared. That urban legend you mentioned might not have any malicious intent.”
“How do you know?” The Decapitated Senior asked, a bit agitated, as dark red bl**d spurted from the crater of her neck.
“…” Luxianbei silently wiped away the bl**d splatter on his face, maintaining a blank expression, “Just think about it. If that urban legend were truly as terrifying as you say, how could it let us go so easily?”
“If it wanted to k*ll us, wouldn’t it be effortlessly powerful?”
“This…” The Decapitated Senior was silent for a few seconds before affirmatively saying, “You are right. An urban legend of that level, if it wanted to target us, we might not even have a chance to fight back.”
“Exactly! So, there’s no need for you to worry like that.” Luxianbei reassured her.
However, knowing that there’s a terrifying urban legend hidden in the school was valuable information. Even if it might not have any immediate malicious intent, they couldn’t just sit back and wait; preparations needed to be made sooner rather than later.
Just because it didn’t have any ill will today doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. The feeling of having one’s life and d*ath controlled by others is not good at all.
If push comes to shove, I can only find a way to ask Jumeng for help. At least she only seeks money, not lives.
Luxianbei thought, choosing not to share his worries with the Decapitated Senior to avoid adding to her anxiety, and instead stood up, speaking with an upbeat tone, “Alright, escaping is a good thing.”
“As we agreed initially, I’m going to ask Professor Ma for information about that girl, and you…”
Luxianbei paused midway while looking at the Decapitated Senior’s empty shoulders, putting his hand to his forehead, “You should go find your head first, okay? Let’s inform each other later if there’s any news.”
“Mm, alright, I’ll go now.” The Decapitated Senior replied.
……
After bidding farewell to the Decapitated Senior, Luxianbei left the school through the main road to Gate Four and found a water bar on the commercial street near University City, sitting down in a corner.
At this time, several nearby universities were still holding classes, and the water bar was relatively quiet. Luxianbei welcomed the peace and took out the photo to study it alone.
He held the photo up before him and was momentarily taken aback by the image on it.
The bizarre old man in the photo had long since moved far away. In the dimly lit corridor depicted in the photo, the light from the red lantern cast a fuzzy outline of his back.
In the blink of an eye, the image of the bizarre old man had completely vanished from the photo.
Is it really something similar to the red lantern that grew from Luxu’s body? Luxianbei looked at the photo that had turned completely black, narrowing his eyes as a weight settled on his mood.
Unexpectedly, there was still a fish that slipped through the net that night!
I wonder which of them is stronger, but as long as it’s not much stronger than Luxu, with the right approach, I should be able to win easily.
So the only question now is where to find it. Holding the photo in one hand and propping his chin with the other, Luxianbei pondered for a moment and suddenly realized he had overlooked something.
No, perhaps I don’t need to find him myself.
I just need to figure out what he really wants or what he wishes to attain, for no matter how he disguises himself or plays tricks, he will ultimately reveal himself before me.
Grasping onto this key point, Luxianbei suddenly felt that things had become much simpler.
Now, what I need to do is confirm with Professor Ma whether the bizarre old man’s purpose is the same as Luxu’s — to obtain those bamboo slips.
If it is, then I need to prepare well. Luxianbei thought, a glimmer of ruthless determination flashing in his eyes.
He, Luxianbei, never fights without preparation. Over-preparation is always better than being unprepared, isn’t it?
