Chapter 49: According to Mood, Go When You Have Free Time
That night, in the outskirts of Huacheng, inside Amber Hall.
The sound of the erhu played intermittently from the top-floor music room—broken, melancholic, yet impassioned—just listening to it conjured a scene in one’s mind: a lone boat adrift on a storm-covered sea.
The one playing the erhu was Jiang Li.
After finishing a piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee,” she set down the erhu and bow, slowly exhaling.
For her, having learned violin for eight years in childhood, picking up the erhu wasn’t too difficult.
In just about ten hours, she was already able to play some challenging pieces.
As for why she didn’t directly use the violin but chose the erhu, she wasn’t sure herself.
Perhaps it was because she saw Luxianbei mastering an instrument in just three days, and she unconsciously felt competitive.
After a while, the music room door opened, and Ahua entered, holding a silver tray with a steaming bowl of instant noodles for Jiang Li.
“Miss, this is the instant noodles I cooked according to your method. Please try it and see how it tastes!”
“Mm.” Jiang Li responded, turning to nod at Ahua, taking the bowl and chopsticks from her hands. She took a small sip of the broth, then a bite of the noodles, furrowing her brow and shaking her head.
“Miss, does it taste wrong?” Ahua asked, observing Jiang Li’s expression.
“It seems a bit off…”
Furrowing her brows, Ahua murmured, “That’s strange; I clearly followed the steps you described!”
Jiang Li held the bowl of noodles and sighed silently in comfort, “Ahua, it’s not your problem; it’s probably that Luxianbei must have a step when cooking instant noodles that I don’t know about.”
“Alright.” Ahua responded glumly, then suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes darting around as she asked, “Miss, do you really think Luxianbei is the child of your lifesaver?”
If that’s true, wouldn’t that b*stard Luxianbei be my future son-in-law?
The miss has even learned the erhu for him…
I used to bully him so much, and with his petty personality, he would definitely hold a grudge.
Ahua thought for a moment, feeling that the future was rapidly darkening before her eyes.
But then again, there’s nothing that can be done; who told the miss to like him?
“I went to Mudan Street today and checked the list of past members with the surname Lu in Huacheng, there indeed is an operative with the surname Lu.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Li’s eyes slightly trembled as she asked in a calm tone, “What’s his name?”
“No name…” Ahua shook her head gently. “Aside from the surname, all records about him have been deleted; I don’t know if he retired or died on duty.”
Members of the Siye Society have their basic records deleted when they retire or d*e under special circumstances; only the headquarters of the Siye Society in Shengjing keeps a backup.
“Is that so?” A flicker of disappointment crossed Jiang Li’s eyes as she gently patted Ahua’s shoulder, saying, “It’s fine; I’ve gotten through so many years; I can wait a bit longer.”
She felt that since Luxianbei could make instant noodles exactly like that uncle, even if he didn’t have a bl**d relation, he must know something, and there would be plenty of time to probe in the future.
“Ahua, I need to practice for a while longer; you can go rest first.”
“Okay, Miss, then I will leave first. Make sure to rest early and don’t tire yourself too much!” Ahua smiled and bowed slightly to Jiang Li before leaving the music room.
Listening to the footsteps in the corridor, once Ahua was far away, Jiang Li picked up the bow and erhu again, flipping through the sheet music in front of her, preparing to play “Croatian Rhapsody” again. Just then, the phone on the chair beside her vibrated twice, making a buzzing sound.
She frowned slightly, picking up her phone to look; it displayed a message from Wang Buliu.
【Message recalled】
Wang Buliu: “You there?”
Why does he suddenly remember to contact me at this time… Jiang Li frowned and picked up her phone to reply.
Genius Mahjong Girl: “What’s up? Speak. [Heart emoji]”
Wang Buliu: “Actually, I’ve had some things I wanted to say to you—bottled up in my heart for a long time.”
Jiang Li, “…”
What is he up to? Why does he sound so strange?
Genius Mahjong Girl: “Please speak plainly. [Heart emoji]”
Wang Buliu: “I haven’t had many friends around me; you’re the best to me.”
Jiang Li rubbed her forehead, trying to recall what she had done that made Luxianbei misunderstand to this extent, only to realize, she had never really treated Luxianbei well.
Genius Mahjong Girl: “It’s late at night; did you listen to some song and turned into ‘depressed mode’?”
Wang Buliu: “No! Listen to me, I’m about to go to a very dangerous place, and I don’t know if I’ll have another chance to talk to you again, so…”
At this point, Jiang Li began to feel something was off.
Genius Mahjong Girl: “The sentence you want to say is related to what?”
Wang Buliu: “It’s about feelings!”
Is it the case that young boys and maybe young girls are all like this nowadays? Jiang Li frowned, holding her phone, typing out several messages, only to delete them all.
She wasn’t quite sure how to reply appropriately without hurting Luxianbei’s innocent and young heart.
Wang Buliu: “So, in order to tell you what’s on my mind face to face, if I run into danger later and ask you for help, you have to come save me! [Please][Please]”
Wang Buliu: “[Location shared]”
Jiang Li, “…”
If you want to ask for support, just ask nicely!
Getting all this nonsense to fool me, do you think I’m three years old?
Genius Mahjong Girl: “According to mood, go when you have free time. [Heart emoji]”
After replying to Luxianbei, Jiang Li locked her screen, turned her phone to silent, and set it aside.
However, instead of immediately practicing the erhu, she rested her chin on her hands, gazing at the moonlight spilling in through the window like mercury, lost in thought.
What on earth is that guy up to?
Thinking this, she picked up her phone again and opened the location shared by Luxianbei.
“Red Mountain Villa District… What is she doing running around there in the middle of the night?”
———
The Red Mountain Villa District in Huacheng could be considered the safest villa area after the night became lengthy, though it was located in the outskirts, there had been no reported urban legend attacks there.
At one point, the people of Huacheng were eager to flock there, but after learning about the housing prices, they hesitated.
Rumor has it that when these villas were built, they referenced some kind of formation, with each villa serving as a focal point; the thirty-six villas represented the number of the Tian Gang, which prevented malevolent spirits from approaching.
However, this explanation is not scientific, nor does it have any mysticism.
Those who were somewhat informed, like spiritual ability users and urban legends, knew that the villa district had a strong spirit energy fluctuation from a certain exceptionally powerful mythological species urban legend, which kept ordinary urban legends at bay.
Of course, Luxianbei didn’t know any of this; all she knew was that those living here were either rich or powerful.
Thus, when she learned that the legendary Li Tanghan lived here, she silently tagged him with a bright, eye-catching label — “Flourishing Big Leek.”
Another label was “Tough Character.”
Although Luxianbei had yet to see Li Tanghan in person, after meeting the driver he sent over, she felt he should be quite impressive.
If he weren’t impressive, why would he dare to take on all sorts of things?
Besides Uncle Zhang Shan, Luxianbei hadn’t seen any other ordinary humans. The driver remained calm, even with three urban legends in the vehicle, showing no signs of panic.
His driving skills were stable, rivaling that of experienced drivers.
As Luxianbei approached Li Tanghan’s residence, just the thought that he might be a big “leek character” made her uneasy.
She has always valued money as equivalent to family, and the presence of a tough character who has kidnapped her non-bl**d-related family made her feel frightened.
For the safety of her family, she might end up doing something against her principles.
Then.
As Luxianbei entered the Red Mountain Villa District, seeing the statue at the entrance, she suddenly felt even more anxious.
———
That night, the bright moon hung high, casting its light over the undulating green hills, among which stood an elegant, ancient-style gate.
In the distance, a black SUV without a license plate drove along the mountain road, and as if sensing something, the gate slid open to the sides in advance.
After the car passed through the entrance of the Red Mountain Villa District, the first thing that caught the eye was a tree-lined avenue lined with ginkgo trees. At this time of deep autumn, golden ginkgo leaves fluttered and fell under the streetlights, with dense shrubs in the distance, from which faint sounds of water could be heard, but no houses were visible.
After proceeding a distance and turning a bend, the view opened up suddenly; a large artificial lake appeared, shimmering like a silver mirror under the moonlight, with artificial hills and strange rocks scattered, and pavilions and corridors faintly appearing, giving it a classical garden ambiance.
However, Luxianbei had no interest in admiring the beautiful scenery in front of her; upon seeing the artificial lake, her attention immediately shifted to the bizarre statue on the island in the center of the lake.
The statue resembled a cluster of clouds, presenting an irregular, twisted shape; from some angles, it looked like an impending fog, but with a change in perspective, it quickly condensed into a human-like outline, only to transform back into dark clouds the next second.
But that cloud-like formation felt more like a manmade object than a natural one, exuding a strong sense of artificiality.
Standing about ten meters tall, the statue cast a large shadow on the island, which spread onto the calm surface of the lake, as if connecting the statue and the lake water, peculiar yet unsettling.
Luxianbei stared at the statue, her thoughts suddenly becoming restless as some force within her seemed to crash violently, eager to break free.
She didn’t perceive any spirit energy fluctuations from that statue, yet it emanated a strong hostility, making her spine tingle as if being watched by some feral beast.
An unprecedented feeling of danger surged from all directions, and the witch’s egg clinging to her heart trembled slightly, while her eyes experienced a long-lost wave of intense pain.
This is bad! If my eyes hurt like this, it must be serious! Luxianbei thought.
From her experience, the first time her eyes hurt this badly was when she swallowed the witch’s egg, and the second was when she caught her first glimpse of the Great Serpent God; both times nearly cost her life.
She instinctively tried to look away but found her eyes seemingly glued to that statue, unable to move.
Staring at the statue for a long time made her thoughts feel detached from her body, becoming light-headed, almost as if she were dreaming.
In this light-headedness, she found herself traversing a dark and narrow passage, filled with suffocation, and suddenly the scene brightened before her eyes, and she once again saw the tranquil Red Mountain Villa District under the night sky.
However, unlike before, all lights in the villa district were now extinguished, shrouded in a thick, seemingly eternal gray mist.
Whispers that drove one mad floated in the wind.
The sky resembled the evening of dusk or a rainy day, filled with dark clouds, with waning light filtering through the gaps.
She could vaguely see a shadow even larger than the highest buildings in Huacheng hidden amid the mist, slowly moving about, with a pair of wings made from swirling smoke fluttering behind it.
Among the rolling smoke, various shapes and structures briefly appeared, whether misshapen arms, claws, or tentacle-like limbs, or cracks resembling mouths opening and closing.
Then.
The massive figure seemed to have noticed her presence; suddenly, at the ends of all the distorted limbs, a gap formed, and countless ghostly green eyes slowly emerged from within, densely filling the sky, gazing down at her, filled with malice.
Luxianbei had seen similar giant figures traversing cities in her dreams when she encountered that mysterious girl, but those figures had been far away, providing her with little more than vague outlines.
But now, that figure loomed directly above her, unrestrainedly unleashing an overwhelming, chaotic fear upon her.
The suffocating sensation came abruptly, as if she suddenly entered a closed space filled with high concentrations of haze, where a strong irritation surged between her nose and mouth, as if invisible hands wielding iron rakes with tiny barbs were scraping through her trachea.
In her ears, chaotic sounds resembling urban noise suddenly erupted, gradually piercing through the air.
Just as Luxianbei felt her consciousness faltering under the despairing suffocate and a noise that seemed ready to burst her eardrums, she gritted her teeth and riskily began to chant a description originating from deep within her, attempting to counteract the pressure.
Having come into contact with the Great Serpent God before, she knew all too well that it was the oppressive power brought by a certain high-ranking urban legend, and only the power of urban legend could fend it off.
“There are those from Zhongshan. A woman in blue clothes, wherever she sees, there’s great drought…”
“Wandering north of the Chishui River, ascending Kunlun to gaze south, the river has beauties, and the water is vibrant…”
“It is mist and also star; it is her child, a lip extinguishing the lights in the darkness…”
Then.
In a daze, she felt something slowly rise from her body, coalescing in mid-air into a dazzling light, akin to a fragmented sun, radiating terrifying heat all around.
That scarlet sun stood against the massive oppressive force of the fog-like urban legend, constantly shaking and appearing to be cracking with countless tiny fissures, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Then, accompanied by a surge of crimson light erupting from the center of the sun, the power of the witch’s egg manifested.
In the end, under the overlap of the two forces, the fog-like urban legend finally retreated, the bizarre scene in the sky gradually fading, and then disappearing, returning to normal.
However, it didn’t feel like a retreat but rather a sign of exhaustion or loss of interest.
Luxianbei stared blankly at the statue outside the car window for a long time before returning to her senses, only to find that Human Skin and Sack Face had somehow shrunk into the corner of the car’s third row.
Seeing them quivering like that, if the third row of seats in this car wasn’t disconnected from the back, they would have wished to dive into the trunk by now.
Noticing that Luxianbei, who had kept her eyes tightly closed for a while, was slowly opening them, Human Skin trembled as he cautiously asked, “So, um… are you okay?”
“Why do you ask that?” Luxianbei tilted her head in confusion.
Sack Face, shaking all over, dropped a big clump of pale maggots and pointed at the seat below Luxianbei.
Luxianbei looked down and only then realized that while she was contending with that oppressive power, a lot of misfortune had spilled around her.
“…”
Even though a major problem had almost arisen just now, I can’t let the image I painstakingly built fall apart!
After a moment’s thought, Luxianbei waved her hand dismissively, nonchalantly saying, “It’s just some misfortune; it happens every once in a while. No big deal.”
I admit, this time I lied; it’s not every once in a while but every day. Luxianbei thought ruefully.
While deep in thought, she leaned down, rummaging through her guitar bag, and pulled out a half-empty bottle, collecting the misfortune inside.
Human Skin and Sack Face, having inadvertently absorbed some volatile high-purity misfortune, nearly passed out on the spot. When they saw Luxianbei collecting misfortune by hand, the core of the urban legend was nearly scared to bits.
Just some misfortune?
Every once in a while? Isn’t this something you have to extract from a witch to obtain less than 100G of rarity?
What in the world is she?
Just when Human Skin and Sack Face were in shock, Luxianbei expressionlessly took out her phone and sent a message to Jiang Li.
Wang Buliu: “I’m going to d*e! Help help help! Danger danger danger!”
Luxianbei, “…”
Wouldn’t that make me seem too cowardly?
【Message recalled】
Wang Buliu: “You there?”
……
After a moment, looking at the reply Jiang Li finally gave, Luxianbei’s face darkened, almost making her slam her phone.
d*mn! According to mood? So cold and indifferent?
Sure enough, having expectations for that woman must mean that there’s something wrong with me! Luxianbei thought.
