Chapter 52: The Beast in Fine Clothes – Luxianbei
Luxianbei stood in front of the collection room, staring blankly in the direction that had caught her interest—the ancestral kitchen kn*fe.
Seeing that she had not followed inside for some time, the woman stepped back out, “My lady, this is the collection room of our humble abode…”
Pausing for a moment, the woman added, “Of course, these items might not be to your liking, so I hope you can forgive us.”
“It’s fine, the most important thing about a gift is the intention behind it,” Luxianbei waved her hand dismissively.
However, it shouldn’t be too cheap; if it were absurdly cheap, that would mean there were ill intentions!
Luxianbei thought to herself and continued, “I personally do not advocate giving young people overly powerful spirit energy items.”
“A too safe and stable environment can make people anxious and lose their sense of urgency, which is not beneficial for their growth.”
The woman said nothing, “…”
It sounds like the organization behind her has quite a traditional and serious style of operation?
Could it be a neutral faction mentioned in urban legends?
However, among the well-known neutral organizations like Peach Source, Jade Gate Desert, and the United Loving Community, there wasn’t anyone like her!
While the woman pondered, Luxianbei raised her hand and pointed casually in the direction that had piqued her interest, asking, “What is that road over there for?”
The woman looked in the direction Luxianbei pointed, paused briefly, then quickly forced a smile, “Ah, that’s our boss’s father’s private space.”
“Can we take a look?” Luxianbei tilted her head.
“Sorry, that’s generally not allowed for outsiders,” the woman explained awkwardly, smiling, “I hold little authority, and without permission, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be convenient to show you around.”
“Since it’s not convenient, then forget it; I’m not a petty person,” Luxianbei finished, gently waving her sleeve and walked boldly into the collection room.
————
That night, outside the Hongshan Villa District, a motorcycle raced through the night.
A few hundred meters away from the entrance of the villa district, Jiang Li spotted a police car parked at the entrance. Frowning slightly, she immediately turned off the engine and pulled over.
Although the function and duties of the Siye Society were somewhat similar to the police, sometimes even collaborating on cases, only a pitiful few within the police station knew of the Siye Society’s existence and had long-term contact with them.
Therefore, encountering them during such a critical moment might provoke unnecessary trouble.
After removing her helmet and pushing the motorcycle into the bushes to hide it, she glanced around to ensure no one was around before quickly heading to the wall of the villa district.
At the base of the wall, Jiang Li concealed herself among the greenery, pressed against the wall, using her spiritual sense to detect the situation beyond the wall. Then she took a black mask from her pocket and put it on. With a sudden push from her toes, she leaped up and landed steadily on the top of the wall.
Just as she had told Luxianbei, wearing a mask was a basic respect for doing “bad things”; she adhered to this principle herself.
At this moment, it was late at night, and the entire villa district was silent.
After discerning her position, Jiang Li jumped down from the wall and ran towards Villa No. 16.
Her swift figure cut through the wind without a sound, like an agile black cat running under the night sky.
When passing the artificial lake, Jiang Li paused momentarily, gazing at the oddly shaped giant statue on the island in the lake, frowning slightly before quickly withdrawing her gaze and continuing forward.
————
Just as Jiang Li had her informants, Bai Kai also had his own set of informants.
His informants were the wine waitresses at underground bars, unmarried older women, young rich widows who lost their husbands early…
These young women, traveling among various men, always managed to bring back some special news.
Initially, the Li family’s smuggling of spirit energy items under the guise of art trading was something the Huacheng Siye Society had long planned to investigate.
However, due to the frequent urban legend attacks in Huacheng, the investigation was temporarily put on hold. After all, the Siye Society’s personnel dwindled as if someone had cast a curse on their ancestral grave.
This situation changed when one of Bai Kai’s informants coincidentally overheard news at a party held by Li Shunian about him secretly contacting a certain urban legend.
Although Bai Kai started the investigation, a long time had passed, and he had only found some irrelevant clues, far from enough to convict Li Shunian.
Li Shunian was a cunning fellow; his dealings with urban legends were quite adept, hiding secrets very well without leaving any trace.
If it weren’t for his troublesome son, Bai Kai probably wouldn’t even have grasped that bit of clue.
Frustrated, Bai Kai could only find ways during the investigation to squeeze a little more money out of Li Tanghan.
After all, the operational funds allocated to each agent by the Siye Society were not particularly generous; compared to Bai Kai, he needed to make ends meet every month.
“Come on! Let’s open two more bottles of MACALLAN! Tonight Mr./Ms. Li is treating—everyone, get drunk and don’t go home!”
By the poolside, Bai Kai shouted enthusiastically and ordered a few bottles of wine worth over twenty thousand each, feeling quite pleased.
Although his investigation had seen little progress that night, the commission he earned for working that evening would offset Luxianbei’s expenses in the ghost market and still allow him to save some for later.
Yes, he needed to save some money.
A godson and a goddaughter were different.
A son should be raised in poverty, honing his ability to endure hardships, while a daughter should be raised comfortably, ensuring she has enough spirit energy items for self-defense. What if she was bullied outside? Bai Kai thought.
Just as he pondered, a sudden sound of police sirens pierced the air outside the villa, followed by a heavy knocking at the door.
“Bang! Bang! Bang—Bang! Bang! Bang—!”
Just then, a clueless individual heard the knocking and moved to open the door.
Soon, several police officers streamed in, one hand holding identification, the other gripping a riot net g*n, vigilant against any potential attackers, directing the crowd to gather in the empty space by the pool.
“We received an anonymous tip that illegal criminal activities are taking place here, and we ask everyone to cooperate with the investigation!”
Although the commotion seemed a bit excessive, the anonymous tip had sounded terrifying, and the dispatcher, mesmerized by the caller’s vivid descriptions, inadvertently conjured a dreadful image in her mind.
If it were true as described in the anonymous call that drug trafficking was involved, the situation would be quite unique; drug traffickers were often ruthless, and caution was required.
Bai Kai, seeing the scene unfolding before him, stood astounded by the pool’s edge in a daze.
What the hell? What’s going on? Why are the police here?
“Hey, over there, go to that side, squat down with your hands on your head! What are you looking at? The one in the pink Shiba Inu-patterned swimming trunks, the flashy one, I’m talking about you!”
Suddenly called out, Bai Kai hesitated, scratching the back of his head, and smiled awkwardly, “Officer, I’m not sure what’s happening, but there must be some misunderstanding here.”
The police officer scrutinized Bai Kai and replied sternly, “Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we won’t know until after the investigation. Please cooperate with us and squat down over there.”
“I will definitely cooperate!” Bai Kai pat his chest, “But, can you at least tell me what you’re investigating?”
“Gathering for the purpose of illegal gambling… and drug trafficking.”
“……”
As Bai Kai listened to the police officer rattle off words like a pipe, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, frowning as he moved towards the crowd and squatted down.
Which idiot is messing this up?
If he lost his side income, that would be one thing; what if this caused unnecessary trouble and disrupted the investigation? Bai Kai thought.
————
In the underground collection room of Villa No. 16.
In the large space, various spirit energy items were displayed in glass cases on wooden pedestals that resembled museum exhibition tables, illuminated by bright lights.
Luxianbei walked alongside the woman, and at each display, the woman enthusiastically introduced her to the spirit energy items under the glass cases, oddly reminiscent of a mall sales assistant.
“Don’t you have any spirit energy items like swords and knives in your collection room? Sijian is learning a sword technique recently, and I wanted to bring back a suitable weapon for her.”
Looking at the odd-shaped spirit energy items in the collection room, Luxianbei couldn’t help but ask.
“Are these things of yours…”
A bit too low-quality, right?
Pots, pans, old appliances, and even a half-eaten bag of spicy strips…
Are you in the spirit energy smuggling business or running a secondhand furniture market? Luxianbei thought.
“Uh…” The woman was momentarily taken aback and explained, “My lady, you are used to high-end spirit energy items, but you might not know that items like swords and knives are incredibly difficult to produce.”
“I’m sure you know that the production of spirit energy items is mostly related to urban legends or spiritual ability users, and these everyday items are the ones most easily influenced by spirit energy, becoming spirit energy items.”
“And as for swords and knives…” The woman forced a smile, “To be honest, unless a powerful person like you dedicates time to refine them, it’s hard for them to come into existence, isn’t it?”
Luxianbei, “… I truly didn’t know this.”
If what she said is true, I’m suddenly curious about how the Ming King statue became a spirit energy item.
Could it be that its previous owner, just like me, embraced it while sleeping, and after a long time…?
As Luxianbei contemplated, a mental image of a bald monk sleeping on the chest of the same Ming King statue, leaving different drool marks, suddenly flashed through her mind, making her shiver in disgust.
d*mn! I can’t sleep with the Ming King statue anymore! Luxianbei thought.
“My lady, look, this is a handmade ceramic jar, suspected to have once housed an urban legend. If you inject spirit energy into it, it can affect the target’s mind.”
“Mm.” Luxianbei absentmindedly replied.
Ever since she discovered there were no swords or knives in the collection room, she couldn’t help but wonder if the ancient sword was hidden in Li Shunian’s secret room.
“…”
“Uh, and this—this small vase can divine fortune. It has a certain probability of giving a response.”
“Mm.”
Luxianbei glanced at the vase that resembled a small figure kneeling on the ground and lightly responded again.
After thinking for a moment and looking at the woman’s back, she finally couldn’t help but pull out the Blessing God Copper Coin from her pocket, tossing it lightly into the air before quickly catching it, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
Is it really there… what should I do?
If I ask them for things from the secret room, they probably won’t easily give them to me. It might even trigger some strange storyline.
It seems I can only wait until the police arrive and take advantage of the chaos to sneak in.
Luxianbei thought, and just as the woman called her a couple of times, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“My lady? My lady, look at this. This is a nutcracker knight. Injecting spirit energy allows you to summon a puppet to fight. The design is quite cute; girls should like it, right?”
“Not bad.” Luxianbei said flatly.
The woman, “…”
This situation seems dire! It seems her standards are quite high; nothing in the collection room seems to interest her at all! The woman thought gloomily.
Luxianbei, “…”
What to do?
These items, while looking a bit low-quality, are spirit energy items, so I want them all!
Luxianbei thought indignantly, but after looking at a few more spirit energy items with the woman, the woman’s phone suddenly pinged with a message alert. She pulled out her phone to take a look, her expression shifting slightly.
Turning to Luxianbei, she leaned slightly and said, “My lady, I’m sorry, but I have an urgent situation and need to step out for a moment. Would it be too much trouble for you to look around on your own?”
Could it be that the police have arrived? Luxianbei’s heart leaped with joy, and she nodded, “It’s fine, you go ahead.”
Now that you’re gone, I can take a look at Old Li’s secret space. Luxianbei added silently in her heart.
“I apologize again for my inability to continue accompanying you.” The woman bowed to Luxianbei and quickly left the collection room.
As she passed the small path leading to Li Shunian’s secret room, she briefly paused, glancing thoughtfully in that direction before shaking her head lightly and continuing on.
I overthought things.
That secret room is heavily guarded, and even with divine protection, not even that witch can sneak in unnoticed. The woman thought.
After the woman left, Luxianbei pretended to stroll casually, wandering around the collection room while silently observing her surroundings. After discovering there seemed to be no surveillance cameras, she looked at the various display cases, her thoughts growing bolder.
In this world, many people are like this; on the surface, they appear refined, but once removed from public view, they are unable to suppress their inner darkness. If the target of their violence turned into a “bad person,” they would immediately become even more worse than beasts.
As a well-behaved child raised since childhood, Luxianbei was a bit better than those unspeakably depraved individuals.
She was basically a beast in fine clothes.
So…
“Wonderful, wonderful!”
“This one is good; let’s take it too!”
“What’s this? A stick? d*mn! It even vibrates? Is this… in the wrong place? Forget it, take it! Take it!”
…
In less than three minutes, Luxianbei had cleared out all the portable spirit energy items in the collection room.
Wait…
This isn’t called looting!
If they are truly smuggling spirit energy items, how can this be called theft?
I’m™ now a respected member of the Siye Society!
Thinking this way, the last shred of guilt in Luxianbei’s heart completely vanished.
That’s right, this isn’t stealing; it’s clearly documented in the “Supplement to the Book of Siye: Code of Conduct for Agents,” it’s a legitimate confiscation of illegal spirit energy items!
When she followed Jiang Li to study the Book of Siye, she paid particular attention to the appendix regarding the agents’ code of conduct, especially the section on special authority, which she practically memorized.
She previously wanted to find articles to critique the inappropriate behavior of Ahua or Jiang Li, but now that she was a formal agent, the usage of those articles was quite different.
“Wow, this is really heavy!”
With a weighty guitar bag slung over her back, Luxianbei stealthily made her way out of the collection room, glancing around, and while the woman had not yet returned, she sprinted towards Li Shunian’s secret room.
There’s no turning back now.
If I want to obtain the ancient sword from the Li family, I would inevitably make enemies. Taking the items and trespassing into the secret room only differs by a shift from a fixed-term to a life sentence.
Does it even matter?
While contemplating and moving forward, Luxianbei quickly traversed the winding and narrow corridor, arriving at its end where a silvery-gray wall, seemingly made of some metal, blocked her path.
“…”
Seeing this, she reached out her hand, lightly stroking the cold, hard metal wall, furrowing her brow.
It seemed quite solid, and as her fingertip brushed across, there was a faint wave of spirit energy; attempting to force it open would likely cause quite a commotion, making it hard to escape.
But without breaking it open, how else can I get in?
d*mn it, I need to go back and diligently study the contents from Jiang Li’s “Emergency Basic Spell Forms of the Siye Society.” Techniques like wall-crossing, turtle breathing, invisibility… they’re simply too useful!
Luxianbei was thinking, just as she was agonizing over how to break through the metallic wall blocking her way, her ornate kn*fe in her sleeve suddenly reacted.
“Whoosh—!”
A piercing sound suddenly erupted from her sleeve, followed by a whooshing noise.
A flash of silver shot from her sleeve, piercing through the metal wall with a “thud” and disappearing from sight, moving as swiftly as if rushing to the cafeteria for food.
d*mn! What’s going on with my kn*fe? Luxianbei was shocked.
While she was worrying about the ancestral kitchen kn*fe disappearing without a trace, and fearing she might become the unfilial descendant who lost the family heirloom, a sudden, strong wave of spirit energy surged from behind her.
In an instant, before she could even see a figure, she felt a chill sweep over her. Amidst this sudden chill, a premonition flashed through Luxianbei’s mind, and she rolled away sharply as a cold light flashed past her back.
The movement of the attacker was unusually fast; although she narrowly dodged being directly struck, she still felt a sting of heat on her back.
As if she had been whipped.
Following the first strike was another attack.
The sound of slicing air rang continuously.
After Luxianbei managed to evade several attacks, she finally caught a glimpse of her assailant.
It was a man shrouded in wispy white mist, with a pale face and eyes gleaming with crimson light, wielding a bone whip, his face obscured, making it hard to see his features.
Tsk, a spiritual ability user!
Luxianbei silently cursed in her heart, making eye contact with the man for a moment, she arrived at her conclusion.
This time, the worst-case scenario she had imagined had occurred—she hadn’t even gotten the item or made her escape, and she was blocked by the “security.”
