Chapter 45: I Want to Tell You My Plan
“Lu… Wang Buliu, are you trying to lead me on, hoping I’ll let go and indulge myself, feel guilty, then decide to get back on track and do something proper?”
Just like Li Cuihua at the entrance of Taoyuan Village often says to her son, “Just keep playing! Play however you want; it’s fine if you can’t find a job when you grow up and have to rely on your parents.” Jumeng thought.
She crossed her arms and looked up and down at Luxianbei, whose expression was like a cunning little fox. She didn’t expect that her offhand comment would prompt Luxianbei to actually take her to the theme park to continue playing.
Is this the same Luxianbei who used to dawdle for ages just to bring her a drink when she asked him to come downstairs?
Something’s off; she felt something was very off! Jumeng thought.
“Guilt?” Luxianbei glanced sideways at Jumeng and replied unhappily, “Do you still have such feelings?”
Jumeng lifted her chin slightly and declared confidently, “Of course not.”
Usually, while having fun, she felt great; it was only when the playtime was almost over and she hadn’t completed her tasks—under pressure from tight deadlines—would she feel a tiny bit of symbolic guilt.
After all, having fun for a moment is exhilarating, but constantly having fun feels even better. Surely, there isn’t really anyone in this world who doesn’t enjoy playing around, right?
“Then are you going to the theme park or not? If you’ve changed your mind and want to do something else, I can always accompany you.” Luxianbei replied expressionlessly.
She knew that at such moments, the script called for a gentle smile, but she really couldn’t force a smile and didn’t know if it was due to her face being frozen or if it was because she thought of Jumeng’s past and future experiences, leaving her unable to smile at all.
“Anything goes?” Jumeng looked up at Luxianbei and asked seriously.
“Yeah.” Luxianbei nodded.
“Always?”
“Always.” Luxianbei said sincerely.
“Hmph!” Jumeng gave a sardonic snort, expertly climbed onto Luxianbei’s shoulder, and patted her shoulder, “Then let’s go! To the theme park.”
After saying this, as Luxianbei took a step forward, she slowly lowered her head, burying her face in Luxianbei’s silky hair, her eyes flashing with a hint of sadness, her lips silently moving as if she mouthed the words, “Fool.”
Every action of Luxianbei felt like he was providing terminal care to an elderly person, making her thoughts all too apparent. If at this moment Jumeng could still not discern anything, she certainly would not have been able to hold the title of Urban Legend King for so long.
Jumeng quietly lay on Luxianbei’s back, even able to feel her heartbeat and smell the faint fragrance wafting from her hair.
As the delicate scent wafted into her nostrils, she quietly began to chant a description of her unformed powers in her heart.
“…The hall is filled with beauties, suddenly locking eyes with me. Words do not enter, nor do they part, riding the returning wind and carrying the cloud flag…”
She had once listened to countless passionate words of women praying for love, but she had never prayed for herself, nor did she know if it would actually be effective.
However, this time, she wanted to give it a try.
Jumeng didn’t actually intend for Luxianbei to fall in love with her.
Love is something that even as a deity, she couldn’t control; what she had done in the past was merely to speed up its occurrence, like a catalytic agent.
Only when both the man and woman have feelings for each other could her powers take effect, creating a bond of love that would lead to a series of subtle “chemical reactions.”
But if two people completely devoid of feelings were forcefully united through powers, making someone’s mind intermittently conjure the image of another person, it would only make one want to deliver a brutal blow to that face and make it roll out of their mind.
What Jumeng wanted was just to establish that bond of love with Luxianbei, leaving a slight mark in her heart, hoping that in some moment years later, Luxianbei would still inadvertently think of her.
In that case, even if the city barrier of Tangcheng were activated and she wasn’t successful, and the story ended tragically, at least it would be a tragedy without regrets.
“…”
After finishing her power description, Jumeng fell into a long silence. She had failed; she couldn’t establish a bond with Luxianbei.
In the past, each time she helped those women achieve their love prayers successfully, when there was mutual affection, her spirit energy would become joyful, as if celebrating some happy event inside her body, thrumming and playing like music, making her naturally happy for those women.
It was when the objects of those women’s affections had no feelings for them, or there was mutual disdain, trying to force-feed an unattainable crush, that her spirit energy would briefly fall into oppression, like finishing a tragic movie.
However, this time her spirit energy was completely silent.
It was somewhat laughable that the one who wielded the unformed powers of Lesser Fate, governing offspring and women’s love, couldn’t pray for herself.
Jumeng, “…”
Could it really not work?
But that makes sense; possessing such powers but using them for personal gain, like praying for oneself, what difference would that make from “using public transport for private purposes?”
As she pondered, she pinched Luxianbei’s cheek and softly said, “Luxianbei, now that we’re here, if you’re after excitement, then let’s go all the way!”
“What do you mean?” Luxianbei paused for a moment, feeling an ominous aura in her words.
“Do you know what a theme park is? They all have themes.” Jumeng replied, “Guess what the theme of this theme park is?”
“Ocean? Ghosts and monsters? Dis… oh, wait, that would be infringing. Is it themed on ‘Love and Magical Girls’?” Luxianbei guessed.
Jumeng smacked Luxianbei on the head. “What nonsense are you thinking?”
Luxianbei rubbed her head, “When did Tangcheng open a ‘Love and Magical Girls’ theme park? How would I not know?”
“It’s a historical theme!” Jumeng replied impatiently. “How about we rent some Hanfu later? It’s an immersive experience!”
“Didn’t ask… wait, are you suggesting I wear Hanfu?” Luxianbei looked stunned, “That’s not happening! Wearing a skirt and headpiece out in public? You might as well k*ll me!”
Jumeng looked at Luxianbei seriously, giving her a long silence.
“What are you looking at me like that for?” Luxianbei frowned, “I said I’d keep you company, but I never said I’d accompany you in a compromising outfit!”
Jumeng looked Luxianbei up and down, “When did I say you had to wear a skirt and headpiece? Can’t you wear the male version? Or do you subconsciously think you should be in the female version?”
At that moment, Jumeng suddenly felt that the reason she failed to establish a bond with Luxianbei earlier might have been because of this.
Luxianbei, “…”
Oh, right! Why did I think of wearing a skirt and headpiece?
Could it be that there’s something wrong with my thinking?
Luxianbei thought, responding sheepishly, “I—I meant I want to wear the male version. You don’t know? After I got this lousy power, aside from getting stronger, my biggest skill is cross-dressing into male and female outfits.”
“Wow, are you trying to pull a fast one on me?” Jumeng retorted, “Forget it, I won’t chat with you, let’s hurry and head out!”
————
At a little past three o’clock in the afternoon, near the entrance of the Tangcheng Historical Theme Park.
Mao Sanyou was sitting on a stone bench by the roadside in a small alley not far from the clothes rental shop, looking down at his phone, with cigarette butts scattered around him.
His phone vibrated incessantly, with pop-ups and messages flooding his view.
Just like members of the Siye Society have an internal network for sharing information, and the Urban Legends Chat Group exists for mutual communication, black forces like the Solar Eclipse Society and Miracle Cult also have their own channels for information exchange.
The messages Mao Sanyou received were gathered through friends from those channels of black forces exchanging intel.
Two hours ago, an explosive piece of news, the most shocking in nearly a year, swept through the intelligence channels of these black forces like a storm.
In summary, there were two main points: first, Jumeng was about to collapse; second, in less than two days, the urban barrier of Tangcheng would enter a brief defensive vacuum period after launching a fierce strike.
Although nothing is private in this world, the events occurring in Taoyuan and related to Jumeng would eventually be revealed; however, Mao Sanyou didn’t expect this day to come so quickly.
He didn’t know which idiot leaked the news.
Mao Sanyou speculated that it was very likely the spiritual ability users and members of the Urban Legends who had infiltrated Taoyuan to assassinate Jumeng. Judging from the current situation, once the urban barrier was activated, chaos would certainly ensue in Taoyuan.
At that time, a portion of the relatively weaker spiritual ability users and urban legends, faced with their former partners blinded by profit, would be lucky to save their own lives; wanting a share of the pie would be practically impossible.
How could that be tolerated?
There are always some petty individuals in this world, unable to bear seeing others profiting while they themselves suffer losses.
With a problematic mindset, their behavior is bound to follow suit.
Soon, the news spread, reaching the hands of spiritual ability users and urban legends under the Solar Eclipse Society, Miracle Cult, and other similar black forces.
And thus, a ripple effect ensued.
As of now, Mao Sanyou had learned from his friends that at least seven bounties related to Taoyuan had been posted, with several forces closely monitoring movements here and poised to act.
“Good lord, a bounty of 1.3 billion dollars for the complete core of the Urban Legends Master? Are you out of your mind? That kind of thing can’t just be bought with money!”
“Bounty for Qunyang’s powers, reward negotiable depending on the integrity of powers… d*mn, these dog bastards!” Mao Sanyou cursed fiercely.
As the saying goes, “When a whale falls, all things are reborn.” The d*ath of a great urban legend also carries a similar fate.
After centuries of existence, the great urban legend—Jumeng—was about to fall, attracting all sorts of demons and monsters, like a whale fall, though not so majestic; what awaited was nothing but bloodshed.
To prevent those beasts drawn by the scent of bl**d from coming, the Siye Society needed to take action.
However, the channels through which these illegal spiritual ability organizations exchange information are extremely secretive. At this moment, the news from Tangcheng can’t be disseminated, and by the time the Siye Society notices something is wrong and takes action, at least one or two days will pass.
That one or two days would be enough for many things to happen; by then, it would be too late.
Moreover, even if the Siye Society became aware of the news in advance, they would prioritize protecting the human settlements in Tangcheng and its surroundings to ensure the safety of the populace, while support for Taoyuan would be a very low priority.
“Headaches, what should I do? This is truly driving me crazy.” Mao Sanyou murmured, rubbing his throbbing temples.
Just then, a figure in a cheongsam suddenly entered his field of vision.
The pure white cheongsam resembled white jade, embroidered with elegant peach blossoms. A gentle breeze fluttered it, revealing slender legs clad in embroidered shoes.
“Lift your head; let me take a look?”
A soft but persuasive voice rang in his ears. Mao Sanyou felt his head being knocked twice with a hard object. He looked up to see a tall woman with long dark green hair, holding a slender smoking pipe.
After surveying Mao Sanyou’s face, Jumeng unabashedly displayed a look of disgust, “Tsk, are you the child of that Qunyang guy? You really look quite unique.”
“How do you know…”
“How did I know?” Jumeng tilted her head, “It’s simple. When Qunyang’s consciousness faded, I guessed he either truly vanished or abandoned his powers and left the Fushang Sacred Tree. When Liu Banxian saw your true form, I felt the latter possibility was more likely.”
Also, I admit, there was a bit of trickery involved… Jumeng silently added in her heart.
“By the way, as the sun’s divine bird, you should be exceptionally handsome. How come you turned out to be such an ungainly creature?”
“…” Mao Sanyou fell silent for a moment before explaining softly, “My mother is a type of urban legend with slight Sobek powers…”
Unlike the relaxed atmosphere during their initial encounter in the College of Arts and Literature, facing Jumeng at peak spirit energy fluctuation made Mao Sanyou feel a twinge of fear.
This fear was not related to powers or the suppression of spirit energy, but rather stemmed from the unusually fierce aura emanating from Jumeng.
Just like an ordinary person might feel an inexplicable sense of guilt when facing a serial killer.
Mao Sanyou thought if he said something wrong now, it was very likely he would be eliminated by Jumeng on the spot.
“Crocodile God? No wonder, not turning you back into a Tyrannosaurus Rex is already quite something.” Jumeng scoffed and continued, “You’ve been with us for quite a while, right?”
Mao Sanyou was startled, looking at the poised Jumeng with wide eyes, “When did you…”
“When?” Jumeng pondered for a moment and replied seriously, “Probably the moment you almost lost control of spirit energy fluctuations in the aquarium and were about to harm the penguins, you’d better not forget whose territory this is.”
“Sneaky, if it weren’t for the help you provided in secretly taking care of those lesser individuals, you would’ve been lying on the ground by now. Do you understand?”
“…”
Mao Sanyou didn’t dare to engage with her words, only gazing distantly towards the theme park, frowning, “Are you really just going to leave that witch species alone?”
“Who said I was ignoring her? I have her lined up for the Ferris wheel! At least she’ll wait for half an hour, and that’s enough time for me to resolve matters here.” Jumeng said indifferently.
“Then did you come here to…” Mao Sanyou probed.
“Two things.” Jumeng raised two fingers, “First, you need to keep intercepting those troublemakers for me; second…”
“I want to tell you my plan, and then ask you for a small favor.”
