Chapter 57: Things Will Only Fall From Above!
After spending about an hour, Lu Yibei explored the entire Nightless Street like an ordinary tourist, tasting various delicious snacks while roughly memorizing the layout of the area within about a kilometer radius.
Eating was secondary; understanding the terrain was key!
Nightless Street can be roughly divided into three avenues: a main road that primarily houses dining establishments, from small pushcart vendors to large specialty restaurants covering thousands of square meters.
There are two branch lines, one relatively flat and bustling, lined with stores selling distinctive cultural souvenirs. At the end of this street is a Jin opera theater, where a performance of “Phoenix Pavilion” is being held tonight.
The other street is a slightly rugged branch, known as the bar alley according to Fu Xinyi. The first half of the street is dotted with many small bars, but it grows quiet deeper in, with several guesthouses and inns.
The three streets are separated by numerous ancient-style buildings, appearing independent yet connected by countless winding alleys, intertwining to form a complex network on the ground.
Standing at the fork of the three streets, Lu Yibei held a crispy roasted bun in her mouth, squinting as she observed the flow of people.
The hustle and bustle here surprised her, as she was accustomed to the quietness that followed the nightfall in urban settings.
Stalls and storefronts filled her vision, with even the center of the street almost occupied. The shouts of vendors were continuous, camera flashes flickered, and indistinct singing drifted from the far-off bar alley.
People were everywhere; with a slight probing of her spiritual sense, she could tell that for every ten individuals, there were one or two spiritual ability users present. The number was truly astonishing.
Under the glow of colorful neon signs, the light and shadows distorted human faces and silhouettes.
The noisy atmosphere resembled a swirling horde of snakes, with one straggler occasionally twisting and burrowing into her eardrum.
“……”
If I were Hu Chuan, having escaped to Shizhou City for some reason and wanting to remain anonymous, I might choose to hide here.
However, with so many spiritual ability users present, this place is also a hub for information; finding someone’s information would be equally easy, Lu Yibei thought.
The streets that awaken under the night, the complex terrain created by countless buildings, and the surge of people—enough to swallow an individual’s existence.
————
Meanwhile, in the bar alley, in a small, deserted clear bar.
“I’d like a drink—fifty-year-old Fen liquor as the base, with a hint of moonlight and a touch of gentle breeze.”
Hearing the voice from outside the bar, the only bartender inside looked up at the girl who had neatly tied her bangs with an intricate butterfly-shaped hairpin, smiling, “Please wait a moment!”
He then bent down, rummaging through the cabinet for a moment to retrieve an empty glass, placing it on the bar counter and pushing it toward the girl.
The wall of the cup was inscribed with the number “69.”
“Moonlight is rare, the gentle breeze fleeting. Please enjoy quickly, dear customer.”
The girl took the empty glass, paid with her phone, and walked around the bar toward a small door draped with a fabric curtain, disappearing from sight.
————
At the fork in the road.
After pausing for a moment, Lu Yibei stepped forward toward the bar alley, quickly passing small bars until she found the sign for Moon Scraping Wind at a corner deep within.
The sign was unremarkable, only a square wooden plaque with the words “Moon Scraping Wind” inscribed, already somewhat faded.
It was a very small storefront. Looking inside from the entrance, the arrangement of the bar was fully visible. A slightly worn pool table was placed in the center, with nobody playing, occupying a large area. Scattered around the pool table were a few scattered tables.
Soothing music echoed, the scent of alcohol mixed with a hint of tobacco wafted through the air. There were no customers in the bar, just the bartender sitting behind the bar fiddling with his phone.
Lu Yibei’s gaze lingered for a moment on the draped curtain door beside the bar before stepping forward, recalling the information she obtained from Fu Xinyi, and ordering a drink not on the menu.
“I’ll have a special drink—fifty-year-old Fen liquor as the base, with a hint of moonlight and a touch of gentle breeze.”
Upon hearing this, the bartender bent down as usual, took an empty glass, and pushed it toward her. The wall of the glass was inscribed with the number “71.”
Does this mean that before me, seventy spiritual ability users have come here? Lu Yibei thought as she caught sight of the small characters on the cup.
“Moonlight is rare, the gentle breeze fleeting. Please enjoy quickly, dear customer.”
Although she already knew from Fu Xinyi that this special drink always came with an empty glass.
But looking at the emptiness of the glass, Lu Yibei couldn’t help but ask, “May I ask, has anyone ever reported your way of selling drinks to the consumer association?”
The bartender, “……”
“From your reaction, it seems you have never been reported.” Lu Yibei smirked. “Does this business make money for you? Do you accept investments? What if the secret code is leaked? Do you need to change the secret code regularly?”
Such a risk-free business made her envious. She thought if conditions allowed, she would set up something similar back in Huacheng.
After all, Du Sixian’s twenty-four-hour convenience store was very successful, perhaps creating a secret trading venue would not be beyond reach.
If the number of spiritual ability users and urban legends hunting Gu Qiqi increased in the future, the business should be good—she thought it could even develop into a fully-fledged industry!
The bartender, “……”
Seeing the bartender remain silent and slowly raise his hand as if to take back the glass, Lu Yibei hurriedly grasped it and pointed toward the nearby curtain door, “I can go in from there, right?”
Thinking about it, that likely involved their business secrets. It was reasonable for him not to tell her, Lu Yibei thought.
“Yes.” The bartender coldly uttered one word.
“Alright, then I won’t disturb you any longer!”
Lu Yibei responded and said no more, moving past the bar, lifting the curtain. The moment the curtain was lifted, a chaotic spirit energy fluctuation suddenly surged forth, accompanied by the clamorous noise.
Entering through the curtain door, her eyes slightly adjusted to the light, Lu Yibei saw a large room warmly lit and decorated with many fabric sofas, where many people were scattered. Some concealed their looks with masks or hoods, while others unabashedly exposed their features.
Each person held a glass, containing more than half a glass of liquid, with a small luminous orb floating within, accompanied by wisps of pale blue energy swirling around them.
Guests would occasionally gather in small groups, raising their glasses to clink softly. With a “ding,” the orb in their cups would suddenly brighten, and the pale blue aura would rise, enveloping them.
Under the cover of moonlight and gentle breeze, only blurry outlines remained, while the sounds of conversation were utterly cut off by the gentle breeze.
Lu Yibei glanced at the glass in her hand and frowned slightly.
Why is mine still empty?
This made her feel somewhat out of place!
At a place like this, attracting too much attention isn’t a good thing.
As she pondered, a sound of flowing water caught her attention.
Following the sound, she saw a huge wine jar with an ancient design suspended from the ceiling in one corner of the room, clear liquor pouring down from it. At the moment the liquid was about to touch the ground, it vanished as if swallowed by emptiness.
The liquid that poured out formed a huge water curtain, wafting a rich and mellow aroma of liquor.
On the water curtain, seventy lines of small text were neatly arranged.
【3·Lake City Gan Ningxia·Looking for a B-class core of a mutated urban legend, type of urban legend not limited】
【22·Iron City Wang Taibao·Selling a C-class spirit energy item for 120G gold or equivalent items.】
【43·m*rder, negotiable.】
【69·Looking for a three-foot cloud paper, a dandelion extract, also looking for someone. Details negotiable.】
……
Lu Yibei casually skimmed through the text on the water curtain and gained a general understanding, thinking to herself.
The operational mode here seems somewhat similar to an urban legend bounty website, where the shop publishes information on behalf of clients, and visitors trade freely.
However, the bounty information released on the urban legend bounty website goes through a strict review process. Members of the Urban Legends Chat Group also pay attention to whether there are frauds during the trading process, but this place has none.
Whether the transactions are reliable entirely depends on customers’ judgment; if one is not careful, they might be deceived, or worse, all manner of crime could happen…
Thus, some requests on the water curtain are anonymous while others bear real names; the anonymous ones likely fear being targeted by greedy individuals, while those who write their real names show off their strength and reputation.
This place is simply fantastic! Surely, there’s no one in the world who wouldn’t know how to cheat!
I can’t wait to publish my information! Lu Yibei thought.
Just as the thought of wanting to publish information and its details flashed in her mind, she suddenly felt the glass in her hand grow a bit heavier.
Looking down, she saw that her glass, inexplicably, now contained half a glass of liquor, swirling with pale blue energy.
Seeing this, Lu Yibei was momentarily stunned. When she looked back up at the water curtain, she noticed that the small text had expanded to seventy-one lines.
The last line read, 【71·Huacheng Gu Qiqi·Looking for someone, details negotiable.】
After the incident in Peach Source and numerous rumors surrounding spiritual ability users and urban legends trying and failing to hunt Gu Qiqi, the bloody reputation of the devouring monster of urban legends had become even more pronounced than the legend of disaster in Huacheng. The appearance of “Gu Qiqi” immediately caught many eyes.
The moment that line appeared, the surroundings suddenly fell silent for a second or two, as many figures froze in place.
It was as if a person adorned with terrifying demonic tattoos had walked into a sauna; nobody dared to make a move.
Lu Yibei distinctly felt dozens of gazes—some speculative, some fearful, some filled with malice—fixated on her from various corners of the room.
————
In a dimly lit corner.
A pair of slightly lazy beautiful eyes glanced at the line of small text that triggered an unusual reaction on the water curtain, pausing for a second before shaking the head.
Although Moon Scraping Wind did not have a rule against serving urban legend customers.
However, for such a notorious urban legend to dare confidently appear at a gathering place of spiritual ability users in Shizhou City is far too arrogant and presumptuous.
“Let’s stick to the price we agreed on for the cloud paper and dandelion extract! Also, who are you looking for?”
Upon hearing this, Huasang turned and glanced at a sharp-featured man, slightly frowning.
Noticing the vigilance in her gaze, the man quickly changed his tone, “Oh, don’t mind me! I was just asking casually. If it’s not someone particularly important, I’ll just take it as giving you a free piece of information.”
“……” Huasang hesitated and then asked, “Do you have information about Wu Yutang of the Jade-faced Peach Blossom Fan?”
————
Standing before the curtain door, Lu Yibei felt as if the air was filled with flammable and explosive gases, threatening to explode at any moment.
“……”
Oh dear… Heaven as my witness, while I’m disguised as Gu Qiqi, I truly didn’t intend to set her up. I had firmly decided to act low-key.
I merely thought a bit about the information I wanted to publish, but I wasn’t prepared—it just went up directly without any warning!
While I did think a bit about utilizing Gu Qiqi’s notoriety as a shield, this water curtain feels a bit too intelligent and doesn’t consider user experience at all… Ugh, I want a refund!
Lu Yibei complained, quietly finding a seat in the corner to sit down, patiently waiting for someone to approach her for a transaction.
Now that things have come to this, there’s no turning back.
I can only play the role of Gu Qiqi well and try not to cause her any trouble.
Hmm, I’ll do my best! Lu Yibei thought.
However……
Those coming and going among the guests, whether fearful of the title of “Devouring Urban Legend’s Bloody Witch” or because they held a grudge against “Gu Qiqi,” after waiting for nearly half an hour, nobody came up to clink glasses with her.
Just as she thought she might lose her entrance fee of a gold coin that night, finally someone approached.
“Ding!”
Accompanied by a soft sound, the pure white moonlight enveloped Lu Yibei and the newcomer, while the gentle breeze surrounded them, the noise faded away.
The surroundings quieted down. Lu Yibei looked up and found a man in a black robe standing before her, whose face was entirely obscured by the hood.
He quietly stood in front of Lu Yibei, waiting for her to discuss the details of the transaction, giving off an uncomfortable vibe.
It felt like an invisible hand was trying to strip away her clothes… Lu Yibei frowned, also remaining silent, quietly pulling out Ling Tai Purification and holding it in her hand.
The moment she took out Ling Tai Purification, she distinctly felt the sword quiver slightly.
Is Ling Tai Purification excited?
Is it because of this person in front of me? Lu Yibei thought.
Before she could find out why Ling Tai Purification was acting strangely, the man in the black robe, seeing she hadn’t spoken for a long time, glanced at the broken sword in her hand, and said in a hoarse, low voice, “I have something here that might help you.”
“An item?”
“Yes, a magical item that can help you solve many difficulties. If you like it, I can sell it to you at a low price. Would you like to take a look?”
Lu Yibei seriously thought for a moment and replied expressionlessly, “Not interested!”
What on earth do you want to show me? I’m here to find someone, not something!
And you can sell it to me at a low price?
In the whole world, is there such a good thing? Lu Yibei thought.
In her opinion, the phrase “can help you solve many difficulties” sounded suspicious. If she had an item that could help a stranger solve many struggles, there’s no way she would sell it cheaply—she would definitely raise the price to empty that person’s wallet.
She would never believe in a pie falling from the sky; falling objects would only come from above!
“……” The man in the black robe saw Lu Yibei stop talking and seemingly had no intention of trading. He shrugged and quietly walked away.
After seeing the black-robed man converse with Lu Yibei and leave unscathed, it encouraged other customers. Soon, Lu Yibei welcomed her second trader.
“Excuse me, may I ask, who are you looking for?”
The newcomer was a girl wearing round glasses with freckles on her face, appearing quite frightened, speaking timidly and not daring to meet Lu Yibei’s eyes.
“I want to find twenty underage urban legends to roast and eat.” Lu Yibei replied nonchalantly.
The girl, “???”
“I’m just kidding! Don’t run, please!” Seeing the girl’s face turn as pale as a ghost, nearly fleeing, Lu Yibei hurriedly corrected herself, “Actually, I’m looking for someone named Hu Chuan…”
