Chapter 84: It Seems Everyone Can Enter
Around the Nightless Street, within the sealed residential area.
In the past forty-three minutes and eighteen seconds, Huasang had deeply understood the meaning of the term “femme fatale” from her interactions with Luxianbei.
Not only had she forged friendships with dozens of members of the Secret Society in a very short time, but she had now also begun to subtly undermine the “morale of the troops.”
Leading this small group of around twenty Secret Society members was the little leader, An Qi, who was at the forefront, vigorously directing the members in a carpet-like search for “Gu Qiqi,” while “Gu Qiqi” mixed in at the back of the crowd, spreading words that disrupted unity and morale.
Huasang even suspected that if given a bit more time, Luxianbei might start inciting those Secret Society members.
She cast a sidelong glance at Luxianbei beside her, her eyelids twitching slightly.
Initially, she thought Luxianbei’s behavior of mingling among the Secret Society members bore some risk, but now it seemed she had worried unnecessarily.
Luxianbei was completely unaware of Huasang’s unusual scrutiny and remained calm, chatting idly with that “new friend.”
“So, you initially had no intention of joining the Secret Society, you only wanted to have excellent skateboarding skills and the opportunity to skate freely?”
“…” The person said nothing, sneaking a glance at An Qi in the distance and nodding slightly.
Once, he was a dream-chasing young man.
Now, he had the ability to realize his dreams, but he felt trapped, lingering in place.
“Hey!” Luxianbei sighed heavily and patted the man’s shoulder, saying, “We’re the same, buddy. I only wanted a perfect diamond at first.”
“You know, these colorful, sparkling gems are ridiculously expensive. Even for Spiritual Ability Users, it’s hard to afford them. I had a moment of misguided thoughts, and it ended up…”
“Uh, I’m not saying that lady is bad! I’m actually quite grateful to her. If it weren’t for her grace, I might never have had a chance to possess such a perfect diamond through my own efforts. If given the opportunity, I’d love to repay her kindness, but killing someone is a bit…”
As she spoke about the diamond, the fervent light in Luxianbei’s eyes gradually dimmed. She lowered her head and sighed softly.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she turned to another member of the Secret Society beside her and quietly asked, “Oh right, sister, you mentioned earlier that you were so dedicated to dance for your family, and that you received this pair of dance shoes as a blessing?”
“I suppose your family has already seen your current dance, right? They must be very happy?”
“…” The woman glanced down at the red shoes she had fused with and sighed silently, “Mm, they have seen it, but…”
She loved dancing, so much so that she was willing to give her life for it. Becoming a top dancer was not only her dream but also her family’s expectations for her.
Unfortunately, to reach the pinnacle in dance, both hard work and talent were essential.
She used to only have sweat; it was these red shoes that provided the talent worthy of her efforts.
However, when she wore these red shoes and completed that perfect dance, she found that her family had long since stormed out in anger at the finale.
Afterward, her mother said to her, “Your dance skills are impressive, but lacking soul.”
Luxianbei watched the sorrowful girl and shook her head, “It’s okay, I understand. That feeling of having finally pursued the ultimate in your heart, only to be unrecognized by others, I’ve experienced it too.”
“I told you, once I was a jewelry designer, right? Those guys couldn’t understand my designs at all, even saying I was ruining good things! But the finest gems don’t need artificial adornment; anything that can highlight their natural beauty is the best design.”
“Don’t worry, don’t be disheartened. As long as we still remember we are our former selves, that’s enough! Be yourself, don’t be swayed by anyone, even… that lady!”
After saying this, Luxianbei looked at the girl whose head bobbed like a chick pecking at grain, patted her shoulder, and quickly turned to the next target.
Huasang, “…”
This woman is too terrifying.
Is she really a Siye Association Operative, not some enchanting female demon?
Wait, could she have used this skill to infiltrate the Siye Association?
As Huasang pondered, An Qi, leading the team, suddenly let out a loud shout, interrupting her thoughts.
“Everyone, stop! We’ve just received word that Gu Qiqi is among us!”
cr*p, has she been discovered? Huasang’s heart skipped a beat as she tightened her grip on the ruler and quickly glanced at Luxianbei.
Then she saw Luxianbei darting away like a frightened rabbit, shrinking behind the last male and female members, her hands pressed against their backs as she weakly exclaimed, “Oh my, that cold-hearted killer Gu Qiqi is actually among us? How scary!”
While speaking, Luxianbei cast a “don’t worry!” look at Huasang.
“Don’t be afraid, there are so many of us!” the girl smiled, offering comfort.
Huasang, “…” You’re comforting her? Don’t you know she could k*ll you at any moment?
With her hands pressed on those two Secret Society members’ backs, if things went south, Luxianbei only needed half a second to shatter both their spines.
Huasang could see it clearly; after all, Luxianbei’s poised fingers were preparing to unleash force, derived from a martial art of Dachunyang Palace—”Five Forces Plum Blossom Capture.”
This was likely something she learned from Senior Qing Ji… Huasang thought thoughtfully.
At that moment, An Qi received a message from Hu Chuan and emitted a soft cry, “The sage said that the lady will personally guide us to find Gu Qiqi. Everyone, stay alert!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a deep rumbling surged from the surrounding buildings.
In the next moment, the outer wall of a nearby building exploded, revealing a large hole through which miscellaneous objects wrapped in terrifying spirit energy fluctuations surged like a tide.
Those objects were imbued with a strange vitality, enveloping the corpses within the residential building, constantly shifting in form mid-air—furniture, appliances, corpses, clothing… all with their own volition, brutally disassembling, meticulously reassembling, quickly welding, until they transformed into deadly weapons.
Soon, grotesque beings appearing in shapes that defied description, straddling the line between machine, object, and beast, filled the view, hundreds strong.
Their bodies were a mix of disassembled objects and corpses, intertwined in a manner that defied human aesthetics.
Like discarded machinery crushed by hydraulic hammers, the surfaces of these creatures glimmered with electrical flashes, emitting eerie light as they squirmed in a pale viscous slime.
Immediately after, the eyes embedded within the various broken materials slowly lit up, locking unyieldingly onto Huasang.
Of course, Luxianbei was also targeted…
The tension in Huasang’s heart exploded instantly.
Then, a shadow darted in with a chilling murderous intent, the ground suddenly shook, and Huasang hurriedly sidestepped, nervously looking at Luxianbei, momentarily stunned.
Amidst the chaos, Luxianbei showed no sign of panic at being discovered.
She swiftly leapt forward, coming up behind the sturdy man who had previously refused to engage with her, and with a forceful swing of her arm, she knocked him unconscious while a side kick sent him flying out of the crowd.
“Great! So it’s you calling yourself Gu Qiqi, huh!?”
As she spoke, several grotesque creatures lunged at them, crashing into the flying sturdy man. Without hesitation, those creatures immediately tore through him with a sharp metallic screech, and in an instant, his body shattered, exploding into a cloud of bl**d mid-air.
The feeling was as if those grotesque creatures were specifically targeting the sturdy man in their attack.
Seizing the moment when the bl**d mist obscured their sight, Luxianbei executed her movements, darting to Huasang’s side, and growled, “What are you staring at? Don’t you hurry and run!”
After saying this, she hugged Huasang’s slim waist, like sandwiching a long winter melon, and shot towards the edge of the crowd without pausing.
“It’s Zhao Qianyu, she’s impersonating Gu Qiqi!” An Qi shouted.
Zhao Qianyu was indeed the name of that “Diamond Girl.”
As her words echoed, a significant portion of the Secret Society members displayed expressions of disbelief.
They had just shared lively conversations with her a moment ago, feeling an unspoken connection, only to now learn she was Gu Qiqi?
In a flash, it was as if they had discovered their childhood best friend was a serial killer, their emotions turning complex…
Some even had thoughts like, “Although Gu Qiqi is ruthless, her kindness to me must be real…”
———
In the frenzied rush, Huasang saw Luxianbei quickly pull out several glowing objects she had never seen before from her pocket and throw them behind her, followed by a series of explosive bangs.
Illuminated by the blast, Luxianbei’s clothes began to wriggle, bringing forth a broken sword hidden beneath her garments to her hands.
With her sword sweeping through, a ghastly wail erupted, and foul, viscous slime burst forth, accompanied by cries and screams of agony.
As companions continued to fall, the fear instilled by the rule of “Gu Qiqi” resurfaced in the Secret Society members, leading to hesitation and indecision in their actions; however, the grotesque creatures surged in like mad, one after another, relentless.
During this process, Huasang quietly employed her fortune-telling technique, trying to catch the movements of the grotesque creatures, to guard against any unexpected sneak attacks on Luxianbei.
However, Huasang soon discovered Luxianbei didn’t need help at all.
She always seemed able to prepare in advance, as if she could foresee the future and sense attacks coming from all directions.
Yet through the fortune-telling technique, Huasang did find something strange.
Individually, those grotesque creatures were not frightening, with spirit energy fluctuation levels only around B.
Given that there were merely hundreds of them, they posed no threat, but Huasang could sense that their essences seemed to originate from a single entity.
With hundreds of entities barely reaching the average level of a Spiritual Ability User, if their energy fluctuations were unified, coordinated as if they were one, the consequences would be terrifying.
It was akin to lone wolves being harmless, but a pack of wolves being deadly.
“Those ghostly things seem to originate from the same entity,” Huasang warned.
“Yeah! I guessed that…” Luxianbei replied, then shifted her tone, “My spirit energy just hit rock bottom; I’m afraid it won’t last much longer. If we open up some distance later, I’ll leave the rest of the enemies to you.”
Already at rock bottom on spirit energy, she’s still causing trouble? Huasang stared at Luxianbei’s expressionless profile, momentarily stunned, then nodded, “Alright, leave it to me!”
Once my master receives my message, he should immediately inform the Elder of the Sect, and then they’ll set out.
Calculating the time, almost an hour had passed; they should be arriving soon.
As long as they can hold out until they arrive, they can escape! Huasang thought confidently.
———
Outside the sealed area, at the place where Salih was stuck.
Sheim stood before an invisible barrier, attempting again and again to create miracles and enter, until his hands were burnt black by the anomalous spirit energy.
“Hey—! I was just wondering, since Salih already made it halfway in and that girl miraculously got in too, why can’t I?”
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind. He suddenly turned around and saw an old man in simple robes, with white hair and beard, walking towards him.
The old man was hunched, his eyes squinting into a narrow slit. His steps were slow, looking as if he could fall over with a gust of wind, but in what seemed like a time warp, he appeared before Sheim in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Sheim raised his eyebrows and called out, “Hey old man, hurry up and stop, it’s very dangerous ahead; if you don’t want to d*e, just scram!”
Hearing Sheim’s shout, the old man cast a bright smile at him and nodded slightly, “Thanks for the reminder, but…”
Before the old man finished speaking, he suddenly lunged forward, crashing head-on into the invisible barrier.
Sheim’s pupils trembled slightly, thinking the old man was about to smash himself against the barrier fatally, when he noticed the old man opened his squinting eyes.
Next, he saw the old man’s figure suddenly straighten, resembling an illusion, adorned with an ethereal jade crown, dressed in a flowing robe, holding a large flag, and a swirling black dragon… a magnificent phantom flickered around the old man.
Then…
The old man simply passed through the invisible barrier silently under his watchful gaze.
Sheim, “…”
In that moment, his frustration level surged several percentage points.
The Holy Son, Salih, Huasang, and that mysterious old man… it seemed everyone could enter except him.
What a joke! He felt excluded, and there was nothing miraculous about that!
