Chapter 105: She Killed a Stranger
In the vast desert, under the blazing sun and flying sand, two people rode on a single horse…
These elements combined inexplicably reminded Luxianbei of the scene where Fulankang and Summer Ziwei rode together.
The catch is that if that famous scene were to be replayed, her position should be Ziwei.
Honestly, Luxianbei was a bit scared. Nanling Yaohua suddenly whispered in her ear, “I want to hold you like this and chase you all the way to the horizon,” and “You can’t have more than me because I’m already full!”
How should she respond to that?
Should she say, “Miss Nanling please have some self-respect!” or should she say, “You’re full, then I’ll overflow!”?
Fortunately, Nanling Yaohua seemed to understand the principle of teasing, and after making those rather ambiguous moves, she restrained herself and didn’t take any further action.
“…”
Nonetheless, she would eventually come up with something tricky.
Her methods were like layers of an onion, one after another. How could she let it go so easily?
If the horse they were riding was not a stallion, then she definitely would have been hanging off its belly… Luxianbei thought.
If she still hadn’t realized Nanling Yaohua’s abnormal behavior by now, then she must be too dull.
Nanling Yaohua must have already known something, at least to a significant extent, raising her suspicion, which is why she kept making various moves to probe.
However, what Luxianbei couldn’t figure out was how Nanling Yaohua knew her identity.
Could it be that her godmother told her something?
If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be afraid of, right? Luxianbei thought.
In situations like this, where one claims to want to dig out the heart of the “heartless man” to see its color, but when the opportunity arises, they play a series of flirty tricks, they are likely all talk and no action, having no murderous intent.
Strictly speaking, it’s similar to a girl pouting and saying, “You dead ghost!”
Thinking of this, Luxianbei slightly tilted her head, casting a glance at Nanling Yaohua, then sighed silently.
While it’s good news that she doesn’t want my life, she’s the same as Stinky Sister, who is craving my body!
It seems that I need to find an opportunity to act alone, keeping a distance from her! Luxianbei thought.
Honestly, a girl like this, with a delicate face and elegant demeanor, if she were to let loose and throw herself at someone, no matter if it’s a young boy like her who hasn’t been initiated into matters of the world, anyone would find it hard to resist.
If the allure of the witch kind of urban legend is bl**d, alcohol, and an addictive poison that can drive one insane, then the natural charm of Nanling Yaohua is like wind, rain, and the crystalline morning dew—seemingly non-threatening but easily engraved in one’s memory.
———
When they arrived near the encircled area, it was already noon.
The scorching sun cast down, and the hot air stirred up waves of distorted heat on the Gobi Desert.
Standing atop a high earthen mound, they could see in the distance a circle resembling a rammed earth city wall, stretching for several kilometers, forming a somewhat irregular arc.
The outer part of the “city wall” was a yellowish color, while the inside was concave and empty, the color like it had recently been scorched by fire, with large areas charred black.
It seemed to be a city abandoned due to calamity.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Luxianbei inexplicably felt that the residual spirit energy fluctuations coming faintly from the blackened soil held a strange familiarity.
Then…
After staring at the “ruined city” for over ten seconds, her vision suddenly became blurry, followed by a familiar sense of discomfort in her eyes.
It felt as if she had some kind of inflammation—itching and burning, hot tears rolled in her eye sockets, a burning sensation radiated from deep within her eyeball outward, as if it were about to ignite at any moment.
Her head felt as if it had been struck hard with a stick, sending sporadic pangs of pain and a strong sense of dizziness.
It was as if a hallucination occurred in her ears, with a static-like buzzing noise.
She was about to see something! What would it be? Was it the scene of the imposter calamity battling four near-cataclysm-grade urban legends? This thought flashed through Luxianbei’s mind.
Although her powers had grown stronger and her eyes had not shown any abnormalities for a long time, she would never forget what abnormal eyes meant.
Typically, there were only two scenarios: either a big boss was about to appear, or she was going to see some special sight.
Given the circumstances of the current encircled area, the latter was more likely.
“Qingyi Girl, what’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?” Noticing Luxianbei’s abnormality, Nanling Yaohua gently inquired.
Luxianbei supported her forehead with one hand, turned to look at Nanling Yaohua, and expressionlessly said, “I’m fine, I just feel a bit… dizzy…”
Her voice grew smaller, and after she uttered the last word, she suddenly felt an intense wave of weakness rush over her, as if her spirit energy had been instantly drained, falling into stagnation, her body weakened, falling backward into Nanling Yaohua’s arms.
In a dizzying whirl, the light in her vision darkened, time seemed to abruptly shift from noon to midnight. In the vast shadows, something seemed to surge, the distant sky of the Gobi Desert and the endless yellow earth seemed to be pulled and twisted by some force.
Clearly, she felt no vibrations, yet the ground in her vision rolled treacherously, raising waves of soil and stirring up clouds of dust as if some massive creature was writhing beneath the surface.
In her breath, it was like the mirroring of a shattered mirror; the earth broke apart, revealing a dark abyss. A misty whale song echoed from the abyss, growing closer and clearer until it transformed into a deafening thunder.
Then.
A gigantic shadow suddenly leaped out from the abyss, flying toward the sky, extending its body beneath a moon glowing with an eerie blue light.
It seemed to be a fish, a giant fish resembling an anglerfish, but unlike the anglerfish, its body was extraordinarily elongated, every curve exuding a strange beauty, with a fleshy, lumpy luminous organ twisting atop its head, blinking a fierce red light, and its enormous elongated fins spread like wings.
In a daze, Luxianbei raised her hand, pointing at the sky, murmuring, “Do you see it? What is that?”
Hearing this, Nanling Yaohua paused for a moment, following the direction Luxianbei pointed, but saw nothing but the blazing sun hanging high.
“Qingyi Girl, there’s nothing there. Are you…”
As Nanling Yaohua spoke, she looked down at Luxianbei, and upon seeing that Luxianbei had lost consciousness, her words abruptly halted.
———
In that instant of losing consciousness, the image of the gigantic fish-like shadow leaping into the sky under the eerie moonlight was frozen before Luxianbei.
Staring at that shadow, a wave of intense guilt arose within her.
It felt like she had done something wrong, but she couldn’t remember what.
Yet she must have done something wrong.
It felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe, and from the crevices of that stone, small worms with sharp teeth crawled out, gnawing at her heart, causing pain and itching.
In a daze, it felt like something, like a thread, was pulling at her consciousness, drifting forward, the images in her vision gradually blurring, then dissipating.
Just as the images right in front of her were about to completely vanish, plunging her vision into darkness, she saw a figure.
It was a girl, small and thin, as if a strong wind could blow her away, with a pair of thick black pigtails hanging behind her head.
She stood at the edge of a steep cliff, with deep blue seawater below, surging and boiling, raising enormous waves.
“Lord Calamity, are we about to succeed? In the future, there will be no more disasters in this world, right? Everyone can live their lives peacefully like before!”
Faintly, Luxianbei heard the girl say this, her voice filled with excitement.
“…”
Who are you, girl? Do we know each other?
How do you know my name?
What calamity? I’ve never heard of it; everyone is living well now!
Luxianbei opened her mouth, wanting to say something to the girl, but when she opened her mouth, she uncontrollably spoke completely different words from what she intended.
“Yes, it’s all over.”
As she said this to the girl, she slowly moved closer, then quietly drew the long kn*fe from her waist.
The long kn*fe had an ancient look, with a long blade resembling a type used by Tang Dynasty infantry. Its elongated bronze handle was intricately carved with complex patterns.
Though Luxianbei had never seen this long kn*fe, the moment she saw it in her hand, she felt a familiar aura.
That aura was somewhat similar to Ling Tai Purification, but with slight differences.
And the moment she saw the long kn*fe in her hand, she suddenly realized that she was about to k*ll the girl in front of her.
But… why?
She had never seen that girl.
She wasn’t a murderous psychopath; without any hatred or grudge, why would she k*ll her?
It was completely absurd!
With a dull thud, warm bl**d splashed onto her face. Luxianbei froze, looking down, her eyes gradually widening.
She was horrified to find that the long kn*fe in her hand had unknowingly pierced through the girl’s body.
On that blade, a brilliant and dazzling halo danced, causing the light around the blade to warp, with strands of chaotic black lines dancing within the distorted light.
This scene seemed familiar to Luxianbei; it felt oddly recognizable, but for a moment she couldn’t recall where she had seen it.
Then, she placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, gently pushing her twitching body forward, leaving a trail of bright red on the shiny silver blade.
“W-why?” the girl uttered in disbelief.
Even without turning around, Luxianbei felt the girl’s deep confusion and resentment through her words, crashing over her like a turbulent tide, making it hard to breathe.
“Sorry, didn’t I just say? It’s all over.” Luxianbei uncontrollably said to the girl, then her hand on the girl’s shoulder exerted force, and at the moment the girl was about to turn and look at her, she pushed her off the cliff.
In an instant, bl**d sprayed in the direction of the long kn*fe, forming an arc.
The waves below seemed to swell in coordination with the splattered bl**d, suddenly rising up, and with a thunderous roar, swallowed the girl’s figure, leaving Luxianbei alone, holding the bloody long kn*fe, staring blankly at the sea.
She killed a stranger…
What the hell is going on?
Why did Ling Tai Purification turn into a long kn*fe?
Who was that girl who fell into the sea?
And why did this event cause her eyes to burn?
Thinking about those seemingly illogical and unrelated images, Luxianbei began to question her life.
