Chapter 106: Its Memory
As if the performance had ended and the curtain was drawn, the scene before me gradually succumbed to darkness as the Twin-Tailed Girl fell into the sea.
Just when Lu Qingyi thought everything was over and felt confused about what she had just seen, a sudden wave of intense dizziness hit her.
Though there were no sounds of wind or sensations of weightlessness, she distinctly felt herself being thrown into the sky by a mysterious force.
The world spun around her.
Then, as if colliding with something, everything in the darkness began to quake.
Following that, the darkness in front of Lu Qingyi suddenly opened up, and countless black mist swirled and dissipated into the void like torn fabric being blown by the wind.
The curtain lifted once more, and countless bubbles emanating a dreamy glow entered her field of vision.
Lu Qingyi flew towards those bubbles, getting closer and closer, and when she finally touched the first bubble, a memory suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Vivid and clear, as if she had experienced it herself.
That feeling was familiar to her.
It was somewhat like suddenly gaining a segment of life when she first entered the Dream City.
She saw a city in ruins.
Under a shroud of thick smoke, the twisted and deformed steel frames of the city looked like a massive skeleton.
In the center of the city stood a small shrine, the only building left intact.
It possessed a scent reminiscent of nameless wildflowers blooming quietly amid the ruins after a disaster.
Amid the shrine, she vaguely saw many injured people moving about.
A beautiful girl dressed in a shrine maiden costume stood alone by the window of the chapel loft, gazing into the distance, as if she were conversing with someone, murmuring to herself.
“It has been three days since the promised time; why hasn’t Lord Calamity come yet? Could something have happened to her?”
Lu Qingyi, “??? What’s going on? Who are you, girl?”
Before she could pull herself together from the shock brought on by the falling Twin-Tailed Girl, a similar scene replicated in front of her, causing her mind to freeze like a crashed computer.
“Don’t worry! She’ll be fine! Even if something delays her on the way, she will definitely arrive.”
The familiar voice rang out, carrying a sense of unwavering strength.
Lu Qingyi froze for two seconds before regaining her senses from the brain freeze, only to be stunned to discover that the voice was, in fact, that of the Twin-Tailed Girl.
But where was she?
Didn’t she fall into the sea?
After all that, she hadn’t died? Was she tougher than Huasang?
Following the direction of the voice, Lu Qingyi searched for a moment before finally noticing the “little thing” resting on the shoulder of the shrine maiden costume girl.
It was a palm-sized, seemingly glass-like little fish, its translucent body surrounded by a dreamy glow. Two long antennae extended from its forehead to its tail fin, moving like ribbons, radiating a starlike brilliance.
It looked like a creature that had jumped out of a beautiful fairy tale!
Wait! Why was a fish the one talking?
But the voice was that of the Twin-Tailed Girl…
Could it be that after falling into the sea, she hadn’t died but transformed into an urban legend? Lu Qingyi wondered.
Just as she was in doubt, a cacophony abruptly broke her thoughts.
In front of the shrine, a flock of white doves, startled, let out piercing cries and flapped their wings, soaring into the sky. As the sun was setting, the glow filtered through the thick smoke, casting a layer of dried bl**d color over the doves.
Seeing this, the injured people in the shrine also screamed in terror, just like the frightened doves.
“They’re coming! Those man-eating monsters!”
“What should we do? We’re all going to d*e!”
“…”
In the woods surrounding the shrine, menacing black shadows exuding an ominous aura appeared densely, silently advancing toward the shrine.
From the silhouettes of those black shadows, Lu Qingyi could even make out the outlines of objects like televisions, bookshelves, tables, and chairs.
Pink Fluffy Rabbits? Images of those corrupted by the power of Pink Fluffy Rabbits merging with objects flashed through her mind.
“Whoosh—!”
At the moment when the foremost black shadow was about to emerge from the woods, a loud sound of rushing air erupted. A streak of light shot through the air, landing at the feet of that shadow and exploding with a loud bang, creating a violent storm.
On the loft of the shrine, the shrine maiden costume girl slowly lowered her bow, her sharp gaze sweeping over the black shadows in the woods.
As long as I’m here, you will never get close to the shrine! Though she did not say these words aloud, she was truly acting on them.
One day, three days, ten days…
With all her strength, she fought against those urban legends that seemed to be birthed from the corruption of the Pink Fluffy Rabbit, protecting the shrine and the people hiding within it seeking survival.
Watching the girl slaughter through bl**d and guts time and again, Lu Qingyi felt an urge to help, but reality told her she was merely an observer, powerless to do anything.
Trees have their withering days, and people can run out of strength.
After enduring for over ten days surrounded by urban legends with no resources, the girl ultimately lost.
Although she had never suffered defeat against those urban legends, she lost to those she was protecting.
She was a high-level spiritual ability user. With only a small amount of food and water, surviving over ten days posed no major problem for her. However, those hiding in the shrine under her protection could not endure.
In a state of extreme hunger, just a little temptation could shatter their last psychological defense, leading them to fall into corruption and embrace their base desires, becoming urban legends.
What the girl never anticipated was that the final blow to her would come from behind.
That day was again at sunset. The injured girl lay on the roof of the shrine, the glow of dusk illuminating her face, staining it a deep red like her bl**d-soaked clothes.
For a long while, perhaps it was a moment of clarity before d*ath, the girl’s murky eyes suddenly turned clear as she turned to look at the little fish resting on her shoulder and murmured, “Lord Calamity, in the end, did not come after all!”
“She…” The little fish fell silent for a moment before speaking in a tiny voice, “She… will come, she must be delayed by something, surely…”
“XX, stop lying to me! I’ve known everything for a long time.” The girl interrupted, “I’ve known that woman has abandoned us. We have long since become bait thrown out by her to delay time.”
The girl spoke the name of the little fish. Lu Qingyi strained to hear it but only caught a harsh noise.
“It’s just that at first, I had a spark of hope, hoping she’d finish her business and lend a hand, but… never mind, we can only say we have been overly sentimental, haven’t we?”
She had also once trusted Lord Calamity deeply…
After hearing the girl’s words, the little fish fell into long silence.
After a while, as the sun completely sank below the horizon, it finally found the words and spoke to the girl, “Actually, she is not the kind of person you think.”
After waiting for a moment without a response, it then noticed that the girl had long since lost her breath.
The dark clouds that had shrouded the sky for several days had unknowingly dispersed, and the cold light of the stars and moon fell upon the girl’s pale face, peaceful and sweet, as if she were merely sleeping.
The little fish curled up beside the girl, quietly accompanying her until the dawn broke, at which point a flash of determination suddenly flickered in its eyes. Then, accompanied by severe convulsions of its body, it opened its mouth and expelled a colorful core of urban legend.
Then, it awkwardly waved its fish fins, inscribing a girl’s name onto its core of urban legend, as if memorializing the girl in this way.
Lu Qingyi, “……” What the hell! It’s actually carving on its own core of urban legend!?
Such behavior, if placed on ordinary people, wouldn’t reach the level of carving on the heart, but at least it was on the level of cutting flesh and carving on ribs.
What a ruthless fish!
As an observer, Lu Qingyi quietly watched the little fish swallow the engraved core of urban legend back into its body and then frowned slightly.
She found it odd; she discovered that the little fish’s translucent body seemed to have dimmed significantly, like it had been shrouded in a layer of dark mist.
…
As the mist was blown away by the wind, the scene before her gradually faded, and the memories of the shrine maiden costume girl in her mind became increasingly unclear.
Like data that had been read and immediately deleted.
Following that, Lu Qingyi once again saw those hazy bubbles, and before she could react, she collided with the second, third, and fourth…
Thus, memory after memory surged into her mind.
The honest shepherd girl on the Mongolian grassland, the lonely nun on Ben Nevis, the girl playing the qin by the Qinhuai River…
Various people passed away before her, their deaths all directly or indirectly related to “calamity.”
After seeing so many, Lu Qingyi began to suspect that the “calamity” that appeared in those girls’ mouths actually had nothing to do with her; it was merely a coincidence that they all used this code name. Yet, seeing such vibrant lives extinguish before her, she had a strange feeling.
She felt she was the one who killed them!
This was what the witch-type core of urban legend within her told her. Each time a scene of a girl’s fall surfaced in her mind, the core of the witch-type urban legend would tremble violently.
As if celebrating, letting out joyous cheers.
If it weren’t for the bl**d on her hands, how could the witch-type core of urban legend exhibit such a reaction?
And that little fish accompanied those girls every time, until their lives reached their end. Then, in heavy silence, it would extract the core of urban legend and inscribe their names onto it.
Once, again, and again, its gaze gradually became numb, its movements increasingly mechanical.
Its body grew dimmer and more distorted, and then Lu Qingyi finally perceived some clues.
That little fish was the enormous fish-shaped shadow she had seen just before losing consciousness!
And all of this was its memory…
Chapter 107: Myself? Lover?
Near the Horse House Ridge, in the affected area following the battle against calamity and unknown urban legends.
In a certain desolation for who knows how long, a thick tree trunk whose type could no longer be discerned leaned against a wind-eroded small hill, and laying a coat on the trunk formed a makeshift sunshade.
Nanling Yaohua, not knowing whether Lu Qingyi’s inexplicable fainting would lead to trouble, thought that if she let her lie under the sun, something would definitely happen.
In the scorching July on the Gobi Desert, at noon, the ground temperature could reach 70 to 80 degrees Celsius, and it wouldn’t be surprising if someone died from exposure; even spiritual ability users might not withstand it.
After placing Lu Qingyi under the makeshift sunshade, during the time she was still unconscious, Nanling Yaohua turned to the affected area to briefly understand the situation with the Siye Association operatives stationed there.
The semi-urban legends that attacked the sealed area appeared around five this morning, likely having sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations released by the battle last night and organized a team to arrive overnight.
Similar to maggots gathering as if they had caught a whiff of bl**d.
After inspecting the scene, they found three tunnels big enough for a person to pass through in the deep pit created by that battle. The Siye operatives stationed in the sealed area followed one of the tunnels and discovered the exit on the shaded side of a sand dune five kilometers away.
By utilizing the tunneling method, they allowed several members to enter the inside of the sealed area, quickly and efficiently disrupting the sealing spell. By the time the Siye operatives reacted, it was already too late, and with the half-urban legends blocking them, they couldn’t even pursue.
It can be said that the local gangs have some natural advantages. To defeat them, one can only seek help from another local gang, such as the Yumen Sands Sea Branch.
“They should be from the Gu Zheng Ajin, as they are the best at digging tunnels,” Nanling Yaohua pointed to an opening and explained to several Siye operatives.
She then smiled and added, “Don’t worry, I know them well. I can get back what we lost, and you don’t need to worry about being punished by the higher-ups since this is my territory; if something happens, I bear some responsibility as well.”
In Huihu, “Gu Zheng” refers to animals like sable or weasel, while “Ajin” means leader.
The half-urban legend tribe led by Gu Zheng Ajin has long had a tradition of searching for and excavating ancient tombs hidden in the desert, partly to find ways to rescue the Shaman Queen and partly as a disgraceful means of livelihood.
Over time, when they reproduce, this tribe consciously chooses urban legends that fit their traditional customs to combine with.
From a certain perspective, these semi-urban legend tribes have specialized their powers over the past few hundred and nearly thousand years to adapt to this Gobi.
For example, the Tuo Wuali Lei tribe is adept at aerial combat and ambushes, the Wu Cihei tribe excels in long-distance raids and quick battles, and the Qie Le tribe specializes in weather manipulation, among others.
As time passed, they also mastered methods of enhancing their abilities using urban legend tales, thereby linking certain urban legends to themselves through creating urban legend events.
Tales like the Black Sandstorm, Devil City, d*ath Worm, and Desert Walking Corpses, while they existed before, became widely known around Yumen Pass today thanks to the “efforts” of these half-urban legend tribes.
It can be considered a step with the times.
One also wonders how many curse words the adventurers, traversing the desert, would want to hurl at these forward-thinking half-urban legends upon learning the truth behind the urban legend events they had encountered.
If they were lucky enough to survive…
With these two significant factors combined, the newcomers from the Siye Association might hold an edge in small scale battles due to their spiritual energy levels, but when it comes to the enemy’s “area of expertise,” they would find it difficult to gain the upper hand.
However, Nanling Yaohua, having grown up near Yumen Pass, was different…
Besides guarding the Yumen Pass, the Yumen Sands Sea Branch specialized in dealing with all kinds of half-urban legends!
It was essentially like the relationship between cat and mouse.
If it weren’t for the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, personnel would have dwindled and wiped out all those half-urban legends; it wouldn’t be impossible.
“I remember you guys mentioned that the night erosion intensity in the sealed area suddenly dropped after those guys took the things inside? What was inside?” Nanling Yaohua asked.
“Indeed, it seems those items were the true source of the night erosion intensity…” One of the Siye operatives paused and frowned. “As for what was inside, it’s strange; they appeared to be ordinary items, yet the night erosion intensity was so high.”
“Ordinary items?” Nanling Yaohua tilted her head.
“Just some food, some aged liquor, and some weapons, a random collection of stuff, looked just like a market,” another Siye operative answered.
Upon hearing this, Nanling Yaohua’s heart skipped a beat, and her expression slightly changed.
She recalled a legend she had overheard when Master Lu told her grandfather about it.
A terrifying urban legend that she did not know where Master Lu had heard it, even her grandfather rarely changed his expression after hearing it.
Now, at the site of the battle with calamity and unknown urban legends, various symbolic objects suspected to be related to that urban legend appeared; this was not a good omen.
Although, with the passage of time, the overall strength of urban legends is indeed stronger and more bizarre than in ancient times, if an ancient urban legend were to appear again, it would certainly be terrifying.
This wasn’t about today not being as good as the past; it was the urban legends that survived through the filtering of hundreds of years or even thousands of years, no matter the era, would be top-tier.
If such an urban legend were to cause the night erosion intensity to spread… the consequences were unimaginable!
After a brief moment of contemplation, Nanling Yaohua said to the Siye operatives, “This matter can’t be resolved by just the Hole Ridge Base; even if it could be, there wouldn’t be enough time…”
“Let me inform you of the places where the Gu Zheng tribe might have taken those items. Let’s split up; you first contact the other stationed members and have them assist in intercepting, while I’ll go ahead and see if I can track their whereabouts, alright?”
“No problem!” the Siye operatives responded in unison.
After a pause, one of the Siye operatives appeared to remember something, and turned to look at the makeshift sunshade where Lu Qingyi was resting, frowning, “What about that girl? Isn’t she coming with us?”
“She’s coming with me.” Nanling Yaohua replied, “I’m more familiar with the area around Yumen Pass, and it’s safer for her to be with me.”
Upon hearing Nanling Yaohua say this, a few Siye operatives immediately changed their expressions.
What does that mean?
If it’s safer with you, then let her follow you, what about us?!
Is it really something prestigious coming from Dachunyang Palace?!
Noticing the strange expressions on the Siye operatives, Nanling Yaohua silently sighed, “You misunderstand; it’s not because the Qingyi girl is a Dachunyang Palace disciple that she’s treated specially, but because of her master, Yan Yunzi.”
After saying this, she fell into a brief hesitation.
Should she continue? It felt somewhat inappropriate…
The information about Lu Qingyi’s master was disclosed to Nanling Yaohua when Xing Yuan contacted her, asking her to take good care of Lu Qingyi.
Xing Yuan revealed that if anyone questioned Lu Qingyi’s behavior and identity, just bring out Yan Yunzi’s name to use casually.
Since she’s a special investigator and has a special identity that is not known to others, Xing Yuan naturally sought to help Lu Qingyi acquire a protective talisman.
At first, Nanling Yaohua thought that such an act of disrespect towards the deceased was very inappropriate.
But Xing Yuan said that Yan Yunzi was her sworn friend and wasn’t petty and, before dying, had entrusted her with passing down teachings and helping her take on a disciple to leave a legacy; now that there was a convenient disciple appearing, Yan Yunzi in the afterlife would probably not mind.
But if Senior Yan Yunzi knew that this convenient disciple was a troublemaker?
Would she be furious enough to come back to life?
Never mind, let’s not think about it… Nanling Yaohua thought.
In fact, if it weren’t for Lu Qingyi discovering some special items after arriving at Hole Ridge Base, she might have already informed the folks at the base about the relationship between Lu Qingyi and Yan Yunzi last night, so they could take care of Lu Qingyi properly.
And now, she merely had a slight selfish motivation.
Surely, Senior Yan Yunzi wouldn’t mind, would she?
Recollecting her thoughts, she slightly lifted her chin, closed her eyes, and reflected, “You may not be familiar with Yan Yunzi, but if I mention the ‘Ten Heroes of Shanhaiguan’, you must have heard of them, right?”
“Of course we know!” a Siye operative said. “Five years ago, had it not been for those ten seniors risking their lives to fight, who knows how many urban legends would have flooded into the country from Shanhaiguan!”
At this, Nanling Yaohua nodded, “That Senior Yan Yunzi is one of the ten heroes. She perished in battle at Shanhaiguan, hence her name doesn’t ring as loudly as the others.”
“Senior Yan Yunzi had no heirs, just one disciple, Lu Qingyi. Now that her disciple has embarked on a path similar to that of her master, how can we not take extra care of Lu Qingyi?”
After hearing Nanling Yaohua’s words, the Siye operatives felt a wave of emotion in their hearts and suddenly thought that taking care of Lu Qingyi was very reasonable; some even wanted to lend a hand in her care!
————
A moment later, Nanling Yaohua shared the common trading locations of the half-urban legends and the methods for dealing with the commanding urban legends with the Siye operatives.
According to the descriptions from several operatives stationed near the sealed area, there were a significant amount of food, fine wine, and weapons in the sealed area. Just with the Gu Zheng tribe alone, they definitely couldn’t consume it all or perhaps didn’t need that much; they would certainly need to exchange for other, more useful items.
To trade what was acquired from the sealed area for other items, it was highly likely they would barter with other tribes.
Reciprocating needs, those half-urban legends have been surviving this way for the past several hundred years.
After watching the Siye operatives leave, Nanling Yaohua returned to the small hill not far from the sealed area.
Reaching the makeshift sunshade, Lu Qingyi remained in a deep sleep.
After scanning Lu Qingyi, her gaze finally fell on her slightly bulging chest, wrapped in a blue-patterned dress.
Quite small…
Uh, but that isn’t the key. The key is the item hidden beneath her clothes—the bell she had intentionally left at Lu Qingyi’s family’s old house.
Last night, upon seeing Lu Qingyi, Nanling Yaohua sensed that her bell was on Lu Qingyi.
That’s absurd; it was a spiritual item that had accompanied her since she could remember. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they shared bl**d. Given such close proximity, how could she not sense it?
But how did the bell end up on Lu Qingyi?
Did Lu Qingyi receive it from her, or did she find it herself?
And this urban legend coat, while it didn’t carry the markings from back then, its aura nonetheless appeared identical to the one Lu Qingyi wore…
The bell, the coat, and Xing Yuan’s special care were enough to prove that Lu Qingyi shared a very close relationship with Lu Qingyi. Yet, after a round of probing, she still had the audacity to claim not to know Lu Qingyi.
How utterly shameless!
Upon reaching this thought, Nanling Yaohua couldn’t help but feel a spark of anger, almost losing her impulse to smash Lu Qingyi’s head.
Yet, she lifted her small fist, which hung in the air for a moment, slowly lowering it again.
Still, who exactly is Lu Qingyi, her lover, or a sister?
They all share the surname Lu, don’t they?
Although she had never heard her grandfather or Master Bai mention that Master Lu had a daughter, given Master Lu’s nature, having a love child wouldn’t be surprising.
After all, he is known as the man who frightens the shepherd girl ghosts.
All these clues convinced Nanling Yaohua that Lu Qingyi was indeed Lu Qingyi, but the fiancé she had yearned for suddenly turned into a delicate girl; she found it somewhat hard to accept. If it were truly that way, wouldn’t it force her to consume those gender-altering alchemical potions?
Therefore, she instinctively leaned towards thinking of Lu Qingyi as a sister or lover.
Not minding consuming alchemical potions didn’t mean she wanted to take them.
Besides, it isn’t a good thing; those alchemical potions come with side effects and can affect spiritual patterns and abilities!
After pondering for a moment, Nanling Yaohua leaned down and squatted beside “Lu Qingyi,” reaching out to get her bell back, planning to later catch her red-handed at an appropriate time.
However, just as she reached to unfasten the first button of “Lu Qingyi’s” collar, a sound of weeping suddenly slipped into her ears.
“Lu Qingyi” was crying, crying in great pain.
Nanling Yaohua froze slightly and looked at “Lu Qingyi’s” face, revealing a look of confusion.
Why was she suddenly crying?
Did she dream of something sad while sleeping?
Watching the tear-streaked face, a wave of compassion welled up within her.
