Chapter 139: Dialogue
Luxianbei was well aware that in a place like Yumen Pass, where dangers lurked everywhere, one should be constantly alert. She was not that guardian girl, lacked Cataclysm Grade strength, and did not possess a body stranger than an urban legend. If she fell asleep, it was quite possible she wouldn’t wake up.
Yet, she eventually fell asleep while thinking about Fang Ji, the Miracle Cult, Bai Kai, Nanling Yaohua, half-urban legends, and the Solar Eclipse Society, among other things.
Unconsciously, her eyelids began to feel heavy, her head grew dizzy, and she even felt a bit nauseous, reminiscent of extreme fatigue when one uncontrollably succumbs to slumber.
Then her eyelids shut down suddenly, and her consciousness felt as though it had been disconnected, plunging into darkness.
When the sound of the huqin and pipa playing the dance music entered her ears, awakening Luxianbei from her stupor, she did not know how long had passed.
Her consciousness had just emerged from a dead silence of darkness, and before she could open her eyes, she felt a strong burning sensation in her eyes.
It felt as if magma was boiling within her eyeballs.
Luxianbei even thought that if she opened her eyes now, she might just sh**t fire from her pupils.
A foreboding sensation, like a bug stealthily creeping in the dark, quietly crawled onto her heart.
Based on previous experiences, a warm sensation in the eyes meant seeing dangers invisible to ordinary people, and the higher the warmth, the greater the danger.
At this moment, the heat in her eyes indicated an exceptionally high level of danger.
Luxianbei hesitated to open her eyes, wanting to continue feigning sleep and avoid confronting the impending danger nearby until the intense burning sensation dissipated by itself…
However, the girl had been living there for such a long time without any accidents, which indicated that although this place concealed some extremely dangerous entity or existence, it would not act proactively.
Yet, reality always defied expectations.
The burning sensation in her eyes persisted, not dissipating but rather intensifying, continually stimulating her nerves, making them spin and leap in tandem with the rhythm of the dance music echoing beside her ears.
After a prolonged state of this, those whispers and wails she had heard in the wind when she first approached Yumen Pass seemed to ring in her ears once again.
Among them was a suffocating pain and despair, boiling and churning.
Luxianbei, “……” Does this mean I must see it? If I don’t, will I be tormented?!
Suddenly, she felt as if she had encountered some brawny man blocking her way, insisting on showing her something “not suitable for children.”
At such moments, resistance was useless.
If she tried to resist, she would only be knocked down by the man with a punch, then forcibly have her eyelids pried open, experiencing torment as she was compelled to watch.
Since she couldn’t resist, she could only find a way to discover some enjoyment and savor it.
If she really liked it, perhaps she could even turn the tables, making the “man” unable to handle it?
Thinking this, Luxianbei took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and suddenly opened her eyes.
In an instant, the chaotic sounds beside her ears seemed to hit the pause button, briefly plunging into silence.
Light flooded into her vision, the orange-yellow hue, seemingly candlelight, was veiled in a layer of water mist.
The burning sensation in her eyes began to fade.
The blurry scene obscured by the tears caused by the burning gradually cleared, as if a gauzy curtain had been gently pulled aside.
After waiting a few seconds, when her vision was completely clear, Luxianbei steadied herself and looked around, her expression gradually becoming serious.
The room, slightly spacious, was divided by a wooden screen; one side held tables and chairs, with landscape paintings hanging on the four walls, while the other side had a bed and a dressing table, where the girl slept soundly, seemingly unaware or indifferent to the changes occurring around her.
Brass oil lamps hung around the room, their bright flames flickering in the lamp bowls.
Luxianbei clearly remembered that before she fell into a deep sleep, the entire room had been pitch black.
Although the candles and oil lamps in the room were still usable, to avoid attracting any dangerous presence, both she and the girl had tacitly refrained from lighting them.
But now, all the oil lamps were lit, illuminating the entire room as if it were broad daylight.
Who could have lit them? Was it that urban legend she had seen next door? Luxianbei wondered.
Just as she was pondering, a commotion arose outside the door.
“Hurry, hurry, send it to Master Lin San, or he’ll be angry…”
“Oh, you finally came to see me…”
“Autumn moon is round like a mirror,” “Autumn wind sharp as a kn*fe,” “Autumn… autumn…”
“Can’t continue, huh? Drink!”
“……”
From the sounds, it seemed there were many people outside.
There were voices urging a servant to serve wine to the guests, complaints from long-lost acquaintances, groups playing drinking games, laughter, dance music, and the clinking of cups and dishes…
It felt as if those guests who had long departed were all returning in this deep night.
It was a lively scene.
Perhaps with a faint hint of things that childhood urban legends warned against.
“……”
A night life from a thousand years ago?
Professor Ma would probably love this place…
But now was not the time to think about those things; trouble might be coming next, Luxianbei thought.
In her view, if she pushed open the door right now, there would likely be two situations.
The first was that everything outside was merely an illusion; she could see scenes from a distant, past night, but those people from the past were unaware of her existence.
The second scenario was much more terrifying; it was highly likely that upon opening the door, she would see a room full of urban legends, resembling the bathhouse in “Spirited Away,” but likely an R18 version.
Who knows, she might even be dragged to bathe the “River God,” and if she didn’t work properly, the girl accompanying her would be turned into a fat pig.
Although the girl was already sleeping soundly like a spider silk, and she didn’t particularly care whether the girl turned into a fat pig…
Thinking about this, Luxianbei cast a glance at the sleeping girl and then raised her eyes toward the door just as it suddenly creaked open.
“Creak!” A light sound, as a middle-aged woman in coarse linen garments entered the room, carrying a tray filled with spices. She walked straight to a censer in the corner of the room, opened the lid, carefully added various spices, lit them, and then turned to leave with the tray.
Luxianbei quietly watched from the side, momentarily forgetting to breathe. As the woman left and the door closed behind her, she slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
She stood right in the center of the room, and the middle-aged woman hurriedly went back and forth, as if she was completely unaware of her presence.
It seemed like the first scenario?
Now, what was happening outside was all an illusion?
Luxianbei pondered for a moment, and upon catching a whiff of the rich fragrance wafting from the censer, she suddenly seemed to think of something. Her eyebrows lightly raised, she quickly walked up to the oil lamp and gently blew.
“Whoosh…”
Her thin lips parted, the sandalwood breeze brushed by, and the flame flickered slightly.
Holy cow! It actually works? How is this possible? A look of astonishment flashed in Luxianbei’s eyes, but then her gaze turned mischievous.
She had once seen a question on a certain forum — if everyone in the world couldn’t see you anymore, what would you do?
Although she had not answered that question back then, she had already imagined a series of hellish answers when she saw it.
At this moment, the opportunity to put those answers into action had arrived!
Since she had nothing to do anyway, it was quite boring; instead, why not find something to do for herself and the people present?
If luck was on her side, she might hear some explosive and useful information from them, Luxianbei thought secretly.
————
Exiting the room, leaning against the wall, she carefully made her way downstairs, and the noisy sounds beside her immediately rose to another level.
The large main hall was brightly lit, where several young women in gauzy clothes danced gracefully on stage. In front of round tables sat merchants with deep-set features, scholars wearing silk caps, and border troops in fitted uniforms… a variety of “people” gathered together.
Drunken singing and wild dancing, with cups clinking together.
Joyful music wafted in the air mixed with wine and fragrances.
Everything seemed to narrate that here, in Yumen Pass, there had once been a somewhat prosperous time.
Amidst it all, Luxianbei initially worried about being discovered, restraining her actions as she quietly observed from a corner, hesitant to act recklessly.
To blend in better, she even changed her coat to mimic the “Women in Flower Hairpin” style and donned a sleeveless long dress, draping a large-sleeved sheer robe over it.
But as time passed, realizing that those “people” truly couldn’t see her, she gradually grew bolder.
She either grabbed a handful of incense ash and sprinkled it into the dishes held by a passing servant or sat at an empty spot at the scholar’s table, secretly refilling the wine cup of a poor fellow who had just lost a drinking game, leading to suspicions from his companions.
Or, she followed the songstress into the private room on the second floor to eavesdrop on those “lords” discussing matters best left unspoken.
It was akin to a wild dog breaking free, rushing into the crowd, frolicking back and forth.
Yet, it was an invisible wild dog to others.
However, joy was always short-lived; soon, the fun brought to her by these actions dissipated because those “people” would not interact with her.
What was the most enjoyable part of messing with others? Wasn’t it watching their reactions?
Those “people” could not see her, and although they were teased, their responses felt disconnected from her, rendering it meaningless.
From a certain perspective, this was akin to arguing with someone; only with back-and-forth exchanges, like a RAP BATTLE would it be interesting. If one person was frantically outputting words while the other was completely neglecting it, constantly just saying “Oh yes, yes, yes,” then the argument would never escalate.
————
When she grew tired of playing and returned to the room on the third floor, before even stepping inside, Luxianbei heard a series of flirtatious laughter that made her face flush and heart race.
Luxianbei, “……”
Right, this was a hook column.
Though back then there was a saying that performers sold their skills, not their bodies, courtesans couldn’t be forced if they were unwilling. However, if it was voluntary, the situation was different, which meant that inside, it might currently be…
Holy smokes, a live broadcast! Is this happening for real?
Luxianbei thought excitedly, tiptoeing as she pushed the door open. Just taking a glance, she retreated quickly.
Although the pair of disheveled men and women on the bed were indeed as she had imagined, the scene quite sensual, they seemed completely unaware of the girl sleeping soundly on the bed, pressing down on her; that was a different matter altogether.
The atmosphere was too bizarre!
Like something out of a horror film…
Rubbing her temples, Luxianbei stood in the corridor, mentally complaining when a conversation drifted into her ears.
“General… I heard you dealt with the envoy from Chang’an today… Is there going to be a problem?”
“If there is, then there is; anyone hearing what he said would have killed him!”
“What did he say?”
The man paused for a moment, then sighed deeply, “He said… in resisting the Shaman Queen, it’s enough to put on a show. Taking it too seriously only burdens the people and consumes resources…”
Hearing this, Luxianbei furrowed her brows and looked in the direction from which the voice was coming, realizing that it was emanating from the room where she had seen the urban legend…
