Chapter 150: The Long Night
The sky was overcast, and under the heavy night curtain, the Yumen City Gate resembled a vast and intricate chessboard. The tall and majestic walls encircled the edges of the chessboard, with the crisscrossing streets serving as the lines on the board, while the buildings within the city scattered like chess pieces.
However, these “pieces” had been idle for too long and had decayed to the point of being on the verge of collapse.
Like the wind blowing across the chessboard, stirring up the dust, Fang Ji and Shen Baiwei swiftly traversed the city, akin to two specks of dust, bouncing between the “pieces.”
Then…
Fang Ji suddenly stopped and looked around warily, his expression serious.
Having sensed someone touching their surroundings, Shen Baiwei, who had been restless and absorbed in her own thoughts, did not notice Fang Ji’s halt at all.
After walking a short distance, she sensed the absence of footsteps behind her and turned to look back, seeing Fang Ji standing there like a fool, looking around silently while muttering a few curses under his breath. Reluctantly, he retreated, annoyed, and asked Fang Ji, “Why aren’t you moving?”
You wouldn’t be thinking of doing something weird again, would you?
Fang Ji glanced at Shen Baiwei and said seriously, “The elders of the Miracle Cult are not far ahead. I can already sense their presence…”
Though his Miracle Flower inexplicably appeared on Shen Baiwei, as the Miracle Saint, he was still able to sense the capabilities of the Miracle Flower possessed by the members of the Miracle Cult.
Hearing this, Shen Baiwei rolled her eyes. “Then hurry up! Weren’t you anxious to meet them? We’re about to meet them now, so why did you suddenly stop?”
“Because I felt something was off…” Fang Ji explained. “Don’t you think our journey has been too smooth? We haven’t encountered any danger at all.”
He understood well what his luck was like; it couldn’t be called bad luck, but it was certainly the worst kind of luck imaginable.
This was evident from when he had followed Shen Baiwei, facing various urban legends and triggering traps unexpectedly.
However, ever since they had agreed to act together, he hadn’t faced any unforeseen events.
That felt very wrong!
Bad luck, from one perspective, is a bit like a naturally mischievous child; the likelihood of it suddenly changing is low. If it’s peculiarly “quiet” for a period, it’s likely brewing something for a big upheaval.
Now, as they were about to meet with the elders of the Miracle Cult, in his experience, the calm before the storm was about to descend.
“Wait, you…” Shen Baiwei was at a loss for words, even feeling a bit like hitting him.
After taking a few deep breaths, she managed to calm her emotions and impatiently retorted, “Why are you so paranoid? There’s nothing like that…”
Before she could finish her sentence, a booming sound suddenly erupted, and her voice was cut off.
“Boom——!”
A deafening roar came from the ground, as if some terrible beast were roaring beneath, and the earth began to shake violently, accompanied by waves of soil spreading from the southeast corner of Yumen Pass, covering the entire city.
All the buildings shook violently, and thick clouds of smoke spread through the crisscrossing streets.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had suddenly slammed upon this dilapidated ancient “chessboard,” causing all the pieces to tremble, and the dust accumulated on them to rise.
Restless.
Then…
In a daze, a shattering sound echoed, like someone was smashing a ceramic jar in an unseen corner, ringing in the ears of every person or entity in the city.
The ground cracked, and grotesque fissures spread from the southeastern corner of the city to all directions.
Immediately after, a scarlet light shot into the sky, emitting an ominous thick black mist that unfurled like indeterminate, shattered wings, slowly opening.
The sky was torn apart.
Although, strictly speaking, the completely enclosed Yumen Pass, as a God Realm, did not actually possess a true sky; what lay above was merely the unchanging chaos of eternity.
But with that dazzling crimson light shooting up from underground and blooming, that false firmament seemed to ignite, tinted with a deep bl**d hue.
A delayed howl erupted suddenly, and before the roar could fade, an almost hoarse roar echoed above Yumen Pass.
It pierced everyone’s eardrums, and the emotions conveyed by that roar spread with horrifying spirit energy fluctuations in everyone’s minds, surging like a volcanic eruption, as if it intended to burn everyone’s souls with rage.
In the distance, a point of intensely brilliant crimson light flickered in the sky, resembling a calamity heralding impending disaster, while a writhing mass of black mist undulated like a living creature, expanding in all directions, with ominous shadows flashing within.
Looking at such a scene, even those who were unfamiliar with the legends of Yumen Pass could guess… that some ancient and evil existence had been released.
In the next instant, the scarlet brilliance, the swirling black mist, the ominous spirit energy fluctuations… everything began to contract violently, gathering into a single point before finally disappearing.
As if it had merged into the darkness.
The sky returned to tranquility, as if nothing had just occurred, but in the city, those eyes that had witnessed the entire process, along with the spiritual ability users and urban legends who felt the suffocating pressure just moments before, knew that the terrifying presence had not left.
Everyone and every entity sensed a gaze sweeping back and forth over them.
Furiously blazing, with a murderous intent.
After a while, Fang Ji retracted his gaze, steadied himself, glanced sideways at Shen Baiwei, and said quietly, “What did I just say? You saw it, didn’t you? They’re here…”
He had experienced the Pink Fluffy Rabbit incident, and he could feel that the entity within that scarlet light not only exhibited spirit energy fluctuations comparable to the Pink Fluffy Rabbit but was even more destructive.
On the other side, Shen Baiwei seemed to ignore Fang Ji’s inquiry, gazing at the sky in a daze for a long time, her eyes flashing with a strong, restrained greed.
In that scarlet radiance, she felt a power that could greatly enhance her spirit patterns…
That was a power from the “past”.
————
“Cough! d*mn it, didn’t you say this basement was absolutely safe? Why did it suddenly collapse? Can it even hold up?”
Barely climbing out of the collapsed basement, Bai Kai complained a few times before witnessing the strange phenomenon in the sky, his expression suddenly darkening. He turned to the General, who was brushing dust off himself as if worried about disturbing that terrifying presence in the sky, and asked quietly, “What is that?”
“I guess… that is the legendary Shaman Queen,” the General said in a deep voice. “Things have become troublesome. I didn’t expect that after being imprisoned for hundreds of years, it could still possess such overwhelming spirit energy fluctuations.”
“What should we do now?” Bai Kai asked.
The General did not answer Bai Kai but glanced down at the 【Sealing Smoke Signal】 in his hand, then tightened his grip before finally stating, “Honestly, I don’t know, but I can certainly assure you, tonight will be very long…”
————
Is this the “daylight”?
Isn’t it a bit too fast? I still have many things left to do…
Upon hearing the Guardian beside her say that the “night” of Yumen Pass had passed, Lu Qingyi was momentarily stunned, realizing she still had unanswered questions.
She steadied herself and looked at the girl, stammering, “I-I probably appeared here because of… a dream, sleepwalking?”
“Sleepwalking?”
After hearing Lu Qingyi’s explanation, the girl tilted her head.
That explanation was somewhat absurd…
“Yes, sleepwalking!” Lu Qingyi composed herself and said earnestly, “You wouldn’t know, but I’ve had this sleepwalking problem since I was a child. Originally, as my spirit energy level increased, I hadn’t sleepwalked in a long time, but unexpectedly, it happened again last night.”
“I think it must be due to stress?”
“As you know, this is my first time executing a mission independently, and I didn’t expect to encounter such a situation. The pressure is just too much, and I can barely breathe.”
As Lu Qingyi explained why she had fallen asleep in Xia Lianqing’s room, her brows furrowed, and she raised her hand to gently caress her chest, as if really feeling short of breath.
“Uh…” The girl pondered for a moment, patting Lu Qingyi on the shoulder and advising, “It’s okay. I was very nervous my first time executing a mission too; you’ll get used to it later.”
Although claiming sleepwalking was a bit far-fetched, the calm “sincerity” in Lu Qingyi’s words did manage to impress the girl, who reluctantly believed her explanation.
Moreover, the girl wasn’t the particularly sleepy “Lu Qingyi” either, so why she appeared next door was not important!
What mattered is to confirm that “Lu Qingyi” was indeed a disciple of Dachunyang Palace, a beloved apprentice, and that she bore no ill will.
Though sleepwalking was rare, if it occurred in a high-level spirit energy user, it was somewhat normal.
High-level spirit energy users all had their own quirks, didn’t they?
It was said that there was a disciple of the “godly” rank in Dachunyang Palace who, when lying by the back mountain’s pond, would become as hard as stone for several days without moving, and bathing would require using a steel wire ball. Compared to that, “Lu Qingyi” merely sleepwalking could be considered relatively normal.
“However…” The girl crossed her arms and surveyed “Lu Qingyi”, wrinkling her lips. “You might be sleeping a bit too deeply. The first time I came to call you, I couldn’t wake you no matter what. You really take the cake.”
“Something so enormous happened outside, and a lack of vigilance like yours… If it weren’t for the coincidence of encountering me, you wouldn’t even know how you’d d*e.”
Lu Qingyi, “???”
Could you repeat who was sleeping deeply? Should I be thanking you instead? What a classic case of the evildoer reporting first!
Thinking of this, Lu Qingyi suppressed her impulse to comment, her expression unchanged as she said, “Thank you for the reminder, Senior… But I haven’t asked yet, what happened outside?”
The girl raised her eyes to gaze at the bleak view of Yumen Pass through the window, her brow furrowing.
“Outside…”
Just as she was about to tell “Lu Qingyi” what she discovered while patrolling the surroundings after waking up, a series of terrible screams echoed outside, accompanied by a powerful and ominous spirit energy fluctuation.
The source of the screams seemed to be far from the Hook Column building, not very clear, but even so, the gut-wrenching strength could still be felt, as if someone were undergoing unimaginable torture, sending chills down one’s spine.
The screams came one after another and continued for a while before gradually subsiding. Once it quieted down, the girl scratched her head and said, “How should I put this to you?”
“Those half-urban legends released the legendary Shaman Queen, and then after that thing escaped, whether it had been suppressed in Yumen Pass for too long, falling into complete madness, or if it desperately needed to replenish spirit energy, it simply started killing everyone in sight…”
“By the way, it’s not just the Miracle Cult and those unknown illegal spirit energy organizations; even the half-urban legend tribes that released it are not spared, completely making no distinction between friend or foe. It appears and disappears mysteriously, killing someone and then vanishing… like a ghost.”
“Uh, in short, those half-urban legends messed things up and released a calamity-grade monster that only knows how to slaughter, and now the outside is a complete mess.”
“Could it be that Senior has already faced the Shaman Queen?” Lu Qingyi asked curiously.
“Of course I haven’t!” The girl shrugged, “So far, the only one who has faced the Shaman Queen and lived to tell the tale is a girl in white with a long sword. Oh, right, it sounds very much like the granddaughter of that old man from Nanling Peak.”
The granddaughter of Nanling Peak… Isn’t that Xiao Hua? How did she also end up in Yumen Pass? Lu Qingyi was taken aback and hurriedly asked, “Senior, how do you know this so clearly? Did you see it with your own eyes?”
“I just randomly grabbed some people to ask!” The girl said casually, “You don’t know; I, Huaiyuan Jun, am famous for my questioning skills at the Siye Society.”
Huaiyuan Jun? A questioning expert? Lu Qingyi caught on to the key information in the girl’s words and subconsciously wanted to ask how Huaiyuan Jun conducted the interrogations, but then she noticed the girl’s wrist twisting back and forth and the bloodstains on her fists that hadn’t been cleaned out.
Got it, questioning with her fists, huh?
Very good, straightforward and brute force!
“As for how I caught those people…” Huaiyuan Jun glanced at the window again, “I just walked around a bit and encountered several groups of spirit energy users and urban legends hiding and fleeing for their lives.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingyi pondered for a moment, nodding slightly as if enlightened. “I understand! It’s probably like an asymmetric competitive game, with a boss chasing from behind, while everyone else is finding ways to survive, right?”
It was quite tough to adapt since the previous version hadn’t been fully explored before the new version had been updated, and even the game mode was quite different… Lu Qingyi thought.
Hearing this, Huaiyuan Jun frowned slightly and nodded, “About that…”
Although “Lu Qingyi’s” description was somewhat odd, the situation outside was roughly like that.
“Does Senior have any plans?” Lu Qingyi inquired.
“I…” Huaiyuan Jun hesitated.
Initially, she wanted to tell “Lu Qingyi” that she had no plans and was prepared to take things step by step.
After all, throughout her life, faced with any crisis, she had always charged in with her fists and a stone stick; if that didn’t work, she would just sleep. Once her injuries healed, she would charge in again.
But then she thought, as an elder in front of her junior, she should act like an elder, so she changed her tune and said, “I have my own plans; just follow me, and I’ll protect you.”
So that means no plans, huh? Lu Qingyi rolled her eyes inwardly and nodded, “Then I thank you, Senior.”
As her words fell, the screams from outside erupted again.
Under that lead-gray sky and among the dilapidated buildings marked by the passage of time, the sound echoed along with the chill of the wind.
Lu Qingyi followed the direction from which the cries came and stared out of the window, lost in thought.
If those half-urban legends truly released the Shaman Queen, didn’t that mean that the Nanling County King’s plan to lure the Shaman Queen into Yumen Pass to suppress her succeeded?
Yet, if they had successfully suppressed the Shaman Queen, why had Yumen Pass turned into what it was now?
Could it be that the legendary Shaman Queen was so powerful that to suppress her required sacrificing an entire large God Realm?
As Lu Qingyi thought about this, she glanced up at the beam overhead, the place where Xia Lianqing had previously hanged herself.
She suddenly felt very curious about what had happened after Xia Lianqing had seen the Nanling County King’s secret envelope and received the mission.
What was the specific content of the task that Xia Lianqing was given?
Perhaps, it would be good to go check out that small courtyard?
And see if she could find Xiao Hua nearby…
With this thought, Lu Qingyi looked at Huaiyuan Jun and said, “Senior, if you don’t mind, can I go out for a walk?”
“Go out for a walk?” Huaiyuan Jun scrutinized “Lu Qingyi” and asked, “Do you need me to accompany you?”
You know, it’s understandable that young people like to see the excitement.
“No, thank you, Senior.” Lu Qingyi shook her head. “I’ll just be nearby and won’t wander far.”
She indeed wouldn’t wander far, as that small courtyard was only a couple of miles from the Hook Column building.
However, she couldn’t think of how to explain to Huaiyuan Jun the purpose of her visit to that small courtyard, so she chose to be vague on that point.
After all, it was impossible to tell Huaiyuan Jun that she had a dream last night in which a songstress and dozens of Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers appeared in that small courtyard, conspiring to assist the Nanling County King in suppressing the Shaman Queen, right?
Sleepwalking was already absurd enough, and if she added in receiving a dream message from someone from hundreds of years ago, that would be even more ridiculous.
There was a high chance she’d be regarded by Huaiyuan Jun as being possessed by some entity lurking in the Hook Column building, and she’d end up with a punch to the head.
But…
“Senior, you can hold onto this…” Lu Qingyi said, pulling out a paper cicada and handing it to Huaiyuan Jun. “This is a little gadget I made myself; it has a subtle connection to me, and if I encounter danger, you can call for help at any time.”
Free combat strength should definitely be taken advantage of.
Huaiyuan Jun examined the pale little paper figure Lu Qingyi handed over, frowning slightly.
Paper Cicada?
Though the skill to make paper cicadas was indeed taught at Dachunyang Palace, she still felt as if she had heard someone mention this little gadget particularly somewhere else.
After pondering for a few seconds, her frown slowly eased, and she nodded, “Alright, if that’s the case, I feel a bit more at ease.”
Not remembering where she had heard someone mention paper cicadas particularly was unimportant; what mattered was that if Lu Qingyi acted with her and something unexpected happened, that wouldn’t be good.
It wasn’t out of fear of others talking about her or not wanting to justify things to Zhang Hainan; it was primarily about face.
“…”
I did that to make you feel at ease? That was for my own safety!
After internally complaining, Lu Qingyi respectfully bowed slightly to Huaiyuan Jun and turned to walk out the door.
