Chapter 342: The Fate Trajectory Forcefully Altered

The PL girl glanced at Lu Yibei, who looked utterly bewildered, wiped the blood trickling down her abdomen, and walked over to sit beside her. Casually, she placed her bloody hand on Lu Yibei’s shoulder.

“Well, you probably haven’t heard of the Eldritch Destroyer, but that’s why I’m here, right? Let me explain it to you.”

Lu Yibei shot her a sideways glance, “Hey, don’t push it too far!”

“Tsk, boys and their fragile egos!” the PL girl scoffed, “Relax, I didn’t mean to belittle you.”

“Is that what I’m talking about?” Lu Yibei pushed the hand off her shoulder, “I’m talking about this, alright? Can you have a bit of self-awareness?”

Besides, if my guess is right, and you suddenly lose it and activate your innate skill, wouldn’t I just explode on the spot? Lu Yibei thought to herself.

“Oh, I thought you wouldn’t mind,” the PL girl said, withdrawing her hand sheepishly, “Anyway, you might not have heard of the Eldritch Destroyer, but you’ve heard of doomsday prophecies, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of those,” Lu Yibei nodded, then asked puzzledly, “But what’s the connection between the two?”

“Of course there’s a connection! It’s huge!” the PL girl exclaimed, slapping her thigh in excitement, “As for the relationship between them…”

She paused mid-sentence, then shifted her tone, “In Sumerian mythology, there’s a tale of the god of wind and the king of gods, Enlil, unleashing floods, droughts, and plagues to wipe out humanity. The Maya’s ‘Popol Vuh’ has similar accounts.”

“Besides these, there are Assyrian clay tablet prophecies, judgment day, Shiva’s destruction, and more. What I’ve listed are just the more famous doomsday legends. In reality, there are many lesser-known tales that I haven’t encountered much.”

As the PL girl recounted these stories to Lu Yibei, she emphasized the word “legend” each time she mentioned it.

After listening for a while, Lu Yibei tentatively asked, “Are you saying those doomsday legends are caused by hauntings?”

“Bingo!” the PL girl snapped her fingers, “You could see it that way!”

“From what I know, almost every time a doomsday legend occurs, terrifying hauntings accompany it. But it’s hard to say whether the hauntings cause the doomsday or the doomsday creates the hauntings. It’s like the ‘chicken or the egg’ dilemma-impossible to determine.”

“However, scholars who study these phenomena believe that these hauntings are at least significant factors in world destruction, hence they named them as such.”

“But as you can see, from ancient times to now, doomsday legends have appeared more than once. Although each time caused considerable damage, the world hasn’t been destroyed even once, which means…”

Lu Yibei furrowed her brow slightly and interjected, “So all those hauntings failed?”

“Clap, clap!”

PL girl clapped her hands and gave Lu Yibei a thumbs-up, praising, “Not bad, not bad, you’ve even learned to jump in with answers! Soon, you’ll be able to quiz me!”

Lu Yibei, “…”

“But, you can’t say they completely failed, right? After all, some of them did manage to destroy parts of regions. They just didn’t succeed in the end because their methods weren’t quite right.”

Lu Yibei rolled her eyes at PL girl, “Tch! You make it sound like you know the right way.”

PL girl, “…” Believe it or not, I actually do know.

I’ve spent a long time visiting Eldritch Destroyers hidden around the world, learning advanced techniques, taking the essence and discarding the dross. After much thought and exploration, I finally found the ‘right’ path.

However…

PL girl knew but had no intention of telling Lu Yibei.

Knowing that doing so would only lead to the wrong outcome, why tell Lu Yibei? If she learned it, all the previous efforts would be in vain.

So, after a brief silence, PL girl ignored Lu Yibei’s question and steered the conversation back on track.

“Seriously, the so-called Eldritch Destroyers are those world-ending factors that failed but somehow survived. Their very existence is usually met with the world’s resistance, full of malice…”

“Wait a minute!” Lu Yibei frowned and interrupted, “The world’s malice? You mean our Mother Earth is alive? Wow, that’s a terrifying concept!”

“Please don’t let your imagination run wild in strange places, okay?” PL girl rolled her eyes.

“What I mean by the world’s malice is a very strange and mystical state, like being hit with a strong bad luck debuff.”

“In that state, on the lighter side, you might get struck by lightning every time it rains, like a walking lightning rod…”

“Hold on again!” Lu Yibei interrupted once more, “Getting struck by lightning is considered light? Then what’s heavy?”

“The heavy…” PL girl pondered for a few seconds and said seriously, “Let me put it this way, I have a friend who is one of those rejected by the world.”

“He lives the 007 grind of a corporate drone life. On his thirty-fifth birthday, he got fired by his lousy boss first thing in the morning, losing his livelihood. When he got home early, he found his fiancée in bed with another man.”

“In a fit of rage, he rushed in to fight the adulterer, but lost, got seriously injured, went to the hospital for check-ups and bandages, only to be suddenly told he might have late-stage lung cancer…”

“Yeah, that’s about it. Just an ordinary day for him.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

I hope the friend she’s talking about isn’t herself.

If it is, I hope I’m wrong, and she’s not another me.

Experiencing in one day what most people wouldn’t encounter in a lifetime, that’s not just ordinary bad luck. The world is definitely full of malice towards him, and it’s just too tragic.

Seeing Lu Yibei’s peculiar expression, the PL girl raised an eyebrow slightly, “Indeed, it’s quite tragic.”

“So, these Eldritch Destroyers usually hide away from the normal world until they’re completely forgotten and vanish, or they find some way to eliminate the world’s hostility towards them.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

So, could it be that one of the three forces along the Dream Come True Journey, or perhaps all three, have Eldritch Destroyers among them?

But…

“But why do I turn into a witch type when I come into contact with the psychic energy fluctuation of an Eldritch Destroyer? It doesn’t make sense!”

Because you have a great potential to become a new era’s destroyer… the PL girl thought to herself but decided not to share this reason with Lu Yibei. Instead, she shifted the conversation and provided another explanation.

“Because the core entity of a witch type haunting is very sensitive to impure psychic energy fluctuations and absorbs power from them to strengthen itself!”

“Just like the blood of the corrupted deity you encountered before, the psychic energy of Eldritch Destroyers is highly corrupted.”

“But don’t underestimate those Eldritch Destroyers, and don’t get any funny ideas about them. Although most of them are severely weakened, almost every one of them possesses extraordinary special abilities. One careless move, and you might lose your life. It’s not worth it.”

“I get it, I get it!” Lu Yibei responded quickly, “A dead camel is still bigger than a horse! Don’t worry, I won’t do anything reckless.”

Once I wake up, I’ll buy a train ticket for the same day and leave overnight! Lu Yibei thought.

The PL girl looked at Lu Yibei with a reassuring gaze, as if to say, “Seeing you haven’t gotten arrogant and are still this cautious, I feel relieved,” and nodded slightly, “If possible, take Jiang Li with you.”

“Huh?” Lu Yibei was puzzled, “You know she’s in this spooky place too?”

“Of course I know…” The PL girl hesitated, paused, and added, “Is there anything in this world that I don’t know?”

“Wow! Then could you kindly tell me the winning numbers for the next lottery jackpot?” Lu Yibei asked earnestly.

“…” The PL girl remained silent, glaring at Lu Yibei with a sideways glance, making her feel uneasy.

Lu Yibei avoided the PL girl’s gaze and weakly said, “Uh, if it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to say!”

“Even if you knew, there might be all sorts of reasons preventing you from buying the ticket or claiming the prize on time, right? That’s how it goes in books and movies.”

The PL girl rolled her eyes, “You know it well.”

“But…” Lu Yibei frowned, “Is it dangerous to take Jiang Li away?”

“There is some slight danger,” the PL girl replied seriously.

“…”

So there is danger, huh? Then this isn’t something I can do.

Just as Lu Yibei was about to make her excuses, the PL girl added, “But the rewards are very high.”

Lu Yibei sat up straight, “I’m all ears.”

The PL girl thought for two seconds and said earnestly, “Don’t worry, even if you fail, you’ll only lose some money, not your life. But if you succeed…”

“If I succeed~!” Lu Yibei squinted slightly, waiting for the PL girl’s answer.

The PL girl raised an eyebrow, “You can eliminate a future formidable enemy and gain a close confidante. Isn’t that worth it?”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Why does it sound all vague, with no tangible rewards?

Feels like she’s just painting a rosy picture for me.

No, this matter needs careful consideration!

After a long while,

PL girl stood alone on the dilapidated rooftop, watching as Lu Yibei’s figure faded with her awakening. She sighed silently and murmured, “It seems likely that Jiang Li has fallen into the hands of the Eclipse Society here again, in the same manner as before.”

“I always thought… ah!”

She had believed that Jiang Li had defected from The Midnight Watchers Society to become stronger and had willingly returned to the Eclipse Society.

As a result, when they met again, catalyzed by various reasons, they became mortal enemies.

“But it makes sense, how could the Eclipse Society easily let go of such a perfect test subject? As soon as she steps out of the city’s barrier protection, they’ll surely seize the opportunity to capture her.”

Musing to herself, PL girl’s lips suddenly curved into a smile.

“But this time, it’s different.”

“Lu Yibei, it’s up to you now. You have a chance to change the outcome.”

Even if it’s just altering a part of it… PL girl thought to herself.

Hydrangea and Ah-Hua, together with the unconscious Lu Yibei, returned to the Lanruo Inn Customs Shop. When they encountered Black Peony, she was startled by their condition.

The two supported Lu Yibei as they pushed the door open, their pale faces streaked with tears, their noses red, and their eyebrows knotted as if they had just experienced something terribly tragic.

“Hydrangea, what happened to you?” Black Peony asked, puzzled. “Could it be that Calamity has died?”

No sooner had she spoken these words did Black Peony feel something was amiss.

Though she had sent Hydrangea to secretly aid Calamity, if the mission failed, Hydrangea might feel guilty and dejected, but it wouldn’t normally look as if she wore a mask of agony.

“Madame, I’m alright, I just suddenly remembered my sister from the same litter who was carried away by an eagle, and I felt a bit sad.”

Black Peony, “…”

In the ensuing silence, she turned to Ah-Hua and asked, “And you?”

“I, woo woo woo, I just suddenly remembered how Miss drove me away and then faced the danger alone, so I’ve been really upset,” Ah-Hua sobbed.

“…”

Black Peony fell silent again.

What is all this about?

Why would they be upset over such odd things?

Seeing that Hydrangea was not in a good state for a proper conversation, Black Peony simply used the familiar mark to read the full account of how Hydrangea had brought Calamity here.

Upon seeing that Lu Yibei had inhaled an overdose of “treasure,” which then activated a special power within her causing a burst of negative emotions that reversed the effects of “treasure,” Black Peony’s mouth twitched slightly as she waved her hand dismissively at Hydrangea.

“Hydrangea, I’ve got the gist of it. First, settle Calamity in the side room of my quarters, then take this young lady downstairs to rest. Leave the rest to me.”

“Yes, sniff-!” Hydrangea sniffled, bowing slightly to Black Peony. “Yes, Madame.”

Watching the two tear-streaked girls support Lu Yibei towards the side room, Black Peony shook her head in exasperation, offering a simple comfort, “Don’t be too upset, you two. Let the past stay in the past, alright?”

“Madame, I know, but I just can’t help it,” Hydrangea said, her voice filled with grievance, as she gently laid Lu Yibei on the soft bed in the side room. She and Ah-Hua then retreated.

Black Peony observed the two girls, clearly not in their right states, hesitated to speak, then sighed after a moment’s thought.

“Sigh-! Hydrangea, when you go downstairs, ask Miss Miaoyin to play a tune for you. Tell her it’s at my request.”

The Lanruo Inn Customs Shop, being a place that caters to both refined and common tastes, naturally had girls skilled in music. Miss Miaoyin was one such girl, capable of healing the soul through her pipa, infused with special psychic energy. However, she was known for her aloof nature and high performance fees, making her a rare sight.

“Thank you, Madame,” Hydrangea said, bowing again to Black Peony before leading Ah-Hua out of the room.

After Hydrangea and Ah-Hua left, Black Peony paced to Lu Yibei’s bedside, resting her chin in her hand as she studied her for a while, then narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Quite a striking face. I wonder if she can help me escape the world’s malice,” she mused aloud, a smile playing on her lips. “Hehe, since it’s just the two of us here, a little research before treatment shouldn’t be a problem.”

As she spoke, Black Peony reached up and removed the hairpin from her hair, letting her dark locks cascade down. Her fingers brushed through her hair, deftly plucking a few strands, which she then twirled between her fingers, transforming them into a slender pink thread at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Just as the PL girl had mentioned, nearly every Eldritch Destroyer possessed some inexplicable abilities. This strand of the False Fate Red Thread was one of Black Peony’s special abilities.

With the False Fate Red Thread, she could temporarily establish a fate connection with a target and, through this link, discern all information about them. In combat, it could even reveal weaknesses unknown to the target themselves.

However…

As the False Fate Red Thread wrapped around Lu Yibei’s wrist, it suddenly ignited, flaring up with flames that seemed to lack heat, and vanished into nothingness. Black Peony let out a soft exclamation.

“Strange? Why is this happening?”

Puzzled, she tried again, only to achieve the exact same result.

“I refuse to accept this!”

Spurred by a competitive spirit, Black Peony’s eyebrows knitted together as her slender fingers flicked through her hair, sending countless pink threads shooting out towards Lu Yibei, wrapping her into a pink cocoon in an instant.

The pink threads encasing Lu Yibei held for about three seconds before igniting once more, snapping and disintegrating into ashes amidst the pink blaze.

Despite the False Fate Red Thread only lasting three seconds, Black Peony managed to seize the brief connection with Lu Yibei to glimpse some intriguing insights.

As the flames died down, she gazed at the sleeping Lu Yibei, a playful smile curving her lips. “So that’s it! Her fate’s trajectory has been forcibly altered?”

“How interesting. No wonder my threads can’t bind her, but…”

Whoever came up with the idea of forcibly altering her fate trajectory with so many threads-weren’t they afraid she’d trigger a bad ending and get herself killed?

With dozens or even hundreds of fate threads entangling her, even if only a few girls showed up in front of her, it would be quite a handful, wouldn’t it? Black Peony mused.