Chapter 377: Fire Crow

Inside the departure lounge.

Hu Yue was chatting and laughing with Professor Ma, discussing the artifacts from Tang City that had recently flowed into the trading market. At times, he was excited, and at others, he sighed with regret.

It was clear that, despite the ominous aura he exuded, he was genuinely invested in the recovery of these artifacts.

Meanwhile, Liu Seer, who had rushed ahead to the boarding gate, was unsurprisingly sent back. The ground staff, who arrived to mediate the conflict between him and a few middle-aged women, quickly sided with the women under the influence of his “masterful linguistic arts.” The situation was on the verge of escalating into a physical altercation.

At the information desk, Lu Yibei was bombarding the staff with questions about rescheduling his flight. His barrage of twisted logic and absurd reasoning left the staff member’s face twitching uncontrollably.

Just then, the announcement system crackled to life. The three of them simultaneously paused what they were doing and turned toward the boarding gate, their expressions thoughtful.

“Attention, passengers on flight 3U2333 from Hua City to Tang City: Boarding is now open. Please have your boarding passes ready and ensure you have all your belongings with you…”

Hu Yue: “…” Perhaps this time, I’ll get to see that item.

Liu Seer: “…” Damn it. Out of the frying pan and into the fire again. Owing someone a favor is truly unbearable.

Lu Yibei: “…” Damn it. The professor booked this flight through an agency, and it’s a non-refundable, non-changeable ticket. Do I really have no choice but to take this flight?

Among the four present, only Professor Ma seemed completely unfazed, brimming with energy as if he couldn’t wait to teleport straight to the hotel.

Faced with Lu Yibei’s nonsensical remarks like “One blow of the conch, and you’re sent off!” or “Monks don’t send people off; they perform exorcisms!” or “Professor, walking to Tang City wouldn’t take that long, you know,” Professor Ma simply ignored him. He dragged Lu Yibei to the boarding gate, refusing to let go.

Seeing that the situation was now irreversible, Lu Yibei resigned himself to his fate. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his phone and upgraded his ticket to business class through the airline’s app.

Professor Ma didn’t stop him. As long as he could get this guy onto the plane without being mistaken for a kidnapper, he was already satisfied.

A few minutes later.

Finally seated on the plane, Lu Yibei meticulously fastened his seatbelt and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Although he had no idea what kind of trouble might arise from being on the same flight as those two jinxes, he had already done his research. Statistically speaking, business class was indeed safer.

At the very least, in the event of an oxygen shortage, he’d die more slowly. There were a few lockable spaces, and if terrorists tried to hijack the plane, he’d be in a better position to intervene. And if, by some chance, a haunting killed both the captain and co-pilot, he’d be the first to take over the controls.

When you think about it that way, the extra money spent on the upgrade didn’t seem so painful. After all, he was spending money to buy peace of mind.

But speaking of taking over the plane…

Lu Yibei glanced at a passing flight attendant and waved her over. “Girl, girl, come here for a moment.”

The flight attendant approached with a professional smile. “Hello, sir. How can I assist you?”

“Do you know how to fly a plane?” Lu Yibei asked, his expression deadpan.

“Uh, no, sir,” the flight attendant replied, her smile faltering slightly as her gaze turned wary.

This was a mid-sized plane without a first-class cabin, and business class, being closest to the cockpit, was often the first target in a hijacking.

Seeing her hesitation, Lu Yibei pressed on. “By the way, do you know the probability of a plane crash? Do you think something will happen to us on this flight?”

“Huh?” The flight attendant blinked, her voice faltering slightly. Still, she maintained her professional smile. “Sir, airplanes are the safest mode of transportation in the world. The odds of being in a plane crash are one in 1.2 million, and the odds of dying in one are one in 11 million.”

Lu Yibei’s eyes widened. “The odds are that high? We’re doomed!”

The flight attendant: “???”

“Do you provide paper and pens for passengers to write their wills? I want to leave a letter for my beloved, telling her that if I make it back alive, I’ll marry her. If not, she shouldn’t wait for me.”

The flight attendant: “…”

What is wrong with you? Stop jinxing us like this!

Half an hour after takeoff, and after three different flight attendants had taken turns serving him, Lu Yibei finally fell asleep.

Although his behavior didn’t technically constitute harassment, it was unsettling enough to make everyone uneasy.

Watching him sleep, the flight attendants quietly breathed a sigh of relief. They were grateful that the high-sugar desserts and warm milk they had provided had finally worked, and they marveled at the newfound peace.

Lu Yibei knew she shouldn’t fall asleep on the plane.

But after two sleepless nights and the special care from the flight attendants, she eventually succumbed to exhaustion.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing on a crumbling, dilapidated rooftop within a Dream.

Looking out into the distance, the familiar city was nowhere to be seen. In its place was a vast, dark mountain range shrouded in thick fog.

The contours of the mountains were majestic yet unfamiliar, completely unlike anything she had ever seen before.

“What… is this place?” Lu Yibei muttered. Then, raising her voice, she shouted, “Ancestors! Are you there?”

“Ancestors, come out and help me blow things up!”

She called out twice, but there was no response. Frowning, Lu Yibei tried to use her familiar’s mark to contact Meng, but her expression grew increasingly grave.

This kind of Dream, devoid of Qing Ji’s presence and where she couldn’t reach Meng, had occurred before-when the Dusk Maiden had attempted to plant the flesh of the Plague Taisui in Hua City.

A Dream like this…

“Something bad is about to happen!” Lu Yibei exclaimed, her anxiety and unease surging.

I’m doomed, I’m doomed-should’ve known better than to get on this flight, but the professor just had to drag me along!

If something really happens, and the power of the Hundred-Armed Giant inside me gets triggered, it could blow up several mountains-wouldn’t that basically be the same as dropping an airdropped missile?

Now it’s bad enough if I die, but if the plane crashes near some city, that’ll be a disaster.

Lu Yibei thought anxiously.

Just then, a warm wind suddenly blew from afar. She froze, and followed the direction of the breeze with her eyes.

A flush of red stained the horizon, as if a raging fire was spreading and expanding. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with crimson clouds.

Golden beams, like boiling molten steel, burst forth from below the horizon, leaping upward, gathering in the sky into a massive orb of light, dazzling and resplendent.

Is this sunrise?

Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment.

She had never seen a sunrise in a Dream before. In previous Dreams, it always seemed as if night blanketed everything-perpetual darkness.

No, that doesn’t seem like the sun, Lu Yibei thought.

When that seemingly warm radiance spilled down, the first thing she felt wasn’t warmth, but a piercing chill. Instinctively, she wanted to hide.

The next moment, a gale surged.

A sharp whistling erupted from the valley-a small black shadow sprang into the sky, heading straight for the “sun” above.

Like a brushstroke tearing through a splendid oil painting of sunrise, it left a straight trajectory.

“Cheeew-!”

Only when the cry of a bird reached her ears did Lu Yibei realize that the shadow was a bird.

A seemingly insignificant bird was flying toward the “sun.”

It was like Icarus from Greek mythology, who fashioned wings of wax and seabird feathers to escape the labyrinth, then flew toward the sun-chasing the sun’s blazing radiance, heedless of the scorching heat burning its wings away.

It was calling out.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Lu Yibei thought she heard, in that cry, an angry and unyielding force-a resolve to burn everything with itself, come what may.

It seemed to want to… crash into the “sun”?

Lu Yibei was astonished. She didn’t know where such a tiny creature got the courage to launch such a hopeless challenge.

Yet, as she heard its cry, she couldn’t help but silently cheer for its bravery. She even found herself longing for the moment of collision-picturing the “sun” exploding, a death flower blooming in the sky.

But it all ended the instant the bird’s silhouette was swallowed by the blinding sunlight.

Victory or defeat-unknown.

The turbulence jolted Lu Yibei awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw a slightly anxious flight attendant hurrying past.

“……”

Just sleeping for a bit, and something’s already happened to the plane? Lu Yibei felt a pang of tension.

At that moment, the plane’s intercom came on.

“Dear passengers, our flight is experiencing noticeable turbulence due to air currents along our route. Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened. The lavatory will be temporarily unavailable. Thank you for your cooperation!”

So it’s just turbulence? Scared me to death… Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, raising his trembling hands to quietly fasten his seatbelt. Just as his pounding heart was about to settle, it leapt into his throat again.

[They’re attacking the cockpit.]

A flash of premonition shot through his mind. Lu Yibei’s heart skipped a beat-he whipped his head to look out the window and saw a streak of red light, like a silk ribbon, sweeping across the sky.

He focused his gaze-outside, within the thunder-lit, leaden clouds, a flock of crows wrapped in flames swooped and circled around the plane. They exuded an ominous aura, their shadowy eyes gleaming with malice.

They looked like bird-shaped demons.

They skimmed close to the plane, talons extended toward the fuselage. Immediately, faint golden light rippled across the body of the aircraft. The glow lasted less than two seconds before cracks appeared-shimmering fragments swept away by the wind, vanishing into the clouds.

This is bad-the monks’ spell formation is about to break…

Damn, what the hell are these things? Are we running into a haunting of Fire Crows trying to hijack the plane?

Could it be that the little bird in the Dream flying into the sun actually symbolizes the flames of a plane exploding?

Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, withdrew his gaze, and expressionlessly turned to the chief flight attendant beside him. In a small voice, he asked, “Girl, may I ask-are high-altitude air currents ever red?”

“No,” the chief attendant replied, curt and cold.

Those little girls can’t handle you, but you think I can’t?

“How about bird-shaped ones? You know, the kind that caw wildly, all covered in fire-any air currents like that, like a haunting?”

The kind with D+ to C- psychic energy fluctuation, getting ready for a terrorist attack… Lu Yibei silently added in his heart.

The chief attendant looked at Lu Yibei, then glanced out the window, a chill running down her back.

Outside, aside from the wind-churned, roiling leaden thunderclouds, there was nothing else at all.

“……”

……

Maybe I really can’t handle this-you’d better just file a complaint. The chief attendant grumbled inwardly, about to explain something to Lu Yibei, but he cut her off.

“Sorry, can I ask-have you eaten?”

The chief attendant: “???”

What’s he asking that for? What’s he trying to pull now?

Taking advantage of the chief attendant’s momentary distraction, and riding a wave of psychic energy fluctuation, nearly a hundred pale, slender tendrils extended from behind Lu Yibei, silently slipping into the crowns of every passenger’s head.

Compared to using Meng’s ability to pull Jiang Li into a Dream, which cost a great deal of psychic energy, pulling the plane’s passengers-99.99% of whom were ordinary people-into a Dream was much easier.

Once he was sure everyone had been pulled into the Dream, Lu Yibei unbuckled his seatbelt, rose, and walked toward the cockpit.

If there really were terrorists hijacking the plane, he’d just go intercept them in the cockpit.

Half a minute later, in the airplane cockpit.

The captain had already instructed the co-pilot to begin turbulence checks and had disengaged autopilot, his expression grave as he took manual control of the plane.

However…

Just as the captain was piloting the aircraft through a patch of thunderclouds, a large flock of strange, black-winged crows suddenly burst into his view-so close, less than two kilometers away, as if they’d been lying in wait behind the clouds all along.

Immediately, that dense mass of crows, at the very moment the plane appeared, spewed fire from beneath their wings and charged straight at them-bringing with them the air of mutual destruction, streaking across the sky like countless meteors.

Lu Yibei, already hidden in the cockpit, watched the scene outside with pupils sharply contracting.

It seemed there was no way to dodge-he could only gamble.

Just hope I don’t “win” the big prize this time.

Cursing inwardly, he silently began to recite the incantation for the Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon.

Among all the spell formations he had mastered, this was the only one that would not damage inanimate objects such as buildings, vehicles, or airplanes.

But now, inside the plane, he had no chance to cast another spell formation, nor to adjust the spell amplification’s multiplier.

He could only hope the multiplier was less than 1.

If it exceeded that, given his current physical condition, he might not be able to withstand it.

“Golden Pavilion and Jade Chamber, iron cast wall… Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon!”

As the incantation ended, a dazzling white beam burst forth from between Lu Yibei’s hands, pouring through the glass and illuminating the sky in front of the plane.

0.28x amplification Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon, cast successfully.

Nearly half the Fire Crows were engulfed by the brilliant beam, shrieking as they were instantly reduced to wisps of black smoke.

“Nice! Again!” Lu Yibei exhaled softly.

The success of the first strike gave him immense confidence; without a moment’s pause, he began reciting the Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon incantation again.

“Golden Pavilion and Jade Chamber, iron cast wall…”

The moment he finished the first line, a wave of weakness from the fierce drain on psychic energy swept over him-Lu Yibei’s face turned pale and ashen.

“…dragon’s tail, phoenix’s wings… ngh…”

Gritting his teeth, he forced out another line of the incantation. Lu Yibei’s body jolted, as if struck by electricity.

A sharp, twisting pain radiated from his chest, nearly causing him to collapse.

No, this time the amplification is at least over twenty times-if I don’t finish reciting the incantation, my psychic energy will be drained dry, and then the power of the Hundred-Armed Giant within me will go berserk.

Damn it! What’s the use of being “lucky” at a time like this?

Lu Yibei cursed viciously in his heart, glancing out at the flock of birds less than ten meters from the plane.

[They’ll smash through the glass]

The thought flashed through his mind, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Just as his psychic energy was being fiercely consumed, his nerves stretched taut, and he was on the verge of fainting-it was as if in a hallucination, a hollow and ethereal flute melody drifted into Lu Yibei’s ears…

Meanwhile, inside the locked airplane lavatory.

A man who shouldn’t have been here at this time, by some unknown means, had slipped past the flight attendants’ checks and now appeared here.

He stood in the cramped space, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, immersed in playing a bone flute.

It was a pale, slender bone flute, seemingly made from the leg bone of some large bird; unlike modern flutes, it had only five holes, with dense, twisted patterns carved along its length.

Not long after, the song ended abruptly.

He slowly lowered the bone flute, one hand clutching his chest as he gasped sharply, then lifted his head to look out the window.

He watched as the fierce Fire Crows, with shrill, mournful cries, erupted into black smoke one after another-an unwilling glint flickered in his eyes, and he unconsciously clenched his fist.

Carefully opening the cockpit door and stepping out, Lu Yibei was still lost in confusion.

He didn’t understand: If someone had orchestrated those bird hauntings to attack the plane, what was their goal?

And why, at the very moment victory was within reach, did they choose to give up?

Or was there another reason?

As Lu Yibei pondered this, walking back to his seat, a soft “click!” suddenly sounded from ahead.

Looking up, he saw-through the corridor and the curtain separating the cabins-a vague silhouette emerging from the economy cabin lavatory. The clothes looked strangely familiar, and in that person’s hand…

Was a bone flute!

In an instant, Lu Yibei remembered the flute melody that had flickered past his ears the moment the Fire Crows vanished, his gaze trembling.

At the very moment he noticed that person, the man seemed to sense Lu Yibei’s gaze and glanced over.

In that instant, their eyes met, and each saw surprise in the other’s gaze.

He can see me?

Why is he standing at the lavatory/cockpit door at a time like this?

Was it him just now?

Swearing inwardly, in the blink of an eye, both men moved.

One rushed hurriedly toward the economy cabin, the other quickly strode back to his own seat as if fleeing.

“Whoosh-!”

As Lu Yibei flung open the curtain and swept his gaze across the vast cabin, he saw only a group of sleeping passengers-no sign of that person.

Then-

His eyes fell on the slumbering Hu Yue, and he frowned.

“…”

Are his clothes… a bit like the ones that silhouette was wearing just now?