Chapter 379: The Past of Liu Seer

As he exited the restroom, Lu Yibei cursed inwardly, thinking this was going to end badly.

He hadn’t expected that Hu Yue would actually be such a big problem!

Just now, in the restroom, the psychic energy fluctuation detected by his psychic sense was filthy and eerie-its repulsiveness could rival The Witch’s Egg.

If the psychic energy fluctuation of The Witch’s Egg was like a girl drenched in blood, then this psychic energy fluctuation was like a woman with a vicious and sinister mind.

In short, neither was anything good!

Back on the plane, Lu Yibei had already been exposed to the gaze of the person holding the bone flute.

Uncovering Hu Yue’s little scheme only changed things from “the enemy is hidden while we are in the open” to both sides being clearly aware of each other.

As long as he could muddle through and not show any hostility, maybe they could continue to coexist peacefully.

However…

The Chinese language is broad and profound, and when paired with body language, things become even more complicated.

Saying the same words, wiping hands on Hu Yue’s shoulder in the same way-the meaning could be worlds apart depending on whether water stains freeze or not.

What Lu Yibei originally wanted to express was, “Professor, I have no idea what you’re doing; you can go ahead without worries.”

But now, it probably looked like, “Little buddy, I’ve got my eye on you, so you’d better behave!”

Lu Yibei glanced at his right palm, where a layer of white frost had formed, feeling conflicted.

What’s going on here?! Did I have this ability before?

Why have a sudden “enlightenment” at such a weird moment?

Hope this visiting professor from the literature department doesn’t know much about physics and can’t figure out that it doesn’t freeze below minus five degrees that quickly… Lu Yibei thought anxiously.

Passing through the corridor and returning to Professor Ma’s side, Lu Yibei was about to sit down when Professor Ma pulled him up.

“Don’t sit yet. Didn’t you say the car picking us up is already here? Then why aren’t we heading out?”

“Uh…” Lu Yibei was momentarily stunned, turned to glance in the direction of the restroom, then looked at Professor Ma and asked in confusion, “Professor, aren’t we waiting for Professor Hu?”

Professor Ma waved his hand, “No need. He just messaged me that he’s not going back to the hotel with us. He wants to visit an old friend in Tang City first and will meet us at the hotel later.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei was taken aback.

He just left like that?

Well, that was fine too. With him around, there was always a creepy feeling-as if the plane crash hadn’t been successful, a car accident might be next.

But from now on, he’d have to keep a close eye on him. If he tried any more tricks…

Lu Yibei was lost in thought when Professor Ma’s words suddenly drifted into his ears.

“Lu Yibei, time is tight. We have to strike first!”

Lu Yibei, “?”

“Professor, what do you mean?”

You’ve also noticed Professor Hu is acting strange and are planning to kill him? Lu Yibei wondered.

Seeing the odd look in Lu Yibei’s eyes, Professor Ma patted him on the shoulder and explained, “I have an old friend in Tang City too, who deals in antiques. After we drop our things at the hotel, we’ll go see him and see if we can get any information about those relics.”

I knew it. It’s not yet time to get rid of Hu Yue… Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, then nodded and followed Professor Ma toward the exit.

Ten minutes later.

Outside Tang City Airport, near the parking area.

Professor Ma tightened his coat, shrank his hands into his sleeves, and shivered in the bleak, cold wind.

Although the temperature reported on the plane was minus five degrees, standing here at the parking lot, the cold wind mixed with the dampness of melting snow felt far harsher than minus five. Ordinary clothes were no defense.

Professor Ma glanced sideways at the absent-minded Lu Yibei and said gloomily, “Lu Yibei, didn’t you say the car was already here? Why have we been waiting so long with no sign of it? By the way, do you have the contact info for the project staff?”

Wasn’t that to prevent you two from turning into the seniors’ wrestling match? Lu Yibei felt a little guilty, avoided Professor Ma’s gaze, and changed the subject, “Professor, since this mission is so heavy, where should we start?”

As he spoke, he mimicked Professor Ma and tucked his hands into his sleeves.

He didn’t know if it was because of some unknown change in his body or simply that the cold wind at the parking lot was truly biting.

He hadn’t been standing here long, yet both hands felt as if they were about to freeze, his ten fingers icy cold.

“You rascal!” Professor Ma saw through Lu Yibei’s little ploy but didn’t expose him. He cursed under his breath and continued, “Until we recover those relics, the research can’t proceed for now.”

“When the time comes, we’ll be responsible for authenticating the relics recovered by the relevant departments. I know you’re not good at this, but just leave it to me and Professor Hu.”

“You can just follow the younger members of the project to visit the trading markets. The vendors there are all familiar faces to the authorities and rarely show real goods. But since you’re outsiders and young, you might have better luck.”

Visiting the trading markets, huh? Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully and looked at Professor Ma, about to say something when a commotion suddenly broke out behind them, interrupting his words.

Not far away, a man wearing sunglasses and a mask was approaching, escorted by several sturdy men in black. Behind them trailed a group of fans holding posters and LED light boards, possessed by some mania, cheering and screaming wildly.

Watching the fans constantly trying to get close to the man, only to be blocked by the sturdy men, Lu Yibei curled his lip in disinterest, “So it’s a celebrity? I thought it was a terrorist attack at the airport!”

Professor Ma glared at Lu Yibei and admonished, “You brat, always spouting nonsense. How could there possibly be a terrorist attack at the airport?”

How not? Just now you were napping against a suspected terrorist! Lu Yibei complained inwardly, when suddenly, a sharp scream came from the direction of that nameless celebrity.

Looking over, he saw a man had somehow pushed his way into the crowd of fans, forcing his way forward.

The man was tall and sturdy, nearly two meters in height. In the freezing cold, he wore only a thin black hoodie. His hands were as large as palm fans, and he strode through the crowd of petite fans with an imposing manner, like a mighty lion descending from the clouds, or a ferocious pixiu shaking the ground.

Wherever he passed, it was like a bowling ball scattering pins-nothing could stop him.

Even the sturdy man beside the celebrity tried to block him, but failed.

Just as the male celebrity thought he was under attack, his face turning pale with fright and letting out a scream, the man instead pulled three autograph boards out of his hoodie pocket, lifted his hoodie to reveal his face, and grinned, his voice deep and muffled: “Hey, can you sign these for me? Thanks!”

Faced with this almost-robbery style request for autographs, the male celebrity didn’t dare refuse. Trembling, he took the pen and paper, scribbled his name on the three boards, then dashed off to his nanny van.

Soon after, the van drove away. The faces of the “fans” who had just been crowding around the celebrity, full of enthusiasm a moment ago, quickly turned frosty as the cold wind swept by.

Two or three of them stepped out, coming to the side of the tall man, their faces showing disgust as they muttered, “Hey! Who brought you here for work? Don’t you know the rules?”

At that moment, the man was squatting on the ground, scribbling on a piece of cardboard with a marker, seemingly deaf to their scolding, not even lifting his head.

Seeing the man ignore them, those people pressed on, “We’re here to greet at the airport, it’s all an act, get it?”

“Yeah, we’re supposed to make it look like the celebrity is super popular, and keep the real fans out.”

“We can’t get close to those celebrities, don’t you know? Don’t you want your pay?”

Just then, the man finished writing, suddenly looked up, and a cold light flashed from beneath his sharp brows.

He said nothing, made no move-just one displeased glance was enough to make those professional “fans” all take a step back.

Seeing them retreat, the man picked up his cardboard and walked off to an open area, raising the board in his hand. On it, after several messy edits, only one line remained:

[Professor and His Student]

So it’s him? And… did he forget our names? Lu Yibei rubbed his forehead, patted Professor Ma’s shoulder, “Professor, our ride is here.”

Professor Ma: “……”

“Professor?”

Half-frozen and fuzzy, Professor Ma lifted his eyelids and whispered, “Hm? Oh… finally here?”

Lu Yibei: “……”

Three minutes later.

An old minivan rattled its way toward the Four Seasons Hotel in Tang City.

Lu Yibei and Professor Ma were still thawing out in the warm air inside the car when the tall man peeked at the note on the dashboard and began to speak.

“You two must be Professor Ma Zhen and junior brother Lu Yibei, right? Hello, my name’s Mao Sanyou. I’m a second-year graduate student in Cultural Relics and Museology at Tang City University. My teacher, Hou Jun, asked me to pick you up…”

Before Mao Sanyou could finish, Lu Yibei heard Professor Ma curse under his breath.

“So it’s that old bastard? Hmph, what a scoundrel!”

Lu Yibei was stunned, turning to see that Professor Ma, who had just been as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant, had suddenly perked up, sitting upright with his chest out, full of vigor.

He looked just like he did in class, roll book in hand, ready to fail someone.

Catching a glimpse of Lu Yibei’s puzzled look, Professor Ma leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Hou Jun was my university classmate. When we were young, he had his eye on my wife for ages, but never managed to win her over.”

Lu Yibei nodded-makes sense.

Professor Ma might have a quirky temper, but he’s good-looking!

In his fifties, not only had he aged well, he’d become a rare breed of dashing older man. It was easy to imagine that as a young man, he’d been a real heartbreaker.

Handsome and knowledgeable, popular with the girls, plus a distinctive personality…

Professor Ma must’ve been much hated in his youth! Just like me… thought Lu Yibei.

“Anyway, after graduating, he keeps targeting me-whether in life or in academia. Whatever I say, he has to argue back. I bet he joined this research project just to compete with me.”

At that, Lu Yibei frowned and interjected, “So he’s a contrarian?”

“……” Professor Ma thought for a moment, then replied seriously, “Yes, but only with me.”

With that, he looked at Mao Sanyou in the driver’s seat and asked sternly, “Kid, what’s your teacher doing now?”

“He…” Mao Sanyou chuckled awkwardly, “He took two junior brothers to Taohua Road antique street, said he wanted to try his luck and see if he could find any lost relics.”

Hearing this, Professor Ma pondered for a few seconds, then patted Lu Yibei on the shoulder, “Lu Yibei, you’ll go too. Make sure you beat Hou Jun to it and recover the relics first.”

Lu Yibei was stunned, pointing at his own nose, “Wait, Professor, just me?”

Professor Ma glanced out at the snowflakes swirling in the wind and the frozen moat outside, narrowing his eyes as he muttered, “That was the winter of ’99. I went to the countryside with some colleagues to search for a set of ancient jade slips. We got caught in a blizzard, and I slipped off a cliff and broke my leg. Ever since, whenever it’s overcast, I…”

So you see, there are reasons people find you hard to get along with… Lu Yibei rubbed his forehead and cut in, “Alright, alright, I’ll go, okay?”

Anyway, I was planning to find some time to act alone, visit that pesky little sister, and drop by The Midnight Watchers Society in Tang City, Lu Yibei thought.

Tang City East Railway Station.

In the tranquil and peaceful air, the cold wind carried fine snowflakes swirling through the sky, slowly settling onto the half-demolished ruins of the railway station.

Ever since the new station had been built and the high-speed rail opened, this place had been abandoned for years. The original plan was to demolish it earlier this year, but a series of haunting incidents during the demolition halted the project for the time being.

Liu Seer stood on the road opposite the station, holding two train tickets and a yellowed family photo in his hand. Staring at the half-demolished station, his mind drifted back more than forty years. His nose, reddened by the wind, tingled with sorrow.

More than forty years ago, Liu Seer, then only twenty-eight, was just a workshop worker in a steel factory. On the eve of the Spring Festival that year, he brought his wife and daughter back home for the New Year, arriving at Tang City East Railway Station.

It was then that his three-year-old daughter went missing.

It only took a moment-he and his wife had kindly helped a fellow traveler load luggage onto a train. When they turned around, only the bustling street and the surging crowd remained behind them.

His mind went blank, panic setting in, and soon he began to imagine every possible tragic outcome. After a complete emotional breakdown, he clung to a faint thread of hope.

From that moment on, Liu Seer and his wife stayed in Tang City, taking odd jobs while searching for their daughter. They persisted for three long years.

Within five years, the couple had spent all their savings searching for their lost child, but there was still no news. His wife tried to persuade him, saying they were still young enough to have another child. Liu Seer only smoked, wiping away his tears as he shook his head.

Not long after, unable to endure that life any longer, his wife left as well.

That night, Liu Seer drank himself into a stupor and, in a haze, wandered into a ruined temple not far from his rented place.

Back then, poverty forced Liu Seer to live in a shabby rental on the outskirts, where security was terrible. He had long known about the abandoned temple but had never entered, nor did he know which deity was worshipped inside.

Before stepping into the temple, Liu Seer was still lost in drunken self-comfort. But for adults, collapse often comes in an instant. When he saw that clay deity statue, its features long eroded beyond recognition, all the pain of yesterday came rushing back, and he broke down completely.

He wept and wailed, cursing the heavens, the earth, people, and the gods. Then…

Emerald light seemed to sprout branches in the darkness. The deity truly appeared before him, beat him half to death, and then pointed out a path for him.

Although that path never led Liu Seer to his daughter, it at least gave him the means to keep searching-Spirit Patterns and the art of divination.

Now, upon hearing that the deity was in trouble, Liu Seer knew it was time to repay his debt…

When Liu Seer returned to himself, the bus had already stopped near Arrow Tower ancient street. He hadn’t been to Tang City in many years, and the bus routes had changed a lot. He’d had to circle around before finally finding his way here.

Fortunately, apart from the two commercialized streets, the old houses and alleys around Arrow Tower ancient street hadn’t changed much. Guided by memory, Liu Seer wove his way through and soon found the old pawnshop.

As soon as Liu Seer entered, the shop’s owner-the perpetually drowsy Stall Master Tan-suddenly sat upright, eyes wide as he exclaimed, “Well, well, you fool showed up too?”

“Have you found your daughter yet?”

Liu Seer forced a bitter smile and shook his head. “After all this time, all I know is that she’s still alive, but I haven’t found her.”

“Oh…” Stall Master Tan nodded and muttered, “As long as she’s alive, there’s still a chance.”

Liu Seer cupped his hands, “Thank you for your kind words.”

“By the way, wait a bit before going upstairs! She’s taking her afternoon nap,” Stall Master Tan reminded. “You know her temper-if you disturb her sleep, there’ll be trouble.”

Liu Seer glanced upstairs, nodded, then took a stool to sit beside Stall Master Tan. He warmed his hands on the hand warmer and started chatting.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we met. Should I read your fortune again? See how your luck is running this year?”

Stall Master Tan glanced at Liu Seer and shook his head like a rattle drum. “No need, no need. The last time you read my fortune, I lost two out of my three shops, and now only this smallest one is left. If you do it again, I might be sleeping on the street tonight.”

Stall Master Tan meant it as a joke between old friends, never expecting it to become a prophecy.

…

While Liu Seer and Stall Master Tan were chatting, across the old street, a pair of gloomy eyes withdrew their gaze, slowly slipping a white porcelain saucer into their pocket.

Though they hadn’t managed to intercept the people supporting Gou Meng, in a stroke of inspiration, they had found Gou Meng’s hiding place!