Chapter 383: Paper Cicada Immortal

“Are you sure you want to leave here?”

After Lu Yibei said he wanted to leave the Tang City Midnight Watchers Society headquarters, Shang Nanxing’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Right now, there was an unknown force active around Tang City, specifically targeting Midnight Watchers Society members. In Shang Nanxing’s view, it was unwise for a probationary operator to act alone at a time like this.

Wasn’t this just walking out to die?

She didn’t want anyone else dying because of their faulty intel.

“I’m sure I want to go,” Lu Yibei nodded.

Things outside were already so turbulent; hiding here didn’t necessarily mean safety.

Those criminal forces were clearly out to make a big scene. After dealing with the operators who’d come from all over to help, wouldn’t the three local Midnight Watchers Society operators be next?

Staying here any longer was just asking for trouble! Lu Yibei thought.

Seeing that Lu Yibei had made up his mind, Shang Nanxing said helplessly, “Alright then, but I suggest you leave your Death Owl Emblem here, or hide it somewhere. Just don’t carry it with you.”

Lu Yibei was taken aback. “Why?”

“These past two or three days, when we were collecting the bodies of our colleagues, we found two different psychic energy fluctuations at two of the scenes. Both used spell formations unique to the Midnight Watchers Society. We suspect that the unknown force likely includes defectors from the Society. In other words…”

Halfway through, Lu Yibei looked down at the silver emblem on his chest in shock. “In other words, those guys are using the emblems from defectors to track down the operators coming to help?”

“Yeah, that’s what we think,” Shang Nanxing nodded. “So, as long as you don’t carry the emblem, you’re much less likely to be targeted.”

“….”

So, I was lucky not to be tailed and killed on my way here just now? Lu Yibei’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly took off the emblem from his chest.

But just as he set the emblem on the long table, he seemed to remember something. He frowned, picked the emblem back up, and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

Maybe the Ancestors’ craft could come in handy this time… Lu Yibei thought to himself.

Shang Nanxing noticed Lu Yibei’s small movement and was momentarily stunned.

What’s he up to…?

“Well then, I’ll be off. See you around~!”

While Shang Nanxing was still in a daze, Lu Yibei said goodbye, turned, and walked toward the exit of the unfinished building. A loud bang sounded, and as she watched the cement wall close up again, she let out a silent sigh.

At that moment, Mao Sanyou, who had finally “returned to the living,” sidled up to Shang Nanxing and curled his lip. “That junior of mine sure looks confident, doesn’t he? What’s that saying? Oh right, young and reckless!”

“Yeah, he does look confident. I just hope it’s not blind confidence. Otherwise…” Shang Nanxing said calmly.

Mao Sanyou shrugged and finished Shang Nanxing’s sentence, “Otherwise, I’ll just have to pick out a nice graveyard plot in Tang City for my junior.”

There were only three operators in the Tang City Midnight Watchers Society. Right now, Old Xu was busy tracking Gou Meng’s movements, Shang Nanxing was handling emergency haunting incidents, and Mao Sanyou not only had to secretly protect the departments and researchers recovering artifacts, but also be ready to support the other two operators at any time.

Once Lu Yibei left the Tang City Midnight Watchers Society headquarters, if he ran into danger, he’d be just like this city-completely on his own.

In the silence, Shang Nanxing suddenly remembered something and turned to Mao Sanyou, her voice cold. “By the way, Operator Lu just said you stole his phone?”

“That’s not true!” Mao Sanyou exclaimed. “I just saw someone take advantage of the chaos to steal his phone and didn’t tell him, that’s all. At most, it’s…”

“Shut up!” Shang Nanxing cut him off, then silently pulled a knuckle duster from her collar and slipped it onto her hand, ready to “help Mao Sanyou improve his skills” again. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Shall we begin?”

Mao Sanyou, “….”

After leaving the Tang City Museum, Lu Yibei immediately went to the nearest telecom office, got a replacement SIM card with his old number, bought a new phone, and picked up another new SIM card.

After inserting the new SIM card and successfully turning on the phone, he headed toward the Tang City Four Seasons Hotel while sending a message to Jiang Li.

Lu Yibei: “Boss, it’s Lu Yibei.” [Sent successfully]

Lu Yibei: “Damn, do you know how dangerous Tang City is right now? I might not make it out of here alive!” [Failed to send]

Lu Yibei: “Boss, there’s probably going to be big news in Tang City soon. Almost all the operators who came to help from other places are dead except me. At this level of danger, even ten more operators would be done for here.” [Failed to send]

After quickly sending three messages, Lu Yibei looked at the text prompts and glaring red exclamation marks behind the second and third messages, his expression growing grave.

He pondered for two seconds, carefully checked his phone’s settings and signal, then picked up his phone again to send Jiang Li another message.

Lu Yibei: “Boss, come snuggle!” [Sent successfully]

Lu Yibei, “…”

Ah, just as I thought-any message that might involve Tang City’s current situation gets intercepted as soon as it’s sent.

But…

Damn, text messages really are about to become relics of the past! Can’t you just develop a recall function already?

Thirty seconds later.

Dog Leader: “?”

Dog Leader: “Sent to the wrong person?”

Lu Yibei facepalmed and replied one-handed on his phone: “Yeah, just pretend you didn’t see it.”

Even through the screen, he could almost see Jiang Li’s chin raised, eyes slightly downcast, that cold, disdainful look like she was staring at trash.

Absolutely lethal.

Putting down his phone, Lu Yibei quickly pulled out the new SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it into a nearby gutter.

He had no idea how the unknown force’s hauntings or psychics were intercepting messages, but to be safe, after confirming that information about Tang City would be intercepted, it was best to dispose of the SIM card used to send messages.

Leaving the Tang City Museum, Lu Yibei boarded the bus back to the Four Seasons Hotel in Tang City, found a window seat in the back, took out his phone, swapped in the replacement SIM card, opened the app store, and skillfully downloaded all sorts of apps.

Once the chat app finished downloading, he immediately opened it, logged into his account, and as soon as the account info synced, he found the haunting chat group.

Wang Buliuxing: “@Void You there? Private chat?”

So what if they’re intercepting messages?

I happen to know a big boss-level figure among the online hauntings-who’s afraid of whom?

Defeat online hauntings with online hauntings-today’s the day! Lu Yibei thought excitedly.

However…

After waiting about five minutes, he didn’t get a reply from Void, but instead received a private message from Online Old Pervert.

Online Old Pervert 0: “Our boss probably can’t get online for a while.”

Wang Buliuxing: “Huh? Why?”

He waited two minutes.

Online Old Pervert 0: “Isn’t it all your fault! [Angry]”

Wang Buliuxing: “?”

How is this my fault again! Can you stop trying to persecute me?

Online Old Pervert 0: “Didn’t you hunt down an Eldritch Destroyer before? After our boss heard about it, he went to hunt an Eldritch Destroyer too, and then… [Skull]”

Lu Yibei, “…”

What’s up with this Void kid?

I have so many fine qualities and heroic deeds, and this is what you choose to imitate?

Was I hunting? I was forced to become enemies with an Eldritch Destroyer-why would you go looking for trouble yourself?

Online Old Pervert 0: “Anyway, our boss followed your example and went to hunt an Eldritch Destroyer. He succeeded, but paid a heavy price and is now in a deep sleep, so he can’t reply to you right now.”

He actually succeeded in the hunt? Lu Yibei was shocked, his pupils contracting slightly as he stared at the phone screen.

He’d experienced firsthand the methods of an Eldritch Destroyer. Even though he hadn’t faced the Big Boss head-on, the Big Boss’s dying counterattack had nearly cost him his life.

Now Online Old Pervert says that after paying a heavy price, Void managed to hunt down an Eldritch Destroyer.

Although the strength of Eldritch Destroyers varies greatly depending on the spread and influence of their apocalyptic legends, they’re still world-ending threats of the past. Even if their psychic energy fluctuation is only Class B, they have bizarre methods that ordinary Class B psychics-or hauntings-don’t possess.

Void is actually this terrifying?

This kid has a bright future and must not be made an enemy.

From now on, we’re brothers from different mothers! Lu Yibei thought.

Wang Buliuxing: “Then can you help me pass a message to The Midnight Watchers Society?”

Online Old Pervert 0: “Pass a message to The Midnight Watchers Society? That’s a bit tough, but tell me and I’ll see what I can do.”

There are plenty of old perverts in The Midnight Watchers Society too-they browse lewd images in various chat groups, and wherever there are lewd images, you’ll find Online Old Pervert.

Lu Yibei pondered for a moment with his phone, then typed a reply.

Wang Buliuxing: “Just tell them: Tang City is dangerous, do not send support, do not send support!” [Failed to send]

Seeing the red exclamation mark appear after the message, Lu Yibei’s face darkened, his fist unconsciously clenching, then he let out a dejected sigh.

Damn it, I can’t even get a message out through the haunting chat group?

At this point, maybe only Void could bypass the interception and successfully get the message out?

Online Old Pervert 0: “You still there? What exactly do you want me to pass on for you?”

Wang Buliuxing: “Forget it, let’s not send it for now.”

After a pause, Lu Yibei typed another message, adding, “If your boss wakes up in the next few days, please let him know to contact me as soon as possible.”

Online Pervert 0: “[Big. Boobed Loli OK emoji]”

Lu Yibei, “…” As expected of you, even your emojis are so provocative!

Wang Buliuxing: “More? Hurry up.”

Lu Yibei half-jokingly sent a message, and five seconds later received nearly a hundred images from Online Pervert 0.

Online Pervert 0: “[Image][Image][Image]…[Image][Image]…”

However, before Lu Yibei could properly appreciate the artistic value of those images, all the pictures broke, and a system notification popped up.

[System notification: Sorry, your private chat account has been suspended for suspected violations.]

Lu Yibei, “…”

Sorry, I really didn’t do it on purpose.

Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, just about to put away his phone, when it vibrated twice and he received two messages from Meow Meow-chan.

Meow Meow-chan: “I heard from a friend that you lost your phone? The talisman from before is gone too, right?”

Wang Buliuxing: “[Is that friend you.GIF]”

Meow Meow-chan: “What nonsense are you talking about? Do you still want a talisman or not?”

Wang Buliuxing: “I do!”

Meow Meow-chan: “[Image][Image][Image] This time, don’t lose it again! If you lose it again, I won’t give you another.”

Lu Yibei stared quietly at the screen, at “Meow Meow-chan” cosplaying as [The Flower of Chaotic Parallel Timelines], [Nirvana Red Lotus – Bai Xiaohua], and [Feather of Freedom – Dandelion – Bai Xiaohua], striking seductive poses. He took more than a dozen deep breaths before he could barely calm his restless heart.

Wang Buliuxing: “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t lose it this time!”

Meow Meow-chan: “[Heart emoji]”

The bus departed from the stop in front of Tang City Museum, stopping and starting along the way, passing through half the city, as the lingering ancient city scenery outside the window kept changing.

While Lu Yibei was engrossed in chatting with Online Pervert 0 and Meow Meow-chan, time slipped by unnoticed. By the time he came to his senses, the bus had already arrived near the Four Seasons Hotel in Tang City.

Upon reaching the hotel, Lu Yibei went straight to Professor Ma’s room. Seeing the “Do Not Disturb, Someone Resting” sign hanging on the door, he knew the professor was still asleep, so he didn’t disturb him and turned back to his own room.

Back in his room, he took out the metal box, checked that the hair at the opening hadn’t been moved, and carefully counted the items inside to make sure nothing was missing. Then, he hid the metal box again, flopped onto the soft bed, emptied his mind, and waited for sleep to come.

When in doubt, take a nap!

Now, with dangers lurking all around Tang City and tension in the air, Lu Yibei knew he couldn’t handle the situation alone. At times like this, he couldn’t count on The Midnight Watchers Society or the haunting chat group; the only help he could seek was from his own Ancestors.

Previously, when Qing Ji was recounting his glorious days of single-handedly turning the Great Pure Palace upside down, he had inadvertently mentioned a kind of substitute technique.

According to Qing Ji, if it weren’t for that substitute technique, he would’ve long been caught by the head of the Great Pure Palace and whipped hundreds of times in front of the palace gates.

Upon hearing of such a divine skill, Lu Yibei had wanted to learn it right away, but at the time, the Ancestors refused, saying, “Swordsmanship is the true path. Once you’re proficient in swordsmanship, it’s not too late to learn these clever tricks.”

Earlier at Tang City Museum, while pondering how to shake off the pursuit of that unknown force, Lu Yibei suddenly remembered the Ancestors’ substitute technique, which was why he brought back the potentially dangerous Death Owl Emblem.

Now, he had basically mastered The Diagram of the Gentleman Sword of Taihe. What he needed to improve further was just more practice and experience. He figured that if he asked the Ancestors to teach him the substitute technique this time, they wouldn’t refuse.

After all, this time I have a perfectly legitimate reason! Lu Yibei thought.

As Lu Yibei drifted into sleep, she felt her body plummeting rapidly, and soon she landed on a familiar rooftop of a tall building.

Opening her eyes, the pitch-black night sky and the dilapidated rooftop came into view. In one corner of the rooftop, Qing Ji sat cross-legged as if meditating, a turbulent psychic energy fluctuation condensed into a pearl-sized, chaotic orb of light.

That azure orb floated up and down between his palms, occasionally sparking with dazzling arcs of electricity, spinning rapidly, whipping up fierce winds that made Qing Ji’s long robe flutter wildly.

Staring at that orb, although Lu Yibei’s facial paralysis kept her expressionless, waves were already surging in her heart.

The Ancestors actually used their own psychic energy fluctuation to reconstruct the general operation of the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power?

It’s only been a few days! No wonder they were a genius who mastered all sorts of supreme arts as a teenager!

Why didn’t I inherit that kind of talent?

Lu Yibei was secretly thinking this when, all of a sudden, Qing Ji opened his eyes and looked over, a cruel smile appearing on his face. “Granddaughter-in-law, you’re here? I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

Oh no, this is bad, this old guy is up to no good! Lu Yibei’s heart skipped a beat. She turned to run, but before she could, a gust of wind roared behind her-Qing Ji had already leapt toward her.

In his palm, that pearl-like orb of light slipped from his control, swelling rapidly to a visible size, then, pushed by his palm, shot straight for Lu Yibei’s back.

With a thunderous boom, a torrent of psychic energy burst forth. Amidst the dazzling, wild light, Lu Yibei’s body once again felt that pain of every cell being ground to dust. Then, a muffled sound of flesh bursting rang in her ears, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

When Lu Yibei awoke again, Qing Ji had come to sit beside her, grinning. “Heh heh, granddaughter-in-law, not bad, right? I did a good job, didn’t I?”

Lu Yibei shrank back, warily eyeing Qing Ji’s hands, and said weakly, “Ancestor, have you already unraveled the secret of that power?”

Realizing that Qing Ji had beaten her to uncovering part of the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power, Lu Yibei understood that now that their roles had reversed, they were back to square one.

She’d tormented Qing Ji enough before, but now that he’d finally turned the tables, did he have to lord it over her and rub it in?

In short, she was doomed! Lu Yibei thought.

Qing Ji nodded. “I’ve had nothing to do these past few days, so I figured out a few things. Still not fully mastered, though. Hurry up and summon that power again, let me have a good look.”

“Oh.” Lu Yibei answered, instinctively trying to draw out some of the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power from within. But as soon as she raised her hand, it froze in midair. Her eyes darted around. “Ancestor, actually, I didn’t come to you today to study that power.”

“I wanted to learn that spell formation you mentioned last time.”

Qing Ji frowned, displeased. “You mean Void Eye or Five Ghosts Fortune? Those aren’t proper spell formations. I can’t teach you those!”

“No, no!” Lu Yibei hurriedly explained. “I’m not trying to peep on anyone or steal money. I just want to learn something like a substitution spell formation from you.”

“What do you want to learn that for?” Qing Ji waved his hand. “No, I won’t teach you. That troublesome power in your body isn’t resolved yet! Stop thinking about these crooked tricks all the time.”

“Please, Ancestor, it’s urgent. Just teach me, please?” Lu Yibei pleaded.

As she spoke, she worked up her emotions, feeling her nose tingle, and soon a string of sparkling tears welled up in her eyes.

It was a bit shameless, but better than being targeted by those criminals who killed the Midnight Watchers Society operators. Lu Yibei thought.

Seeing this, Qing Ji was stunned for a moment. His voice softened, and he spoke earnestly, “Why are you crying for no reason? I’m not teaching you those miscellaneous spell formations because I’m afraid you’ll get distracted. I…”

“It’s not because of you, Ancestor. I just suddenly thought of Lu Yibei.” Lu Yibei turned her face away, pretending to wipe her eyes.

Qing Ji awkwardly raised his hands, then put them down, sighed, and asked, “What did you remember about my great-grandson?”

“I remembered that he treated me badly when he was alive, and even after he died, he still makes me suffer.” Lu Yibei said angrily. “Like this time, I came to ask you about the substitution spell formation just to save his lover!”

“Huh?” Qing Ji was stunned, scratching the back of his head. “What do you mean? You’re saying that rascal… you’re not the only one?”

“Hmph! Of course not!” Lu Yibei snorted coquettishly. “All those confidantes, those female friends, those soulmates…”

“There were plenty of girls around him. If I could have even a tenth of his heart, I’d have no regrets in this life.”

Qing Ji’s face darkened at her words. He slammed his palm on the ground, leaving a deep handprint. “Hmph! That unfilial brat, not worthy of being my descendant!”

“Granddaughter-in-law, forget the substitution spell formation. I’ll teach you the Yellow Springs Soul Chasing Talisman. This talisman can summon the soul of someone who’s been dead less than five years, for half a stick of incense. You help me give that brat a good lesson!”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Is that really necessary? I’ve already dug up my own grave-do I have to summon my own soul too? What kind of underworld nonsense am I doing every day!

Lu Yibei thought, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, then shook her head. “No, Ancestor, I’ve already let it go. Just teach me that substitution spell formation. After all, that’s someone Yibei once loved-I have to save her.”

“This…” Qing Ji opened her mouth, then let out a long sigh after a moment. “Ah-! I never expected my granddaughter-in-law to be so broad-minded. Fine, I’ll teach you. But before that, I have one question.”

Lu Yibei nodded. “Please ask.”

Qing Ji pondered for two seconds and said, “My great-grandson had so many female friends. Did he really not leave behind even half a descendant?”

“???”

Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, then clenched her jaw and forced herself to say something bad about him.

“No, he’s a complete scoundrel. He refuses to take responsibility and always takes precautions.”

Qing Ji, “…”

Since you’ve already said that, it’d be unreasonable for me not to teach you.

19:33. The sky was already shrouded in the veil of night.

Not far from the Four Seasons Hotel in Tang City, on the shore of Lotus Seed Lake, a dense grove stood in shadowy darkness. Soon, the sound of rustling came, and if you followed the noise, you could vaguely see a figure in black with white hair approaching from afar, slipping into the woods.

Finding a secluded corner in the grove, Lu Yibei glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then set down the metal case on her shoulder, opened it, and took out the list she got from Qing Ji.

“Several sheets of yellow paper, paste, watercolor, cinnabar, bamboo sticks, and a drop of blood from the ring finger.”

After checking the materials, Lu Yibei nodded in satisfaction and began to follow Qing Ji’s instructions.

This substitute spell formation was called “Paper Cicada Immortal.” It was a product of Alchemy combined with spell formation. According to Qing Ji, the incantation borrowed from the folk legend, “Drip ring finger blood on a broom, and the broom becomes sentient,” which was almost equivalent to creating a Non-graded haunting-extremely sinister.

That was one of the reasons he had always refused to teach Lu Yibei.

The first step in making the Paper Cicada Immortal was fairly simple: use the materials at hand to shape it as desired. The technique was similar to making paper figures and horses for the dead, but the requirements weren’t as strict-just recognizable was enough.

Lu Yibei squatted in the grove, following Qing Ji’s instructions, and managed to arrange the bamboo sticks into a roughly human shape about her own height. She applied paste, covered it with yellow paper, painted eyes, brows, and nose with watercolor, and used cinnabar to draw a red mouth. From a distance…

“Hiss-! Damn, if this thing started moving, people would think Picasso’s ‘Seated Woman’ had turned into a haunting. It’s scary as hell.”

After complaining about her lacking art skills, Lu Yibei continued working.

She stuffed several Alchemical Bomb 3.0s into the reserved gaps in the twisted paper figure’s belly, then sealed the abdomen. At the same time, she quickly muttered the incantation in a low voice, casting a psychic energy-triggered spell formation on the paper figure. Finally, she bit her fingertip and dotted a bright red spot of blood on the figure’s forehead.

“Paper Cicada Immortal, Paper Cicada Immortal, I summon you for today’s task, let me shed my cicada shell in the dust… By the law, so let it be!”

As the incantation ended, the paper figure suddenly glowed with a crimson light. The yellow paper pasted on its surface, as psychic energy kept pouring in, gradually took on a texture like human skin.

The next moment, the paper figure “whoosh”-stood upright, its nose pressed directly against Lu Yibei’s.

That sallow, pancake-like face, painted red with watercolor, two uneven eyes wide open, stared straight into Lu Yibei’s eyes. Then… it blinked, and the entire eye socket caved in.

“Damn!” Lu Yibei cried out, jumping back half a step, looking over the ghostly thing she’d made, feeling a bit conflicted.

Is my drawing and crafting really this bad?

Thinking that, she looked again.

Alright, it’s really bad-worse than that three-year animation student’s Titanic. Truly shocking.

But…

This should be good enough, right?

Lu Yibei thought, took the Death Owl Emblem from her pocket, pinned it to the Paper Cicada Immortal’s chest, and then gave it a mental command-run around Lotus Seed Lake.

I want to see who is secretly ambushing The Midnight Watchers Society operators.

And to test the Alchemical Bomb 3.0 enhanced with world malice. Lu Yibei watched as the paper figure, like some aberrant creature, ran off into the distance, slowly raised her hand, and covered her eyes.

Uh, I just hope it doesn’t scare off the people coming to ambush…