Chapter 502: She Has Seen That Figure

The land beneath her feet grew smaller and smaller, and Lu Yibei was forced to share a “mental island” less than five meters in diameter with the Beast of Inheritance.

She turned her back to the Beast of Inheritance, and on her charming face, those golden eyes flickered with a light that seemed to ask, “What the fudge”

“I can sense your aura. You’re very kind, kinder than the previous two sisters.”

Lu Yibei, “……”

Me? Kind?

You really don’t get it, do you!

You probably have no idea who the Tormentor of the Hua City, King of Hauntings Calamity, cunning chestnut hair, murderous intent hidden in the shadows, the Bloody Witch who devours hauntings refers to, do you? Lu Yibei thought fiercely.

Seeing Lu Yibei remain silent, the Beast of Inheritance continued in a sinister tone, “But you’re much more timid than they are. Is it because you have too much, and you’re afraid of losing it, so you become timid?”

For some reason, the tone it used now was much gloomier than when it had called out earlier.

It felt like a demon’s whisper, as if probing the heart, searching for weaknesses, yet there was a deliberate sense of affectation.

Almost as if it was imitating someone else’s way of speaking.

“But, you know, sometimes the more you hesitate, the more you lose. You might even, because of a moment’s hesitation, watch your most important things vanish right before your eyes.”

Lu Yibei, “……” Is this the so-called “hesitation leads to failure”?

“You’re also very sad. Is it because you just lost someone or something important? Was it that sister who resembled you? Was she someone important to you?”

Upon hearing this, the image of Ms. Wang Meili suddenly flashed through Lu Yibei’s mind, and her heart inexplicably twinged. She spun around abruptly, impatiently interrupting, “Enough! Stop rambling like some cult brainwashing! What the hell do you want?”

As she spoke, she quietly pushed [royal authority] to its limit.

However…

Though she appeared furious, she still maintained a basic level of composure.

Her target for [royal authority] was not the Beast of Inheritance, but herself.

The moment she turned, faint golden ripples instantly enveloped her body, maximally isolating any bizarre abilities the Beast of Inheritance might use to affect her mind.

In that instant, she even had a sudden, whimsical thought: should she hit herself with a few rounds of mental shock?

Maybe, if she was already under intense mental shock, she wouldn’t be affected by other external psychic abilities anymore?

Like when a website server is overloaded, and more people try to log in, it prompts “Server busy.” Lu Yibei mused.

Of course, this was just her guess; she hadn’t tested it, and didn’t act rashly.

“I…” Sensing the sudden surge of oppressive aura from Lu Yibei, the Beast of Inheritance seemed frightened. it’s petite body, bound by barbed iron chains, trembled, and it’s voice weakened noticeably.

“I just… I just thought, if you don’t want to help me, maybe you could talk to me, chat with me…”

You call this chatting? Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly. Seeing the Beast of Inheritance wasn’t making any threatening moves for now, her expression darkened as she said, “Chatting, huh? Fine, what do you want to talk about?”

Want to chat with me? Then let’s do it, one-on-one!

Anyway, there’s no escaping this, so I want to see what you’re up to!

In this situation, an obvious threat is better than an unseen one. Besides, if we start chatting, I might be able to stall for time until the PL girl finishes her business. Lu Yibei thought.

Upon hearing this, the Beast of Inheritance was silent for a second or two, then let out a strange laugh, “Tee hee hee, anything you want to talk about, I can satisfy you!”

Lu Yibei, “……”

Hello, thank you, I’m already satisfied.

Satisfied my years-long curiosity about what kind of laugh “Tee hee hee” really is.

Lu Yibei grumbled a couple of times, raised her eyebrow slightly, and said, “Oh? You can satisfy anything I want to hear?”

“Of course, tell me your wish!”

“……” Lu Yibei pondered for two seconds, then said seriously, “Do you know <The Midnight Tome>?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Then recite it for me.”

The prologue of <The Midnight Tome> contains the Midnight Watchers Society’s membership declaration. If it recites the whole book, the declaration would be included.

The Beast of Inheritance is a haunting, so who knows what would happen if it recited the Midnight Watchers Society’s declaration in full? Maybe it would just drop dead on the spot.

Might as well use this to test it, see if it is genuinely just lonely, or has ulterior motives.

Besides, if it really recites it, maybe I can take the chance to learn about the contents the PL girl said only appeared in the first edition of <The Midnight Tome>. Lu Yibei thought.

“……”

After waiting for a moment and not hearing the Beast of Inheritance’s strange voice in her ear, Lu Yibei frowned slightly and pressed, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you could satisfy all my requests?”

If you won’t recite it, then I have reason to suspect you have ulterior motives. Thinking this, Lu Yibei calmly took a few steps back, retreating all the way to the edge of the “Mental Isolated Island.”

“I… I can’t.” The Beast of Inheritance’s timid voice sounded in Lu Yibei’s ear.

Whether it was that it decided to drop the act, or was affected by Lu Yibei’s bizarre request, its voice suddenly became childish and soft, with a hint of a lisp.

Can’t, or just don’t want to? Lu Yibei curled her lips. “Then what about the <Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei>?”

A great book like this shouldn’t be affected by a haunting’s power.

Daring to use this book to test this guy, at least she’d know whether it truly couldn’t recite what she wanted to hear, or if it was just dodging and stalling. Lu Yibei thought.

“Eh? Wh-what’s that?”

“That’s one of the greatest crystallizations of human wisdom in history, witnessing the clash of countless ideologies, pointing the way to comprehensive human development and the liberation of all mankind!” Lu Yibei said with passion.

“You don’t even know this? That won’t do! When you have time, you must memorize it, understand?”

After this brief exchange, seeing that the Beast of Inheritance hadn’t made any threatening moves, Lu Yibei’s tense heart relaxed a little, and her words became increasingly bold.

“Then… <Dream Pool Essays>, <Yongle Encyclopedia>, <Complete Library of the Four Treasuries>–pick one!”

Even if she couldn’t use something from The Midnight Watchers Society to trip up this guy, if she could trick it into memorizing one of these ancient encyclopedias, it should buy her quite a bit of time.

Who knows, maybe before it’s done, the PL girl will have finished her side, and then I can get out of this damned place, Lu Yibei thought.

“All those you mentioned… I, I can’t do any of them.”

“That’s it? That’s it?” Lu Yibei said impatiently. “You can’t do this, can’t do that, then what use are you to me?”

“S-sorry.” The Beast of Inheritance’s soft murmur sounded in her ear.

Lu Yibei wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she thought she heard a hint of sobbing in its voice.

“……”

Wait, aren’t you a catastrophe-class haunting? How can you be this fragile?

Everyone saw it! It’s not that I bullied it and made it cry, it’s that it’s just weak.

Honestly, my requests aren’t unreasonable at all, right? Lu Yibei thought.

“Then you tell me, what do you know? Just say whatever you know!”

“I–I only know myself…”

“Only know yourself?” Lu Yibei frowned slightly, sizing up the figure before her, wrapped in chains like some alien mummy.

Something’s not right!

It’s devoured and copied so many hauntings and psychics’ powers, so why does it only know about itself?

Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, then spat lightly, “Fine, then just tell me about yourself!”

“Do you… do you really want to know about me?” the Beast of Inheritance asked, its voice trembling, as if extremely agitated.

“Yes, I really want to know. Best if you start from your birth.” Lu Yibei quietly activated her charm ability, her voice soft and alluring. “It’s best if…”

“You tell me everything about yourself!”

The more it talked, the more time she could stall. Once she got out of this damned place, she’d immediately go to The Midnight Watchers Society and file an anonymous report, spilling everything she’d learned. Lu Yibei thought.

In fact, the anonymous reports Gu Qianqian had submitted to The Midnight Watchers Society under the system’s guidance had caused Lu Yibei a lot of trouble, but they weren’t without benefit to her.

At the very least, she’d learned a whole new way to get revenge from this.

If nothing went wrong, the Beast of Inheritance would be lucky enough to become her first anonymous report target.

Ying‑ying‑ying, ying‑ying‑ying…

Just as Lu Yibei was secretly plotting, the Beast of Inheritance suddenly started “ying-ing” again.

In just a few breaths, Lu Yibei heard it “ying” at least several hundred times, and finally couldn’t help but interrupt, “Damn! What are you ying-ing about?”

Is everything about you just “ying‑ying‑ying”?

“Sorry, I–I’m just too excited. It’s the first time anyone’s wanted to know about me…” the Beast of Inheritance said weakly.

“Alright, alright, just get on with it!” Lu Yibei waved her hand.

As soon as she finished speaking, the Beast of Inheritance suddenly began to whisper softly in her ear.

“All forms are not forms, all dharmas are not dharmas. Those who see forms, see no form; those who speak dharma, have no dharma to speak…”

“……”

Wait, why does this content feel a little off?

The more Lu Yibei listened, the more she felt something was wrong, and couldn’t help but frown and ask, “What are you saying? Is this about yourself? Why does it sound like you’re describing your power?”

“…To see me in form, to seek me in sound, to offer bone and blood–only then can you see me.”

The Beast of Inheritance did not answer Lu Yibei’s question, but continued to recite the description of its power by her ear, as if telling Lu Yibei in this way that its power was itself.

As the Beast of Inheritance finished reciting the description of its power, a shattering sound like breaking glass suddenly rang out in Lu Yibei’s mind, and her consciousness grew hazy.

In a daze, she felt something on that petite body before her shatter, like glass exploding, flying toward her.

Like a hallucination, she heard a whisper.

“My past, you need not know. The past is a surging river, always flowing forward, never backward.

My present, you need not understand. The present is a drifting breath, never dissipating, always lingering.

My future, you need not foresee. The future is blue sky and white clouds, right before your eyes, yet forever out of reach.

All you need to know is, I am you, and you are me.”

What the hell is this? Damn it, I think I’ve become the one being tricked! Lu Yibei thought, and her vision went black.

——–

Like a hallucination, Lu Yibei opened her eyes for the first time and saw a vast, pure white room.

In the cold room, countless egg-shaped oval vessels floated in midair, arranged in a matrix, and the matrices formed strange patterns together.

Inside every vessel was some kind of life fused from blood and flesh, like unformed fetuses or like fruits, waiting to ripen.

……

She didn’t know how much time had passed before Lu Yibei opened her eyes a second time.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that the floating vessels in the huge white room had been removed, replaced by cradles suspended in the air.

In the cradles, all kinds of young creatures slept soundly–there were humans, fledglings, cats and dogs, and even various animals from the ocean. On their small, tender bodies, more or less, all had some extremely incongruous organs or tissues growing.

At the edge of the white room, blurry-faced figures used massive machines to grind unknown flesh and blood into pulp, mixing it into potions, and with expressionless faces, delivered the potions like milk to the mouths of the bizarre-looking infants in the cradles.

Seeing this scene, and sensing no imminent danger, a sudden realization dawned in Lu Yibei’s heart.

“……”

Maybe the Beast of Inheritance really didn’t lie to me. It’s showing me everything it has.

What I’m seeing now is its memory, Lu Yibei thought.

……

She opened her eyes for the third time and saw a vast lawn surrounded by high walls, the grass full of “cubs” chasing, playing, even fighting. They all wore white cotton jumpsuits with black numbers printed on their backs.

Most of them had bodies similar to humans, but the organs and strange features on them were so utterly inhuman that it was hard to accept them as human.

These “cubs,” whose origins were unclear, repeated the same daily routine: injections of strange potions, regular physical examinations, and being sent to the eerie monks in black cloaks for “education.”

Over and over again.

Lu Yibei focused her mind, trying to hear what those strange monks were teaching the “cubs.”

From the fragments she caught, she heard astonishing words.

Those monks took the descriptions of powers of various legendary, deity-like beings, altered them, and taught them to the “cubs” in a way that blasphemed the deities.

Again and again, as if trying to brand those things into their minds.

……

In this huge white room, the “cubs” who were disobedient or couldn’t withstand the various strange potions were unqualified, unacceptable existences, and were to be eliminated.

Just like a factory production line, with strict quality control standards–those who passed were kept, those who failed were destroyed.

Time passed bit by bit, and the number of “cubs” quickly dwindled from several thousand to fewer than ten.

Only then did Lu Yibei see the “cub” with dark red short hair, whose gender was indiscernible.

“……”

Is that the Beast of Inheritance? Was it created by someone? Lu Yibei wondered, both shocked and uncertain.

Just as she was pondering, the scene before her changed again, and she saw a stormy night.

Thunder rumbled as if to shatter the sky, the earth shook violently, and the “cub” with dark red short hair curled up in the corner of the white room, covering its ears and trembling.

Suddenly, the roof of the white room collapsed, and everything fell into dead silence in that instant.

In the lightning that lit the sky like day, through the curtain-like sheets of rain, she could see a twisted, bizarre, gigantic figure, as vast as a mountain.

That figure, as if stepped out of a nightmare, was twisted and strange, yet somehow so beautiful.

So perfect it was terrifying!

In that instant, Lu Yibei remembered–she had seen that figure before, when she and her father suffered that terrible car accident…