Chapter 515: Epilogue (2)

Wang Buliuxing: “That might not be possible right now.”

Online Pervert 00: “Why?”

Why? That’s a good question! Lu Yibei thought to himself.

Wang Buliuxing: “Does your boss like playing with balls?”

Online Pervert 00: “[Naked apron married woman confused expression]”

Our boss isn’t Meow Xiaoqi.

Looking at the suggestive expression on the screen, Lu Yibei sighed at how broad Online Old Pervert’s interests were, then tapped on the keyboard to reply.

Wang Buliuxing: “Hold on, this isn’t something that can be explained in a sentence or two. I think it’s better to just send a picture–much more straightforward.”

After replying to Online Old Pervert, he silently bent down and pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk.

Inside the drawer, more than thirty old and new phones lay quietly. They were all remnants from the daily operations of the [Messenger of Love and Peace – Model of Morality and Conscience – The Witch Warriors of Handsome Men and Beautiful Women].

Of course, these things weren’t stolen by those little Hauntings, but picked up by them.

Things like phones accidentally lost, jewelry dropped into the sewer, keys left behind in the park grass–incidents like these happen in the city almost every moment.

Most of the time, once these things are lost, they’re never found again.

And those little hauntings who roam the city’s dark corners day and night often pick up these “lost” trinkets within their territory.

At first, the little hauntings didn’t care about these things, treating them as nothing more than human garbage.

Until one day, Lu Yibei heard from the hairball that there was an astonishing amount of shiny stuff in the Cockroach Rat’s sewer nest. After confirming that the shiny things were all gold and silver jewelry, he got an idea and had the little hauntings start a “lost and found” service.

A phone full of photos, a bracelet given by parents at a coming-of-age ceremony, a ring from a deceased wife, a cat that accompanied a whole childhood… Letting these “lost” trinkets reunite with their owners was nothing short of a miracle.

And with a complimentary honorary product from the Hua City Calamity Irresponsible Scare Company–a threatening blood letter, plus a one-night haunting incident experience–the little hauntings got a long-term supply of psychic energy.

Little hauntings need to eat too!

Their success rate for scaring people and getting psychic energy was already low. Helping people return lost items and collecting a little “hardship fee” on the side seemed pretty reasonable, right?

Of course, not all lost items could find their owners. Those that couldn’t were sent to Lu Yibei’s home.

The thirty or so spare phones in the drawer came from this.

However, ever since a certain silly haunting brought him three orphans, he handed over the task of dealing with unclaimed lost items to Du Sixian.

……

Lu Yibei casually picked a phone, charged it, turned it on, connected to WiFi, logged into a social app, then turned around and recorded a short video of Wang Yingying, sending it to Online Old Pervert.

Wang Buliuxing: “[Video]”

Wang Buliuxing: “What do you think, in this state, is there any point in adding them to the chat group? Honestly, if you hadn’t come to me just now, I might have been looking for you to ask how to wake them up.”

Looking at the white, round, occasionally squirming ball of flesh in the video–not sure if it was struggling or just goofily happy–Online Old Pervert was stunned.

He’d only been notified by the Void to contact Wang Buliuxing and invite the Beast of Inheritance into the group. He never expected that the notorious Beast of Inheritance would end up like this.

Could it be that Calamity beat them into this state?

Online Pervert 00: “Um… if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your relationship with the Beast of Inheritance?”

What relationship? Lu Yibei looked at Wang Yingying, frowned, tilted his head and pondered for a few seconds, then replied.

Wang Buliuxing: “Temporary guardian.”

The contract modified from the [Moonlight Project contract] was very different from the usual familiars’ mark. The right to control familiars was limited to the terms specified in the [Moonlight Project contract].

Although Xing Yuan and Lu Yibei both joked about the [Moonlight Project contract] being an “Indenture,” in reality, this contract issued by The Midnight Watchers Society for hauntings was, at best, a draconian labor contract.

So Lu Yibei felt that calling himself Wang Yingying’s master wasn’t quite right, and calling himself the boss seemed too distant, so he simply called himself the temporary guardian.

Hearing Lu Yibei say this, Online Old Pervert was even more shocked. He had originally thought the Beast of Inheritance ended up like this because of Calamity’s persecution and was being imprisoned.

But “temporary guardian” sounded a bit subtle.

At the very least, it meant their relationship wasn’t hostile.

Online Pervert 00: “Alright, I understand the situation. I’ll report the matter of waking the Beast of Inheritance to our boss. Once we find a way, I’ll contact you again.”

Lu Yibei, “……” Is that it? That can’t be right!

Wang Buliuxing: “There’s more, isn’t there?”

Online Pervert 0: “What else?”

Wang Buliuxing: “What do you think?”

After sending the message, Lu Yibei waited about a minute before receiving a new message from Online Pervert 0.

[Online Pervert 0 is sending you the online file “Study Materials Collection.7z” 5G]

Wang Buliuxing: “? Who wants this! I’m asking you, what do I need to pay you in exchange for helping me find a way to awaken the Beast of Inheritance?”

Online Pervert 0: “Oh, that! That’s free.”

Wang Buliuxing: “Free? That doesn’t seem right. How about I give you something?”

Free is the most expensive!

If you do this, I’ll start suspecting you have ulterior motives toward my Wang Yingying! Lu Yibei thought.

Online Pervert 0: “Give me something? Like what? [Loli confused face]”

Wang Buliuxing: “For example… a report?”

After replying, Lu Yibei skillfully clicked the report option in the upper right corner, then typed the reason in the dialog box: pornography.

Anyone who messes with Bai Xiaohua’s study materials, no matter how far, must be punished!

However, before he could click confirm, Online Pervert 0 seemed to know exactly what he was doing and remotely controlled his mouse to click [Cancel].

Lu Yibei, “……” Do I not deserve any dignity?

Online Pervert 0: “Come on, don’t mess with me! I just asked our boss, if you feel bad about us helping you find a way to awaken the Beast of Inheritance for free, just exchange it for a piece of intel.”

Wang Buliuxing: “Intel? What kind of intel?”

Online Pervert 0: “Our boss wants to know how you obtained the prototype of your Divine Land, it wants to get one too.”

Isn’t that simple? After reading Online Pervert 0’s message, Lu Yibei raised his eyebrows slightly and typed a reply.

Wang Buliuxing: “First, it needs a mom.”

Online Pervert 0: “And then?”

Wang Buliuxing: “Then, that’s it.”

Online Pervert 0: “???”

——–

In a certain villa district on the outskirts of Hua City, inside a villa that had been uninhabited for a long time, the glow of the display screen in the unlit living room cast a ghostly pale light on the face of a man with a weary expression.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a chubby girl with mismatched cat ears walk past him. Online Pervert 0 snapped back to attention, turned around, and asked Meow Xiaoqi, “Where are you going so late?”

“Xingfu Community!” Meow Xiaoqi pouted.

“You’re still going?” Online Pervert 0 looked Meow Xiaoqi up and down. “Look at how fat you’ve gotten lately! Is the food those residents give you really that tasty?”

Meow Xiaoqi put her hands on her hips, raised her eyebrows, and said fiercely, “What do you know! Do you think I’m greedy for their food? I’m just worried about them!”

“Their sons and daughters are either away for years, or they’re in long-distance relationships, their partners aren’t around, or they’re under huge work pressure and feeling down. What’s wrong with me keeping them company?”

“I’m reluctantly letting them feed me, letting them pet me, it’s charity, okay?!”

Actually, you really enjoy being cared for, don’t you? Thinking about the reason Meow Xiaoqi was born, Online Pervert 0 felt a pang of emotion, then waved his hand, “Alright, just go and come back early.”

After sending Meow Xiaoqi off, Online Pervert 0 refocused on the display screen, clicked on Void’s avatar in a chat app, and reported the results of his conversation with Lu Yibei in detail.

Void: “Mm, Ah-Se, I might be going out to handle some things soon. If anything happens in Hua City, you don’t need to report to me, just handle it yourself.”

Online Pervert 0: “Understood!”

——–

Meanwhile.

In a certain abandoned warehouse buried under rubble, piled high with electronic components and hardware devices.

A little white bug stared at the display screen ahead, curled up, propping its chin with its tail, muttering to itself, “She must have some deeper meaning behind this…”

“I get it! When someone with the potential to become a catastrophe-class haunting or psychic hasn’t fully grown, appearing as a guardian and helping them, forging a deep bond?”

“If someone has the potential to become a catastrophe-class psychic or haunting, and you forcibly control them with a familiars mark, they’ll eventually lose control. But if you use this method to build a relationship, you can actually gain their support…”

“Brilliant! As expected of Calamity, always a master at manipulating people’s hearts, truly worthy as a teacher!”

“Wait, let me see, who recently has the potential to become a catastrophe-class existence…”

The little white bug muttered to itself for a while, then with a thought, all the old monitors surrounding it suddenly lit up at once, and a flood of data began to scroll rapidly across the screens.

Early morning, inside the bamboo slips illusion.

In front of a palace-like, simple structure built from pitch-black rocks, exuding a strong primitive tribal style, five elderly men with varying degrees of physical deformities knelt on the ground, as if waiting for something.

A long time passed.

Footsteps echoed from the deep cave behind the building. Gu Qianqian, dressed in a sheepskin cloak, walked out, holding five little black pigs with a pair of wings each in her arms. Her expression was solemn and dignified. Then her red lips parted, and following the lines the systems had prepared for her, she began to speak.

“These divine pigs are creations of mine. I hope you will raise them with care, bring blessings to the people, so that everyone can have meat to eat and every family can have chicken wings!”

“Also, come back here in ten days. I will have further rewards for you.”

As she spoke, she stepped forward and bent down, handing the five little black pigs to the trembling hands of the five elders.

Looking at the five elders from different villages, so excited they were about to cry, Gu Qianqian secretly asked in her mind, “System, are we cheating them by doing this?”

“These pigs weren’t even made by me!”

“What does it matter! Even though I don’t know why the flesh and blood of the Beast of Inheritance, according to your will, gives birth to these strange things, I’ve already verified it–there’s no harm,” the systems replied indifferently.

“Besides, in ten days, once we’ve bred a new variety, we can just swap them out, right?”

Gu Qianqian thought for a moment, about to say something else, when the five elders suddenly cheered, disrupting her train of thought.

“The immortal is merciful, the immortal is merciful!”

“The immortal’s virtue is boundless, comparable to Shennong!”

“The immortal opened the heavens and split the earth, truly Pangu1 reborn!”

……

Each shout was more exaggerated than the last, with a hint of sycophantic competition, making Gu Qianqian blush with embarrassment.

However, when one of the elders mentioned the name Pangu, the system’s warning suddenly sounded in Gu Qianqian’s mind.

“Gu Qianqian, quickly tell that guy you’re nowhere near Pangu, and have him spread the word–if anyone dares mention any connection between you and Pangu again, they will be severely punished!”

“Huh? Why?” Gu Qianqian asked in confusion. “Isn’t that a really powerful mythical type haunting? If everyone in the bamboo slips illusion thinks so, wouldn’t I become stronger too?”

“Don’t worry about it! Unless you’re tired of living, just use the fiercest tone and attitude to forbid them from spreading that idea!” the system said, agitated.

Based on the system’s past experience, any power that gets involved with a creation deity from any pantheon’s mythic haunting never ends well.

Though the exact reason was unclear, what mattered was that Gu Qianqian’s power must not get tainted by creation myths!

“Oh, okay!” Gu Qianqian replied twice, put one hand on her hip, pointed at the five elders with the other, pouted, and shouted cutely, “Bad guys! You can’t say that! I have nothing to do with Pangu! If you keep saying that, I’ll get mad!”

After speaking, she stared at the five elders with subtly awkward expressions, and in her mind, Gu Qianqian proudly asked the system, “System, how was that? Wasn’t I super fierce?!”

The system: “……” It’s over, the persona has collapsed!

I just skipped writing your lines once, and you ruined the great deity persona we worked so hard to build?

Gu Qianqian, I’m so disappointed in you!

“Immortal, please calm your anger! We won’t dare again!”

While the system was pondering, the five elders exclaimed in unison, then, looking terrified, hugged the little black pigs and retreated into the towering black forest behind them.

Yet, beneath their fearful expressions, the system clearly saw the excitement gleaming in their eyes–not so much worship of a deity, but more like the fanaticism of idol fans.

From afar, whispers drifted from the forest, and the gist of their discussion was just one sentence–Our immortal is super cute and adorable, love her!

The system: “……”

Shocked. Is this even possible?

What kind of heretical belief acquisition path is this!

Will Gu Qianqian’s Spirit Pattern advance into something weird in the future?

——–

5:47 a.m., Hua City lay silent under the night.

Atop the old stone tower on Mudan Street, a girl in a white dress with exotic flair sat on the edge of the railing at the tower’s peak, her long legs dangling naturally, a pair of bronze wind chimes at her ankles swaying gently in the breeze, tinkling softly.

After a while, a strong wind swept by, and silver light streaked down like a falling meteor.

As the radiance faded, a flamboyantly dressed man appeared beside the girl.

“Ah-Hua, what made you think of coming to see your martial uncle today? You’ve been in Hua City so long, and this is the first time you’ve come to me!”

Bai Kai said with a grin, strolling over to sit beside Nanling Rao Hua, picking up the little wine flask next to her and taking three hearty gulps. He let out a long breath and sighed, “Good wine! This is hand-brewed Huadiao from Lu’s on Mudan Street, isn’t it? And it’s warm–tsk tsk, way better than the swill at those clubs…”

Bai Kai was halfway through his words when he suddenly noticed that Nanling Rao Hua’s expression was off, and his voice cut off abruptly.

She looked as if she had drunk too much, her cheeks flushed, her eyes empty and dazed, as if something was weighing on her mind.

Seeing this, Bai Kai frowned. “Ah-Hua, what’s wrong? Not happy?”

Nanling Rao Hua silently took out a palm-sized sword talisman from her bosom and forced a bitter smile. “Martial Uncle Bai, do you think Martial Uncle Lu lied to me back then?”

“……” Bai Kai was stunned for a moment, then said seriously, “How could Martial Uncle Lu lie to you? That guy may be skilled in all sorts of tricks and schemes, but he never lies to his own people.”

“Then why, even with my engagement to Lu Yibei, can I still not escape my fate?” Nanling Rao Hua said with a bitter smile.

Bai Kai gazed thoughtfully at Nanling Rao Hua, fell silent for a moment, then gently asked, “Child, did something happen? Can you tell your martial uncle?”

Nanling Rao Hua leaned on Bai Kai’s shoulder, buried her face in his shoulder, then stuffed the sword talisman in her hand into Bai Kai’s palm.

Bai Kai glanced at the familiar Desert sword talisman, infused a bit of psychic energy into it, and his expression changed.

“Shifu, he… So, you’re going back?”

“Mm.” Nanling Rao Hua answered softly.

Bai Kai looked down at Nanling Rao Hua, full of heartache, hesitated to speak several times, then sighed silently. Just like when she was a child, he gently stroked her head and said softly, “Ah-Hua, after you go back, if you run into trouble, let me know anytime.”

As he spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

“After all, this isn’t a fate you bear alone…”

——–

In the early morning, the city was bathed in bright sunlight and gradually waking up.

Lu Yibei walked along the little bridges, flowing water, and willow catkins dancing in the wind, stepping lightly through Mudan Street, arriving at the ancient-style gate of the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau.

And then.

He saw the “corpse” lying right in the middle of the gate.

The “corpse” looked like a young girl, dressed in a tattered robe, messy hair tied up haphazardly, lying face down on the ground, her face hidden.

Lu Yibei, “……”

What the hell is this?

Is this the kind of nonsense I get on my first day back at work?

Can I just pretend I didn’t see this? Yes, I can!

Grumbling inwardly, and following the principle of not meddling in others’ business, Lu Yibei carefully skirted around the girl of uncertain life or death, then dashed off toward Jiang Li’s office.

Not long after Lu Yibei left, footsteps sounded from the alley in front of the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau.

Li Xuan came over carrying two breakfasts, saw his junior sister collapsed on the ground, and his mouth twitched. “Damn, I just went to buy breakfast, and you’re already lying here?”

“Couldn’t you just wait for me in my office?”

Huá Sāng lifted her eyelids, glanced at Li Xuan, and drawled, “Far, tired, so I waited for you.”

Li Xuan, “……”

While Li Xuan was silent, Huá Sāng sat up and looked in the direction Lu Yibei had left. “Do you have an operator here with an Eifrit Spirit Pattern?”

“Yeah! Lu Yibei!” Li Xuan replied with a face full of disdain.

That guy is just as annoying as you… Li Xuan added silently in his heart.

“His Spirit Pattern is really strange,” Huá Sāng said blandly.

Li Xuan was taken aback. “Strange how?”

“I’ve never seen an Eifrit Spirit Pattern with a mouth and both hands charred black… It’s like it’s mutated.”

“You can see the entity of other people’s Spirit Patterns?” Li Xuan frowned.

“Qi-sighting Art.” Huá Sāng rolled her eyes at Li Xuan. “You sword cultivators and talisman disciples wouldn’t understand.”

Li Xuan, “……” Hello, offended again.

——–

Inside “V” office of the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau.

In the room, the square desk was covered with glass, topped with a white lace dust cover.

Jiang Li sat in her seat, holding a “serve the people” enamel mug in one hand and a file in the other, seemingly reading intently, but her gaze kept drifting over the top of the file toward the office door, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.

After a long while.

With the sound of the door opening, she hurriedly withdrew her gaze and put on a look of focused attention.

“Boss, I’m back.”

Hearing this, Jiang Li looked up at Lu Yibei, nodded slightly, and said, “Mm, you came at just the right time. I have a task for you.”

[welcome back [heart emoji]]

(End of this volume)

End-of-Volume Summary:

Previously, some readers suggested that I write an end-of-volume summary at the conclusion of each volume. I think that’s a pretty good idea, so I’m giving it a try!

Well, Witch and the Dreaming City was probably the hardest volume to write since this book started serialization.

Personally, I think the main reason for this is that the special space setting and the protagonist’s memory confusion created a certain sense of fragmentation in the plot, which also slowed down the pacing a lot.

Some say that amnesia plots are the easiest pitfall in web novels. I didn’t believe it before, but now I do. Writing this trope and getting readers to accept it is really tough. Looking back, I think there could have been a better way to present this part of the story.

However, while the sense of fragmentation in the plot was unexpected, the slower pacing was something I planned from the start. I wanted to use this approach to add some settings, flesh out previously vague concepts, and complete the story’s transition.

That’s right, Dreaming City is a transitional volume.

In my plan, the whole story is roughly divided into three major stages. The first stage is the protagonist gradually gaining some understanding of this world full of hauntings by experiencing various small-scale haunting incidents.

After gaining some understanding, it’s time to enter the second stage–Lu Yibei stirring things up among the major powers and encountering more special individuals like him/her.

As for the third stage… that’s a secret for now.

To be honest, when I started writing this volume, I came up with a lot of ideas–so many that Lu Yibei’s single storyline couldn’t possibly cover them all. So I added the Jiang Li and Bai Kai side plots. But in the end, this approach didn’t tell the story well and made the plot feel scattered and chaotic.

Originally, there were supposed to be side plots for Gu Qianqian and Nanling Rao Hua too. You can tell from the early setups with Gu Xinian and the graduation dinner. But since the first two side plots were already affecting the main story, I ended up cutting most of their content.

Honestly, not having an outline is really frustrating. The outline for the Gou Meng volume was just over a hundred words, and for Dreaming City, it was down to a single sentence–“Go to the damn Divine Land!”

But, not having a detailed outline in the later stages is actually pretty common when writing web novels.

After all, when a book starts serialization, the author doesn’t know if it’ll be popular, which characters or points readers will like more, etc. If the outline is too detailed, it’s hard to adjust later based on actual feedback.

This experience taught me the importance of moderation. In the future, I think it’s better to take things slow when advancing the plot.

As a seventeen-year-old, making some rookie mistakes is understandable, right?

Anyway, to be honest, Dreaming City is already finished, and there’s no way to fix its shortcomings now.

Fortunately, all the necessary explanations have been given, the new settings and foreshadowing are basically in place. All in all, if the full score is ten, I’d give myself a 5.9 for this volume! Just below passing–don’t want to get cocky!

Now, let’s talk about what’s coming next!

My plan is that the upcoming storylines will be the Huá Sāng volume, the Desert volume, and the Eclipse Society volume.

I know a lot of readers feel sorry for Ah-Hua. Honestly, I feel bad for her too, and I’ll do my best to give her a good ending.

But before writing the Desert volume, I’ll probably write the Huá Sāng volume first, so Beibei can carry the Divine Land prototype with her and further boost her combat power. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to handle the Yumen Pass dungeon.

Speaking of the Huá Sāng volume, plots like “cultivation sects” have appeared countless times in other novels. How to write this arc well, make it not cliché or melodramatic, and still fit the unique style of this book is honestly giving me a headache.

As for the Eclipse Society volume… right now, I only have a vague framework, just like “Go to the damn Divine Land!” so I won’t go into detail.

Well, that’s it. Spoilers, but not full spoilers–hehe!

Footnote:

1. Pangu(盘古): The creator of the world in Chinese mythology who died and his body became the universe.