Chapter 554: Which outfit would be better?

Coming out from the unfinished building, walking on the road to Hua City University of Technology, Lu Yibei moved forward in silence, pondering to himself.

Although he had already guessed from Meow Xiaoqi’s words that his father’s death was related to the Eclipse Society, he hadn’t expected it to be this kind of connection.

But why did the Eclipse Society want to imprison his father’s soul?

And where exactly was it being held?

This kind of information, the haunting chat group definitely couldn’t investigate, and even if it could, the price to pay would probably be more than he could bear.

Just like how The Midnight Watchers Society has ways to prevent the Void from stealing important information, the Eclipse Society must have similar methods.

In that case, he could only figure something out himself, like… infiltrating the Eclipse Society?

He didn’t know what the requirements were to join the Eclipse Society, whether it would be like the Miracle Order, needing to swear allegiance to some entity… If so, that would be troublesome.

Damn, if only the Eclipse Society had a fixed membership registration and consultation office.

But, this kind of thing can’t be rushed.

The Eclipse Society is like a malignant tumor lurking deep in this world; even The Midnight Watchers Society can’t deal with them in the short term, and with his current strength, he certainly couldn’t pose any threat to them.

What’s more urgent now is to complete the Pure Lotus Sword and investigate Zhang Shuo’s movements. The former can strengthen his power, and the latter can help him further understand the cause of his father’s death.

“Hoo–!”

After his mind raced at high speed, Lu Yibei took a few deep breaths, slapped his cheeks with both hands, forcing himself to calm down.

“Forget it, thinking too much now is useless. If I act on impulse and run around like a headless chicken, I might lose my life by accident, and that would be a waste…”

If before, Lu Yibei always thought about surviving because he cherished the beauty of life, now he had one more reason–no matter what, he must stay alive.

As long as he lives, one day he’ll have enough strength to investigate everything and free his father’s soul. But…

Before that, if he can cause the Eclipse Society some trouble, he absolutely shouldn’t miss the chance.

There’s a saying, “A petty person seeks revenge all day long.” Who isn’t a petty person?

Hmm, I’ll start working on this after I return from the Great Pure Palace! If I can’t kill them, at least I can disgust them!

Lu Yibei thought fiercely. Looking up, he saw he had arrived at the experimental building of the College of Liberal Arts, steadied himself, took a few deep breaths, adjusted his state, and went upstairs to find Professor Ma.

He’s used to… keeping his sorrow to himself.

——–

10:47 AM, the first big morning class at Hua City University of Technology had just ended.

Professor Ma returned to his laboratory, put away his teaching materials, brewed a cup of fine Biluochun tea, took out the stone tablet rubbings, sat at his desk, turned on his computer, and clicked to play the latest recorded episode of the popular radio show–<Old Zhang’s Haunting Story Club>, beginning to enjoy a brief moment of leisure.

Listening to radio shows and flipping through the stone tablet rubbings like magazines was Professor Ma’s simplest way to relax.

[“Those friends you grew up with might not be living people.”

When that mysterious young lady first said this to me, I laughed it off and changed the subject.

How could they not be living people?

But what I didn’t expect was, the terrifying things were just beginning, and a strange vortex was quietly closing in on me.

Those friends of mine really seemed a bit… abnormal…”]

“Mm, mm!”

Listening to the radio host’s deep, resonant voice, narrating the story as if he’d experienced it himself, Professor Ma took a sip of tea and nodded in strong agreement.

Friends you’ve known for years not being human–this kind of thing is too normal. I have a student who…

“Dong dong dong–!”

Just as Professor Ma was engrossed in <Old Zhang’s Haunting Story Club>, someone suddenly knocked on the lab door, making his body stiffen.

“Come in.”

With a slightly trembling reply, the door opened, and Lu Yibei walked in from outside.

“Oh? Lu Yibei!” Professor Ma smiled. “What brings you here at this hour? I remember your class doesn’t have lessons this morning, right? Is there something about the knowledge points I gave you before that you don’t understand?”

Lu Yibei didn’t reply, looking expressionlessly at the computer. Hearing the familiar voice from the speakers, the corner of his eye twitched slightly.

Noticing his gaze, Professor Ma gave an awkward laugh. “Ha, this… this radio host’s haunting stories are really interesting, but I think they’re all made up.”

“You’re the expert in this field. How much truth do you think is in these stories?”

“…” Lu Yibei pondered for two seconds. “How should I put it? Probably… half true, half false.”

The haunting incidents are real, but his involvement is fake.

Hua City’s second god of cars, when facing danger, his skill at turning around and fleeing is not just for show.

“I knew it, there’s some fake stuff in these stories!” Professor Ma took a sip of tea and pursed his lips.

“How could that young lady always happen to run into haunting incidents with him? I suspect these are all things he experienced himself, and that young lady is probably just made up.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Well, whatever… as long as you’re happy.

Seeing that Lu Yibei didn’t say anything, Professor Ma looked him up and down, furrowed his brows slightly, and silently gave up on continuing the small talk.

Although Lu Yibei’s face showed no expression, with years of experience in reading people, Professor Ma still sensed a trace of fatigue and gloom in him.

“Lu Yibei, you don’t seem too happy? Did something happen? If you don’t mind, you can tell me about it. Maybe I can help.”

“I…” Lu Yibei hesitated.

He had thought that after parting with Ms. Wang Meili, he would be able to face the reality of his father’s passing with composure. Before coming to see Professor Ma, he had also done enough mental preparation to calm himself.

However, Professor Ma’s concern still filled him with warmth, and his somewhat dim eyes regained their light.

But…

The fact that Professor Ma could still see his low spirits through this facial paralysis was really something else.

It was almost as absurd as those old perverts who could judge people by their legs.

“What do you mean ‘I’? If there’s something, just say it!”

“You kids these days! All so stubborn, always wanting to shoulder everything yourselves. You’re like this, Jin Yecheng is like this too. Isn’t that worrying?”

Thinking of Jin Yecheng’s recent odd behavior, Professor Ma shook his head helplessly.

“Uh, Professor, may I ask what’s been going on with Senior Brother Jin lately?” Lu Yibei probed.

Professor Ma pursed his lips. “That guy! Who knows what happened to him. Not only did he become a vegetarian, but he also goes to bed early and gets up early, works out at the school gym every day, and does every task I assign him meticulously. Compared to his old timid, procrastinating self, he’s a completely different person.”

“Normally, seeing my student make such a positive change would be something to be happy about. But it’s not just that he’s become motivated–suddenly he’s also looking after the junior brothers, which is really strange. Getting them food, answering roll calls, copying notes… When I ask if something happened, he won’t say.”

“It’s only been two or three days, and already some students are starting to avoid him, intentionally or not. The key is, they can’t seem to avoid him, and it’s kind of creepy, you know?”

After hearing so many rumors, even when I’m alone with him, I start to feel uneasy… Professor Ma added silently in his heart.

“Lu Yibei, do you think he’s gotten involved in some haunting incident? Don’t let him end up like Lu Xu did…” He sighed, mentioning the student who tragically died because of the bamboo slips, his expression darkening with grief.

Lu Yibei, “…Senior Brother Jin, are you heading down the path of those XX seniors?”

He pictured it for a moment–if there were an overly enthusiastic, almost stalker-like senior brother who popped out of dark corners from time to time, insisting on “looking after” him, it would be downright chilling.

In this day and age, most of the time, excessive enthusiasm only becomes a burden to others, seen as having ulterior motives.

Lu Yibei steadied himself, looked at Professor Ma, and assured him, “Don’t worry, Professor, Senior Brother Jin is absolutely fine, not a problem at all. I think he just suddenly woke up, became positive and motivated, and wants to help others. You really don’t need to worry.”

Seeing Professor Ma open his mouth as if to say more, Lu Yibei quickly cut him off and changed the subject, “Oh, right! I actually came to tell you that I’ll be leaving Hua City tomorrow to… take care of some things.”

Interrupted mid-sentence, Professor Ma stared blankly for a second or two, then said earnestly, “Lu Yibei, I know what you’re going to do isn’t something you can talk about in detail with me, but…”

He paused, then changed his tone, “Forget it, saying too much is just annoying. You didn’t come just to say goodbye, did you?”

“Uh, you saw through me?” Lu Yibei scratched the back of his head. “Actually, I wanted to ask you to help cover for me.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Ma’s face showed a hint of displeasure. “What do you mean? Are you asking me to help you lie? No way. I can help you with other things, but faking or cheating–absolutely not!”

“Professor, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I meant!” Lu Yibei explained. “What I mean is, even though I leave, it can still be considered as if I haven’t left…”

“What do you mean by that?” Professor Ma was a bit confused, looking at Lu Yibei with a puzzled expression.

“Uh…” Lu Yibei pondered for a few seconds. “Forget it, explaining might be a bit complicated. I’ll just show you directly.”

“Let me give you a heads-up first. You should prepare yourself mentally. Even if you’re scared, don’t scream.”

“Haha!” Professor Ma laughed heartily. “It’s broad daylight–what’s there to be afraid of? Besides, I’ve been through several haunting incidents already.”

“This time is a bit different,” Lu Yibei said.

“What’s different about it?”

“Uh… Anyway, you should get your antihypertensive medication ready first.”

Professor Ma smiled wryly and shook his head. He took the antihypertensive medication out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the table. “Is this good enough?”

Lu Yibei glanced at the antihypertensive medication on the table, nodded, drew the curtains, locked the door, then turned and walked toward the laboratory restroom.

Professor Ma stood up, braced his hands on the desk, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the tightly closed restroom door, waiting silently.

A moment later, the restroom door opened, and Lu Yibei walked out, unchanged in any way.

Seeing Lu Yibei as usual, Professor Ma frowned slightly, his eyes full of confusion.

Isn’t this just the same as before? What’s there to be afraid of?

He even told me to prepare antihypertensive medication…

I thought at least I’d get to see his cute Nocturnal Syndrome episode!

As Professor Ma was thinking, the restroom door opened again, and another Lu Yibei walked out from inside. He immediately widened his eyes, and his breathing became involuntarily rapid.

The two Lu Yibeis stood side by side, almost indistinguishable from each other, as if watching the fifty-seventh chapter of Journey to the West. The scene was quite uncanny.

“Professor, that’s basically it… You can think of it as something like a clone technique. When I leave, I’ll let him stay at the school and help me teach classes.” The two Lu Yibeis spoke one after another, sounding like an echo.

“But, this clone has a little problem. I’m worried something might go wrong, so I might need you to cover for me.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Ma immediately became alert. “A little problem? I’m afraid it’s not so little!”

As everyone knows, in the plot of the real and fake Monkey King, the problematic monkey almost beat the ‘teacher’ to death…

“It’s really just a small problem!” Lu Yibei hurriedly said. “If you don’t believe me, look, it’s basically like this…”

As he spoke, he willed it, and the 1:1 human-form replica Paper Cicada Immortal began to move, stepping toward Professor Ma.

After just a few steps, its body convulsed like an epileptic fit, its lower half suddenly stopped moving, its upper body leaned forward, neck stretched out, head tilted, and it grinned at Professor Ma, showing a “friendly smile” that could give a child nightmares for days.

The dim light in the laboratory, blocked by the curtains, cast large shadows across that face.

Seeing this, Professor Ma’s pupils contracted sharply. He silently picked up the antihypertensive medication from the table, opened the cap, poured out two pills, and put them in his mouth.

It proved that that sinister, twisted, stiff, lifeless smile could give not only children nightmares, but elderly people too.

However…

Although Lu Yibei now controlled the Paper Cicada Immortal, and it still convulsed occasionally when walking, and its smile was a bit strange, compared to a few days ago when it couldn’t even walk properly, there had already been huge progress.

“Gulp!”

Swallowing the pills, Professor Ma closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and finally recovered. Then he pointed at Lu Yibei and said with mild anger, “You brat, if you’re leaving, just leave. Don’t leave this monster at school–it’ll affect the other students’ studies!”

“Professor, I’m just not very skilled at controlling the clone yet,” Lu Yibei explained. “Don’t worry, just give me two or three more days, and I’ll be able to master it completely.”

“Besides, I don’t really interact with classmates anyway, and I have facial paralysis, plus a hospital-issued certificate for post-surgical trauma. As long as I’m careful, I guarantee no one will notice anything unusual.”

After finishing, seeing Professor Ma unmoved and not even looking at the Paper Cicada Immortal, Lu Yibei willed it forward. The Paper Cicada Immortal walked up, its limbs wrapping around Professor Ma’s hands and feet like boneless snakes, its neck looping halfway around the back of his head, pressing close to his ear and whispering in a creepy, coquettish tone.

“Professor~ I’m begging you, please~!”

“Professor~!”

Somehow, when it came to controlling the Paper Cicada Immortal for this kind of thing, he became inexplicably skilled, his technique even exquisitely refined.

The demonic voice pierced his ears, shaking his very brain.

Professor Ma instantly broke out in goosebumps, as if he’d caught epilepsy from the Paper Cicada Immortal, his body twitching, and he cried out, “Stop, stop, stop! I agree, I’ll do it!”

“Thank you, Professor!”

Lu Yibei responded cheerfully, controlling the Paper Cicada Immortal to release Professor Ma, then continued, “Also, this avatar can touch water, but absolutely must not encounter fire. Please keep an eye on it, and also…”

Listening to Lu Yibei explain the precautions for looking after the avatar, Professor Ma raised his hand to his forehead, rubbing his aching brow.

What kind of karma have I brought upon myself!

How did I end up with a student like this?

————

Afternoon, Amber Mansion, study.

Bright sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto Jiang Li’s silver-white hair, casting a faint golden sheen. She sat upright at the desk, carefully flipping through various records about Xie Zhi.

Psychics, after completing Spirit Pattern drawing and passing through a brief adaptation period, can wield seventy to eighty percent of the Spirit Pattern’s power.

However, fully mastering the power of one’s Spirit Pattern is a long process.

It’s like learning to use a tool isn’t hard, but playing with that tool to its fullest is extremely difficult.

And delving into the haunting legends related to the power corresponding to the Spirit Pattern is like studying the tool’s instruction manual, helping psychics master the Spirit Pattern more quickly.

So, even though Jiang Li hadn’t completed Spirit Pattern advancement yet, she started studying early, so she could return to Hua City sooner after finishing her Spirit Pattern advancement.

“Knock knock knock—-!”

The sound of knocking rang out, and the study door was gently pushed open.

Ah-Hua walked in carrying a tray, placing the freshly brewed strong tea by Jiang Li’s hand, then retreated to the side, quietly standing there, lips slightly parted as if wanting to speak but hesitating.

Jiang Li glanced at Ah-Hua out of the corner of her eye, put down the materials in her hand, and turned to ask, “Ah-Hua, is there something else?”

“Miss, I remember, you have a date with that one~ this afternoon, right?” Ah-Hua asked with a gossipy look.

“Mm, what’s up?” Jiang Li replied calmly.

“Shouldn’t you get ready?” Ah-Hua reminded her, “There’s only two or three hours left.”

Jiang Li tilted her head, unconcerned, “There’s nothing to prepare, it’s just a simple meal.”

“But…” Ah-Hua hesitated.

That’s not right! With Miss’s personality, going on a date with someone she likes, she’d at least prepare for an hour or two, right?

Why does she seem so indifferent…

Could it be I’m overthinking it, and Miss actually isn’t interested in that guy? Ah-Hua wondered.

“Alright, stop worrying about me. If you’re bored, you can go find Qing-Jie and help her out. She’s been swamped lately dealing with the aftermath of the Nocturnal Syndrome outbreak,” Jiang Li said gently.

“Oh…” Ah-Hua replied, “Then I’ll get to work, Miss.”

“Mm, go ahead.” Jiang Li nodded, then refocused her attention on the materials at hand.

After taking a few steps, Ah-Hua looked back reluctantly, sighed silently, and quickened her pace.

When Ah-Hua’s footsteps finally faded away in the corridor, Jiang Li calmly put down the materials, as if she’d been sitting too long and needed to stretch, naturally stood up, stretched lazily, then strolled toward the corner of the study, heading for the side door to the bedroom.

“Creak!” The door opened, and the bedroom looked completely different from usual.

JK, dresses, casual wear, lolita skirts, black stockings, white stockings, over-the-knee socks… sexy, cute, dignified, glamorous… all kinds of outfits, tried on and tossed aside, scattered everywhere.

Shoe boxes rummaged through piled up in the corner like a small mountain, lipsticks in various shades lined up across the dressing table.

The air was thick with an overwhelming fragrance, probably mixed from a dozen different perfumes.

Jiang Li looked at the messy room, resting her chin in one hand, her expression serious and solemn, as if pondering some major life decision.

“Which outfit would be best to wear?”