Chapter 569: Why Isn’t She Following Me Anymore?

In a secret chamber on the rear mountain of the Great Pure Palace, Zhang Huainan sat cross-legged on a woven rattan meditation cushion.

A low table stood before him. On it, smoke curled from a bronze beast-headed censer, and an antique bronze compass mottled with touches of green rust lay at the center.

The compass seemed to be under the influence of some unseen force. Its needle spun madly, as though it had gone out of control.

Today, after paying respects to the sages of old, Zhang Huainan had cast a divination the moment he entered seclusion. From then until now, the question he had been divining was: who was the mastermind behind the Esoteric Society?

As the compass needle whirled, tangled thoughts, blurred and chaotic lights and shadows, and unbearably noisy whispers flashed through his mind one after another.

With practiced ease, he cleared away the useless thoughts, images, and words, peeling back the layers bit by bit like teasing silk from a cocoon, drawing ever closer to the answer he wanted. Then…

He failed again.

The compass needle, which had been spinning at high speed, abruptly stopped.

Just like the thirty-odd divinations before this one, after he had stripped away every sort of interference from the result and clearly felt himself nearing the truth, countless thoughts and images would suddenly erupt in his mind like an explosion, gushing forth in a violent surge.

And those thoughts and images did not point to humans or hauntings at all. Almost all of them were inanimate objects.

A sword, perhaps. A paper fan. Or a phone, a bag of potato chips, a pack of cigarettes…

There were even virtual products like games and animation.

These things, objects that could be seen everywhere in the daily lives of the Great Pure Palace disciples, were the results of the divination.

But how could such things possibly threaten the disciples?

Zhang Huainan could not make sense of it.

Just as he was pondering, the jade Death Owl Emblem on the low table suddenly lit with a faint glow.

He reached out and lightly brushed the badge. Immediately after, Qingxiazi’s voice sounded beside his ear.

“Headmaster, this disciple has an important matter to report.”

“Speak. What is it?”

“That girl Fu Xinyi ran into the person pretending to be your senior martial sister again,” Qingxiazi said.

Hadn’t Lu Yibei gone to Shizhou City?

Zhang Huainan frowned and said in a deep voice, “Didn’t I tell you to inform Fu Xinyi that if she encountered that impostor again, she should expose her on the spot?”

“Well…” Qingxiazi paused, her tone turning peculiar. “Xinyi did ask. But that person claimed to be Juejuezi, disciple of a former guest elder, and even said some things only someone who had spent a long time inside the mountain gate would know. She also said… said…”

“Said what?” Zhang Huainan asked.

“…” Qingxiazi was silent for a long while before continuing, “That person also said that if we didn’t believe her, we should ask Zhang Huainan whether he knows Qing Ji, and whether he likes five-colored scorpions.”

Zhang Huainan: “???”

No, how did Lu Yibei know about these things?

Did Senior Brother Qing Ji tell him?

But Senior Brother Qing Ji’s remnant soul inside the Pure Lotus Sword fragment was badly damaged. Wasn’t it supposed to have lost its memories of the past?

Could it be…

The portion of the remnant soul in that boy’s hands still had its memories?

The thought became more terrifying the more he dwelled on it. Zhang Huainan’s face turned blue, then white.

—-

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable… Beep!”

Huá Sāng frowned, hung up, and stared at her phone screen, sinking into thought.

This was already the fifth call she had made to her senior brother, yet she still could not reach him. The texts and social app messages she had sent had gone unanswered as well.

Could the scenes she had seen in that dream just now all have been real?

As the thought flashed through her mind, Huá Sāng immediately felt an inexplicable unease. She hurriedly found her master’s contact in her address book and sent a message.

There were too many people on the bus, and too many ears around. It was not convenient to call.

Huá Sāng: “Master, are you resting?”

The Cutest Shizun: “Thinking of slacking off again?”

Huá Sāng: “…”

Master, has my image in your eyes really fallen that far?

Aside from slacking off, I can also coast, loaf around, balance work and rest, and blend motion with stillness, you know.

Huá Sāng: “I’m not trying to slack off. I just wanted to ask why Senior Brother came to Shizhou City this morning. I suspect someone wants to harm him.”

The Cutest Shizun: “You know someone wants to harm him too?”

What do you mean, too?

Huá Sāng froze for a moment.

The Cutest Shizun: “Just now, your Junior Sister Xinyi came over and told me there was news that Yutang might be in danger soon. Your master was just about to contact your senior brother! I’d like to see which blind fool dares to lay a hand on a disciple of mine, Qingxiazi!”

Huá Sāng: “Where did Fu Xinyi hear that from?”

The Cutest Shizun: “She said the Headmaster’s senior martial sister told her. I asked the Headmaster, but he didn’t tell me whether that person really was his senior martial sister or not. He only told me to withdraw.”

Huá Sāng: “…”

So you haven’t even verified whether the source of the information is reliable?

Just one rumor and a fragment of some eerie, bizarre dream, and you’re already worked up enough to stand up for Senior Brother…

A doting mother raises spoiled children, Master!

Aren’t you afraid the intelligence is wrong, or that someone is deliberately spreading rumors?

This master of hers was wonderful in every way, except that whenever her disciples were involved, she often became a little impulsive.

Perhaps once the old lady had children of her own in the future and could divide up some of that overflowing maternal love, this situation might improve.

Huá Sāng thought helplessly, picked up her phone, and typed a message.

[No need to contact him. Senior Brother’s phone won’t connect, and he isn’t replying to messages either…]

Halfway through typing, Huá Sāng paused briefly, then continued and added another passage.

[But Master, don’t worry too much. Once I arrive in Shizhou City, I’ll contact Senior Brother. If I really can’t find him, I’ll use a Thousand-Night Paper Crane. I know Senior Brother’s birth data. If anything unexpected happens, I’ll notify you immediately. If necessary, you can bring people over then.]

The Thousand-Night Paper Crane could be considered the original version of The Midnight Watchers Society’s standard-issue equipment, the Thousand Night Owl. Before the invention of radio equipment, psychics often used it for long-distance communication.

However, because tracking a target required the target’s birth data accurate down to the hour, the Thousand-Night Paper Crane’s tracking was not very effective.

After The Midnight Watchers Society obtained the technique for making Thousand-Night Paper Cranes, they improved it and created the Thousand Night Owl, which tracked through residual psychic energy fluctuations.

After finishing the message, Huá Sāng tapped confirm and sent it.

Although it now seemed that someone might be trying to kill Wu Yutang, and Huá Sāng was worried about her senior brother’s safety, the more urgent things became, the less use there was in panicking.

Understanding the whole sequence of events and finding Wu Yutang were what mattered.

If the situation was truly urgent, reinforcements coming from Mount Zhenwu would probably arrive too late. There were also disciples sent by Zhen Ting Hall stationed in Shizhou City. If she really needed support, she could look for them.

Besides, it would not be easy for ordinary psychics or hauntings to take Wu Yutang’s life.

He was, after all, a Class A- psychic. He wielded a Peach Blossom Fan with exquisite skill, and had even hunted a Class A haunting on his own. The name Jade-Faced Peach Blossom Fan was quite famous in The Midnight Watchers Society.

Though that title did sound rather camp, admittedly.

Paired with Senior Brother’s habit of befriending a new beauty every time he went down the mountain, it made him feel a bit like one of those flower thieves from wuxia novels…

Wait. Could Senior Brother’s danger be a crime of passion?

Just as Huá Sāng was thinking this, her phone received Qingxiazi’s reply and vibrated again.

The Cutest Shizun: “Right, Sang’er. The Headmaster also said you don’t need to keep watching Lu Yibei anymore.”

No need to watch him anymore?

Huá Sāng shifted slightly and stole a glance at “Miss Wang” in the back row.

Huá Sāng: “Why?”

The Cutest Shizun: “I asked the Headmaster the same question. He answered that Lu Yibei has a reliable expert accompanying him, so he won’t do anything too outrageous.”

A reliable expert?

Could it be… the Headmaster’s senior martial sister?

Huá Sāng nodded thoughtfully.

—-

The coach continued along the empty road.

Gradually, the green mountains outside the window receded, and the edge of the city appeared at the far end of their vision. Before long, the coach drove into the jungle of reinforced concrete.

After asking Fu Xinyi about some details concerning Sleepless Street, Lu Yibei told her to find a deserted place to release the Paper Cicada Immortal. Then she relaxed her control over the Paper Cicada Immortal, opened her eyes, and began to ponder to herself.

According to Fu Xinyi, between the old and new campuses of Shizhou College in Shizhou City, there was a Food Culture Street. The large Food Culture Street was divided into three branch streets, one of which was called Bar Alley, where many psychics gathered.

There was a relatively secluded Lounge Bar there called Moyue Pifeng. Solitary psychics often exchanged what they had there, and disciples of the Great Pure Palace would occasionally go there to trade with solitary psychics as well.

She had told Lu Yibei to feel free and boldly take her “little gadgets” there to sell.

Isn’t that basically the sort of place that often shows up in stories—an exchange, a gathering place for special groups, a superpower salon, that kind of thing? I wonder if they have auctions or anything. If they do, with my predictive ability, maybe I could snag a bargain.

Lu Yibei thought.

However, I can’t completely trust what Fu Xinyi says either!

A title like the Great Pure Palace’s a once-in-a-century genius should carry quite a bit of weight in Shizhou City. Those solitary psychics definitely wouldn’t dare scam her, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t scam me.

Although the solitary psychics who can openly swagger around within Shizhou City all appear to have no criminal records on the surface, who knows what filthy little secrets they’re hiding behind the scenes?

If I accidentally get into a conflict with someone in a place like that, it might drag out a whole mess of dangerous and troublesome matters.

Take Hu Chuan, for example. Who could have imagined that behind a melodramatic incident of a scumbag college student harming his ex-girlfriend, there was actually a vicious Class A+ psychic hidden away?

Previously, when Lu Yibei was reading news on The Midnight Watchers Society’s intranet, she had also seen that over in Jamada, there was a cheated-on high school girl who held a ritual to curse her ex-boyfriend, only to accidentally release a witch type haunting that had been sealed away since the colonial era. It destroyed three nearby villages and carried out a massive slaughter.

So one couldn’t underestimate the chain reaction that a single conflict might trigger.

To be safe, before going to Moyue Pifeng, she would have to change her outfit as well, in case she got into a conflict and was retaliated against. While she was at it, she could also shake off Huá Sāng and Fang Ji’s entanglement.

As Lu Yibei thought this, her small hand lightly brushed the pocket of her jacket that held the solidified mask of the Face-Changing spell formation, and she also thought of its creator.

Sorry, Gu Qianqian!

As the old saying goes, Lu Yibei for peaceful living, Gu Qianqian for murder and arson!

“Hiss—!”

A soft sound rang out, interrupting Lu Yibei’s thoughts.

Looking out the window, she saw that the coach had already stopped in front of a fairly large parking lot. Looking into the distance, she could vaguely see the words “Shizhou City Bus Terminal” written on a building not far away.

We’re here?

Lu Yibei withdrew her gaze and was just about to get up and get off the bus. When she raised her head and looked forward, she suddenly discovered that the other four people on the bus had all, as if by tacit agreement, cast their gazes toward her.

Huá Sāng’s languid eyes looked at her thoughtfully, as if waiting for something.

Fang Ji had one hand on the seat, was slightly bouncing on his toes, and was waving excitedly.

As for the two men of unknown origin, they nodded at her, revealing smiles that were hard to tell whether they were sneers, ferocious grins, or ill-intentioned, treacherous smirks.

Damn it, there are still these big troubles…

Lu Yibei furrowed her brows slightly, pulled the brim of her jacket hood downward, lowered her head, and walked toward the bus door. Holding on to an extremely faint hope, she wanted to muddle her way through.

However, before she had gone more than a few steps, as she passed by Salih and Shem, Salih suddenly bumped her with his elbow and quietly stuffed a note into her hand.

Through the lowered brim of her hood, Lu Yibei looked at Salih in surprise, only to see Shem beside him poke his head out and throw her a look that said, “Kid, don’t leave after school!”

“???”

Are these two guys sick in the head? What exactly do they want? They’ve decided to pick a fight with me, huh?

Thinking this, Lu Yibei raised her head slightly and responded to Shem with a look that said, “Fine, I won’t leave. See you behind the little grove!”

The psychic energy fluctuation these two guys faintly emitted was between Class B+ and Class A-. Although they were already relatively troublesome enemies, if she faced them with her full strength, she still had a ninety-nine percent chance of winning.

After getting off the bus, she would disguise herself, then call them over and give them a beating…

If anything unexpected happens, I’ll just have them go cause trouble for “Gu Qianqian of Hua City”!

Having made up her mind, Lu Yibei continued walking forward. She had only taken a few steps when, just as she expected, Fang Ji immediately came over.

“Let’s go, Big Sis Wang! Shall we go find Lu Yibei together?!”

Lu Yibei raised her head and looked at Fang Ji. The instant their gazes crossed, that strange sensation—as if something inside her body had been sucked away by those eyes—appeared again, and her body couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

It happened again! Could this girl be one of those legendary types who are “born with seductive eyes that steal souls”? What exactly did she suck out of my body?

Lu Yibei raised her head and looked into Fang Ji’s eyes, which were full of anticipation. Then…

She got sucked again. At once, she felt an invigorating rush, like she had just taken a hot shower on a scorching summer day, stepped into an air-conditioned room, eaten a mint, and immediately downed an ice-cold Sprite. It felt so good she could hardly contain herself.

Holy shit, this girl really knows how to suck!

Damn it, this feeling is so fucking weird…

Tsk, what if I take one more look?!

Thus, Lu Yibei made eye contact with Fang Ji for the third time.

This time, however, nothing happened. It seemed that the unknown substance Fang Ji had sucked from her had basically reached saturation and couldn’t hold any more.

Slightly disappointed, Lu Yibei sighed silently and said to Fang Ji, “Sure. Wait for me at the station entrance in a bit. I’m going to the restroom first.”

Then I’ll climb over the wall and leave…

Lu Yibei added in her heart.

“Okay, okay!” Fang Ji replied excitedly.

After dealing with Fang Ji, Lu Yibei was secretly pondering how to handle that major trouble, Huá Sāng. But when she turned around, she saw that Huá Sāng’s seat was already empty. Immediately afterward, she raised her head and looked out the window, only to discover that Huá Sāng had already gotten off the bus, leaving behind only her back.

Why isn’t she following me anymore? Wasn’t she following me pretty closely before…

Wait! Could she think she’s gathered enough evidence and is going to invite people to come catch me?

Not good. I have to hurry and catch up to take a look!

Thinking this, Lu Yibei hopped off the bus in a few quick steps and jogged after Huá Sāng.