Chapter 587: Calamitous Corruption’s Authority

2:44 a.m.

On the road from Yongjie Municipal Waste Treatment Plant to Sleepless Street, a taxi drove along the empty road.

Inside the taxi, where a faint smell of tobacco lingered, Lu Yibei sat in the back seat with both hands tucked into her jacket pockets, eyes closed, leaning against the window as if taking a short rest. While concentrating on communicating with the Paper Cicada Immortal, she neatly avoided the driver’s small talk.

However, after briefly speaking with Zhang Huainan, she noticed a few details that did not seem right, hurriedly came up with a rather perfunctory excuse, and cut off the connection with Zhang Huainan.

“Uh, something has come up on my end. I will tell you later… Let us leave it there for now. Bye!”

After a pause, she added, “Right, before I contact you, you are not allowed to spy on me. You swore an oath!”

After receiving Zhang Huainan’s response, Lu Yibei frowned and quickly began analyzing the situation.

Judging from what he had said just now, he seemed to know about the Esoteric Society. If he knew, why had he not taken action to clear out that malignant tumor?

Could even his methods do nothing to the Esoteric Society?

Or… was he also connected to the Esoteric Society? Lu Yibei thought.

Zhang Huainan was an old acquaintance of Qing Ji, so she had instinctively treated him as someone trustworthy. That was why, as soon as she made a discovery, she immediately thought of informing Zhang Huainan.

When she had spoken with Zhang Huainan just now, his attitude had changed noticeably the moment she mentioned the Esoteric Society, making Lu Yibei suddenly realize that something seemed off.

Although Zhang Huainan’s change in attitude might be because he had also noticed something wrong with the Esoteric Society, she could not yet rule out the possibility that he was connected to the Esoteric Society as well.

Although that possibility was extremely small, if it really happened, then facing Zhang Huainan together with the terrifying unknown haunting behind the Esoteric Society would mean certain death for her.

In fact, up to this point, aside from her own dependents, the only people Lu Yibei could trust absolutely and unconditionally were Jiang Li, Qing Ji, and Bai Kai.

Gou Mang counted as half.

Lu Yibei believed Gou Mang would not endanger her life, but whether she would endanger Lu Yibei’s wallet, or her physical health, was hard to say.

“…”

If Zhang Huainan really is connected to the Esoteric Society, then what I said just now was already dangerous. If I keep talking, I might end up silenced.

Is there any way to determine whether he is trustworthy? If I ask him directly, or make him swear an oath or something, he definitely will not admit it.

Maybe… I should ask the PL girl first?

After analyzing it all, Lu Yibei decided that it would be safer to spend some time confirming whether Zhang Huainan was trustworthy before continuing to speak with him.

Anyway, making him wait a little would not kill him!

But if I rashly tell him everything I know, and it turns into some ridiculous plot where the Headmaster is the mastermind, I might lose my life.

Thinking this, Lu Yibei shouted loudly in her mind, “PL girl!” Then, with practiced ease, she let her consciousness fall into boundless darkness.

At that moment, the Pure Lotus Sword hidden under her loose coat trembled faintly, then fell silent…

——————

Her body felt as if it had sunk into water, light and drifting, and also as if it were floating among clouds.

Then, as the sound of wind blowing past her ears rose like broken whispers, Lu Yibei opened her eyes.

After steadying herself and making out the scene before her, her pupils trembled slightly.

She saw a small, dilapidated archway. Beneath the broken black tiles of the archway, on a plaque already showing signs of decay, the two characters “Mudan” could faintly be made out.

Below the archway, a shallow, narrow clear canal ran from north to south along the center of the street, winding with the terrain and dividing a bluestone-paved road in two.

The entire street was pitch black, seemingly uninhabited and extraordinarily quiet. Only dense fog that would not disperse drifted through the air.

“What the hell… is this place? Why does it look so much like Mudan Street?”

“Have some confidence. Drop the words ‘so much like.’ I wandered around just now and checked it all. This is Mudan Street!”

A familiar voice rang out. Lu Yibei looked toward the sound and saw the PL girl in a fiery red dress.

At some point, she had appeared on the archway. Sitting on the beam, her tender white feet dangling and swaying gently, she leaned forward slightly and smiled at Lu Yibei.

“No, what is going on here?” Lu Yibei looked around. “How did it turn from urban ruins into a retro version of Mudan Street? Did the skin change?”

“Damn it, do not tell me you took the power-leveling fees you earned from me and went off to spend them on microtransactions?”

The PL girl rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei, sat up straight, and said irritably, “Even if I wanted to spend money on microtransactions, I would need a way to do it!”

“Besides, the power-leveling fee is income from my labor. How I use it should be none of your business, right?”

“True…” Lu Yibei curled her lip. “Even if you took the power-leveling fees, bought two cups of milk tea, and poured them both out for fun, it would have nothing to do with me.”

Although it gave her the awful feeling of being treated like an ATM, this was still a mutually agreed transaction.

“Mm, it is good that you have that level of ideological awareness.” The PL girl nodded in satisfaction.

“…”

Looking at her smug, obnoxious expression, Lu Yibei opened her mouth to make a jab, but then remembered why she had come and changed the subject. “Wait, no. How did I end up talking about this with you… Can you help me with something?”

“Oh, you run around outside all day without a single call, and the moment you run into trouble, you remember me?” The PL girl curled her lip. “Say it! Who are we taking down? You never come looking for big sister unless something is wrong.”

As she spoke, her slender arm waved lightly, and a longsword wrapped in crimson flames appeared in her hand. Even from far away, Lu Yibei could feel the terrifying psychic energy contained within the sword, held back but not yet released.

Why is she acting like some street thug? Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly, then said calmly, “Zhang Huainan…”

The PL girl: “???”

She tilted her head, stood up, put away the longsword, and cupped her hands toward Lu Yibei.

“Sorry to disturb you. I will be leaving now!”

Although it was not that she could not beat that old man, defeating the Dark Emperor at his peak would probably still be a little beyond reach even if all of Lu Yibei’s remaining lifespan were wrung dry.

Seeing this, Lu Yibei hurriedly said, “No, I did not say I wanted to kill him!”

The PL girl froze mid-motion, tilted her head, and said, “Then you want to cripple him?”

“That is workable,” she said after resting one hand under her chin and thinking for a while. “I have one plan here that requires seventy years of lifespan, and another that requires ninety years. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Lu Yibei froze, then said in surprise, “Seventy years… ninety years… So I can at least live past a hundred? Then why am I working so desperately now? Wouldn’t it be enough to go home and lie low?”

Being able to live past a hundred already satisfied her. If, for most of that century, whether poor or rich, in sickness or in health, Jiang Li could be by her side, she would have nothing else to ask for.

“…” The PL girl looked at Lu Yibei expressionlessly. “Little bro, your priorities are kind of wrong, are they not?”

Even if you have that much lifespan now, it does not mean you will die peacefully of old age… the PL girl added silently.

“Uh, then should I say…” Lu Yibei tested, “that just crippling Zhang Huainan requiring such a huge price is a little unreasonable?”

“What did you think?” The PL girl rolled her eyes. “The price for power-leveling in King tier and Bronze tier is obviously different!”

Besides, crippling Zhang Huainan is, in a certain sense, equivalent to sabotaging a teammate… King-tier power-leveling plus throwing the match means the price doubles. The PL girl added silently.

“Then what if I just want to determine whether he is trustworthy?” Lu Yibei pressed. “The truth is, I recently discovered something about the Esoteric Society, and I am hesitating over whether to tell Zhang Huainan.”

“Free!” The PL girl straightened her expression and said in a serious tone, “Although I really dislike that preachy old man, I can tell you that when it comes to anything involving the Esoteric Society, you can always trust Zhang Huainan.”

After saying that, a cloud of doubt rose in the PL girl’s heart.

Strange. Why had she come into contact with the Esoteric Society at this point?

Logically speaking, should the Esoteric Society not only gradually rise to prominence two years later? Why had it happened early? What exactly had happened to cause this chain reaction?

Damn it, if the Calamitous Corruption also awakened early, things would be terrible! If possible, it had to be stopped from awakening! the PL girl thought uneasily.

She knew that the plan she had previously suggested, having Lu Yibei come to the Great Pure Palace, was indeed rather risky. If things went wrong, Zhang Huainan might catch her, lock the door, and discipline her thoroughly.

But if they did not take that risk, then after the Calamitous Corruption awakened, trying to retrieve the fragments of the Pure Lotus Sword would become almost impossible.

Although there were other substitute methods to repair the Pure Lotus Sword, the original parts were still better in the end.

“You are that certain?” Lu Yibei narrowed her eyes slightly and asked suspiciously.

The PL girl gathered her thoughts and nodded. “Absolutely certain.”

As she spoke, she seemed to see again that white-haired, white-bearded old man standing on the Zi Xiao Terrace with his eyes nearly splitting in fury, summoning thunder until his psychic energy dried up and his body shattered. Even if it meant shrouding a radius of several dozen li in undying lightning, he would still imprison the Calamitous Corruption within Zhenwu Mountain. Her expression went dazed for a moment.

Zhang Huainan was a very annoying old man, but also one worthy of respect. Unfortunately, the awakening of the Calamitous Corruption would affect far more than just the Great Pure Palace… the PL girl thought.

“Fine, I trust you!” Lu Yibei smacked her lips, then changed the subject and asked, “Right, about the Esoteric Society, I have another question. When I used an item leaked from the Esoteric Society to summon a soul earlier, I accidentally glimpsed an unknown haunting…”

“Stop!” Before Lu Yibei could finish, the PL girl cut her off, looking slightly tense. “Do not ask about information related to that thing. When it comes to it, the less you know, the better!”

“You mean…” Lu Yibei sized up the PL girl and tested, “I should hurry up, pack my bedding, and get out?”

The PL girl looked at Lu Yibei with an expression that said, “Mama is very disappointed in you.” “What I mean is, going against it is fine. It is even great! But when it comes to it, the less you know, the better.”

“Only by not knowing its name, and even ignoring its existence, can you ensure that you will not be affected by it.”

The power of the Calamitous Corruption was born from negative rumors about “things,” and represented “twisted material desire.”

Although all living creatures rely on material support to survive, sinking too deeply into the pursuit of material desire will make the spirit sink as well, led around by material things.

But in truth, an object is just an object. Using it at the right time is not wrong. If something really goes wrong, then it is only the user who has gone wrong, or others who, carrying prejudice, have defined the object that way.

Getting fat and blaming fried chicken, blaming soda; wasting time and blaming phones, videos, games… not only blaming this and that, but even comparing them to raging floods, savage beasts, hideous demons, or spiritual opium.

When the fault clearly lies with the user, shifting responsibility onto objects is extremely irresponsible.

When enough people firmly believe that objects can cause harm, then those objects really will cause harm…

Because of the special nature of its power, the Calamitous Corruption can corrupt and manufacture almost any object.

Once you know of its existence and come into contact with an object it has corrupted, you will sense its aura and be subtly influenced by it until you become a slave to “things.”

That was precisely what made it terrifying.

Lu Yibei glanced sideways at the PL girl. “It is that insidious?”

“It is exactly that insidious.” The PL girl nodded.

What else did you think made it one of the factors of destruction?

“But…” Lu Yibei frowned. “I have already glimpsed its existence.”

“Do not worry, leave that to me!” The PL girl revealed a meaningful smile. “Big sister only needs to help you undergo a little modification, and there will be no problem.”

“Once the modification is complete, you will no longer be affected by it.”

Since the Calamitous Corruption likes swapping concepts so much, I will return the favor in its own way! the PL girl added silently.

The reason the Esoteric Society could spread the “gospel” of the Calamitous Corruption so widely was precisely because it swapped the concepts of “using objects” and “depending on objects.”

As long as the concept of the Calamitous Corruption could be swapped with some specific thing, its influence could be minimized.

“What does that mean?” Lu Yibei looked at the PL girl warily. “What are you trying to do? Are you going to persecute me again?”

“Have you heard of an ideological stamp?” the PL girl asked with a laugh.

Lu Yibei: “???”

While she was still confused, the PL girl suddenly flew down from the archway. With a faint pink light on her fingertip, she tapped Lu Yibei heavily in the center of the forehead, making her body lean backward.

The next instant, everything before her eyes went black.

In the darkness, a strange and unshakably firm thought gradually formed in her mind: after telling Zhang Huainan the information about the haunting behind the Esoteric Society, it would be = Pink Fluffy Bunny!

——————

3:05 a.m. Sleepless Street was still lively.

Standing at the street entrance and looking out, Lu Yibei saw bright neon signs, hawkers’ cries rising and falling, and faces and backs everywhere. Compared with when night had just fallen, however, the cries were now noticeably more tired and hoarse, and the faces of the passersby carried a bit more drunkenness.

The aromas of food and fine liquor mingled together, steaming through the air for most of the night, so rich that they made breathing difficult.

From far away came the sound of an ambulance siren. Who knew whether someone had drunk too much and needed to be taken to the hospital for gastric lavage, or whether someone had gotten drunk, caused trouble, and beaten someone else up.

Amid the police sirens, Lu Yibei woke up. Seeing the scene outside the window, she froze for a moment and muttered, “Have we reached Sleepless Street?”

“We arrived ages ago,” the driver said with a smile. “I tried calling you, but you would not wake up, so I parked here and waited for a while!”

Waited for a while? Lu Yibei’s gaze casually swept across the taxi meter, and her face instantly darkened.

The meter read: travel time 1 hour 43 minutes 57 seconds, fare 278.5 yuan.

Lu Yibei: “???”

You fucking call this a while?