Chapter 215: Someone’s Wife |
Who doesn’t like picking up free money?
As soon as you leave first thing in the morning, you get to pick up free money conveniently placed right in front of the gate of your community. For somebody without a spine, like Lu Yibei, naturally, this is great news.
However, he didn’t want to break his currently peaceful life because of money from unknown sources.
Of course, the main issue was not because the money came from unknown sources. The real problem was that the amount was too little.
Walking towards his University, he curled his lips and snickered to himself, “Me? Taking the bait? For just a few thousand dollars? You’re looking down on me!”
Human beings are indeed attuned to greed, but unfortunately, his greed surpasses that of normal people.
Simply put, if you want him to take the bait, you have to pay up.
A hundred times more… even better—ten thousand times more!
He muttered to himself at an audible enough volume as he sneakily observed his surroundings, as if he were trying to let somebody hear what he had just said.
After saying that, he stood by the side of the road and waited. When he saw a pile of coins that the other pedestrians seemingly could not see dropping in front of him, he sighed.
He was short of money currently.
Determined to find a way to make up for his weaknesses, he realised that the property his father left for him was not enough.
It took him almost a month to interpret some of the knowledge from the Serpent, but before he could celebrate, reality gave him a ruthless slap on the face, as if it were trying to tell him, “You want to become stronger without spending money? Keep dreaming.”
He had already asked the goddess residing in his home in a subtle way. Even though he knew that he had to keep his distance, not make fun of her, provide food for her, gauge her temperament, let her use the computer…
From the Serpent’s knowledge, he interpreted that the first stage of strengthening himself would be to delve into alchemy and that in itself would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
With the goddess’ help, he was given a special price of 15% off for some resources, not including a rhinoceros horn and incense made of a turtle’s saliva. These were two mythical materials that one could not find on the market.
9:23 am, in the suburbs of Huacheng, within a villa.
In the large village, there were seven or eight computer desks in the living room, and several monitors were placed on each desk. If one were to enter the room for the first time, they may think that they have stumbled into an e-sports team’s training room.
Inside the room, only one man was sitting in the corner by the window. The slight fragrance of tea came from the blue and white porcelain teapot, with intricate decorations of cranes. The bright Sun shone through the window, and he toyed with the thread of his book in his hand.
After a short while, there was movement outside the window, and a black shadow flashed past. A beautiful civet cat landed steadily on the desk in front of the man, and it slapped its paw on the man’s book as it began to vomit.
“Stop reading! You’re starting to annoy me!”
“Back so soon?” The man said this, putting down his book. “Are you done with your business yet?”
“No! In fact, I can’t stand her! You don’t even know how ridiculous she is! I can’t handle her!” The cat complained, and the hairs on its back began to stand as it let out a low growl.
“Do you know why she didn’t pick up the money I left her? It’s because she thought that it was too little, and she even said, out loud, that she would only consider it if I increased the amount of money by ten thousand times. She’s annoying me! I want to just cancel her review and just kill her!”
“Sorry, but no one can do it,” the man said. “She is an important target. How about taking a break for two days?”
As he spoke, he sat up straight and typed in the URL [who.is.apparition], and a seemingly innocuous webpage with a skull popped up.
He entered his username and password, confirming it with his secret USB flash drive. Clicking Enter, the interface immediately refreshed the files of the Urban Legend group chat. The red and yellow interface was full of chimes and whistles as if it were trying to promote a New Year’s event.
The man browsed through the webpage and found an option hidden underneath the various decorations. Clicking on it, the screen turned black. Taking a closer look, all kinds of information related to urban legends were sprawled across the screen messily.
The man moved his mouse to one entry titled [Commission: Kill my ex-husband, who dismembered me. Reward: All my life savings], then turned to look at the cat on the table.
“No matter what, we must recruit her into our group. Since she likes money that much, how about you complete a few of these commissions and give her the money you earn?”
“Why? Why must my money go to her? I want to use it on myself! Why am I giving it to her?”
The cat began to roll around the table vigorously as it scratched the air, fighting it.
“If that’s the case, there’s only one way,” the man pondered.
“What is it?”
The man stretched out his hand and scratched the cat’s furry chin. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a lewd smile.
“I know a group of people on the Internet, and with my connections, I can contact a few of these rich people who have a special liking for little girls—ack! It hurts, damn it!”
Before the man could finish speaking, the cat leapt up, leaving more than a dozen bright red scratches on his face.
The cat jumped down from the table and spat, “If you say such things again, I’ll put up a commission on the website to hunt you down.”
Covering his face, he watched as the cat disappeared into the shadows and said, “I wasn’t done speaking… I meant that those guys have a special liking for little girls dressed up as the female Bodhisattva, and they would throw money at them.”
“Meow!”
A chilling meow echoed through the villa, and the man shuddered as he nodded and made a zipper gesture with his mouth. He quickly picked up his book and continued to study it.
During this period of time, Lu Yibei’s life was really fulfilling.
Ever since he left the bamboo scroll’s realm, perhaps it was because of the Serpent’s corrupted blood, but he found that his eyes had not heated up for a very long time.
He still transforms every evening, but it is no longer as painful as it once was, and he is able to have greater control over his transformations to a certain degree. Plus, the number of times he bumps into other urban legends seems to have decreased drastically.
Life seemed to be back on track, and everything that had happened before seemed like a distant fever dream.
His daily routine now consists of going to bed early, getting up early, going to class on time, helping Professor Ma at his laboratory, and working his shifts at the Night Division.
After finishing his shift, he would wander around the streets, buy delicious food, and go to his secret base to enjoy it alone or share it with somebody else’s wife.
Yes, somebody else’s wife—none other than Wikstroemia herself.
At first, he was very uncomfortable having an intruder inside his secret base, but after getting to know her, he found that she was not only beautiful and bold in character; she also loved food. Thus, they had common ground.
As far as food was concerned, it was as if they were soulmates.
And as long as they had the same interests, Yibei didn’t find it hard to make friends. Not to mention that she is very beautiful, but it is a pity that she seems to be somebody else’s wife.
Thinking of this, after class, he walked down the road towards Mudan Street, where his hideout was. He suddenly realised that the figure of Wikstroemia appeared in his mind unknowingly, and he raised his hand and slapped himself hard.
“What the hell are you doing, Lu Yibei? You like talking to her about food, and food only. Why are you thinking of her body? You’re no different from your godfather!”
But I have to admit, I wish I had some of his game! And like a god, when he looked up, there he was.
After school, there were always vehicles parked in front of the University, waiting to pick up their loved ones. Among the many vehicles, Shui’s flamboyant, purple beetle may not be the most expensive, but it was definitely the most eye-catching one.
Coupled with his thick, snow-white coat, shiny diamond earrings, cigar in his mouth, and a handsome face that only got better with age, he is definitely the textbook definition of a womaniser.
Observing from a distance, he silently took out a mask from his backpack and put it on his face, walking over to his car with his head lowered.
He bought this mask from Gu Qianqian; she had been setting up a stall every night recently at a night market and seemed to be more in need of money than he was, and he felt bad for her.
Strangely enough, this mask was obviously cheap and of poor quality, but for some reason, her stall would be crowded with people.
When you care for someone, even if they are disguised, you will still be able to feel their presence.
Therefore, Bai Kai could spot his godson in the crowd almost immediately, and he waved his hands and shouted, “Bei! I’m over here! Why are you wearing that ugly mask?”
“Fuck!”
Yibei cursed, and under the strange gazes of his classmate, he dashed over to Bai Kai’s car and rolled up the window.
Bai Kai smiled as he slowly got into the car, started it, and drove away from the University.
The purple beetle drove on the wide highway, silently taking in the beautiful city as it wandered around the endless road.
Yibei glanced at Bai Kai through the rearview mirror, wondering whether he should tell him that he was about to become an official member of the Night Division. However, it seemed that Bai Kai was five steps in front of him.
“Bei, to be honest, I picked you up today because I have something important to tell you.”
“You’re finally getting married?”
“Impossible!” Bai Kai patted his steering wheel and laughed. “Giving up an entire grassland for a single flower is simply stupid of me! Bei, I’m talking about your dad!”
“You want to marry my dad?” he asked. “You do know grass typically refers to men, and flowers refer to women, right?”
“It does not matter.”
“I think it does.”
Because even I’m not sure whether I’m the product of beautiful love or an accident!
“I’m not giving up on a garden of flowers. Happy?” Bai Kai pouted playfully. “You may not be able to accept what I have to tell you today, but I must tell you today. I…”
“If you say anything weird, I’m jumping out of the car.”
“I am actually an Operator of the Night Division.”
That’s it? I already knew this long ago! This can’t be it!
“So, what now?”
“Aren’t you surprised? Shocked, even?” Bai Kai frowned, expecting a greater reaction.
“Uh, oh my god, you got me good. That’s so cool, so awesome, wow,” he emotionlessly cheered as he clapped his hands.
“You’ve got your mother’s mouth, that’s for sure,” Bai Kai muttered. “Anyways, on behalf of the Night Division, I’m going to inform you that the materials for your runes have arrived. I am tasked with waiting for a sunny day at noon and taking you to embed your runic patterns into your soul.”
Because noon is when the Sun is shining the brightest, there will be a higher chance of success for your runes made of fire, Bai Kai thought to himself.
“And I’m not allowed to be your supervisor or trainer,” Bai Kai sobbed. “According to the Night Division’s rules, relatives must avoid suspicion from their loved ones, and my jurisdiction is not very suitable for a young man like you.”
“Geez, what are you crying for? Do you want me to take a photo of your ugly face and send it to your sugar mommies?”
“I’m just mourning for the fact that you have to suffer under Jiangli’s hands!” he cried out. “That damn crippled woman is notorious for being mean!”
Yibei glanced at Bai Kai’s hand, which seemed to fidget around with his other hand, but he hesitated to speak.
Actually, Jiangli is quite easy to get along with. Yes, she’s a little cold, but at least she’s not trying to fuck me up.
He suddenly remembered the mysterious girl’s request to him, and he frowned.
It was a strange request, really. His relationship with Jiangli wasn’t that close, to begin with, so how could he kill her?
“To make it up to you, I plan on taking you to a fun place before you become an official member of the Night Division.”
Hearing this, Yibei immediately sank back into his seat and covered his chest with both hands: “N-no! I do not want to go to that kind of place! I want to save my first time for my wedding, not some weird girl at a weird place! No!”
“What are you talking about?” Bai Kai smiled bitterly. “If I take you to that kind of place, I’m afraid my master will smite me down. I want to take you to a ghost market.”
“A ghost market?” Yibei tilted his head. “Do they still exist?”
He could vaguely remember that, before the nights became long, there was an ancient street down Peony Street where a group of mystical people would gather on every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month.
They would set up stalls on both sides of the street, lighting dim candles and oil lamps and selling strange handicrafts and antiques of unknown origin. They would occasionally engage in superstitious activities, like asking for divination or fortune-telling, and some might even cast spells.
They usually open at two or three in the morning and close at dawn.
On that ancient street, looking from a distance, their figures would be shadowy and blurred, which earned them the name of a ‘ghost market,’ because it looked like ghosts were performing transactions with one another.
However, ever since the nights became long, coupled with the fact that urban legends were most active at night, after several incidents, the tradition of a ghost market had long disappeared.
Hence, he felt confused listening to his godfather mention a ghost market.
Are they really not afraid of urban legends? Or is he talking about a real ghost market staffed by urban legends?
Bai Kai simply smiled and said, “Don’t be scared; there are no vicious urban legends in the ghost market, and the area where the stalls are set up is a special area designated by the Night Division. There is no danger at all.”
Since when is the Night Division part of urban management, and why is the Night Division supervising things like this?
“There’s a debate going on within the Night Division—some think that all urban legends are evil, but a small number of people think that urban legends are capable of good.”
After a pause, Bai Kai added, “I am a centrist, but I agree with this form of management in the ghost market. After all, you should know that we are understaffed—six main Operators and a pitiful special operations team. How can such a small number of people take care of all the urban legends in the city?”
“Of course,” he continued. “There are basically no urban legends in the ghost market. Most of them are lone psychics.”
“I see,” Yibei nodded, glancing out the window. Seeing that the car had driven near Mudan Street, he was stunned for a moment as he patted Bai Kai’s seat, “Shui, could you please stop here for a moment?”
“Huh? Why? We still have to go to the ghost market.”
“Didn’t you say it only opens in the morning? I have something to do right now—I made an appointment with someone! I’ll contact you when it’s almost evening.”
“You made an appointment with somebody else,” Bai Kai frowned, switching to mom mode for a second. “Is it a date? Male or female? How old are they? How do they look?”
“Okay! Okay!” he interrupted. “I’ll be fine on my own; I’m a man!”
“That’s not the point. Let me tell you, Bei, boys should also learn how to protect themselves when outside.”
Because your dad needed protection too.
He simply stared at Bai Kai and said, “I know, but adapting to perilous situations is what I’m best at!”
“Good,” Bai Kai nodded. “But… Who are you meeting up with? It’s a date, correct?”
“I’m meeting up with somebody else’s wife.”
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