Chapter 615: Close the Net After Sunset

That afternoon, cicadas shrilled before the gates of the Great Pure Palace, while sparkling ripples spread across the mirrorlike pool.

Lu Yibei crouched in the bushes beside the water, concealing himself behind the lush green foliage. The Shuishu Shou (Water Savage Beast) lay motionless behind him like a statue.

After a short while, a rustling came from nearby. Following the sound, Lu Yibei saw Huá Sāng, loaded with bags of every size, stooping as she pushed through the bushes to join him.

She frowned slightly upon seeing the Shuishu Shou (Water Savage Beast) lying behind Lu Yibei. Then she composed herself and said, “I’ve contacted Fu Xinyi. She should arrive in about five minutes.”

“I also sent the other disciples the message as you instructed. They should arrive one or two minutes after Fu Xinyi.”

“Just one extra question. Are you sure the other disciples will come?” Lu Yibei tilted his head.

“One hundred percent,” Huá Sāng replied flatly, her voice carrying unquestionable certainty.

“Good!” Lu Yibei nodded. Then he turned, scratched the Shuishu Shou beneath its chin, and said gently, “We’re counting on you in a moment, Big Cousin. Don’t forget what we agreed on!”

Big Cousin? What kind of ridiculous nickname is that? Huá Sāng glanced at Lu Yibei from the corner of her eye, her expression complicated.

Pfft!

The Shuishu Shou snorted softly in confirmation.

The Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast actually responded to him? Huá Sāng opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Just then, the Death Owl Emblem she carried began vibrating without warning. When she brushed a fingertip across it, a breathless shout sounded beside her ear.

“Fellow disciples, this is Zhang Han, disciple of Lingjizi! Our team discovered a fellow disciple murdered by Hu Chuan near Power Plant 544. Requesting reinforcements!”

Huá Sāng’s expression changed. She turned to Lu Yibei and said gravely, “Another message just came in. Hu Chuan has killed another disciple. The scene is at an abandoned power plant only a little over twenty kilometers from the previous apartment block…”

Lu Yibei glanced at her. “Are you about to say that Hu Chuan may have fled the apartment block, accidentally encountered Great Pure Palace disciples near that abandoned power plant, and killed them to silence them?”

“That is certainly what it sounds like,” Huá Sāng said with a frown.

Lu Yibei pursed his lips. “I think this proves even more strongly that Hu Chuan is still hiding somewhere in Shizhou City.”

“Think about it. If you could secretly monitor events through all kinds of objects and the unwitting members of the Esoteric Society mixed among the Great Pure Palace disciples, would you really let someone stumble across you by accident?”

With an ability that was practically all-seeing, Hu Chuan could only have been discovered by those disciples if he had done it deliberately—or if he were an absolute moron!

“Besides, he hid and endured inside the Great Pure Palace for four or five years. Now, despite clearly having better options, he’s suddenly acting with a high profile. Don’t you find that strange?”

Huá Sāng thought seriously, her expression turning grave. “That makes sense. In that case, he may be creating chaos as a diversion?”

If so, she needed to contact her Shifu immediately and have her warn the Great Pure Palace disciples not to divide their forces whenever possible.

“Exa—” Lu Yibei opened his mouth, but before he could finish the word, a scream from the platform in the distance interrupted him.

He froze, then seemed to realize something. Looking back, his face changed at once. “Oh no! Where’s my Big Cousin?!”

He had been so focused on analyzing Hu Chuan’s behavior for Huá Sāng that he had failed to notice when the Shuishu Shou disappeared.

“Probably over there…”

Huá Sāng expressionlessly raised a hand and pointed toward a streak of lightning racing for the edge of the platform before the mountain gate.

Lu Yibei followed her finger. He saw a human figure flapping like a flag on the Shuishu Shou’s back and nodded.

“Then the scream just now came from…?”

“Probably your junior sister…”

Huá Sāng fell silent.

————

After receiving Huá Sāng’s message, Fu Xinyi hurried nonstop from Qinghui Hall back to her quarters at the Qiaoyuan Courtyard Annex. She retrieved her sword and several talismans for protection and emergencies, then traveled light and happily rushed to the mountain gate to meet Huá Sāng.

However…

When she arrived, her senior sister was nowhere to be seen.

The scorching sun beat down upon the empty platform before the mountain gate. Not a single person was present. The nearby pool lay perfectly still, and even the wind seemed to have hidden itself. Only the cicadas cried incessantly in the distant forest.

“That’s strange. Where is Senior Sister? Is she late again?” Fu Xinyi pouted as she looked around, then checked her phone.

The agreed meeting time had already arrived, yet Huá Sāng was absent. Growing anxious, Fu Xinyi was preparing to call and hurry her along when she heard a low roar.

“Roar—!”

The sound rolled past like muffled thunder. A fierce wind followed, and with it a powerful figure swept from the forest and landed steadily on the broad platform.

Fu Xinyi had no understanding whatsoever of how serious her situation was. She turned toward the roar and wind, only to see the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast walking slowly toward her, its four hooves striking the stone slabs with rhythmic taps.

Its powerful body resembled that of a magnificent warhorse, and its blue-green scales shone with a metallic luster beneath the sunlight.

Mist drifted around it, carrying pale blue arcs of electricity that spiraled like a nebula.

It was truly an extraordinary and majestic divine beast!

“Good afternoon, Senior Divine Beast!”

As always, Fu Xinyi respectfully bowed to the Shuishu Shou (Water Savage Beast).

However, when she straightened and met the divine beast’s eyes, her heart skipped a beat.

She realized that the divine beast was looking at her very strangely!

Normally, it regarded the Great Pure Palace disciples with laziness, indifference, and even annoyance, like an old person watching the neighbor’s naughty kid.

Now, however, its eyes shone with eager excitement.

Fu Xinyi had seen that look before—whenever the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast kicked the large black-shelled turtles in the pool around like balls.

The divine beast… doesn’t want to use me as a ball too, does it?

The look made Fu Xinyi’s skin crawl. She swallowed hard and darted a panicked glance around. Then she saw one of the large black-shelled turtles beside the pool, unconscious and flat on its back after the divine beast had finished playing with it.

Fu Xinyi fell silent.

Oh no! Is that what I’ll look like in a moment?

She anxiously retreated one cautious step at a time. The Shuishu Shou matched her pace and slowly closed in, as though waiting for something.

She looked like a frail girl cornered by a delinquent in the alley behind school after classes ended.

Suddenly, Fu Xinyi’s heel struck a stone step, and she staggered. After regaining her balance, she instinctively glanced behind her and saw the sparkling pool. Her heart clenched, and her small face went deathly pale.

Just then, a clamor came from the direction of the corridor leading to Qinghui Hall.

It sounds like a lot of people are coming this way!

Delight filled Fu Xinyi’s heart, and she turned around. At that moment, an enormous shadow silently enveloped her.

She raised a hand and opened her mouth, preparing to shout toward the approaching voices. Before she could, a deafening roar exploded behind her.

The next instant, weightlessness seized her, and the entire world spun wildly…

“Aah—!”

————

Elsewhere, on the corridor connecting Qinghui Hall to the mountain gate.

Led by Yi Sihan, a group of members from the Fu Xinyi Fan Club jogged forward.

“Junior Brother Sihan, is your information reliable? Did Junior Sister Xinyi really tame the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast at the mountain gate?” a slightly chubby disciple asked.

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother.” Yi Sihan answered with complete seriousness. “My source is absolutely reliable. Do you know who sent it to me?”

“Who?”

“The great expert 【I Really Want to Sleep In】!” Yi Sihan said, lifting his chin slightly.

“You mean that mysterious expert who has never shown his face but possesses detailed intelligence about Senior Sister Fu?”

“Exactly!” Yi Sihan confirmed.

An uproar immediately swept through the other fan club members.

The mysterious disciple with the username 【I Really Want to Sleep In】 had never attended any of the fan club’s offline activities, yet everyone called him a great expert because his intelligence about Fu Xinyi’s schedule had never once been wrong.

It was by following the schedules he provided that the fan club members had been fortunate enough to witness Fu Xinyi’s greatest moments: mastering her swordsmanship, healing a gravely wounded senior sister on the brink of death, and single-handedly slaying a Class B+ haunting.

【I Really Want to Sleep In】 was unquestionably the greatest insider of all!

As the group advanced onto the platform before the mountain gate, a thunderous roar and a scream rang out almost simultaneously.

They followed the sound, took one look, and stood dumbfounded.

The pool before the mountain gate began to boil. Columns of water surged and twisted like enormous dragons.

Then, with a tremendous splash, nine columns burst from the pool and shot toward Fu Xinyi. Like a pair of immense hands, they carefully lifted her into the air.

Water sprayed everywhere, entwined with azure lightning, yet not a single drop dampened Fu Xinyi’s clothes. She floated gracefully in midair, sleeves fluttering and long hair billowing like an immortal.

Thunder exploded. A bolt of lightning suddenly leaped from the ground, traced a brilliant arc through the air, and merged with Fu Xinyi’s figure.

“Roar—!”

An impassioned roar rang out, accompanied by a burst of intense light. Dazzling white instantly filled everyone’s vision, blinding them for a moment.

Several seconds later, their sight gradually returned. As they looked toward the platform once more, the pupils in more than a dozen pairs of eyes contracted in unison.

Beneath the brilliant sunlight, thick mist drifted through the air and refracted dreamlike rays of every color. Fu Xinyi sat upright upon the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast’s back, head raised and chest out, holding her sword in one hand. Her bright eyes carried the calm detachment of someone who looked down upon all creation.

She bore a striking resemblance to the portrait of the first Headmaster enshrined in Zhen Ting Hall.

“I-I didn’t see that wrong, did I?” Yi Sihan asked weakly. “Senior Sister Fu is riding the divine beast?”

“There’s no mistake. Junior Sister has finally reached this point!” A disciple with tears in his eyes choked out, “It seems certain now that she will become the next Headmaster.”

“Yes. We have witnessed a moment worthy of being recorded in the history of the Great Pure Palace!”

“…”

Many years later, on the day Fu Xinyi became Headmaster of the Great Pure Palace, these people would stand in the front row at the succession ceremony. As they gazed upon her figure, everything they had witnessed today would fill their minds…

————

Meanwhile, the fan club disciples were busy discussing Fu Xinyi.

Fu Xinyi herself remained completely bewildered. After staring blankly for a long while, she heard the fervent applause behind her. She looked back at the fan club members and suddenly seemed to understand everything. Her expression changed several times in rapid succession.

“!!!”

Oh no. I’ve been tricked!

Did Senior Sister Huá Sāng ask me here because…

The divine beast recognized her, but she was afraid of the trouble and didn’t want to become the next Headmaster candidate, so she pushed the responsibility onto me instead?

Once Fu Xinyi pieced together the supposed truth, tears instantly blurred her vision.

She could already imagine the hellish life awaiting her after her master learned of this.

Huá Sāng, this time I’m absolutely breaking off our relationship!

Fu Xinyi thought furiously as her hands instinctively tightened around the Shuishu Shou’s fur.

Then…

“Roar—!”

Feeling the tug on its fur, the Shuishu Shou let out a low roar. It raised its front hooves and raced toward the place at the foot of the mountain where it had agreed to meet Lu Yibei.

Fu Xinyi: “???”

She froze for a moment, feeling as though her soul might be flung from her body.

Then her world began spinning again.

The scenery in her peripheral vision flew past in the raging wind. Her body streamed behind the Shuishu Shou like an enormous human-shaped ornament…

————

A short while later, on a trail leading down from the Great Pure Palace.

Lu Yibei and Huá Sāng walked side by side through the forest, following the hoofprints left by the Shuishu Shou’s charge.

After a long while.

Lu Yibei finally looked up from his phone and raised an eyebrow at Huá Sāng. “It’s done. My friend has already begun.”

Lu Yibei had previously asked the Online Old Pervert to investigate Lin Nian. This time, with the assistance of the haunting chat group, he had quickly contacted Lin Nian through a relatively secure channel.

After receiving a considerable payment, Lin Nian and the Online Old Pervert paired the rumors—”Hu Chuan seduces married women,” “Elder Wang is a pedophile,” and “the two are suspected of colluding with the Eclipse Society”—with images and spread them in vivid detail. At the same time, they began investigating black-market dealers in Shizhou City who sold living placentas.

“Now we only need to let the rumors fly for a while before we can begin the online harassment campaign!” Lu Yibei said. “If we’re lucky enough to identify the black-market dealer selling living placentas, things will become even easier.”

“By the way, what about the Great Pure Palace disciples pursuing them…?”

“I’ve already contacted my Shifu. The disciples pursuing them will temporarily stop operating in four-person teams and move in groups of twenty instead,” Huá Sāng replied.

“Good.” Lu Yibei nodded. “The online harassment will need the rest of the day to fully gain traction. In other words…”

Huá Sāng looked at him from the corner of her eye and said calmly, “We close the net after sunset?”

“Exactly! But when the time comes…”

“When the time comes, Wang Buliuxing will take your place and handle the rest, correct?” Huá Sāng gave Lu Yibei a sidelong look and spoke in a faintly exasperated tone.

You’re still acting? Is there any need?

Lu Yibei fell silent.