Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 296 - 275 Xuanwu Reply

Chapter 296: 275 Xuanwu Reply

Mazao and I also tried to talk to other locals afterwards.

Although we call it a conversation, it actually involved utilizing the power of Illusion Technique from the Fake Water Moon, making the other party unilaterally answer our questions. Although it was done for efficiency, this abuse might inevitably neglect the dignity and choice of others. I was not completely indifferent to this, but still prioritized efficiency.

At least, it was much gentler compared to forcefully seizing the hearts of locals with the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring and making them answer. If there was no Fake Water Moon, I might have considered that method as well. But now the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring belongs to Mazao, and I neither want to take it back nor let Mazao do what I might have done—although I am pretty sure she wouldn’t mind doing so.

In the end, the new information we gathered wasn’t much, quite similar to the information we got from the shopkeeper and regular customers at the inn. The additional part mostly consisted of descriptions of miracles created by the Ancient Moon God.

For example, because the Ancient Moon Villagers were afraid of the mountains at night, the Ancient Moon God made it perpetually daytime on the mountain—I suspect that Yinyue simply used the power of Illusion Technique, making the villagers have the illusion that the night looked like day.

Now, she could probably create a mini sun at the peak using nuclear fusion, but considering this happened in the early twentieth century, not to mention nuclear fusion, even nuclear fission had not been discovered by physicists—was it possible that she discovered nuclear reactions earlier than humans? Probably not.

The only relatively fresh part was probably the origin of the Ancient Moon God.

Unlike the original Ancient Moon Villagers who were outsiders, the Ancient Moon God seemed to have been born from Moon Concealing Mountain a very long ago, this land might have an extraordinary significance to her.

As for the strange phenomena we encountered before, we haven’t faced them again for now. However, I don’t think this is merely limited to the strange phenomena in that inn, nor do I feel it was directed only at me and Mazao.

Could this phenomenon be a standalone event, or is it closely related to Yinyue and Hu Family Village?

If we follow normal logic, encountering two unrelated bizarre incidents simultaneously is highly improbable, but considering Mazao is with me, even three or four unrelated bizarre incidents occurring at the same time wouldn’t be strange.

It seems an odd air has spread over the vast area including Moon Concealing Mountain, so covert yet pervasive, only occasionally discovered when abnormal traces appear. Likely due to the unreasonable "reverse strong luck" of the Broom Star Physique, we might have stumbled upon these abnormalities purely by accident.

"It seems this is also something I’ve attracted..."

Mazao seemed to have realized this, her tone becoming somber.

Whereas I couldn’t help but exclaim: "Mazao, you really are my lucky star."

"Huh?" She seemed unable to respond.

It seems she is not quite used to having someone like me who loves danger by her side.

As for the strange changes we encountered before, I actually quite liked them. Recently, we’ve only encountered clearly dangerous bizarre events, those with special powers of Great Success Rank, and the overwhelming Impermanence... However, phenomena similar to the current ghost-like oddities are indeed rare.

Mazao seemed to have finally come back to her senses, looking at me steadily with a reassured expression.

The dense night sky finally released a heavy rain over the earth, and Mazao and I hurriedly entered the pre-booked hotel.

Since I am still in the form of a twelve or thirteen-year-old, it’s inconvenient for me to pass the front desk with Mazao. As I’ve already promised to stay in this form to accompany Mazao for the entire day, it wouldn’t be right to break the agreement at this moment and revert to an adult to deal with the front desk. Again, we had no choice but to cheat using the power of Fake Water Moon, making the front desk oblivious to how strange it is for a pair of youthful-looking teenagers to check into a hotel.

Purely in terms of power level, Fake Water Moon might not even touch the threshold of an achieved level. However, in terms of convenience in modern society, I feel this magic item is much more effective than my superpowers in many aspects.

Regrettably, because the Fake Water Moon is very convenient, this time the room booking wasn’t like last time when we could only book a room arranged for a single person in a hotel; this time we smoothly booked a double room with two beds.

Mazao seems to have a soft spot for soft beds, she doesn’t look sleepy yet, but still takes off her shoes and climbs onto the bed. I sit on another bed and start contacting the Zhu family.

Zhu Shi is in the living room of her own villa right now, I manipulate the "Firefly" I set up there, turning it into a Fireball with a sound-making organ, and then I tell her about the progress of tracking Changan’s soul and the true identity of our enemy Impermanence.

Hearing that Ming Zhuo won’t attack us for now, she breathes a sigh of relief. Once Ming Zhuo launches an attack on us around Moon Concealing Mountain, the city at the foot of the mountain might suffer as unintended victims. Perhaps her relaxation was partly for that reason.

"Speaking of which, though not to the extent of Mazao’s Broom Star Physique, most demon hunters, including you, must also be prone to encountering strange events, right? Living in the city, doesn’t that pose a danger to the people around you?" I wondered.

"No need to worry about that. We demon hunters are not the creators but attractors of strange events. The presence of demon hunters in urban areas helps reduce the occurrence of such events," she explained.

"I see, so it’s like with centipedes in the house, the number of roaches significantly reduces..." I understood.

"Are we demon hunters centipedes then?" she quipped.

Just then, Mr. Zhu hurriedly entered the living room, and upon seeing me talking to Zhu Shi, he said, "Zhuang Cheng, there you are. Good, I have a very important piece of news to tell you."

Actually, I was always here, or rather, my "Firefly" was always here, but I didn’t correct him and just asked, "What news?"

"Xuanwu finally sent a reply. He agreed to the request to concoct Spiritual Medicine for Mazao," Mr. Zhu said.

Upon hearing this, I immediately perked up.

I don’t believe that the Spirit Pills from Water Navy Xuanwu can completely cure Mazao’s soul injury, but they can definitely restore her condition to an unprecedented level, and the peak Mazao could even escape from Impermanence alone.

Even if I can fully unleash my power to the level of Impermanence, the Mazao who is with me remains an undeniable weak link. As long as she recovers to near her peak strength, I can largely let go of my worries and focus on confronting Ming Zhuo.

But Mr. Zhu appeared visibly anxious. Looking at his expression, I asked, "Isn’t this good news?"

"If it’s just that he replied to the request, then indeed, it would be good news, but..." Mr. Zhu’s face took on a strange expression, "It seems like Xuanwu knows that the person he will be dealing with is you."

To my knowledge, for safety’s sake, Mr. Zhu only described Mazao’s "condition" and their request when contacting Water Navy Xuanwu via a token, without revealing my identity. Water Navy Xuanwu, for some reason, is extremely hostile towards Flame Ability Users. Once he realizes I am involved, even if he does not break his promise to provide the Spiritual Medicine, it might still pose a mortal threat to me.

Ideally, it would be best if Mazao could deal with Water Navy Xuanwu alone and obtain the medicine to heal her soul. However, as Water Navy Xuanwu can somehow glimpse the threads of causality and destiny, just by coming into contact with Mazao, he might sense my presence behind the scenes.

Actually, I’ve also somewhat grasped this so-called "glimpse into fate and causality." My evolved intuition now allows me to have wonderful premonitions about many things. Along this journey, I’ve captured many clues that the past me would definitely have missed.

Just give me a little more time to grow more skilled with this Perception, and even actively reaching the metaphysical conceptual level with my own will wouldn’t be out of the question, including abstract matters like causality and destiny.

Though it’s surprising that Water Navy Xuanwu is already aware of my existence, the outcome remains unchanged, so I asked further: "I remember that according to the rules, he should specify the time and place of the meeting, right? Has he made any specifications?"

No matter where he plans to set the meeting, it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s far from Moon Concealing Mountain City, I can reach there incredibly quickly and return to Moon Concealing Mountain City in an instant. As I once explained to Fu Feng, this process is no more troublesome than stepping out to throw away the trash. It also won’t interfere with what I need to do in Moon Concealing Mountain.

However, as I asked this, a nearly clear premonition arose in my heart — probably, Water Navy Xuanwu would choose a place right in Moon Concealing Mountain City. Although this possibility seemed too coincidental, precisely because it was so coincidental, it seemed persuasively bizarre.

And Mr. Zhu’s answer perfectly matched my expectations.

"He wants you to go to a place called Moon Concealing Mountain City to meet him before tomorrow night," he said.

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