CH 104

Lu Yibei felt that he was sick—down with an illness that made him incredibly drowsy during the day but restless during the night.

He guessed that it was due to him hunting urban legends every night some time ago, followed by spending every night eating their cores and using their cores to make charms, which completely disrupted his Circadian rhythm.

Plus, Du Sixian seemed to plague his dreams from time to time, and Lu Yibei thought she should shoulder some responsibility as well.

Counting through the causes of his insomnia, he began to worry about how to pass the long nights.

Going out to hunt was not an option.

The first two times were because he knew where the urban legends were, but if he were to go out by himself, he would be wandering around like a headless chicken and come home hungry.

“How about…” he looked at his laptop on the desk. “Writing.”

Thinking of his essay assigned by Professor Ma, he felt dizzy, adding his name to the list of culprits contributing to his insomnia.

An essay about the Jumang and Dongyi tribes, no less than 10,000 words, was handed in within a week, and his overall score will be deducted if he doesn’t fork it out.

‘This is exploitation under the guise of growth! F*ck you, Professor Ma!’

With endless complaints in his heart, he still got out of bed and walked to his desk.

This is the adulting world—unwilling but forced to bite the bullet.

Still muttering curses, he entered the URL leading to the homepage of the Z National Knowledge Network.

“Let’s see… Dongyi… Dongyi,” he mindlessly muttered as he searched the query, and there were more than 2,000 search results for related documents.

Needle in a haystack, he thought. He then searched for information about Jumang.

“God of wood, spring, and vitality in ancient mythos, governing the rising of the sun. Described as having a bird body and human face while riding on two dragons.”

He pondered for a few seconds before adding the word “bird” to his search query, and the search results dropped to about 40.

He scanned through the titles of each document from top to bottom and found a series of articles titled [Remarks on the Worship of Bird Totems of the Dongyi Tribe].

[A significant feature of their culture is the worship of bird totems…]

“Significant feature, you say,” he muttered as he started his essay.

Lu Yibei tends to not care for things he isn’t interested in. Likewise, if he is interested in something, he will put his all into it and go all out.

“This isn’t right. The Dongyi tribes worship the Phoenix! What does that have to do with…”

“Jumang! Right here! He plays an important role in the Spring Festival, where sacrifices…”

Halfway through talking to himself, he forcibly stopped himself and covered his mouth.

Writing an essay was no problem for him. He was a freshman, so Professor Ma’s expectations must be lowered.

The problem was the ancient descriptions; he fears that he might attract the attention of a slumbering, terrible existence and just die on the spot.

It’s very much possible!

Thinking about it, he skipped the records and descriptions and read the parts he deemed safe.

[In the legends, the gods governing the tribe tend to overlap. Through cultural changes, the Dongyi tribes mixed with the Hans, and their culture started to fade into obscurity. However, some prominent activities, such as sacrificial ceremonies and celebrating the New Year, remain a tradition.]

After being exposed to multiple urban legends as well as the contents of the Night Division Records, he finds that urban legends are like idols.

The more people believe the more likely it is for them to exist.

On the contrary, if a god were forgotten, would they die?

“A fallen god…”

“Caw!”

A loud caw could be heard suddenly, followed by the sound of glass breaking beside him. He was slightly startled, and looking in the direction of the wind rushing through his window, he saw a shadow flash and a tiny stone hit his forehead.

“You stinky boy!”

“What the…? Who are you?” Yibei yelled, dissatisfied, but froze in place.

There wasn’t anyone, and he couldn’t sense any urban legends around. The apparitions in his house told him they were going to visit their friends down the block, so they weren’t in his house either.

Plus, he was multiple floors above ground.

Who just spoke to him?

At this moment, the sound of flapping wings caught his ear, followed by a magpie that landed in front of him.

“A magpie…?”

“Why do you look so shocked? I was the one who spoke to you just now.”

…!

The magpie looked disgusted and nodded, saying, “Yes, I was the one who spoke. Yes, you aren’t dreaming.”

The bird flapped its wings and blew gusts of wind towards Yibei’s face, and Yibei couldn’t help but murmur, “What the hell are you?”

Realising that something strange had broken into his home (again), he leapt away from the window and rushed towards his bag, taking out a handful of charms and holding them in his hand.

“D-don’t come closer! I have a gun! A gun that can kill things like you!”

“Oh? You should give it a try,” the magpie said, seemingly eager. “I don’t think I’ll let you, though. You see, I’m going to beat you up, and it may hurt, but you won’t die, so for our convenience…”

“Don’t struggle!”

The magpie dove towards Lu Yibei in an instant, and he hurriedly leapt for his kitchen knife in his bag. In an instant, an ominous premonition rose in his heart, and his eyes burnt hard.

Strange streamers and messy lines distorted his vision, and the fragrance of plants and soil rushed towards his nostrils. He suddenly saw a giant tree rising from the ground and piercing the sky, falling towards him.

He felt suffocated.

‘Come on… transform… transform!’

The magpie’s flight became slow in his daze, but he had no time to react, and he could only watch as the magpie landed in front of him and kicked him.

“Argh!”

With a single roundhouse kick, Yibei flew upside down from the impact, and he landed straight on his bed, unable to get up.

Twisting his damaged body, he looked at the magpie from the corner of his eye, seeing it imitating Bruce Lee’s classic pose.

Strange thoughts flashed in his mind, and he hurriedly started to recite the incantation silently.

“There’s a mountain, and there is a…”

Boom!

Before he realised it, he was stabbed in the back of the neck.

The claws of the magpie pierced his skin, and he could vaguely hear his spine snapping. It seemingly suppressed the rise in his body temperature.

“Ah, ah, ah. Can’t let you do that.”

“Help! I’m getting beaten up by a bird…”

“Yeah! And I’ll be here all night!”

“Just… don’t hit my face!”

“Can’t promise that!”

The magpie flapped its wings towards Yibei, who looked like a dead fish who had given up all hope. It didn’t know that he had already clenched his kitchen knife hidden behind his back.