Chapter 123 - 123 123

Words : 1491 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

123: 123. Mother and Son 123: 123. Mother and Son If Shen Qian had had such a thing back then, he wouldn’t have needed a vacation. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have been willing to spend a hundred thousand on a Magic Artifact. Lu Li was unfamiliar with the market, but a Magic Artifact selling for only a hundred thousand meant the old Taoist definitely gave him a secret discount. Lu Li accepted this favor. He relayed the results to Yang Chunxue, who reluctantly, with frequent backward glances, returned to her bedroom to mitigate her desire to pet the cat with video games. The orange cat, lifting one leg and cleaning its belly, raised its head to look at Lu Li, who was hanging a Dracula painting on the wall. “Brother, don’t hang it too high... I’m afraid of heights, lower it a bit, right there, thanks a bunch.” The temporary spot for the Dracula painting was next to the door, separated by a door from a mannequin. The Western medieval painting on the wall clashed with the rest of the room’s furnishings, but it would have to do for now. Yang Chunxue quickly detached herself from her cat fixation and immersed herself in gaming. Mastering the knack of manipulating objects, she no longer needed to game at a distance, using the keyboard and mouse like everyone else, though her skills had become... better left unmentioned. Kong Nanqing had been sprawled in bed for 48 hours and had yet not come down. Clearly, the temptation of a new orange cat joining wasn’t as significant as that of a TV drama. The mannequin stood by the door, as it always had. Perhaps it might move about in the dead of night while everyone slept, but no one could see it. The newly joined Detective Agency’s Dracula was talking to the mannequin, greeting it, “hi, how are you? How do you do?” In front of his former colleagues, Dracula attempted to maintain his last shred of dignity. The orange cat licked the fur on its belly clean, jumped off the couch, shook its snow-white hind feet, and softly meowing, ran to Lu Li’s feet and jumped onto his lap, circling to find the perfect spot before curling up its front paws and lying down. Withdrawing his gaze from his surroundings, Lu Li gently stroked the head of the orange cat. The latter squinted its eyes, a faint purring sound emerging. The Detective Agency seemed more crowded now. Not crowded in terms of space, but in terms of consciousness. The Detective Agency, less than fifty square meters in size, accommodated seven conscious beings. If you counted the cat they had picked up, that made eight. Then again, even in terms of space, it was starting to feel crowded—it was after all only a one-room apartment with a living room. Changing the address of the new Detective Agency seemed an urgent matter, but not just yet, he needed to prepare for the metaphysics forum taking place in thirteen days. Before the metaphysics forum, Lu Li planned to use up the Birth Difficulty Ghost Atlas—if it turned out to be of no use. As usual, Lu Li used the remote to turn on the TV, the news playing in the background loud enough to be heard but not noisy. He had been doing this for a while. The local news in Lingling City kept him informed of daily events and potentially dangerous situations to avoid. For instance, if a half-eaten body was found in a neighborhood, Lu Li would then stay away from that neighborhood and its vicinity. “Is this... what is this? Does this not look like that computer thing the students always talk about!” A voice with an accent exclaimed in surprise as Dracula leaned half out of the painting, utterly shocked. Lu Li responded, “This is a television.” “Is this thing made? Humans are truly incredible... How does it display images, what’s the principle behind it!?” “You can watch, just keep quiet.” Lu Li disliked noise, especially when he was busy with important tasks. “You’re busy, brother, I’ll just watch.” Dracula got the hint, covered his mouth, and maintained his position of leaning out from the upper half, his gaze passing over the mannequin and settling on the television across the room at almost a parallel angle. He could only see a blur and did not dare to speak up and change positions, considering his dependence on others now. But isn’t it better here than in the abandoned school building? There wasn’t even anything moving there. However, Dracula soon learned to watch the television through the reflections on the opposite window. Despite it being a mirror image. Lu Li diverted his gaze, deciding that for now, he didn’t need to worry about Dracula’s loyalty concerning the painting. Immersing his mind, he summoned the Ghost Envoy Manual. Yin Virtue had accumulated to twenty-five, but Lu Li hadn’t yet figured out the ratio of Yin Virtue to the endurance limit. However, one thing was certain: he still couldn’t use Shen Jingjing’s atlas, according to the Intuition Atlas. Yin Virtue paused slightly on the title page before flipping to the last page. [Birth Difficulty Ghost] Ghost The illustration in the manual depicted a scene with a broken stone road and puddles scattered throughout. The abandoned playground of Xishan High School. The Birth Difficulty Ghost hovered in mid-air, disheveled with eyes protruding and a segment of intestine hanging from her lower leg. Her appearance was similar to when Lu Li had seen her, nothing out of the ordinary. In the blank space on the right side of the manual’s page, two lines of sentencing, like a poem, ran from top to bottom. [Joy joy love love resentment resentment sorrow sorrow deeply deeply;] [Life life death death grudge grudge hate hate confused confused.] The sentences were initially unclear, but after careful consideration, they could be seen as a portrayal of the Birth Difficulty Ghost’s life. It was symmetrical in format, yet it still didn’t rhyme. Lu Li couldn’t determine whether the sentences were written in the Book of Life and Death after the ghost’s last wishes were fulfilled, or if they were generated by some kind of AI from the underworld that automatically calculated the sentences based on one’s life and death. However, either way, it was of little relevance to Lu Li now. Lu Li flipped back to the Ghost Fetus page, assured that there were no changes or combination functions between the two pages, and began using the Birth Difficulty Ghost manual. Boom— His heart in his chest halted momentarily, then beat exceedingly slowly. A vast Yin energy spread from the depths of his heart, flowing towards his limbs and bones, before instantly pouring into his arms. A bone-chilling cold emerged in his arms, and a thin layer of frost appeared faintly. “Meow~” A cat meowed and the Yin energy receded like a tide; within seconds, Lu Li returned to normal, his arms warm as if the prior scene had been an illusion. The cat was just an ordinary domestic orange tabby, and the receding of the Yin energy was due to Lu Li’s active withdrawal of the manual. He was cautious of the Yin energy harming the cat. In that brief startling moment, Lu Li received two pieces of good news. The sensation of the Yin energy entering his body was bearable within his limits, and his hands were now capable of harming spiritual bodies. Finally, Lu Li’s means of attack were not limited to just a kitchen knife and summoning Yang Chunxue, along with the hardly useful Glock. The Birth Difficulty Ghost’s manual seemed like an upgraded version of the Ghost Fetus. With it, the Ghost Fetus could be used as a material for strengthening. However, when flipping back to the Ghost Fetus page, Lu Li hesitated. The Birth Difficulty Ghost and the Ghost Fetus were mother and son, hence the manuals’ combination might bring about a new transformation. Moreover, the Ghost Fetus was weak, so even without any special effects, it wouldn’t impact Lu Li’s overall strategy. Without further hesitation, Lu Li strengthened the newly acquired Birth Difficulty Ghost with the Ghost Fetus. An unprecedented scene was unfolding—the Birth Difficulty Ghost’s manual was gradually fading, disappearing. Having realized something, Lu Li flipped back to the Ghost Fetus page and, sure enough, the illustration was undergoing a transformation. It was still the winding path stretching far into the distance, but the crawling Ghost Fetus chasing the figure ahead had stopped and lifted its head to look at the Birth Difficulty Ghost beside it. Mother and son gazed at each other, everything frozen in that moment. The sentencing was no longer the previous phrase. [In confusion and oblivion, fortunately met a well-wisher.] [Thank you.] [Thank... you.] Lu Li sighed softly, his tone gentle. “Family reunited.”

Chapter 123 - 123 123

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