Chapter 40: Jumping Off a Building
Xia Feng had randomly searched for knowledge on this topic and unexpectedly discovered a storage device that bore a strong resemblance to the ‘Pingshan Pocket Watch’ amidst fragments of information. It was an unexpected gain.
Curiously, he clicked on the profile of the person who posted the image. This person hadn’t posted in years, but a daily photo with the caption ‘Early morning to eat steamed buns’ caught Xia Feng’s attention. The photo depicted a breakfast shop named ‘Aunt Lu’s Buns,’ and its decor suggested it was in a poorer district.
Soon, he located the shop’s whereabouts. “Blood Calamity Street?”
Xia Feng paused. He had long heard that this area was the most frequent site of supernatural events in recent years, with rampant Spirit Master crimes and Nightmare Beast rampages. People died almost every day, making it a haven for criminals. He recalled that when trading Boundless Stone last time, Mu Qingtong had killed someone on Blood Calamity Street and was then pursued by Holy Department agents all the way to Weiyang Academy.
Xia Feng stared at the small, black-gold shimmering pebble the size of a fingernail on the table, stroking his chin in contemplation. He had originally planned to offer Mu Qingtong a twenty percent premium to purchase it for him, but he didn’t expect that the Boundless Stone from underground channels had been swept up by forces suspected to be a cult. This made things difficult.
Xia Feng rubbed his temples, gritting his teeth. “If I find out which cult force did this, I’ll rob them blind!” he thought, indulging in an unrealistic daydream. He glanced at the time.
[Remaining Activity: 4 days 8 hours]
Combined with the remaining 1g of Boundless Stone, he had eleven days of remaining lifespan. Although the time was relatively ample, Xia Feng felt inexplicably agitated. He knew the Calamity Demon Heart would be of great use after it was repaired, but being bound by it like this was not a solution. He needed to find a way to resolve it permanently! Perhaps by obtaining a large amount of Boundless Stone? Then he could enter the Evil Dragon Space every day to absorb dragon energy. Xia Feng drifted into another unrealistic dream for a while.
“Sizzle—”
He stood up, carefully placed the remaining Boundless Stone into the Pingshan Pocket Watch, and closed it. He casually threw on a jacket and hurried out. Dreams could be made, but it was important to focus on reality. The Pingshan Pocket Watch was a container for Boundless Stone, and this was currently the only clue related to Boundless Stone. He felt he had to go and see ‘Aunt Lu’s Buns.’
***
Blood Calamity Street was not just a single street but a collective name for nineteen streets adjacent to the Final Great Wall. For some unknown reason, the space in Blood Calamity Street was extremely unstable. Nightmare Beasts would frequently break through from the Gray Realm into the Real World within Blood Calamity Street, killing or devouring people, leading to frequent bloodshed, hence its name.
Alighting from the taxi, Xia Feng looked at the few hurried pedestrians and the old, gray-toned buildings. He inexplicably felt an oppressive atmosphere. The houses here were not only short, only four or five stories high, but even the sky seemed much lower than elsewhere, shrouded in haze.
For the sake of discretion, he found a secluded corner and put on a black robe, simultaneously activating the Bronze Mask. Instantly, a pure white mask covered his face. “When you’re out in the world, you can’t do without an alias. Hmm, since Mu Qingtong’s codename is Red Spade,” Xia Feng mused, stroking his chin, “then I’ll be Spade.”
As he pondered, the mask’s color and pattern began to shift. After a while, a black-robed figure wearing a red mask with a spade pattern appeared in the darkened corner. The black-robed figure used concealment Spirit Robes and followed the navigation, making turns and twists. Navigating the intricate alleyways, he walked for a full ten minutes before finally finding the shop in a food street.
“Aunt Lu’s Buns” was surprisingly not deserted like other food stalls; it was crowded with people, noisy and boisterous. The black-robed figure casually walked closer, hands in his pockets, and discovered that everyone was looking up at the sky. He followed suit and looked up.
“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll jump!” A somewhat childish female voice spoke calmly. A girl in a white dress stood on the tiled railing of the fourth-floor rooftop, her black eyes vacant.
“Okay, okay! Uncle won’t come closer. Child, don’t be rash—” A man, sweating profusely, raised his hands slightly, signaling for people to retreat step by step, while urgently persuading, “Your life is still long, child. Don’t be rash. Think of your parents, think of your family—”
“Parents?” the white-dressed girl murmured softly.
“Yes, yes! Your parents! How sad would your parents be if you died—”
Just then, a sharp, loud voice drowned out the man’s, like the roar of a beast before it attacks, “Useless cash-cow! If you dare to jump, I won’t consider you my daughter!!”
Everyone looked towards a middle-aged woman with an enraged face. She tried to rush forward but was held back by the people around her. The white-dressed girl ignored the woman and turned her gaze back to the street below. Below, a sea of heads bustled and clamored. However, people had kindly left a clear space for her. If she fell headfirst, enduring the despair and pain, she could die.
“This… is the aura of Calamity Force?” Xia Feng narrowed his eyes, sensing carefully. He clearly detected a Calamity Force reaction from the girl. Seeing that the girl had half a foot dangling in the air, Xia Feng didn’t act immediately because he could easily catch her given her falling speed.
Furthermore, another reason was that he discovered there was more than one source of Calamity Force here. A total of three sources. Besides the girl, there was another in the crowd holding back the middle-aged woman on the fourth floor. The third source’s origin was somewhat uncertain. However, the third source’s Calamity Force aura was hundreds of times more intense and terrifying than the girl’s. It was estimated that a Nightmare Beast was hiding in the shadows.
Seeing that the girl had not jumped yet, someone in the crowd chuckled lightly. “Just putting on a show, tsk~ Kids these days.”
“Ah, how can you say that?”
“Speaking of which, kids like this are the most annoying, making a scene with their families over small matters.”
“They shouldn’t have been born. Sigh~”
The girl clenched her fists tightly. The noisy, fragmented voices carried various comments. Although far away, the sounds were at a moderate volume, yet a few remarks clearly echoed with cold laughter in her ears. She slowly moved her right foot forward, then paused again.
“Yes, yes~ just like that, go forward, go forward. Everything you desire is ahead, no humiliation, no pain…” In a trance, the seductive whisper in her heart sounded again. A flicker of struggle crossed the white-dressed girl’s increasingly vacant black eyes. She knew in her heart that death was the worst choice.
“Heartless thing—” At this moment, with her husband’s help, the middle-aged woman broke through the obstruction and rushed directly towards the girl, her panicked and anxious voice loud, “You useless cash-cow, get down here now! Are you thinking about us at all?!” The white-dressed girl’s dim pupils constricted, and her foot stepped forward!
