Evil creatures from the underworld
The old man and Lu Xiang arrived at the entrance of the Ghost City and stood under the stone steps. From afar, the ancient town looked so peaceful and beautiful at night.
"Put her on the ground and lie flat." The old man instructed.
Lu Xiang did as he was told.
Then, the old man began to mutter something. A moment later, the outline of the old man began to change. Then, the old man who looked like he was at the end of his years turned into a tall middle-aged man wearing a black windbreaker.
"You, you — —" Lu Xiang was shocked, "Which one of you is the real you? Are you an old man or a middle-aged man? "
"Don't you think that a short old man is less attractive than a tall middle-aged man?" The man in the windbreaker said meaningfully.
The man in the windbreaker walked towards Yi Lu and leaned over her. He looked at Yi Lu's fair neck, like a vampire that was about to bite down on his prey. Although Yi Lu was now as old as an old woman, the Windbreaker Vampire still drooled.
"What are you doing?" Lu Xiang instinctively blocked Yi Lu.
"Do you know what this is?" He never took his eyes off Yi Lu's neck. More accurately, he never took his eyes off the splinters of wood around her neck.
Red splinters of wood.
"A piece of wood."
The trench coat wearing man smiled. "This thing is called the Ghost Mushrooms of the Underworld. It's an evil creature that escaped from the Underworld."
"The Netherworld?" Lu Xiang was stunned, "Are you trying to trick me?"
"Regardless of whether you believe me or not, I will still tell you the following. Furthermore, I will only say it once, whether or not you are willing to listen to it, you will not be able to hear it in the future. "
Lu Xiang no longer spoke. He stared blankly at the man in the windbreaker and suddenly felt that the man in front of him was unfathomable.
"The Underworld is the world we live in. It's the same as your world, where there are all kinds of people and rich in flowers, plants, insects, fish, etc. As in the human world, there were good people and evil people in the underworld. Initially, the two of us are unable to communicate with each other. However, for some reason, some loopholes have appeared in your world, and items or living beings from the Underworld have flowed into your world. The Ghost Mushrooms are a type of evil creature. They feed on the lives of you humans, which is why Yi Lu suddenly aged. "
"You … You actually know Lu Lu's name?" Lu Xiang was so surprised that his mouth was wide open.
"I even know your name, Lu Xiang." The man in the windbreaker maintained his faint smile, which made Lu Xiang's hair stand on end.
"You, how do you know my name?" Lu Xiang took a cautious step back.
"Don't be afraid, I mean no harm!" The trench coat wearing man shrugged his shoulders and spread out his arms as if to show his friendliness. However, this made Lu Xiang take another step back.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I am an emissary of the Netherworld." The trench coat wearing man's gaze shifted towards Lu Xiang. He stared at Lu Xiang and said, "My job is to find a Underworld detective like you and also take back the items that were left behind in this Underworld like the ghost mushrooms."
"Wait, wait, wait." Lu Xiang's brain didn't seem to be able to stuff so many things into it. He only felt that his mind was in a mess. He used his left hand to slap his forehead with force, while his right hand made a temporary gesture. Continue with the previous topic. Are you saying that the Ghost Mushrooms have come here from the Underworld in order to survive? "
"No." The trench coat wearing man shook his head, "The demonic mushrooms themselves can't move, they were deliberately thrown in here by someone with ulterior motives. When the demonic mushrooms absorb human life, they will be recycled into the Underworld and these people will then extract the life that the demonic mushrooms absorbed and sell it to the rich at a high price."
"Bastard, scum!" Seeing Yi Lu's terrifying appearance, Lu Xiang gritted his teeth and cursed. "He clenched his fists, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably." Are you referring to this piece of wood as the Ghost Mushroom? I'll smash it to pieces, I'll take Lulu's life back. Aren't you the envoy of the Underworld? Help me smash the demonic mushrooms, return the life that it stole back to Lulu! "
"This is just a remnant of the Ghost Mushrooms. It's like a useless shell left behind by some animals. The real Ghost Mushrooms have already escaped." The man in the windbreaker said, "The ghost mushrooms will become extremely light after absorbing life and can travel by wind."
Lu Xiang suddenly recalled the strange scene from before — a wisp of red smoke emerged from the red spot on Yi Lu's face. It didn't spread, instead, it congealed into a ball and flew away gracefully.
"Too late." The trench coat wearing man shook his head and said helplessly, "We can recover what we lost, recover what we lost, but we can't recover our lives, only our time can't be recovered. And what Lulu lost is exactly what she cannot recover — — time. "
"Since there's nothing you can do, why are you wasting your breath on me?" Lu Xiang really wanted to ruthlessly slap his face.
"What has happened is naturally unstoppable, but we cannot just watch the tragedy happen again. So, I want to ask you to become a 'Underworld Detective'.
"Underworld detective? I'm not interested! And I'm just a freshman and not a detective. "
The trench coat wearing man seemed to have predicted that Lu Xiang would say this. He seemed to be mumbling to himself, "Because of the spatial loophole, many items from the Underworld have been lost to the human world. Once they are obtained by someone with ill intentions, your girlfriend's tragedy will repeat itself. Lu Xiang, you don't want to see the world in ruins, right? "
Lu Xiang fell silent.
"You coward! You said you were concerned about Yi Lu, but you didn't dare to help her when she needed it the most! Do you want to see more people hurt by the Underworld's items? And do you know who did this to Yi Lu? It's you. If it wasn't for you sweeping the code, would Yi Lu have met with an unexpected calamity? " The trench coat wearing man chattered on.
"I am a coward! I am an idiot! " Lu Xiang erupted. He clenched his fists and roared towards the night sky, "I hate myself! If my life can be exchanged for Lulu, I will do it! But, what can I do? "
"It can be traded back." The trench coat wearing man smiled.
Lu Xiang's body trembled. He stared at the man in the windbreaker and asked, "You want to take my life? "Come on."
"Your life isn't enough, you'll need even more lives!"
"You … you want me to kill someone?"
"No, I want you to become a detective in the Underworld. Only by becoming a detective in the Underworld can you prevent more tragedies and 'give me' more lives."
"I agree." This time, Lu Xiang did not decline at all, "As long as Lu Lu is alive and well, I can do whatever I want. But, I am just an ordinary person, can I really become a detective in the Underworld? "
"As long as you have the heart, we will give you some technical support." The man in the windbreaker narrowed his eyes and said mysteriously.
"I wonder why you guys can't find the so-called underworld detective after so much trouble? Why don't you collect your own items to clean up the underworld?" Lu Xiang doubtfully said, "I feel that it's more efficient this way. I really have no confidence in myself."
"Well — why don't we want to?" The trench coat wearing man sighed. "On the one hand, it's because we don't have enough people. On the other hand, it's more important that we can't travel through time and space to your world. So, we can only rely on you to clear it out."
"Didn't you come?"
"All you see is my projection." The trench coat wearing man smiled. "However, this is real." After saying that, he took out a strip of paper, a green ball and a light blue bottle.
"What … what is this?"
"You take it first, I'll tell you later."
Lu Xiang did not dare to delay any longer. He hurriedly took the card, ball and bottle from the man in the windbreaker. He could not believe that the person in front of him was an illusion.
"This ball is called the Soul Devouring Pearl, and it can absorb items from the Underworld. Now, you can take back the murderer who took your girlfriend's life. " The man in the windbreaker introduced the green ball first. This small ball was the size of a ping pong ball. In his hand, there was a hint of softness, as if it was alive.
"That Ghost Mushroom of the Underworld is just waiting for me to catch it?" Lu Xiang asked in disbelief.
"The Phantom Mushroom is nearby, because there's a place in the Ghost City where the two worlds are connected and this place isn't always open. It's waiting for the opportunity to be reclaimed." The trench coat wearing man said.
Lu Xiang suddenly rushed forward, but stopped in his tracks. He turned around and said to the man in the windbreaker, "Where can I find it?"
"Open the bottle!" The man in the windbreaker issued a senseless command.
Lu Xiang no longer asked any further questions. He opened the bottle that he just took from the trench coat wearing man, and a unique fragrance drifted out from the bottle.
"Drink it!"
"What?" Lu Xiang shouted. How could he casually drink this unknown liquid?
"Don't you want to save Yi Lu?"
Lu Xiang no longer said anything. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the bottle and put it in his mouth. He raised his neck and gulped it down. So painful! His stomach hurt! The pain began in his stomach and spread to his limbs, then to his brain. Lu Xiang felt his brain was about to explode from the pain.
Lu Xiang rolled on the ground in pain, clawing at his hair with both of his hands. Even his eyes had turned blood-red from the pain. Suddenly, his eyes began to glow with blue light, and finally, everything calmed down.
Lu Xiang crawled up from the ground. His limbs and bones were trembling with excitement, and he no longer felt any pain like before.
"Me, cough, cough." Lu Xiang violently coughed. He wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "I've already drunk it. What should we do next?"
"Alright, now you have the ability to sense items from the Underworld."
"Ah, really?" Lu Xiang's eyes lit up. He suddenly felt less disgusted.
"You close your eyes and imagine that you're a receiving station receiving messages from all directions."
Lu Xiang stood up straight and closed his eyes. After taking a deep breath, the world seemed to quiet down. It was as if he had arrived in a completely black world. No, it wasn't completely black. There was something glowing with a red light. Lu Xiang followed the red glimmer of light and looked around. Sure enough, he saw a red "mushroom" in an incomplete brick cave at the corner of the wall.
Pressing the Soul Devouring Pearl onto the "Red Mushroom", Lu Xiang only saw the "Red Mushroom" tremble and was forcibly sucked into the green ball. He also seemed to hear a bitter scream. Lu Xiang picked up the Soul Devouring Orb and saw a red worm-like creature violently wiggling, but its wiggling became smaller and smaller until it finally stopped moving.
"So capturing items from the Netherworld is so easy?" Lu Xiang heaved a sigh of relief.
"Hmph hmph, you underestimate your work. This time, it's because I came forward and directly told you the truth of the case that you were able to easily pass — — The Soul Devouring Orb can only be effective once the case is resolved. "
Lu Xiang laughed, "I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Right, how can we let Lulu get better?"
"Put this on her wrist." The trench coat wearing man pointed at the card that was just given to Lu Xiang.
Only now did Lu Xiang clearly see that there was a watch drawn on it. He couldn't help but laugh. Wasn't this a 2 year old child's toy, 'pat ring' (also called a wristband)? Even more unforgivable is the fact that this is a completely shoddy product -- the needle is inverted and the watch is inverted.
"Are you messing with me?" Lu Xiang was furious.
"Do you know what Yi Lu needs the most?"
"What?" Lu Xiang was confused.
"Time. For what she had lost was time, and the watch of life could return it to her — it would correspond to the time of her life, which would flow back to the time before her accident. As long as the life watch continues to work, she can live like a normal child. "
"Could … could it be that this life watch will stop working?"
"All watches need energy. As long as there's energy, the life watch can always work. " Saying this, the man pointed at the Soul Devouring Orb in Lu Xiang's hand, "Keep the Soul Devouring Orb in your hand safe. After it absorbs the items from the Underworld, it will produce the energy of the Underworld.
Lu Xiang understood that he had no other choice. He could only obediently become a detective of the Underworld, desperately tracking down the whereabouts of the Underworld's items, solving the strange cases caused by the Underworld's items before he could retrieve the Underworld's items and gain the energy to keep Lulu alive.
"Don't worry. Every day, I'll go look for items from the Netherworld." Lu Xiang had decided to abandon his studies.
"Hur hur." The man in the windbreaker laughed. "A life watch can be used for a month to recharge the electric shock. You can still go to school normally — as long as you can get one item from the underworld every month."
"So it's like that." Lu Xiang laughed happily, "That's great, thank you!"
"I should be the one to say thank you — my job is to unearth a Hades detective like you. You're the easiest." The trench coat man sighed and said helplessly, "There are fewer and fewer people willing to take responsibility now."
"In that case, I'm not fighting alone!" Lu Xiang suddenly thought of a problem, "Then what if I can't find the Underworld item?"
"You don't have to worry about that." The trench coat wearing man smiled and said, "There are a lot of items from the Underworld around you. Besides, you already have the ability to sense items from the Underworld. And if you don't have a goal in mind, we'll give you some hints. "
"Oh, that's great, thank you." Lu Xiang heaved a sigh of relief.
"Yes." The trench coat wearing man nodded his head. He lightly waved his hand and instantly, strong gales blew, causing Lu Xiang to be unable to open his eyes. Well, it was time to say goodbye. Your girlfriend is about to wake up. You still have things to do, go on! "
"Wait, you haven't told me how to contact you yet!" Lu Xiang shouted.
"There's no need to contact me. We can only meet once. We'll never meet again …" The man's deep voice echoed in the air, gradually fading with the wind.