Chapter 131: The Urban Legend Killer

Chapter 131 The Urban Legend Slayer

After performing the grand kowtow, Lan Mao followed timidly behind Chu Fu, witnessing the latter’s formidable combat prowess along the way.

Whenever the wooden mannequins were drawn by their noise and surged into the mirrored corridor like pale waves, Lan Mao’s role was to shriek in terror while Chu Fu calmly swung his axe—

First severing the limbs that reached out menacingly, then cleanly chopping them in half at the waist, stepping over the twitching remains as he advanced.

Chu Fu even developed a rhythm to his strikes, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfying release.

His usual combat style leaned either toward standing his ground like a mage or using his serpent form to crush, strangle, and devour opponents. He rarely wielded straightforward weapons like an axe, which went against the style of the Fate Domain.

But he had to admit—it felt pretty damn satisfying.

Energized and focused, Chu Fu’s movements became so fast they blurred.

Live comments:

「Wait, what’s with that expression?! The more he chops, the happier he gets?!」

「Certified axe murderer.」

「Low-key terrified… Can we really leave this livestream intact…」

「Heh, pray :)」

「Praying. As long as I don’t get an axe to the face the moment I step outside—some cheap horror movie death—I’ll take it.」

「We've sunk so low, now we're just hoping for a dignified death (sad)」

「Damn it, we’re divine beings from different realms! How can we be so spineless? We should unite and resist!」

「Go ahead and resist then. Don’t worry, you’ll have no backup.」

「……」

From Lan Mao’s perspective, Chu Fu’s movements were always calm and precise.

It was as if he were merely trimming hedges by the roadside, carving a path through this twisted, nightmarish thicket of pale, human-shaped horrors.

*Click.*

Lan Mao, hunched over as he trailed behind, accidentally stepped on a severed mannequin hand, making a crisp snapping sound.

The fingers abruptly clenched, trying to grab his pant leg, only for him to stomp on it in panic before kicking it away, his face turning green.

Just looking at these monsters—whose appearances and severed limbs so closely resembled human parts—made his skin crawl. The mind-breaking weirdness of the unknown left his mind blank, his legs rooted in place.

This only deepened his awe and curiosity, spawning countless questions:

*Just who is this absolute beast of a guy?*

*How many unimaginable horrors has he witnessed to hone such calm?*

*Could it be that those xianxia webnovels weren’t just fiction? Do hidden masters truly exist in the mundane world?*

Even more astonishing was how, no matter how many branching paths the mirrored corridor presented, Chu Fu would unhesitatingly choose one without faltering.

And without fail, the path he picked was always the right one.

Peeking at Chu Fu’s reflection in the mirrors, Lan Mao cautiously gauged his mood. Deciding he seemed approachable, he mustered the courage to ask, “Uh, M-Master… is there some trick to navigating this mirrored corridor?”

“Nope,” Chu Fu answered honestly. “I just pick randomly. Just got lucky, I guess.”

Lan Mao’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

For a moment, he felt like an idiot for agonizing over every turn earlier—only to hit dead ends.

*This kind of flawless accuracy… and he calls it “lucky”? That’s way too humble!*

*At this point, calling him the Luck God’s golden child wouldn’t even be an exaggeration!*

Stunned into silence, Lan Mao hesitated before speaking again, his tone subdued. “Also, Master… have you seen anyone like me along the way?”

He self-consciously tousled his unkempt blue mop, gesturing vaguely. “Y’know, people with… uh, loudly colored hair—red, yellow, green—maybe holding selfie sticks…”

Their group of ghost-hunting streamers had scattered among the endless mirrors shortly after entering.

Lan Mao had no idea how many had already been consumed by the corridor. Though he suspected the worst, he still held onto hope.

Chu Fu suddenly turned to him. Beneath the hazy blue depths of his eyes, a dazzling gold-red—like a solar disc—seemed to churn in the depths, startling Lan Mao.

In that moment, Lan Mao felt something inexplicable.

It was as if Chu Fu’s gaze pierced through him, tracing something far grander, distant, and abstract.

“There were five of you,” Chu Fu’s voice grew ethereal, as if weaving fate's threads into prophecy. “Only two will leave this building alive. The other three are already dead.”

“One kneels eternally before the shrine. One got their neck broken by humanoid mannequins. The last took their own life deep in the corridor.”

Lan Mao’s heart sank, drowning in regret, grief, and terror, crushing his chest like a weight.

Gasping for air, he forced himself to steady his breathing. Just as he was about to ask about the surviving companion, Chu Fu—absentmindedly spinning his axe—paused and pointed. “There. He’s coming.”

Thus, the party composition became:

Chu Fu, leading the charge, clearing the path with brutal efficiency;

Lan Mao and the newly rescued yellow-haired guy screaming like banshees, turning the corridor into total pandemonium.

Before long, under Chu Fu’s guidance, they successfully escaped the mirrored corridor.

After a nightmarish two days and nights, the two streamers finally saw the world beyond the mirrors.

Even if it was just a dark, dilapidated abandoned building, with spiders and roaches scurrying past their feet, they were choked up with emotion, nearly collapsing with relief.

Their wobbly legs found new energy as they eagerly stepped forward—only to notice Chu Fu still standing in place, lost in thought.

Lan Mao stopped nervously. “Master, shouldn’t we leave quickly?”

“While we're at it, might as well leave a parting gift for these urban legends.”

As he spoke, a wisp of cobalt-blue flame sprang to life at Chu Fu’s fingertip.

This pyrokinesis Ability came with his “Chu Fu” identity, though he’d rarely used it—until now, when it was perfect for screwing with urban legends.

“Holy shit! Superpowers?!”

The two streamers’ eyes bugged out, their unrefined amazement echoing in unison. Had their phones not been dead, they’d have instinctively reached for their phones and gone live right then and there.

They'd already brainstormed the perfect livestream title: "Trapped in a Haunted Building at Night, Saved by a Hidden Cultivation Expert!"—guaranteed to grab attention.

The wisp of flame danced between Chu Fu's fingers, impossibly docile, before slowly descending into the Mirror Corridor.

In an instant, the fire spread like wildfire, rapidly expanding in all directions.

The deep blue flames crept across the smooth mirror surfaces, as if a tranquil sea had suddenly erupted into towering waves, surging deep into the corridor!

The mirrors scorched by the flames turned an unnatural, charred black, no longer capable of warping space to create the intricate, twisting labyrinth of reflections as before.

Briefly, Lan Mao and the others felt the ground tremble slightly, as though the Mirror Corridor itself was shuddering and roaring in silence.

Chu Fu muttered, "This bargain-bin Ability is actually pretty useful."

Of course, this wasn’t the level of his original Rank 2 fire-based Ability as "Chu Fu." Instead, he had harnessed the power of the Fate Domain to temporarily amplify it, pulling its potential future at Rank 5 into the present.

Checking the results, Chu Fu was quite satisfied.

The system pinged with a notification:

「Congratulations, Player! Successfully recorded Urban Legends "Three Bows" and "Mirror Corridor." Current progress for Mission 1: 6/7. Keep it up!」

「Additionally, congratulations on unlocking the hidden achievement—Urban Legend Slayer. You have gained an all-purpose intimidation buff against all Urban Legends.」

「Within the next year, Urban Legend activity in your vicinity will decrease by 60%. Clearly, your mere presence has scared the hell out of Guiyin City's Urban Legends, leaving them trembling in fear!」

Chu Fu: "..." Seriously?

If they weren’t active, where would he find his fun with Urban Legend rumors?

So, Lan Mao and the other watched as Chu Fu suddenly drooped his eyelids, his expression clouding over. He raised his hand and flung the fire axe into the flames, triggering a series of shattering echoes deep within the Mirror Corridor.

"Let's go."

Chu Fu shoved his hands into his pockets and strode toward the elevator, the hem of his long coat swinging sharply through the air.

Lan Mao and the other shared a worried look but didn’t dare speak, quickly following behind him.

...

After exiting Lianxing Tower, Chu Fu handed the two surviving paranormal streamers over to the night-shift security guards and made his solitary way to the bus stop.

When he arrived, there was already an unusual passenger waiting—a lone umbrella, floating motionless in midair.

The umbrella floated at roughly head height, occasionally swaying slightly as if held by invisible hands, leisurely pacing the platform while waiting.

The streetlight’s glow spilled evenly over the umbrella’s vivid red surface, making it appear even more striking.

Chu Fu stood on the opposite side of the platform, initially keeping his distance from the red umbrella.

But then a few cold droplets of drizzle landed on his face. He glanced up at the overcast sky, expecting rain.

Without a second thought, he approached the red umbrella and politely asked, "Mind sharing that umbrella?"

The red umbrella: "..."

Under Chu Fu’s calm gaze, the umbrella edged away nervously before pausing, as if gathering its courage. Then, its handle obediently lowered itself into Chu Fu’s palm.

Amid the misty rain, the man and the Urban Legend shared the umbrella, waiting in oddly companionable silence for the bus—a strangely harmonious scene.

Chu Fu counted silently in his head, and soon, a familiar dark-red bus materialized from the night mist, rolling toward the stop. The digital display flashed the mirrored numbers "414," blood-red and glaring.

It was obvious that Bus 414, upon spotting Chu Fu, flickered its dim, yellowish headlights. Without slowing down, it blew right past the stop and continued onward.

On the platform, the ignored passenger Chu Fu raised an eyebrow but made no comment.

He continued leisurely holding the red umbrella, a silver coin flipping through his fingers. Each time it flipped, it seemed to subtly shift fate's course.

A few minutes later, Bus 414 was forced to pass the same stop again.

This time, it chose to accelerate, speeding away from its unwanted passengers and leaving Chu Fu with nothing but a cloud of exhaust fumes.

Yet, after a few more minutes, Bus 414 found itself circling back to the same familiar stop.

"..."

Bus 414 was beginning to question its life choices.

It felt like it had run into some kind of ghostly loop, but with no proof, it doggedly kept making a break for it.

After several rounds of this back-and-forth, Bus 414 finally surrendered and stopped at the platform to let the two passengers board.

Chu Fu tossed a coin into the fare box and patted it. "Next time, try sticking to the schedule. No more detours."

The driver and all the passengers stared blankly at Chu Fu, their dull eyes burning with silent fury. The engine growled angrily, as if trembling with frustration.

When the bus stopped at the university gate, Chu Fu disembarked under a barrage of glares from the ghostly passengers, completely unbothered.

Unexpectedly, the red umbrella followed him off the bus, still shielding him from the rain—along with a pair of bright red high heels following obediently behind.

"What’s this about?" Chu Fu eyed the two Urban Legends, puzzled.

The red umbrella swayed slightly, tilting its edge toward the high heels as if silently urging it to speak.

The toe of the high heels split open into a flat mouth, and it said with obvious reluctance: "Good evening, sir."

"Recently, Urban Legends have sensed that the source of our existence is about to awaken. Some, like Bus 414, remain indifferent, while others have gone into worship frenzy, desperate to prove loyalty—but the umbrella and I are different."

"Rather than being controlled by a powerful Progenitor we’ve never met, with it forever tugging at the other end of our fate, we’d prefer to cut that cord completely and betray the allegiance we were born into."

Chu Fu was surprised by the independent thinking of these Urban Legends and gradually guessed their intentions.

"So, you’re following me because you think I can help you break free?" he asked. "Why me?"

"We’ve observed wave after wave of outsiders who call themselves 'Players.' From their fragmented words, we’ve glimpsed a far grander world... and we long to go there."

After a pause, the high heels added, "From what we’ve seen and deduced, your strength far surpasses any Player who has appeared so far—perhaps even rivaling our Progenitor."

"—If there’s anyone who can sever our ties to the Progenitor and grant us a broader world... it might only be you."