"Pack, pack, pack, pack up the luggage, the moment I leave home~
I know real life has too many special quirks~
If you see me, don't be too indifferent~
I'm sentimental, but also passionate and carefree~
Hurry..."
"Jiang Lu! Did you just see something strange?" The orphanage director, having just recovered from a spirit attack, came downstairs only to see Jiang Lu swaying his hips with sass, humming a song, and immediately interrupted him in concern, asking about the whereabouts of the resentful spirit.
The elder who followed closely behind felt a sense of déjà vu when he saw Jiang Lu.
After a moment of reflection, he remembered.
Wasn't this the kid who came with the old brother last year for the Exorcist Guild talent test and failed?
"Something strange, huh?" Jiang Lu feigned ignorance.
"A little boy."
Jiang Lu stared at the orphanage director warily, "You're an orphanage director, not a church priest, ok?"
"Never mind, it's no use telling you."
The director tried to sense around but didn't detect the resentful spirit's trail, yet he wasn't sure, so he asked the elder, "What do you think? Do you feel anything?"
Hearing this, Jiang Lu immediately showed respect and looked at the two men with a somewhat ambiguous gaze.
The elder concentrated deeply then shook his head, "Nothing, not a trace, it must have left."
While the director was relieved, he was also frightened, "To think I fell for its trick."
"A moral class spirit attack..." the elder muttered, "A direct hit to the soul, the more virtuous you are, the more it affects you. It's the first time I've seen a spirit use it..."
The two did not try to exclude Jiang Lu from their conversation, which now made him somewhat displeased.
He felt slighted.
"Well, it's good that it left." The director let out a sigh of relief.
"It's not that simple. I need to go back and report this. We can't let our guard down until we catch it, in case it returns with a vengeance." The gravity on the elder's face did not lessen.
Though the elder hadn't personally resolved the orphanage's crisis, he still owed a favor, so the director invited him, "How about joining us for dinner before you go back?"
"No thanks, aside from reporting the situation here, there are more important matters to attend to."
The elder spoke to the director as if he were family, without any reservation:
"On my way here, I received news that an exorcist from our local branch, who had been confirmed dead for several days, suddenly came back to life today. And it's not just him there are another fifteen cases like this, scattered all around. A meeting has been called, and headquarters wants to compile all the information."
The director was quite surprised, "Come back to life after being confirmed dead? That doesn't make sense, does it?"
"An S-level Spirit Realm, anything unexpected can happen."
"S-level?" Just hearing about this level of difficulty made the director's spine chill.
"Inside information..." the elder said in a low voice, "Someone has conquered the Spirit Realm and rescued these people. And about this Spirit Realm... it kind of overturns what we have known so far. Can't say exactly what it is now, but I suspect something big is coming."
Standing at the gate, watching the elder drive off in his vintage car, the director had a lot on his mind.
He knew all too well that 'overturning' was not a sign of good news in the current state of the world.
At this moment, Jiang Lu approached him, looked at his subtly worried expression and at the vintage car driving away, and comforted him:
"You can't envy the lives of others, just live your own well. You have to learn to accept your own mediocrity, or you'll only be troubled by it."
The director turned, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Don't be ungrateful."
"..." The director couldn't be bothered to argue and simply reminded him, "You heard what I just discussed with your Uncle Liu, right? Things are not peaceful lately, so don't go wandering off."
"Oh, so it was Uncle Liu. No wonder he seemed familiar."
Jiang Lu laughed disdainfully, "I thought he was some impressive friend of yours, a pillar of the community. He couldn't even get me into the Exorcist Guild. Your connections aren't too solid, eh?"
"How can you speak like that?" the director glared, "Have you no shame? That place is all about true skill, who else can you blame if you're not up to it?"
"Give me a break. Look at that widow from the labor insurance store just 500 meters from here, her son couldn't do a thing, used to call me big brother when he was little. His mum knew how to work it, found him a good stepdad, and just like that the guy is now an Exorcist second generation, straight into administration with a guaranteed meal ticket. When will you stand up for me, get someone high up in the Guild to be my godmother?"
"I might have retired, that doesn't mean I was fired!" the director almost couldn't resist kicking him, "I was an Exorcist to begin with, why would I need to find you a godmother?"
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"If you put it that way, there's no problem." Jiang Lu slung his arm over the director's shoulder, sighing deeply, "But on the other hand, you're of this age and still without a partner, how can I leave you with peace of mind?"
"Buzz off! Are you annoying or what?" The director pushed Jiang Lu away, looking down on him, "You speak as if you're going out to make a name for yourself. Let me tell you this, if you really take my words to heart and decide to go out and learn something new, then don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. What I'm afraid of is you dying out there."
Jiang Lu did have this intention, as to become a true future warrior, he would definitely need to enter the Spirit Realm often to grind instances. Over time, he might inadvertently reveal flaws that would worry the director and Aunt Zhang, or even uncover his secret.
But now that the director had said this, coupled with the Orphan's Grudge incident, he was somewhat reluctant to leave.
If another similar accident were to happen and he wasn't here, wouldn't that lead to a catastrophe?
After all, the director was getting old, and whereas warriors don't dwell on past bravery, Aunt Zhang was just an ordinary person. As for the kids, it goes without saying, they had no ability to protect themselves. Even if he didn't like children, for the director's and Aunt Zhang's sake, he would have to protect them as much as possible.
So, with a teasing smile, Jiang Lu playfully said, "Leaving is out of the question. Look at how fat you've become. I think I can mooch off you for another two years."
A flash of barely concealed disappointment crossed the director's eyes, but what followed was also a sense of reassurance.
Not leaving is good, to have your company for a few more years...
"Useless!" The director pretended to be angry, "You just wait. You'll be satisfied when I shamelessly go begging for someone to look after you before I die!"
...
Night fell, and since caregiver Xiao Li was still recovering, and Aunt Zhang was feeling unwell due to the Orphan's Grudge, Jiang Lu had to help with some chores.
It wasn't until after he had finished washing the dishes and taken a bath that he returned to his room.
His phone had been lying on the bedside table all afternoon and was now showing a low battery warning.
He casually plugged in the charger and didn't pay it any further attention.
He didn't have many friends; he usually used his phone to contact a few close people, and for the rest of the time, it was for viewing lewd images.
He was a regular visitor to forums for gentlemen with a penchant for the supernatural, such as "Mysterious Gentleman," "Female Ghost," and "Heartbeat Story."
Last year, Jiang Lu had hoped to compete for the title of bar owner of "Mysterious Gentleman," but unfortunately, his authentic video of a female ghost was harmonized for being too lifelike, allowing a scoundrel who resorted to cosplay and pretense to snatch the title. Since then, having seen through the hypocrisy of these so-called dragon admirers, he only viewed the images, refusing to lower himself to their level.
Jiang Lu, only played for real!
His stamina, along with the BUFF provided by Yixina, meant that he didn't need much sleep to stay energetic.
Therefore, he didn't plan to rest but was ready to make the most of his time to continue grinding instances.
His top priority was to become powerful quickly.
In the past, a minor ghost like today would have made him commit suicide without resistance, unlike now, where using props led to only such an effect, it would have been embarrassing.
Summoning the panel, he accepted the unnoticed friend requests from the three Ghostface Foxes and was about to filter through the Spirit Realm when Jiang Lu suddenly remembered he had a Skill Scroll yet to be unlocked. Without much thought, he clicked "Unlock."
[Congratulations to Exorcist 'I Fight for Jiang Bao' on venturing into the Spirit Realm and acquiring the conceptual ability, Unlock Lv1]
[Quality: Myth]
[Unlock Lv1: You can open any door (Cooldown: 24 hours)]
[Remarks]
[① A conceptual ability is 100% effective when the prerequisite conditions are met.]
[② A conceptual ability has a cool-down period, and leveling up only reduces the cooldown time.]
[③ The quality of a conceptual ability only exists in Myth and Forbidden.]
?
Jiang Lu was completely baffled.
He was initially pleased to see the word "Myth," but after reading through everything, he was left utterly puzzled.
"What kind of nonsensical skill is this? What's the use?"
But after a moment of thought, he felt something wasn't right, a mythical skill would not be that simple!
"Sss...concept...a concept, huh…" Jiang Lu muttered, "Any door..."
He tentatively grabbed his phone and opened a website that had long been blocked.
"A portal... that should count as a door, right?"
After a curious attempt, he found that the loading circle on the screen stopped spinning after a short while. The 404 NOT FOUND message that had thwarted him so many times didn't appear, replaced instead by a screen full of unspeakable covers. At the same time, the Unlock skill went into cooldown.
Jiang Lu was overjoyed.
"Holy shit! Awesome! The best of the best!"
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