I Became a Witch in a World Full of Urban Legends

Chapter 194: Speech

“Excuse me? Hello? Wake up!”

Yibei suddenly woke up amidst a soft call and sat up straight when a familiar face came into view.

It was the girl from before, in the study room.

Shit, I need to put this knife away before I scare her.

He hurriedly looked around for his kitchen knife, only for him to notice that his guitar bag was zipped shut. Even his laptop and headphones were still inside his bag.

Everything he had just experienced was like a nightmare as if nothing had happened.

 

Something must have been haunting me right before I even entered this room, then.

 

Just as he was in deep thought, a slender white hand waved in front of his eyes.

“Hello? Are you okay? You’ve been making strange noises in your sleep, and I wanted to wake you up. Do you need to go to the nurse, or—no, it’s the anniversary; I don’t think they’re available?”

“Sorry!” he interrupted. “What time is it now?”

The girl was slightly startled by his outburst and replied shakily, “It should be almost half past five.”

Hearing this, he immediately grabbed the guitar bag and dashed out of self-study, passing through the corridor like a gust of wind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the corridor, Lin Yiqi breathed out a sigh of relief, watching him dash to the other side of campus.

Fortunately, the urban legend in his body remained dormant.

 

I resolved a crisis, she thought. Hopefully, I won’t ever bump into him again.

Backstage, Zhang Yijing paced back and forth and looked out the window, watching as the sun sank into the horizon.

Tap, tap, tap, tap…

A rush of footsteps soon came into the hearing. Turning his head, he saw a familiar figure rushing towards him backstage, and the sun’s flaming rays fell upon him like a majestic cape flying behind him.

For some reason, he was almost moved to tears upon seeing Yibei, and he yelled out, “Where were you? Do you know how much I have suffered because of you?”

“Ah, sorry, something came up, and I was delayed… Am I too late?”

“You’re too late!” he cried out. “It’s too late; I can’t have them coordinate the lighting and the music anymore, and…”

“And because of you, I have to give a speech in your stead!” A boy came out of nowhere and scoffed. “You both owe me a big favour. It’s not easy coming up with a speech in just an hour.”

Zhang Yijing crept closer towards Yibei and whispered to him, “You see, he’s the person replacing you later for your speech, but if you’re ready, I can try and put you back on.”

Zhang Yijing scurried away to the organisers, and the boy rolled his eyes, saying, “And why were you late? If anything goes wrong during the speech, I’ll have both of you paying me back.”

Yibei had originally wanted to let him give his speech, but his tone was way too unfriendly!

“Can I ask what the title of your speech is?”

“And why do you want to know?”

“Oh, uh, I heard of you a long time ago, and I like your writing style. Maybe it’ll be better than my sob story.”

“Hah! You have good taste,” the boy nodded. “It’s [How College Students Should Start a Business]! Interesting, right?”

“Right.”

“Then tell me! What do you like about my writing?”

…? I haven’t even heard or seen your speeches! I was just trying to be friendly!

 

“Oh, your writing is certainly interesting,” Yibei forced out. “You’ll surely get the crowd going with your speech. This must mean that you started your own business, right?”

“Well, yes! Let me tell you, the planning stage is almost over, and as soon as we enter the market, we’ll be listed on the GEM in less than a year! I got connections, so no matter what, we’ll appear at the top!”

Absolutely not.

 

Yibei thought that this guy should not be allowed to give a speech after their short conversation, and he needed to take over.

“Well, don’t you want to know what my speech is about?” he asked.

“Not really. I guess I can listen before they let me take the stage.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Yibei smiled, hearing Zhang Yijing calling from a distance. “You’ll be hearing it very soon.”

“E-excuse me?”

“I’m about to go on stage,” he smiled. “I suggest you go to the audience so you can hear it better.”

“Y-you! No! You’re jeopardising the future of college students! They need to be like me! They need to start a business! And I spent an hour writing this speech; you can’t.”

Yibei simply walked away, smiling.

In the auditorium, a grey-haired man stared at the stage attentively, and he seemed a little restless.

“Wang, why isn’t Lu Yibei out yet?”

“Professor Ma, I told you—something happened, and he’s being delayed. It should be his turn soon.”

Yes, this old man is Professor Ma. Hearing that Yibei was about to give a speech, he snuck out of the hospital and rushed back to school.

“Professor Ma, you seem interested in this Lu Yibei. Who is he?”

“My proud disciple,” he smiled.

“No wonder you rushed all the way back,” Wang said, smiling.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” The announcer interrupted him. “Now, let us invite Lu Yibei to give us his inspiring speech!”

“He’s here! Be quiet!” Professor Ma ordered.

Wang slightly opened his mouth but swallowed his words and nodded.

He saw a handsome boy walking to the centre of the stage, looking extremely calm and confident.

“Ahem! Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Lu Yibei, and the title of my speech today is [The Things About Being Brave That Nobody Talks About.”

“Professor Ma, are you sure this is your disciple?”

“Uh.”

All Professor Ma could hear was a string of boos coming from the audience, mixed with another boy’s shouting in the crowd.

“That’s it? Are you fucking kidding me? You should have let me on stage, you piece of…”

“Romain Rolland once said that true heroism is to see the world as it is and to love it. I am proud of myself for living and understanding life for the sake of justice, but nobody ever tells you how stupid putting yourself in danger is. Maybe it’s worth the praise, maybe it’s worth the pain, but in loving life and, by extension, another person’s life, you might lose your life in the process. Love yourself more, and be nicer to yourself.”

“With that, I would like to end my speech with a quote. Please do not get stabbed twenty-eight times in a row. Thank you.”

The speech was decent enough despite the booing. However, Professor Ma stood up and applauded regardless and yelled, “Yes! What a great speech!”

The entire auditorium was quiet, but they all followed suit and started clapping for him as well.josei

To be honest, most of the audience was asleep, but if the professor liked it, then we liked it too!

Lin Yiqi narrowed her eyes as she saw him leave the stage.

“Love yourself more.”

It’s strange for someone to say that after encountering an urban legend. She doesn’t know anyone who continues to live life as they are ever since they come into contact with one.

She gently stroked the baby on her shoulder and frowned.

“No matter, he is just a weak psychic. He should be no problem.”

In the backstage…

Yibei ignored the vice president, who was crying out of excitement, grabbed his guitar bag, and ran out of the auditorium.

Although the topics of his speech took many detours, he managed to stay on track and end it gracefully. Now that it was getting dark, he needed to find a quiet place and wait for the bamboo scrolls to take him.

The sky outside was a lead grey colour, and he could feel the temperature of his body increasing rapidly.

However, as soon as he walked out, he saw Professor Ma waiting by the door, which scared him.

Damn it, not now! He thought as he ran past him.

“Yibei, stop!”

Yibei stopped and waited for Professor Ma to walk up to him, as he said with a serious expression, “Lu Yibei, tell me what you just talked about on stage—your ability to bullshit is not enough! I need to teach you how to write a better script! You’re my student, and…”

As he spoke, he suddenly saw a wisp of smoke rising from his hair, and he stopped immediately.

He was very familiar with what the smoke was, and it sent him straight back to his laboratory.

Yibei glanced at Professor Ma and sighed, “Well, you can teach me another day. You know what’s about to happen.”

Professor Ma’s lips parted slightly, and he wordlessly stepped aside to let him go.

…

“Lu Yibei, wait!”

“What?”

“I’ll drive you!” Professor Ma called out. “I’ve seen you and your night sickness before, and, well, I think my car can give you some cover! Y-you’re a girl, so…”

Yibei couldn’t help but feel moved and nodded: “I’ll leave it to you. Take me somewhere where nobody is around.”

Professor Ma hurriedly waved him over towards the parking lot.

He sat in Professor Ma’s car, and as soon as they left, the two forces in his body began to gain momentum.

His heart beat wildly against his chest, but it seemed to beat more violently compared to last time. The beasts within him struck fiercely, sending waves of heat and cold throughout his body.

His eyes were also scorching as if to fight off the coldness.

In an instant, his blood ignited, and his blood vessels shone with a golden light.

“Ack! Ugh…”

His body began to twitch violently, and painful moans escaped his lips.

Hearing the unusual noises in the backseat and noticing that the car was unusually hot, Professor Ma glanced backwards before turning on the radio to the maximum.

He didn’t want anyone to misunderstand the situation. He is a gentleman who is not going to take advantage of his own student, who was moaning and groaning in his backseat.

“Ah! It hurts. Stop.”

A soft cry drowned out the loud music, and Professor Ma’s grip on the wheel became tighter.

 

I need to clear the dashcam’s footage after this, or my wife will kill me.

 

They soon drove out of campus onto a shortcut, and the surroundings turned barren in the mountainous region of Huacheng.

Driving on the bumpy mountain road, the view ahead suddenly opened up into an abandoned quarry with piles of sand and gravel by a river.

They gradually slowed down, and before Professor Ma could stop the car, Lu Yibei unlocked the door and leapt out onto the sand; his foot instantly turned the sand into a shimmering crystal as he plunged into the river.

Sizzle!

A sheet of bubbles rose up as if the water were boiling.

Glancing into the backseat, he could see that the seat was burnt out in the shape of a tiny girl and felt worried.

 

I need to send this to the workshop before my wife finds out.

A few minutes later, Professor Ma sat beside the girl on a huge rock by the river. The two held cooked fish in their hands and an alluring aroma wafted in the air.

“You’re going to enter the bamboo scrolls?” He asked quizzically. “Should I enter too?”

“It’s not as dangerous as you think. I’m fine on my own,” the girl said, eating.

Oh, it actually tastes pretty good.

 

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Probably not.”

If anything, I’d rather you go home early.

“W-well, I can help you look over the bamboo scrolls. What if some creature appears and takes the scrolls away?”

Before Yibei could answer, she could feel something change: the bamboo scrolls unfurled without her knowing, and an unsettling aura filled the air, swallowing the surrounding moonlight like a vortex.