Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
At Lee Hing Pawn Shop, Li Yan didn’t find anything useful. He had heard that a drug addict had come to sell something when his cravings kicked in; it was an object obtained through unlawful means, and he had offered it an extremely low price. From the description, it seemed like it could be a fragment of “The Probe into Ancient Novels” transcript. However, someone had already come by earlier and bought it, and the shop owner couldn’t remember much about the sale. No matter how Li Yan banged on the desk, he could not get any information.
Over the next few days, Li Yan was able to sense the presence of the fragments multiple times. One of the fragments stayed in the same spot the whole time. After some digging, Li Yan found out that that location was where the Kowloon Association executives conducted their meetings. Only the few members of the executive committee and their closest aides could enter.
The other fragment was mischievous. Every time Li Yan approached it, it went further away. When he kept his distance, it would creep closer to him.
After a few experiences like this, Li Yan could almost confirm that the person with the fragment knew of his existence!
Perhaps, he was like himself.
At first, Li Yan did not think of it from this angle. But after thinking back to how he encountered Mo Tapir that day, he could deduce that he was not the only Yanfu Walker.
The two of them did not meet within these few days. Compared to Li Yan’s aggressiveness, this person seemed much more cautious. However, Li Yan could feel his patience running thin. The day that he would face this foe was not far away.
It was getting late. Li Yan sat on the bed in his apartment, carefully running his hand along the faded yellow transcript fragments.
Although they looked brittle, they felt surprisingly tough. The two fragments he had in his hands were illustrations of two different monsters.
One looked somewhat like a goat and somewhat like a boar, but was not either. The pale red patterns that formed its eyes made it look bewitching and demonic. Under its left horn were the words Ao Goat.
Li Yan flipped the paper around. On the other side were rows of tiny, dense words, each the size of a fly’s head.
“During the rule of Duke Mu of Qin, villagers excavated a strange beast shaped like a hound and a goat, but none could name it. When bringing the beast to Duke Mu, they passed by two children. The children said: “Its name is Ao, and it lives underground, feeding on the brains of the dead. If one wishes to kill it, they must stab its head with cypress wood.” The Ao Goat replied: “These two children are called Chen Bao; the one who obtains the male will become king, and one who obtains the female will become an overlord.” The villagers abandoned the Ao Goat to chase after the children, who transformed into fowls and flew into the forest. The villagers reported to Duke Mu, who organized a great hunt and eventually caught the female.”
Li Yan looked at the other fragment. On it was a strange monster with five eyes and hair flying in the wind. At the bottom right corner of the picture were the words Jigong Clan.
Li Yan flipped it around to look at the back. On it were the words: “Jigong Clan, skilful craftsmen, able to create flying chariots and ride the wind great distances.”
“Pretty interesting.”
Li Yan furrowed his brows. These transcript fragments had an air of mystery and elegance from ancient times. Unfortunately, Li Yan was only twenty-five, and he knew practically nothing of these myths that had been passed down from ancient China. It was hard for him to figure out if there were any secrets hidden there.
Ubume Bird, Ao Goat, Jigong Clan, and perhaps even the fat man who called himself Mo Tapir, should all be creatures and entities from Chinese legends and myths, and should be purely fictional. However, that fat man had indeed managed to bring Li Yan to Kowloon.
As he was fighting to the death with He Andong, he had also personally experienced the unbelievable effects of the “A Strong Impression” state. That low and raspy voice had referred to him as “Yanfu Walker.” What was Yanfu, then?
“I’ll think about it more when I get back.”
Li Yan stopped troubling over these unanswered questions. Instead, he exchanged the Hong Kong money in his hands for Yanfu Points, leaving only two thousand dollars to carry with him.
Today was the tenth day. Li Yan had won all of his battles so far and had a little over 180,000 Hong Kong dollars on him, which equated to eighteen Yanfu Points. At this rate, it would never be possible for him to collect the total three hundred Yanfu Points in a month. But he had his own plans.
He had calculated it out. Only money that was acknowledged to be his and was truly in his possession could be exchanged for Yanfu points. He had also tested what it meant for an item to be in his possession. One way was to obtain the money properly, like through a contract. This applied to his earnings in the ring, or to any other odd jobs that he did. However, when it came to unlawful means such as robbery, he had to wait forty-eight hours before he could exchange the money.
Li Yan had stolen a few dollar bills from He Andong and his gang to test this out. Of course, he could not take much under the watchful eyes of the police.
Other than that, any money that was borrowed could not be exchanged no matter how much time passed, even if you shamelessly refused to return the money.
“You have spent ten Yanfu Points to purchase an ES Hematopoietic Stem Cell Booster. This item can only be purchased once within this Yanfu case.”
ES Hematopoietic Stem Cell Booster: Functions
Instructions for use are as follows:
When treating blood cell abnormalities or any other blood diseases, a strong lethargic effect will be induced. Please use in a safe area.
Injection of this item into Yanfu Walkers possessing blood related skills or genetic mutations to blood could result in unknown effects. Please use carefully.
This item does not contain the ability to cure blood-related diseases. Should the condition worsen, please purchase the ES Hematopoietic Stem Cell Complete Booster Shot separately.
Over the past few days, Li Yan’s condition had indeed gotten worse. He already had only a few months left to live. Along with fierce back-to-back battles in the ring, Li Yan could feel that his body was gradually becoming unable to withstand it. In one fight, although he clearly took down his opponent in a flash, his nose would not stop bleeding after he left the ring.
Even Red Ghost could tell that something was wrong and had advised Li Yan to rest for a while. That was why he decided to simply use the booster first instead of the complete shot, in case any accidents happened.
In front of him was an injection gun made of some metallic alloy that had a very futuristic feel. What was most interesting was that after Li Yan injected himself with the booster, the injection gun transformed into black streams of data and completely vanished.
This booster took effect immediately. In no time at all, Li Yan felt his eyelids become heavy and his body heated up. He kept the two fragments on his body and fell straight to sleep.
He slept all the way until four in the afternoon the next day.
When Li Yan opened his eyes, he felt like he was experiencing a brand new world. Each breath he took felt full and hearty.
Fever, haemorrhage, and especially that insufferable bone pain… Li Yan had overcome them numerous times with his back drenched in cold sweat.
His audiences watched him beat each and every opponent in the ring, with not one of them able to last longer than fifteen breaths against him. The moniker “King of Hell” became more and more well-known.
But only he knew that ending the battle as swiftly as possible was the only way for him to win. With his condition, he simply had no stamina for a long, drawn-out fight.
Li Yan stood up and got into his stance. His left palm faced outwards, arm slightly bent, right palm faced inwards, guarding his elbow. His left leg extended outwards and his right leg turned inwards, twisting his body at the waist, all the while keeping his knees close together to guard the crotch. He then performed a Single Palm Switch that flowed like water, executed without a single flaw. Only Li Yan himself knew the changes in his internal energies. There was even a moment where he felt as though he had completely recovered.
The Ericsson phone on his bed rang suddenly. Li Yan picked it up only to hear Judy’s voice on the other end.
“Yan, are you free tonight?”
“Of course, I have no fights tonight. What’s up? Are you going shopping and need someone to carry your bags for you?”
The sound of a woman’s chuckle came from the other end. “I bought a little too much once, and you’re still making fun of me even now. I’m bored. Come with me to Fuyi Tower to watch some matches. There’s a really fierce new fighter at the level six rings. Come see if he’s a match for you.”
“Since you asked, of course there’s no problem.”
Li Yan felt around his bed. He picked up his jacket and draped it around his shoulders.
“What time tonight?”
“I’ll reach out around eight. Don’t make me wait for you.”
“Alright.”
Li Yan put down the phone.
By the wall was a whole row of paper bags. Inside them were all the clothes, watches, ties and even cologne that Judy had bought for Li Yan. They were all sorted out neatly by Li Yan and placed by the side.
He looked at the items with a mixed expression on his face. It was not clear what he was thinking about.
…
Fuyi Tower.
“Brother Yan, why have you come? You don’t have a fight today.”
One of the tuxedo-clad waitresses greeted Li Yan with a smile. These days, they were already quite familiar with Li Yan. After all, compared to the on-the-run murderers from places like Vietnam and Myanmar, Li Yan was much more approachable.
“Zhen, could you get a plate of charsiew from the kitchen for me? I’m so hungry.”
Li Yan said to the waitress.
“There’s no charsiew in the kitchen. I’ll help you get whatever I can.”
“Alright, come back quickly. I’ll wait here for you.”
Li Yan leaned on the red brick wall on the second floor, then fished out a stool from behind the curtain and sat down. Although the seating area was very spacious, it was all full. Li Yan did not wish to squeeze in with the crowd, so he decided to watch from afar by the curtains.
“OK, wait here for me.”
Zhen hurried off.
In the ring was Zhou, whom he was familiar with. His opponent was a veteran soldier from Vietnam holding a prismatic spike bayonet in his hand. Zhou on the other hand was holding a pair of knuckle dusters.
“Weapons fight?”
Li Yan mumbled to himself. After coming to Kowloon, he had not fought with weapons yet. He found himself watching more intently.
Compared to a bayonet knife, Zhou’s knuckle dusters were at a bit of a disadvantage. Li Yan had once gotten his hands on a Chinese SKS spike bayonet and was familiar with this kind of weapon. Because the stab wounds that it causes are holes, they are almost impossible to close. It was a vicious weapon; even when used on a non-vital area like an arm or a leg, it could cause death from blood loss.
However, from the looks of the ring, it seemed that Zhou was getting the upper hand.
“Brother, do you mind if I sit next to you?”
Li Yan looked up. It was a woman in sportswear. Her facial features were gentle, her eyelashes were long, and her hair, which was tied in a single ponytail, reached all the way to her waist.
“I don’t mind.”
Li Yan reached out for another stool and passed it to her. She said her thanks and sat down. Then, she took out a palm-sized porcelain bottle from her pouch and pulled out the cork. The rich aroma of alcohol wafted out.
The woman took a sip and looked up to see Li Yan staring at her.
“Baigan?”