Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
This was definitely no human!
As the thought ran through Li Yan’s mind, the ferocious creature attacked with a vicious roundhouse kick. In a flash of black lightning, the leg was aimed straight at Li Yan’s temple.
Li Yan instinctively raised his arm to block it, but was sent flying sideways by the immense force.
Li Yan had no chance to get back on his feet as the black shadow came crashing down. Unable to avoid it, his right shoulder was struck, causing his whole arm to go numb. Immediately after, another attack came from the front, as the tip of a shoe aimed viciously for his face.
This barrage of kicks rained down on him, leaving him no room to escape. The moment the final kick landed, Li Yan would surely be killed, or at least maimed.
Without thinking, his hands reached out towards the leg flying towards him. His left hand reached towards the back of the man’s knee and pulled.
Bang!
Thud.
The man’s right foot struck Li Yan’s elbow, but he fell to the ground with a thud.
His face of distorted flesh was directly facing Li Yan.
In a flash, Li Yan, who had up until now been on the defensive, grabbed onto the man’s shoulders, leaned backwards, and forced the man to fall forward!
A hint of viciousness flashed through Li Yan’s eyes. He flipped his body around and pressed his right leg down onto the man’s neck. With an audible crack, the man’s arm was broken!
Without delay, Li Yan applied pressure on the man’s lower back and grabbed his other arm. With a methodical twist and a pull came the chilling sound of bone snapping. Next, Li Yan kicked the man’s shin sharply and viciously. It hit a weak spot and caused it to bend in unnatural ways.
Only then did Li Yan rise to his feet and look down at the man sprawled on the floor, struggling. His gaze lingered on the decayed flesh of his face.
Seeing that he was struggling to even get up, Li Yan heaved a sigh of relief and turned to reach for his phone. But at that exact moment, the man on the ground sprang into action! With his mouth wide and teeth out, he went for Li Yan’s leg!
As though he had eyes at the back of his head, Li Yan twisted his body around into a spinning kick. His right leg whistled through the air and landed right on the man’s temple.
With one kick, the man’s neck snapped. His head hung from his body at an awkward ninety degree angle, as if attached by a strand of hair. It was a brutal scene.
Li Yan rang his tongue along his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Not bloody bad at playing possum, eh.”
As his gaze swept across the man’s corpse, it was icy cold and filled with bloodlust. The warmth of the store-owner earlier was long gone.
“Spectacular, simply spectacular. The essence of the northern style’s chain kicks is the continuity of movements. The moment one takes initiative, the opponent is almost never able to gain the upper hand. To think that you managed to turn the tables with a particularly fierce ‘Flip the Horse on its Hooves’… It is said that the Li Family of Hejian is unparalleled with the spear and the sword, but it seems that their barehanded skills are exceptional as well.”
Li Yan raised his head to see a stubby fat man standing in the doorway.
The man was wearing a white tank top, bell-bottomed pants, and flip-flops. His hair was greasy and he looked sloppy. Saying he resembled a pig pig would be an accurate description.
Li Yan astutely noted that behind the man was pitch dark blackness. Beyond the doorway, there was no moonlight, no neon lights, no smell of smoke from the barbeque outside, and no noise from passing cars. There was only a thick, viscous, terrifying blackness.
“Where’s the woman?”
Li Yan glared at the man in front of him.
“Strong ability to take in the surroundings, top class movements, and well-timed reactions. Excellent.”
Sensing that Li Yan’s gaze was turning unfriendly, the man smiled and pointed to the ground.
Li Yan saw in his peripheral vision that the man’s corpse had completely vanished!
Only the fallen sofa and the mess scattered around remained as proof that what happened earlier was real.
“Am I dreaming?”
Li Yan put his hand on his forehead. Perhaps nothing had happened. He had simply fallen asleep on the sofa after three glasses of warm water. There was no shoe, no man with a decaying face, nothing at all.
“I have nothing to do with the two that came over earlier. The only thing we have in common is that we are both very interested in you. Don’t worry, I simply borrowed some of that man’s intention to give you a little greeting, that’s all. The two of them know nothing of this.”
Li Yan did not respond. He waited to hear what he would say next.
“Hmm, let’s do some self-introductions shall we? Uh, what’s my name again?”
He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled vitamin wrapper, a hair salon discount card with a picture of a naked woman, and bundles and bundles of used tissue. Finally, he fished out a stained, grubby ID card.
On it were the three words written clearly: “Wang x Yang.”
“Well, you can just call me Wang Yang. But you can also address me by my other name.”
He gave a mysterious smile.
“Mo Tapir.”
Li Yan looked him in the eye and grunted.
“Demon, do you want some dumplings?”
Wang Yang was dumbfounded for a moment and then laughed. He laughed harder and harder, as though he were mad.
“You, haha… You are simply too amusing. Hahaha…”
Li Yan glared. He swore on all of his ancestors that he would plant his shoe on this greasy man’s face if he could.
“I can save your life.” The man was suddenly laughing no more.
Li Yan stared. “You have a bone marrow that matches mine?”
“That’s child’s play.” Wang Yang shook his head. “I can let you have something better.”
Li Yan dropped his two hands. He stayed silent until Wang Yang began to lose his patience.
“What can I do for you?”
Wang Yang raised his palms and shrugged.
“You’ll know once you try it. However, this is a road of no return…”
“Sounds better than dying.”
A cold glint flashed across Li Yan’s eyes and then vanished.
“Tell me about it.”
His face broke into a smile, which turned creepy and solemn. “Alright, come then.”
Behind him, the abyss-like blackness rushed in, sweeping over the horrified Li Yan and swallowing him whole.
…
Li Yan felt himself falling as the darkness engulfed him. All sorts of ridiculous and unbelievable scenery appeared before his eyes:
A black chain spanning the horizon. A majestic hall made of tens of thousands of pounds of green cast copper. A golden red albatross dancing across the sky. Electric blue thunderbolts forming in dark, heavy clouds. And within the majestic hall, giant mysterious silhouettes focused their attention on him.
His blood became unbelievably hot, burning him until his vision was red. But even through the curtain of red, he could see that amongst the giant mysterious silhouettes, there was one of them with eighteen wings of different lengths and nine grotesque, vicious heads, one atop a neck dripping with fresh blood.
“Awaken her, my Walking Half.”
“Who are you?”
Li Yan was unable to utter a word. He could only shout out in his mind.
Then, there was just icy cold and darkness.