Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
“I won’t let him off. Definitely not.”
Judy was wearing a purple turtleneck nightgown. There was a wine stain at the corner of her mouth and her champagne glass was empty.
Li stood to the side. She opened her mouth to speak but did not know where to begin. It made no sense that a man like that, who would risk his life for money, would not throw himself at Judy after meeting her.
Regardless, this was definitely not a bad thing for Judy.
“Ma’am, a phone call for you.” A maid with braided hair walked over.
Judy picked up the receiver. A deep, seductive voice came over the phone.
“Hello? Mr. Charles, it’s already so late. What’s the matter? Case? Wasn’t the case closed?”
Judy quietly listened to the lawyer speak.
“Alright, Charles, I’ll consider it. I’m a little tired right now. I’ll contact you another day.”
Judy hung up, her brows furrowed.
“What’s the matter, Judy?” asked Li, who could see that something was wrong from her expression.
“The antique auction house that was robbed wants to meet that bastard in person. They were taking stock of the recovered antiques and found that there were a few missing transcripts from the collection of the Republic period masters. If that bastard has taken them, they are willing to buy them for a good price.”
Li knew of course that she was referring to Li Yan.
“That kind of guy wouldn’t have the taste for that stuff. Stealing antiques?”
Li laughed out loud.
“That can’t be right…” said Judy as she shook her head, as though remembering something. “But once, while changing clothes, I saw it on him.”
“You were watching him change clothes? Or were you the one changing his clothes?” Li’s eyes opened wide.
Judy glared back. After a moment of keeping her head down in thought, she suddenly looked up.
“Li, contact the auctioneers later and find out exactly where those antiques came from. Also, help me check whatever sources you can on whose hands those things have been in recently. I want this done quickly.”
…
June 30th, 1986.
The sky was gray.
A man was holding a long object wrapped tightly in cloth in his hand. He kept his head low, stepping over the murky puddles beneath him before pushing open the doors of the apartment at 22 Sumiao Street. On his chest, the fragment burned hot, as though thirsting for something.
The walls were covered in graffiti drawn in chalk, and one large patch was simply cracking and falling apart. The number plates by the doors passed Li Yan’s eyes one by one. Some of the rooms were still lit, but others seemed uninhabited.
He went straight until finally stopping in front of number 411. Li Yan clenched his fists. He gently pushed the door and it actually opened.
An odor of blood attacked his nose. It was so strong that the stench of the place could not mask it.
Li Yan’s pupils shrank and he subconsciously took a step back.
A cold, luminescent light shone into the room so it was not in complete darkness.
A woman was sitting on the chair, unmoving. She sat facing Li Yan but her facial features were not visible.
“Ahem. It’s late. You’re not asleep yet, Auntie?”
Li Yan’s gaze was sharp like a hawk’s. He walked in with large strides.
Walking straight up to the woman, he unceremoniously drew a chair and sat down.
“…Auntie?”
Li Yan tilted his head. The woman in the chair in front of him still did not move. Li Yan clenched his teeth and moved closer, doing his best to bear with the smell. From the faint sky light that shone in, he finally got a good look at the woman’s face.
The large spots of liver mortis on her face were frightening to look at. A few blow flies were resting on her already rotting face, and a few places on her body were already leaking fluids.
“Sss,” Li Yan subconsciously drew his breath.
Suddenly, the woman’s closed eyes opened wide. A withered, putrid hand clawed out, attacking Li Yan’s neck!
He drew his sword in an arc, a well-practiced motion, and the black, withered arm flew across the air, spattering black, foul-smelling blood across the floor.
Li Yan’s eyes widened. The glittering sword swirled in the air in a swift arc, chopping towards the horrifying ghoul in front of him.
The small, skinny corpse suddenly moved backwards without warning. The sword only managed to graze its neck, leaving a trickle of thick black blood on the tip of the sword.
“Die!”
Li Yan had no intention of retreating, and leapt forward to close in on the ghoul. His sword thrust out like a flying arrow, straight towards its heart, and pierced right through. He twisted his wrist. Foul-smelling black blood spurted out, spraying all over Li Yan’s chest.
Li Yan tried to pull out the Han Sword but found that the force of his hand was completely overwhelmed.
This was a strange and dangerous situation that Li Yan had never experienced before, and he had to be as decisive and brutal as possible. Without any hesitation, he let go of the sword, planted his left foot into the ground behind him, and drove his right foot into the sword’s hilt. The Han Sword pierced through the ghoul’s body completely, leaving only the hilt on the outside. Without any delay in his movements, he grabbed the nearby foldable stool and smashed it onto the head of the ghoul.
The stool broke into pieces on impact, sending scraps of wood flying everywhere and leaving stumps of wood behind in Li Yan’s hands.
Perhaps Li Yan had used too much force, or perhaps the quality of the stool was poor, but nevertheless, something happened that made Li Yan’s heart sink: a sharp piece of broken wood flew straight at his eyes. With Li Yan’s reaction speed, all he could do was to shut his eyelids before it flew into them, but because of that, he lost sight of the ghoul.
The wood shrapnel scratched Li Yan’s eyelids. When he opened his eyes again, his view was covered by a curtain of red, and the ghoul that had been right in front of him had vanished!
Without thinking, Li Yan twisted at his waist and turned around. His back twisted like a coiling dragon, and the back of his fist swung out like an iron whip behind him!
There was nothing there…
“Ha. Ha.”
Li Yan breathed heavily. Glancing in all directions, he didn’t see any movement in the room. He steadied his breath and then shouted out.
“Xiu! Are you here? Xiu…”
Li Yan suddenly felt an intense pain at his waist. A sharp boning knife found its way straight into an acupoint on his waist!
Li Yan moved with frightening speed. The moment the tip of the knife contacted his clothing, he reached out by reflex to grab his foe by the shoulder, but once again felt nothing. A chill ran down his spine. All that he could do was grip the handle of the knife, but he found that the knife seemed to have a life of its own and was drilling straight into his waist!
Li Yan pulled out the knife and clutched at his waist with his left hand to stop the blood. He pressed his body into the corner, carefully examining everything in front of him.
From these few exchanges, this did not seem like an uneven fight between a fierce spirit and mortal, but more like an exchange between a sharp, vicious beast and a cunning, terrifying ghost.
“Hehe, Auntie, it seems that your temper is even worse than mine, eh?”
Surprisingly, Li Yan still managed to laugh in this situation. However the chilly look in his eyes almost seemed to make the room colder.
“If I die like this, I’m sure to become a more fearsome ghost than you. So what now? Do we go for round two down in hell?”
“Clink, clang…”
The pots and pans in the room rattled. Li Yan gripped the knife in his right hand. He stared unblinking, allowing the blood from his eyelid to dye his vision red.
The room was silent, as though the ghoul had already left.
Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes…
Li Yan felt an immense strain in his eyes, but he dared not blink. Sweat dripped from his brow to the tip of his nose and then down to the corners of his lips, even into his mouth. It tasted extremely salty.
Finally, Li Yan could hold it no longer and blinked. When his vision went black for a mere half a second, the terrifying rotten face was back, closing in on his face and dripping black blood.
“Pooh!”
Li Yan spat a mouthful of fresh red blood from his tongue all over the face of the ghoul.