Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
Many say that blood from the tip of the tongue can be used to chase ghosts away, but it’s hard to say whether or not those things really work. Today, Li Yan could safely say that using blood from the tip of the tongue to chase ghosts away really hurt…
Not dying when stabbed in the heart, destroying things without touching them, teleportation… if these were the things that both Li Yan and Zhang Mingyuan could defeat together, he couldn’t think of a better idea.
The shrill scream pierced Li Yan’s eardrums. The ghost shrieked in pain as it backed up, engulfed in white vapor. He lunged forward without hesitation and struck it’s skull with the knife in his hand.
Then someone yelled, “Mom!”
Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat as he kicked the ghost in the chest so hard that it flew. He looked toward the source of the yelling.
A pale, barefoot Xiu was standing there, her hands and skirt covered in blood. What shocked Li Yan more was that the trembling girl was pointing a gun at him.
Xiu shouted, her voice cracking, “Don’t hit my mom.”
Initiate ‘A Strong impression’!
Name: Zhang Changxiu
Status: Devoured by darkness (due to long term exposure to the dark side)
Treat Level: White
“Where did you get the gun,” asked Li Yan blankly as he walked towards Xiu.
“Stop moving or I’ll shoot.”
Li Yan ignored her and kept walking. As he approached her side, he felt a gust of wind at his left ear. Without a second thought, he raised his leg and struck the ghost’s cheek, kicking it aside.
With this kick, Li Yan could feel that the ghost was significantly weaker than before.
Xiu shut her eyes coldly and pulled the trigger with her pale finger, only to realize that it was stuck and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried.
“You didn’t lock in the magazine,” said Li Yan who snatched the gun, locked it, and shot at the ceiling, which scared Xiu out of her wits.
“Let go of my girl!” The ghost yelled but didn’t dare to move.
Li Yan was confused. He paused for a while, before letting go of the girl’s wrist. Then he said, “Xiu, go wait in the house. I want to talk to Auntie for a while.”
The girl chewed on her bottom lip as she remained motionless.
“Goog girl, head into the house,” the ghost said in a warm voice despite her gruesome appearance.
The girl choked up as she begged, “Yan, please don’t kill my mom. I’m begging you.”
“Xiu, go,” said the older lady in a harsher tone.
Li Yan pulled her by her shoulder into the house. He then faced the lady, his back against the door as he locked it. Xiu cried and screamed as she banged onto the door.
“Why are you bothering me? I don’t want my daughter to be lonely, without anyone to take care of her.”
Li Yan remained silent while the older lady questioned him, keeping his strong and determined demeanor.
“Aunt, I have to send you off today. I’ll find someone to take care of Xiu, trust me.”
“Are you going to take care of her? You’re going to send her to protective services, aren’t you?”
The lady shouted as she asked.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Even if I sent her there, she’d be better off than she is with you,” answered Li Yan coldly.
“But…” he lowered his voice, “I’m just here to keep myself alive. I have no right to reprimand you…”
He retrieved the burning piece of excerpt of the Ubume bird and puffed lightly, “Ultimately, I think we should battle it out.”
The lady stared at the picture of the nine-headed, eighteen-winged Ubume bird on the piece of paper. She was anxious at first, but then quickly understood the meaning behind it.
“You want my soul?”
“Not me, the bird.”
The lady laughed strangely then said, “Same thing… I promise to give you my soul, but I have a request.”
“Heh, if this goes on, I think I have a better chance of winning,” said Li Yan with a forced smile.
“Indeed,” replied the lady as she paused for a moment. “You said you would take care of my daughter. I want you to swear by it.”
“I won’t swear by that. But I will say for the last time that no matter what, I will find a way to take care of her. It’s your choice to believe or not.”
Li Yan rejected her request. He’d rather fight to death than to make a promise he couldn’t keep.
A person’s decisions and choices depend on their personalities. Li Yan knew that he could die, but he was willing to fight rather than ask for mercy.
The woman stared at Li Yan coldly as the air became still.
After a long while, when Li Yan’s wound at his waist had stopped bleeding, he lunged forward with his blade pointed at the woman.
“Remember what you said!”
The woman stared deeply at Li Yan, then crashed to the ground. The excerpt began glowing gold and red.
Following a scream that resembled a screech, a red drop of blood oozed from the woman’s forehead. It spiralled onto the excerpt as a red ball of fire engulfed Li Yan’s right arm.
Li Yan remained calm. The red flame lasted for nearly eight seconds before it extinguished itself, but Li Yan wasn’t hurt. When he opened his palm, the excerpt just laid there. The initially golden strokes had turned a strange shade of blood red, especially the eight pairs of eyes, which looked intensely alive.
“You have awakened the soul of the Ubume bird!”
“You have completed the most crucial part of this Yanfu case.”
“You have earned the right to conclude this case! Please decide whether you would like to end it in the next minutes. If you reject this conclusion, you can only return to the real world after you complete all the requirements of the Yanfu cases.”
“The following requirements have not been fulfilled: competing in the seventh round of the Kowloon rings. Your rewards will be compromised if this requirement is unfulfilled.”
It’s not yet time to end this, thought Li Yan.
“Reject!”
“Good luck to you.”
At this moment, in a Karaoke somewhere on Temple Street:
“The opponent has completed the most crucial part of the Yanfu case and received the right to conclude the case. If he decides to end this, your mission will be determined as a failure and you will be returned!”
“The opponent has rejected the conclusion of the Yanfu case.”
“Putting your life in someone else’s hands is a stupid decision.”
Under the pink lights, the person had a bitter expression. They threw the glass in their hand violently.
Li Yan walked towards the fallen woman. Now that the body was rid of spiritual control, it started to decompose quickly and give off a putrid smell.
Li Yan removed his shirt and covered the top half of the body. He turned to open the door and saw Xiu curled up in the corner staring blankly into space.
What shocked Li Yan were the destroyed corpses lying around in the house. The blood hadn’t dried up and there were signs that someone had tried to clean them up.
Li Yan observed the dragging stains on the floor. These people must have barged into the house in the middle of the night and been killed by Xiu’s mother. The person that had dragged these bodies into the house was undoubtedly Xiu, whose hands and clothes were stained with blood.
In the humid, putrid apartment, the mother, who had been transformed into a powerful ghost laid motionless in the chair. The girl must have dragged the bodies with all her might and tried to clean off the bloodstains…
How did she not realize that her mother was abnormal?
“The gun belonged to them?” Li Yan asked as he walked to the girl’s side.
Xiu was expressionless, as if she hadn’t heard Li Yan’s question.
Li Yan reached out and tried to pick her up but she resisted violently.
Xiu was like a little angry beast, glaring at Li Yan with bloodshot eyes.
Li Yan wasn’t discouraged as he reached for her once again. This time, Xiu lunged at him and sunk her teeth into the back of his hand.
Li Yan was almost kneeling as blood oozed out from the bite. He remained expressionless for the most part, then placed his right hand on her back and said, “Come with me…”