This was no human being!

As the thought flashed through Li Yan's mind, the monstrous, grotesque creature lashed out with a vicious whip kick. Like a bolt of black lightning, it struck towards Li Yan's temple.

Li Yan instinctively threw up his arm to block, but the immense force sent him flying sideways.

Before Li Yan could rise, a domineering shadow smashed down upon him. Unable to dodge in time, a foot crashed into his right shoulder, numbing his entire arm with a searing pain. Then, as his vision blurred, the venomous tip of a shoe hurtled towards his face.

The rapid succession of kicks descended like a sudden downpour, leaving him utterly unable to evade. If this kick landed, Li Yan would be left dead or crippled.

Without a second thought, he reached out with both hands towards the crew-cut man's flying leg. His left hand's fingers silently gouged into the man's knee with vicious precision!

"Crack!"

"Thud."

The crew-cut man's right foot met Li Yan's elbow, yet his body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

That mangled face of flesh and skin was now directly before Li Yan.

In the blink of an eye, the previously defensive Li Yan reached out and grabbed the crew-cut man's shoulder, arching his body backward, causing the man's upper body to uncontrollably topple forward!

A fierce light flashed in Li Yan's eyes as he swiftly rolled over, pinning the man's neck with his right leg. A harsh snap resounded as the crew-cut man's arm was brutally torn off!

Then, pressing against the man's lower back, Li Yan grabbed his other arm, pulling and yanking with clean precision, indifferent to the grating sound of breaking bones. His right foot savagely kicked the man's shinbone, dislocating the leg with a precise, ferocious blow, twisting it outward in an unnatural angle.

Only then did he stand, looking down from above at the crew-cut man who lay on the ground, struggling. His gaze lingered particularly long on that Face of Rotting Flesh and Skin.

Watching the crew-cut man unable to rise, Li Yan exhaled deeply, turning his head to reach for his phone. Incredibly, at that moment, the man on the ground burst forth, baring his ghastly white teeth and biting towards Li Yan's thigh!

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Li Yan twisted and spun, delivering a flying kick. His right foot, with the sound of the wind, ruthlessly struck the man's temple.

The crew-cut man's neck bone snapped from the kick! His head twisted a full ninety degrees, hanging at a grotesque angle from his neck in a manner too gruesome for words.

Li Yan licked his gums and spat out a mouthful of blood:

"Still trying to be intimidating, huh?"

His menacing gaze swept over the man's corpse, the cold, blood-tinged aura billowing out without restraint, a far cry from the mild-mannered demeanor of a music store owner.

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"Brilliant, truly brilliant," a voice said. "The Tan Leg style's 'single whip to the ear' emphasizes relentless momentum. Once the initiative is seized, the opponent has little chance of turning the tables. Yet, it was countered by the fierce and unexpected 'White Horse's Hoof', turning defeat into victory. They say the Li Family from Hejian excels in both spear and sword, but your grappling skills are also impressively sharp."

Li Yan lifted his head to see a short, stout man standing at the doorway.

The man wore a white tank top, bell-bottom pants, and slippers. His hair was greasy, and his overall appearance was slovenly. The term 'deadbeat otaku' fit him to a tee, without a hint of inappropriateness.

Yet, Li Yan keenly noticed the pitch darkness behind the fat man; outside the door, there was no moonlight, no neon lights, no smoke from barbecues, nor the roar of cars—just an ominously thick blackness.

"Where is the woman?" Li Yan demanded, fixing his gaze on the fat man before him.

"Excellent adaptive skills, top-notch agility and reflexes, very good," the fat man said with a smile, seemingly unfazed by Li Yan's increasingly hostile stare. He gestured towards the ground with a smile.

Li Yan glanced peripherally, only to find the crew-cut man's corpse had vanished without a trace!

Only the prone couch and the disarray around it could testify that everything had indeed happened.

"Was I dreaming?"

Li Yan caressed his forehead, pondering whether anything had happened at all. Perhaps he had simply drunk three cups of hot water and fallen asleep on the sofa, without any leather shoes, without the man whose flesh fell from his face—nothing at all.

"I have no connection with those two men from earlier, except that we all share an interest in you. Don't worry, I merely borrowed a thought from that crew-cut fellow to say hello to you, that's all. They know nothing about this."

Li Yan remained silent, waiting for the fat man to continue.

"Well, let me introduce myself. Ah, what was my name again?"

The fat man dug into his pockets, pulling out a jumble of items—a crumpled vitamin wrapper, a barbershop discount card adorned with a cartoon character, used wads of unidentifiable tissue paper, and so on. Finally, he found a grubby ID card.

The name Wang X Yang was clearly written on it in bold letters.

"Anyway, just call me Wang Yang. But, you could also call me by another name."

The fat man grinned mischievously.

"Tapir."

Li Yan gave him a look and snorted.

"Devil, fancy some dumplings?"

Wang Yang was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, increasingly hysterical.

"You—haha—you're too funny. Hahaha..."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. He could swear to his Third Great Grandfather that he wanted nothing more than to stamp the leather shoe under his foot onto the greasy face of this fat man—if only he could.

"I can save your life." The fat man suddenly stopped laughing.

Li Yan stared at him and asked, "You have my matching bone marrow?"

"That's child's play." Wang Yang shook his head. "I can offer you something far better."

Li Yan let his hands fall to his sides and pondered for a long while, until Wang Yang grew impatient.

"What can I do for you?"

Wang Yang spread his hands.

"Why not try and see? But be warned, there's no turning back on this path..."

"Sounds better than waiting to die."

A cold, sharp light flashed briefly in Li Yan's eyes.

"Come on, let's hear it."

The fat man's smile widened, his expression turning dark and solemn: "Then, come."

Behind him, a churning abyss of black waves surged forth, engulfing the horrified Li Yan completely.

...

In that moment, Li Yan felt himself plummeting, enveloped in darkness, with bizarre and inconceivable visions flashing before his eyes.

Black chains spanning the horizon, a majestic hall cast from millions of pounds of green bronze, a golden-red albatross spiraling in the sky, and within the dark, heavy clouds, the gestation of a dense, blue-purple thunder plasma. In the midst of the grand hall, watching him, were countless vast and mysterious shadows.

His blood boiled, turning his vision crimson. And within that crimson curtain, he discerned one of those vast and mysterious shadows...

Eighteen wings of varying lengths, nine skulls looking fierce and strange, one neck dripping with fresh blood...

"Wake her, my walker."

"Who are you?"

Li Yan could not make a sound; he could only scream in his mind.

Cold, dark.

**********

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