Li Yan surveyed the room with a glance, noting its spartan bareness; not even a vase could be found. The only thing of substance was the showerhead, which was of a decently solid quality.
Blocking the doorway was Li Jiangyu, his body entwined with the sinuous dance of the Ba Snake.
Li Yan shook off the dust from his body, his toes plowing the ground, his back slightly hunched.
The Ba Snake moved its body with a tense force, its black scales flowing like water with an impressive tension.
The two men locked eyes in silence.
Beside the still-damp metal showerhead, a plump droplet trembled, then fell.
"Plip!"
The snake moved, and so did the man!
The ghastly white fangs came straight at him. Li Yan twisted on his left foot, evading the snake's head with a pivot and a Bagua Mother Palm's step-through. Instead of following up with a covering palm, he powered his calf to push off the ground, using the Footnote Recliner technique's 'pick' move, his foot aiming a kick at the side of the Ba Snake's head.
Li Yan frowned inwardly; his foot felt as though it had struck a block of cement with surprising resilience. Reacting swiftly, within the space of a single breath, he shifted from a kick to a stare-down, using the momentum to leap away.
Li Jiangyu seemed to have been frightened by Li Yan's ferocity in the earlier encounter in the corridor. Seeing Li Yan dodge the snake's head again, he instinctively commanded the Ba Snake to withdraw, positioning it defensively beside himself.
The ground was left with a large, uneven pit, as if a smooth cement surface had been gouged out with a shovel.
The Ba Snake writhed irritably, casting a disgruntled glance at its host.
It had been so close to swallowing his lower leg...
The snake's mouth housed only four teeth, yet the pit in the ground was clearly not the work of just four teeth.
It seemed the Ba Snake's fangs possessed some unique power, capable of consuming a chunk of whatever they touched.
"The direct charge is fast, but the turns lack agility. Moreover, the farther it is from its master, the slower it becomes..."
Li Yan analyzed calmly, as if the near loss of his leg had been of no consequence.
The Ba Snake before him was fierce and swift in its strikes and bites, yet its movements were stiff, lacking the fluidity typical of its species. Of course, only someone of Li Yan's caliber could afford to scorn the Ba Snake's agility; for an average person, evasion was simply not an option.
Li Yan's thoughts drifted to Zhang Mingyuan, whose pupils harbored the Strange Beast Burning.
The Enlightened Beast's Eye, yet not the Enlightened Beast itself.
The Fang of the Ba Snake, but not the Ba Snake in its entirety.
It was merely a fragment.
With a hiss of his step, Li Yan unexpectedly advanced!
Li Jiangyu's heart stirred, but he did not release the Ba Snake coiled around him. Instead, he charged towards Li Yan to meet him head-on!
"A wise man indeed."
Although he had little respect for Li Jiangyu's overly passive and weak tactics, there was no denying that his response at this moment was the correct one.
The Ba Snake, ever vigilant by Li Jiangyu's side, was capable of deflecting even bullets, so naturally, he harbored no fear of the unarmed Li Yan. However, releasing the Ba Snake might grant Li Yan the opportunity he needed.
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"Not entering the tiger's den, one cannot hope to capture its cubs."
Li Yan silently recited this in his heart, a fleeting glint of ferocity in his eyes.
With knees bent and waist twisted, his foot arched like a drawn bow, his body shot out like a sharpened sword. Li Jiangyu's vision blurred, and suddenly Li Yan was nowhere to be seen, drawing closer, a fierce wind howled by his ear.
"Silk!"
Li Jiangyu lost sight of Li Yan, but the Ba Snake did not!
The snake's body twisted like a chain, its head striking like thunder, aiming for the back of Li Yan's incoming fist.
The chilling triangular eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty intent.
"What shall I send you?"
Li Yan did not retreat an inch. His upper arm slightly raised, his fist turned to palm, his forearm swung, and the snake's head was already upon him!
"Snap!"
Bullets are fast, but they are inanimate.
Li Yan's fist was slower, yet it was alive.
As the four sharp fangs closed in, the palm in front of the Ba Snake slipped to the right like an eel.
Blood spurted!
Unfazed, Li Yan rolled, crouching low, his left hand steadying on the ground, his right foot lifted high, aiming a kick at Li Jiangyu's head.
A probing kick! Like splitting a rock.
The Ba Snake, which had yet to savor the taste of victory, hissed in rage. Its head, which should have struck first, was now aiming for Li Yan's raised foot, but its neck stiffened, missing by a fraction. It was Li Yan's right hand, which should have been swallowed whole, that now restrained it!
The Bagua Palm, Hidden Flower Beneath Leaves.
Death!
His foot struck Li Jiangyu's temple with unerring accuracy. Darkness enveloped Li Jiangyu's vision, a buzzing sound in his head, as a scorching and salty taste crazily surged from his mouth and nose!
The Ba Snake, as if struck by lightning, writhed wildly in the air, beyond control.
"Thump." Li Yan's arm weakened, and he collapsed to the ground, sweat pouring from his forehead like starch, his entire body soaked.
A chilling reminder from A Fleeting Glance crossed his mind.
"Target has activated the Yellow Turban Talisman: Stabilizing Heal!"
"Stabilizing Heal: Activated upon receiving potentially fatal damage, it forcibly stabilizes the injury to a non-lethal state. It then slowly recovers to 30% of the original severity." (Irreversible injuries cannot be restored)
Behind Li Jiangyu, the figure of a middle-aged man with a clear and handsome face, adorned in a Crane Cloak Purple Crown, shattered violently. He spat out several mouthfuls of black blood, staggering away from the house.
Gritting his teeth, Li Yan rose to his feet. In one or two leaps, he caught a glimpse of the disheveled Li Jiangyu ascending the stairs.
Li Yan cast his gaze downwards to inspect his right hand.
His pinky and ring finger had vanished without a trace, the twitching wound spurting blood like a child's water spray gun... A large chunk of flesh was missing from the base of his thumb, revealing the stark whiteness of his exposed hand bones.
He tore strips from his clothing to wrap around his right hand, the intense pain making him inhale sharply. Abruptly, he touched his nose.
His left hand was drenched in crimson.
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Li Yan cracked a smile, then suddenly burst into laughter, his robust voice echoing through the entire apartment.
...
"Crazy, a monster, how can such a person exist..."
Drops of blood speckled the ground. Li Jiangyu's face was a portrait of terror.
"Heaven's timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony, I had calculated them all, so why, why is this happening?"
A Fleeting Glance clearly showed that the man was a newcomer, devoid of any Heritage. The only thing noteworthy was his Specialization, exceeding 80%. Having experienced several Yanfu Incidents, Li Jiangyu had only encountered one other with a Specialization as high as 79%, whose strength was indeed far superior to his own...
Li Jiangyu's vision flickered, as if a hand was stirring inside his skull.
"That woman, he cares so much for her, there are still two guns on the corpse, there's still hope!"
"Bang."
Li Jiangyu violently pushed open the door, his bloodshot eyes scanning left and right.
The mentally dazed Li, a female, seemed startled, the man before her bleeding from his mouth and nose, a gleaming dogleg knife protruding from his shoulder, blood dripping steadily to the floor. The giant serpent was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he? Where is he!"
He roared at Li, who was sitting on the ground in a heap.
"Ask your mother!"
Li, her lips cracked, let out a cold sneer.
"Damn it!"
Li Jiangyu, incensed, kicked Li on her wound.
Li groaned, coughing up a string of pinkish blood bubbles, her face devoid of any human color.
Li Jiangyu glanced at the loosened hemp rope and the open window, his expression maniacal. He picked up the handgun from the floor, grabbed Li by the collar, and dragged her to her feet, intent on leaving.
A tall and thin figure blocked the door securely, Li Yan's hand resting on the door frame.
The man in tattered clothes, his muscles rippling beneath the fabric, his right hand wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. Yet his eyes were filled with an unyielding fighting spirit, his demeanor exuding a brazen confidence.
"In such a hurry to run off somewhere? Won't you stay and play with your old man a while longer?"
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