Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 2: Mo and the Gu Huo Bird

Editor: Larbre Studio

This is definitely not human!

As Li Yan’s thoughts turned, the hideous monster viciously swung a whipping leg at him. Like a streak of black lightning, it struck toward Li Yan’s temple.

Li Yan instinctively extended his arm to block, but the massive force sent him flying to the side.

Before Li Yan could get back up, a domineering shadow smashed down on him. He was too late to dodge and was hit in the right shoulder with such force that his whole arm went numb. Then, before his eyes, a sinister toe-kick came at his face.

This barrage of kicks came down like a sudden downpour, leaving him absolutely no room to escape. If this kick landed solidly, Li Yan would either be dead or crippled.

Without thinking, he reached out with both hands towards the flat-headed man’s flying leg. His left fingers silently dug viciously into the side of the man’s knee!

“Crack!”

“Thump.”

The flat-headed man’s right foot hit Li Yan’s elbow, but he fell to his knees on the ground.

That blurry, flesh-torn face was now facing Li Yan.

In the blink of an eye, the previously passive Li Yan reached out and grabbed the flat-headed man’s shoulder, leaned back, and the upper body of the man uncontrollably toppled forward!

A fierce light flashed in Li Yan’s eyes, and he quickly rolled over, right leg pinning the man’s neck. There was a snapping sound, and the flat-headed man’s entire arm was wrenched off!

He then pressed against the flat-headed man’s lower back, grabbed his other arm, and with a clean pull, disregarding the cringing sound of breaking bones, his right foot kicked hard against the man’s shinbone. The kick was both fierce and accurate, twisting the man’s lower leg out of place in an irregular fashion.

Only then did he stand up, looking down at the flat-headed man who was struggling on the ground, particularly lingering on the rotting face.

Watching the flat-headed man who couldn’t get back up for a long time, Li Yan let out a breath and turned his head to pick up his phone. And the man on the ground, against all belief, suddenly burst up, opening his ghastly white teeth to bite at Li Yan’s thigh!

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Li Yan twisted his waist and swung his body into a flying kick. His right foot, with a whooshing sound, viciously hit the man’s temple.

The flat-headed man’s neck bone was kicked clean through! His head, like a broken spring, twisted a full ninety degrees, hanging at an eerie angle on his neck. The brutality was beyond description.

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

“Still trying to be intimidating, huh?”

His murderous gaze swept back and forth over the man’s body, the icy aura tinged with the smell of blood billowing out without restraint—none of the mild temperament of a music shop owner remained.

“Brilliant, truly brilliant. Tan’s Leg Disciplines emphasize an unending momentum. Once you take the lead, it’s basically impossible for the opponent to make a comeback. I didn’t expect it to be overturned by a fierce move like ‘White Horse’s Sudden Hoof,’ a reversal from defeat to victory. It’s said that the Li family from Hejian are unmatched in both spear and sword, but your grappling skills are also impressively sharp.”

He lifted his head to look at the short and fat man standing at the doorway.

The man was wearing a white tank top, bell-bottom pants, and slippers. His hair was greasy and unkempt. The three words “messy fat otaku” summed him up perfectly, with not a single detail out of place.

But Li Yan keenly noticed the pitch darkness behind the fat man. There was no moonlight outside the door, no neon lights, no smoke from barbecue stalls, and no roar of cars—just a sticky blackness that was terrifyingly dark.

“Where’s the woman?”

Li Yan glared at the fat man in front of him.

“You have a very strong adaptability, and your skills and reactions are top-notch. Very good.”

Feeling Li Yan’s increasingly hostile gaze, the fat man smiled and pointed to the ground.

Li Yan glanced to the side with the corner of his eye, only to discover that the body of the man on the ground had vanished without a trace!

Only the overturned sofa and the mess around confirmed that everything had actually happened.

“Was I dreaming?”

Li Yan touched his forehead. Perhaps nothing had happened. Maybe he had just drunk three cups of hot water and fallen asleep on the sofa. There were no dress shoes or men with flesh falling off their faces—nothing at all.

“I have nothing to do with those two guys just now. The only thing in common is that we are all very interested in you. Don’t worry, I just borrowed a thought from that flat-headed man to say hello to you, that’s all. They knew nothing about this.”

“`

Li Yan didn’t speak, waiting for the fat man to continue.

“Hmm, let me introduce myself, uh, what’s my name again?”

The fat man reached into his pocket and turned out a mess of things, such as crumpled vitamin wrappers, a hair salon discount card with a nude woman on it, used and indeterminate pieces of toilet paper, and so on. Finally, he managed to find a dirt-smudged ID card.

It clearly read Wang Xyang in big characters.

“Anyway, just call me Wang Yang, but you can also call me by another name.”

The fat man smirked mysteriously,

“Mo.”

Li Yan glanced at him and snorted.

“Demon, fancy a dumpling?”

Wang Yang was momentarily taken aback, then burst into laughter, which grew more and more hysterical.

“You, hahaha, you’re too funny. Hahahaha…”

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. He could swear to the Third Ancestor Grandfather that he really wanted to brutally stamp the sole of his shoe on this greasy fat man’s face, provided he could do it.

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

Li Yan stared at him and asked, “Do you have my matching bone marrow?”

“That’s child’s play.” Wang Yang shook his head. “I can give you something better.”

Li Yan let his hands hang down and pondered for a long while until Wang Yang grew impatient.

“What can I do for you?”

Wang Yang spread his hands.

“Just give it a try and you’ll know, but remember, this is a path of no return…”

“Sounds a lot better than waiting to die.”

A cold and sharp light flashed briefly in Li Yan’s eyes.

“Come on, let’s hear it.”

The fat man’s mouth twisted into a smile, his expression turning unusually dark and solemn: “So, come.”

Behind him, a tide of abyss-like darkness surged forth, completely swallowing the horrified Li Yan.

…

At that moment, Li Yan felt himself falling, darkness enveloping him, and a myriad of bizarre, incredible visions floated before his eyes.

Black chains crossing the sky, a majestic hall cast from millions of pounds of green bronze, the golden-red Albatross swirling in the sky, the heavy dark clouds nurturing rich purple-blue Thunder Plasma, and in the great hall, watching him, countless vast and mysterious shadows.

Li Yan’s blood was scorchingly hot, turning his vision completely red. And within the crimson veil, he saw clearly one of those vast and mysterious dark figures…

With eighteen wings of varying lengths interconnecting, nine heads that seemed fierce and strange, one neck dripping with fresh blood…

“Awaken her, my walker.”

“Who are you?”

Li Yan couldn’t make a sound, only able to scream in his mind.

Cold, darkness.

“`