Once, in front of young Bai Fan, Master Mo said coldly, “I don’t care how old you are. If you can’t pay your debt here, selling a kidney or becoming a catamite, I’ll always find a way to use you as collateral.”
And Brother Feng was the knife in Master Mo’s hand.
Bai Fan had seen him break the limbs of a man who couldn’t repay a usurious loan, then throw him into the sea to feed the fish like trash.
That despairing face—she still remembered it clearly.
And now—
Bai Fan raised the steel bar in her hand.
“What I saw when I was nine years old—it’s time to return it to you.”
First strike, right arm.
Bam!
“Ughhh—!”
The sound of bones cracking was clearly audible.
Second strike, left arm.
Bam.
Third strike, left leg.
Bam.
Fourth strike, right leg.
Bam.
Brother Feng’s pig-like screams echoed continuously in the rain and mist.
Bai Fan crouched on one knee, looking directly at Brother Feng, who struggled to lift his head.
“You once told me that people who can’t repay Thirteen Percent’s debts have no value living in Lincheng.”
Her voice was very calm, so calm it sent chills down one’s spine.
“So now… how much value do you think you have?”
Brother Feng was stunned. He didn’t remember saying such words to any little girl.
“You… who are you?”
“Idiot.” Bai Fan tilted her head. “Weren’t you just saying… you threw me to the dogs at the garbage recycling station the day before yesterday?”
Brother Feng felt as if struck by lightning, a thunderous roar in his mind.
“I was talking about… that brat Bai Fan…”
He suddenly thought of something and looked at the girl before him in disbelief. “You’re… you’re…”
The figure before him slowly overlapped with the body he had personally thrown into the garbage recycling station, a body that had long since lost its breath.
He began to stammer. “You… you’re still alive? I clearly saw…”
He couldn’t believe it.
Bai Fan was actually still alive, and had even transformed into a young girl, returning before him.
Bai Fan’s expression was blank. “Do you know who I am now?”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I was wrong… I was wrong about everything… I’m trash… but to you, I still have value…”
“Tell me, where is Master Mo.”
“Granny… Grandfather…” Brother Feng was sweating from the pain. “Just spare me… I’ll tell you everything…”
Bai Fan slowly raised the steel bar. “You’re in no position to negotiate with me now.”
Brother Feng’s body trembled violently. “Master Mo… I don’t know where he is now either…”
Bai Fan raised the steel bar a little higher.
Brother Feng panicked. “But he told me, three days later! Three days later he’ll be at the Golden Sand Club doing business with someone called Qi Gongzi. If you go there then, you’ll definitely find him!”
Bai Fan’s eyes flickered.
‘This counts as useful information.’
“That alone isn’t enough value to let you live.”
“I know something else!” Brother Feng shouted hurriedly.
“Speak.”
“Master Mo has been especially close with a man called He Xiansheng lately… That person is not simple… Master Mo respects him a lot…”
Bai Fan frowned slightly. She really didn’t know this information.
“Where is He Xiansheng now?”
Brother Feng suddenly fell silent.
Bai Fan’s brow furrowed. “I asked you, where is he?”
Brother Feng’s lips trembled, and a strange fear emerged in his eyes. “He’s… right behind you.”
Bai Fan’s pupils contracted. Perception instantly spread around.
At some unknown time, a sinister figure had silently appeared behind her. The distance to her was less than three meters!
A sense of crisis filled her heart instantly. Without even turning her head, Bai Fan’s body had already rolled forward.
But the expected attack did not come.
When she stood up again, the man was just standing there quietly, as if he had been there for a long time, just standing motionless, enjoying the farce.
“How unsightly, Chen Feng.” A low voice slowly sounded. “Can’t even deal with a little girl.”
Brother Feng’s face was pale, unable to utter a single word.
But Bai Fan’s heart slowly sank. From the moment the other party appeared until now, her perception had not detected any anomaly at all. This meant one thing: the strength of the man before her far surpassed her own.
He Xiansheng had three fierce scars below his eyelids. He just calmly looked at Bai Fan, and she felt her hair stand on end, as if being stared at by some dangerous beast.
‘No, I’m definitely no match for him now. I’ve already gotten the information about Master Mo. Continuing to tangle with him is meaningless.’
‘Withdraw. Withdraw immediately.’
Bai Fan slowly retreated.
And He Xiansheng just stood with arms crossed, watching her with amusement, like a cat watching a bird in a cage. In his eyes, Bai Fan couldn’t escape at all.
“Forget it, I’ll just take her down myself.”
As his words fell, his figure suddenly blurred.
A piercing cold exploded on Bai Fan’s forehead instantly. Perception operated wildly, and she barely saw He Xiansheng raise his hand, fingers slightly curled like an eagle’s claw.
The next second, a sound of piercing air tore through the atmosphere.
Bai Fan had no time to think; her body instinctively sidestepped to dodge.
Boom!
The ground exploded, debris flying.
Bai Fan looked down at her shoulder. The flesh there was torn and bloody, as if a piece of skin and muscle had been ripped off by an eagle’s claw. Her heart sank little by little. Even though her perception had caught the movement, her body simply couldn’t keep up. The gap between them was too great.
“Heh.” He Xiansheng let out a light laugh. “Interesting. You haven’t fully awakened yet, but you can already use perception?”
Clearly, Bai Fan’s ability to dodge this attack also surprised him a little.
Bai Fan gripped the steel bar tightly, her eyes cold. She knew that she had encountered a truly terrifying opponent today. If she was even slightly careless, she would die here.
“Still haven’t seen the gap between us?” He Xiansheng sneered.
The next instant, the sound of piercing air came again. Bai Fan saw it clearly, but had no time to dodge.
Crack!
The steel bar was chopped in half by a palm, and then a fist slammed into her abdomen.
Bam—!
Bai Fan flew back like she had been hit by a cannonball, crashing heavily in the distance. A sweetness in her throat, blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
“I held back.” He Xiansheng slowly withdrew his fist. “Otherwise you’d be dead already. But with your body that hasn’t even truly awakened as a first-rank Sublimator… you probably can’t hold out much longer.”
Bai Fan pushed herself off the ground, slowly stood up, and wiped the blood from her mouth. Her ice-blue eyes looked at him calmly, even with a hint of mockery.
“You seem… a bit too pleased with yourself.”
After saying that, she put on the squirrel mask again.
He Xiansheng frowned slightly, looking down at his own palm. A long, thin wound had appeared at some unknown time, and blood was slowly dripping from his palm. He was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened.
‘I… was actually injured by a little girl?’
Bai Fan slowly drew the blade from her black coat.
Viper Feather. The blade was as black as ink, the edge gleaming with a cold blue light. This was the knife she had just bought at the auction.
When the opponent threw that punch earlier, she used the wooden box in her arms to block most of the impact. The moment the wooden box shattered, under the reaction force, the blade sprang out and silently cut across He Xiansheng’s palm.
“Jiejie” had repeatedly warned her that with her current body, she absolutely must not use this knife. But now, she couldn’t care about that anymore. If she didn’t use it, she would lose her life.
However, the moment her hand gripped the hilt, Bai Fan understood why “Jiejie” had warned her so solemnly. Something was madly draining the power inside her—spirit, Spiritual Essence, blood energy. It was as if an invisible giant mouth was greedily devouring everything about her.
At the same time, deep in her mind, a strange and distant bird call echoed repeatedly. Once, and again, as if coming from the end of the sky.
Intense pain instantly swept through her entire body. Bai Fan’s face was nearly twisted. Fortunately, she had put the mask back on; He Sheng couldn’t see her expression now.
But he vaguely sensed that something had changed. The girl before him was still standing there, but the feeling she gave off was like she had become an eagle perched high above the heavens. Proud, cold, looking down on all living things.
“It seems…” He Sheng slowly narrowed his eyes. “I can’t underestimate you, little girl.”
His expression became serious for the first time. His hand slowly curved into an eagle’s claw. At the same time, a fierce griffin phantom figure slowly emerged behind him. And behind Bai Fan, a gray eagle faintly spread its wings. The two phantom figures confronted each other across the space, the air itself seeming to grow heavy.
“Then let’s finish this with one strike.”
Boom—
The sound of air splitting suddenly exploded. He Sheng stepped forward, his entire being seeming to merge with the griffin phantom behind him. The giant claw tore through the air, swooping down to kill Bai Fan.
“Falling Swan.”
Bai Fan spoke softly. All the pain in her body, all the power, all the price extracted by Viper Feather—seemed to find an outlet at this moment, all pouring into the blade. She swung this blade.
The next second, a nearly inaudible whisper sounded in the air.
Suddenly, heaven and earth became silent.
The rain stopped.
No, the rain was still falling. But at this moment, all the raindrops seemed to freeze in midair. The wind also stopped. Even the surging tide in the distance seemed to have its throat choked by something.
Bai Fan was dazed for a moment.
‘Is it an illusion? She seemed to hear someone murmuring in the wilderness.’
“May the long night hold a candle.”
The voice was distant and desolate.
“Candle tears turn to ash, offered until dawn.”
At the moment the blade and claw were about to collide, a figure suddenly appeared between the two. No one saw how he appeared; it was as if he had been standing there all along.
The young man raised his hand. A sheath with chains wrapped around its mouth was held horizontally in front of him. One end met He Sheng’s eagle claw, the other end blocked Bai Fan’s swinging Viper Feather.
Clang—
A flash of blade light appeared and vanished. The air rippled in layers, and the roar of metal collision exploded in the night sky.
Bai Fan was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground, her back shattering a layer of cold standing water. She struggled to prop herself up. Blood slowly flowed from the corner of her mouth beneath the mask.
‘Who? When did he appear? Another enemy?’
She tried to lift her head, her ice-blue pupils gradually focusing in the darkness. Then, she froze completely.
He Sheng was kneeling on one knee. From his left shoulder to his right waist, a fierce bloody gash ran across his entire body. Blood continuously flowed from the wound, dripping to the ground, mixing with the rain. His face no longer held its previous composure, only humiliation and fury.
“You…” He Sheng glared at the person before him.
Bai Fan’s heart also skipped a beat.
‘Lin Xincheng? How could he be here?’
The young man’s expression was distant and indifferent. The sheath was held horizontally in front of him, and the iron chain at the mouth of the sheath swayed slightly. As if blocking both of their full-power strikes simultaneously was nothing more than a trivial matter.
“Unexpected.” He spoke slowly, his voice unhurried. “To run into a wanted fugitive of Shadow Hunt here. If I’m not mistaken, your name is He Sheng.”
He Sheng slowly looked up. The light from the streetlamp fell on his face, reflecting the fury churning in his eyes.
“Heh heh… I didn’t expect to run into a dog of the Governance Bureau here either.”
Lin Xincheng’s expression didn’t change at all.
“I’ll give you two choices.” His tone was calm. “First, come back to the Governance Bureau with me to stand trial. Second—”
He lifted his eyes slightly. “I break your limbs and take you back in chains.”
He Sheng suddenly laughed. The laughter grew louder, mixed with bloody spittle.
“Hahahaha… What an arrogant brat. You really think you’ve got me?”
“Is that so?”
Lin Xincheng slightly lowered his eyelids.
The next moment, He Sheng’s body trembled violently.
Ptoo!
A large mouthful of blood gushed out. He lowered his head, staring at his body in disbelief. An extremely sharp blade aura had somehow already invaded his body.
‘How is this possible? When? When was I struck by the blade?’
He suddenly looked up, and just then met Lin Xincheng’s sweeping gaze. That gaze was calm and indifferent, like looking at an insect that was dying.
He Sheng opened his mouth but found he couldn’t utter a single word.
‘Powerful, unmatched sharpness—that was the only thing he could feel at this moment.’
Lin Xincheng withdrew his gaze.
Then, without turning his head, he spoke.
“Oh, and the young lady behind.”
Bai Fan’s heart sank.
“I haven’t allowed you to leave yet.”
Her qu