Mythical Beasts

"Ryuseki!!!" Ryuu Mufei cried out anxiously, rushing over to help up Ryuseki, who was lying flat on the ground. Before even getting close, he could feel the sweltering steam radiating from Ryuseki's body. He used his psychokinesis to block out the searing heat, but the color had already drained from Ryuseki's face.

Instead, Lin Yingbin stood between Slumber and the two of them with a fierce look, demanding, "Who the hell are you? Why did Ryuseki call you one of Zhi's subordinates?"

"Didn't I already say? My name is Slumber, and I am a bounty hunter." Slumber said this as he deliberately pulled the brim of his hat lower.

Lin Yingbin's expression was dark. He did not understand why Ryuseki hated this man to such an extreme, but seeing Ryuseki lying on the ground in this state made it impossible for him to forgive the bounty hunter standing before them. "Since you're a bounty hunter, your goal should be taking on jobs and collecting bounties, right? Why do you keep sticking your nose into our business?"

Regardless of whether Ryuseki's actions were right or wrong, seeing him lying here like this made Lin Yingbin lose any desire to pursue who was right or wrong.

Though collapsed, Ryuseki had not lost consciousness. He struggled to move his body, and it looked like he still wanted to defeat Slumber.

"Dammit!" Ryuseki screamed hysterically, even though his body could no longer support him. If not for the protection of Ryuu Mufei's psychokinesis, this furious roar might have ruptured his heart.

"You no longer have the physical strength or mental energy to pull off the kind of reckless stunt you just did. Give up!" Slumber stood before Ryuseki, looking down at the one resting in Ryuu Mufei's arms, and said coldly, "I won't strike someone in your current condition, either."

Ryuu Mufei, supporting Ryuseki, looked in disbelief at the man who had once saved his life. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back. Then, he looked worriedly at Ryuseki in his arms.

Although Ryuseki no longer had the strength to resist, the anxiety within his heart had not vanished. Like a dying, ferocious beast, he mustered his last bit of strength and shouted at Slumber, "Give up? Don't even think about it. Don't get so full of yourself..."

Crying out as he spoke, Ryuseki made to get up and punch Slumber, but the very moment he pushed himself up, his pupils rapidly contracted, and he suddenly felt as though someone had squeezed his heart. A wave of pain instantly coursed through his entire body. Ryuseki turned his face away and spat out a mouthful of dark, stagnant blood, his condition looking far from promising.

This sudden turn of events startled Ryuu Mufei badly. He quickly asked, "Hey, Ryuseki? Ryuseki? Where does it hurt?" while simultaneously ramping up the psychokinesis protecting his heart.

"You bastard, what are you going to do if he dies?" Lin Yingbin glanced at Ryuseki, then glared at the bounty hunter in front of him.

Slumber shook his head and replied, "He's not going to die. If you don't believe me, you can ask that psychokinetic kid!"

Hearing this, Lin Yingbin instinctively turned his head to look at Ryuu Mufei, waiting for confirmation.

Ryuu Mufei nodded at Lin Yingbin and answered, "His body is automatically undergoing self-repair, and the speed is very fast."

Slumber looked at the few of them in thought for a moment, then intended to leave, but unsurprisingly, he was intercepted by Lin Yingbin.

"Hold on. Why do you know he won't die?"

"Because there is a monster lurking deep inside his body, and that monster wants to replace him. What just happened was probably because that guy interfered with his mind. Heh-heh~" A cunning smile crept onto the corner of Slumber's mouth, and his blood-red pupils instantly flashed with a hint of eerie oddness.

"Are you referring to the Full Moon Dragon?" Ryuu Mufei asked.

Slumber did not answer; he simply waved at them and left. Lin Yingbin was still recalling what that monster he mentioned was all about, but when he snapped back to his senses and tried to stop him, he found that the guy had already departed.

"The Full Moon Dragon?" Lin Yingbin walked over to help up Meisha, whom he had knocked out.

"The Full Moon Dragon is one of the legendary Eight Mythical Beasts. I don't know if you've ever heard of them, but as a member of the Psychokinetic Clan of the Five Great Clans, I've heard stories about this sort of thing since I was a child. The emergence of the Five Great Clans was meant to balance the power of the Eight Mythical Beasts. In this world, there are countless mythical beasts, and among them, eight possess the power to destroy the world. These eight are known as the Eight Mythical Beasts. Legend has it that they are guardian divine beasts created to guard the gates connecting this world to eight other worlds, and they have always been revered by the people. The Full Moon Dragon is one of them."

Lin Yingbin frowned as he listened to Ryuu Mufei's narrative.

"However, I didn't believe it before. After all, these were things heard from the elders, and I thought they were stories to fool children—just like the legend of 'Teacher Doransa' passed down within our clan. But ever since I left the Psychokinetic Clan, I've noticed more and more signs related to mythical beasts, and I've discovered quite a few people cursed by them. That's why I slowly started taking this seriously, and amidst all that, I discovered something special originating from Ryuseki. That is also the purpose of my trip."

"So by your logic, Zhi's target is the power of the Eight Mythical Beasts?" Lin Yingbin blurted out this thought as it crossed his mind.

"That goal can't be ruled out, either! But if he wanted to make a move, there'd be no reason to wait until now to do it!"

The two of them supported Meisha and Ryuseki as they chatted on their way home, but they failed to notice a skinny, slightly hunchbacked fellow watching them from not far away. The corner of that fellow's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a mouthful of brownish-yellow teeth as he chuckled and said, "Heh-heh-heh! I found you! We still have some personal scores to settle, don't we?"

Evening, at Lin Yingbin's home.

Lin Yingbin stood alone and in agony in the hallway, his back pressed tightly against the wall. The room was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly except for a single hand tightly choking Lin Yingbin by the throat. Lin Yingbin was in distress, struggling even to breathe, his eyes fixed firmly ahead. The grip of that hand grew tighter and tighter, and Lin Yingbin was running out of air.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Lin Yingbin's face. His expression took on an eerie twist, and he spoke in a somewhat wicked voice, "Stop putting on that pathetic act in front of me!"