Moonlit Straight Blade

The sharp broken shaft pierced through the monster's brain, extinguishing all life within it. Even so, the momentum from its leap remained.

Its enormous body crashed down like a cannonball, slamming Lin Qiye, who was gripping the broken shaft ahead of it, to the ground.

In the end, Lin Qiye had only managed to kill the monster thanks to his abnormal dynamic vision and the Seraph's divine might. His own physical strength had not increased. The creature weighed at least two hundred kilograms, and with his strength, he simply could not break free in a short time.

What was more, after forcibly using the Seraph's divine might, Lin Qiye felt completely drained. He did not have an ounce of strength left in his body, and he was even a little dizzy.

But just then, the second monster that had been hiding on the other side moved.

The hunter lurking in the distance finally bared its savage fangs!

Its limbs raced forward, darting beneath the flickering, dim streetlights. Its shadow swayed like a seductive ghost, while its scarlet tongue writhed eerily.

Lin Qiye could see its movements clearly, but he had no way to dodge in his current state. He could only watch helplessly as those dense fangs rapidly enlarged before his eyes!

The instant the monster was only two meters away from Lin Qiye, his pupils suddenly contracted!

Within his range of perception, something even faster than the monster was rapidly closing in!

That seemed to be... a person?

A real person.

Swish—!

Lin Qiye's vision blurred, and a figure descended from the night sky. His feet landed firmly on the ground, and the gale stirred up by his body lifted his dark red cloak, revealing the profile of a middle-aged man.

He was neither handsome nor ugly, just the sort of uncle one might see anywhere by the roadside, someone people would instinctively overlook.

But the killing intent blazing in his eyes was as dazzling and piercing as naked blades!

He lowered himself into a half-crouch, his eyes locked on the monster less than a meter away. His right hand firmly gripped the hilt of the blade on his back.

"Clang—!"

A crisp ring came from the scabbard. The pale blue blade reflected the dim moonlight, slicing through the heavy air as it silently slashed forward!

It was an utterly unadorned straight blade!

The edge of the straight blade swept out a crescent arc and collided with the monster's claws, sending sparks flying.

Zhao Kongcheng let out a low roar. Every muscle in his body tightened as he took a fierce half-step forward!

The monster, as large as a brown bear, was actually forced back several steps by him!

Lin Qiye's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had fought this monster before, so he knew better than anyone how terrifying its strength was. Yet this man had actually forced it back?

Who exactly was he?

After forcing the monster back several steps, Zhao Kongcheng's footwork shifted in a peculiar pattern. He clung to the monster like a bone-burrowing maggot, his straight blade slashing again and again, leaving savage wounds across its body!

The monster screamed and glared hatefully at Zhao Kongcheng. Its spear-like forelimbs rose, attempting to kill this hateful human before it.

But with two flashes of blade light, its forelimbs were severed cleanly!

Before the monster could scream, a cold glint erupted in Zhao Kongcheng's eyes. The straight blade in his hand lashed toward the monster's neck like lightning!

The pale blue edge easily sliced through the monster's flesh. The next instant, its head flew high into the air...

Then rolled across the ground with a gurgle.

"Click—!"

The straight blade returned to its scabbard. Zhao Kongcheng's dark red cloak was covered in the monster's blood, but it was so close in color to the cloak that it was impossible to notice without looking carefully.

Zhao Kongcheng did not even glance at the monster's corpse. Unhurriedly, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a hard drag, and pulled out his radio.

"The two escaped Ghost-faced Men have been eliminated. Have the logistics team come clean up the battlefield."

After saying that, he put away the radio and walked straight over to Lin Qiye, who had just managed to struggle free.

Lin Qiye silently watched him, and he silently watched Lin Qiye.

Under the night sky, beside the pool of blood, the two men silently stared at each other...

After a long while, Zhao Kongcheng finally could not hold back and spoke first.

"Was I handsome just now?"

Lin Qiye: ...

Lin Qiye stared into his eyes for a moment and realized that he was actually serious. He could only reply faintly, "Handsome."

"Of course I was." Zhao Kongcheng grinned. "Want to become as handsome as me?"

"No."

"..." Zhao Kongcheng's mouth twitched slightly. "Why?"

"Easy to die."

Lin Qiye looked completely serious.

For a moment, Zhao Kongcheng was speechless. "But you saw it just now. You possess supernatural power that ordinary people can only dream of. Don't you want to be like a superhero in the movies?"

"No?"

"...Because it's easy to die?"

"Right."

Zhao Kongcheng rubbed the corner of his eye. The boy in front of him did not seem easy to deal with, yet he had been dragged into this mess, and he possessed such tremendous power...

"How about this? This isn't a good place to talk. Let's go somewhere else and have a proper chat." Zhao Kongcheng thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, right. My name is Zhao Kongcheng. I'm not a bad person."

"Lin Qiye." Lin Qiye blinked and nodded obediently. "I believe you. Wait here. I'm going to get my backpack. My study materials are still inside."

"...Go on, then." Zhao Kongcheng waved helplessly, walked over to the curb, and sat down, feeling somewhat depressed.

If an ordinary person had gone through something like this, they would have been scared out of their wits. Yet this kid was still thinking about getting his study materials...

Most importantly... he had actually rejected him?

Damn it, I used every trick I had! Those few slashes just now were practically as stylish as they could get!

I've never fought this hard even when sparring with the captain!

Come to think of it, I still don't know how the captain is doing. The Ghost-faced King isn't easy to deal with...

Zhao Kongcheng sat by the roadside without a shred of dignity, cigarette in his mouth, staring blankly into space.

Lost in thought...

Hm?

Something seemed off?

Zhao Kongcheng suddenly came back to his senses. After half a second of realization, he shot to his feet and rapidly scanned the surroundings...

Where was that kid!?

Zhao Kongcheng stood there in a daze for more than ten seconds, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to believe what had just happened.

"Damn it, that kid actually ran away?!"

"Bro, why are you home so late today?"

Yang Jin looked at the exhausted Lin Qiye and asked in confusion, "Where's your cane?"

Lin Qiye changed into slippers and forced a smile onto his face. "Something happened on the way home, and I accidentally lost it."

To keep Yang Jin from seeing the scar beside his temple, Lin Qiye wrapped the strip of black satin around it again. His cane really had broken, though. Rather than bring it home and make his family worry, he had chosen to throw it away.

"It's fine. We can get another one if it's lost... Was the problem resolved?"

"Yeah, it was resolved."

Xiao Hei Lai came panting over from the balcony, rubbed his head against Lin Qiye's leg, then flopped onto the floor and exposed his belly.

Lin Qiye crouched down helplessly and rubbed his belly as he asked, "Auntie isn't back yet?"

"Mom's working the night shift tonight. She won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Have you finished your homework?"

"Just a little left."

"They give middle school students this much homework... That's insane." Lin Qiye stood up and complained, then said to Yang Jin, "It's fine. If you're tired, don't do it. If the teacher scolds you, tell your brother. I'll go argue with him."

Yang Jin's lips curved upward, and he hummed in agreement. "I'll be done soon."

Lin Qiye nodded. "I'm a little tired, so I'm going to sleep first. Go to bed early when you're done too."

"Okay."

Lin Qiye dragged his exhausted body into his room. Just as he was about to close the door, Yang Jin's voice came again.

"Bro... Is everything really okay?"

"I'm fine. Go to bed early... Oh, right, there's milk in the fridge. If you get up early tomorrow, heat some up yourself."

"Got it, bro."

"Good night."

"Good night."

The bedroom door closed softly. Yang Jin stood outside holding Xiao Hei Lai, silently watching Lin Qiye's room.

Yang Jin gently stroked Xiao Hei Lai's head. "You sensed it too?"

"Woof!"

He raised his head and looked toward the dim moonlight outside the window, murmuring to himself:

"There's... a smell of blood on him."