A Mad Slash, a Desperate Escape

The sudden sound of knocking made Li Qing, who was struggling in agony, sink into despair.

A chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to his brain.

Cold sweat streamed down his face as he stared nervously at the door, his eyes bloodshot.

The pain in his body seemed to lose its importance.

A sense of mortal crisis felt imminent.

Mr. Huayue's indifferent voice sounded from outside.

"Li Qing, are you asleep?"

The voice was calm, yet to Li Qing's ears, it felt hair-raising.

Did this voice seem to be suppressing something?

Li Qing's body was undergoing violent changes, but he dared not utter a single word, only clamping his hands tightly over his mouth.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking sounded again from outside. Li Qing slowly stood up, enduring the excruciating pain radiating from within his body.

I cannot wait here to die.

He moved with difficulty, reached the table in a few steps, and grabbed a kitchen knife.

At this moment, his body was covered in blood-colored characters, though they were now only faint traces, as if they had completely submerged into his flesh.

He stood behind the door, gripping the knife tightly; the agony in his body made his mind drift into a blur.

Yet, the will to survive sustained him. Outside the door was a bloodthirsty hunter who might burst in at any moment.

Li Qing gripped the knife with both hands, his entire body trembling uncontrollably from the pain, a surge of violence rising in his heart as if he wanted to destroy everything.

Damn it, come on then! I'll hack you to death, what is there to be afraid of?

Li Qing's eyes were wild, his entire face appearing twisted.

The voice outside grew lower and deeper. "Open!"

"Open the door!"

Rumble.

"Open the door for me... ah!" The voice became increasingly hoarse, transforming entirely into something else.

The door bolt was smashed open by a tremendous force.

A figure lunged in. Driven by danger and pain, a flash of crimson light crossed Li Qing's eyes, and he slashed down frantically with the knife.

A blood-colored radiance had, at some unknown moment, coated the blade in his hand.

The immense force plunged into the intruder's back.

"Ah!..."

A miserable shriek rang out, and a torrent of bright red blood gushed from the wound.

The innate minor art of the Essence Blood Art—Bloodletting.

The spray of blood hit Li Qing directly in the face.

The intense pain throughout his body suddenly vanished, as if all the agony had been vented out through that single strike.

A surge of power welled up within him, and Li Qing's mind cleared. The figure, still spurting blood, suddenly turned its head.

A hideously distorted face stared at him; it was no longer the face of a human.

The features were savage, the skin on the verge of bursting, covered in bulging veins, and a mouthful of fangs protruded from its maw.

Mr. Huayue now stood nearly nine feet tall, his exposed skin riddled with countless pulsing veins.

Li Qing shuddered, turned, and bolted, sprinting toward the exit of the study.

He let out a loud cry, "There's a monster!"

"Murder!"

The massive sound exploded into the night sky.

Everyone within a radius of several dozen yards heard the shrill scream.

"Ah! I'm going to kill you! Li Qing, ah..."

Mr. Huayue roared as he gave chase, blood gushing wildly from his back, his aura rapidly weakening.

His bloated body shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Qing moved like a startled rabbit, using every ounce of strength he possessed as he charged straight for the backyard.

That was where the firewood was stacked. He leaped up, stepped onto the wood, and vaulted over the wall.

A massive figure reached for him from behind.

Rip.

With the sound of tearing fabric, a searing pain flared across his back.

I've been hit!

Li Qing plummeted from mid-air, his feet hitting the ground as he tilted his body and rolled forward to dissipate the impact of the fall.

He scrambled up and sprinted toward the distance; this was the narrow lane behind the study.

He was sprinting as if his soul had left his body, unable to spare a thought for anything else.

To have only taken a single strike from that kind of monster was already a stroke of luck.

Face it head-on? Was that a joke?

Footsteps echoed all around, accompanied by heavy thuds behind him and a terrifying roar.

"Kill you... I'm going to kill you!"

Hearing the roar and the sound of heavy objects crashing to the ground behind him, Li Qing felt his scalp tingle.

By now, he had reached the end of the alley, with the main street just ahead.

He roared at the top of his lungs.

"There's a monster! A monster! Help me!"

Running frantically and screaming, he burst onto the main street.

The sky had long since dimmed, and at this hour, the curfew was already in effect.

The main street was almost entirely deserted.

There were only patrolling constables and the night watchman.

Despite the searing pain in his back, Li Qing was surprised to find, after rushing onto the main street, that Mr. Huayue did not seem to be pursuing him anymore.

Boom.

A massive explosion suddenly erupted from behind.

Li Qing couldn't help but look back, where a figure shrouded in silver radiance had slammed heavily into a colossal beast.

The creature was smashed directly into the street by the immense force.

Within the silver glow, it was clearly a man clad in armor.

He was entirely enveloped in silver, looking like a statue of iron.

Li Qing didn't know what that was, but he knew this was his best chance to escape.

Without a moment's hesitation, he ducked into another side alley and sprinted toward a direction etched in his memory.

"Ah..."

Like the roar of a dying beast, a desperate cry echoed from behind.

As Li Qing ran, a chill crept into his heart.

This is a supernatural world; it's just too damn bizarre.

In a county under curfew, with night patrols everywhere, Li Qing had to find a safe place as quickly as possible.

The stinging pain in his back made his breathing ragged, and it took a while before he reached the back of a dilapidated house.

This house was covered in scorch marks, having burned down the previous year.

Fortunately, no one lived there, and since the fire was extinguished, it had been left abandoned.

Li Qing stumbled into the ruins, reached a corner, and collapsed onto the floor.

He exhaled two deep, ragged breaths, sat cross-legged with his palms facing upward, and silently sensed his own body.

Reciting the Essence Blood Art in his heart, he could clearly feel a flow of vital energy coursing through his veins.

This vital energy was extremely faint, yet it was undeniably real.

The energy followed his blood vessels, rapidly circulating throughout his entire body.

He could feel the stinging pain in his back turn into a faint, itchy sensation as the vital energy flowed past.

Having undergone Blood Curse Body Refining, his perception of his own body far surpassed what it had been in the past.

When he closed his eyes, he could clearly sense his physical state.

The wounds on his back were five claw marks, each at least ten centimeters long, though fortunately, they were not deep.

At this moment, the wounds were healing rapidly, with a faint red vital energy lingering over them.

This vital energy is too powerful, isn't it? These wounds are actually healing this quickly?

Snap.