Outside the Fortune and Prosperity Gambling House, cries of alarm filled the street. Many people looked up to see the gambling house collapsing, roof tiles cascading down.
The ground seemed to beat like a drum, accompanied by howls that made hearts tremble. With every drumbeat, the earth shook, while the screams grew weaker and weaker.
Boom!
With the final drumbeat, even those standing nearby lost their footing, swaying and falling to the ground. The piercing roar stopped abruptly.
When everything fell silent, people in the street exchanged looks. Only after a long while did a few brave souls venture toward the gambling house.
But every step was trembling and cautious, their faces full of unease.
Whoosh!
Just then, a cool breeze swept past. A figure stepped across the low rooftops without a sound, then drifted lightly down from a neighboring roof ridge.
He appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with thick brows and large eyes. He wore a fitted gray outfit, with a longsword slanted across his back.
Looking at the ruins before him, he frowned. "Such dense yin baleful energy. The world really is growing more chaotic. Even creatures like this dare to come brazenly into town to wreak havoc."
He sighed, then his gaze shifted. "Hmm? There are survivors?"
Clatter!
Tiles, timber, and stones shifted within the gambling house's ruins. Several injured gamblers, their heads and faces covered in blood, crawled out, panting hard, terror in their eyes.
"An evil creature! There's an evil creature!"
A tall, sturdy, dark-faced man screamed hoarsely, as though trying to vent his terror.
The gray-clad young man moved, covering the distance in a single step to appear beside him. "What did you see?"
The dark-faced man seemed not to hear him. He flailed his arms and screamed, his face twisted into a