Terrifying Demon, Running for Their Lives

"Lazy people always have endless excuses to dawdle."

Zhao Dachun had been holding in resentment and was displeased with Li Xian.

Everyone had no choice but to stop. There were too many mountains and trees here, making it difficult to tell direction. Feng Huo knew this stretch of road well; before he returned, no one dared wander off.

"Quit messing around!"

Qiao Dashou felt someone pat his shoulder. He shrugged and snapped a reprimand.

Before long, he felt it again. Irritated, he turned around and cursed, "Are you done yet? Is this fun? Why are you patting my shoulder?"

The guard behind him froze, then said in astonishment, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Still denying it? Looks like you're asking for a beating." Qiao Dashou was inexplicably annoyed.

"Bring it on. You think I'm afraid of you? Good chance to warm up."

That guard felt the same way.

Just as they were about to fight, a wave of warm wind suddenly blew down from overhead. Instinctive danger made the hair on both men stand on end.

They looked up and could not help but relax.

Above them was a large tree. All its leaves had fallen, and only clumps of snow clung to its branches. Everything was visible at a glance; there was nothing strange about it.

After that interruption, neither of them had any interest in fighting anymore.

Once Qiao Dashou's fear faded, his anger surged up. He kicked the tree and cursed, "Damn it, why is taking a piss taking so long?"

After several kicks, the snow on the tree came scattering down.

"Qiao... Qiao... you..."

The atmosphere suddenly turned eerie and cold, sharper than the frigid wind. One of the guards' legs went weak, and he collapsed into the snow with a thud.

His trembling finger pointed toward the top of the tree.

"Fuck!"

"Still trying to scare me? I'm telling you, I'm already pissed off. God comes, I kill God; Buddha comes, I kill Buddha."

"You think you can scare me?!"

"Watch me chop it to death with one slash!"

With that, he drew the guard's saber and swung it through the air several times. Then another gust of warm wind blew down from above. In weather like this, warm wind brought no warmth—only bone-chilling dread.

"Th-this..."

Cold sweat streamed down Qiao Dashou's face, his heart seeming ready to burst from his chest. His body would not move. He could only turn his wrist and use the blade's reflection to look toward the treetop.

The blade... was not wide enough.

He could only see a pair of crimson eyes. The eyeballs were round and enormous, their gaze filled with mocking amusement.

That thing hung upside down from the tree, head lowered, watching them like that.

In an instant, screams and cries of alarm erupted together.

Elsewhere.

Feng Huo would rather violate the manor rules than fail to save his own life first. When the snowstorm had suddenly struck, he had not known whether that "thing" had appeared again.

I'll use taking a piss as an excuse to escape and leave everyone behind as I return to the manor. If that thing doesn't show up, I'll say I got lost while relieving myself.

If something does happen, I can only trouble you all to buy me some time.

After leaving the others, his pace gradually quickened.

Yet he kept hearing Li Xian call from behind, "Master Feng, why are you running so far away just to piss?"

"I feel like it. Don't follow me!" Feng Huo quickened his pace and walked even faster.

Li Xian frowned tightly, sensing the danger drawing nearer.

All-Around Hearing... there were only sounds from himself and Feng Huo nearby. That thing had not followed them.

It had to be with the other six.

"New guy, I can't piss with you following behind me. Can you move farther away?" Feng Huo realized he could not shake Li Xian and became both angry and irritated.

"What a coincidence. I'm scared alone. I need someone with me before I can piss." Li Xian's voice was low.

The two walked faster and faster. They had claimed to be relieving themselves, but by now they had already traveled more than a li.

Then...

A scream suddenly rang out from behind them.

"Fuck, I'm unlucky enough to run into that thing again!"

"Wasn't it near Wang Family Village? Why did it come to this area?"

Feng Huo's hair stood on end. Ignoring everything else, he began fleeing at full speed.

Hearing that scream, Li Xian was terrified as well. A demon? Or something else?

Ignoring everything else, he accelerated after Feng Huo in a desperate sprint.

They soon ran out of the woods. At that moment, a second scream rang out. Feng Huo's legs went weak with fright, and he nearly fell.

"Master Feng, what exactly happened? You guessed it long ago, didn't you?"

Li Xian asked as he ran.

He had not heard that thing's footsteps, so they were safe for the moment. But... in such a short time, there had already been two screams. The situation was clearly dire.

"Come here. Come here and I'll tell you," Feng Huo said.

Li Xian narrowed his eyes. This Feng Huo had abandoned everyone and fled alone, clearly intending to use them as bait.

So he remained wary and pretended to pant, saying, "Master Feng, slow down... I... I can't catch up."

Hearing this, Feng Huo felt relieved. He did not answer again and simply poured all his strength into running.

Before long, a third scream rang out. Of the eight guards traveling together, three had already died.

Not long after that, a fourth scream sounded.

Li Xian's scalp went numb. He pumped his legs and sprinted for his life. At this moment, his [Running] skill became immensely useful.

Running, nearing Major Accomplishment, let him treat mountain paths as level ground. His footing was natural, his stamina enduring, and his breathing steady.

The distance between him and Feng Huo rapidly closed. Li Xian gave it everything he had, yet did not hurry to pass Feng Huo, always maintaining a certain distance behind him.

If I pass him, he may try to harm me in secret. I need to wait for the best chance, then overtake him in one go.

Thus, when the fifth scream rang out, Feng Huo was so frightened that his legs gave way and his mind went blank. Li Xian seized the opportunity and overtook him at full speed.

"New guy, didn't you say you couldn't run anymore?"

"Wait for me!"

Feng Huo's eyes widened. Though frantic, he swiftly chased after Li Xian. At the brink of life and death, the speed he burst forth with was not slow.

Li Xian also charged ahead with his head down, channeling his inner energy into his feet. Each stride covered a tremendous distance.

For a time, they chased one another, neither able to widen the gap.

"Damn it."

"How do you run so fast, brat?!"

Feng Huo cursed furiously. He was not slow, but his stamina could not compare with Li Xian's, and the gap gradually widened bit by bit.

"Don't... don't... ah!"

The sixth scream rang out.

That meant... of the eight guards, only Feng Huo and Li Xian remained.

Zhao Dachun, Qiao Dashou, Ye Xiaoluo, and the rest were all thoroughly dead.

"It's coming!"

"That thing is so fast!"

With All-Around Hearing, Li Xian sharply caught a faint unusual sound.

He did not dare look back, because it would affect his speed. Besides that, he could hear Feng Huo's terrified breathing and furious curses.

"Fuck!"

"You bastard!"

"I'm going to die because of you! You got me killed!"

"Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!"

Li Xian ignored him and ran even faster. By then, he could already see the lights of the manor.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out as Feng Huo was pounced upon.

The sounds of flesh tearing, a heart shattering, and blood splattering followed.

I'm next!

Li Xian instead calmed down. He touched the long saber at his waist. If he were caught, he would slash it no matter what—at least get something back first!

[Skill: Running]

[Proficiency: 1486/1500 Minor Accomplishment]

[Description: Run desperately when your life is on the line. Run faster, faster still, and your life will last longer, longer still. Young man... you should be thankful that you never slacked off in your usual training.]

[Proficiency +2]

[Proficiency +1]

Li Xian's [Running], already close to Major Accomplishment, completely reached Major Accomplishment at that moment.

His fatigue instantly vanished, and he moved as swiftly as if flying.

But it was still not enough. That thing was even faster—absurdly fast!

Running was not "lightness skill"; there was ultimately a limit to how much it could improve!

Li Xian finally understood why Feng Huo had said he had gotten him killed.

In terms of speed alone, even if all eight men had scattered and fled, they could never have outrun it.

But... every time it pounced on someone, it paused for a while, perhaps to eat something while it was still warm.

Feng Huo had fallen.

Li Xian was next! The footsteps rapidly closed in. That thing had arrived.