Li Xian stared at the two ribs lodged in the planks. After wavering between fleeing and holding his ground, he made up his mind.
He took a step back, braced his hands and feet against the ribs that stood half his height, then wrenched one hard to the side!
A sharp crack rang out alongside the sound of wood being pierced-as Li Xian snapped the bone, another rib shot out and grazed his calf!
The force easily sliced through his trouser leg, bringing a dull ache. Li Xian gritted his teeth and endured it, then reached for another rib-
Crack!
Crack!
All three ribs that had pierced the planks were snapped off. It proved much easier than he had expected and took little effort.
But the corpse beneath his feet showed no intention of backing down. Within seconds, several more ribs stabbed upward, faster and faster...
Li Xian had no chance to catch his breath. He kept breaking the ribs that appeared before him, the motion becoming almost a reflex. But as the broken bones piled up at his feet, a question suddenly flashed through his mind-
How many have I broken now?
His hand paused against a rib, and he hesitantly lowered his head.
...Exactly twenty-four.
Then what's this one in my hand...?
As soon as he realized it, his vision suddenly blurred. Then the world began to spin-
He collapsed onto the floor. Everything he looked at seemed to twist and tremble. Instinctively, Li Xian steadied himself against the rib he was holding and squeezed his eyes shut.
Only after about a minute did that strange sensation gradually fade.
Li Xian slowly opened his eyes and found that the scene before him had changed-
The corpse had returned to its original, disemboweled state. His fingers were hooked around