Chapter 52: Did You Hold Him Back?
The black threads pierced the darkness, embedding deeply into the ornamental trees by the roadside, leaving six tiny holes in the trunk.
The branches swayed, and leaves fell.
Time seemed to slow, the wind carrying green leaves in a circle through the air.
A navy-blue shadow flickered behind the drifting leaves.
Time resumed its normal flow.
The black threads withdrew from the trunk, and the purple-reddish haired man turned without hesitation, looking toward the empty path to his right.
There was nothing there—no shadow, no chirping of insects signaling the transition from spring to summer.
“There,” he said with certainty.
In the silence, he decisively manipulated the black threads, diving from above toward that spot.
They were oxidized blood, fine black threads, and at the same time, weapons imbued with an ability.
Red and black intertwined, the purple-reddish haired man’s ability was to control them.
The Qu clan was mimicry-type, and this purple-reddish haired man was mimicry-type too.
Mimicry-type abilities couldn’t create matter from nothing; what he controlled was others’ blood!
Blood from the trail of bloody footprints surged like a fountain, blood droplets weaving into the red and black threads dancing in the air.
“Run, it’s no fun if you don’t run,” he said.
But was that all?
In the silence, someone curled their lips and chuckled softly.
At the same time, pale fingertips flickered as if glitching, brushing the purple-reddish haired man’s shoulder from a blind spot.
“Where are you looking?” A whisper seemed to murmur in his ear.
An illusion chuckled behind him.
The black threads froze in the air.
The purple-reddish haired man hesitated for a moment, as if only now realizing someone had appeared behind him.
But in that fleeting moment, the long black threads traced a sharp angle in the air, striking like a venomous snake toward their original target.
The purple-reddish haired man didn’t attack the figure behind him but stubbornly chose a patch of empty air!
His choice was correct.
The figure behind was an illusion, but in the direction he chose, a black-haired youth stood smiling.
Li Li’s ability cloaked her body in a false guise, blending her into the background, rendering her invisible here.
But her real body was right there, her beating heart in her chest, the blood coursing through her veins—all of it was there, forming the entirety of her being.
So that’s how it was, she thought.
Her illusion had been “seen through.”
Li Li looked at the blood threads, hands in her pockets, her smile deepening.
The blood threads were already before her!
In the next instant, the blood threads passed through as if piercing only air, catching nothing, and embedded into the stone bench behind.
A snap of fingers, and her real body swapped with the illusion.
At the same time, the purple-reddish haired man turned and retreated.
Blood threads rose from the ground like a cage, trapping the sunglass-wearing youth.
The crimson pupils behind the sunglasses narrowed slightly, black and red ribbons dancing before her, obscuring the long shadows of the streetlamp in a swirling motion.
“Why escape like that?” The purple-reddish haired man showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
In his eyes, the prey had walked into the cage.
Li Li said softly, “Why escape?”
She understood Yue Qing’s plan.
Earlier, with the illusion behind him and the empty path, the purple-reddish haired man had accurately pinpointed her real body’s location.
And when she swapped places with her illusion, he quickly detected her movement.
This man could see through illusions, precisely locating her real body.
Yue Qing’s method to counter an illusionist was to find an ability user who could see through illusions and locate the real body directly.
Once the illusion was confirmed as false, her high-rank ability would be severely weakened.
Illusory Reality would be reduced to mere illusion, and she wouldn’t even be able to use illusions to deceive her enemy.
This was her natural counter.
The top of the cage bent downward, a sharp needle descending from above.
But Li Li felt utterly at ease.
What great luck, she thought.
She had obtained intelligence in advance, and the enemy she faced now was merely a C-rank!
Illusory Reality activated at 100%, this ability-constructed prison could not hinder her steps at all.
She lifted her foot, her long boots passing through the red blood thread, as if passing through a layer of air.
Under the streetlamp’s glow, those eyes gleamed like radiant red gemstones.
But in the eyes of the person who saw them, they were like an endless vortex wrapping around his heart, suffocating him!
“Let you escape?” she laughed.
“Are you worthy?”
...
He Shasha collapsed on the ground, unable to run anymore.
She turned her head to look at the black-haired youth’s back, unable to see his expression.
But she saw the purple-reddish haired man’s face, shocked and contorted, as he retreated.
The red blood threads floating in the sky grew frenzied.
The purple-reddish haired man roared, veins bulging on his neck.
The blood threads sped up, drawing blood from the bodies of those he had killed within a hundred meters, forming threads for his use.
Then, from all directions, they stabbed toward the navy-blue back of that figure.
Ineffective, ineffective, completely ineffective!
The red blood threads surging from behind grew thin.
The writhing threads could not inflict even a hint of harm on that person.
The red blood threads snapped.
The black threads in the night were like demons snatching lives, yet the black-haired youth treated them as nothing, walking forward unhurriedly.
With each step he took, the purple-reddish haired man, despite being the one attacking, retreated a step.
But the distance between them was closing.
The youth spoke.
He Shasha heard an extremely pleasant, low, magnetic male voice, frivolous, carrying a sense of unrestrained ease.
The youth said, “You saw the people you once killed.”
He Shasha could not understand this statement.
But she saw that the purple-reddish haired man, a devil to her, widened his eyes, as if they would pop out.
As if witnessing the most unbelievable scene, he muttered, “Impossible, impossible...”
And that voice continued.
“They may be faceless, their forms unclear,” the youth said, his tone rising, as if telling a story he himself found amusing, “but you saw them surrounding you, watching you.”
“Don’t come closer!” The purple-reddish haired man retreated, trying to flee from this inescapable, haunting voice.
Like it came from hell.
The next second, the black-haired youth’s figure appeared directly in front of the purple-reddish haired man.
The youth lifted his sunglasses, locking eyes with him using those crimson, muddy pupils.
“You don’t remember how you killed them, but it doesn’t matter. They just raised their kitchen knives.”
“Chopping you up, bit by bit.”
The night breeze carried his words into the purple-reddish haired man’s ears.
“Aaahhhh!” he screamed hysterically.
But He Shasha, in terror, crawled backward.
She saw the man who was an invincible devil before her kneel on the ground, his limbs twisted as if severed by a sharp blade.
That purple-reddish haired man was a devil?!
If he was, then what was this youth?
A vengeful demon, a devil from hell!
She shrank back in fear, retreating until she hit the streetlamp’s pole, with nowhere left to go.
She wanted to flee but could not stand.
The purple-reddish haired man fell silent, and the youth turned around.
He walked toward her, step by step.
Don’t come closer!
Tears blurred her vision; she felt overwhelming fear.
The long boots made no sound on the ground.
She saw him walking down the road, getting closer and closer.
Then he stopped in front of her.
The youth spoke.
“Hide at a friend’s place for a while. Don’t come back.”
He Shasha didn’t react immediately.
It was a different tone from before, slightly deeper.
The long boots lifted again, and the youth brushed past her, heading back the way he came.
He Shasha then realized that was the road leading out of the neighborhood.
She recalled what the purple-reddish haired man had said to the youth, asking if he was the kind of do-gooder who helped strangers.
Was this person here to save her?
“Wait, wait!” He Shasha propped herself up with one hand, facing that retreating figure.
She was terrified, but a surge of immense courage rose in her chest.
Was it because she had tried to pull him away while running?
Her voice trembled as she shouted, “Th-thank you!”
But the youth didn’t pause as he had before, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Yet He Shasha felt he had heard her, but
No one could stop him from walking the path he chose.
That was all.
...
At night, crows circled above Four-Way City.
In a noble’s private residence in the near suburbs, An Heyu held a pen, writing and sketching on paper.
It detailed his asset management and distribution in Four-Way City.
Though the An clan’s noble ability inheritance had broken, the old noble family’s wealth was enough for him and An Huyu to live comfortably for a lifetime.
At that moment.
“Noble sir, you’ve been sidelined, haven’t you?”
The black-haired youth suddenly appeared on his left, leaning back against the table, looking down at him.
His face carried the familiar smile An Heyu knew, unrestrained and bold, as if nothing could make this person yield.
In fact, Li Li wore a smile, feeling it brimmed with mockery.
“?” An Heyu was startled at first, then looked at Li Li for a long while before taking a deep breath. “What happened?”
“The Qu clan nobles have arrived,” Li Li said.
“I’m not asking about them.” An Heyu put down his pen and stood, trying to muster a serious expression.
But seeing Li Li’s utterly unrepentant smile, he only managed a bitter look. “I’m asking what you did after learning about this?”
“This one, huh.” Li Li tilted her head. “Killed a C-rank Qu.”
An Heyu: “...”
An Heyu: “Heige, I’m begging you, I’m really begging you, can you at least tell me before you act next time?”
If he didn’t lack An Huyu’s tearful disposition, he might have cried too!
But Li Li’s smile didn’t waver.
In an extremely casual tone, she said, “He rubbed me the wrong way, so I dealt with him when I ran into him.”
Hearing this, An Heyu took a deep breath, then held his forehead and sighed, “You’re really a lunatic.”
...
Li Li felt that seeking out An Heyu was truly a great idea.
After a brief period of breakdown, An Heyu swiftly returned to work mode, efficiently handling the aftermath for her.
This included making use of the corpse, gathering information, arranging follow-ups, and preparing to conceal her actions from Yue Qing.
As well as deducing Yue Qing’s preparations based on the current situation.
But while Li Li leisurely sipped her milk tea, watching An Heyu bustle about, he suddenly turned and asked, “Heige, are you trying to train Huyu?”
Li Li blinked, then said, “Mm-hm.”
She’d learned from the manga artist—universal vague affirmations that sounded like agreement.
Hearing Li Li’s ‘assurance,’ An Heyu resumed his work with relief, while Li Li used her crow illusion to roam the city, searching for why An Heyu had asked her that.
She soon found out.
And upon finding it, she couldn’t help but sigh: Little Corgi, how did you get beaten up again!
In the night, before a small park platform, Yiming lay on the ground, Tang healing him nearby, while An Huyu crouched behind a stone pier, clutching his head.
An unfamiliar burly man stood before them, puffing out his chest and abdomen, saying, “Is that all you’ve got, Heige?”
Yiming looked furious. “I already told you, I’m not him!!!”
From behind the stone pier, An Huyu poked his head out, cheering, “No, you are! Get up and beat him, Heige!”
The burly man added fuel to the fire, though he genuinely seemed to have mistaken Yiming. “Stand up, Heige!”
Only Yiming exploded with a curse. “Goddamn it!!!”
The real Heige, Li Li, stood a hundred meters away, wearing a carefree smile.
Little Corgi, keep it up. This is all training, all growth!
It’s got nothing to do with a father’s debt passing to the son, nope.