Chapter 57, Second Update
As expected.
From the prime spectator seat on the high platform, watching all this, Li Li’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The same self-healing ability, but with a different additional attribute compared to Qu Ran’s, capable of killing the ability’s owner directly by capturing the ability—truly her natural counter.
If even her illusions being captured could affect her true body, her ability was completely restrained.
Did Qu Yan’s ability have no weaknesses?
No, it did.
Li Li’s mind raced.
The moment his head was severed, all of Qu Yan’s offensive measures lost control entirely.
His offense and healing couldn’t seem to function simultaneously.
If she wasn’t mistaken, this was her breakthrough.
Ability restrictions generally involved time, range, and endurance.
As long as she forced Qu Yan into a state where he couldn’t use offensive measures, she could wear him down to death.
Her gaze swept below the high platform.
By now, the commoners had fled the area; it was common knowledge in this world not to linger during ability user clashes.
All she could see were Yiming and his two companions, who had been pushed out of the square by the crowd but returned to the woods, staring intently upward.
She had gathered enough information on the enemy’s ability; next was the performance she had prepared for the manga and Little Corgi.
The role she was to play was a habitual liar.
Li Li thought.
You could never tell whether what he showed was truth or falsehood.
…
“Your true body is actually here—truly bold.”
Qu Yan raised his hand, palm downward, red surging in his palm like viscous liquid.
But as his words ended, it instantly dripped, extending into red threads that pierced toward the ice surface!
And the target of the pierce was a single red thread.
It was the one he had just intercepted, Qu Ran’s ability, red blood.
Qu Yan brushed back his purple reddish short hair, tidying the disarray caused by his head falling.
Then he turned around.
He didn’t look toward the nobles but toward the figure at the front of the high platform, the “Heige” who could manipulate blood to create the illusion of flowing blood—a corpse of Qu Ran controlled by An Heyu.
That was what he believed to be Heige’s true body.
Qu Yan had been completely deceived by Li Li’s intricate scheme!
“Killing you is just that simple,” he said to his nephew’s corpse.
His ability activated, and the red liquid scattered below trembled like dancing musical notes, transforming into sharp swords that rose upward, piercing toward the black-haired youth in a curved arc.
At the same moment, the red-haired youth seated on the high platform suddenly shuddered.
Blood splattered around the still leisurely-looking youth floating in midair.
The corpse’s shell was damaged a second time, and An Heyu was losing control.
The corpse’s blood, disguised by Li Li, turned a vivid red, with rolling red blood beads floating in the air.
Yet, the expression of the figure in the illusion remained unchanged.
As if everything Qu Yan had just said was beneath his notice.
The blood beads fell through the air, reflected in the blue eyes of someone below.
That person had blood trickling from the corner of their mouth, but their fingers lightly swept across, snapping.
“Snap.”
As the sound rang out, a fierce wind surged.
Black crows cawed, gathering into a flock in the air.
Amidst this flock of black birds, the black-haired youth gently tilted his face, his low, hoarse voice still clear in the wind.
“The same words, returned to you,” he said. “You can’t kill me.”
The crow flock seemed to form an oval, gradually obscuring the black figure within.
“Ending everything here would be too simple and dull, so I’ve chosen a stage and there, I will”
“Take your head.”
The black crows dispersed, their feathers swirling in the wind before drifting far away.
And the person behind the crow flock was gone.
…
Controlling Qu Ran’s corpse and returning it to the An residence, An Heyu finally concluded this tense cooperative battle, letting out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
His rigidly seated posture leaned back for a moment before he forcibly maintained his elegant demeanor.
With the corner of his eye, he glanced at the person behind him who had forced him to act.
That person continued to wear an icy expression, as if completely innocent, as if everything had nothing to do with her.
An Heyu could only sigh inwardly: Truly worthy of Heige.
Such a master of pretense.
If he didn’t have firsthand information, he wouldn’t have realized these two were the same person.
On the other side, Qu Yan let the illusion vanish before his eyes, but Yue Qing was displeased.
“He escaped?” Yue Qing stepped forward, his tone carrying an involuntary hint of accusation.
“You just let him escape like that?!”
But Qu Yan ignored his question, walking toward the edge of the high platform and saying disdainfully, “Once my ability locks onto an ability user’s true body, it can directly shatter their body. Heige is as good as dead. Prepare the banquet I want—by this afternoon. Can you manage that?”
But it was already noon.
“…” Yue Qing frowned but eventually softened his tone. “Fine.”
The gap between new nobles and established nobles was still too wide, especially since he was born a commoner.
Qu Yan didn’t even respect him.
Then Yue Qing looked up, watching Qu Yan’s back as he approached An Heyu.
Qu Yan didn’t respect him, a former commoner, nor did he respect An Heyu, a fallen noble.
At that moment, Qu Yan passed by An Heyu.
The purple-reddish haired noble turned his head, looking down at the young noble.
“The corpse is your responsibility, scavenger. I want his head intact,” he said, as if it were routine, then continued walking forward.
His movement stirred a breeze, lifting the red hair on An Heyu’s forehead.
Yet An Heyu maintained his aloof and proud demeanor, seated upright, as if he hadn’t heard the derogatory term.
Li Li patted his shoulder from behind, and only then did he stand.
“Let’s go,” he said. “I just saw Huyu. I’ll take him back first.”
From the high platform, they saw a few children standing under the trees.
“He seems different from before,” An Heyu suddenly said.
This elder brother looked distantly at his younger brother, who was talking with peers.
He was clearly more vibrant than when in his presence, and the extreme inferiority masked as pride, which even An Heyu had noticed, was gone.
The pride he hadn’t shed earlier suddenly turned into a brotherly sigh.
“Just one night…” he said. “You might really be better at raising kids than I am.”
Heige. He repeated the name in his mind.
“What’s your next move?” He didn’t know what Heige planned to do; many of Heige’s actions were beyond his understanding, though this time he could guess a bit.
That man had thoroughly enraged him, so he would make that man die in utmost agony.
To destroy someone, first drive them mad.
Let Qu Yan arrogantly believe he had already dealt with Heige, then, at his most triumphant moment, make him plummet to the depths.
An Heyu had once thought Heige was a lunatic, a clever lunatic.
Now he still thought so.
This person was rationally heading toward madness.
As he pondered, the youth standing behind him answered.
“Fulfill my promise,” the voice as cold as the youth’s current expression.
Take Qu Yan’s head? Or something promised even earlier? An Heyu turned back.
Ice-blue earrings, crimson pupils.
Like ice and fire intertwined, but ultimately forming only an unfathomable abyss.
At that moment, the abyss smiled at him, a wicked smile.
…
Below the high platform, Yiming, standing with the other two by the trees, stared blankly at where the crows had vanished.
The square before him was empty.
Except for them, everyone else had long since fled to save their lives.
Thus, only the three of them, along with those on the high platform, saw the flock of crows.
“Will Heige die too?” Yiming murmured.
He suddenly felt as if a towering mountain had collapsed.
But deep in his heart, a voice insisted: No, it shouldn’t be like this.
How could that person possibly fail? He should always wear that infuriating smile, criticizing him as utterly worthless, treating him as a toy for idle amusement.
“Of course he will,” said An Huyu, who had started crying at some point, his tear-filled eyes trembling as he spoke. “That’s Qu Yan. Isn’t Heige just A-rank? How could he possibly defeat S-rank Qu Yan? Even Big Brother couldn’t beat him.”
Yiming fell silent for a moment.
“I still think something’s off,” he said.
He didn’t believe it.
At that moment, Tang pointed to the high platform flying away under Yue Qing’s control. “Yiming, Yu Xiao is still up there.”
“Are you going to rescue him?” An Huyu asked, gazing in the direction of the ice sculpture’s flight. “They’ll probably stop near the residence we stayed at last night.”
Yiming took a deep breath, shook his head vigorously, and said firmly, “Let’s go. We’re going to save Yu Xiao.”
With An Huyu leading the way, they quickly arrived at the An residence.
At the same time, they saw the Yue residence a short distance away, hosting a banquet for guests.
The three of them poked their heads out from behind a wall.
“How do we get in?” Tang asked.
“Sneak in through the back door,” Yiming said.
“Walk in openly,” An Huyu declared.
Tang and Yiming turned to look at An Huyu, who raised his chin proudly.
“I’m a noble. I can use my face!”
Five minutes later, An Huyu, dressed in a new, expensive formal outfit, approached the Yue residence’s entrance with two people dressed as bodyguards.
As he walked, he turned his head, grumbling loudly, “I told you not to follow me!”
The two “bodyguards” kept their heads down, obediently silent.
The servants at the Yue residence exchanged glances.
Just as they moved to stop An Huyu, the young master pushed them aside. “Don’t block my way!”
Of course, they recognized the young master of the An clan.
He was a non-ability user, and if he got even slightly hurt, the An clan leader would surely come after them.
The servants shared a few looks.
This scene was all too familiar, nothing major.
They reported to their superior and let them pass.
Once inside the Yue clan’s villa, An Huyu continued his loud complaints, breaking into a run.
“Don’t follow me, don’t follow me!”
The two “bodyguards” ran after him.
Almost everyone present was from Four-Way City, and they paid no mind to the scene.
It was too common—An clan’s older brother sending protection for the younger, while the younger tried desperately to shake off his bodyguards.
After An Huyu zigzagged, climbed stairs, and turned right, they reached a floor with no one around.
Only then did they stop.
The two bodyguards lifted their heads, revealing, as expected, Yiming and Tang.
Tang looked at An Huyu, his tone laced with disdain. “What do you usually do…?”
Yiming, on the other hand, earnestly thanked him, but An Huyu waved it off, glancing around sneakily and lowering his voice.
His words, for once, were serious. “Listen, you can look for whoever you’re after, and once you find them, take them and leave. Don’t get into any conflicts—you can’t win. If you’re caught, deny everything. I’ll say I was playing hide-and-seek with you, got it?”
Yiming took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. “Got it.”
Even Tang said, “No matter what, thanks for this.”
An Huyu froze for a moment, sniffed, and said, “After leaving Floating City, I didn’t have any friends. Can I tell Big Brother I’ve made new ones?”
Tang and Yiming exchanged a glance, and Yiming smiled. “Of course, we’re already friends.”
An Huyu’s tears fell again.
He wiped them away, choking, “Then you can’t die. I’m coming with you. No matter what, I can use my face.”
“Use that face that’s crying like a tabby cat?” Tang laughed.
“Tang, you really don’t know how to talk!” An Huyu retorted, puffing up. “Right now, I’m putting friendship above everything!”
At that moment, downstairs, An Heyu, a step behind his younger brother, arrived with Li Li.
“You’re not planning to make a move here, are you?” An Heyu asked before entering.
Li Li replied candidly, “Depends on the situation.”
This made An Heyu extremely worried.
Li Li was in her Li Baige cool-guy persona, her expression unchanging, her words cold.
“You’d better worry about yourself,” she said pointedly.
If her guess was correct, this banquet would be very, very interesting.
She was starting to look forward to it.
Author’s Note:
Qu Yan is going down, but one by one.
Li Li: They’re all on the list. Not one will escape.