Lin Jiu

"Run!"

The moment the words left Chen Guan's mouth, he had already dashed off in the opposite direction.

Long Ao was quick to react as well. They bolted almost simultaneously, plunging one after the other into an adjacent alleyway.

The sound of something cutting through the air came from behind them.

A dark shadow leaped down from the rooftop, landing without a single sound, like a cat.

From the corner of his eye, Chen Guan caught a glimpse of the figure's silhouette: a slender build, clad in a black trench coat, with half of their face obscured by a silver mask.

"Someone from the Embrace of Flesh," Long Ao muttered. Jiangcheng was their stronghold, so he had seen his fair share of these zealots.

The two sprinted wildly through the alley. Their pursuer didn't rush to attack, instead maintaining a distance of about twenty meters, as if toying with his prey.

"What is he waiting for?" Long Ao asked.

"Waiting for us to run into their ambush," Chen Guan replied.

Just as he spoke, two figures suddenly appeared at the end of the alley ahead—wearing the same black trench coats and the same silver masks.

Three of them.

Chen Guan skidded to a halt, and Long Ao stopped right beside him.

"You there, the kid carrying the coffin," the pursuer behind them spoke up, his voice grating and unpleasant. "Hand over the item, and we'll spare your life."

"What item?" Chen Guan asked.

"Playing dumb?"

"I honestly have no idea," Chen Guan said, throwing his hands up. "You've got the wrong guy."

The three pursuers exchanged glances.

"Then we'll break your legs first and take our time asking."

With those words, all three moved at once.

Long Ao threw a punch, his fist whistling through the air as it aimed straight for the nearest attacker.

The opponent raised an arm to block. Instantly, his arm swelled and deformed, with grotesque, fleshy veins bulging beneath the skin.

Bang!

Fist met palm. Long Ao was forced back three steps, while the opponent didn't even flinch.

Long Ao's expression darkened. This was the signature ability of the Embrace of Flesh: modifying their bodies to gain superhuman strength. The price was a gradual loss of humanity, and the slightest misstep would turn them into deformed monsters.

Demonic power was never easy to wield.

The other two pursuers had already lunged at Chen Guan.

Chen Guan didn't take them head-on. He dodged nimbly, swinging his scythe fiercely at one of them.

The man reached out to block it, but the scythe abruptly changed direction mid-air, smashing into the face of the other pursuer.

Smack!

The mask shattered, revealing half of a twisted face, with something squirming beneath the skin.

"An illusion?" the man sneered. "Useless."

Chen Guan said nothing, quietly spreading his spiritual energy outward.

The next second, all three pursuers froze simultaneously.

The scene before their eyes began to warp. Chen Guan's figure split into three, each moving in a different direction.

"Split up and attack!"

The three picked their targets and struck at the same time.

And all of them hit nothing but air.

The real Chen Guan had already grabbed Long Ao and burst out of the encirclement, running toward the other end of the street.

"An Illusionist?" the pursuer's voice echoed from behind. "Interesting."

The three gave chase once more, much faster than before.

Chen Guan frowned.

Their strength was around the third tier. They weren't particularly strong, and with a bit of time, he and Long Ao could handle them. The problem was, heaven knew when their reinforcements would arrive.

"Can we shake them off?" Long Ao asked.

"I need time." Chen Guan glanced at his own pitiful agility. He couldn't fly, so relying on illusions was his only way to lose them.

"Then we fight." Long Ao stopped and turned to face their pursuers.

"Don't be reckless," Chen Guan said, pulling him back. "We can't win."

"So what do we do?"

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for them to stop on their own."

"Wait for them to stop on their own?" Long Ao frowned. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Chen Guan didn't answer, his gaze sweeping toward the end of the street.

The three pursuers had closed the gap to ten meters. One of them had an arm swollen to twice the thickness of a normal person's, flesh writhing beneath the skin and emitting a teeth-setting cracking sound.

"Last chance," the man croaked hoarsely. "Hand over the item."

"I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about." Chen Guan took a half-step back, holding his scythe horizontally in front of him.

"Then don't blame us..."

Before he could finish, a deep, guttural beastly roar resonated from the other end of the street.

The three pursuers froze instantly.

Long Ao was also stunned.

The sound was nothing like something you'd hear in a modern city; it sounded more like a wild beast roaring in the wilderness.

The next second, a giant white tiger stepped out from the shadows.

Over five meters long and nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, its every step made the ground tremble slightly.

Its pupils were pure gold, staring at the three pursuers as if looking at three pieces of moving meat.

"A Summoner?" one of the pursuers asked, his voice trembling.

"No, this aura... run!"

The three completely lost their arrogant demeanor, cowardly turning on their heels to flee.

The white tiger didn't chase them. It simply opened its massive jaws, and an invisible wave rippled outward.

The bodies of the three pursuers instantly went stiff, as if pinned in place by an invisible force. They couldn't even twitch a finger.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

One of them cried out in terror.

"It's not a monster," a lazy male voice rang out. "It's my pet. Watch your mouth, or it will get angry."

A man in a suit strolled out from behind the giant tiger. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and walked with a casual gait, as if taking a stroll in his own living room.

"Lin Jiu?" Chen Guan asked tentatively.

"Oh, you know me?" The man took a sip of liquor. "That makes things easier. Saves me the trouble of introducing myself."

He walked up to the three pursuers and patted one of them on the cheek. "Embrace of Flesh lackeys, running all this way to chase two students. Does your boss know about this?"

The man tried to speak, but could only produce muffled grunts from his throat.

"Oh, forgot to lift the suppression." Lin Jiu snapped his fingers.

The three instantly collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily for air.

"Speak up. Why were you chasing them?" Lin Jiu crouched down, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting about the weather.

"We... we were just carrying out a mission..."

"And the mission details?"

"To retrieve... retrieve the item stolen by Chen Guan..."

Lin Jiu raised an eyebrow. "Chen Guan? This kid?"

"Y-yes..."

"Interesting." Lin Jiu stood up and looked at Chen Guan. "Did you do it?"

Chen Guan stayed silent for two seconds. "No."

"Good." Lin Jiu waved his hand, pulled a palm-sized black box from his coat, and tossed it to Chen Guan. "I did it. It's yours now."

Chen Guan caught the box, feeling a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

"What is this?"

"A medium for a demonic contract," Lin Jiu said. "The Embrace of Flesh wanted to use it to summon a lesser demon, but I took it first. Sorry about that, dragged you into it."

Chen Guan's heart skipped a beat.

He was absolutely certain he didn't know this Lin Jiu in front of him, let alone have any grudges with him. "Why me? And why give it to me?"

Lin Jiu maintained a polite smile. "No particular reason. Maybe it's fate."

Chen Guan didn't reply, just staring at the box in his hands.

"Why does the Embrace of Flesh want to summon a demon?"

"Because their cult leader is dying." Lin Jiu's tone turned serious. "The power of the Embrace of Flesh comes from demonic blessings, but the price is their lifespan and sanity. Their leader can't hold on much longer, so he wants to summon a demon to gain stronger power and prolong his life."

"What does that have to do with us?" Long Ao asked, confused.