Beginning with the Ubume Bird - Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Chapter 12 Bifang and Vegetable Market

“Where have you run off to?”

In the duty room, Qin itched his back, comfortably grinning from ear to ear.

“Returned the old house.”

Li Yan pushed the door open, bent down to pick up the thermos, filled the large tea mug on the table, and then gulped it down.

The old man cocked his head to look at Li Yan’s profile.

“You seem in a bad mood~”

Li Yan shivered. Whenever he killed someone, for at least a few hours, there was an indescribable coolness clinging to him, which ordinary people found hard to notice. He hadn’t expected the old man to be so sensitive.

Li Yan affected a wistful touch to the corner of his eye: “I’m homesick.”

“Homesick? You’ll forget all about it once you’ve eaten.”

Qin stood up, “Alright then, you keep watch here tonight. I’ll come take over your shift in the morning.”

“No problem.”

Li Yan agreed.

Qin picked up the army coat from his bed, draped it over himself, and walked out. Inside the room, Li Yan stood on the threshold, quietly watching Qin pedal his bicycle away. He then tilted back his head and drained the large tea mug in his hands.

Under the light, the Tiananmen pattern on the tea mug was especially vivid, with an arched line of red characters above it.

“Broad is the world, much to achieve.”

When the clock’s hands on the wall pointed to eleven-thirty, Li Yan in bed had just finished an old, color-washed comic book, featuring “Gongsun Sheng’s magical battle against Gao Lian,” a story from the Water Margin.

“Please arrive at Guang’an Gate Market Execution Ground before midnight.”

“Your opponent’s legacy is: Bifang.”

Li Yan tossed the comic book aside and stood up.

He stubbornly took out his Walkman and pressed a few buttons again; receiving no response, he picked it up and walked out the door. However, his direction was not towards Market Execution Ground but the deserted alley where he’d previously dumped a body.

…

Yan Capital’s Market Execution Ground, located at the intersection of Xuanwu Gate’s outer major street and Guang’an Gate’s inner major street in the Southern City, was the execution ground for criminals during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

For some reason, Li Yan had acquired a large burlap sack on his back. When he got there, all he saw were rows of traditional residences, no sign of any people around.

The Sudu Bird had arrived here early, circling the sky for over twenty minutes, but hadn’t seen a soul.

As midnight approached, Li Yan’s plan to scout through the Sudu Bird for an advantage was declared a failure.

In the end, he showed up on the granite street of Guang’an Gate in the final minute before twelve. He walked into the area of Market Execution Ground.

Red digits flickered; it was midnight.

The deep night became thick, and even breathing became a struggle.

[Market Execution Ground]

Your metallic judged items are unusable

Execute judgement on all flesh-and-blood creatures. (In sequence)

Li Yan looked all around but saw no sign of anybody. There was no discernible anomaly in the suppressing effect of the execution ground either.

“Thump! Thump!”

There was the sound of fingers tapping on a wooden window.

Li Yan followed the sound and looked up, spotting an attractive woman with a melon-seed face leaning against a window on the second floor of a noticeable department store, her eyelashes dense, smiling brightly as she gazed at him.

She wore a peony high-slit cheongsam, with a slender neck, as fair as snow.

“Gu Huo Bird?”

“Bifang?”

Their eyes met.

“What’s that on your back?”

The woman asked.

Li Yan dropped the burlap sack on the ground; an unbound hand protruded from the loosely tied bag.

The corners of the woman’s mouth twitched. She said nothing.

“By daylight, the dead of the midnight world leave their bodies behind, and at midnight, only the things they had on them can be brought back in. So, dumping a body here is the cleanest way. No trouble.”

Li Yan shrugged his shoulders.

“Although it’s highly unlikely for a regular person to apprehend a Yan Fu walker possessed of various special abilities and exceptional physical prowess within seven to eight days, when you encounter one with meticulous thoughts, even finding a clue can prove extremely challenging. However, doing something is better than doing nothing,” he said.

He paused, then continued, “What if an unscrupulous expert barged into the Public Security Bureau in search of files? Wouldn’t I be played for a fool?”

The woman nodded, “Makes sense. You really are a walker worthy of the Ten Cities rank. However, it seems you’ve left quite the aftermath during your engagements?”

The woman’s gaze lingered on Li Yan’s status bar where “Witch Language” was listed.

Li Yan ignored the woman’s probing, getting straight to the point, “Do I go up, or do you come down?”

The woman revealed a set of delicate teeth. Her palm grabbed the window sill, and she flipped down from the tenth floor with a leap.

Beneath the brightly blooming peony flowers, her fair, slender thighs flashed in and out of view.

Li Yan looked up, seemingly in admiration.

One, two.

He silently counted to two in his heart, and as the woman was about to land, he tensed his calf muscles and lunged forward, wielding his sword in an upward slash.

The Ring Dragon Sword struck with the force of surging waters, viciously aiming for the woman’s head!

The atmosphere turned tense all of a sudden.

The woman’s face began to uncontrollably swell, and restless flames surged out from all her orifices before exploding violently.

“Bang”

Scalding waves of fire burst more than a meter away, and Li Yan rolled on the spot to evade, his hand charring with several large blisters, but otherwise unharmed.

“How ruthless you are, even towards a woman. You truly have no humanity,” she said.

In the dim alley, the woman in the cheongsam stepped out, removing the hairpin from her head. Her hair came loose and ignited from the ends, swiftly transforming into a raging inferno.

Her fiery hair was flamboyant and fierce, the gentle and delicate aura of the woman completely swept away.

“The Western Hills Scripture” states: There exists a bird which looks like a crane with only one foot, red patterns on blue skin, and a white beak named Bifang. Its cry is a call, and its appearance signifies that the town will have a disastrous fire.

…

Li Yan pierced the blister, the intense pain sharpening his alertness.

Li Yan surged forward and raised his hand. Light burst forth from the Ring Dragon Sword.

The woman’s four fingers slightly arched, deep red flames spread from the base of her palm to her fingertips, shaping into a flame dagger less than a meter in length, of simple design.

The sword and dagger collided, with the Ring Dragon striking the flames, failing to advance an inch.

Struggling to withstand the power, the woman squinted her eyes. Li Yan flicked the sword blade downward, his sole knocking against the woman’s knee.

The woman kneeled in pain, her fiery hair whipping around as two tongues of flame lashed towards Li Yan’s face.

Li Yan raised his arm to intercept, confidently cutting through the flames with the Ring Dragon and without a moment’s hesitation, twisted his body and launched a kick at the woman’s temple.

…

The woman rolled away in a state of disarray for seven to eight meters, her high-slit cheongsam covered in dust, her mouth swollen grotesquely, and a handprint from Li Yan’s shoe on her pale arm, trembling beyond control.

Li Yan gestured with the tip of his Han Sword facing downward.

“Fighting all dolled up, isn’t it better to be straightforward with a white shirt, a black jacket, and a single ponytail? Don’t you think?”

The woman forcefully wiped her mouth, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“A Gu Huo Bird, that’s a malicious bird, right?”

“So what?” Li Yan asked.

“Then you are seriously unlucky.”

The woman’s slender finger pointed towards the crossroads.

Li Yan’s gaze followed the road ahead, and under the western lamp post bound with a yellow band,

at some unknown time, a stage had been set up…

On the stage stood a pair of soft-top high-laced black leather boots. Li Yan looked up, seeing a waist-tied black garment with a ferocious face smeared with chicken blood, a Red Tassel Funnel Felt Hat atop the head, and a Ghost Head Greatsword in hand shrouded in red cloth. Its blade edge glinted ominously, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

A legal executioner.

“It seems, you’re the one heading to the execution stage first.”