Chapter 63: Reality: Sprinting Frenzy

Chapter 63: Reality: Sprinting Frenzy

Ming Yiyang leaped out of bed.

Without pausing to turn around, he dashed out the moment his feet touched the ground. He suddenly realized that his down jacket was inappropriate and hastily took off his coat and sweater. Turning back, he snatched a black T-shirt and rushed out.

It was already three in the morning. Only the sound of his footsteps echoed in the hallway. He found the car keys on the drinks rack by the entrance, pulled the T-shirt over his head, and dashed out.

At this hour, the elevator seemed slow, so he pressed the button, waited a few seconds, and then bolted down the fire escape stairs.

To speed up, he grabbed the railing and vaulted to the next floor, causing a sharp pain to slice through his wounded wrist.

But he felt numb in his brain, unable to react to the pain at all. All he could think about was how to get to Xinhepu Road as quickly as possible.

He didn't know how long it took him to reach the twelfth floor—less than a minute or perhaps five. Gasping for breath, he ran into the underground parking lot and strode towards the depths, pressing the car key repeatedly.

A Maybach in a corner responded with double flashes and a beeping sound. Ming Yiyang ran over, opened the door, got into the driver's seat, and touched the steering wheel, noticing a thin layer of dust on the dashboard.

Indeed, it had been far too long.

He gripped the steering wheel, only then realizing that his hands were trembling. Blood had seeped across his palms, and he finally felt the pain from his exposed wound.

Grabbing a pack of tissues from the car, he hastily wiped his hands and turned the key to start the engine. He steered the car in reverse, mentally mapping out the shortest route to Xinhepu Road before speeding off.

Driving in the city was usually slow, but fortunately, it was late at night. Even in bustling Guang City, there were barely any pedestrians or vehicles on the road.

As he drove past the neon lights, his heavy breathing gradually subsided, and his hands stopped shaking.

Calmly, he parked the car in front of a small garden with a sign reading "Historical Cultural Protection Building." For a moment, he paused, feeling a dryness rising in his throat.

Swallowing down the dryness, he got out of the driver's seat and approached the doorbell.

Predictably, no one answered the chime.

Ming Yiyang looked up at the wall that wasn't particularly tall for him. This type of wall was designed to deter honest people but not thieves; it lacked spikes on top. However, given Yan Qiling's agility, the presence or absence of spikes would make little difference.

The tall young man leaped upward, using both hands to grip the wall's edge. Just as he flipped over, the door to the house inside opened.

Yet before he could relax, he discovered that the one who had opened the door was the muscular nanny with multicolored braids and sunglasses – Pan Hu.

Ming Yiyang recalled that this person's name was Pan Hu.

Pan Hu looked at him in astonishment from the wall, but still hurried over to try to stop him from jumping down.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ming," he said. "Our master has already gone to bed, and isn't receiving visitors for the time being."

Ming Yiyang stood on the wall, looking down at him without budging or jumping.

He spoke devoid of emotion.

"It's not that your master is asleep – he's on the verge of death. Open the door and let me in."

Pan Hu spread his arms to prevent any sudden leaps, maintaining a calm and polite demeanor, just like his employer.

"Apologies, Mr. Ming, but it's my duty to keep unauthorized individuals from entering the house."

Ming Yiyang's patience ran out, and anger flared in his heart. He stepped aside and jumped down, evading Pan Hu's attempted embrace. Rising quickly, he dashed towards the room.

Pan Hu, having missed his strike, turned to pursue. He grabbed Ming Yiyang's hand, only to feel a slippery grip. Looking down, he discovered that the other's entire wrist was covered in blood, which had been concealed by the darkness earlier.

Alarmed, he remembered his duty to protect his master's secrets, and the two engaged in a fierce struggle at the entrance!

Ming Yiyang's purple eyes flashed. Just as he was about to use his Spirit Binding Rope, his phone rang.

Unfazed, he swiftly activated the rope, coiling it around Pan Hu's neck and suspending him from the concrete beam at the entrance. Then, without warning, it released its grip, causing Pan Hu to crash to the ground, coughing, and his sunglasses to clatter down the steps.

As Ming Yiyang reached for the door to enter, it slammed shut with a thud, blocked by an unseen force.

Feeling a sense of danger, he instinctively moved aside, only to find three deep claw marks now etched into the door!

The young man turned in surprise, only to see that the man with the square face and prominent ears was now covered in orange fur, having transformed completely into a bipedal dog-headed creature!

"Mr. Ming," the dog-headed creature growled in a rough voice, "If you insist on trespassing, don't blame me for my response."

Ming Yiyang showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he removed the bamboo slip from his neck and shook it gently. The wooden blade elongated like a crescent moon, emitting a silent and chilly gleam.

The phone ceased its vibrations, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

"You'd better open the door," the young man said, his voice as cold as frozen metal—icy and devoid of emotion.

"Otherwise, I'll kill you to get in."

Just then, Pan Hu's phone rang as well, but he paid no attention to it, focusing instead on the young man before him with his beast-like eyes.

Pan Hu suddenly let out a fierce howl of a wild beast and pounced directly at the silver-haired youth!

It was incredibly swift, leaving only a fleeting afterimage in the air – a speed that was almost unbearable for ordinary people. Yet, Ming Yiyang met its assault with the back of his wooden blade, repelling it with a tremendous explosion of force!

Creating some distance between himself and the dog-headed man, Ming Yiyang didn't pursue further. He had already obtained what he had come for.

The key.

Pan Hu discovered that the key at his waist had been stealthily taken away, causing him immense shock. He dashed forward once more, but this time, Ming Yiyang repeated his previous tactic, using the Spirit Binding Rope to strangle Pan Hu's neck. Surprisingly, the rope bound nothing but air this time!

Human clothes fell to the ground, and out of a pink apron emerged a large, orange dog resembling a wolf. With sharp fangs bared, it lunged at him ferociously.

The canine's teeth dug deep into the arm holding the key, seemingly intent on tearing off a chunk of flesh.

Ming Yiyang glanced at the dog biting his arm, reminiscent of the wolves he had dealt with in the mountains before. Countless brutal countermeasures flashed through his mind, but ultimately, he decided to switch the key to his other hand and swiftly attempt the new key based on his experience.

Pan Hu released its bloodied grip on the arm and attempted to bite the other one instead. However, its mouth was tightly bound by the Spirit Binding Rope, and it was kicked away by the tall youth, rolling onto the stone path and howling in pain.

Neither of the injured parties was having an easy time.

Seconds later, the door swung open.

Ming Yiyang slipped in sideways, slapping the door shut just as the bounding golden retriever tried to escape.

At the entrance, there was the sound of a dog scratching at the door. Apart from that, the house was eerily silent.

A string of blood trickled down the young man's gracefully knuckled fingers, coursing through the intricate network of veins and the undulating expanse of bone, then spilling from his meticulously manicured nails onto the luxurious purple sandalwood floorboards below.

He stepped directly onto the floor, too hasty to change his shoes - of course, at such a moment, no one would remember the trivial detail of switching into indoor slippers.

There was no light in the hallway, nor in the living room, which only emphasized the faint glow emanating from the end of the second floor.

The young man ascended the steps, and the door was ajar. Before he even entered, he could already detect an intense and peculiar odor.

A scent akin to mingled blood and certain chemicals assaulted his nostrils, unpleasant and raising the unsettling doubt of whether inhaling it might be toxic.

Yet, his intuition told him with unwavering certainty that Yan Qiling was inside.

The silver-haired youth gripped the slightly ajar door frame but didn't pull it open immediately.

He heard no sounds, and through the frosted glass window on the door, he saw no faint silhouette of any living creature in motion.

His five fingers clutching the wooden plank suddenly tensed, and the young man slowly pushed the door open.

A surge of light engulfed him, swallowing his towering figure within its embrace.

-

Pan Hu waited for a few minutes, finally gathering the strength to transform once more. After he turned back into a human, the uncontrolled Spirit Binding Rope fell to the ground like an ordinary rope.

In the meantime, his phone had been ringing endlessly.

He knew that this period was ample time for Ming Yiyang to locate Mr. Chi's room and witness everything there was to see.

Now, however, he was no longer in a hurry.

Gathering his fallen pants calmly, he answered the call with his head and shoulder, beginning to dress himself.

Before he could say "hello," Chi Zihe's voice, laced with anger, erupted from the other end of the line:

"What the hell are you doing?! I've called you over ten times, and you only pick up now? Are you deaf or something?!"

Pan Hu didn't react much to the scolding; instead, he let out a deep, resigned sigh:

"Mr. Chi, please don't curse. Mr. Ming somehow managed to come over just now, insisting on entering. Despite my best efforts to stop him, I couldn't prevent it. Now, both of us are injured - he even kicked my head off. These young people nowadays have such incredible strength, almost comparable to that of an ox."

"Damn it, I knew why this guy wasn't answering my calls! He dares to fight with you and even break into someone's home? Put him on speaker, I'll give him a piece of my mind!"

Pan Hu pulled on his pants and apron, found his broken sunglasses, and put them on. He went around to the backyard, unlocked the glass door, and entered the living room.

The lights on the second floor were brightly lit, and the previously slightly ajar door had clearly been opened by someone.

As Pan Hu climbed the stairs, he continued chatting with Chi Zihe:

"What's so urgent that you had to call like that? What happened?"

"Happened? ! You're right next to Yan Qiling and you're asking me what happened? ! There can only be one thing - the Life Bell that Yan Qiling dedicated in Sheji Village is shattered! Lingshuang is really worried now and has already started setting up the 'Lotus Begging Array'. You need to bring Yan Qiling here within three days."

Pan Hu fell silent for a moment before sighing:

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy to send him over..."

He slowly pushed open the door while Chi Zihe's voice continued rambling from the phone:

"What could be difficult about it? Ming Yiyang knows some people in transportation. You can take a freight truck on the highway, just avoid public transport."

Pan Hu gazed at the silver-haired youth kneeling before the bathtub, unsure of how to respond.

"It's not an issue with transportation."

The bathroom was in disarray.

An unknown liquid, a vibrant blend of purple and red, had splashed from the bathtub all the way up to the ceiling. It was still dripping down viscously, some droplets landing in the youth's hair, staining it with hues of purple or red, as if they were his own bloodstains.

A large plastic sheet spread across the floor held fragments that were halfway cleaned up.

These fragments were all perfect one-centimeter cubes, uniformly square in size.

Among them were pieces of flesh and bone, densely piled together like sticky toy blocks.

If Pan Hu hadn't personally picked these up, he wouldn't have believed they were once parts of human tissue.

Yes, Sir was asleep.

His body was in such shambles that he had no choice but to succumb to sleep.

The water in the bathtub had thoroughly turned black, and only the blackish-red scum stuck at the edges revealed the water's true hue.

The young man kneeling before the tub seemed to have gathered great resolve before turning his head to look at him.

Pan Hu was momentarily startled.