When the faint light showed up, Li Feng started to fall into some kind of trance. It was as if he knew that whatever was producing it was something that would lift his spirit. For some reason, it was somewhat resonating with the black horse… and his infected blood.
A rather plain-looking male walked out, and yet the presence he had was not the same as the one Li Feng could remember. This man was not the same Liu Xiaodan that he had seen in the prison. This was not the second-year film student or the simple human tricked by a demon to help birth a vessel…
This Liu Xiaodan was exactly the man who killed dozens of humans that the law had not counted.
"You… don't seem to be a ghost." His voice echoed right after he dispersed the old-fashioned lamp into smoke that entered his body again. A flat smile was on his lips, and his dark eyes stayed on the quiet girl for a few moments before bringing it down on Li Feng in the distance. He then smiled bitterly. "What happened to the 'I don't want anything to do with you anymore'? You even dragged Nayi and Jin here."
"L… Xiaodan!" Li Feng barked, but he was still bewildered despite the relief and excitement of seeing the young man. Since when did Li Feng see him as a savior? Ah, how many times did Liu Xiaodan save his a.s.s again? If Li Feng wasn't grateful at this point, it would be such a shame… no matter what his logical side would say.
The shaman then gasped before trying to get up, but his feet would only slide against the ground. "Xiaodan! This girl is trying to—"
"I am not a ghost. I'm not human either." The girl walked to the center and blocked Liu Xiaodan's line of sight with her mutilated body. Her forearms then turned into hideous hands: one scrawny and would skin meat perfectly, the other bulky and could crush thick cement walls. "I would like to call myself… transcendent."
Liu Xiaodan moved his head and checked on Tang Mingming and Yi Junhai through the gaps she couldn't cover, the two other ghosts creeping back. He then slashed his arm with a finger and from his blood reformed the three Kings that he had killed before. The girl was actually shocked at the display.
He then eyed her and made a ghost smile. "Transcendent? I like that term. I'll use it, too."
"So it's you..." The girl growled and even forcefully reshaped the dress and legs into pieces of a bulky body filled with teeth and claws. Only her head and long hair remained reminiscent of her form. "You dare think you can steal my blood and live long?! You will only die!"
The parts attacked separately, but only the spawned Kings went to respond. The clash of the creatures submerged the temperature of the whole corridor, and the walls of the maze continuously vibrated like something was trying to break them. The pressure started to affect Li Feng and the two others, but they weren't closing their eyes. There was no need to turn away or be scared.
The spawned Kings were butchering the girl without mercy. Liu Xiaodan was watching his Kings destroy flesh without any discomfort in his eyes.
"No! How could you be this strong?!" The girl dispersed her form and fell on the floor. The parts of her body suddenly reshaped into a more human figure, and yet she was really scrawny. Her beautiful face was not seen anymore as her cheek hollowed, her eyes sinking deeply. Her skin was filled with blemish and red dots from the repeated drawing of blood. She then turned to Li Feng and crawled towards him. "Feng'er, help me!"
"What?" Li Feng was shocked… more when the face had already changed. The sudden sinking feeling made him jump forward and use his body to protect the walking skin and bones of a woman. "X-Xiaodan, t-take it easy—!"
"You know her?" Liu Xiaodan's eyes flickered at the sudden development. "I thought she wanted to eat you."
Li Feng's breath hitched as he realized his mistake. How could he fall for such a trick? However… he… he really did know the person!
It was too late to think. The girl suddenly deformed her mouth and chomped down heavily on Li Feng's neck like he was a roasted chicken leg. It's just that… wasn't blood one of Guangru's primary weapons? Liu Xiaodan's, too.
The moment the blood hit her face, it sizzled loudly like she just dipped her mouth in boiling oil. She quickly screamed in a shrill cry before trying to escape again. Unlike the brainless King, she easily broke through the wall with just her strength.
"This is not over!" She cried out as she fled for her life.
"...are you okay?" Liu Xiaodan walked towards Tang Mingming instead and accepted the terrified greater ghost inside his body. Yi Junhai followed suit as well. The spawned Kings somewhat melted into floating blood blobs that seeped into him. His gaze then landed on Li Feng who was now on the floor.
Li Feng was both scared and ecstatic. He escaped death again, but it was because of some kind of mutation in his very body. The shaman then reined in his feelings and sat up before looking up at Liu Xiaodan who didn't know whether he should offer a hand or not. In the end, he still did and helped Li Feng to his feet.
The senior then wetted his mouth and grabbed onto Liu Xiaodan's shoulders. "I finally found you..."
"...what is this about? Who's that girl? Why'd you protect her?" Liu Xiaodan was a little uncomfortable. He could get cozy with others, but not with people he had already inconvenienced. He came to this place to avoid making trouble, and yet Li Feng still came here to find him—having Chuan Nayi and Ruan Jin in tow. He would rather speak with Li Feng privately if he wanted to catch up. For now, they should talk business.
"Ah… right…" Li Feng rubbed his nape and was suddenly bothered by the blood dripping from his wounded skin. It felt strange not to feel pain from the punctures of her teeth. "I… It's one of my seniors in the Mian family. She was kicked out with her brother, but her brother had been saying things like… she was kidnapped. He traced down the culprits and found her being kept here. As for finding her… he never did…"
Liu Xiaodan then twitched and pressed his knuckle against his mouth. "Uhm, Li Feng… you… you're not talking about… Mian Qingwei, are you?"
The shaman's eyes widened before freezing. Wait… that's not right. He grabbed Liu Xiaodan again. "Why do you know that name?! Did they say something about her? Wait, the way she is… she couldn't be an experiment, too, right? Wait, this is… Qingtao didn't say she was an experiment..."
"Dammit, don't tell Mr. Six I harmed his sister. I was actually looking for her, too, because he said she's here." Liu Xiaodan scratched his head. There was no need to be really hostile… but then again, she was trying to eat Li Feng. "Let's look for her room. It should be around here."
"Wait, I have something for you!"