Chapter Twelve: Sudden and Utter Social Ruin

Ye Chen did not recklessly vault over the wall in pursuit; a sudden wave of weakness swept through his body. That last, exceptionally long-range slash had completely drained his already meager reserves of inner power. Now, at his most vulnerable, he retreated from the alley to stand beside Jin Yinghui. A glimmer of excitement shone in his eyes—a sense of having finally met his match—as he swiftly summarized the encounter in his mind:

The opponent’s judgment was impressively precise; when the first attack failed, it immediately chose to hide again, even using a trash bin to divert his attention. After being wounded, rather than retaliate, it concealed its presence. It might still be lurking nearby, or it might have truly fled. What kind of mutated beast was this?

Meanwhile, Ye Chen’s inner power was slowly beginning to recover. Based on his previous trials, he regained about one point per minute. In less than eighteen minutes, his reserves would be full once again. Only two minutes had passed when that mysterious, silent voice spoke to him once more:

[Mission complete]
[Reward: Insightful Eyes]
[Unlocking condition: Breath Technique of Beast-level progress 57/58]

Hearing this, Ye Chen nearly cursed aloud—what use was this reward now, whether granted or not? Instead, it only made him itch with impatience, practically forcing him to hurry his cultivation. Still, it meant tonight’s crisis was, for now, behind him.

Ye Chen could still catch a faint scent of blood on the wind, drifting from the alley across the street. But he wasn’t foolish enough to double back and investigate. Seizing this moment of safety, he hurriedly helped the deeply sleeping Jin Yinghui to his feet and half-dragged him back toward the Jin family home.

Once the two of them had left, the street returned to its usual quiet. About half an hour later, there was a pair of soft clicks at the far end of the alley—a set of claws, gleaming coldly, hooked over the wall. A head cautiously poked out, its eyes darting left and right. After making sure the coast was clear, it sprang lightly down into the alley and quickly slipped behind another trash bin. If one looked closely, the wound on its right leg had stopped bleeding; it had evidently treated the injury before returning. After a moment’s pause, the shadowy figure licked the wound with its tongue, then darted across the street. Soon, from the opposite alley, there came the sounds of chewing and swallowing.

Jin Yinghui’s residence was directly behind the shop where he spent his days; shop in front, home behind. There was a small courtyard between, empty of plants but for a trash bin placed in the corner. Ye Chen didn’t have to look to know it was filled with empty wine bottles.

In the center of the courtyard, a lounge chair stood beside a table, the latter crowded with a brimming ashtray and a lighter. The yard also contained a storage shed with a heavy burglar-proof door, used to temporarily store fresh kills.

The ambush on the road had entirely quashed Ye Chen’s thoughts of returning home alone. He pushed open the door and dumped Jin Yinghui unceremoniously onto the bed. With a muffled groan, Jin Yinghui drifted straight back to sleep.

Ye Chen rubbed his sore shoulders and made his way to the sofa. As he waited for the effects of the alcohol to fade, he stared up at the ceiling, replaying the night’s events in his mind. Something felt off.

First, it seemed that some unknown mutated beast had infiltrated the outer city. Such a thing had happened once before, years ago, when a gap in the city wall allowed a mutated three-eyed giant wolf to leap inside and kill many residents. Only through the combined efforts of city patrols and several hunters had the beast been slain. Since the wall was repaired, no such incident had occurred. Could there be another breach now?

Second, what puzzled Ye Chen most was the final howl of that unknown creature. If he had to describe it, he would say it sounded almost human. In his experience, animals capable of mimicking human voices included owls, parrots, and mynas—but these were birds, and the creature tonight was clearly a beast. What could it be? For once, Ye Chen found himself stumped within his own field of expertise.

After a while, Ye Chen reined in his wandering thoughts and entered his inner world to claim his reward. The emergency mission notice on the bulletin board burst into blue flames the moment he arrived, burning swiftly to ash. In the next instant, a sharp pain stabbed into his back, between his shoulder blades—as if someone invisible were carving something into his bare skin with a knife. If he concentrated, he could almost make out the abstract outline of a pair of eyes. But once the pain faded and the pattern settled beneath his skin, there was no apparent effect.

As expected, he’d have to fulfill the mission’s requirements to truly activate it. Ye Chen still didn’t understand how these tasks appeared; last time, it was because he was in danger. This time, it was clearly triggered by Jin Yinghui. Could it be that the system knew for certain he wouldn’t come to harm?

Ye Chen rubbed his forehead, thoroughly perplexed. Inside the room, Jin Yinghui rolled over, smacking his lips, and continued to snore. Ye Chen, meanwhile, took off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and began his overnight cultivation.

The night passed in silence.

At dawn, Jin Yinghui awoke and staggered to the bathroom, his eyes still bleary. He caught sight of Ye Chen sitting upright on the sofa and sniffed at the strange odor in the air. He stood in a daze for a moment, muttering to himself as he made his way to the restroom.

The sounds of Jin Yinghui rising snapped Ye Chen back to the present. Suddenly, a thought struck him—he opened his eyes in alarm. “Damn!” he murmured inwardly.

He looked at the spot where he’d been sitting, and his face turned dark. He realized that countless impurities had once again been expelled from his body. Glancing toward the bathroom, he decided that some things simply didn’t need to be explained.

Without further ado, he hoisted the small sofa and dashed out the door.

When Jin Yinghui emerged from the bathroom and saw both Ye Chen and the sofa missing, he scratched his head in confusion. “Am I seeing things, or did I drink fake liquor last night?”

The morning streets were as bustling as ever, but now there was a peculiar sight: a young man sprinting with a sofa on his back, trailed by a strange, lingering odor.

“That idiot must’ve soiled his pants...”
“Don’t pay him any mind. What’s the point of running when it’s already too late?”
“...”

Just as Ye Chen reached his door and was about to open it, Ye Shanshan—an early riser—stepped out. She saw the familiar figure lugging an unfamiliar sofa, surrounded by that distinctive yet oddly unfamiliar smell. Her gaze flicked to Ye Chen’s trousers, her brow furrowing slightly as she asked quietly, “Do you still have clean clothes?”

There is nothing more chilling than a sudden, awkward silence.

Ye Chen’s face flamed red, the blush rising all the way to his ears. He wanted to curl up and disappear. He turned his head stiffly and tried to sound composed. “Found this sofa in the trash. It’s a bit dirty... and a bit smelly!”

With that, he darted into the house, slamming the door behind him.