A thick fog enveloped the surroundings. Taking advantage of the momentary obstruction to everyone's vision, Li Ang quickly tore off the groom's attire he was wearing and stuffed it into his backpack. He then seized the opportunity to change into black Night Clothes with a hood, put on an African leopard-style Face-Changing Mask, and donned in-ear headphones.
He tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, retreating backward while simultaneously creating an illusion of Groom Li Ang right where he had been standing.
The illusion was incredibly realistic, perfectly capturing the panicked and shocked expression on its face.
Li Ang instructed Miss Chai to protect the illusion, preventing it from being attacked and collapsing, while he himself quickly caught up to Hong Sha.
In the distance, Hong Sha, who was sprinting towards the skyscrapers, suddenly realized that the black shadow on the glass wall had vanished. At the same time, she felt an ominous, prickling sensation in her back, as if from a thorn.
She turned around hastily, her claws lashing out just in time to block the spear thrusting towards her head.
The spear was a zhang tall, its shaft made of metal, as thick as an eyebrow, and undeniably solid.
The spearhead was a triangular armor-piercing spike, crafted from bone and extremely sharp.
[Name: Triangular Bone Tipped Spear]
[Type: Weapon]
[Quality: Rare]
[Attack Power: Medium]
[Special Effect: Breakthrough Wreck. Activates the bonetip, allowing it to extend like a whip to strike enemies from afar]
[Consumption: None]
[Cooldown: 10 seconds]
[Equipment Condition: Strength Attribute at least 7, Agility Attribute at least 7]
[Note: Rain casts aside the golden armor, moss lies on the green spear]
Li Ang had spent 1,000 Game Coins on this weapon. It was created by forging a Steel Stick and a White Bone Spine in the Forging Furnace. Although only of Rare quality, it was straightforward and durable, with a powerful Special Effect and a short cooldown, making it highly compatible with Ripple Qigong.
"DA-DA-DA-DA, DA-DA-DA-DA!"
The orchestral ethnic piece "The General's Command" blared in Li Ang's headphones. Led by a soaring suona, its imposing melody surged forward in majestic, powerful waves.
After activating the skill "No One Can Defeat Me In My BGM," "The General's Command" enhanced the attack strength of Li Ang's first attack. For the next thirty seconds, it also granted him a diminishing buff that improved his movement speed.
Paired with an adrenaline surge, Li Ang's burst speed even exceeded that of Hong Sha.
He flicked the spear tip, knocking aside Hong Sha's sharp claws. Simultaneously, he triggered the Special Effect of the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear. Sections of White Bone Spine shot out from the metallic shaft, propelling the bone spear tip skyward. It then struck down at breakneck speed, like a venomous snake diving, directly aiming for the top of Hong Sha's head.
This strike was as swift as lightning; even Hong Sha could hardly avoid it.
Her back arched as though her spine had fractured. She hastily leaned back in a tactical recline, narrowly evading the sharp spear tip's attempt to pierce her head.
Even so, the spear blade, imbued with surging Ripple Energy, still pierced her red robe's collar and penetrated her collarbone, leaving behind a deep, hollow wound.
Suffering such a severe blow, Hong Sha couldn't help but cry out in pain. Her red bridal veil fluttered, revealing half of a pale chin, and her bright teeth and red lips, now twisted in agony.
Li Ang, who had just been about to become sworn siblings with Hong Sha, now fully embraced his scumbag nature. He shook the spear shaft, retracting the spear tip, and stepped forward. His long spear was relentless. With a flurry of blocks, grabs, slides, stabs, flicks, lifts, twists, and smashes, he pressed Hong Sha until she had no escape, neither to heaven nor to earth.
Hong Sha, riddled with wounds from the Ripple Energy-filled spear tip, turned and blocked the long spear with her claw, shouting sorrowfully and indignantly, "Who are you?! Why won't you stop chasing me?"
Li Ang, from behind the African leopard Face-Changing Mask, lowered his voice and said eerily, "I want... cough syrup."
"???"
Although Hong Sha's specific expression could not be seen, one could easily guess that she was utterly baffled. "What?"
"I want cough syrup."
Li Ang propped his spear on the ground and stretched out a hand. "Give me cough syrup."
Hong Sha's throat bobbed. "Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying..."
CLANG—
Li Ang abruptly leveled his spear. The White Bone Spine extended the spear's tip for several meters, holding it perfectly still just in front of Hong Sha's veil, aimed at her forehead.
"If you don't give me cough syrup," the man in the African leopard mask said calmly, his voice cold, "then give me Daknin Water Blisters Type Antifungal Foot Odor Cream."
Hong Sha was on the verge of a breakdown. "...What is that?"
"For athlete's foot."
Li Ang said indifferently, his tone serious, "I got into an argument with a troll online and kicked his stinky mouth, which made my foot start smelling too. Yesterday, I stepped on a poisonous snake. It bit my foot, and after I was rushed to the hospital, it took them eight hours of emergency treatment before the snake was out of mortal danger. So, I need Daknin Water Blisters Type Antifungal Foot Odor Cream."
Hong Sha felt like she was suffocating. "..."
Seeing her silence, Li Ang shook his Triangular Bone Tipped Spear unhappily. "Either give me the Athlete's Foot Ointment or the cough syrup. Otherwise, you die."
This is... Who exactly is the villain here?
With the crisis of death looming and her head reeling as if struck by thunder, Hong Sha could only manage a strained smile. "I don't have what you want, but those people over there do."
She pointed at the crowd in the distance, rallied her spirits, and said with a forced laugh, "I'll take you there to get it. How about that?"
"Fine," Li Ang said coldly. He casually waved his spear, delivering lightning-fast stabs to both of Hong Sha's shoulders and ankles.
To a Ghost, Ripple Energy is like hot soup to snow. The inherent suppressive effect of its attribute is overwhelmingly potent.
Four deep, cone-shaped wounds instantly appeared on Hong Sha's shoulders and ankles, through which the swirling Yin energy inside could be clearly seen.
The Ripple Energy, like maggots feeding on bone, kept consuming the surrounding Yin energy, depleting Hong Sha's foundation.
Such severe injuries would take years to heal slowly, even for a Fierce Ghost.
Hong Sha screamed and leaned forward.
As she was on the verge of collapsing, though her face showed immense pain, inwardly she was overjoyed. The moment I touch the ground, I can vaporize my form and burrow into the earth! she thought. By then, even if this leopard-masked man wants to dig three feet deep, I'll have long escaped!
Hong Sha, however, did not know that Li Ang had Miss Chai at home—a lazybones who loved to do nothing but eat. This Miss Chai, taking advantage of a Ghost's innate ability to go without sleep, was absorbed in her phone, computer, tablet, and game consoles day and night, living in a hedonistic blur.
To prevent her from sinking further into degeneracy, Li Ang had strictly scheduled how long she could use electronic devices each day and had locked all the phones, tablets, and game consoles in a safe.
Miss Chai, however, cunningly matched wits with Li Ang. Taking advantage of him sleeping at night, she would vaporize her form, poke her head and hands into the safe, sink the rest of her body into the floor, and continue playing with her phone, huddled up.
Li Ang was long accustomed to the tricks of Fierce Ghosts. With a slanting swipe of his spear, the sharp tip stopped just between Hong Sha and the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Li Ang snickered. Flicking his spear, he skewered the back collar of her wide, crimson robe, lifting her abruptly into mid-air.
"Running again? Three seconds, and I'll feed you to the sharks!" Li Ang threatened with a cold laugh. "Got it? I'll scatter your misfortune to the winds!"
"..."
Exhausted in both body and mind, Hong Sha turned her head, smiling wryly in resignation, and allowed Li Ang to carry her back to the original ritual site.