Chapter 153: Tremor

Two shadowy figures sped swiftly through the woods. A running Ghoul had just turned its head before one of the figures crashed into it. The Ghoul slammed into the ground, its entire midsection now grotesquely mangled.

Quinlin and Alice didn’t even glance back as they pushed forward.

Right then, a sharp, piercing shriek echoed from far behind them.

“So fast!”

Alice barely gasped these words before a giant THUMP erupted from a spot only a hundred meters behind them. Before they could react, another THUMP sounded, now less than twenty meters away.

“Impossible!”

“How is it this fast!”

There was no time to think. Both were seasoned warriors, instantly realizing escape was futile. They whirled around simultaneously to confront their pursuer. But the space behind them was empty. No one was there.

At their moment of shock, a dark silhouette shot upwards from the ground, passing over them to land silently behind their backs.

“Ground level!” Quinlin roared, spinning and throwing a devastating punch towards the dark figure now near the earth. Beside him, Alice shrieked, her skin erupting as countless thick blood vessels burst through, forming a protective armor over her body.

But Zuo Zhicheng had been attacked by Marie using this very method aboard the ship; he wouldn’t be caught unprepared this time. He raised one hand, swiftly blocking Quinlin’s punch, while the other hand darted out, easily grabbing the exposed blood vessels covering Alice.

This move was as dangerous as grabbing a bare blade. Yet, through superb control of force, Zuo Zhicheng not only snatched the vessels but pivoted sharply on one foot. Using the leverage, he hurled Alice bodily towards a massive tree.

BOOM! Alice was utterly unprepared. She crashed headlong into the thick trunk. A loud crack echoed as the sturdy wood fractured, and the entire tree began to topple over. The impact forced a huge gush of blood from Alice’s mouth. Countless vertebrae snapped in her back, leaving her sprawled helplessly on the ground, unable to rise.

Zuo Zhicheng moved his feet, intending to finish her off.

But a furious roar came from Quinlin. A knife-hand strike whistled through the air straight at Zuo Zhicheng’s skull. Zuo Zhicheng tilted his head ever so slightly, dodging the blow. In the same fluid motion, another hand shot forward like a striking viper, catching Quinlin’s wrist precisely as his strike reached its farthest point, locking the arm in place.

Zuo Zhicheng then snapped a vicious kick straight towards Quinlin’s stomach.

Quinlin knew he couldn’t let such a strike land. The opponent’s strength was beyond anything he’d ever encountered. A solid hit could mean devastating injury with no chance for his Ghoul regeneration to heal him in time. He lifted his knee desperately to parry Zuo Zhicheng’s kick. Though he blocked the technique, the overwhelming force radiating through his leg shattered his kneecap with a sickening CRUNCH.

Merely seconds into the fight, one of his legs was crippled.

However, using the split-second opening where Zuo Zhicheng was committed to the kick, Quinlin attacked. His fingernails on his free hand exploded outward, elongating with metallic scrapes, transforming into razor-sharp talons that slashed towards Zuo Zhicheng’s throat.

As a Ghoul with control over his own flesh, Quinlin poured all his power into those claws. He was confident that even if the man blocked, if those talons touched skin, they would tear away a huge chunk of flesh. Such heavy bleeding wouldn’t seriously hinder a Ghoul like her, Quinlin knew, but it would likely be fatal for a human.

Zuo Zhicheng reacted far quicker. It was like he already knew Quinlin’s plan. Half a heartbeat before Quinlin even unleashed the claw swipe, Zuo Zhicheng’s pointer finger shot forward, striking precisely at the center of Quinlin’s palm.

Force concentrated at that single point, shattering Quinlin’s palm bone with overwhelming power. Cracks shot up through the bones of his forearm and elbow like dry twigs.

The damage itself was minor for a Ghoul. The real danger came from the momentum Zuo Zhicheng used. When his finger connected with Quinlin’s claw, he pushed off Quinlin’s strength. Without his other foot even touching the ground, Zuo Zhicheng propelled himself backward, impossibly light, like paper caught in the wind.

And the direction he flew? Straight towards where Alice lay heavily wounded.

‘Was she his target all along?!’

A chilling sense of dread, identical to what he’d felt in the study – the feeling of his every action being predicted, his every thought exposed – crashed over Quinlin like a bucket of ice water. He tried to rush forward, but the shattered knee made him move slower than a third of his usual speed. Horrified, Quinlin could only watch as Zuo Zhicheng drew his dagger and brought it swiftly down, severing Alice’s head clean from her shoulders.

“NO!” Quinlin’s scream was a raw, animalistic roar. His eyes burned red as he stared at his companion’s head Zuo Zhicheng now held. “You bastard! Let her go!”

Zuo Zhicheng’s expression remained impassive. “You wanted to kill and burn. Had nothing to do with me. Killing you isn’t my main goal. But right now, I have some questions. You need to answer them.”

Veins bulged violently on Quinlin’s forehead. “Go to hell!”

“Then let me help you reconsider. We waste time talking.” Without hesitation, Zuo Zhicheng flicked his dagger, neatly slicing out one of Alice’s eyes, held loosely in his other hand.

The sight, and Alice’s agonizing scream that followed, drove Quinlin into a frenzy. Blood vessels throbbed violently on his face, seeming fit to burst. Trembling with rage, he glared at Zuo Zhicheng, biting out each word. “Fine. What… do… you… want?”

“What is Yilezi’s true goal? How much do you know about the ruins beneath this place?”

Quinlin’s heart froze. He hadn’t expected the man to know about the underground ruins. He stalled, clearly struggling. Only when Zuo Zhicheng began slowly forcing his dagger beneath Alice’s chin did Quinlin blurt out in terror, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

“Yilezi aims to find the Origin Blood! That’s…” Quinlin’s voice trailed off, becoming softer and softer. Suddenly, in a burst of desperate motion, he kicked a nearby stone behind him and tried to bolt, dragging his shattered leg.

WHOOSH! The stone shot towards Zuo Zhicheng like a meteor. But Zuo Zhicheng simply lifted his hand and caught it effortlessly, the rock fracturing into dust within his grip. The stone had been aimed squarely at Alice’s head. “An actor, eh?” Zuo Zhicheng muttered with surprise, watching Quinlin’s retreating form. “Just buying time to heal.”

His next move was instant. Frowning, he tossed Alice’s head aside and threw himself backward explosively. The head he discarded erupted violently into a cloud of crimson mist. Innumerable fleshy, hair-like tendrils burst outwards. It was Alice triggering her final, suicidal attack: a fatal Blood Curse. Though Zuo Zhicheng dodged it, the brutal tactic made him grimace. “Willing to self-destruct… Getting information just got much harder,” he commented coldly.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, the entire earth began to shake violently. Jagged cracks tore across the ground, gaping fissures splitting the earth. A deep, bottomless chasm violently ripped open right beneath Zuo Zhicheng’s own feet. He reacted instantly, leaping back and retreating a safe distance. Only after ten frantic seconds did the earthquake finally subside.

“An earthquake?” Though it appeared natural, Zuo Zhicheng had a nagging feeling this wasn’t something so simple. After a moment’s hesitation, he focused, setting off swiftly in the direction Quinlin had fled. His plan remained unchanged: catch Quinlin first. After that, head straight to the study to secure all of Yilezi’s data and research notes.