The drainage tunnels beneath the Forbidden City were never meant for the living. Stagnant, waist-deep water thick with the palace's waste and the bitter sting of sulfur swirled around Lin Xiyao's legs. But as the low, wet growl echoed through the vaulted stone passage, she realized the tunnels had become a kennel for something far worse than rats.
"Back," Lu Yan commanded again. His voice was no longer human; it was a rhythmic vibration that seemed to command the very air to tremble.
The two creatures emerged from the gloom. They were caricatures of men, their Jinyiwei uniforms hanging in tatters over distended, corded muscle. Their skin was a bruised purple, stretched thin over bone structures that had been violently rearranged. Unlike Lu Yan, who retained the sharp, piercing intelligence of a commander, these things had eyes like curdled milk—blind, yet tracking them through scent and heat.
[Heavenly Forensic System: Combat Analysis Initialized] Target A: Feral Lycanthrope (Stage 3 Mutation). Weakness Detected: Left scapula. Severe necrosis from failed alchemical bonding. Target B: Feral Lycanthrope (Stage 4 Mutation). Hazard Level: Critical. Note: These subjects are "Trash" results of the Eunuchs' immortality experiments.
Lu Yan didn't wait for them to spring. He moved with a speed that defied the heavy water, a blur of silver-embroidered silk and raw power. He didn't draw his spring saber; his hands had already curved into claws, his fingernails lengthening into jagged black shards of obsidian.
The clash was visceral. The sound of meat hitting meat and the sickening crack of bone echoed against the damp walls. Lu Yan caught the first creature by its throat, his arm muscles bulging as he slammed it into the stone ceiling.
"The left shoulder, Lu Yan!" Xiyao screamed over the splashing water. She knew that in a suspense novel, the protagonist's mind must determine the key plot direction. "The bone is already brittle there!"
Lu Yan pivoted mid-air, his movements a terrifying display of "overpowered" grace. He drove his heel into the creature's festering shoulder. A sound like a dry branch snapping filled the tunnel, followed by a howl that was more a mechanical screech than an animal's cry.
But the second beast was faster. It lunged at Lu Yan's exposed side, its jaws snapping inches from his ribs.
"System! Tactical Extraction!" Xiyao cried, reaching into her medical chest. She didn't have his strength, but she had the "Golden Finger" of information. She pulled out a specialized bone-needle—not for healing, but for disrupting.
[System Prompt: Skill Activated - Nerve Block Strike] Probability of Success: 68%.
Requirement: Precision hit on the C7 vertebrae.
Xiyao didn't hesitate. As the beast pinned Lu Yan against the tunnel wall, she lunged forward, thrusting the needle into the nape of the creature's neck.
The effect was instantaneous. The beast's hind legs buckled, its neurological pathways momentarily short-circuited by the silver needle's precise placement. Lu Yan seized the opening, his hands finding the creature's head and delivering a swift, merciful twist.
Silence returned to the tunnel, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of two survivors. The feral bodies slumped into the black water, beginning to dissolve almost immediately—a sign of the unstable alchemy that had created them.
Lu Yan turned toward Xiyao. He was still half-transformed, his jaw elongated and his amber eyes burning with a hunger that made her pulse skip. He took a step toward her, his claws dripping with black, viscous blood. For a moment, the complexity of human nature hung in the balance—would the man or the beast prevail?
Xiyao didn't retreat. She reached out, her fingers trembling but her gaze steady, and touched the damp silk of his sleeve. "You're bleeding," she whispered.
The golden fire in his eyes flickered, then dimmed. His features began to recede, the agonizing shift back to humanity making him wince. He slumped against her, his weight nearly driving them both into the water.
"You should have run," he rasped, his voice returning to its human, gravelly tone.
"I am a physician," she replied, her system already scanning him for internal damage. "I don't run from my patients. Especially not the ones who save my life."
[System Update: Experience Gained] Current Level: 2.
Unlocked: 'Substance Extraction' (Ability to analyze poisons in living blood). Relationship Point: +10 with Lu Yan.
Lu Yan looked at her, a strange, dark admiration surfacing in his eyes. "The exit is another half-mile. It leads to a hidden courtyard behind the Imperial Stables. It's a sanctuary I've kept for... emergencies."
"Then let's move," Xiyao said, supporting his weight. "We have a cure to build, and now I have the blood samples I need to start."
As they limped through the darkness, Xiyao knew this was only the start of their "arduous marathon." The Eunuchs wouldn't stop with just two failed experiments, and the Blood Moon was drawing closer.