# 222
**Chapter 222: Clash**
Lin Qiye and Mumu leapt into the sewer. The dark, damp environment made Lin Qiye frown. Rats scurried past from time to time, their squeaks echoing in the cramped space.
Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes at the rats. If nothing unexpected happened, the enemy likely had the ability to control rat swarms—which meant their entry into the sewer had probably already been exposed.
But that wasn’t a big deal. Since the enemy had chosen this route, their hiding place had to be nearby. And if they tried to move, they’d have to carry the corpse with them. Lin Qiye was confident he could catch up before they escaped.
He hoisted Mumu onto his back, extended his mental perception to the limit, and shot through the tunnels like a phantom, impossibly fast.
---
Meanwhile, in an underground cavern.
The youth staring at the three corpses suddenly sensed something. He froze, turned toward a distant passageway, and raised an eyebrow.
“He actually found me? As expected of him…”
He slipped off his white lab coat, pulled on a black windbreaker, and hid his face beneath a roomy hood. Wrapped in shadow, he started for the exit.
“Looks like I won’t be able to hide this time.”
He glanced back at the cavern full of formalin specimens, the operating table, and the thick stack of research notes on the stone desk, then sighed in resignation.
---
The deeper Lin Qiye went, the more rats appeared.
First a few, then a dozen, then scores… Now the narrow tunnel ahead was carpeted with them—no place to set a foot.
He knew he’d chosen the right path.
“Mumu.” Lin Qiye eyed the tide of rodents and spoke calmly.
“Heave—ho!”
The bandages around Mumu’s right arm unraveled, revealing a gleaming gun barrel. Blinding fire gushed out and swallowed the rat swarm in an instant.
Lin Qiye darted onward.
With Mumu—a walking arsenal—the rats couldn’t slow them. The pair were a human battering ram: fire and explosions paving the way.
A few minutes later Lin Qiye stopped dead.
From a certain point on, every rat had vanished, as if they’d fled en masse. The sewer fell into eerie silence.
He halted because someone stood in the darkness ahead.
Not physically imposing—almost frail. A black hood hid the stranger’s face. Standing in the gloom, the figure radiated mystery.
Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes. “Found you…”
The figure said nothing. The next instant the ground beneath Lin Qiye exploded. Thick white vines—flexible as wrists—lashed out like lightning, grabbing for his body.
At the same time, extreme cold spread; the surrounding water froze solid.
The chill slowed Lin Qiye’s movements, but darkness erupted from him, swallowing the flailing vines.
Under the influence of the Darkest Domain the white vines slowed dramatically. Mumu ballooned in size, two more gun barrels extending to blast the vines at their feet.
Boom—!!
A blaze lit the gloomy sewer. Bricks and shredded vines flew everywhere. When the smoke cleared, the now-shrunken Mumu guarded Lin Qiye, and a black shadow burst from the haze.
While sprinting, Lin Qiye pressed both hands against the air; dazzling magic circles unfolded. He reached in and drew two Straight Blades—one his own, one Zhao Kongcheng’s.
He’d come after the corpse-thief alone, but not unprepared. Carrying two black cases everywhere was a pain, so he’d etched a “Designated-Summon Glyph” on the星辰 blades; as long as he stayed inside Cangnan City, he could call them at will.
Seeing him “draw swords from thin air,” the hooded figure froze, then plunged a hand into a nearby pool, freezing a long frost-wreathed sword.
The moment the blade formed, Lin Qiye was on him.
Twin blades slashed in a blur. The stranger reacted fast, bringing the frost sword up to block—
Clang—!!
The impact sent the hooded figure flying; he stumbled back several steps, eyes wide.
“I fused the power structures of the Nanda Serpent Demon and a murder-ghost, yet I’m still weaker? What kind of freak is he…” he muttered under his breath.
He shook his head, swept a hand over the water, and dozens of ice spikes shot out faster than bullets.
Lin Qiye spared them a glance, never slowing, as if they didn’t exist. The moment the spikes entered his ring of darkness they froze mid-air, unable to advance.
He snorted; the suspended spikes shattered.
“How many Forbidden Ruins does he have?” the stranger wondered.
Shattered ice drifted down. Lin Qiye burst through the frost fog and slashed again.
This time the figure didn’t defend; he let the blades come while thrusting his frost sword at Lin Qiye’s throat.
Lin Qiye’s pupils shrank. He abandoned the left-hand cut, parried the frost sword, and slammed the right blade into the stranger’s chest.
Splatter—!
Blood flew; a savage gash opened across the figure’s torso. He glanced at it without pain, only regret, then stepped back to create distance.
Lin Qiye didn’t press the attack; he stood still, watching.
“Thought I could at least fight you to a draw… didn’t expect to be beaten this badly.”
The chest wound healed at shocking speed; within seconds only a faint red line remained.
Super-regeneration?
Lin Qiye’s eyes widened.
The man lifted his hood, revealing a gentle, pale face. His eyes fixed on Lin Qiye like a researcher studying a rare specimen—curious, exhilarated.
“Long time no see, Lin Qiye.”