Li Xian navigated the desolate streets of the port district. The air was thick and humid, a mixture of the pungent stench of fish that had been rotting on the docks for weeks and spilled machine oil. He followed the directions from the codebook he had found, heading towards an old warehouse with rusted walls and a dilapidated door that creaked softly, as if whispering, "Come in."
Inside, Li Xian could see his reflection in the dirty puddles—a monster with red eyes. Suddenly, he felt a bone-chilling cold. In the center of the warehouse, a labyrinth of empty coffins was lined up, as if waiting for their occupants. A letter lay on top of one of the coffins, written in a trembling hand: a promise to reveal the location of the Little One.
Li Xian knew it was a trap. A poisoned bait designed to lure him out of his lair. But he had no choice. He had to believe. In the corner of the room, an old water clock ticked. Tick... tock... tick... tock... Its sound wasn't like a normal clock's, but rather like the rhythm of a fast-beating heart, creating a suffocating tension. Li Xian could feel eyes watching him. He took a deep breath, feeling the dark energy inside him pulsating. The whisper returned, offering the power to destroy, to free himself.
"Come out," he hissed, his voice echoing in the silent warehouse. "I know you're here."
Suddenly, the ticking of the water clock changed. Tock... tock... TOCK! Three rapid knocks that sounded like a signal.
From behind a stack of crates, seven shadows emerged. They were not ordinary thugs. They were members of the Hei Ye Ting's special forces, known as the "Black Hooks." Their uniforms did not reflect light, as if they absorbed the darkness. The hook emblem on their shoulders looked like a claw ready to tear. Their weapons were exotic and deadly: shimmering electric nets with small sparks and poison arrows with bat-shaped tips. They moved with perfect coordination, forming a lethal triangular formation. In the loft above, Li Xian saw an archer, his shadow faint among the wooden beams.
"So this is the rat that's been disturbing our nest," said the group's leader, a burly man with cold eyes. "You crippled Bay Fang. You made us lose money. You will pay with your life."
Li Xian was undaunted. He used his environment as a weapon. He kicked one of the wooden crates, making it slide, and pushed a rickety iron rack, sending it crashing down with a thunderous noise that shook the warehouse. The rack fell, creating a barricade that broke their formation. While one of the Black Hook soldiers was off-guard, Li Xian broke a barrel of acid and threw its contents. The acid destroyed one of their weapons and created a pungent, rotten smell.
However, he felt an unexpected weakness. Every time he used that power, he felt a pain like a thousand needles stabbing his arm. He knew he couldn't last long. "He's exhausted!" one of the Black Hooks yelled. "Attack him!"
They threw the electric nets. Li Xian dodged, but another net came from the other side. He was cornered in the warehouse, his back against the rusted wall. The electric net bound him, sending a painful shock through his entire body. Li Xian screamed, his body trembling violently. He could see the archer in the loft aiming for his head.
"Now, die!" the Black Hook leader exclaimed.
Just then, fate intervened. A bolt of lightning struck the warehouse chimney, creating a deafening sound and sparks that spread quickly. Thick smoke began to fill the warehouse.
From the puff of smoke, a silhouette emerged. A simple wooden mask covered his face, and his clothes were tattered, like a wanderer or a thief's. The figure was unarmed, but his movements were incredibly agile.
"What in the world?!" the Black Hook leader shouted.
Without hesitation, the silhouette threw blinding powder at the Black Hook forces. The powder shimmered like fairy dust, but when it hit their eyes, the guards screamed in pain. With one swift motion, the figure pulled out a sharp, curved knife and cut the electric net's cable that bound Li Xian. Li Xian fell, exhausted, but he was safe.
"Run to the back door! Now!" he yelled in a familiar young man's voice, sharp as a dagger.
Li Xian stared at the figure. Was this a new trap? A more cunning bait? He had no choice but to trust him. He dragged himself to the back door, while the masked figure fought the Black Hook members with his bare hands, using the messy warehouse environment to his advantage. He moved like the wind, avoiding every attack with ease.
"Who are you?!" Li Xian yelled.
The figure only turned briefly, his sharp eyes staring at Li Xian from behind the mask's holes. "You owe me an explanation later," he replied, his voice annoyed.
Li Xian wasted no time. He ran to the back door, while behind him, the sound of the fight intensified.
The battle turned into a deadly dance.
After being freed, Li Xian launched a shockwave kick, creating a powerful air pressure that made the crates shift like chess pieces.
Luo Feng accurately threw a barrier knife at the Black Hook member who was blocking Li Xian's path.
Li Xian's kick shattered a crate, creating a curtain of dust. Luo Feng's knife opened an escape corridor. They both moved without verbal communication, as if they had trained together for years.
Li Xian saw the archer in the loft aiming, and he knew he had to act fast. He jumped up, hitting the loft's support with full force.
Luo Feng, below, pulled a hidden wire he had set up between the beams.
The archer lost his balance and fell, his body hitting the floor with a deafening thud. Luo Feng was already there, ready to neutralize him.
Li Xian was cornered again. His dark energy rose uncontrollably, emitting a black aura. His movements became brutal and wild, but they also consumed his energy. He felt like he was about to faint.
Luo Feng saw Li Xian staggering. He moved quickly, touching a pressure point on Li Xian's neck.
Li Xian's dark energy subsided, and he felt relieved. This is the first time I haven't felt like a monster, he thought. His movements became more regular, and he regained control of his body. Li Xian felt his dark energy calm down when he was near Luo Feng.
Their techniques complemented each other like two sides of a coin. Li Xian was raw, uncontrolled power, while Luo Feng was precision and speed. Their movements were spontaneous, without verbal communication. There was a magical synergy between them.
"Who are you, really?" Li Xian asked, his voice hoarse.
"I'm Luo Feng," Luo Feng replied, still busy fighting the last two guards. "Don't ask too many questions. We have to get out of here."
The fight ended quickly. Luo Feng took down the last guard, and they both ran to the back door, leaving the warehouse filled with bodies and smoke.
They hid in a smaller, neighboring boat shed, a safe place yet still full of shadows from the past. Their breaths were ragged. Li Xian stared at Luo Feng, who was leaning against a stack of crates, his breathing calm.
"Who are you?" Li Xian asked again. He reached for Luo Feng's wooden mask and pulled it off.
Beneath it was the face of a young man about 18 years old, with sharp eyes and a terrible burn scar on the right side of his face. The scar formed a strange pattern, like a wilting blooming flower.
"Why did you help me?" Li Xian asked, his voice full of suspicion. "What do you want?"
Luo Feng didn't answer. He just stared at Li Xian.
Suddenly, from the next warehouse, a dying Black Hook member crawled out, blood flowing from his mouth. "Qianlong... Baiyun... they... they burned us... for... energy..." he whispered, then died.
Li Xian and Luo Feng exchanged glances. "What is he talking about?" Li Xian asked.
Luo Feng didn't answer. He just pointed to his neck. There, he wore the same necklace as Chen Bo—a crescent moon. Li Xian took out his necklace. They joined, forming a perfect full moon. In the center, there was a symbol of a village.
"This is the symbol of Qianlong," Li Xian said, pointing to the symbol on his necklace.
"And this is Baiyun," Luo Feng countered, pointing to the symbol on his necklace. He then showed the burn scar on his right hand. "The same as the Qianlong victims. They burned us. They took the children they called 'special.'"
"So... this wasn't a trap?"
"No. They killed my village, too. I was the only survivor." Luo Feng's voice trembled. "They thought I was dead. I hid under the bodies, feeling the fire burn my skin. I escaped with one goal: to find out who was behind this. And you... you are part of the answer."
Li Xian looked at the joined necklace, then at Luo Feng's scarred face. They were victims of the same experiment, their destinies intertwined.
Luo Feng told him what he knew, while Li Xian listened intently. They shared stories of the parallel massacres of their villages. Luo Feng remembered the horrifying details: identical rituals, the collection of dark energy from "special" children, and the same perpetrator.
"I remember his face," Luo Feng said, his eyes filled with hatred. "A masked man, with a serrated axe. He wasn't human. He was a shadow, and the laughter behind his mask sounded like a hacksaw cutting through bone. They called him Shanghai Hei."
Li Xian felt a chill. "I saw him in my dreams, too."
They returned to the warehouse full of bodies. On the body of the Black Hook commander, they found a hand-drawn map. On the map, eight village locations were marked with a cross. Qianlong and Baiyun were in opposite positions in a strange star formation.
"This... this is a map of the villages they are targeting," Li Xian whispered.
Luo Feng nodded. "The Hei Ye Ting is collecting dark energy from all these villages. For what? I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
On the warehouse roof, they sat side-by-side, staring at the dark night sky. Below them, Wuyang city seemed peaceful, unaware of the darkness that enveloped it. They had no candles or incense, only a fragile hope.
"We can't fight them alone," Li Xian said.
Luo Feng nodded. "I know. But we're not alone anymore."
They performed a simple ritual. They took out the moon necklaces that were now one. Luo Feng sliced his palm with the curved knife. Li Xian did the same. They dripped their blood on the necklace, letting it soak into the jade.
"My blood is a shield for you," Li Xian said, his voice steady.
"My breath is a sword for you," Luo Feng replied.
They exchanged glances, a silent promise. "Until the Hei Ye Ting turns to dust," they said in unison.
At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the night sky, its bright light shooting in the same direction as the Hei Ye Ting headquarters. An owl perched on the warehouse's ruins, its eyes glowing in the darkness. It was a symbol of death, an omen sent by nature for them.
With the map and the joined necklace, they headed to the Blind Inn. The inn had no sign, only a dim red lantern in front of the door. An old man with a wooden cane, whom they knew as Wang Meng, greeted them. He touched their joined necklace.
"Two moons can illuminate the night... or swallow each other," he whispered, his voice full of mystery. "Be careful of the path you take. Room 13... is for those destined to perish together."
Li Xian and Luo Feng exchanged glances, half-believing and half-suspicious. Outside the window, the shadow of Shanghai Hei passed by, his serrated axe reflecting the moonlight. The hunt had just begun, and this time, there were two hunters.