Volume One: First Steps in the City Chapter Eleven: Repelled

Fortunately, Lu Yi instinctively tried to close the door behind him, so the monster failed to catch him and instead crashed heavily into the door. Even so, Lu Yi hadn’t managed to escape far enough; a tremendous force transmitted through the door and into his body, propelling him forward uncontrollably until he slammed hard against the railing, nearly tumbling headfirst over the other side.

At that moment, Lu Yi felt an unbearable pressure in his chest. He coughed violently, but seeing the monster’s claws already piercing through the door, he knew there was no time to recover. Glancing at Li Xinran, who was still pale with shock by the wall, Lu Yi urged, “Don’t just stand there—get downstairs, now.” As soon as he spoke, another fit of coughing wracked him.

Supporting herself along the wall, Li Xinran got up and prepared to head down the stairs.

“Too slow,” Lu Yi said, reaching out his hand. “Jump straight over. I’ll throw you.”

Lu Yi fixed his gaze on Li Xinran, but suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a movement. He turned quickly, only to see a black-clad figure standing silently on the stairs. Looking more closely, Lu Yi recognized who it was. “Ma’am, please hurry, the monster’s coming in!”

“Heh.” The old woman glanced at Lu Yi and chuckled softly, showing not the slightest trace of fear. Instead, she calmly walked upstairs. As she moved, a metallic clinking sounded from her body.

She came to a stop beside Lu Yi. By now, the door was in tatters, shredded by the monster’s claws. With a splintering crack, a monster lunged through.

“Careful!” Lu Yi reached out to pull her back, but without so much as glancing at the beast, the old woman kicked Lu Yi aside. With a flick of her right wrist, a metal whip engraved with strange patterns slid out of her sleeve into her hand.

She sidestepped the monster’s pounce, then snapped the metal whip with a shrill whistle, wrapping it tightly around the creature’s neck. With a forceful tug, she yanked the monster out of the air and slammed it to the ground.

More monsters in the room roared and surged toward the door. The old woman turned her left wrist, and three orbs appeared between her fingers. She flicked them at the doorframe, where black flames instantly erupted.

The monsters shrank back from the flames, obviously terrified. Though they howled furiously, none dared step beyond the threshold.

The monster on the ground was not so easily cowed. It flailed its claws in attack, but the old woman dodged effortlessly, then darted forward and kicked it aside.

Expressionless, she jerked the metal whip, sending the airborne monster spinning. Still not quite satisfied with the angle, she frowned, wound the line tighter around its neck, and pulled again. The monster, which had begun to fall, spun even faster and was jerked upward with a jolt.

Lu Yi stared, dumbfounded. Was she spinning a top in midair? Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined such power in this frail-looking elderly woman—she was terrifying.

While Lu Yi was still marveling, the old woman’s eyes flashed with cold light. She raised her right leg and lashed out with the metal whip. As her leg came crashing down, a sickening crack echoed through the air.

Lu Yi and Li Xinran were utterly stunned, for in fact there were two distinct cracks: her kick had broken the monster’s spine, and the metal whip had snapped its neck. The once-invincible monster had been dispatched by sheer physical force alone!

But Lu Yi had underestimated the creatures. The muscles on the monster’s back bulged and rippled; soon, its back curved as if it were about to rise. Its swollen neck twisted from side to side, seemingly unimpeded by its injuries.

Watching this, Lu Yi could only scream inwardly: these monsters were beyond reason.

Yet the old woman, who had clearly lived in town for many years, seemed unfazed; this was not her first encounter. She stomped the monster back down, tightened her grip on the whip, then balled her left hand into a fist. Only now did Lu Yi notice the ring on her finger, set with a ruby the size of a quail egg.

The old woman leaned in and slammed her fist into the monster’s back. Instantly, red flames engulfed the beast. It thrashed desperately, but she held it down with ease. With its throat constricted, the monster couldn’t even cry out. In moments, its form flickered, then vanished completely in a surge of fire.

With the monster destroyed, the old woman flicked her wrist and the whip coiled itself neatly around her arm.

She glanced with dissatisfaction at the waning black flames, then turned her left hand, revealing several concealed weapons. Her right hand hovered at her waist, grasping something she slowly drew forth—a glint of cold steel flashed. It was a soft sword!

As she drew it, an overwhelming aura burst from her, the chilling killing intent honed through countless battles. Just as the tension reached its peak, she abruptly sheathed the sword.

Lu Yi was still trying to make sense of what was happening when a middle-aged man hurried past, carrying a mirror as large as the door itself. He wedged the mirror into the doorway.

As the black flames died out, the monsters’ furious roars rose again. They charged for the exit, the leader crashing into the mirror. The glass shuddered but held firm under the man’s grip. Lu Yi thought the mirror wouldn’t last a second, but to his surprise, after a ripple spread across its surface, the monster’s head passed straight into the glass.

The beast instantly sensed something was wrong, but it was too late for warnings—after a few futile swipes, it was sucked entirely into the mirror.

The mirror shuddered again as the man braced himself, sliding backward under the force. A third and fourth time, then suddenly, he slipped on a shard of the broken door just as another impact struck. The mirror tilted uncontrollably to one side.

Without thinking, Lu Yi lunged forward to brace the mirror with his shoulder, but the force was far greater than he’d anticipated. He managed only to slow it for a heartbeat before being thrown back by the tremendous impact.

Just as Lu Yi thought he would tumble down to the first floor, a flash of cold light zipped past. Something wrapped tightly around his waist and yanked him back, slamming him hard onto the floor.

Groaning in pain, Lu Yi clutched his waist, certain that if the pull had been any stronger, his spine would have snapped. He was no monster.

Though Lu Yi’s effort bought only a moment’s delay, the middle-aged man was no ordinary person. He quickly regained his footing and jammed the mirror back into place.

At last, the monsters’ assault subsided. The old woman nodded toward Lu Yi’s side and called, “Xun!”

The air beside Lu Yi rippled, and a vibrant, athletic young woman appeared. She coiled the last segment of the metal whip in her hand and draped a black cloth over the mirror.

The moment the cloth covered the glass, the monsters sensed mortal danger and struggled to force their way out. The cloth bulged and heaved—first with the outline of claws, then a shoulder, then a head.

Unperturbed, the young woman pulled out several coils of metal wire and, together with the middle-aged man, wrapped the mirror tightly at the top, middle, and bottom. Only then did the mirror finally grow still.

The old woman nodded approvingly at the girl, but when she turned to the man, her expression darkened. “So slow! How long have the monsters been inside? Where’s your weapon? You just ran up here clutching the Demon-Sealing Mirror? If you ran into something fiercer, you’d be dead by now.”

“Mom, but you and Xun were here,” the man replied with an awkward grin.

With a flick of her whip, the old woman snapped three railings in half. “Is this what I taught you?” The man fell silent immediately.

“You actually let a monster push you back like that. What’s happened to your training? You even slipped on debris! Just how much have you neglected your skills?” The old woman’s scolding was relentless.

“Ma’am, actually…” Lu Yi began, only to be glared into silence.

She continued berating the man. “If you knew you stepped on something loose, you should have stomped it right through the floor. So what if we need to renovate afterward? Is money more important than your life?”

Hearing this, Lu Yi was oddly moved. A strict teacher, yet a loving mother. But the old woman’s next words left him dumbstruck.

She pointed at Lu Yi and added, “Besides, the renovation costs are coming out of this kid’s pocket anyway.”

Lu Yi: “!!!???”