Published: August 15, 2025
Chapter 57: Awakening, Enemy Vanished
A cold chill slowly rose from the deepest recesses of Han Li’s heart, quickly spreading throughout his entire body, jolting him awake from his unconsciousness.
As Han Li just woke up, he felt an unbearable heaviness in his head and a faint throbbing pain. Every part of his body felt weak and limp, as if he had just recovered from a severe illness. He tried hard to open his eyes, but his eyelids were unbearably heavy, refusing to budge even an inch.
In his daze, Han Li recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.
He shivered suddenly, his mind clearing up a bit. Hastily, he began to check his physical condition.
“Eh!” It seemed he hadn’t lost control of his body. Although he couldn’t open his eyes, the discomfort throughout his body clearly told him that his entire body had returned to his own control.
“Could it be that Doctor Mo’s spell failed?”
Han Li was struck by this unexpected surprise and thought of the only plausible explanation.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Li patiently mustered some strength and, with great effort, slightly opened the narrow gap between his eyelids to see the world around him.
The moment his eyes opened, he saw a face covered in white hair, gaunt and haggard, exuding extreme old age — it was the aged visage of Doctor Mo. It seemed he looked even older than before, as if he had aged ten more years, now nothing but a frail and decrepit old man.
At this moment, the old man’s eyes were wide open, staring at Han Li with a look of terror.
Han Li was stunned, immediately tensing every muscle in his body. The weak feeling vanished into thin air. His first thought was to strike first, to gain the upper hand.
Having learned from the last experience, Han Li would not allow himself to be easily controlled again under any circumstances.
But soon, Han Li sensed something strange. The old man’s expression was frozen, motionless, without a breath or heartbeat, as if he had been dead for quite some time.
Han Li frowned but remained cautious, not lowering his guard. He concentrated deeply, staring intently at the old man’s face, searching for any flaws.
After a painstaking half-quarter of an hour, Han Li had to admit that the man did not look alive.
Hesitating for a moment, he cautiously approached the old man, grabbed his wrist with one hand, and placed the other under the man’s nostrils to check for breath but found nothing.
Only then did Han Li completely relax, feeling an immense weight lifted from his heart.
Even now, Han Li found it hard to believe that his greatest enemy—the cunning and ruthless Doctor Mo—had died so quietly, so inexplicably, and so easily.
He touched his own forehead, where the so-called calming talisman had been, but it had vanished without a trace. He had no idea where it had gone and saw no sign of it nearby, which puzzled him.
Later, when he learned the art of talismans, he recalled this incident and realized that the yellow talisman must have exhausted its magical power and turned to ashes, which was why he could not find it anywhere.
Feeling mentally relaxed, Han Li shifted his gaze away from Doctor Mo’s corpse, searching for any clues about how the old man had died.
The nearby oil lamps and candles were still lit, indicating that he had not been unconscious for very long. A few green jade stones not far away had turned dull and greyish, as if their quality had sharply declined, becoming completely unremarkable.
His gaze then shifted to a corner of the stone house, where something was dodging and hiding, desperately avoiding Han Li’s view.
Han Li recognized it immediately: it was the enemy he had last fought in his sleep and who had slipped from his grasp—the green orb of light that had lost one-third of itself.
At this moment, the orb was frantically trying to crawl into the corner, clearly frightened of Han Li, attempting to hide.
Han Li was initially surprised but then thoughtfully propped his chin with one hand, lowering his head to ponder for a while.