The Great Oni
Volume (1) Benoni chapter (24)
"Little brother, are you free next week?
If you are, big sister will invite you to Grandpa's birthday party," Yue-Yin-A said sweetly.
Li Fan shook his head.
"Uh-huh. Starting tomorrow I've planned a month-long holiday tour of Europe with my uncles."
"Ah…" Yue-A's face fell.
Would her very first love become a long-distance relationship?
"But I'll be back before your birthday.
If so, I'll come," Li Fan blurted when he saw her expression drop.
"And don't worry—we can still talk online," he added.
"O-OK." She nodded, half willing, half reluctant.
It was already past 7 p.m.; evening dusk had set in.
The two of them strolled the night market, sampling street snacks.
Because she'd never eaten this kind of food, Yue-A's eyes were shining with excitement.
When they passed a noodle stall, Li Fan smiled.
"Want to go in and share a bowl of ramen?"
She kept staring at the pastry stalls yet nodded.
"Mm, sounds good, little brother."
They sat and ate ramen together.
Suddenly Li Fan's phone rang—his mother.
"Hello?"
"Son, it's late; aren't you coming home yet?"
"I'll head back in a minute, Mom."
"Alright, take care."
Li Fan handed Yue-A a pair of chopsticks and scooped noodles for her.
Though small, the gesture warmed her heart.
"Let's go home. Your parents will worry," she said after they finished.
"Sure—where do you stay? I'll walk you."
"It's okay; I'll grab a taxi. Wouldn't want you to get scolded," she waved and left.
Li Fan looked up at a clear sky, bright stars circling the full moon.
"Tonight's a full moon is beautiful"
–––
His house was about a twenty-minute walk away, so he set out on foot.
The night market behind him was crowded, but his wealthy neighborhood grew quieter.
Every house sat behind wide walls; each mansion was large and grand.
Clearly this was a rich district.
While walking slowly, a man stepped out of an alley and headed straight for him.
Alert, Li Fan studied him.
Tall, Western black suit, bulky, dark-skinned—yet not waving any knife.
Li Fan himself, shoes included, stood about six-four, but the stranger topped him by four inches.
"When did I become such a trouble magnet—two hits in one day?" Li Fan grumbled.
The big man skipped pleasantries.
"Kid, your rank and Lady Yue's rank are worlds apart.
Know your place." He slapped a huge palm onto Li Fan's shoulder and pressed down with full force.
He wasn't ordinary; he is a cultivator
That shove could bend a steel beam—would shatter an ordinary boy's collarbone.
He'd even hacked nearby CCTV so no evidence remained.
Smiling coolly, he waited for Li Fan's scream—
but met only cold, kill-bright eyes and felt a chill.
Li Fan exhaled, calmed his anger, gripped the man's wristguard, and squeezed lightly—
"CRACK."
The metal bracer crumbled to powder.
"Argh!" Sweat popped on the thug's brow.
'Damn—my intel said he was just a high-school kid!' he cursed inside.
As Yeti, Li Fan had fought battlefields for twenty-plus years; thousands had died by her hand.
That killing intent still lived in his current body.
Though his mind was still tangled—this morning he'd been Yeti—
he forced himself to think: *This guy must have family too.*
"Who are you?" he asked quietly, suppressing the urge to kill.
Instead of answering, the man drew a dagger and thrust for Li Fan's throat—full killing move, no mercy.
At this range even a Martial Master would fall—or so he believed.
What happened next made his eyes bulge.
The blade couldn't pierce Li Fan's neck; moreover it shattered into three pieces as if striking iron wall.
"CRACK!"
The man trembled.
Li Fan's eyes went icy, full of murder.
No pity now. He chopped the man's neck and lifted him off the ground.
"Gk—spare…me…sir…" the man choked.
Li Fan activated Demon-Energy Master.
"Ssshh—"
An eerie sound; the man howled as Li Fan drained him.
Li Fan felt the shared pain but didn't blink.
Within two seconds the muscular body shriveled like dry wood and died.
"Hm? what's this?"
Using the power, Li Fan absorbed everything good—life-force, strength, intellect, learning capacity, health.
Seventy years of life-force, plus extras: yet once inside him it felt like a drop in an ocean.
But from the man's brain he absorbed something odd—
it slipped into Li Fan's own mind and vanished.
When he checked, surprise flickered across his face, then a faint smile.
He mentally compressed the corpse into a one-inch cube with psychic power and flicked it away, then headed home without a backward glance.