Qin Dynasty: They've all turned into zombies, what's there to fear about a rebellion?

Clang!

That was the crisp sound of a cleaver hitting a bluestone floor tile, a sound that made your teeth ache.

Fan Kuai remained frozen in his slashing stance, his bull-like eyes wide open, bigger than copper bells. The image reflected in his pupils made his blood freeze completely in that instant. The chill that shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head was even more terrifying than when he spent the night in the mass grave years ago.

The hood slipped down, revealing a face with a broad forehead, a thick beard, and even the scar on his left eyebrow bone from falling down a tree as a child was exactly the same!

That's Fan Kuai's face!

However, this face looked as if it had been soaked in water for three days and then dried in the wind for half a month. The skin had a nauseating bluish-gray color, and dark purple lividity smears snaked up the neck. The most terrifying thing was the eyes. There were no whites, no pupils, only two red crystals embedded deep in the eye sockets, which emitted a "buzzing" sound and flickered with an eerie red light as the head turned.

"A ghost...a ghost!!!"

Fan Kuai let out a howl, a sound more deafening than the slaughter of a hundred pigs. He plopped down on the ground, scrambling backward on all fours, completely disregarding the pig-slaughtering knife he usually cherished.

"Big brother! Big brother, save me! I can see myself! I can see Grandma coming to pick me up!"

Hearing the commotion, Liu Bang, who was hiding under the table, mustered his courage and peeked out halfway. What he saw made him realize something was wrong; he felt a sudden heat in his crotch, and the little bit of yellow soup he had just drunk turned into cold sweat and flowed out of his pores.

"Fan...Fan Kuai?"

Liu Bang pointed tremblingly at the strange man in black robes, then glanced at the terrified Fan Kuai lying on the ground, his last thread of reason snapping. "You...when did you die? Why didn't you tell your elder brother? I could have burned some paper money for you!"

"die?"

The "ghost messenger Fan Kuai" tilted his head, and a "click-clack" sound, like rusting gears, came from his neck.

It grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white, serrated fangs. A purplish-black tongue drooped down, dripping with viscous corpse fluid. The sound was like sandpaper rubbing against an iron plate.

"I didn't die, I just... evolved."

"Liu Ji, the Imperial Advisor said that flesh and blood are weak, while machinery can ascend. Look at me now, how strong and perfect I am."

As it spoke, it slowly raised its large hand covered in black bone armor and gently patted the solid wood cabinet next to it.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the pear wood cabinet, which was at least three inches thick, was smashed to pieces like a block of tofu! Amidst the flying wood chips, not a single layer of skin on its hand was broken.

"Gulp."

Everyone in the dog meat shop swallowed hard.

Is this Fan Kuai? This is nothing short of a ferocious beast in disguise!

"Demon... Demonic path!"

Liu Bang finally realized that these were not ghost messengers at all, but monsters created by the sorcerer Su Ming from Xianyang!

I heard that the sorcerer loves turning people into puppets, but I never imagined his reach was so far—he even created a clone of Fan Kuai! This is psychological warfare! He's trying to break down Liu Bang's mental defenses!

"I'm not going! I'd rather die than go!"

Liu Bang clung to the table leg, refusing to let go, wailing and sobbing, "I'm just a lowly village head, I only ever mooch off others a little wine, I've never done anything heinous! Why is the Imperial Advisor arresting me? I have no luck! I only have athlete's foot!"

"You can't control your own destiny."

The red light in the eyes of "Ghost Messenger Fan Kuai" flickered twice, as if it had lost patience. It took heavy steps, approaching Liu Bang step by step, and the ground trembled with each step.

"True Fan Kuai" watched as the monster that looked exactly like him approached his elder brother. Although he was terrified, his sense of loyalty from his days in the streets made him roar and get up from the ground.

"Don't touch my brother! Come at me if you dare!"

Fan Kuai grabbed a stool and swung it with his eyes closed.

"Bang!"

The bench smashed into pieces on the monster's shoulder.

The monster didn't even flinch. It merely tilted its head slightly, its red electronic eyes coldly sweeping over Fan Kuai before raising its hand and casually waving it away as if shooing away a fly.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Fan Kuai, who weighed over 200 pounds, was sent flying like a rag doll, crashing heavily against the wall and shaking down the cured meat hanging there.

"Too weak."

The monster shook its head, its tone devoid of sarcasm, only a data-driven statement: "You dare call yourself Fan Kuai? Once we capture you and have the Imperial Advisor replace your parts, you'll know what true power is."

After saying that, it ignored the half-dead Zhen Fan Kuai, bent down, and grabbed Liu Bang by the back of the neck with its huge hand.

"Ouch! Be gentle! It's too tight! It's too tight!"

Liu Bang was like a chick being lifted up, his feet dangling in the air, kicking wildly. "Let me go! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support, and... I have an unborn child to raise! You can't do this to me! This is kidnapping! This is illegal and disorderly conduct!"

"In the Qin Dynasty, the words of the Grand Preceptor are law."

The monster replied coldly, then picked up Liu Bang and turned to leave.

"Help! Murder! Is there no law?"

Liu Bang's miserable screams carried far, but in this chaotic world of war, the neighbors had long since closed their doors and windows, and who would dare to come out and risk this misfortune?

He was about to be dragged out of the dog meat shop and into the endless darkness of the night. Liu Bang was filled with despair.

He thought of the eerie city walls of Xianyang, of the legendary Qin Shi Huang with his blue face and fangs, and of the perverted imperial advisor who supposedly enjoyed experimenting on living people and was surrounded by a group of female demons…

"It's over, it's all over."

Liu Bang rolled his eyes, preparing to feign death.

Just then.

"Buzz—"

A clear and resounding sword cry suddenly pierced through the darkness of the night!

The sound was extremely fast and sharp, like a blade tearing through silk, carrying a righteous aura that instantly sliced ​​through the oppressive night wind.

"You wicked creature! Cease your rampage!"

With a clear, low shout, a dazzling sword light, like a shooting star, instantly illuminated the dark street.

The sword light did not aim directly for the monster's vital points, but rather precisely struck the wrist from which it was holding Liu Bang.

"Um?"

The red light in "Ghost Messenger Fan Kuai's" eyes flashed suddenly, and the system's danger warning instantly went up to the maximum. Instinctively, it released its grip and retreated rapidly.

"Sizzle!"

The sword energy swept across the spot where it had stood, leaving a trench half a foot deep in the hard ground, with wisps of blue smoke rising from the cut.

"Ouch!"

Liu Bang fell headfirst to the ground, feeling completely disoriented, but he ignored the pain and scrambled behind the counter, peeking out with half his head sticking out.

Suddenly, a young man dressed in a scholar's robe and with a long sword at his waist appeared at the entrance of the dog meat shop.

He had a handsome face and a refined demeanor. Although he held a sword, he gave off a gentle and jade-like feeling. But beneath that gentleness lay a sharp edge that made people afraid to look directly at him.

"Who are you?"

"Ghost Messenger Fan Kuai" steadied himself, a hint of wariness in his mechanical voice, "Data...unrecognizable."

The young master twirled his sword, slung it behind his back, and smiled slightly—a smile that carried three parts unruliness and seven parts confidence.

"My name is Zhang Liang, courtesy name Zifang."

"I've come specifically to... collect a debt from the Imperial Advisor!"