In Chongqing dialect, there are many Chinese characters with sounds but no characters, even without homophones. The lia you mentioned is an example. This lia sound actually means take-off, and pulling the lia tendon means pulling the tendon. Local rural people in Chongqing also often use this lia sound to indicate that snakes shed their skins and shells. For example, "snake sloughs its shell" is called "snake's two shells" in Chongqing dialect.