by Tao Wong
With their auras compressed with the talismans they’d purchased, they slowly sneaked away under the illusory formation. Unfortunately, the talismans were running out of power and it would not be long before they were forced into the open. So even if it was dangerous, they were moving the formation.
They had a tense few minutes as groups of cultivators and soldiers streamed through the fields outside the city, intent on finding them. More than once, Wu Ying thought they would be caught, especially when they were forced out of the trenches and were crossing the open ground surrounding the city. Even if they could hide behind the gentle slopes of hills, those same hills allowed their pursuers to appear suddenly and with little warning. Wu Ying stretched his senses to the maximum, doing his best to note when others might be arriving, though all he could really do was rely on the formation.
Nearly an hour later, they’d managed to sneak away to the north. The search parties had spread out so widely that they were no longer within easy shouting distance of one another.
That was when tragedy struck again. The Green Waters Sect cultivators had just crossed another hill when they spotted a returning group of cultivators. Instead of individual horses, the group led a half-dozen additional horses. Their horses.
“Dammit,” Wu Ying cursed under his breath.
While they could travel on foot, it would be slow and would require them to spend even more time within the State of Wei. With the alarm sounded and the approaching army, taking too long to get back to Shen was a bad idea. Wu Ying himself could run and keep up with a horse, but he had an advantage that his friends didn’t in that he could cultivate while moving. If they ran, his friends would eventually run low on chi. And if they came across enemies while tired…
“We should kill them,” Bao Cong said, having already planted his flag in the ground and extracted his bow. He’d strung his weapon as he spoke, hissing softly as his wounds continued to bother him.
“We can find another group and take their horses. We are too close,” Li Yao rebutted. “There might be another patrol.”
“And if we run, we will get caught. I don’t intend to fight an army,” Bao Cong snapped. He fitted an arrow to his bow, but rather than fire, he looked at Wu Ying, waiting for his confirmation.
Wu Ying looked at Tou Hei, who shrugged, then at Yin Xue. The noble returned Wu Ying’s gaze placidly, offering no hint of his thoughts. Once more, Wu Ying glanced at the approaching group, surprise flickering within him when he noted a familiar face in the patrol. Perhaps it was destiny. This was the third time he’d met the man.
“We fight.” Wu Ying suited action to words, extracting a crossbow from his storage ring.
He loaded it quickly, amused to see Yin Xue copy him. Together, the three archers in the group moved to a position within their formation to fire upon the cultivators. They would have one good shot before they would have to fight the six members of the patrol. It would be best if they managed to finish this fight fast.
Wu Ying glanced at his bracer, making a face as he noted the dull color in the jade, the lack of sheen or pull of power within. It had yet to recharge. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the energy to recharge it himself. He would have to finish this fight with his skills alone.
Tension wrapped around the group as they waited for the cultivators to near their hiding spot. When they were within thirty yards, Wu Ying began the silent countdown with his fingers. As he neared the end of the count, Senior Cai, the cultivator in the front—the same one Wu Ying had fought in the night and had met on the road—jerked his head up. He opened his mouth, shouting a warning even as he drew his sword.
Wu Ying’s fist clenched, and arrows and bolts shot forward. Unfortunately, their surprise had been ruined. Senior Cai cut Wu Ying’s bolt apart before it hit. Bao Cong’s attack was much more effective, as it glowed red and plunged directly through the raised arm and lightly formed aura shield of his target. It tore through the armored chest of his opponent, leaving the body to topple to the ground. As for Yin Xue’s attack, his left a bloody surface wound on his opponent’s arm.
A moment later, Tou Hei and Li Yao dashed forward. Even if Li Yao was unhappy with the orders, like a good soldier, she committed to the attack fully. With her explosive lunge, petals of ice formed around her spear, containing the majority of what chi she had managed to recoup in the hour they had hidden away. It was a powerful attack, made more effective by its surprise nature. The attack caught two of the cultivators and their horses, throwing them off their steeds onto the ground, ice coating wounds and frosts rimming their bodies. One of the cultivators, too slow to move even his hand to draw his weapon, had his own sword frozen shut.
Tou Hei, behind Li Yao’s explosive attack, launched his own. Unlike Li Yao’s flamboyant skill, his was more contained. But each beat, each blocked strike sent sparks from his staff as the fire chi contained within his attacks grew in strength as he rushed his opponent. A missed block, a strike against his opponent’s chest, and the tip exploded in flames, throwing his opponent off his mount.
That quickly, two of the opponents were down permanently, another injured.
Wu Ying grinned, for this was going well for them. He rushed forward as he tossed aside the crossbow, drawing his jian as he raced to cut off Senior Cai from escape. He did not have to have worried about that, for the cultivator spurred his horse in a charge directly at Wu Ying.
“You are seeking death! Attacking me. You will not be able to run this time,” Senior Cai roared as he turned to charge at Wu Ying.
Close behind Wu Ying, Yin Xue skipped around Wu Ying’s slowing down form, turning to target one of the surviving cultivators. It was one that had been blown off his horse by Li Yao, the cultivator having managed to get to his feet. Rather than stay, he’d turned, running at an angle with the intent of fleeing to safety.
Meanwhile, Wu Ying noted how Bao Cong was fumbling, attempting to put another arrow in his bow but failing, as his most recent attack had left him white-faced and exhausted. Stubbornness and endurance could push one only so far, before exhaustion caught up.
A twist of his sword, a lunge, and Yin Xue caught the fleeing cultivator in the hamstring. His blade tore along the unprotected back of the man’s legs, depositing him on the ground.
Wu Ying dismissed the man, focusing on the charging equine and its angry rider. As he stared, he realized that he was at a major disadvantage. His opponent wielded a dao and was seated high above on his horse. Wu Ying, on the ground, faced the choice of standing his ground and being run over, or struck as he dodged.
Wu Ying’s gaze flicked back and forth between the incoming horse and Senior Cai’s raised weapon, before he dropped into a lunging crouch. He formed a small crescent of sword intent, sending it out with some of his chi in fast-flowing flickers of damage and regret.
The poor horse had no defense for its hooves and feet. The attack sliced one then another of its hooves apart, sending it stumbling and falling with a loud neigh. It thrashed on the ground, its screams of pain making Wu Ying’s heart ache. The poor animal had done nothing to him, but to survive, he had little choice.
Even as he was getting over his moment of guilt, Wu Ying had to dodge and twist. Rather than go down with the horse, Senior Cai had jumped off the horse, landing with a roll then approaching the distracted Wu Ying as he dealt with the horse. If not for the last moment twist of his body and the armor that lay under his robe, Wu Ying would have been gravely injured. As it was, he felt a bruise forming from his left collarbone to his opposite hip, one that throbbed with every breath as Senior Cai’s sword sparked against chainmail and the bruised body beneath.
Rather than let Wu Ying catch his breath or footing, Senior Cai continued to attack at full speed. Each sword cut came at a different angle, chained together in a form that gave Wu Ying barely a moment to block them. Worse, Senior Cai imbued each attack with chi, such that even when Wu Ying blocked an attack, portions of the sword intent cut past his blocks, tearing at his robes a
nd skin. Wounds appeared on Wu Ying’s body as the armor he wore beneath his robes was unable to stop all the damage, limited in size as it was.
Forced back, almost losing his footing, Wu Ying let himself drop into a reverse lunge, committing his body to the ground as he sprawled. The Dragon stretches his Tail gave him a moment of respite as the dao attacks whiffed over his head, while his jian slammed into Senior Cai’s upper body. The enemy cultivator staggered backward, his expensive and enchanted robes taking the attack without breaking. Even as the cultivator fell backward, his return strike hammered the jian, beating it aside. To Wu Ying’s surprise, the accumulated damage shattered the sword, leaving Wu Ying with the stub of his weapon.
Wu Ying groaned, his hands trembling from the attack, fingers spasming. Instinct drove him to close the distance, moving sideways to dodge the attack while he pivoted into a drop step. His hand rose, palm outstretched to catch his opponent’s arm as it came around to cut at him. The first portion was part of Dragon catches the Rainbow, but Wu Ying transitioned to his unarmed styles. He stayed close using the Northern Shen’s Wind Steps, circling his opponent as he moved, ensuring he was always on his opponent’s empty hand. Each second, each moment, he choked up his opponent’s strikes with quick, vertical punches—the Fourth Fist of the Mountain Breaking Style. Also known as Raindrops on the Mountain. Each strike kept Senior Cai staggering and twisting, moving to attack him and failing.
But as good as Wu Ying was, so was Senior Cai. A kick that Wu Ying never saw tripped him. Another caught him in the chest, booted feet flexing and imprinting on Wu Ying’s armored chest before throwing him back. Wu Ying let himself go into the fall, doing a backflip as he dodged the cuts that followed the strike. He failed to dodge them entirely though, a cut at his thighs forcing him to stumble as he landed.
Pain. But to his surprise, as Wu Ying struggled to his feet, Senior Cai did not follow up. Instead, he clutched his arm, the one Wu Ying had struck again and again. As for his weapon, his sword lay a distance from him, fallen from numbed fingers. Repeated strikes and the sudden motion must have made his hand spasm.
“Having trouble?” Wu Ying taunted, hoping his opponent would get angry. Praying that he would lose his temper.
“You think you can beat me, even unarmed?” Senior Cai snorted. He charged forward, ignoring his own weapon. “Die, you worthless dog.”
Objective achieved, Wu Ying stopped his taunting. It was almost pitiful how easy it was to read the man. But Wu Ying had no time to pay attention to that as he focused on his opponent. His lead hand dropped close to his other, his body curled up tight as he raised himself to fight. Then as his opponent neared him, when they were but steps away, Wu Ying pulled on his chi, sent his mind into the storage ring, and extracted another sword. This was a dao, heavy and curved, single-sided but perfect for the cut he unleashed. He shoved all his energy, every inch of his sword intent into the blow as he swung. Senior Cai froze for a moment, surprise taking him for a precious second.
It was not honorable. It was not right. Taunting him to fight, forcing him to commit to the attack without a weapon, only for Wu Ying to use one himself. But it was practical. The attack tore into Senior Cai’s body, ripping apart enchanted robes, flesh, skin, and muscle, leaving his opponent sprawled on the ground, his chest split. Not too deep though, for his opponent was stronger, and at the last moment, he had managed to twist aside.
Left untreated, the injury probably would leave him dead. But for now, Senior Cai staggered to his feet, wrapped his fist in power, igniting the very blood of his body and forming smoking tendrils of blood from his chest. The energy wrapped around his fist as he punched. Wu Ying managed to get his dao in front of him, protecting his body, only to be blown away, the sword shattered as it peppered him with hot metal. He flipped over and over until he smashed into the slope of the hill behind, throwing up blood as ribs cracked and his chest compressed. Blood ran from cuts across his face where metal shards had cut him, his entire body feeling singed from the attack. If not for his Reinforced Iron Bones technique, the attack would probably have shattered all his bones.
As if he had used up all of his energy, Senior Cai collapsed onto his face, unmoving. Blood continued to steam from his body, creating a cloud of red around him. Wu Ying struggled to stand and failed, sliding back into the hole his body had created. He stared at the battle that still raged, desperate to get back into the fight and help his friends but unable to do so. At least he had managed to deal with his own opponent.
In the distance, Li Yao had put down another and was holding off her opponent. Tou Hei was dealing with his own opponent, while Yin Xue edged around the pair. When he saw a chance, Yin Xue darted in, injuring and distracting the metal-clad cultivator. That allowed Tou Hei to strike as well, but neither of them seemed to be able to injure the man; his body throbbed with the metal chi that wrapped his whole body in protective armor.
Fed up with fighting two opponents at the same time, the cultivator finally snarled. “Do you people have no honor!”
Before anyone could reply, he was struck in the back and shoulder by Tou Hei, the hit making his head twist to the side. He lurched sideways, and the next second, Yin Xue darted forward and stabbed him in the throat.
“This is war, fool,” Yin Xue said, the cut tearing an inch into the throat and leaving blood to bubble around the wound.
Even then, the man refused to fall and lashed out with his axe, narrowly missing Yin Xue.
Grateful to see that matters were in hand, Wu Ying let himself slump to the ground and circulate his chi. As much as he wanted to, rejoining the fight would just hinder his friends. Better to heal and recuperate as fast as he could, because they still had to run. At least their horses—trained from birth to deal with fights around them—had only moved a distance away. Now, all they had to do was finish off their opponents, gather their horses, and flee.
Chapter 24
Cracked ribs jostled as Wu Ying sat upon his plodding horse, sending sharp pains shooting through his torso and stealing his breath. He churned his chi, using the energy within to bolster his bones and help offset the pain and the damage, to patch himself together. But, for all of that, the damage was done and would not heal any time soon. He could only swallow a Blood Cleansing Pill, borrow the vitality it released to help his body fix itself while he rode, and keep an eye on Bao Cong.
Because as injured as Wu Ying was, Bao Cong was more damaged. Pale, with little chi left and the wounds in his leg and shoulder still leaking blood occasionally, the cultivator swayed in his saddle. They had lashed him to his horse to ensure he did not fall while they rode. Still, Wu Ying stayed close, ready to catch the slumping body or grab the reins if necessary. Bao Cong was insensate, his wounds wrapped, a Marrow Opening and Blood Cleansing Pill already swallowed and working their healing magic. Even so, it was debatable if he would survive if they did not stop soon.
But that was, of course, the last thing they could do. After they had finished the battle, they’d ripped the storage rings off the bodies of the enemy cultivators and taken their weapons and horses before leaving. If Wu Ying’s group was lucky, they had been the outermost patrol and their presence would not be expected for a while. If not…
If not, they would have another battle to fight. And the truth was, none of them were in a position to do so. Even Yin Xue, who had taken pains to reduce the amount of energy and danger he put himself in, was looking worse for the wear, though he continued to ride at the head of the group. As for Li Yao, the petite cultivator sat on her horse, alert and tense by dint of will. Wu Ying sensed the churning abyss that was her dantian, the way she drew in chi without needing to cultivate—so low was her energy state. Tou Hei was much in the same boat as Yin Xue—mostly uninjured but tired and forced to ride at the back to keep an eye out for problems.
Wu Ying grunted as another rough step made him wince. As he rode, his mind churned with recriminations. They should have planned better. He should have gotten more—more t
alismans, more enchanted items. Figured out a better distraction or way to sneak in. He should have expected things to go badly, and he should have planned for them to cause a distraction or split their forces somehow. He should have…
He should not have brought his friends.
As they rode, he faced his guilt over that final fact. He had asked and they had come, but now, their lives were in danger. For him. For his parents and his village. They would not have acted without him asking. And so, their deaths and injuries were his to bear.
As he cast a look at the swaying Bao Cong, at the way Tou Hei redid the bandage on his arm, Wu Ying mentally chided himself for his selfishness. He’d wanted to save his family, his village—but he had put his friends in danger. Who was he to trade their lives for others?
Then again, he’d asked and they’d chosen to come. And wasn’t that too part of the deal between friends? You came when they asked, or sometimes, when they didn’t. Because you trusted they’d do the same for you. Just like in the village. When a dike broke, when a fire started in a house, you didn’t stop to ask if they would help you when your time came. You acted—because weighing give and take, weighing the benefits and liabilities of aid would just see homes destroyed, animals killed, plants washed away.
And if you did more for one person than they did for you? If they died owing you a debt? Then perhaps that too was fated. The karmic balance would restore itself at some point. In the future, in this life or another, all debts balanced eventually. That was the promise of the Dao, of karma.
