by Jeremy Bai
Staring at the man in silk, Sunan whispered, “Is that…?”
“Yes,” Sun Mai replied. “That’s Iron Awl Hu.”
Even from this distance, Sunan could tell that Iron Awl Hu was a fighter, and almost immediately, he began to speculate as to whether or not he could use qi.
After a moment passed, Iron Awl Hu began to speak. Despite how far away they were, Sunan and Sun Mai could still make out the words being spoken, thanks to their qi-enhanced hearing.
“Where did you find her?” he asked.
One of the men holding the woman responded, and his words caused Sunan’s heart to go cold. “A farm outside the city.”
“I see,” Iron Awl Hu said. “Well, girl, tell me what you know.” He reached forward and lifted the girl’s face up by the chin.
It was none other than the pregnant young woman they had saved from the Demon Emperor soldier.
“I don’t know anything!” the young woman said with a growl. Despite the tears staining her cheeks, her eyes flashed with anger.
“That’s what people always say. I can make you talk one way or another. Why not just do it the easy way?”
“Just kill me!” the woman said. “I know you killed my husband, you murderer!”
Iron Awl Hu chuckled. “I’ve killed a lot of people. Tell me about the two boys. The ones who slew the soldier. Who are they? Who are they working for? Who have they told about me?”
When the young woman didn’t respond, one of the brutes twisted her arm a bit, provoking a whimper of pain. “I really don’t know, I promise!”
“I see.” Iron Awl Hu stood there quietly for a moment. “Very well. I guess it doesn’t matter. The boys will be dead by tomorrow night anyway.” He turned to the two men with the sabers. “Get rid of her. Feed her remains to the dogs.” With that, he began to walk away.
The thugs with the sabers stepped forward and began to draw their weapons.
The killing intent burning within Sunan’s heart could no longer be contained. Without even consulting Sun Mai, he dashed across the rooftop, vaulted over a wall, and leapt into the courtyard. It only took the span of a few breaths to accomplish this, and before the two thugs had even finished drawing their weapons, Sunan was only a few meters away from them.
In the blink of an eye, Sunan’s hands had twisted into dragonlike claws. Just as the two thugs turned to look his way, eyes flashing in surprise, Sunan planted his left foot and slashed with both hands.
“Rebuke of the Dragon!”
Chapter 15: It Has to Work This Time!
Two shimmering dragons shot out at lightning speed toward the two thugs. The first thug was completely caught off guard. The dragon slammed into his throat, causing blood to spray out like a fountain as the man was sent spinning off to the side, where he fell to the ground, dead. The oil lamp he had been holding clattered away and went out, plunging the entire courtyard into almost total darkness.
The other thug was faster. As soon as he saw Sunan, he ceased drawing his weapon and stepped back. As the shimmering dragon bore down on him, he crossed his arms in front of him and waved them to the side.
That’s Disdain of the Ogre! He is a qi fighter.
A shimmering ripple appeared, and yet the dragon blasted through it, slamming into the man’s chest and shoving him backward.
Sunan saw a flash of motion in his peripheral vision. Glancing to the side, he saw Sun Mai flying through the air toward the two brutes who were holding down the young woman.
Before Sunan could do anything to help, the man he had just attacked drew his saber and lunged forward.
Don’t get distracted, Sunan told himself.
As the saber slashed down toward him, he dodged to the side, grabbed the man’s wrist, and punched his throat. This was a new move he had been working on, devised to counter attacks from bladed weapons like this, which he knew were the preferred weapon for most soldiers, bodyguards, and thugs like this.
He’s a qi fighter, but he’s not as fast or as strong as I am. Probably has only had a single breakthrough.
The thug’s eyes went wide as Sunan’s hand slammed into his throat. A gurgling sound came from his throat, and he staggered backward, his sword clanging to the ground a few meters away. Coupled with the blow from before, the man didn’t appear to be in very good shape.
Need to end this fast. Where’s Iron Awl Hu? Sunan’s eyes flickered to the right, but he saw no trace of Iron Awl Hu. For the briefest of moments, one of the new techniques he had been working on flashed through Sunan’s mind, and he considered trying it out.
I need this man down for the count now!
With that, he again unleashed Rebuke of the Dragon. This time, two shimmering dragons bore down on the thug, who once again tried to use Disdain of the Ogre, only to fail miserably. One dragon slammed into his shoulder, the other into his knee. Blood spattered, and a crunching sound rang out as bones were broken. The man spiraled through the air for a full two seconds before slamming into the ground near his fellow.
Sunan spun toward Sun Mai only to find that the other two brutes were lying face-first on the ground, either unconscious or dead. Sun Mai was helping the young woman to her feet.
The sound of soft clapping rang out from within the shadows of a nearby willow tree.
“Not bad, you two,” Iron Awl Hu said. “And I have to say, I’m quite surprised to find you here.”
Sunan backed up toward Sun Mai, peering into the shadows of the willow tree, trying to catch a glimpse of Iron Awl Hu.
“Just let us go,” Sunan said. “We don’t have any beef with you.”
“Oh, I’d say you do. You killed one of the Lions of Peace, who was under my care. Do you think the King of the Pure Ones takes kindly to such things? Not only might you ruin my plans, you might cause his wrath to be unleashed on Daolu. Is that what you want?”
“What plans?” Sunan asked.
Iron Awl Hu chuckled. “I won’t be telling my plans to a nobody like you. Now, you listen to me. I’ll tell you what’s going to happen now. It’s obvious you’ve taught yourself a bit about the divinity of the King of the Pure Ones. However, I can also see that you are weak, weaker than me, and also less experienced. Besides that, I have a whistle here in my hand. If I blow that whistle, twenty of my soldiers will be in this courtyard within two minutes.
“You might be able to fight with divinity but not against twenty men at the same time. You’re nowhere close to such a level yet.
“Therefore, you will lie down on the ground and place your hands behind your neck.
“I will not kill you. Instead, I will teach you more of the divinity and how to use it in combat.
“That is what you will do. Or you will die. I will give you to the count of five to comply. One.”
What is this divinity? wondered Sunan. It must be qi. And was the King of the Pure Ones the Demon Emperor?
“Two.”
Sunan glanced over at Sun Mai, who was glaring into the shadows of the willow tree, one hand held out protectively in front of the pregnant young woman.
“Three.”
Sunan took a deep breath. He must be bluffing. He would have called his soldiers already if he really had some.
“Four.”
Sunan’s hands twisted into the shapes of dragon’s claws, and he leaned back on his right leg.
“Five.”
Then there was silence. Sunan frowned slightly, craning his neck, still unable to pierce the darkness of the shadows beneath the willow tree.
Then the piercing sound of a whistle broke the stillness of the night. Sunan sensed an explosive burst of qi coming from the willow tree. Something flew out, radiating power, moving with such incredible speed that Sunan didn’t even have a chance to blink before it was two meters from his chest.
It was an iron awl, razor sharp, a third of a meter long.
Based on the raging qi power he could sense within that awl, Sunan knew that if it struck his chest, he would be very seriously injured
, if not killed.
Flying out behind the iron awl itself was none other than Iron Awl Hu, his brocaded silk robe fluttering in the wind.
In recent days, Sunan had been working on a few special techniques, one of them being the counter he had just used on the thug with the saber. Another was a move he hoped would be effective against arrows, darts, or other such weapons. He had not used it in a real fight, not even against Sun Mai when sparring. At the moment, though, he had no time to think, nor any time to devise a plan.
As the iron awl pierced through the air toward his chest, he began to tilt back at the waist, pouring qi into his leg, which shot up, aiming toward the spot he hoped the iron awl would occupy in the following second.
His foot made contact with the awl at just the right moment. His leg continued to fly through the air, and he flipped backward, the iron awl spinning away into the darkness of the courtyard.
Sunan landed on his feet two meters back from his original position, where he immediately crouched into a ready position to meet Iron Awl Hu.
However, he was shocked to find that in the time he had spent flipping backward, Iron Awl Hu had changed directions and was now heading toward Sun Mai and the pregnant woman.
As Sun Mai prepared to make a move, Sunan unleashed Rebuke of the Dragon, sending two shimmering dragons toward Iron Awl Hu.
Iron Awl Hu was clearly no stranger to a fight. He waved his hand to the left, sending a gust of wind out that sent the two dragons spinning away, not stopping for even a moment as he closed in on Sun Mai.
It was at this point that Sunan noticed for the first time that Iron Awl Hu’s left hand was clutching at something behind his back. It was another iron awl, but this one was ridiculously oversized. It was two-thirds of a meter long, and Sunan might have mistaken it for a club were it not for the razor tip.
As Iron Awl Hu closed in on Sun Mai, he pulled the huge iron awl out from behind his back and raised it high into the air.
“Awl Tribulation!” he growled, and the awl crackled with electricity.
Sunan had already begun to dash toward Iron Awl Hu and Sun Mai, but there was nothing he could do. His heart sank from the intense feeling of destructive power he could sense from the massive, descending awl.
But then Sun Mai’s lips twisted into a grin. Grasping the young pregnant woman by the robe, he said, “Dance of Kong Zhi!”
The iron awl descended, and he pushed down with his left foot, shooting backward and into the air with jaw-dropping speed.
The awl slammed into the ground, causing the entire courtyard to tremble, and a booming thud echoed out. The paving stones two meters around the point of impact cracked and shattered.
Dance of Kong Zhi? thought Sunan. Somehow he couldn’t imagine the austere and proud philosopher Kong Zhi dancing through the air. He needs to come up with a new name for that one.
When Sun Mai landed several meters away from his original position, he turned to the young woman and said, “Get into the shadows!”
Iron Awl Hu grasped the huge iron awl and wrenched it up from the ground.
Only a few seconds had passed, but already shouting sounds were coming from the buildings surrounding the courtyard, and lights were beginning to shine.
Sunan knew that it wouldn’t be long before soldiers arrived.
Iron Awl Hu hefted his massive weapon as he turned toward Sunan, his lips twisted into a snarl.
Now is the time to go all out and take him down.
As Iron Awl continued to turn in his direction, Sunan dashed forward, building up his qi in a meridian near his right thigh. Then he planted his left foot and leapt into the air, kicking his right foot out, powered by all the qi he could muster.
Slash of the Dragon’s Tail! He didn’t shout the words, but in his mind that was the perfect way to describe the way his right leg slashed with blinding speed toward Iron Awl Hu’s neck.
Iron Awl Hu lifted his awl up in an attempt to block the move but was too slow. Sunan’s foot landed square on the side of his neck, accompanied by a blast of wind that sounded like a roar coming from ancient times.
A cracking sound rang out as Iron Awl Hu staggered to the side, accompanied by a roar of rage.
A hit! But he’s not down.
An illusory sword slashed down from the other direction, accompanied by a shout from Sun Mai. “Sword of the Scholar!”
Iron Awl Hu could do nothing to block this attack, and the illusory sword slashed across his chest, sending blood spurting out into the darkness of the courtyard.
More shouts came from the surrounding buildings, along with the clank of weapons.
It was in this moment that Iron Awl unleashed yet another sweeping attack with his awl, this one directed at Sunan.
Sunan tried to evade but was unsuccessful, and when the awl hit him, it felt like being kicked by ten horses at the same time. He was knocked backward several meters, fiery pain stabbing through his chest.
Sunan was sure that the soldiers were only moments away.
This is it. It has to work this time! He gathered his qi into his right hip, then dashed forward and leapt into the air.
“Slash of the Dragon’s Tail!”
Chapter 16: The Only Question
Bao took a moment to catch her breath. The sudden death of the ogre cast such terror into the hearts of the Demon Emperor soldiers that the tide of battle shifted instantly. A moment ago, they had been ready to slaughter everyone they saw. But now, they were fighting for their lives.
Bao wasn’t sure how long the fighting lasted. It seemed like hours, and at the same time, seconds. Screams and howls of rage rang out in the hall. Blood flowed.
Bao helped Mao Yun to fell one of the Demon Emperor soldiers who Bao knew to be a ranking officer, based on his uniform. He fought with seemingly supernatural power and abilities, and they won only because of a lucky stab by Bao that punctured a major blood vessel in the man’s leg.
Soon silence filled the hall.
Bao looked around. There were bodies everywhere, and the stone floor tiles were smeared with blood and gore.
Only around twenty bandits remained standing. Clearly, if she and Mao Yun hadn’t managed to bring the ogre down so quickly, the bandits would have been slaughtered.
Bao glanced at the pile of rubble that was the ogre’s burial mound, and her heart began to pound.
In the heat of the moment, she hadn’t hesitated at all to cut the creature down. And really, there had been no other choice. However, Bao knew that the Demon Emperor viewed each and every one of his ogres as precious.
There was a fairly common story that Bao had heard recounted on more than one occasion about the city of Yun Hu. There were different versions of the story, but most involved an ogre that died of a broken neck after being bucked off of a local horse. In his rage, the Demon Emperor ordered Yun Hu burned to the ground and all of its inhabitants slaughtered. The city was later rebuilt, but it was a chilling tale, and Bao was fairly certain it was true.
She wasn’t sure why an ogre had been sent here to handle some petty bandits, but the fact that the creature had been killed would not be overlooked. People even said that the Demon Emperor cast spells on his ogres so that if one of them died, he would be instantly informed.
The surviving bandits looked around blankly at the carnage. All of them were injured in some way, some worse than others. A few even lay on the ground moaning softly.
Everyone seemed confused, unsure of what to do.
As time trickled by, Bao began to grow more and more nervous.
We need to get out of here, and fast. She glanced over at Mao Yun, but he seemed as much in a daze as everyone else. Finally, she gritted her teeth.
“All right, listen up, people,” she said. “You, you, and you.” She pointed to three of the bandits with her knife. “Bandage up the severely injured. You five over there, go prepare the horses. You three, gather together all of the weapons and armor you can find and get them to the stables and packed onto the
horses. You three, pack some food, as much as you can. Get everything ready. We need to leave as soon as possible. The rest of you, prepare travel supplies. Tents, cookery, lamps. You have thirty minutes! Now go!”
Whether it was her terrifying, blood-soaked appearance or the fact that she had been the one to kill the ogre, the bandits all looked at her in a different light than before.
No one questioned her orders, and in fact, as soon as she said “go,” everyone sprang into action.
“Mao Yun, you come with me!” With that, she spun on the balls of her feet and headed toward Chief Wang’s quarters.
Mao Yun hurried to join her, walking by her side. “What’s the plan now?”
“Leave,” she replied. “There will be repercussions because of this, and we need to be far away from this place as soon as possible.”
It only took a minute to wind through the stone corridors until they reached Chief Wang’s room. Reaching into her sleeve, Bao pulled out a set of keys, which she had taken from Chief Wang after decapitating him. It only took a moment to find the correct key to unlock the sturdy bronze padlock, whereupon the door swung open.
The room was luxuriously decorated and very messy.
“Find the strongbox,” Bao said and immediately began to rifle through the room. Mao Yun quickly joined her.
A minute or two later, they uncovered a sturdy wooden chest, which contained the main accumulation of the bandits’ wealth. There were numerous strings of cash and silver taels, and even some gold taels. It was quite a sum.
After opening the chest, Mao Yun and Bao exchanged a glance.
“We can’t just carry this chest out there,” Mao Yun said.
“I know.” She stood up and looked around the room, quickly spotting some leather satchels piled in the corner. “Split it up into those. One bag of you, one for me, one for everyone else.”
He nodded, and they set to work.
***
Thirty minutes later, the surviving bandits were gathered in the stables.
“All right, listen up,” Bao said. “I’m sure most of you have heard the story of Yun Hu. The Demon Emperor will not ignore the fact that one of his ogres was killed. If the rumors are true about the magic he uses, then he might already know. There could be soldiers on the way here right now. I plan to go to the north, where the Demon Emperor is weak. Supposedly, the Hen-Shi Empire still rules there, and I’ve heard of cities like Daolu and Nansun, where not even a single Demon Emperor soldier can be found.