by Wong, Tao
Eyes narrowed, Wu Ying backed off, searching for the trick. For the creature had not jumped far enough to land on him. His caution was rewarded moments later as the yellow-bile frog shot its tongue out at blinding speed. A hasty block sent Wu Ying stumbling back, his hand trembling from the force the late stage Energy Storage monster had packed in its attack.
“Should I shoot it?” Yu Kun called, reminding the pair that they were not the only ones involved. Not that Wang Min’s careful tuning, muted by a silencing talisman, was easy to miss even in the midst of battle.
“No. Do your duty!” Fa Yuan ran toward the monster, which hopped backward into the water.
Before the cultivator could reach it, the frog disappeared under the water and swam away, its dark body a shadow in the murky water. Rather than waste chi, Fa Yuan retreated to the hill, swords held before her as she waited.
“Will it run?” Wu Ying asked, somewhat worriedly. Underwater, the frog could easily outpace them.
“Not yet,” Fa Yuan said. “We have not injured it enough. We will wait until Wang Min is ready before we go all out.”
Wu Ying blinked, glancing at his martial sister. Fa Yuan had been holding back? Then, remembering the fights he had seen on his first expedition, he revised his opinion. Of course she’d been holding back. Though why she felt the need to do so, he was not certain.
“Better to kill it cleanly,” Fa Yuan replied, as if reading his mind. “Otherwise you destroy its pustules and bile sacs. Those can kill normal animals for half a li.”
Once more, Wu Ying realized the distance between himself and his martial sister. To even consider such matters in the middle of battle… he shook his head and discarded those errant thoughts. Best to stay focused, for it was returning. And unlike Fa Yuan, he had much lower margin of safety in this fight.
***
“Ready!” The shout rose from the small hillock where Wang Min and the other cultivators stayed, waking Wu Ying from his battle stupor. For the last few minutes, he and Fa Yuan had been battling the frog, attempting to keep its attention while not driving it away or injuring it too badly.
“About time,” Wu Ying grumbled as he slid backward, letting Elder Yang take over. He drew deep breaths, circulating his chi as he attempted to regain his energy.
As Fa Yuan baited the demonic frog onto land by allowing it to wrap its tongue around her blade, then pulling it to her, she began to lay into the monster fully. Taking her cue, Wang Min played, the tune rising without interruption and filling the marsh with its melody.
Wu Ying grunted, feeling the tug of the slow notes filled with chi entering his body. He closed his aura down, forcing the effects aside with an exertion of will. Unlike the cultivators, the monster had no such defense and immediately flagged in its aggression.
Tethering the monster via its tongue and a blade in its foreleg, Fa Yuan shouted to Wu Ying, “Now! Strike between its forearms.”
Wu Ying charged, his sword raised. Remembering her warnings of potential splash back from the pustules, Wu Ying resolved himself to using his sword chi once again, backing it up with the Woo Petal Bracer attack. Just as he neared, Fa Yuan cried out and released the monster, forcing him to abort his attack.
Surprised, Wu Ying turned to regard the Elder fully. His martial sister was no longer in her former position, the coils of a giant snake beside her. The creature had bands of yellow and black along its body, and it had scooped the Elder up in its mouth. A single arrow lodged just beneath its eye, and as Wu Ying watched, a second arrow managed to strike the creature’s body and deflect off its scales.
“Cao Nee! It came out of nowhere,” Yu Kun cried.
Wu Ying had no more time to pay attention to the new attacker. The yellow-bile frog, released and its tongue injured, now turned its attention to the weaker cultivator, anger flashing in its eyes. Injured and tired or not, it decided to repay the offense by striking with its foreleg. Wu Ying blocked the claws only to be pushed back as the larger and stronger creature continued its attacks.
“Wu Ying!” Tou Hei called worriedly.
But Wu Ying could only shake his head, long hair flowing behind him as he steadied himself on the marshy ground. Chi pumped out of the soles of his feet, touching the air as he utilized the Twelve Gales technique to lighten his load. His martial sister would handle the other creature. She would be fine. He had to believe that.
It was up to them to deal with this monster.
Chapter 14
Wu Ying hissed, dodging the spray of yellow bile unleashed by its namesake demon frog. He snarled, wondering exactly how much chi it had to produce so much of the noxious substance. It smelled like the worse kind of compost—the one where no one paid attention to what was added, never turning it over and so the meat, vegetables, and feces rotted without impunity. It made the worst fertilizer and would take months of careful tending to set right.
Much like the marshy ground the pair of opponents danced across. Ground bubbled, grass twisted and died as bile impacted it. Occasional arrows would wing their way across, striking the frog but failing to do much more than puncture the numerous pustules on its yellow and brown hide. In the midst of the demonic creature’s croaking protests, Wang Min’s musical assault continued to dull its senses and calm its chi, forcing the monster to churn ever faster.
For the last few minutes, Wu Ying had fought the creature to a standstill. And the effects of Wang Min’s influence were finally showing. Each passing moment, the frog grew slower, the chi embedded in its strikes, in its attacks, less robust. Blows that had forced Wu Ying back initially had grown more manageable.
But in turn, he too was tiring. To match the monster, Wu Ying had burned his own chi without care. Even as he churned his dantian and tried to draw in chi from the external world, tried to cultivate and replenish his body, Wu Ying felt his energy levels dropping. For now, he could match it and more, but soon enough, he would be tapped out.
“I’m coming!” Yu Kun’s voice rose from the background noise.
Wu Ying scored another cut on the frog’s forearm. This one tore a tendon, making its middle finger flop uselessly. A success, even if the creature had two other fingers to attack him with.
“Okay,” Wu Yun breathed out in reply. He wasn’t sure if the man heard. The reply was more for him than the other cultivator.
Another block, Dragon shades itself from the Sun, before Wu Ying twisted and launched a kick at the body. One, two, three strikes in rapid succession, all backed up by his chi, made the monster vomit a little bile. Splatters of it hit Wu Ying’s pants leg and burned through before the cultivator could jump away.
The attack had a purpose though, winding the monster long enough for Wu Ying to finish retreating. As the frog recovered, Wu Ying executed the Dragon’s Breath, cutting from his back leg to the sky. The diagonal cut, backed with chi from the Woo Petal Bracer, sent the monster reeling back as blood and pus blossomed across its chest and lips.
As Wu Ying finished his successful retreat and Yu Kun jumped onto the ground, a resounding boom echoed farther to the north. Even as they recoiled from the pressure of the noise, the wind that pushed at them, huge waves surged, swamping low-waterline hills and knocking over scrawny trees.
“Elder sister!” Wu Ying muttered, his gaze drawn to where the noise had originated.
Even now, Fa Yuan battled the snake that had surprised them. And from the glimpse of its body and the chi that radiated from it, this was no late Energy Storage monster but a spirit beast that had formed its Core. The creature’s strength and danger had increased by multiple li, making it a challenge for his martial sister to battle.
While Wu Ying hesitated, Yu Kun had launched himself at the frog. He’d attached his swords to one another, using the hooks on them to extend his reach and create an impromptu whip. In this way, Yu Kun managed to attack and injure the creature while staying outside of its greater reach.
Seeing that his sect mate had things in hand, Wu Ying popped a spirit pill to help
speed up his recovery. As he stood there, churning his dantian and drawing in unaspected chi from the environment, Wu Ying regarded their situation
Yu Kun and the frog were evenly matched, though the occasional spit attack managed to disrupt Yu Kun’s form. On the other hand, Tou Hei was now ensnared in his own fight as Fire Lizards and Green Snakes had arrived in search of easy pickings. Rather than get involved in the main battle, they took to attacking the still form of Wang Min, forcing Tou Hei to protect her.
Thankfully, Wang Min’s song continued to suppress the yellow-bile frog and the other monsters in the surroundings. Over the course of the fight, as the monster showed off its cultivation, she had adjusted both the tune and the pitch to better attack the beast.
A cry from ahead drew Wu Ying’s attention back to the main fight. Yu Kun was hopping backward, cradling his arm where blood dripped from it. Wu Ying frowned as he joined the man, blade and blade energy flashing as the pair fought. The yellow-bile frog had stopped attacking for a moment, having exploited the full extent of its chi.
“We cannot keep doing this,” Wu Ying said. Not only because they were accumulating injuries and losing energy, but they needed to help Elder Yang. Or at least, be ready to do so. “Keep it distracted. I will try to finish this.”
Yu Kun offered a quick nod, taking his swords in both hands again. He stepped forward, shifting his stance to put his injured arm behind. Wu Ying felt the solid pulse of chi, the increased strength in Yu Kun’s aura as Yu Kun devoted his energy to the attack. With a wordless cry, he threw himself forward while Wu Ying circled toward the frog’s back.
The clash between Yu Kun and the bile frog happened quickly, Yu Kun passing between its arms, spinning his swords in an attack and disrupting the monster’s rhythm. Each attack was light, barely doing more than score the monster’s arms. More importantly, it forced the creature’s arms open, changed its stance, and kept it off balance.
Stalking behind the pair, Wu Ying watched for his opportunity. He no longer had any charges in his bracer, which meant this final attack would have to be done using his own energy. Rather than waste it on a Dragon’s Breath attack whose energy would disburse, he would have to commit to a physical strike.
A sudden block, a deflection in a swiping attack left the yellow-bile frog’s left arm raised. Yu Kun stepped to the same side, pushing against the arm and creating an opening for Wu Ying. Grasping at the opportunity, Wu Ying threw himself forward in the Sword’s Truth. A shrill, twisting note struck at the same time, making the creature flinch as it tried to defend itself
A single attack, a perfect lunge. All his energy, all his intent and focus sculpted to a fine point. His body became a single line, the energy that he pushed forward wrapping around himself and his sword. For a brief second, a rainbow of colors formed around Wu Ying as his sword plunged through a gap created by his teammate into the yellow-bile frog’s chest.
Between its arms, just below the center line, Wu Ying’s sword entered the spirit beast body. It sank through rubbery, slimy flesh, through tough muscle and the lung, before it pierced the heart. A beat, then another that stopped pushed against Wu Ying’s arms as his energy petered out. With a twist of his hips and arm, Wu Ying withdrew the weapon, crouching low as he turned to dodge the reflexive swipe by the frog’s free arm.
Behind Wu Ying, Yu Kun rolled and recovered, sent tumbling as the dying bile frog freed itself of his harasser. Wu Ying moved backward, barely managing to dodge the creature’s explosive vomiting as it died.
Breathing hard, the pair of cultivators glanced to the side where their friends still stood. Tou Hei batted aside another small snake, glaring about him. Around his feet lay the crushed and twitching bodies of his attackers. Others crouched low on the ground or in the water, hissing and trembling as they considered their options.
Wang Min, now freed to attack, turned her attention to a cluster of snakes that slid along the ground and strummed her guzheng. A flurry of sound chi struck the smaller beasts, tearing at skin and tossing the monsters back. Realizing their easy prey was no more and their distraction dead, the opportunistic beasts scattered.
“Is that it?” Wu Ying said, looking around.
The surroundings were a mess with blood and pus scattered across the ground and flowing into the marsh water. Near where the blood and pus had entered the water, dead fish floated, poisoned by the monstrous creature, while hardy weeds and marsh grasses lay withered. Smaller corpses—those Tou Hei had slain—bobbed and flowed with the slow current, joined by the torn leaves and broken branches their battle had created.
As for the smell… it was best not to think about that.
“It seems so,” Yu Kun said. He had his sleeve torn off, a small medicinal flask with powder poured on his wound. After finishing the simple first aid, he used the remnants of his torn sleeve to wrap his arm.
Wu Ying hurried over and aided him.
“When you’re done, I could use some help here,” Tou Hei called as he favored his previously injured backside, only to be interrupted by another resounding crash.
Once again, water jumped and a large wave flowed through the marshlands. The group stared into the distance while Wu Ying gripped the sword he’d embedded in the ground while helping Yu Kun.
“Go,” Yu Kun said, flexing his arm. “I’ll aid Tou Hei.”
Wang Min had placed her musical instrument away, instead retrieving a handheld repeating crossbow. Together, the pair rushed off, dancing across water, corpses, and raised branches as they searched for Elder Yang, led by the noise of continuing battle. Behind, their injured friends treated their injuries and safeguarded their prize.
***
To the pair’s surprise, by the time they arrived, the fight between Elder Yang and the snake was over. The corpse of the creature lay across multiple islands, stretching nearly fifty feet from its head to its barely glimpsed tail. The yellow and black bands of the monster were now marred by numerous injuries, some of which seemed like the injury had exploded from within the monster itself.
“Oh, good. You can begin harvesting the material,” Fa Yuan said when they arrived. She smiled at the pair, swaying gracefully toward a tree then sitting down, placing her swords over her knees. She began the slow and careful process of cleaning the weapons, cursing when she noticed a chip on one blade.
Wu Ying and Wang Min glanced at one another, perplexed. But given orders by the elder, they had no choice but to take action.
“Skinning or spirit core?” Wu Ying asked.
“Core.” Wang Min strode over to the head of the monster, making a face as she noticed the numerous holes jutting from its mouth and skull. She frowned as she pried its mouth open wider and poked her head in, seeing how many of the injuries had erupted from inside the mouth itself.
Wang Min stared at the corpse, seeming to contemplate the best way to acquire the core. Eventually, she put away her repeating crossbow and extracted a cleaver, wielding it over the monster’s skull with tendrils of chi. The meaty smacks of the cleaver against skin and bone penetrated the clearing even as Wu Ying skinned the monster itself.
Wu Ying couldn’t help but notice that as unperturbed as the Elder had seemed upon their arrival, on closer inspection, many minor tremors ran across her fingers as she cared for her weapon. Surreptitiously, Wu Ying took a deep breath, sensing the chi in the surroundings. His eyes widened as he realized how weak Elder Yang’s presence was at the moment.
The only reason for this, the only reason she’d be trembling, would be a lack of chi. It made sense, for the surroundings spoke of a hard-fought battle. Numerous trees had been broken, some shattered by the thrashing of the snake, others pierced by sword light and water spikes. Most of the branches of the remaining foliage were stripped of greenery, leaving naught but bare bark behind. Even birds’ nests, firmly entrenched in water or branch, had been cast aside, leaving the young to die.
When dragons fought, peasants bemoaned their fields.
***
&
nbsp; Tou Hei and Yu Kun caught up to the group soon enough. Yu Kun hurried to Wu Ying, extracting his own skinning knife as he did so. Tou Hei, on the other hand, chose to butcher the monster, laying out slabs of snake meat to be seasoned. Wang Min started a fire nearby while watching over the skinning cultivator and the cultivating Elder. It was at this fire that Tou Hei began cooking dinner.
In short order, the savory smells of cooking meat filled the clearing. Snake meat was both more tender than beef and had a lighter taste, though this snake had a slight fishy smell from its residence in the water. However, the chi-laced flesh gave the meat its delectable taste. As a Core spirit beast, every inch of its body had been infused with chi, the meat becoming both more energizing and better for their cultivation than any normal meat.
Gourmands often spoke of the enlightenment that eating Core and Nascent Soul Spirit beasts generated. It was no wonder then that many risked life and limb for such treats.
As he worked, Wu Ying could not help but glance at the slowly cooking meat, his mouth salivating from its smell. The snake, unlike the yellow-bile frog, was not poisonous to them, and portions of its flesh would be stored away or carried back. As for the frog, Yu Kun had taken the most important portions before they left. Those would be given to Lei Hui when they returned to allow the apothecary to preserve the alchemical ingredients.
By the time the pair had finished skinning the snake, Tou Hei had laid out leaf plates of meat. Each portion of the thinly sliced steak was lightly seasoned, using herbs and a dash of soy sauce.
On the second round of consumption, Elder Yang pulled out a wine jar. Wang Min took control of the jar, pouring a cup for each of the cultivators. Wu Ying raised the glass to his nose, catching hints of fragrant jasmine and rice. But he did not drink, waiting for the rest of the group to have their cups filled.
Only when they were ready did Elder Yang speak. “We might have failed to acquire the beast core we were searching for, but we did acquire something just as important.”