Beware of chicken, p.22
Beware of Chicken, page 22
“Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!”
“Kyahahahahahaha! Shake it, darlin’, shake it!”
“Come here often, cutie?”
“Gimmme that butt! Gimmme that butt!”
“Thirsty!” “Really, Meimei—”
“Do it!”
Her tongue running along solid muscles. Sweat mixed with wine tasted surprisingly good.
Her face turned crimson.
She grabbed Jin’s pillow and screamed into it, kicking her legs under the sheet.
“You okay, Meimei?” Jin asked. She could hear the grin in his voice and the Xong brothers’ own laughter.
She staggered out of bed and glared at the pack of idiots. And the animals.
“Last night didn’t happen,” she decreed.
Jin leered. “But what about the wine pouring? That was fun!”
“Didn’t. Happen,” she snarled, sitting down and snatching the bowl of rice and egg out of Jin’s hand. She glared around, daring anybody to contradict her. The Xong brothers just smiled the smile of men who had blackmail.
She clicked her tongue and looked at the animals. At least they were—
“Jin, what happened to your cat?”
Jin’s cat had some bandages covering her and several places where the fur was shorter.
Jin’s smile became a little strained, but he still seemed quite happy.
“Funny story, that …”
□
Cai Xiulan was having a difficult day.
She threw herself out of the way of a blast of flame and leapt backwards from monstrous claws trying to rend her in two.
Well, it was more like a difficult week.
The Blaze Bear roared savagely, its entire body igniting. It stood on its hind legs and glared at her.
If she was honest, a difficult month.
Or three.
Her once pure white robe was stained with dirt, her hair was matted, and she had lost one of her hair ornaments. She had a massive gash in her side from Sun Ken that might already be infected. She was hungry; she was tired and hadn’t had time to cultivate for three months.
She hated Sun Ken.
[Verdant Blade Sword Arts]
Two green blades whirled at Xiulan’s command, cutting through the air. They stabbed downwards, penetrating beast flesh, but that just made the bear angrier.
A tree disintegrated under the force of the Blaze Bear’s charge. Her side twinged as the wound nearly opened, and she called back her blades.
It had started with the Whirling Demon Sword Gang having the gall to attack Green Grass Valley. The 150-strong bandit gang had despoiled the town, slaughtered its inhabitants, and stolen a shipment of Spiritual Herbs meant for the Verdant Blade Sect.
They spat in her Sect’s face directly and challenged them brazenly. It had been so distressing that her honourable father had coughed blood when he found the message carved into the flesh of the innocent, proclaiming him a coward and a cuckold.
Unfortunately, her honourable father had to attend the Martial Summit of the Azure Hills, a dialogue of all the top experts, and that was something he couldn’t miss even for this.
So, she had been chosen. Since she was a match in power for the arch-bastard, she had gone with the forces of the Verdant Blade to slay the Whirling Demon Sword Gang and their leader, Sun Ken.
What followed was a brutal game of cat and mouse—as skirmishes broke out, their mortal troops were ambushed, and they ambushed in return. The months had been spent finding false trains and having to double back, searching every craggy hill and deep ravine, and stumbling onto burnt-out villages as they chased their quarry north.
She flipped over a gigantic paw, and her swords danced behind her, scoring more shallow cuts along the beast’s limb.
After several months the final ambush had happened. Sun Ken had hit their flanks while his brother, Sun Rong, sought to slay her.
It was a battle, but her force of ten men had all ascended to the Initiate’s Realm. Eleven members of Verdant Blade Sect and their mortal soldiers versus 150 bandits with the element of surprise. There should have been no contest.
It had turned even far too quickly.
She had slain Sun Rong, the Whirling Demon’s brother laid low by the Verdant Blade Sword Arts and had then sought to cut the head off the snake. But Sun Ken was canny and knew the battle was lost. He had managed to withdraw by collapsing the ravine and slaying one more of the Outer Sect disciples.
It was an outrage that could not be borne. The rest were more heavily injured, so she had forced them to rest while she continued on alone. The pride of Verdant Blade was on the line. She had finally picked up his trail again and had been making good time when she ran face-first into a Blaze Bear.
A spectacularly angry Blaze Bear.
Regret was not becoming of a cultivator, but she wished that compassion hadn’t made her reckless, forging ahead alone, to finally lay low the shattered remains of the bandits. Still, a tiny voice in her head urged her onwards. She could win. She just needed to find him.
Her twin swords whirled and cut at her command, proof of her mastery, slashing down at eyes and trying to split open its nose.
The bear shrieked with rage, and she grimaced. It was too much to hope that she would be able to defeat it without truly fighting.
She landed and took a breath, drawing on more of her Qi.
[Verdant Blade Sword Art: Eight Blades of Grass]
Her blades multiplied. Two became four, four became six, and six became eight, the Verdant Blades growing like the grass of her home.
She shot towards her enemy, her blades following around her, with three splitting off to strike from behind.
Each punch sent a sword forwards, and each sweep of her hand became a slash that raked and bit deep.
The Blaze Bear was caught in a whirlwind of green steel. It roared and raged, gouts of fire erupting off its body, but its fate was sealed.
She drew back her fist, and all of her blades returned to her, spiralling around her arm. She ducked under a last, desperate strike and thrust her weapon into the center of the beast’s chest. Her swords struck true, penetrating to the hilt, even as the bear’s fur burnt her knuckles.
[Verdant Blade Sword Art: Lotus Bud—]
It let out a whimper but raised its arms to grab her in a backbreaking hug. Its eyes were full of desperation as it sought one last spiteful blow.
[—Bloom!]
Her fist twisted. The blades tore out of the beast’s body from where they had landed, cutting an eight-petaled flower into the Spirit Beast. It remained standing for a moment, a testament to its vitality, before finally falling.
Xiulan let out a gasping breath and collapsed to her knees, allowing herself a moment of respite. She touched her wound, and it came away slick with blood and little black flecks. When she touched it, her head pounded. She took a deep breath, and then she rose again. She would need to be careful. Scouting only today. She could not afford a battle right now. She swiftly removed the bear’s core and resumed her search.
The trail was not overly hard to find. A thirty-strong band of mortals, no matter how sneaky, could not keep their path hidden, especially with how many wounded they had.
She followed their trail when her nose scented blood.
Approaching slowly, Xiulan was ready to hide should this be a trap. But it wasn’t. One of the bandits was slumped against a tree, frozen in death. He was covered with wounds from what looked like claws, his eyes glassy and unseeing.
At first, she suspected the Blaze Bear, but his wounds had come from far smaller claws.
Cai Xiulan was wary. Her search continued slowly. She came across another dead man, whose eyes had been gouged out, and his face locked in terror.
Another had fallen on his sword.
And then she came into a clearing. The snow was trampled flat. Several trees were felled.
But there was no blood and no bodies nearby. The trail ended.
She didn’t know what to do. She focused her Qi, feeling around the clearing—
Nothing. She felt nothing.
She groaned and continued her search, spiralling outwards. She found another bandit corpse, far from the clearing, this one too savaged by an animal.
Eventually, she broke through the trees and happened upon a peculiar sight: a giant golem made of snow and a farm.
She touched her hand to her side again, her fingers coming back slick with blood and yellow pus. She was starting to get light-headed. Her swords couldn’t float behind her anymore, so she had to tie them to her back.
She would warn the mortals of the dangerous beast living nearby. Hopefully, they would have time to run.
↔
“Sun Ken,” Meiling stated as she finished retying the bandages around Tigu—or was it Tigger? Jin slurred his words oddly sometimes. Ri Zu was watching her hands intently as she worked.
“Yeah.”
“Sun Ken, the Whirling Demon Sword, leader of the Whirling Demon Sword Gang, wielder of the Crimson Demon Tooth. That Sun Ken?”
Jin reached behind him and deposited a large, two-handed sword in front of her. The supposedly demonic blade certainly didn’t smell demonic—there was a faint afterthought of blood, but it mostly smelled clean and a little bit like pine.
But it looked the same as the drawings of it. Crimson Demon Tooth. Meiling studied it for a moment and then turned to the cat. Tigu nuzzled up to her, sweet as could be for a thing that had apparently been out killing people mere hours prior.
“You’re such a good girl!” she praised, and the cat just looked smug. “Good job killing those nasty men!”
Jin looked surprised, and Meiling sighed. “Verdant Hill had to take care of the survivors of one of his raids, a few years ago. Nearly all of them were injured. Men missing eyes, arms, legs … and the women …”
She trailed off, remembering the haunted eyes.
The Xong brothers nodded their heads solemnly.
“It is a good thing that they died, Jin. They normally never come this far north. I daresay there will be parties across the entirety of the Azure Hills when Sun Ken’s death is confirmed.”
Jin grimaced at this. “I … don’t really want the recognition for this,” he finally said.
Gou Ren looked stunned.
“But … but you would be rewarded greatly! You could have wealth beyond …” Gou Ren trailed off at Jin’s sad smile.
“It’s for the best if he just disappears,” Jin said. “After all, I didn’t kill him. They did. And what happens when the cultivators come calling to see how a farmer and some animals slew the mighty Sun Ken?”
Gou Ren considered it for a moment and then paled, pausing in his scratching of Chun Ke. “They take what they want and make pork belly?”
Jin shrugged. “I’d do my best so that wouldn’t happen … but no man can last alone forever.”
Bi De, his rooster, looked incredibly affronted, but Jin’s hand on his head calmed him down.
They lapsed into silence.
“Well, enough of this heavy talk. I’ll make the sword into a plough or something. Meimei, could you help me with Ri Zu? I’ve been lax in their … training.”
All of the animals perked up.
“Well, we’ll have to go back to Hong Yaowu today, if she’s okay with coming along?” She raised an eyebrow at the little rat, who nodded its head vigorously.
‘Great Sage teaches Ri Zui’ the little beast confirmed.
“We should probably get going soon,” Yun Ren said with a shrug. “There were no bandits killed last night, and Sun Ken’s sword certainly won’t be turning into a plow. It was always that way.” His lips quirked into a smile.
Gou Ren still seemed a bit conflicted, but he nodded too.
“I’ll give you a ride home on the sled. Takes at least half a day off the journey, and I need that list of the children’s favourite animals from Meimei,” Jin said.
They were in the middle of packing their bags when Jin started scratching his back, and Meiling started sniffing the air.
“Grass, flowers, and blade oil,” she said conversationally. “And something rotten.”
Jin sighed, sounding resigned.
“Well, I guess I’ll go greet our guest, then.”
↔
Xiulan was limping by the time a man opened the door. His face was carved out of stone, and he had a shovel in his hand. Things were starting to … tilt a little in her vision.
His eyes widened when he saw her.
“Greetings, farmer, this Cai Xiulan—”
The mortal cut her off, the impudent man, dropping his shovel. “Holy shit, lady, what chewed you up?” He sounded shocked and concerned. A woman poked her head out of the door and gasped.
Xiulan nearly struck him as he approached swiftly, laid his hands on her, and picked her up.
Had she been well, she would not have allowed this outrage. In her current state, she was just glad she didn’t have to walk. The door seemed a bit far away.
“Dangerous beast … In the forest …” she slurred. “Be careful …”
She was brought into the warm house, and the farmer’s wife began tending to her with surprisingly skilled hands. Two others were there, following orders to get hot water and helping to tend to her injuries.
It was very nice and warm … in … here.
CHAPTER 31
A GLORIFIED BATTERY
Jin. Put her on a bedroll. I need boiling water right now,” Meimei declared, already rolling up her sleeves. “Yun Ren, I have some bandages in my pack.” Rizzo hopped over beside her, clambering up onto her shoulder and waiting for instruction.
I put the cultivator woman down as gently as I could as Meimei continued barking orders.
Welp, I had a cultivator in my home.
It … well, it was a knee-jerk reaction that I’d just grabbed her and started helping. Somebody needed help, so you help them—even if they were a cultivator. I think she was trying to warn us about a dangerous beast as well. I wonder what that was? Did the Blaze Bear who’d run from me set up shop around here?
Regardless, she looked like she had gotten in a fight with a blender and lost. And a toaster, judging by the burns all over her body.
I shook my head, grabbing the bucket from Gou Ren. Meimei said hot water right now, so she’d be getting it right now. I had no idea if I could make this work, but hell, I’d go for it.
I shoved my hand in the bucket.
Qi was energy.
Energy meant heat … right?
I had been toying around with the idea for a while, but they were more idle thoughts than anything concrete. I didn’t mind waiting for the stove to heat things. But right now, we didn’t have time to wait.
I pushed. The water in the bucket immediately started boiling—with my hand still in it. I spasmed, jerking it out of the water … but it didn’t hurt. My skin wasn’t even red.
Huh. Nifty. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I didn’t get a single sunburn despite being outside the whole summer, without any sunscreen or hat.
“Meimei!” I called, and she started washing her hands, surprised at my speed. She shot me a grateful smile.
Yun Ren deposited his bandages, and Gou Ren hovered worriedly.
“Yun, Gou. You two go take care of things outside for a while. Jin … help me get her clothes off,” she demanded.
I nearly made a joke about her telling me to undress another woman, but it wasn’t the time, nor the place.
The Xong brothers ventured outside, and we started. I was tempted just to tear the clothes off … but she might be pissed about that later, so they came off normally. As gently as I could, I revealed the full extent of the damage.
And Meimei went to work.
It was amazing watching her in her element, cataloguing wounds and treating burns like a nurse or surgeon from the Before. All with Rizzo on her shoulder and that focused look in her eyes. She looked like some kind of fantasy character. It was cute and cool at the same time.
Shut up, can’t a man be distracted by his fiancée?
The cultivator was pretty screwed up. Hurt badly enough that if she wasn’t a cultivator, she probably would be dead, instead of just dying. There were numerous cuts and scrapes, a few nasty bruises, and two significant cuts that would need stitches, along with burns up her arms. There was a big slash wound too, leaking nasty-looking pus.
“She doesn’t have much Qi left, which is why she passed out,” Meiling stated, then sniffed. She recoiled and gagged. “And I think one of these wounds has Demonic energy in it. I know how to get that out, but it needs Qi …” She trailed off for a second.
“You think you could give her some Qi? Is that possible?” she asked.
I rifled through Rou’s memories, but they came up useless. A half-remembered conversation popped up, but that was even less than useful. No, I’m not going to pork an unconscious girl. Seriously, man? That’s the only way you know how? I could just try to do what I did with the plants …
I shrugged. “I could try … It might hurt her though. Qi generally doesn’t play nice, and I don’t know any healing arts.”
Meiling bit her lip. “Untested Qi infusion … or some of the Spirit Herbs,” she said, looking apologetic.
Hey, it’s what they were there for. That and seasoning. Mostly seasoning.
I nodded and got the Spirit Herbs. They were still young, and so were less potent, but they were still serviceable. I ground them into the correct consistency while Rizzo watched me work.
Meanwhile, Meiling got more “mundane” medicine, but the herbs used in them were super effective. They definitely worked better than the stuff I was used to, considering how fast they’d healed Chunky’s face.
She applied these where she could and stitched up the ones she couldn’t save for the nasty one on her side. For that, Meimei used some kind of mystical stuff involving a bit of copper wire and a bucket filled with what looked like Spirit Herbal tea. She had also drawn on my floor with chalk, referencing from what looked like her personal notebook.
“This is to draw out Qi,” Meiling explained as she worked. “I’ve only done this once before, and that was with my father letting me siphon his Qi. He doesn’t have enough to be a cultivator, but he does have some.”
