Chương 12: "Then a low, rumbling growl came from one side"

Ch 12: "Then a low, rumbling growl came from one side" A cold smile spread across Lau-Phu's face as they emerged. She stood at the center of the Memory Wraiths, her black robes drinking in the moonlight. Her gaze swept over Gang and Mei-Bao then fixed on Zhen.

"Sensible," she called out, her voice carrying to them across the yard.

"You've made the right choice. The Patriarch will be pleased that you've finally accepted the inevitable." She tilted her head, obsidian eyes gleaming.

"Given that you're completely surrounded and…" Her words died in her throat. A look of horror warring with disbelief crept across her face, and her eyes widened as they fixed on something behind Zhen. From the corner of his eye, Zhen saw Shuo step out from the doorway. The hunched old man was gone. In his place stood a figure of coiled power that emanated an authority that made the air around him tremble. Shuo burned like a white-hot sun.

The spiritual pressure was so dense that, for a moment, Zhen struggled to breathe from being in the mere presence of Shuo's intent. Before anyone could react, Shuo launched himself upward in a leap that carried him thirty feet into the air. He spun, and as he rotated round to face the Wraiths that were gathering beside and behind the house, words thundered from his mouth." Thousand Voice Suppression!" The effect was immediate and devastating. A wave of invisible force crashed into the gathered Memory Wraiths.

Their obsidian forms vibrated violently, the violet stress fractures flaring to blinding intensity. Then tens of the monsters shattered and exploded into clouds of fine white soot that drifted in the night air. Half of the Wraiths were gone in an instant. Shuo completed his spin and landed with impossible lightness in front of Gang, Mei-Bao, and Zhen. His feet barely touched the ground before his voice rang out again." Wind String Step!" Shuo moved like a whisper. One moment he was there and the next he was gone.

Zhen lost sight of him until he materialized between two black-robed cultivators who hadn't even drawn their weapons." Shattering Note Palm!" His hands barely seemed to touch them as he, almost tenderly, tapped each chest. The cultivators stood frozen for a heartbeat before shaking uncontrollably." Wind String Step!" And then Shuo was back, appearing before Zhen without crossing the intervening space.

Behind him, the two cultivators crumpled to the ground, the impact of their now-motionless bodies against the earth the only sound in the stunned silence that followed. Zhen's hammers hung limp in his hands. He had been prepared for a vicious fight against the Memory Wraiths but, for the moment, that was forgotten. This was the power of a true cultivator. To be able to turn a hopeless battle against insurmountable odds on its head. Shuo had done it in seconds and delivered it without seeming to exert any effort.

Zhen wanted that power. But that would require him to survive the next few minutes. Across the yard Lau-Phu's face transformed from horror to cold fury as she locked eyes with Shuo.

"You," she hissed.

"Sorry. Were you saying we were surrounded?" Shuo's voice carried the tone of someone discussing the weather. Lau-Phu didn't spare a glance for her fallen comrades. Her eyes remained fixed on Shuo.

"You're meant to be dead." Her voice snarled out through the night. Shuo offered her a small, courtly bow.

"As you can see, those rumors are incorrect." He straightened with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Then again, I started them, so I only have myself to blame." His smile widened, showing teeth.

"I can tell you're delighted to know I'm alive." Zhen watched the exchange, feeling the tension build. There was history here he couldn't begin to understand. A vicious smile spread across Lau-Phu's face.

"I was too junior to have sparred against you when you were in The Order." She reached to her waist, pulling free two long, midnight-black ribbons.

"I look forward to finding out if the stories about the Cleft Shade are true."

"This senior would be happy to give junior some pointers," Shuo replied, his voice lilting with mocking formality. Lau-Phu's ribbons snapped taut, then impossibly extended upward, carrying her into the night sky. Shuo pulled out his sword with a fluid motion, leapt onto it, and shot upward to meet her. It was as if that was a signal. The moment they took to the sky, everyone exploded into motion." Humming Bell Body!" Gang roared, charging toward two black-robed figures." Ripple-Treading Tone!"

Mei-Bao called out, her feet barely touching the ground as she slid across the yard toward another pair of cultivators, her metal fans snapping open with a deadly hiss. Although he wanted to fight himself, Zhen hung back as ordered, his hammers ready. He tried to track the battles unfolding around him, but his eyes kept being drawn upward. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Above them, Shuo and Lau-Phu clashed in mid-air.

Her ribbons whipped and slashed like living things, leaving trails of cold blue light. Shuo dodged them with minimal movements, his sword flashing whenever the ribbons came too close." Stone Resound!" Shuo called, and for a moment he seemed to hang suspended, immovable even in mid-air. Lau-Phu's ribbons struck him but rebounded with a clear, musical note. She grimaced with effort while Shuo laughed with the sound of genuine enjoyment. Down below, Gang fought like a force of nature." Buzzing Serpent's Strike!"

he called, and when his hand struck an enemy's sword, the blade cracked along its length. Mei-Bao moved gracefully, her fans creating deadly arcs as she called, " Echoing Dismay!" A sharp crack filled the air, and two cultivators staggered, momentarily disoriented. Memory Wraiths converged on Gang and Mei-Bao, their obsidian forms grinding through the night air. Zhen's parents moved in perfect coordination, watching each other's backs as they fought off both wraiths and cultivators.

Watching Shuo fight now, Zhen finally understood. The old man who had collapsed in his cart had been severely wounded indeed. This fluid, laughing warrior who casually anticipated Lau-Phu's every move was the real Shuo. His movements were economical yet devastating, each technique flowing into the next. Lau-Phu's face had lost its confidence, to be replaced by grim concentration. Sweat beaded her perfect brow as she worked twice as hard to match Shuo's effortless defense.

The stories, whatever they were, had clearly not been exaggerated. A faint grinding sound made Zhen turn. Three Memory Wraiths had slipped past his parents and now bore down on him, their obsidian forms lurching across the yard with implacable purpose. Zhen raised his hammers and prepared to face them. The others were doing their part, now it was his time. He activated The Eye and the weak points lit up across the Wraiths' glassy bodies.

Where before he had struggled to pinpoint all the weaknesses now, with the extra qi he had available, they blazed with obvious clarity. The first Wraith lunged. Zhen sidestepped with a smoothness that surprised him. His hammer struck true, connecting with the flaw at the base of the Wraith's neck. The creature shattered, dissolving into white ash. His new cultivation changed everything. His muscles responded instantly and his perception sharpened to catch every movement.

When he struck out, the forge-honed strength in his arms was now enhanced by the qi flowing into him. The second and third Wraiths attacked simultaneously. Zhen ducked under one sweeping arm, feeling it pass inches from his head. He sensed the disturbance in the air, and cold brushed past him. His hammers found their marks: one to the center of a chest, another to the side of a misshapen head. Both Wraiths exploded into powder. A wide smile spread across Zhen's face.

Compared to the last time he had faced these creatures, this was too easy. Then a low, rumbling growl came from one side. The tracker hound emerged from the shadows behind the forge. It faced him despite having no eyes. Its oversized muzzle twitched as it scented him and its muscles bunched beneath sleek fur, powerful and ready. Before Zhen could adjust his stance, the hound sprang far faster than the Wraiths. His enhanced senses barely registered the attack before the creature was upon him.

Zhen swung, connecting with the hound's shoulder. It yelped but didn't slow, its teeth snapping inches from his throat as he twisted away. The beast recovered instantly, circling for another attack. Two more Wraiths approached from behind. Zhen backed away, trying to keep all three enemies in view. The hound lunged again, forcing Zhen to dodge. The movement put him in the path of a Wraith. Cold, glass-like fingers scraped across his back, tearing through his tunic. Pain blazed from his wounds.

Zhen rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the hound's teeth. He came up swinging, his hammer connecting with a Wraith's knee. It staggered but didn't break.

"Focus!" he hissed to himself. He activated the Eye once more and searched for flaws. The hound charged again. The Eye showed Zhen the way that the tracker hound was favoring the shoulder he had hit. Every time the hound's paw struck the dirt, it flinched, slowing its leap by a fraction of a heartbeat. It was still fast, just a fraction slower and less stable than before. It was enough. Zhen stood his ground until the last moment.

He pivoted, taking advantage of the hitch in the hound's step, and brought both hammers down on the creature's skull as it passed. The blow connected with a sickening crack and the hound skidded across the dirt, whimpering. Zhen whirled to face the remaining Wraiths. His hammers found their marks in one, two, then three strikes. They exploded into clouds of ash that drifted away on the night breeze. The hound struggled to its feet, blood streaming from its shattered skull. It made one last, desperate lunge.

Zhen met it with a hammer to the muzzle. The creature collapsed mid-leap and lay still. Panting, Zhen raised his head, ready for the next attack. But there was nothing. The yard had fallen eerily silent. Bodies of black-robed cultivators lay scattered across the ground. Piles of white ash marked where Memory Wraiths had been destroyed. And there, standing together, were Gang, Mei-Bao, and Shuo, watching him. His parents' faces wore identical expressions of pride and sadness in equal measure.

Mei-Bao's fans trembled slightly in her hands. Gang had driven his jian point-first into the dirt and leaned heavily on it. Shuo turned to them, his face grave but with a sympathy that Zhen had not seen before.

"You still think he shouldn't be a cultivator?" Zhen's chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. The adrenaline still pumped through his body, making his fingers tingle where they gripped the hammer handles.

"Is that it?" he asked, scanning the battlefield.

"Did we get them all?" Shuo's face soured.

"Not quite," he muttered, glaring at the empty sky.

"I had Lau-Phu cornered. Another exchange and she would have been finished." He spat on the ground.

"But the coward had a teleportation talisman hidden in her sleeve. High-grade, single-use treasure. Almost certainly a gift from the Patriarch's hoard." Zhen's stomach dropped.

"So she got away?"

"She did," Shuo confirmed grimly.

"And make no mistake, she'll be back with reinforcements soon. Now that he knows where you are The Patriarch won't let this go." Mei-Bao looked at Gang, a silent question passing between them. Gang's nod was sharp and decisive, the movement of a man who had made difficult decisions before.

"We leave," Mei-Bao said, her voice steady despite the emotion in her eyes.

"All of us. And never return to this place. To make sure you can get away clean, your father and I will set false trails. We'll lead Lau-Phu and her hunters on a fruitless dance." Gang rolled his massive shoulders and cracked his neck. A slow smile spread across his face, transforming him into a younger, wilder man Zhen barely recognized.

"Been getting soft, staying put all these years," Gang rumbled, stretching his arms.

"Good to get back on the road. Playing at being a mortal blacksmith was fun, but the life of a wandering cultivator suits me better." Zhen stared at his father. This wasn't the predictable, taciturn blacksmith he had known all his life. There was an eager light in Gang's eyes that spoke of adventures and dangers Zhen had never imagined. His mother wore a similar expression that mixed apprehension and poorly concealed excitement. Her hands caressed her metal fans with an unconscious intimacy.

"But if you're going, what does that mean for me?" Zhen looked between his parents. Mei-Bao's expression softened as she turned to him and the smile faded from Gang's face as well. She reached out, brushing ash from Zhen's shoulder with gentle fingers. She glanced over at Shuo, a resigned smile tugging at her lips.

"It looks like the old man is going to get his way after all." Mei-Bao squeezed Zhen's arm.

"You're going to Cloudstone Peak."