Chương 23: "Take comfort in the thought that there was nothing you could do"

Ch 23: "Take comfort in the thought that there was nothing you could do" The sun hung low behind them, stretching their shadows long across the trail. Zhen walked beside Chul, the hickory branch secured to the saddlebags, while Shuo led the way up the mountain. They had stayed with Baolao for hours. The panda had brightened considerably as Zhen shared all the riddles he could remember. Together they had then crafted new ones, testing words and twisting meanings until they fit just right.

When Zhen finally stood to leave, Baolao had been happily gnawing on bamboo, trying out variations of a riddle about smoke and mirrors they had been refining. Somewhat to his surprise, Shuo hadn't rushed him. In fact, he hadn't even remarked on the delay. He had simply waited at the clearing's edge with Chul until Zhen and Baolao finished. The forest began to thin as they climbed higher. Ancient oaks gave way to scraggly pines, then scattered brush clinging to exposed stone.

The air grew thinner and cooler as rock and stone replaced the rich loam of the lower slopes. As the greenery disappeared, Zhen could see the exposed rock faces more clearly. Veins of copper, raw silver, and even streaks of gold weaved through the mountainside. It broke every law of metallurgy and geology he knew. Having disparate ores co-exist like this made no sense. Then again, he had never heard of a mountain or a mine that was situated in a place with this much qi.

Despite the sparsity in the surrounding plains its sheer density here had altered the mountain itself, crystallizing raw metal through the bedrock. To the mundane smith he once was, this was an impossible paradox. But he wasn't that person anymore. This was the sort of place that belonged to the world of the cultivator. Some seams were as thick as his waist, clearly visible even to a casual passerby. Zhen used the Eye to examine the mountainside as he ran his fingers along one outcropping.

Structural flaws that would allow someone to easily extract the ore were everywhere.

"It's just sitting there. Why hasn't anyone mined this?"

"Same reason there aren't any sects here," Shuo said without turning.

"They weren't given permission." By early evening, they emerged onto a broad plateau nestled between towering crags. Stone stretched flat and grey in all directions, broken only by scattered boulders. At the far end, where the sheer mountain face rose up into the clouds, a tall cave mouth yawned open. Zhen opened his mouth to speak when wind slammed into him. A powerful gust lifted him off his feet before hurling him backward. Stone smashed into his back, and air burst from his lungs.

Through watering eyes, he saw a tail, as thick as a house beam, sweep across the plateau in a crystalline blur. It wasn't targeted at him. The tail caught Shuo mid-stride and launched him across the expanse. The old cultivator's body tumbled through the air then hit the plateau floor hard before finally skidding to a halt near the plateau's opposite edge. Zhen scrambled to his hands and knees, then froze as a shadow fell over him. He looked up.

A dragon crashed onto the plateau, its claws gouging deep furrows in the stone. Its serpentine body was covered in scales of crystal and gemstones. The dragon's head swung down, and eyes of faceted diamond fixed on him.

"Stay down, boy." The cultivated female voice resonated through the stone beneath him, cold and absolute.

"This is not your fight. Get in my way, and I will end you." The dragon turned and stalked across the plateau, each step sending tremors through the stone. Where he lay on the far side, Shuo slowly pushed himself up onto one elbow, blood streaking down his face. As he looked up, the dragon arrived, and her foot slammed down onto his chest, pinning him flat. Her talons spread across Shuo's torso, then one claw punched through his shoulder. The sound of cracking stone mingled with Shuo's gasp of pain.

"Give me a reason," the dragon said, pressing the talon deeper, "not to kill you." Shuo's fingers scrabbled against the stone floor as blood pooled under him.

"Jue Shi Long." The words came wet and strangled.

"Please. It's not about me. I'm here for the boy. Look at him." Jue Shi Long didn't turn. Her diamond eyes remained fixed on the man beneath her foot.

"No." She pushed, and the talon sank deeper. Shuo's back arched and he let out a moan. Zhen was already moving. He sprinted across the plateau, boots pounding stone as every stride ate up distance between him and the dragon. His hammers may be broken, but he wouldn't abandon Shuo. Hoofbeats thundered behind, then beside him. Chul appeared matching his pace. As she started to pull ahead, their training took over. Zhen grabbed her mane and vaulted onto her back in one fluid motion.

The moment he was in the saddle, Chul surged forward, doubling her speed. They reached the dragon's flank and Zhen leaped from Chul onto Jue Shi Long's back, catching purchase on the crystalline scales. They were smooth and cold, offering barely enough grip. But barely enough would do. He scrambled upward, hand over hand, finding holds between the vast gemstone plates as he climbed toward the massive head. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Behind him, Chul reared up, and her front hooves crashed down on the dragon's foreleg, the Moonlight Steel blazing with qi. The ring of metal against crystal echoed across the plateau. Zhen reached the dragon's neck and ran forward. He dropped into a slide as her head shifted, then found his footing and charged the last stretch to her skull. He threw a punch. His fist connected with diamond-hard scales. Pain shot through his knuckles, but he ignored it. He threw another. Then another.

Kicks, elbows, everything he had learned. Each blow bounced off without leaving a mark. Below, Chul struck again, her hooves glowing brighter. This time, one of the dragon's scales cracked where the horseshoes landed, thin fractures spreading through the crystal. Zhen kept going. His hands screamed protest as blood slicked his knuckles. He knew the futility, felt it in every jarring impact that traveled up his arms. But he couldn't stand by while that talon ground deeper into Shuo.

Chul landed another devastating kick, and a small chunk of crystal broke away from the dragon's leg. Zhen's fist descended for another useless strike when a cold, crystal claw closed around his body. The world lurched sideways as he was lifted into the air, dangling like a caught fish. He thrashed, his legs kicking in the air. He flooded qi through his meridians into his limbs but Jue Shi Long was indifferent to his efforts.

The plateau tilted beneath him as the dragon swept her claw through the air in a wide arc and plucked Chul from the ground. The mare's legs churned uselessly as she was lifted alongside him. Then they were moving, the world spinning until massive diamond eyes filled Zhen's vision. Jue Shi Long brought them close enough that Zhen could see his reflection fractured across a thousand facets. The dragon's attention was fixed on Chul. The claw tilted, rotating the mare until her hooves caught the fading light.

Diamond eyes tracked across the Moonlight Steel, tracing every engraved rune.

"These are made from Moonlight Steel. In the last half century, Ruo-Chen has only given that out once." Below, Shuo coughed. Blood flecked his lips.

"This is what I've been trying to tell you." Each word came out strained.

"Look at the boy." Those diamond eyes shifted until they were focused entirely on Zhen. He met her gaze and forced himself not to look away even as those faceted depths bored into him. The dragon's eyes widened.

"Are you trying to anger me further?" The words resonated through Zhen's chest.

"You bring this boy here, knowing what it means? We have kept this place strictly neutral for a reason. This boy is a provocation, and you know it. I will not stand for it." The claw holding Chul swung down and released her. The mare hit the stone near Shuo with a heavy thud. Jue Shi Long lifted her foot from Shuo's chest. The old cultivator gasped, rolling onto his side, blood streaming from the large puncture wound. Chul scrambled to her feet even as the dragon's maw opened.

Her breath came out in a crystalline storm. Jagged shards erupted from her jaws, each one thick as Zhen's leg. They struck the stone around Shuo and Chul, then tens of crystal pillars burst up from the ground in rapid succession. Within a heartbeat, a cage had formed that enclosed them both. Chul reared up once more and her hooves struck the bars. The Moonlight Steel rang against crystal but nothing gave. Jue Shi Long's attention returned to Zhen and those hypnotic diamond eyes narrowed.

Pressure slammed into him from all sides. Both physical and spiritual. It crushed his meridians and dantian as if the weight of the mountain itself was bearing down on him. His vision swam.

"Do not resist." The dragon's voice held no malice, only cold finality.

"This will be over shortly. As you die, take comfort in the thought that there was nothing you could do."" Shattering Note Palm!" Through his fading consciousness, Zhen heard Shuo's voice ring out. Inside the cage, the old man touched one of the crystal bars. A perfect note rang out. Then the structure shattered from within, collapsing into glittering fragments as everything gave way at once. Despite his injuries, Shuo moved before the last shards hit stone.

He crossed the plateau in a blur, dust settling around his feet as he seemed to root himself into the bedrock." Stone Resound!" His shadow darkened, became denser. When Jue Shi Long's tail whipped toward him, it rang against his body like a hammer striking an anvil. The dragon recoiled. Shuo slipped through the space her retreat created. His form seemed to fold through gaps in the air itself, leaving only a faint harmonic hum in his wake.

He struck once more, and his palm connected with her crystalline scales, producing another pure tone. The note resonated through Jue Shi Long's body and a fracture spider-webbed across her shoulder. She roared, and the pressure crushing Zhen vanished. He gasped, drawing in a wheezing breath as the dragon's attention shifted entirely to Shuo. Zhen pushed qi around his body and strained against the claw gripping him. Across the plateau, Chul burst from the dissolving cage.

Shuo struck again with his palm, and another perfect note created more cracks through Jue Shi Long's gemstone armor. A silvery vibration pulsed outward from Shuo's position and the dragon stumbled mid-lunge, her movements becoming sluggish, as if fighting through water. Taking advantage of the distraction, Chul charged. Her hooves blazed with qi as she hammered into the dragon's hindquarters. Crystal shattered and blood welled from beneath broken scales.

Jue Shi Long twisted with serpentine speed despite the suppression. Her jaws snapped shut inches from Shuo. He folded sideways through empty air, appeared beside her neck, and struck once more. The ringing grew louder. Fractures multiplied across her hide. But the dragon's tail swept low and caught Shuo's legs. He tumbled across the stone floor. As he came to a halt, crystalline shards erupted from the ground and snapped into a cage around him.

Before Shuo could gather himself to escape with a Shattering Note Palm attack, bands of diamond rose up and wound around his wrists to pin his hands and stop him from escaping as he had before. Chul tried to retreat, but Jue Shi Long breathed out another mouthful of crystals that formed an unbreakable lattice around her. Within heartbeats, both were neutralized once more. Jue Shi Long settled back onto all fours.

Blood dripped from half a dozen wounds and several scales had fallen away entirely, revealing the torn flesh beneath.

"Better than I expected," she said.

"Both of you." Shuo slammed against the jagged bar, blood streaming from his reopened shoulder wound. The usual mocking arrogance was gone from his voice, replaced by a raw desperation.

"You don't have to do this. This has nothing to do with the boy. We'll leave. Just let us go."

"You are right." Jue Shi Long's voice turned cold.

"This is not the boy's fault." Her massive, scaled form stalked toward Zhen.

"This is all down to you, Shuo. Baolao and I spent years repairing the damage you caused." Her voice hardened.

"Not just the forest. Ruo-Chen. It was a decade before she was herself again. And now you return, not alone, but bringing the attention of the Folded Shadows with you."

"Your presence, and that of the child, will shatter the peace I have built. This cannot be. The boy dies first." Diamond eyes locked onto Shuo.

"Then you." The mountain of pressure slammed back into Zhen, twice as heavy as before, and he collapsed to the ground. He could feel his meridians and open spirit gates threatening to shatter under the strain. The attack would destroy his cultivation and his body before he died. Inside the cage, Shuo's bloodied hands strained against the crystalline manacles while Chul kicked frantically against the bars. But both could only watch in horror. The pressure built, and Zhen's meridians began to rupture.