Chương 9: "Do you really think you escaped?"

Ch 9: "Do you really think you escaped?"

Zhen's parents shot across the clearing then stepped between him and Shuo. His father's barrel chest heaved, while his mother's stance dropped into something low and coiled.

"Step away from him." His father's voice was a growl. Shuo raised an eyebrow.

"Or what?" Zhen's mother lunged forward, her hands forming intricate patterns. From her palms flew a burst of energy that cracked like thunder. At the same moment, his father stomped the ground, creating ripples that raced toward Shuo. Shuo slipped between their attacks. Mei-Bao's energy burst sailing harmlessly past his shoulder while he stepped across Gang's ripples as if they weren't even there. As he came to a pause Shuo sighed and looked skyward with weary resignation.

"Must we really do this?" Zhen stared in disbelief. His parents, his ordinary, unremarkable parents, were cultivators. Cultivators who were comfortable attacking someone of Shuo's abilities. His mother advanced again, her movements producing a rhythmic thrum as she glided across the ground with unnatural speed. His father's fingers buzzed with a high-pitched whine as he jabbed at Shuo's midsection. Again Shuo wove through with no obvious effort. Zhen scrambled to his feet, his heart racing. He had to stop this.

His parents were trying to kill Shuo, that much was clear from the ferocity of their attacks. But it was equally clear they were no match for the old man. There was no way that this would end well. Zhen activated his Eye of Xiezhi and fragments of gaps and timing flaws came to him then disappeared before he could react. The skill on display was beyond him, but standing on the sidelines wasn't an option. He drew his hammers from his belt and was about to step forward, when he felt a pressure on his shoulder.

A gentle but irresistible force pushed him back down to the ground. Zhen turned to see Xuanfeng's enormous webbed claw holding him in place without effort.

"When the older children play rough, hatchlings should stay out of the way." The turtle's deep voice rumbled as he crunched another spirit stone between his jaws. Zhen sank back down under the weight of that claw and watched with wide eyes as his parents continued their assault. His mother swept her hand in an arc, and a wave of sound rolled outward. At the same moment, his father struck the ground with both palms. Dirt erupted upward and hardened into deadly projectiles that flew toward Shuo.

Shuo danced between them all, never attacking, merely shifting position with minimal movements. When his mother struck, he wasn't there. When his father charged, Shuo redirected his momentum with subtle touches. Despite the fury of their attacks, Zhen could see the truth even if he wasn't using The Eye. His parents moved with a skill that spoke to years of study and practice. Where they had learned to do what they were doing, he had no idea.

However, despite their talent, Shuo moved through their attacks with the confidence of someone who knew the outcome was never in doubt. In a blur of motion, Shuo's hand darted to his storage ring. A silvery rope flashed through the air, wrapping around his father's wrists and torso. Another flick sent the rope encircling his mother, binding them back-to-back in a single fluid movement. His parents hit the ground hard and struggled against their bonds, their faces flushed.

Shuo approached them calmly, hands clasped behind his back. He looked down at them, his head tilted with wry amusement.

"Feeling better?" he asked, in a dry voice.

"Are we done? I'll confess to being disappointed. You've not kept up your training." Zhen's mother glared at Shuo but stopped struggling. His father's breath came in heavy bursts, then he too fell still. Zhen stared at these strangers wearing his parents' faces, cultivators who had hidden their true nature from him, and everyone else, his entire life.

"Anyone with a drop of cultivation sensed that lightning strike." Mei-Bao's voice was a hiss that matched her blazing eyes.

"Every cultivator who isn't deaf and blind knows what it means! When we saw it and found you both gone from the house, we knew it had to be your doing. Trouble follows you like a black dog!" Shuo remained impassive.

"While that's not entirely unfair, this time, it's not my fault." He gave a small cough.

"If you want to blame anyone, look to the heavens. Apparently, the heavens saw someone breaking through their first spirit gate in a couple of hours as a challenge to them. Even I couldn't have predicted that would happen." At this, both his parents' eyes snapped to Zhen. Their expressions shifted from fury to disbelief, then, disconcertingly, to fear. Their momentary shock created an opening that Shuo filled with a casual flick of his wrist.

The silvery rope binding them loosened and fell away, coiling neatly back into Shuo's palm before disappearing into his storage ring. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Neither of his parents moved to attack again. They just stared at Zhen as if seeing him for the first time. Mei-Bao recovered first, her shock transforming back into anger.

"How dare you, old man? You've forced him down a path we've kept him from for seventeen years! We left that life behind to keep him safe! Who gave you the right to corrupt him?" Shuo raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you to keep him from his fate? Did you ever stop to ask Zhen what he wanted?"

"Don't turn this on us." Mei-Bao's voice snapped with emotion.

"We built quiet lives, away from the schemes and the bloodshed. We had escaped. Then you arrive, bringing all of that back with you!" Something dangerous flashed in Shuo's eyes and Zhen felt his skin prickle.

"Quiet lives?" Shuo's voice was soft yet cut like a blade.

"Do you think your peaceful existence these past seventeen years was simply because you kept a low profile?" He stepped closer to Gang and Mei-Bao, his posture straightening until he seemed to tower over them.

"You think the Folded Shadows would let you get away so easily? You think that he would? It had nothing to do with you. It was because I intercepted everyone who came hunting." Gang's face darkened, but Shuo continued mercilessly.

"Do you really think you escaped? You'll never escape. All you can do is try to stay ahead of them. I've spent years in the shadows acting as your shield, snapping the necks of every 'scout' and 'tracker' that wandered too close to this province. But I'm one man, not an army. I can only do so much. They're closing in." Zhen couldn't contain himself any longer.

"What's going on? Who's hunting us?" He looked between the three adults, bewildered.

"How do you all even know each other?" The adults exchanged glances and something passed between them that Zhen couldn't decipher. Then Mei-Bao gave a small nod. Shuo sighed.

"A long time ago, your parents ran away from a sect. The Order of Folded Shadows." He fixed Gang and Mei-Bao with a hard stare.

"A sect that doesn't take kindly to its members leaving. I helped them escape." Gang opened his mouth as if to object, then clamped it shut, his jaw working silently. Mei-Bao's eyes softened as she looked at Zhen.

"It was before you were born, when I first realized I was pregnant with you." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"We realized you wouldn't be safe if we brought you up in that life."

"Anyway, it doesn't matter." Gang stepped forward, his voice carrying a tone of finality.

"This is all irrelevant. We're going home. Shuo has clearly recovered, so he can leave. He may have forced you down the cultivator's path," he glanced at Zhen with something like disappointment, "but we'll just use it to support our blacksmithing work. We're certainly not going to let you advance at a pace that will draw the attention of the heavens again. We're returning to our quiet lives." Shuo let out a derisive snort but said nothing. His expression made it clear this argument wasn't over. Zhen stood there.

The ground beneath him had shifted. His parents were cultivators and they had fled their sect. A sect with hunters that were closing in on them. His entire life had been built on a foundation of lies. His quiet blacksmithing family with their simple village life had never existed. It was a careful facade that was crumbling around him. Having listened to all this in silence, Xuanfeng finished chewing the last spirit stone with a grinding rumble.

The turtle's massive throat rippled as he swallowed, then his head tilted back, jaws opening wide. He belched. The sound echoed across the clearing, disturbing birds in the nearby trees and sending ripples across the lake's surface.

"While this has been fun," Xuanfeng rumbled, his ancient eyes blinking slowly, "I am going to go and take a nap for a month or two in order to fully absorb the qi from these stones." He turned his massive head toward Zhen, fixing him with a gaze that felt thousands of years old.

"I wish you luck, little hatchling. Even with the body I helped you to get, you have a long road ahead." Mei-Bao spun toward Shuo with a sharp glare. Shuo merely shrugged, his face betraying not a hint of contrition.

"Given how quickly Zhen broke into the first Qi Condensation stage, it only made sense to get him to develop his Earth Tempered Body as well. Without it he would have struggled to cope with future advances." Zhen's mother pursed her lips but remained silent, her eyes revealing the storm of conflicting emotions beneath her controlled exterior.

"Xuanfeng is right though," Shuo continued.

"We should leave." The enormous turtle turned and splashed back into the lake, sending waves crashing against the shore. Moments later only the island that was Xuanfeng's shell remained visible, and the water had settled as if nothing had disturbed it. Shuo produced his sword from his storage ring with a casual flick of his wrist. The blade gleamed in the fading light as it expanded to its full length, hovering just above the ground.

"Get on," Shuo commanded, gesturing to the floating sword. Zhen hesitated.

"My mother should ride it. I can walk." The three adults exchanged glances, and then to Zhen's chagrin, burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Zhen demanded. Shuo wiped his eyes with a bony knuckle.

"It'll take you weeks to walk back home. No one has time for that. You'll just slow us down." Zhen opened his mouth to protest, but paused when he saw a mischievous look cross Shuo's face.

"Although seeing as we are going to be travelling slower than my sword anyway, I suppose I could carry you." Before Zhen could respond, Shuo's sword vanished back into his ring. In the same motion, the old man scooped Zhen up under his arm as if he weighed nothing. Zhen yelped as Shuo leapt upward. His stomach lurched as they soared through the air, coming to rest atop an enormous pine tree. The branch bent, then they were moving again.

Shuo ran across the forest canopy, skimming the needles with movements so light the pine branches barely dipped. Wind whipped through Zhen's hair as the ground blurred dozens of feet below. His initial fear gave way to exhilaration. A movement caught his eye as his mother appeared on their right, bounding effortlessly across the treetops. Her practical braid had come loose, and her hair streamed behind her as she matched Shuo's pace.

On their left, his father appeared, his massive frame leaping from branch to branch. Gang's face, always so stern and controlled in the forge, had transformed. He threw his head back and let out a whoop of unabashed joy that echoed through the forest. Zhen glanced back at his mother. Her face bore a smile so wide and genuine that it transformed her completely. He had never seen her smile like that in seventeen years. These weren't the careful, measured movements of village blacksmiths.

These were the actions of people who had spent years mastering their bodies, and taking risks. Cultivators who belonged in this world of impossible feats and boundless horizons. As they raced through the forest canopy, Zhen realized he was glimpsing the people his parents had been before he had been born, before they had sacrificed it all to keep him safe. Much as his parents might protest, and much as he might wish it otherwise, Zhen knew that quiet life was over. The question was what came next.