Chương 19: "She Wasn't Afraid to Hurt Them Back Anymore"

Ch 19 "She Wasn't Afraid to Hurt Them Back Anymore" Amber's butt hit the sand hard as she gripped her weapon.

"Not bad, you're getting more fluid!" Wing smiled cockily as he stood his practice spear up.

"Thanks a ton…." Amber didn't sound very sincere as she picked herself out of the sand and brushed herself off. She had indeed been improving, but she hungered for the match when Wing would get his butt covered in dust. Being forbidden from using Qi during spars was frustrating! She couldn't deny that the live practice had been greatly beneficial to her spearmanship, though.

"Newbie! Why don't you and I have a turn? I'll get you turned into one of us in no time!" Another guard yelled to Amber from the side. Wing had a grimace on his face. There were quite a few guards watching. The Lucky Tiger Caravan had left behind Golden Sea City on their trade route, and the guardsmen were still abuzz with pride at their newest and youngest guard fending off a noble family's young master.

They had largely ignored her before, but now they treated her with pride and had been asking to take turns providing "guidance" to their junior guardswoman.

"This one thanks you!" Amber smiled and bowed with her weapon fist clasped. She had enough of Wing for now, and she deeply appreciated the seniors' appreciation. It was a new feeling to her to have the respect of the people around her. It felt… good. The next few days continued like this, with her spare time being split between spear training with her seniors and her cultivation training.

For the latter, her sweat was poured into improving her Blazing Tiger stances, flowing her Qi, and gleaning what insight she could into the paper book she carried with her. Thumbing through the books was of limited use due to their complexity, however she was slowly but surely understanding more of what the Predator technique was. Not only was it a movement technique, but it was something that had to do with "moving through nature."

She had tried to perform a few more clumsy steps, but she didn't find the diagrams particularly helpful. It felt more natural lining up a few foot positions on the steps of certain stance transitions to match the diagram than going off of it. Combining them was still a mess she had to figure out, though. She was still sure the Blazing Tiger stances were the key to learning Predator, just as it had enlightened her with Tiger Claws during the blood baptism.

Amber had checked the blank sections of her paper book, hoping that a new section might arise since the awakening of her palm spiral mark. The same thing had happened with several blank sections after the blood baptism after all. Yet, there was nothing. Was it because the mark was inactive? She had tried and failed multiple times to get the mark to reappear. So far, the bald man was the only consistency in the mark appearing. Amber Fang knew that there was something else on the blank pages.

Under careful observation she had noticed that they were just as worn as the inked ones. Maybe more sections would continue to reveal themselves after the next drop of Saint Tiger blood? The girl decided she would do another drop soon. Her body was feeling good, it had been responding great to all of her training and it was adapting well to the new volume of Qi from the last drop. Evenings were pleasant. The food was always much better than in Green Wood village.

Amber was filled with gratitude simply because the bread was softer than rocks! Dante would tell her the seasonings from his home town would blow away anything she's ever tried. She hoped to get the opportunity someday. It was the only thing that made the man show a bit of emotion, so it must be quite good. At meals she mostly sat with Lulu who couldn't stop talking about everything she had learned from the physicians traveling with the caravan ever since they had learned she was a budding alchemist.

It was all so fascinating and new to Amber. She was happy to let others talk at length and absorb as much as she could. She thought it was funny how these old men treated Lulu so well though. Anything Amber had heard about doctors or other high-status men was far displaced from all things the kind patient and understanding things she heard Lulu say about them.

The days went fast, even during the long ambles of diligence Amber gave during guard duty, and they quickly arrived to the Lucky Tiger Caravan's next destination: Blue Cloud city. As they got closer the skies grew darker and darker until it was astonishing that it had not rained yet.

"The good weather won't hold! Get camp set up, and get the storm gear ready! We're staying outside the walls this time," the Caravan leader's voice bellowed an impressive distance. He was usually heard more than seen by his employees. It was impressive how fast the tents and other equipment was assembled. In Amber's guard sector she simply drove metal stakes into the ground where she was told to as other guardsmen quickly tied thick ropes to them, anchoring the big tents for the storm.

The ensuing storm was so fierce the caravans decided not to unload their wares into the city until the next morning. The timing of the storm was perfect for Amber. She was itching to assimilate the next drop of Saint Tiger blood, and just needed an excuse for all eyes to be off of her. Her mother had always told her to never reveal her techniques or the Saint Tiger blood to anyone. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Amber Fang had barely spotted a cave not too far from where they stopped, with trees all around. Although it wasn't far from the road, the chances of anyone traveling at night and in the storm were slim to none. Perfect and secluded. Sneaking out that night proved to be all too easy. She left her bag in her tent and departed with only her midnight green cloak and bamboo hat on, for rain protection. Amber took her spear of course.

She spent all day walking with it and almost the rest of the time training with it, save for her cultivation practice. But it was always nearby. She often drifted to sleep thinking what she would have done to Wild Hog and his men had she had this reliable spear then. It was a sure way to get restful sleep. The girl lately found herself wondering if it was wrong to get excited about the next person she would stab?

She wanted to try out her spear in actual combat, and she knew trouble would come her way as it always did. People wanted to hurt her, that was consistent enough in her life. She wasn't afraid to hurt them back anymore. Lightning lit up the dark sky as thunder clapped over the hills surrounding Blue Cloud city. Amber Fang moved as quickly as she could. Not only did she need all the time she could get, she also didn't want to practice completely soaked.

The downpour threatened to soak past the heavy fibers of her cloak, and her fabric shoes were already a hopeless sopping mess, not to mention they were getting quickly caked with mud. The nearby cave seemed so far under these conditions. It took about an incense stick's worth of running before she made it. She quickly zipped into the opening once she saw it, relief hitting her as the heavy storm had made her doubt her ability to find it properly.

Using some dry sticks in the cave and her inherited flint, she was able to light a small fire to warm her chilly bones. Thanks for the skills, dad, she thought to herself. A sudden pang hit her heart as she thought about how her father would never get to teach her personally again. What would he be like as a cultivation teacher? He wasn't around long enough, so she would never know. Amber Fang was eternally grateful for what her mom had taught her, but the woman had seemed to always do so with an air of reluctance.

The girl shook the thoughts from her head, waving her black hair wildly from side to side. She kicked off her muddy cloth shoes and dropped her hat, midnight green cloak, and spear by the fire side to dry the items for her return trip. She sat down and let her feet dry off by the fire. Some of the guards had warned her about getting "rot foot", and the importance of dry footwear. Traveling without proper care had ended careers and even made some guards lose a leg or two under the knee!

Amber had been scared of the thought ever since. By the warmth and light of the little fire the girl took out her family's paper book that contained Predator. The girl felt like her recent training and experiences were getting her closer and closer to figuring out the technique, but the last pieces were evading her.

The main goal of the night was to assimilate a drop of Saint Tiger Blood and grow stronger as the drops had done for her, but she had a secondary hope that she would get some sort of enlightenment into mastering Predator. She had wished her mom had told her more before her untimely demise, but she heavily suspected the Blazing Tiger stances hid many secrets that the Saint Tiger Blood revealed hints to. What was the relation of her family to this blood exactly? How did it relate to her techniques?

Where did it come from? They were obviously linked somehow, but she had frustratingly little answers to her questions. She could only focus on getting the strength she needed to find answers. Amber tried to keep her mind on Predator. The girl had long stopped trying to make sense of the diagrams and tried to just commit the images to memory. So far, the diagrams had proven more useful by surfacing on her mind during practice than with the careful study of them.

She clasped the book shut, feeling no more potential benefit from staring at it tonight. Her feet had dried up and her body had warmed. The night was already well underway. Amber Fang drew two bottles from the inside of her shirt. One was the Saint Tiger Blood, and the other was the gifted Qi Vitality Elixir from Ember.

The green colored Elixir was a huge help in moving her Qi during cultivation practice and she had been immensely anticipating the effect it would have in helping her gain more benefits from the Saint Tiger Qi. She hopped up and opened the bottle of Qi Vitality Elixir. The Saint Tiger blood was so oppressive that she decided to take 2 drops of the Elixir. She immediately felt a looseness in her body as her Qi flowed differently, less restricted. She smiled with her eyes closed for a moment.

It was a wondrous tingly feeling that she wanted to bask in, but time was of the essence.

"Here we go." Amber uncorked the Saint Tiger blood carefully. An oppressive aura hit her once again, she was no longer fearful. The drops were dangerous and had and put her through hell, but she would have died several times over without them. She cringed thinking about the pain, but she had no time to waste. She took a burning bead onto her tongue that scorched down her throat and quickly put away the bottle.

Amber quickly felt the familiar rush of Saint Tiger Qi emerge as the burning droplet spread heat into her core. The cave air sprung to life with the swirl of orange Qi that made the fire sway heavily in the flow. She growled as her pupils slitted and her eyes shone a brilliant orange-gold. The lines around her eyes darkened into thick black lines. She clenched her teeth as the power released from the blood surged forcefully. As familiar as it was, the pain was only mildly better than the first two drops.

The wild, beast-like temperament was still a struggle to control. Wasting no time, she dropped into the first position of Blazing Tiger. It was already much easier to get into the first position than it had been on the previous drops. Amber wasn't sure if it was because she was stronger, or if it was due to the effect of the Elixir.

She moved through the stances much less slowly than previous times, kicking and swiping the air in a flurry of graceful movements as her body turned twisted and lunged like a savage tiger. Amber ran through all the stances of Blazing Tiger, then did it again with increasing speed. Her form changes felt fluid, and forcing the flow of the Saint Tiger Qi that was usually a massive effort was now a bit less difficult.

This edge made all the difference in the world to the girl who had struggled so hard to contain it before. Her sharp movements pierced the air as her limbs struck shadows. She felt a huge pressure building from inside her as her veins throbbed from strain. Not only was she more experienced, but she was stronger now and also had the benefit of the elixir. This time, she held more Saint Tiger Qi from escaping her body than ever before.

Amber danced and floated through the stances again and again, paying attention to the ways her Qi flowed as the stances directed the blood energy. She could see it! Amber had already felt a how a few stance transitions of Blazing Tiger lined up with the Predator footwork diagram, but the way her stances guided the Saint Tiger Qi made her realize the essence of how to move her Qi during these steps. It was very incomplete, but she felt like she was stepping in and out of nature itself!

As the boiling emotions and intensity of the Saint Tiger Qi bled down, she noticed something that made her freeze mid-practice, where freezing could even make her Qi rupture a limb. There were bright and shining eyes staring imposingly at her from the shadows of deeper in the cave. She was not alone.