Chương 8: "Mother Fu—”

Ch 8 "Mother Fu—" Misty Hollow Village glowed with an orange atmosphere as the raging flames fought the encroaching darkness of night that crept into the sky. Amber's mind spun as she stumbled to stay on her feet, every muscle trembling with fatigue and raw pain. The rampaging Saint Tiger Qi within her was still rocking her body, but it was flowing in a more manageable state as its amount dissipated from her body combined with the Burning Sun and Blazing Tiger stances she had managed to execute.

At least it felt like her Qi was starting to flow in the right direction. It would have killed any other cultivator even a realm above her who hadn't already undergone the blood baptism. The world wobbled slightly before her eyes. Shadows leaping in the firelight further disoriented her as acrid black smoke from the burning village stung her lungs. Despite this, all she could see was Old Daisy's terrified face, her neck gripped tight in Wild Hog's monstrous hand.

The curved sword glinted with malice as he poised it above Old Daisy's trembling form.

"Let her go!" Amber croaked, her voice hoarse from fighting and inhaling smoke. Wild Hog grinned, crooked teeth flashing.

"Ya want this one back? Tell me where the tiger is! Or let's see if ya can take her before I bleed her like a pig!" He shook Daisy like a rag doll, making her whimper in terror as he bellied a deep boisterous laugh.

"Ch-Child-" she gasped out through choked breaths, "Run!" Panic surged in Amber's chest, but she swallowed it down. She had no plan, she had only the burning and relentless fury that kept her upright. The girl's hand tightened around her obsidian knife, sticky with blood. The world narrowed to a single point: Wild Hog, towering, unhurt, and radiating power that made her own feel like a flickering candle. Without warning, Old Coi appeared behind Wild Hog!

The man let loose a wild scream and plunged a kitchen knife into Wild Hog's neck, but the big man's thick skin bounced the blade off, leaving only a disappointing trickle of blood.

"Ya rat!" The infuriated Wild Hog threw a hay maker punch with the full weight of his body as he spun around, crashing his giant fist into the terrified man who was trying to save his loved one. Old Coi went flying, his body smashing into the wooden side of his burning home where he crumpled onto the dirt in a silent unmoving pile.

"N-No! Noooo! Old Coi!" Old Daisy choked out in grief and terror as tears streamed down from her red eyes. Wild Hog quickly turned around, not daring to be too distracted from the girl who slaughtered so many of his men. But she was already upon him! She swiped upwards with ravaging Tiger Claws. Wild Hog swayed backwards with urgency as he knew better than to lose his other eye to those god damn claws!

But that was a mere distraction as she dug her blade into his arm with all her might, to a frustratingly shallow depth against the mountainous man's hide. Wild Hog dropped Old Daisy with a howl. He couldn't keep his grip on the woman with his arm lighting up in pain. The woman crashed into the dirt, coughing and gasping for breath as she crawled away towards her crumpled husband.

In the same motion, Wild Hog howled and lunged at Amber with terrifying speed for a man his size, his steel sword whistling toward her head. Amber ducked by sheer instinct. The blade sliced a lock of her hair clean off. She lashed out with her knife, but Wild Hog caught her wrist in a crushing grip and squeezed. Pain shot up her arm. She twisted and tried to kick him, but the burly bandit barely flinched.

"Not bad," he laughed with malevolence, "but ya got no strength left, do ya? Ya got no fuel left in the fire. I can see it in yer eyes." Amber bared her teeth. She could feel the Saint Tiger Qi writhing inside her, unable to muster it's full power without her Blazing Tiger stances to guide it. As she hung by her wrist she took a breath through Burning Sun and with all her might pulled her Qi into a somewhat structured flow.

"Yer gonna keep my eye company in hell girl!" he roared. He tightened his grip on her and raised her higher, then he swung his sword with the other hand with the intent of cleaving her in half! Keeping her alive to follow the last lead of his tiger hunt was a distant thought from his mind from the moment his own blood started flowing.

Amber used his strength against him as she pulled herself up using his iron grip and curled her legs, her bare feet barely clearing the air where his sword sliced empty space with whistling fury. From this position she exploded both feet forward into his jaw, Tiger Shattering Stone guiding her savage orange Qi and hitting the giant man like a cannonball! Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. An earth shaking yell came from the man as he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth.

He released his grip on young Fang and she fell to all fours like a coiled tiger, drawing another Burning Sun breath for her next move. Her orange eyes lit up as her Qi flowed properly again.

"Yer gonna wish ya never did that!" Wild Hog recovered quickly through the pain, his anger not willing to give her one breath or advantage. The mountainous man rushed her roaring deeply, his sword raised in a deadly arc. Amber roared back as she also rushed forward towards impending peril. Every ounce of pain, fear, and anger poured out of her in a sound that shook the square. Saint Tiger Qi flared around her, golden-orange, majestic, and wild. For a heartbeat, time slowed. Wild Hog's sword came slicing down.

The girl stepped in towards the danger. Amber's knife arm came swinging upward in a streak of shining fire light reflecting off of the obsidian blade. Her step in allowed the perfect space as his blade missed it's mark. Her knife flowed in a savage arc and found his ribs. He howled, staggering back as blood began to leak from a gash along his side. But he was not finished.

"Jus' TRY and FUCK with me!" He roared. Wild Hog swung his sword in a wide, desperate arc, catching Amber across her chest in a bloody flash as she tried to dodge. Agony exploded through her as she grit her teeth, but she did not fall. She pressed in, slashing again and again, each strike wild and desperate. Her hemp gown was thick with blood as her previous battle wound was now torn fully open and intermingled with her new wounds.

The last flickers of Saint Tiger Qi kept her body moving in a shimmering orange cloak of Qi. Wild Hog batted her aside with one meaty arm, sending her sprawling into the dust as she bounced off of the ground hard. He loomed over her with an ugly scowl, fury and pain twisting his features.

"Ya think yer hot shit girl? Yer done! Done, girl!" he bellowed.

"No more tricks, no more stupid luck!" But Amber was not done. She dragged herself upright, blood pooling beneath her. She could barely breathe, and every inch of her body was screaming. Haggard breaths attempted to rally the remaining flame of Saint TigerQi within her.

"I'm going to savor this!" Wild Hog howled in rage, lifting his sword sky high.

"You…. I will… kill you…!" Amber screamed through desperate breathes as she pushed her limits and demanded her Qi to flow, her slitted pupils dilating from the strain. Her body just wouldn't respond. Amber's face suddenly changed to one of surprise as she felt something strange with her Saint Tiger Qi. It beckoned her to look up, where she saw something unexpected behind Wild Hog. Through the darkened sky of night and smoke, a small black angel of death fluttered over the unaware raging giant.

The dark figure descended upon him, his long teeth sinking into the back of the man's thick neck, much farther than any knife that had touched him so far. The little black tiger cub had come back!

"MOTHER FU-" Wild Hog roared in pain and rage. He twisted and turned, screaming as blood flowed from his neck. He desperately grabbed for the awkward place behind his shoulders as the shadowed cat held on, continuing to drain him of blood. This was her moment! She took a crucial breath with Burning Sun. Tiger Breaks the Dam! Amber pressed into the opening with a precious surge of Qi, driving her elbow like a ballista directly into the large man's sternum.

She would not waste the opening the little feline had prepared for her! Wild Hog let out mouthful of blood and spit as he suffered the blow, the tiger still hanging from his bleeding neck as it's claws gripped into the thick flesh of his back. In desperation he swung his large curved sword in panicked swipes, which were easily dodged by Amber Fang as she regained a rhythm using her stances, her sharp eyes gleaming with an orange-gold light.

In this moment of extreme focus she felt like she understood a bit of the footwork for the Predator movement technique she had observed from her mother's paper book, as she linked her Blazing Tiger stances in new ways. Tiger's Domain! Pouncing Shadow! Wandering Paw! Her burning muscles moved fiercely through sheer practice and will power delivering punishing blows into the man as he staggered backwards, her face gnarled full of hatred.

As the screaming bandit boss got assaulted from both sides, he started flailing his sword just to keep her away.

"Get OFFA me! Fuck OFF ya rats!" A small guttural noise came from the feline as it growled viciously and began twisting it's bite to tear and sunder flesh.

"FUCK!" He yelled as he threw his sword at the girl and twisted himself violently in a desperate rage to reach the little thing that was tearing open his neck. Amber dodged the wild sword toss as Wild Hog managed to grab the little tiger. He threw it down hard to crush it, yet the feline spun and landed gracefully on the ground, disappearing into the shadows.

"Ya little SHIT!" He yelled with a distorted face, bloody spit flying everywhere. He immediately whipped his head back to the girl, knowing she was too dangerous to take his eyes off of. His face dropped in panic as he didn't find her where he expected.

"Cowardly brat! Come out 'n face me!" Orange-gold colored eyes shone through the darkness behind him with slitted pupils as Amber leapt onto the giant's back, holding tight onto his head with one arm and stabbing down with the other, a fierce roar ripping free from her lips. He didn't get to reach for her as blood instantly flooded his throat. The young wild girl repeatedly drove her dagger furiously into the open neck wound caused by the little tiger as she hung on.

"Y-Y-Ya…" the light left his eyes as Amber kept stabbing.

"Biiiiiiiiiiiitchhhhhhhhhhh," the Giant fumbled forward, lifeless, with a loud slam into the dust. Amber didn't let go, stabbing him the entire way down. And still, the girl did not stop stabbing. Finally, Amber had run out of energy entirely. Her arms dropped and the obsidian knife fell from her torn hands into a pool of blood and dirt. She sat atop the large corpse, her breath heaving and her body fighting for survival as the pain started coming back to her through the waves of receding adrenaline.

Strangely, the girl felt as if she was watching herself through a shrouded window. She had so many things she wanted to do at that moment: Check on the little tiger, find out if Old Daisy was okay, if Old Coi was even alive, save the villagers from any bandits that were still breathing, and she wanted to help put out the rest of the fires. Yet her legs did not heed her call, and her arms lay limp at her sides. Her abdomen bled, her arms and legs bled, and her Qi reserves were non-existent.

Her insides felt torn by the surging Saint Tiger Qi that she could not properly assimilate under the circumstances. The flames of burning buildings lingered, glowing and casting long shadows as the screaming villagers rushed to put them out. Fresh corpses lay strewn about. Blood and dust filled her sensory organs. She tilted her head and gazed up at the stars with half open eyes as her body wobbled. Amber had stayed strong until she had no strength left. Darkness began to close in around her as the world tilted.