Chương 5: "Like Chopsticks Through Butter”

Ch 5 "Like Chopsticks Through Butter" Amber Fang discreetly heaved and tried to hide her stomach wound's red tears with her cloak as the circle of men stood shaken, silent by the nonsensical display. They had all seen a little girl take down several men, and even use Qi to give her last victim a painful death!

"Sh-She might belong to a powerful Clan!" The first man to break the silence spoke in a frantic tone.

"What if she's got another cultivator nearby? A senior brother or something?" Another spoke bewildered, the fear in his voice breaking through in his words. Suddenly the crowd of men broke out in all sorts of cries. Children who could use Qi techniques were not common around these parts after all. They all began to yell with speculation that she could be big trouble.

"Shuuuuut uuuup!" The big man yelled.

"Ya bunch of gutless maggots! Ya think she's some young mistress from some big Clan? Some princess? Stuuuupid! Look at 'er clothes! She's just a country bitch who picked up some cheap technique!" Instantly the men shut up as the large man looked angrily towards the young girl. It was a blow to his pride that some little bitch had shaken the morale of his men. His men!

"Hmph. Ya think yer hot shit fer knowing a thing or two?" He stepped forward as Amber stepped back.

"I've torn apart cultivators with my bare hands!" He flexed his large fists and let out a roar that shook the leaves around them.

"I squashed their bitch ass heads like melons!" The girl believed him.

"Since ya'll wanna be pussy footin'! Let Wild Hog show you how it's done!" He bellowed at his own men.

"Go ahead girl! Ya get the first shot! Bwahaha!" He struck a fist against his own chest like a thunderous drum, daring the young girl to move. She had a flashback of her mom talking about special innate body physiques that some people are lucky enough to be born with. Amber Fang looked up, her eyes fighting to not betray her weakness. This was her first real life or death fight on her own, and she had trouble keeping her breathing steady throughout the battle.

Between her wasteful movements, the hits she had taken, and the cut across her gut weeping silently, she was feeling almost empty. The wound didn't appear to be deep enough to be fatal, but she was bleeding more than she would like to be at the moment.

"Don't be scared," Wild Hog laughed.

"I won't kill you. I'll get some price for ya, somewhere, somehow. Whether it's whoever owns ya, or a whore house! Bahahaha. So go ahead and make yer move," he grinned. She tried not to let weakness creep onto her face, but her hesitation betrayed the truths of her confidence. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. She tried to self soothe the best she could, falling back to her mother's training as her mind drew a blank on what to do next. Her black hair stuck to her face through the sweat and dust.

The attempts to calm her mind did little as she felt more blood seeping out. The man before her stood casually, but he looked as if he had no weak spots. Wild Hog stood large as a mountain and grew taller by the second in her eyes as he stood solid with his arms crossed. As the moments ticked by, the man's expression grew dark. The girl before him was unmoving, save for the large heaving breaths racking her body.

"Boring! So fucking boring! You wasted your chance!" His large physique was suddenly blurring towards her in a fierce lunge, palms the size of her head stretched out towards the young girl. With everything on the line, the survival instincts that had kept her alive for so long kicked in. She dropped low, ducking under his grasp and rolling to the side. Her maneuver was clumsy, but effective enough for the moment. Pain shot through her abdomen as the cut stretched with her movement.

A warm spot of blood seeped through her hemp clothing, but she couldn't afford to focus on it now.

"Running like a little chicken!" Wild Hog laughed menacingly. Amber Fang felt her reserves draining rapidly. Each exhalation carried away precious energy that she couldn't afford to lose. Her breathing was in shambles the more blood she lost. Burning Sun wasn't cooperating with her attempts at channeling Qi either. Wild Hog charged her with a fierce shout as he came upon her. She was anything but ready and stumbled on her back foot while moving backwards on the uneven terrain.

That proved to be all the opening her opponent needed. His fist connected hard with her stomach, sending shockwaves through her system and left the poor girl sprawling on the dirt. The impact knocked what little breath she had from her lungs as she was left breathless.

"Not so special after all," Wild Hog sneered with an ugly smile, standing over the girl.

"Just a kid playin' warrior." The men behind him started to cheer. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The girl gasped for air, her vision swimming. The cut on her stomach burned like fire, and her Qi reserves were nearly depleted. Amber's head was disoriented as she tried to grasp her bearings. This opponent wasn't simple at all. Sure he wasn't a cultivator, but he was as ferocious as one!

After taking his heavy blow, she was sure he had one of those innate special physiques. Suddenly, she felt herself rising into the air. She was being picked up! Amber didn't even have time to realize what was happening before she was slammed back into the ground with a sickening thud, the hard earth offering no condolences to her battered body. The girl struggled for breath on the ground. Her world was spinning with pain to the point she couldn't even remember why her shirt was so wet with thick hot fluid.

Wild Hog stepped forward and stood over her laughing. His laugh rang like the ugly screeching of vultures in her ear. The world became disoriented as a cacophony of men's laughter joined their leader's. She felt her body being lifted up by the throat, with a grizzly vice grip of a hand. This is… it... I can't… go any further…. Her vision blurred as the man started talking. She could barely hear him. I'm…. I'm sorry mom….

"Thought ya were so mighty didn't ya! Bwahahaha! Now look at ya!" He laughed.

"Look at this lil bitch thinkin' she was shit! Now she knows she's just a bug!" Wild Hog shook around her limp body like a ragdoll before his assembly of goons. The encirclement of armed men were laughing as the pride of non-cultivators was snatched back from the pits of embarrassment. It no longer mattered that she had single handedly embarrassed over 10 grown men, now that she was powerless.

"Just a lost bitch! Maybe if you wag your tail for us we'll forgive ya! Bwahaha!" Wild Hog bellowed.

"Don't talk that way to your mother!" Young Fang spat an angry mouthful of blood straight into her captor's eyes. She didn't have the luxury of fucks to give anymore. The big man flinched as her vile mixture of blood and saliva hit his face. His grip momentarily loosened in stinging disgust, and the girl felt a slight weakness in his grasp.

"Ya little…!" he roared, wiping furiously at his bloody eyes with his free hand. In that brief moment of distraction, Amber Fang's pupils became slits, and dark lines boldened around the edges of her eyes. She twisted her entire body, controlling the torque as she whipped her arm out, leaving sharp lines of vicious orange Qi buzzing across his face. Compared to earlier it was a pitiful attempt at Tiger Claws, with streaks that barely grazed him and laden with waning power.

Although it was weak and shallow, it was enough to make his soft facial tissues erupt in blood. Red hot thick liquid gushed as the mountainous man screamed, dropping her completely and staggering backward. Four jagged gashes ran from his chin to his forehead, leaving his eyes unable to be seen through the dark fluid gushing out. Amber Fang landed gracefully on all fours like a cat, before dropping to one knee. Her chest heaved in and out as she panted and clutched her wet gut with one hand still on the ground.

The world was still spinning and she didn't even know how much she was bleeding. The shockwaves of Wild Hog's screams further assaulted her senses as she tried to make sense of the input of her failing sensory organs. The big boss was down temporarily and his men didn't want to risk the same thing happening to them, was her general conclusion of the situation. She forced her heaving body upwards and walked towards the opposite side of the circle of men in a hurry. Her walk was haggard and she clutched her belly.

She was looking extra pitiful and non intimidating. With one hand clutching her stomach wound, she raised her other hand up in a claw position to signal that the next to approach her would suffer the same fate as their boss. She couldn't even physically muster the words as her breathing choked on every heavy breath. Although her facade of strength fooled nobody, the men who stood there split apart like a ripe cabbage to make space for the one that had just dropped their boss and almost 10 of their men.

It wasn't worth it to fuck around and find out if she had the strength to kill one last man.

"KILL HER! KILL HER NOOOOW!" A large bellow came from behind her. Her skin prickled as she imagined fighting anybody in her current state. She limped faster through the pain as the giant man clutched his eyes and howled. His men stood still, each unwilling to be the first to approach her. They were there to make money off of a defenseless tiger cub, not to fight unknown cultivators to the death!

They didn't know much about cultivation levels, but even they knew glowing energy claws that ripped through flesh like chopsticks through butter were pretty high up on the "don't fuck with" list. As young Fang got further away the shouts became more distant, but she could still make out the words, "This isn't over!" Her spine ran cold as she begged her body to move faster.

She staggered forward, plodding one foot in front of the other, trying to put as much distance between herself and the group of roughneck men as possible. Her vision swam with each step, and the trees around her seemed to bend and twist in impossible ways. The loss of blood was taking its toll. Amber had no idea where she was going, the girl only knew that she needed to get away. The forest grew thicker as the dense foliage overhead cast long shadows across the uneven forest ground.

Her breath came in ragged gasps, each inhalation sending fresh pain through her wounded abdomen.

"Need... to... keep... going …" she whispered to herself. Stopping meant death. Those men would be after her as soon as they rallied. How long could they stay afraid of a wounded girl? She suspected the big man who seemed to be the boss wasn't down for the count yet either. Miracles wouldn't happen twice. Her tired foot caught on an exposed root and the girl tumbled forward, landing hard on the forest floor. The impact sent a fresh wave of agony through her body.

For a moment she lay there, face pressed against the earth, with the taste of dirt and blood mixing together in her mouth. As she spit debris from her mouth, young Fang rolled over and tried to use Burning Sun, but her muscle control was nonexistent over her heaving lungs. Rest only seemed to make her breathing more labored as she felt her stinging gut. She had no idea how much blood she'd lost, but she got the feeling she couldn't lose too much more.

With her face laying in the dirt and minerals, Amber Fang dabbled around the edge of unconsciousness as a faint roar became apparent in her eardrums. Her eyelids slowly opened to reveal dim golden eyes glowing softly in the soft forest light. What was that roaring? Of course, it was the Azure river she was supposed to find and travel along on her journey. It was near a major crossroads she was headed to, and an important source of fresh water for travelers. She knew she couldn't travel much farther.

With a new goal, little Fang dragged her body along the subtle downward slope of the leafy terrain. The sound of rushing water grew stronger with each passing moment, calling to her like a promise of safety. As soon as she arrived she fell in, letting the blue water cascade over her ragged body and take her into its cold embrace.