The Wushi stared at the town in the distance. So far, her treks through the underworld had been filled with nothing but strife and bloodshed, without a single moment of peace. Yaoguai kept rushing towards her mindlessly in these dead lands, which has resulted in her having to run more often than not.
However, that did not mean she was a coward. Yes, she may have had to turn tail and flee, but she needed to conserve her energy to maintain her strength in case there were stronger foes out there.
That being said, she didn’t have high expectations for this place. There didn’t seem to be any kind of defenses, no walls, nothing to provide safety and comfort. While yes, there were homes built, most of them seemed shoddily done and rushed. Heck, some of those buildings didn’t even have any kind of roofing built on top, which would allow some monsters to easily climb in and kill the inhabitants.
She couldn’t get why they’d ignore something like that. Wouldn’t a lack of a cover result in a cold home that would make it nearly impossible to go to sleep? After all, throughout her life as a martial artist, she had slept in some dilapidated buildings that lacked several holes in the roof before. She knew the pain and horrors of fighting the harsh cold winds and insects that flew in through those openings.
The Wushi shuddered and clung to her robes, before shaking off that awful sensation and looking down at the town once more. She squinted as she could see a large group of people carrying tools and equipment move towards the center of these makeshift buildings, before going ahead and working on what appeared to be a platform.
They were building with mysterious materials that she did not recognize in her small adventure. They worked with what seemed to be a black tar that seemed to solidify within a few seconds, as well as what were green sticks that were jammed in to help bring the substance to shape.
She found herself getting closer to the town, her bandaged feet going through the strange undergrowth that tickled her ankles quite harshly. She walked with ease, finding herself a bit excited to go and meet with these natives for the first time.
That being said, she was not enthusiastic about the hospitality that would be offered by these people. She hadn’t found any vegetation that seemed edible as of yet, most of them with unappealing colors and sensation that made it clear as day that they were not meant to be eaten. She hadn’t found any animals that were downright normal, all of them some form of yaoguai that made them completely unappealing and a bit scary to even bite into.
That didn’t help with the fact that they would rot the instant they were killed, but that was explainable. Simply with the fact that they were so full of impurities that the moment they died, their qi went wild and would force a self-destruction to undergo in order for all the good karma to escape back into the world.
“Halt!”
Yes, such a thing was necessary to bring life back to those in the mortal world. After all, the world had to have a place to store all the evil that humans created. This was what the underworld was for, no?
“Hey! I told you to stop!”
Was it? She couldn’t recall. She remembered her master talking more about karma, the cycle of life, and the way the world was meant to go, but she could not remember the finer points of those arguments. In fact, she was drawing a blank on some of the lectures he had levied upon her every day.
After all, his voice did drone on and on and sometimes the sun was just so warm and refreshing that she had to lay down and take a rest. Sometimes she wasn’t really feeling the urge to listen to a long rant and wanted to go ahead and practice her martial arts. Sometimes–
Her instincts flared. She didn’t hesitate for a single second.
Her left hand went and slapped away the incoming strike from the enemy. The man in front of her balked at the sight, but he didn’t have long before she made her next move.
Quick as a leaping snake, her arm went out and snatched the spear right out of his hands. The man gasped as she twirled the pole in her hands, before aiming the blunt end right at his throat. She could see the sweat begin to pour down his face as she gave him a simple cheeky grin.
“Hey! Get away from him!”
Immediately, a group of five men dressed in what appeared to be wooden armor rushed towards her, each of them wielding those black spears with tense arms. One of them seemed to shake a little bit, before shaking his head and getting closer. They all aimed their weapons right at her, something that she found a bit disrespectful.
What had she done so horribly wrong that they decided to teach her like some common criminal? Why, she had not done much to warrant such a hostile response!
“Pardon me, but what is with this reaction? Are you all not going overboard with your greetings?”
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“You say that as you wield one of our men’s arms!” One of them shouted, giving her a bit of pain in her ears from how loud he was being, “You ignored his requests to stop and kept on going! You dare try to play ignorant to your crimes?”
“Crimes? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” She chuckled as she took a step back.
However, it did not seem that her attempt at levity was successful, as the warriors moved up closer to her. Each of them growled as they kept coming closer, some of them raising their weapons in an act to strike.
Well. This was quite the escalation. Nevertheless, if they dared to continue on, then they would force her to show her hand. And by that, she would have to show them exactly why their actions were wrong.
“I am going to give you one chance,” she said with a grimace, “Please, back up so we can talk this out. We do not need to fight this day.”
“Peh! Fight, huh?” One of the men spat.
However, her words did seem to have an effect on some of the people present, as two of them lowered their spears slightly. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough, as the others still kept their guard up.
“I will not warn you again,” the Wushi spoke harshly. “Let us not do anything we will regret, okay?”
“Regret? I’ll show you regret!”
The same loudmouth that had shouted earlier rushed forward with his spear, aiming to pierce right through her body and put an end to her life. He moved quite well despite the armor, his speed quite impressive and his strength nothing to scoff at. For a peasant, that is.
She, however, was a trained warrior who had spent years of her life practicing the martial path. She had spent all her life building her body and her foundation to ensure she would be able to protect people from bandits and all sorts of horrendous beasts. A jumped-up excited fighter did not even scratch the bit of her worries, especially one who did not grasp the understanding of tactics.
No, she supposed she would have to do something about this. Yes, the best way to teach someone…
…was with direct experience.
The man cried out in shock as his charge was halted with the blunt end of the spear. He staggered back, his cheeks puffed out and his breath taken out in a single move, before getting himself knocked down with a single swipe of the spear.
The armor did nothing against the might of the Wushi. He went down without a single bit of effort, making the rest of his compatriots stagger back in shock and fear. They kept their spears up, all of them aimed at her, but now they did not seem as confident as before. No, more than that, their morale had been crushed and all thoughts of continuing the fight had crumbled into dust and ash.
She smiled at them, causing them to flinch and step back even more. She couldn’t help but smirk as she twirled the spear towards her shoulder. The other men dropped their weapons in shock and surprise. They all stared at her, hearts pumping and thoughts swirling on what her next move was. Did she plan to come and strike all of them at once? Was she planning to throw her spear?
Such thoughts were certainly running through their heads. However, the Wushi was not some kind of brute. No, she was like the swan: graceful, elegant, and merciful. If she were to fight, she would dance beautifully, something worthy of song.
Though, she wasn’t planning to do so. She was a bit at fault for this whole situation to begin with, if that man’s words were to be believed. Something about how she didn’t listen to orders to stop? Yeah, that did kinda sound like her…
Thus, it fell on her to do the right thing.
They all stared with confusion as she proceeded to let go of the spear and let it fall to the ground without a single word. With that, she returned a bigger smile, before going ahead and bowing down slightly.
“My apologies. I didn't mean to cause any trouble with you all, I was merely looking for a place to stay.”
Her sincerity seemed to have touched some of the men present, as two of them proceeded to put their spears away. However, not all of them were convinced, as the remaining two still kept their guard up.
Thankfully, she wasn’t finished with her apology as of yet.
“I swear I did not hear him yelling. I was too distracted by the marvels of what you were creating and I did beg for all of us to try to calm the situation down before he rushed at me. I merely committed myself to defend against such a horrible assault and I made sure to hold back to prevent any major injuries. So please, let us put this awful situation behind us and move forward, shall we?”
Each of the men looked at each other, before looking back at the Wushi. Slowly, the remaining two put their spears away, though all of them kept their eyes on her.
Thus, with everything a lot calmer than before, the Wushi raised her head and offered a big old smile.
“Well, I suppose it is time for introductions. I am one that has been chosen by the heavens to help deliver peace and sanctuary to this underworld,” she said, “and I have found that you all are in dire need of assistance.”
The men all looked amongst each other at her words, before turning back to her with incredulous looks.
“What exactly do you mean by that? You knocked out Manfred!”
“Yes, but that is because he started it.” The Wushi nodded sagely, “For you see, this was naught but an avoidable circumstance had he listened to my warning. Unfortunately, he chose to go on the flight of the mosquito and I thus had to deliver heavenly retribution, lest he attract a swarm of bad karma for his evil deeds.”
“I… what?”
“Nevertheless, this topic is not important at this time.” With that, the Wushi smiled widely. “No, the important thing is that I am here to help you all defend your village and make sure you will no longer have to worry about the horde of monsters that roam these lands.”
“So, any questions?”