Lixue stares at the clouds floating by as she replays the match in her head. Starting from the moment her father’s Cannon took her Elephant and checked her General in the same move. The pieces race back and forth in every possible feasible combination, playing out one by one before resetting to that moment, as Lixue tries to look for a different path towards victory. She closes her eyes, pausing the replay on a strange move that her father made.
“Did you see it?” Her father chuckles as he resets the board to the same state as the moment he captured Lixue’s Elephant.
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Dan's disdainful glare softens upon hearing Wei’s voice. His eyes follow Wei as he steps past him, placing his weary body between Dan and the two approaching masked men.
Dan gently helps Anning regain her footing upon feeling her trembling subside. Time seems to slow down as Dan surveys the battlefield once more. The remaining eight masked figures are about five breaths away from converging. Although four have already met their end, Dan recognizes that their overconfidence and underestimation of his classmates were their downfall.
Observing the weakened state of Anning, Wei, and Xi after expending their energy on a single decisive strike, Dan worries that the battle will only grow more challenging unless he can somehow carve out a path to victory.
Dan's eyes sweep over his classmates as he calculates how long they can hold on. Almost instantly, he shakes off the thought. There is no point in trying to endure. Attempting to weather the storm is one thing, but it's a futile effort if everyone crumbles before the storm passes.
He fixes his gaze on his instructor's body, lying far in the distance, assessing the possibilities as the masked men draw closer. Dan kills this thought as well, knowing that the moment he attempts to expel the poison from his instructor's body, he'll draw the wrath of that man.
Dan then turns his attention to the man standing beside his instructor. If he's the one issuing commands, Dan guesses that he must possess the ability to do so. Confronting him directly isn't an option. Estimating that he can endure three strikes before every bone in his body shatters, Dan furrows his brows.
There has to be a way.
He holds onto hope, not wanting to throw away the life that Chunhua and Anning suffered to save. He scans the battlefield once more as the battle breaks out behind him. The sounds of his classmates’ desperate struggle ring in his ears, distracting him from analyzing his options.
He turns around to assist his classmates, praying that the leader of the masked men won’t snap out of his daze and interfere. As he watches the battle unfold before him, Dan glances at the crevice beneath the elm tree. He glances back at the battlefield, noting everyone’s current struggle to stay on their feet.
Anning, Xi, Maoyi, Wei… Hold on a little lon-
Dan pauses his thoughts as his eyes grow bright. He turns away from the skirmish.
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"INSTRUCTOR HUE!" Dan's voice rings across the valley.
As the clash continues to unfold around him, Dan stares straight across the torrential downpour into the eyes of the man standing beside Sun's unconscious body. The man's eyes widen before breaking away from Sun, turning toward the direction of the voice to meet Dan's gaze. Ignoring the masked man pushing Wei sliding through his line of sight, Dan takes a step forward.
"Is your head a decoration?”
Sensing the slight rippling change in air pressure coming from his side, Dan stomps his foot down, kicking himself into a sideways slide. The palm smashes through empty air before slamming against the puddle beneath where Dan was standing.
"I saved you from certain death.” Unfazed by the attack, Dan advances forward as his voice continues to ring across the valley.
Sensing another shift in air pressure from behind his back coming from below, Dan sweeps his foot forward, shifting his body weight to dodge the palm as it barely grazes past his chest and chin.
"Yet, you come running back-"
Another palm, this time from above, aiming for his neck. Dan shifts his foot forward, leaning into the fall. The palm whiffs through the empty air as Dan stretches both of his hands onto the ground, redirecting his falling momentum upwards. As he springs back onto his feet, Dan continues to step toward the man he believes- no, the man he knows to be Instructor Hue.
"You come running back to throw it away.”
As another strike chases after his elusive figure, a menacing laughter causes the entire battlefield to freeze.
"GIEHAHAHAHA! EVERYONE FALL BACK!" The maniacal laughter, followed by the firm command, redirects all eyes onto the man. He rips off his mask as he points his blade toward Dan. "You're a sharp one! I think I'm going to change my mind again. How about I use your head to decorate my sword?"
“You think you can?” Dan, unfazed by the threat, smirks as he feels the window to victory opening. “You? A pathetic excuse for a martial artist? You? A pathetic fool who pissed his pants beneath the feet of some no-name instructor? You? A pathetic traitor who can’t recognize a second chance even if it shat in your mouth?”
Dan quickly gauges the distance between them, pausing his steps and shifting his feet just past his shoulders as he bends his knees. He slowly sweeps one hand upwards in front of him with the palm facing the sky. He pauses as the fingertips line up between his eyes and Instructor Hue. His other arm spins in an arc, starting at his side, moving outwards and up. The palm descends slowly, hovering just above the elbow of his other arm.
“GIEHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Who’s your master? What family?!” Instructor Hue’s laughter rings across the valley again. Despite the crashing rain, his voice still reigns prevalent. He slides his sword back into his sheathe before lowering his stance. “I just changed my mind again. I’m going to toy with you until you beg for death. I’m going to rip that filthy tongue from your throat and watch as you ch-”
“You talk too much. If your head is a decoration, best keep it that way.”
Instructor Hue feels his blood boil as he glares at the boy who cut him off. Without saying anything, he changes his mind once more. He lifts his heels, disappearing from sight as he charges straight at Dan. His deep blue hair, freed from his mask, flutters wildly behind him as he crashes through the rain towards his target. With a clenched fist, Instructor Hue pulls back his arms as he draws closer.
Upon arriving, he explodes forth, smashing his fist into Dan. A smile creeps up across his face as he watches Dan disappear into the torrential downpour. He glances down at his hand, wiggling his fingers around as he savors the sensation of bones breaking.
A moment later, a crash echoes out as Dan smashes against the ground far from the main battle.
“Now then, precious little tokens.” The smile on his face opens into a grin as he steps towards the students. He sends his aura out to intimidate them into submission. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble for one night. Kneel so we can end this cleanly. Else, this instructor doesn’t mind cutting off a few limbs.”