Moonlight filtered through the forest canopy, casting strange shadows throughout. Susu adjusted Li’er on her back, for which felt like the hundredth time. “Li’er is something bothering you? You’ve been unsettled for awhile.” She asked, concerned.
Li’er didn’t answer, but she nodded. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worry about Wei Long,”
Susu froze for a second, not from fear, but from concern. Li’er never spoke to the boy, but the fact that she was worried about her, said much about who she was as a child. To worry about someone she doesn’t know, this child is too precious for a world such as this, She noted.
“I’m worried as well. Don’t worry, we’ll find him, alright?”
“Mmhmm,” Li’er added, nodding again.
Susu pushed through a thick patch of undergrowth, scanning through the darkness, using her Qi-enhanced eyes.
Hong Quan and Wei Zhen were a few meters off from her distance, trying to cover more ground as they hunted for any clues that would lead them to the Phantom Fox Brigades hideout.
An hour passed and Susu began to wonder if she had made the right decision. I shouldn't have brought Li’er with me, Susu thought, ducking under a low-hanging branch. leaving her behind would’ve be worse.
“Master Susu, tracks here. Fresh.” Wei Zhen said, voice cutting through the darkness. Susu moved toward his position, kicking off the ground using her qinggong.
Hong Quan was already there as he was closer, he was crouched low, examining the ground. “Scorpion Maiden, Wagon wheels,” he muttered. “Heavy load...they know how to move through the undergrowth without issue.”
Wei Long, Susu thought, please be alive. The guilt gnawed at her. She should have never let him go alone. Hong Quan's words earlier echoed in her mind. Was she truly so focused on protecting Li’er that she'd endangered another child?
She was and did. Now she had to live with her decision. Push away your negative thoughts, Susu thought, Li’er’s protection is more important to you…you know it!
A sudden breeze carried something that made Susu freeze. “Smoke,” she said sharply, her nose twitching. The scent was strong, fresh – not lingering traces of a campfire, but the scent of something burning.
“There’s a fire!” Luan added, pointing northeast. Through the trees, a faint orange glow was beginning to paint the sky with dark wisp splotches wafting in the sky.
“That has to be their camp!” Hong Quan barked, darting off.
“Wei Zhen…Luan, try to keep up!” Susu commanded, adjusting her grip on Li’er.
They raced through the forest, branches whipping past as they followed the growing light. The scent of smoke growing stronger with each step. Soon they could hear distant shouts carried on the wind.
“There!” Wei Zhen called out, skidding to a stop at the edge of a cliff face.
A wall of rock stretched upward in front of them. It was covered in thick vines and vegetation. Firelight flickered through gaps in the growth, catching the attention of everyone. “Clever,” Hong Quan muttered, running his hand along the vine-covered rock. “Perfect for hiding a base. No wonder no one could find them,”
“This also explains it…” Susu said firmly.
“Explains what Master?” Luan asked.
“Why they only attack at dawn or dusk. It’s hard for us to find us, the vines are thick enough to block flame embers but for some reasons the fire is possibly bigger than usual.”
The sounds of chaos grew louder – shouts, crashes, the distinct ring of weapons being drawn. Through the gaps in the vines, they could see figures rushing about, illuminated by growing flames that were consuming multiple tents.
“Everyone! step back, I’ll make an opening.”
Susu grabbed his arm before he could move forward. “Wait. This is their territory. They’ll know every escape route. We need to be smart about this.”
“We don’t have the time Scorpion Maiden! Wei Long could be in there…who else would’ve started multiple fires?”
“You may be righ—“
“ENOUGH!” Hong Quan snapped, closing his eyes and arced his sword back and spoke firmly. “Celestial Tempest Sword Stance: Third Stance - Burden of the Heavens.”
The air grew dense around Hong Quan as he held his stance, his blade hummed with otherworldly resonance. Qi flowed through his sword creating ripples in the atmosphere, like invisible waves distorting the very space around the blade.
As each second passed, the sword’s glow intensified from a subtle shimmer to a piercing white light that cast long shadows across the vine-covered wall.
Hong Quan brought his sword down in a horizontal slash that barely touched the vines. His blade made contact, as if drawing down the weight of the sky itself.
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The blade’s passage created a distinctive sound, starting as a whisper but building to a deep, resonant thrum that vibrated in the bones of those watching.
The vines weren’t cut… they compressed and then exploded outward as the accumulated force became too much to bear.
The destruction spread in a perfect arc, with debris flying backward in a cascading wave. Where the sword passed, the vegetation didn't just tear but disintegrated, pulverized by the overwhelming pressure.
The rock face began to crack and splinter, unable to withstand the concentrated force of the technique and the entirety of the tunnel was exposed.
Hong Quan lowered his sword, still humming with Qi. He turned to face everyone and looked them dead in the eye. “Let’s make this quick…”
Susu turned to Wei Zhen and Luan. She adjusted Li’er on her back wrapped her hand around Scourge.
“Use the Iron Claw Formation when you’re crowded, but still battle individually, you’re not that good to fight on your own with it, understood?”
“Yes Master,”
“Good.
“Are y’all done talking?”
“Yes,”
Hong Quan created darted through the tunnel, leaving them behind. Susu kissed her teeth in annoyance and followed. As they emerged from the secret tunnel, chaos was erupting before them. The base had multiple campfires around them, but that wasn’t what caught their attention.
Six tents around the edges of the camp were being consumed by fire. It was clear someone had lit them afire. Three of the nine tents weren’t consumed, which made Susu hope the cure for the poison wasn’t destroyed.
“Wei Long!” Hong Quan shouted over the roar of flames.
The bandits turned as one, their surprise turning to savage grins as they recognized the intruders. “The Alliance!” one screamed.
“Kill them ALL!”
“You could try,” Hong Quan said coldly.
Three men charged at them from the left and Susu cracked Scourge. She caught the first bandit across the chest, then the remaining two. Another two men tried to push her back, but she Scourge around her, then pressed forward with precise strikes that made them cower.
Hong Quan then stepped forward, taking on another wave. As his sword still had residual Qi within it, it was like seeing the moon in blade form as he cut through them with ease, but that didn’t stop the Brigade from pivoting.
The bandits reformed into groups of three, and began converging on him, but that didn’t matter, he deflected and redirected attack after attack with such ease, Susu couldn’t help but be impress. “Wei Zhen…Luan, this is why he is called Cold Steel…no emotion in his sword.”
A group of three broke past Hong Quan and charged to the left, they sped past him and charged at Susu, who in their eyes was at a disadvantage as she held Zhao Li on her back.
Wei Zhen appeared to Susu’s left, deflecting the first set of attacks with his Guiding Fists. The soft fist style was known for its slow pace, but its fluidity was its strong point, especially when it was enhanced with Qi.
A sword slash sliced his arm, forcing him to stumble backwards. He redirected another strike that would’ve opened his throat.
“Wei Zhen!” Luan shouted, trying to reach him. He enshrouded his Qi around his hands, initialising his Iron Shredding Claws. He met the bandit to Wei Zhen’s left, then tore his arm off.
“SONG!” a bandit roar, seeing his brother in arms drop to the ground. A club caught Luan in the ribs, then a loud snap followed, sending him to the ground, but he kicked himself up, trying to save face.
Susu watched her disciples struggling and kicked back, giving herself enough room. She cracked Scourge in a wider arc, trying to create space.
They bandits swerved, avoiding Scourge, which forced her to choose between defending herself and helping her disciples.
“They’ve trained for this,” Hong Quan warned, his sword meeting three attackers at once.
A massive brute charged through the smoke, wielding a war hammer. Hong Quan parried the strike, but the force sent vibrations through his sword arm.
The delay cost him.
A spear thrust caught his thigh and he hissed out, flustered. He pivoted to left, then sliced off the hands of the brute with ease.
A knife slash strike Wei Zhen’s side, which made him whimpered in ragged gasps. He spun out of the attack, then stepped in, hitting his attacker in the chest.
Blood ran down his side, as his deflections grew slower, which forced him to retreat more than he wanted.
Luan intercepted another attack aimed at Wei Zhen’s head, fighting through the pain in his ribs. But the Brigade moved like a single organism, covering each other’s weaknesses…just like the Iron Claw formation.
Their numbers were why they had the advantage, and it was evidently so, which made Susu flustered.
“THE RUNTS ARE FALLING!” someone shouted. “FOCUS ON THEM!”
The brigade began to swarm Wei Zhen and Luan. Hong Quan tried to intercept, but a iron fan wielder appeared from nowhere and stopped his charge.
Susu’s cleared a path for them to escape, but a woman dressed in green flowing robes caught the tip of Scourge, and smiled menacingly back at her.
“There’s no need for the struggle…don’t you agree Scorpion Maiden?” The woman still smiling.
“Agreed…Cold Steel Quan and Susu the Scorpion Maiden, never would I thought I’d see the day that you two would team up…”
“HOLD!” The man called out.
The bandits stopped their attacks, withdrawing behind their obvious leaders.
Susu slid across the ground, striking Wei Zhen and Luan in their acupoints. “Control your breathing and try your beast to ease the pain with your Qi…” She told them.
“WHERE’S WEI LONG?!” Hong Quan demanded, his sword thrumming with Qi.
“Our weapons are smeared with poison,” The woman said, waving a small vial in her head. The contents gleamed green in the firelight. “You’ll need this antidote. A special brew of my own making.”
“DON’T USE YOUR QI HONG QUAN!” Susu screamed.
Hong Quan’s grip tightened around his sword as he glared at the woman in green robes. His wroth was evident, but he didn’t attack.
“Give us the antidote.” Susu snapped, “it’s clear you don’t want an extended fight with us…you wouldn’t have called off your men.”
“You’re correct. We don’t want an extended fight, especially with the Heavy Sword Sect.” The woman said coyly.
“…nor the Golden Bowl Sect,” The man with the iron fan added.
“Enough! State your price!”
The woman chuckled, twirling the vial between her fingers and began pacing back and forth. “Fifty. Gold. Coins. For the antidote...and Wei Long’s life.”
Susu narrowed her eyes in frustration. Fifty gold coins was exorbitant. That amount could feed a village of fifty for five years, comfortably.
“That’s the annual budget for three Martial Art Alliance command office…you know we can’t afford it!”
“Then I'm afraid those disciples of yours and Hong Quan will DIE!”
“No!” Hong Quan snapped. He charged forward, only to be met by a wall of weapons. The Phantom Fox Brigade had regrouped, their blades and clubs ready to strike.
“STOP!” Susu growled, “I’ll pay.”
“Susu, you don't have that kind of—“
“I said I’ll pay!” Susu repeated, her voice like steel. She reached into her robes, pulling out a small pouch. “Take it. But you'd better hold up your end of the bargain.”
Susu tossed it her and the woman snatched out of the air, her eyes gleamed with triumph. “Excellent.”
She opened the pouch the check the coin and anger appeared on her face. “You LYING BITCH!”
“KILL THEM!”
“Luan, WATCH LI’ER…I’LL HOLD THEM OFF.”
Zhao Li slid off Susu’s back and ran towards Luan. Hong Quan furrowed his bro from surprised, he kicked off three attackers, then deflected a slashed aimed at his throat. “Susu, what are you—“
“Protect my daughter and students” She snapped, cracking Scourge. “I'm going to end this, Hong Quan…One way or another.”