The best-laid plans often go awry.
If you find yourself injured and imprisoned in a cave with the target you are supposed to rescue, well, it’s safe to say that something went wrong.
“Doctor Sang. Please forgive our incompetence.”
The young man sighed in frustration. Any hope of breaking free was dashed as the last of his Ki was siphoned by the shackles binding his hands.
“Bah, you fool. Don’t worry about me, whatever evil faction is holding us still needs me. You’re one foot in the grave, worry about yourself.”
The old man looked annoyed, but it was clear that he was concerned. The young man in front of him was in a sorry state. He’d need a thorough examination, but if his tattered robes were any indication then he suffered several internal injuries. The only intact part of his clothing was the blooming plum blossom over his chest.
‘Dammit, the sect mission was clear cut. Our preparations were adequate, and the stealth formation remained unbroken. We should have successfully cleared the mission.’
His head lowered.
The mission claimed that the renowned doctor was captured by rogue cultivators. The leeches of the martial world. The mission was supposed to be simple. Except that the information provided was false, the people his team encountered were not some unqualified scavengers, they were trained by a sect. The fighting ability was at a higher level than planned for, and they used techniques belonging to an evil faction.
‘All that could have been handled. Even if the rescue mission failed we should have been able to escape. Yet, they knew we were coming. The ambush was prepared on the path we were taking. The only explanation is that this was a trap from the beginning.”
The young man looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was coming. No, there were two people. The second person was being dragged.
Click, Clank
The door opened and the light of the torches made everyone grimace away.
“Get in.”
The cold voice was followed by something dropping on the floor.
The young man looked up just in time to see the foot kick an injured person into their cell.
“Ugh!”
The injured person flinched in pain as his back hit the stone wall.
“Du Chao!”
The young man recognized the injured person straight away, relieved and worried in equal measure.
“You Bastards!”
“Heh. Good. Get angry, I’m going to enjoy seeing that look turn into one filled with fear.”
The man had a satisfied smirk on his face.
“When I get out of here I’ll—”
Before the young man finished their captor blurred forward and grabbed him by the throat.
“Kurgh!”
“You’ll what? It seems you still can’t recognize the situation that you’re in.”
Slap!
With his Ki depleted the motion was too fast to see. The palm strike snapped his head to the side turning the world black for a second before his vision returned. He saw the captor turn into two people, then three.
Slap!
“You’re never getting out of here. When I’m done, this will be your unmarked grave.”
Slap!
“Stop it! His Ki is gone, a few more hits like that and you’ll break his neck. You can’t interrogate a dead man.”
The doctor’s agitation stopped the next hit mid-swing.
“Tsk. Count yourself lucky.”
The captor walked away, closing the door behind him.
The young man spat out some blood from his cut lip and sat back up.
‘These evil bastards are enjoying this.’
“Leader… Fang… You’re alive!”
Du Chao sounded haggard. Lei Fang turned and smirked.
“I’ve seen better days. Still, I look better than your sorry self. How’s everyone else?”
He tried to make light of the situation to put his junior at ease, but they both knew that making it out of this place would take a miracle.
“I’m not sure. We were all dragged to different—”
Click, click.
Clank.
The sound made everyone look up in confusion. Why was the door opening again so early? Are they taking someone out for questioning or moving the doctor?
The same captor appeared at the doorway. Lei Fang glared back in defiance.
“Get ready.”
He whispered to Du Chao; they need to try to escape. The longer they stayed the worse their situation became. Even if he died in the attempt he’ll at least die fighting.
The captor opened his mouth and coughed up blood. His eyes trembled as he leaned forward and then toppled to the ground.
A figure stood behind the fallen cultivator, a bloody dagger in his hand.
“Are you Leader Lei Fang?”
A hood covered the figure’s head and from the muffled voice, it seemed that his mouth was also covered.
“Who are you?”
Lei Fang hesitated at the sound of his full name, but the death of the evil cultivator eased his hostility. Still, he remained on guard. The man in front of him was dangerous.
“I guess I’m here to rescue… the rescuers.”
There was a hint of amusement in his voice. The doctor suppressed a laugh making Lei Fang turn a slight shade of red. Before he could say anything the hooded man tossed a key in front of him.
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“The key should work on all the shackles. You have ten breaths to release everyone and follow me.”
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With a weapon in hand and his Ki returning Lei Fang felt a surge of hope. There was a chance now. Du Chao carried the doctor on his back and with this mysterious man they should be able to make it back to the sect and return with help.
He grit his teeth. The situation was not ideal. Abandoning his team made his blood boil but fighting an entire camp will only lead to them being captured again. He needed to retreat. With his resolve set, he walked out the door and froze.
Bodies. Dead bodies lay across the floor of the cave. They were the bodies of the Evil cultivators.
‘How…Clean cuts with hardly any resistance. There are too many, we should have heard something.’
The hooded man, whom Lei Fang was almost certain was an assassin, moved forward without pausing. No sound could be heard from his footsteps.
Lei Fang moved faster to catch up.
“Which sect are you from? How many people are with you?”
“Can’t answer the first question and I’m the only one here to get you out.”
Lei Fang nearly tripped. Alone? Who the hell is crazy enough to infiltrate a camp of cultivators alone? Wait. He managed to kill all these people by himself.
‘In complete stealth.’
One of the side doors in front of them opened.
Slam!
“Man, these righteous cultivators are a pain in the ass."
‘An enemy!’
Lei Fang’s heart raced; his Ki was only a quarter filled. If he utilized a movement technique then he might have enough to—
A second cultivator walked out.
“We’ll be moving the doctor in a few hours so—"
‘Dammit, what terrible luck.’
The enemy cultivators turned and saw them. Their eyes went wide for a fraction of a breath before they reached for their swords.
‘From the sound of footsteps, there’s one more inside the room. Staying quiet is not an option anymore, I need to use a Ki technique to take them out all at once.’
Lei Fang began to move his Ki, but a figure flashed from beside him.
The enemy cultivator tried to pull his sword, forgoing infusing Ki for speed. The assassin didn’t pause, he didn’t draw his dagger or sword, he kicked the half-pulled sword back into the scabbard and used that leverage to kick the cultivator’s head, breaking their neck.
“You—Kurgh!”
The second cultivator was cut off as he received a palm to the jaw, followed by a knife through his mouth, making him fall on the third cultivator. Confusion added to the chaos as the third cultivator tried to move away but a dagger landed in his eye killing him instantly.
Dead. All three died within a breath. The assassin pulled the knives and cleaned them on the body of the dead man before making them disappear.
‘Which sect made this monster? He didn’t even pull out his sword.’
“We’ll move faster from this point on. I’ll take care of the enemies. Don’t use Ki attacks unless you’re in danger.”
“Y-yes.”
Lei Fang wiped the sweat from his face. Injured and exhausted he didn’t have the energy to say anything. He knew that he was being treated as a burden, still, there was nothing he could do but follow from behind.
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Thwip. Thwip.
Two daggers flew. Two bodies fell.
Their pace was faster, they were sprinting within enemy territory. Lei Fang barely had time to think. there was no time to worry or come up with a strategy the assassin was reaping the halls of the cave.
‘Voices ahead. More than we encountered so far, they’re just beyond the upcoming turn!’
Lei Fang slowed his pace and grabbed his sword. The enemies were coming from a blind spot, there were too many in a group to face alone this time. The best choice is to wait for them to come and surprise them. Still, the commotion will put an end to the stealth.
‘This will get harder from here on out.’
The assassin didn’t slow down. He dashed forward.
‘What the hell is he doing?!’
He wanted to scream. They were in a perfect position. He thought that the assassin was calm, acting like this was too reckless.
Lei fang barely caught up in time to see the assassin unsheathe his sword. Two daggers were already flying towards targets.
The first cultivator had his back turned and so the smile was still on his face as his head rolled on the ground. The other two cultivators fell like dolls with their strings cut, one with a dagger in his throat and the other with a dagger through the temple.
The other two cultivators drew their swords and struck in unison. The assassin clashed with the first sword, parrying the attack, and twisted into the path of the second sword. He was too close to the enemy to attack with his sword, so he didn’t. An attached dagger slid from his forearm and slit the cultivator’s throat.
The assassin turned the falling cultivator, using his body to block the attack of his comrade then he stabbed the dying cultivator in the back, piercing through and into the last attacker. Killing them both.
The reaper continued forward after retrieving his knives.
Lei Fang stared at the back of the monster. These weren’t the tactics of the righteous sect or any faction for that matter, this person was too reckless, too wild. He forced his legs to move, he didn’t want to think about what the hell just happened.
The light at the end of the tunnel gave him the strength to move forward. The assassin stopped at the entrance of the cave.
“Stop for sixty breaths.”
Lei Fang tilted his head in confusion.
“…Why?”
To answer his question the assassin turned and looked back into the cave.
Du Chao was breathing heavily barely able to stand. He was no longer carrying the doctor as they were both supporting each other.
‘They’re both too exhausted. I assumed they could catch up. I didn’t consider that the doctor is not a warrior and that Du Chao is still too weakened.’
Lei Fang looked back to the hooded figure who was already scouting the entrance.
‘He’s taking all factors into account. He’s not as reckless as I assumed.’
Then he noticed that there was blood just under the hood. Was this person injured? No. Not blood, red hair. That was unusual. Lei Fang has seen a few people with that unique hair color. He must be from the south. What’s he doing so far west?
“Are you from the south? Near the Shi Jian Region?”
For the first time since their meeting, the assassin stood absolutely still.
‘Am I correct?’
“We’re moving.”
Lei Fang didn’t push anymore and followed behind.
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They walked through the thick coverage of the forest and into a relatively open area. Always following the person ahead of them. They didn’t encounter any more enemies, but they were still on guard. The tension was still there. Something had to go wrong.
Then a voice called out.
“Leader!”
“You’re okay!”
“You look like crap!”
Multiple voices called out at once and several figures revealed themselves from their hidden positions.
‘They’re alive! Thank the heavens.’
Lei Fang gave a wide smile and breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s good to see you too. Except for Zhang Hong, for disrespecting your senior I’ll go visit your mother upon our return. We’ll ask her together if I look like crap.”
Howls of laughter followed.
Lei Fang lifted a hand and asked the first question on his mind.
“How did you end up here?”
Zhang Hong eager to change the subject answered immediately.
“That person set us free. He brought us here and went back for you.”
Lei Fang saw the hooded figure staring directly at him.
“My mission ends here. Follow the map I gave to your subordinates; it will lead you towards the search party looking for you.”
Lei Fan bowed without hesitation.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for that. The mission was completed.”
Lei Fang nodded back, at this point that goes for both of them. Doctor Sang looked tired but he was alive at least.
‘Whatever faction he belongs to, he’s too big to remain unheard of. Sooner or later, we’ll meet again.’
Lei Fang smiled at his savior and lifted a hand to clasp his forearms.
“Mission or not, I owe you my life and so do my subordinates. So, until a time that I can repay this debt, I will offer my thanks.”
The assassin tilted his head down at the offered hand.
Before either of them moved the sky abruptly turned dark as clouds emerged. The assassin looked up then whipped his head to the side, spotting something in the distance.
The sky cracked as lightning began to descend.
‘A technique scroll!’
Lei Fang felt the color drain from his face.
“Get down!”
The assassin flung Lei Fang to the side and threw his sword in the air meeting the falling lightning bolt.
Everyone looked up in surprise before the world went white.
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Lei Fang opened his eyes or at least tried to. One eye was closed shut from the blood covering that side of his face.
“Ugh…”
He tried to stand up, but the world spun as he finally heard the ringing in his head.
‘I can barely move; I was caught within the stun radius of the technique. How’s everyone else and the doctor?’
As the dust began to clear he caught sight of everyone taking cover behind a large boulder. They were covered in minor injuries but still alive. A blackened sword lay broken at the center of the explosion.
‘That sword belongs to…’
Clash!
‘Fighting? Swords?’
Beyond the dust cloud, he saw the hooded figure weaving and clashing with multiple enemies. His arms didn’t stop, throwing daggers and using various weapons that the enemies dropped.
Except… Something was different. The man’s hood was no longer there. The explosion must have knocked it down. It revealed something that made Lei Fang freeze in place.
‘That can’t be…’
The hooded man was not a man at all.
He was just a kid.
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One year later. In the Shi Jian Region, the Juru sect.
“Good morning everyone~”
The instructor spoke in a loud and clear voice. All attention turned towards the front of the lecture hall.
Whispers immediately rang out; the teacher was not alone. Besides her was a tall figure with red hair and green eyes. He stood with a slight smile on his face.
As if a wave moved with that smile, the girls began to blush.
‘He’s so handsome~’
‘Kyah! We finally have someone like him in our class~’
Seeing this reaction, the guys immediately took a dislike towards this person.
‘This asshole…’
‘I wanna punch that smirk off his face.’
“He recently transferred to our school and will be joining us from today onwards. Please introduce yourself.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His voice was strong and confident.
“My name is Jia Shun.”