Rain falls as if heaven itself is grieving.
Thick sheets descend from the darkened sky, striking rooftops, stone pavements, and docked ships with relentless rhythm. The harbour trembles beneath the downpour. Masts sway. Ropes creak. Ships tied along the dock dance upon restless waves, hulls knocking softly against wood and stone as if bowing to the storm.
The sea churns.
Wind carries the scent of salt and wet timber.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, the downpour begins to thin.
The roar softens into steady rain.
Then, through a tear in the clouds, a blade of sunlight pierces downward from the zenith. Golden rays spill across the flooded streets, shimmering upon pooled rainwater like molten metal. Light and rain coexist, the sky half-weeping, half-blessing.
Through the empty street rolls a carriage.
Chu Feng's man grips the reins tightly, urging the horses forward through shallow floods. The wheels cut through water, leaving rippling trails behind. Beside him inside the carriage sit Chu Feng and Diexin.
The streets remain deserted.
Doors closed.
Windows shuttered.
Only rain and wind bear witness.
As they enter Harbour Street, nearing the docks,
A faint metallic twang cuts through the sound of rain.
Chu Feng's eyes flash.
A spiritual object within his sleeve activates instantly.
Dragon Scale Shield.
Golden light blooms outward.
A translucent shield forms around the carriage.
But it is late.
The driver jerks violently.
Dozens of bolts pierce through him in a single instant.
The horses scream.
Their bodies are riddled with arrows, turned into grotesque hedgehogs of steel.
They collapse forward.
The carriage lurches violently.
The front crashes downward as the horses fall.
Wood splinters.
Rainwater splashes high.
Before the carriage fully collapses,
The side panel explodes outward.
Chu Feng bursts through.
Dragon Qi coils around him like living armour, scales of light flashing along his limbs.
He raises one hand.
Dragon bolts roar outward.
Golden streaks tear through the rain toward masked figures crouched on surrounding rooftops, crossbows still smoking.
The bolts strike with explosive force.
Several assassins are killed instantly.
Others are blasted backwards, tumbling from rooftops into flooded streets below, some groaning, some unmoving.
Chu Feng does not pause.
He turns forward.
Ahead in the rain-drenched street,
Three figures step out slowly.
Masks.
Cloaks were soaked dark.
Inner Qi aura rolling from them.
Behind him,
Two more figures emerge from the alley shadows.
Same realm.
Diexin steps out of the broken carriage.
Rain streaks down her face.
Her expression is cold.
"You take care of the front," she says calmly. "I take care of the two behind."
Chu Feng nods.
"Be careful. My men will sense my aura. They'll come."
Diexin does not respond.
Butterfly qi wings bloom from her back, delicate yet sharp, glowing faintly even beneath rain.
She moves.
Afterimages trail behind her as she darts toward the two assassins behind them.
Her sword flashes.
Steel meets steel.
The two figures move in coordination, blades slicing through rain.
Diexin pivots lightly, wings adjusting her balance mid-air. Her sword arcs upward, forcing one assassin back while she twists to deflect the other's thrust.
Rain splashes around their feet as they trade rapid strikes.
Chu Feng steps forward.
Dragon claw qi forms around his right hand, golden, sharp, curved.
His left arm bears the Dragon Scale Shield.
He charges.
The three assassins attack simultaneously.
One thrusts a spear of condensed qi.
Another slashes downward with a curved blade.
The third lunges low toward his legs.
Chu Feng raises the shield.
The spear slams into it, rippling the golden surface.
He twists his body, dragon claw striking outward.
The qi claw tears across the nearest assassin's chest, sending him staggering back.
He does not pursue.
He must stall.
He cannot expend too much energy.
His aura spreads deliberately.
He allows it to flare.
A signal.
His men in the city will feel it.
Behind him, Diexin's sword hums.
She spins, wings folding and unfolding like blades of light. One assassin attempts to flank her, but she ducks low, slicing across his thigh before vaulting backwards to avoid a counterattack.
Her breathing remains steady.
She cannot afford injury.
Chu Feng presses forward again.
He deflects another blade strike with his shield, then drives a dragon bolt at close range into one assassin's shoulder. The force sends the man crashing into a flooded storefront.
The remaining two regroup, circling him.
Rain pours down harder again for a moment.
Water splashes beneath their boots.
Chu Feng steps carefully, maintaining a position between the three ahead and Diexin behind.
He does not chase.
He does not overextend.
He blocks.
Counters.
Retreats a half-step.
Advances one.
His dragon claw qi lashes outward repeatedly, forcing them to defend rather than attack in unison.
From behind,
A brief cry echoes.
One of Diexin's opponents falls to one knee.
She presses the advantage, wings flashing as her sword carves a clean arc across his mask.
He collapses into rainwater.
The last assassin with her attacks more fiercely now.
Chu Feng's jaw tightens.
He senses movement in the distance.
His men.
Closing in.
He roars, dragon qi surging outward in a visible wave.
The three before him hesitate instinctively.
He slams the shield forward, knocking one off balance.
Dragon claw qi tears through another's sleeve, drawing blood.
He continues to stall.
Just long enough.
Just long enough for reinforcements to arrive,
And for them to break through toward the ship waiting at the harbour.
Rain pours steadily as the five masked figures regroup.
Chu Feng stands firm, Dragon Scale Shield glowing faintly against the grey stormlight.
Diexin pivots beside him, sword steady, butterfly qi wings trembling with restrained power.
The three before Chu Feng attack in coordination again.
One feints high.
Another thrusts low.
The third gathers shadow blood qi into a condensed blade that hums with corrosive energy.
Chu Feng raises the shield, deflecting the high strike.
He twists, dragon claw qi tearing outward to intercept the thrust.
The shadow blade slashes across his armour, sparks flying as dragon qi and shadow blood qi collide.
Behind him, Diexin faces the remaining assassin.
Their blades clash repeatedly, metal ringing through rain.
She spins, wings flashing, her sword carving arcs of light through the downpour.
The assassin counters with brutal efficiency, shadow qi coating his blade, each strike heavy and deliberate.
From the flooded alleys and rain-soaked streets,
Figures emerge.
Chu Feng's men.
They rush in without hesitation, weapons drawn.
Two engage one of the three before Chu Feng.
Another three flank the shadow-blade assassin.
Steel meets steel.
Rainwater splashes violently beneath trampling feet.
Chu Feng seizes the opening.
He slams his shield forward, knocking one masked attacker backwards.
Dragon claw qi erupts from his hand, striking another across the chest.
The third retreats under pressure from Chu Feng's reinforcements.
Behind him, Diexin slashes cleanly across her opponent's arm, forcing him back as Chu Feng's men close in to assist.
The five masked figures begin to falter.
Chu Feng turns sharply.
"Wenji, let's go!"
He does not call her Diexin.
He does not know who sent the attackers.
They use shadow blood qi.
Are they hunting Yu Diexin?
Or Cai Wenji?
Better to maintain the current identity.
Diexin nods.
They break away.
Chu Feng's men continue engaging the five attackers, buying precious seconds.
They sprint toward the harbour.
Ahead, the mast of the ship unfurls, sails catching the rising wind.
Bells ring from the deck.
A signal.
The ship is preparing to depart.
They dash across the rain-flooded harbour.
Dock workers scatter.
Rainwater sloshes around their boots.
They leap onto the wooden pier,
Then onto the gangplank.
Behind them, shadow figures attempt pursuit, but Chu Feng's men intercept.
The gangplank retracts.
The ship lurches forward.
Sails fill.
It begins moving out of the harbour.
Chu Feng exhales once,
Then,
A figure steps out from the shadow beside the mast.
A woman.
Her presence is silent yet overwhelming.
Aura,
Sublimation Stage.
The rain dims.
Shadows lengthen unnaturally.
The woman tilts her head slightly.
"Dragon Qi…" she murmurs.
Her eyes rest on Chu Feng.
"Dragon Chu Family. My luck is good."
She glances toward Diexin.
"Fishing for one fish…"
Her lips curve faintly.
"I caught another."
The shadows expand.
Everything around them fades.
The deck.
The harbour.
The sea.
All vanish.
They stand inside a shadow space.
Dark.
Distorted.
Chu Feng steps forward immediately.
"I will hold her," he says to Diexin. "You find a way to escape."
The Dragon Scale Shield in his hand flares brilliantly.
Metal armour manifests over his body in layers of shining plates.
Full battle form.
His aura surges.
Sublimation Stage.
Dragon qi coils around him like a living storm.
He moves.
Fast as a diving dragon.
The woman moves too,
Fluid.
Like a river of shadow.
They collide.
Dragon claw meets shadow blade.
The impact cracks the shadow space itself.
Shockwaves ripple outward violently.
The distorted field fractures.
Yu Diexin slides backwards, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the blast.
The shadow domain shatters.
Reality floods back.
Rain.
Harbor.
Buildings.
The ship is already drifting farther out.
Chu Feng and the woman continue clashing mid-air.
Their movements blur.
Each collision destroys chunks of dock and warehouse roofs.
Wood splinters.
Stone cracks.
People scream and flee through knee-deep floodwater.
Diexin watches.
Her heart pounds.
Third Stage.
Against the Sublimation Stage.
The gap is immense.
She cannot interfere.
If she stays,
She becomes his weakness.
If she leaves,
He can fight freely.
Her jaw tightens.
Butterfly wings flare.
She leaps into the air, rain scattering around her.
She flies toward the departing ship.
The distance grows smaller.
Almost,
Then,
Shadows writhe beneath her.
Chains burst upward from the darkness below.
Black.
Cold.
Five more figures rise from shadow.
Their faces hidden.
Their shadow chains lash outward.
They wrap around her arms.
Her waist.
Her legs.
The chains tighten.
Pulling her down.
She struggles mid-air, wings beating desperately,
But the shadows drag her back toward the flooded dock.
And the trap closes.