A man stepped forward, tall and sharp-shouldered, his skin bearing the faint shimmer of scales. His eyes gleamed like oil on water.
"Well," he drawled, blocking the path, "the current delivers its little gift right to us."
I froze. His gaze wasn't on Mingzhu or Dòu Dòu. It was fixed squarely on me.
Dòu Dòu's smile faltered, his body shifting subtly in front of mine. "You've mistaken her for someone else," he said lightly, though his voice lacked its usual ease.
"Have I?" The man's grin widened, revealing teeth too sharp to be human. Behind him, more figures slipped from the crowd, melting out of the market's noise as if they had been there all along. Three, four… more.
The air thinned, the laughter of the market suddenly distant.
Mingzhu stepped forward, his presence like the river at flood...cold, unstoppable. "Move." The single word carried a weight that made the nearest merchant stumble back, fleeing into the alleys.
But the strangers didn't flinch. One spat onto the ground, his voice thick with scorn. "You've guarded this river too long, dragon. Tonight, it bleeds."
The words seemed a signal. The circle tightened, lantern light flashing on drawn blades...slender, curved things that shimmered like liquid.
My breath caught. The market, moments ago alive with wonder, had twisted into a cage. And there was no mistaking it now: I was the prey they had come for.
The first strike came without warning. A blade hissed through the air, silver flashing as it arced toward me.
I didn't even have time to scream...Mingzhu's arm shot out, dragging me behind him. The weapon glanced off his shoulder, sparks scattering like embers in water.
Dòu Dòu moved faster than I'd ever seen him. One moment he was grinning, the next his body twisted, scales rippling across his skin as he slammed into the nearest attacker. The man hit the ground with a crunch, but two more filled his place.
The alley erupted into chaos. Blades rang like broken bells, shouts echoing through the narrow street. Lanterns shattered, spilling sparks into the current that ran beneath the stones.
Mingzhu fought like the river itself relentless, each motion precise, his strikes clean and merciless. For an instant, I almost believed he could not be touched.
But the attackers were many, moving with a cruel coordination. One darted low, another high; their blades struck in tandem, testing the cracks in his defense.
I stumbled back against the wall, heart slamming against my ribs. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my legs wouldn't move.
Dòu Dòu roared, half shifted now, scales crawling up his throat, claws flashing. He fought like fire and lightning, reckless and wild, yet even he seemed pressed, his grin replaced by bared teeth.
Then I saw it a shadow behind Mingzhu, moving silent as a whisper.
"Mingzhu!" I shouted.
He turned just as the blade struck.
The sound was sickening, metal meeting flesh. His body jerked, and for the first time since I'd known him, Mingzhu faltered.
Blood, dark and startling against the lantern-glow, spread across his side.
And the world seemed to tilt with it.
Time fractured.
The clash of steel, the roar of Dòu Dòu half-shifted, the jeers of their enemies ...all of it blurred into a single, muffled hum. My eyes fixed only on Mingzhu.
He staggered, his hand pressed to his side where the blade had struck. Crimson bled between his fingers, staining the silver glow of the street. Still he fought, striking down one opponent with terrifying precision but his movements slowed, his breath ragged.
He's hurt.
The thought cracked through the fog, sharp and merciless. I had seen wounds before, countless times beside my mother's table cuts, fevers, burns. But never like this. Never on someone who was supposed to be untouchable.
"Lianyin!" Dòu Dòu's voice tore through the chaos, desperate now. He held three of them at bay, claws raking through the air, but his eyes flicked toward me. "Get him out of here!"
My legs refused to move. Fear chained me where I stood, heart hammering so loudly I thought it would split my chest. Run...every part of me screamed it. Run before the next blade finds you.
But then Mingzhu's knees buckled, just for an instant. His body, always so unshakable, swayed like a tower struck by lightning. And something inside me lurched forward, drowning the fear.
I couldn't leave him.
The choice wasn't really a choice at all. My hands clenched, the healer's instinct roaring louder than the terror.
I pushed through the press of bodies, shoving past the wall of heat and steel until I reached his side. "Hold on," I whispered, though I didn't know if he even heard. His weight was heavy against me, colder than it should have been.
Behind us, Dòu Dòu's roar shook the air. "Now, Lian!"
And I knew: either I moved, or none of us would leave this market alive.
The alley trembled as Dòu Dòu let out a sound that was no longer human. It began as a growl, low and vibrating through the stones, then swelled into a roar that split the air like thunder under water.
Scales erupted across his skin in a ripple of silver blue, light catching along the sharp ridges of a spine that hadn't been there moments before. His body stretched, twisted, his hands no longer hands but claws that raked sparks from the stone as he lunged forward.
The attackers staggered back, eyes wide. "Dragon..." one choked, too late.
Dòu Dòu struck like lightning. His tail lashed, sending two men crashing against the stalls, wood splintering under the impact. His jaws snapped, tearing through the curved blades as if they were no stronger than reeds.
"Go!" he roared, voice layered with something ancient, echoing both human and beast. The force of it shuddered in my bones.
Mingzhu leaned heavily against me, his breath sharp, his blood hot against my arm. Even wounded, his eyes stayed locked on the chaos, calculating, measuring every movement.
Another attacker rushed, blade raised high. Dòu Dòu coiled and struck, his form blazing brighter, water curling in the air around him like a storm made flesh. The man disappeared beneath the surge.
The path ahead cracked open narrow, but clear.
"Lianyin," Mingzhu rasped, his voice strained but commanding. "Move."
I tightened my grip beneath his arm, dragging him with all the strength I had. My legs burned, my lungs seared, but the roar of battle behind us drove me forward.
Lanterns swung wildly overhead as we stumbled through the winding street, shadows scattering, screams rising. For every step I took, Dòu Dòu's fury thundered behind us, holding the flood at bay.
Yet even as the market blurred past, one thought pressed sharp against my skull: this wasn't over. The river had delivered me here, and it wasn't done with me yet.