-
Qi surged into the blade and he slashed forward. A silence, and then the bamboo fell with a rumble. The young man felt both excitement and horror at once.
-
The Bloodwind Band huddled around a dying fire. They had run for what felt like forever, their breaths still caught in their throats. Only the sound of ragged panting and the crackle of wood filled the night.
A burly man with a torn coat and an eyepatch over his left eye spat into the dirt. "Boss," he rasped, "how the hell did a kid that young reach the Elementary Qi Stage?"
Bloodhand Ren sat on a fallen log, his broad arms resting on his knees. A scar ran down his cheek, catching the flicker of the fire.
"I don't know," he muttered. "It's ridiculous. Maybe we ran into some child from a sect… but that doesn't make sense. If it were one of them, we'd all be dead already. Those sect brats know no mercy."
Another bandit cursed, slamming his fist into the ground.
"We really hit a steel wall this time! How the hell did that kid with the golden spear find those people? He's got luck thicker than a damn ox hide!"
Suddenly the forest and the fog moved, showing three figures moving in the darkness.
Three silhouettes appeared in the dark.
A low voice drifted from the shadows, soft as a whisper, cold as death.
"Though our eldest brother isn't ready… that doesn't mean we aren't."
The bandits tensed.
"Who's there?!" Bloodhand Ren shouted. "Men, get ready!"
Fear flashed in his eyes. Could that boy have followed them this far?
From between the trees, Xiao Chi emerged, his spear hanging low towards the ground. Beside him walked Chen Jie, his greatsword dragging through the earth.
The bandits stiffened, eyes darting between the two figures.
Woosh!
A golden spear tore through the bushes, punching clean through a bowman's back. Blood sprayed across the firelight. A heartbeat later, Jin Lian rushed forward, yanking his spear free.
"That's for the arrow you shot," Chen Jie said, his lips curling into a sneer.
"Bastard! We should've killed you while we had the chance!" Bloodhand Ren roared.
He and his men drew their crude weapons, bows creaking, axes and sabers gleaming dully in the light.
They looked around, uneasy.
No sign of Long Tianyu.
Bloodhand Ren's lips split into a grin.
"So it's just you brats, huh? You came here to die?"
But his voice wavered ever so slightly. Something about their calm steps made his gut twist, and they most likely wouldn't come here without confidence.
Xiao Chi lifted his spear. Chen Jie matched his pace. Step for step, they advanced.
Sweat rolled down Bloodhand Ren's temple.
"Damn it… we really hit a steel wall this time! Attack them!"
BOOM!
Qi erupted from Xiao Chi and Chen Jie like a storm breaking loose, their eyes faintly glowing in the darkness of the night.
Xiao Chi was the first to move. Xiao Chi's body blurred, leaving streaks of light as he shot forward. With qi erupting from his feet he sprinted fast, faster than anything The Bloodwind Band had ever seen before. With his spear in his two hands, he slashed down on a bandits torso that stood closest to him, his spear slashed deep and blood sprayed out into the cold night. The man screamed out in horror as his life ended and he fell down on the cold ground.
Chen Jie roared, both hands easily gripping his greatsword. He charged foward like a bull towards two bandits, they tried to block with their blades, Chen Jie cleaved through their two rusted swords and the men behind them. The corpses fell apart before they could even scream.
"Focus on the golden spear kid!" Bloodhand Ren yelled and thought our only choice is to take this kid as a hostage, and maybe then we would have a chance at saving our lives.
Thirteen men rushed towards Jin Lian, including Ren himself. They were all at the same Qi stage, but their numbers gave them confidence.
Three men came first towards Jin Lian. Jin Lian was startled by their sudden actions, he held his spear in two hands and thrust his spear, but one deflected it aside. The other two lunged from opposite sides, coordination born from years of ambushing travellers and attacking villagers.
"Damn it!" Jin Lian thought, sweat forming on his back. He twisted, parried, stabbed again barely keeping pace as more surrounded him. The noise of steel and the shouts of men filled the forest.
But Jin Lian defending bought enough time.
Like thunder through the heavens, Xiao Chi and Chen Jie tore through six more bandits that were too slow to rush towards Jin Lian. They continued fighting the slow bandits, limbs and weapons scattered under their blows, until only six men remained, and Bloodhand Ren.
Bloodhand Ren's heart pounded like a drum. The night stank of smoke and blood soaking into the forest floor. His men were dead or dying all around him, and those two youngsters advanced through the fog like executioners.
"Stay together!" he snarled. His voice cracked. "Keep attacking that spear brat!"
The five remaining bandits spread out, forming a rough half-circle in front of Jin Lian.
Xiao Chi's gaze never left him. His spear gleamed faintly in the moonlight, its tip still slick with blood. "You had your chance to run," he said quietly. "Now you'll answer for what you did."
Bloodhand Ren gritted his teeth. "You think I'll die easy, boy?"
With a roar, he burst forward. His saber howled through the air in a wide arc, aiming to cleave Xiao Chi in half.
The strike hit nothing. Xiao Chi had already sidestepped, his body a blur. The spear came around, thrusting for Ren's ribs fast, precise, lethal. It pierced through, leaving Bloodhand Ren standing still, his saber dropped to the ground, and then his body followed the same path.
The other bandits looked back and saw that their leader had died in an instant. Jin Lian, still panting, took the opening to impale another through the throat. His eyes widened in horror and pain as he collapsed.
The other bandits screamed, trying to run away. "You… you bastards think this is justice? We just did what we had to!" One of them screamed.
"No," Xiao Chi said. His tone was ice. "You killed travelers. You robbed the weak. You did what you wanted."
Xiao Chi and Chen Jie rushed towards the men trying to escape into the forest, ending their ravaging of nearby villagers and travellers.
The forest grew still again. The fire crackled weakly in the distance, throwing shadows across the corpses.
Chen Jie exhaled slowly, resting the flat of his sword on his shoulder."Guess that's the end of this.
Jin Lie wiped his brow, his hands trembling as he stared at the fallen bandits."Yeah… but it didn't feel like a victory... More like a slaughter.''
-
They went to wash themselves in a nearby stream.
The water was cold, running dark under the moonlight, streaked faintly red as they scrubbed the blood from their hands and arms. The moment the metallic smell hit them again, both Xiao Chi and Chen Jie doubled over, throwing up onto the nearby rocks. Their faces had gone pale, their breathing uneven.
''It will get better with time'' Jin Lian said, understanding how they felt. It wasn't long ago it was my first time killing someone... a bandit too... just like them.. Jin Lian thought of the times he had been ambushed by the Bloodwind Band, the times he had to run away scared, hiding..
They didn't answer him.
''Damnit, why did they have to make it so easy for us to find them...'' Xiao Chi said.
''They didn't, our senses just got better once we reached elementary qi stage.'' Chen Ji replied.
None of them spoke as they looted the bodies. The coins, small trinkets, and scraps of silver felt heavier than any weapon. Maybe we can send some of this home, they thought, make something good come from this.
When they finally made their way back, their steps were unsteady, legs trembling from shock.
Wang Shuren told them to go to sleep while he kept watch. The three of them agreed and went into the tents, though sleeping was impossible.
For a long time afterward, Xiao Chi and Chen Jie barely spoke. They kept to themselves, eyes hollow, sitting in the carts with their heads down. Food lost its taste. The others noticed and didn't know what happened, but they weren't stupid and had a faint idea.
Lin Yue approached them once, offering a small pouch of medicine.
"It'll help," she said softly.
They both shook their heads.
"No," Xiao Chi whispered. "We have to handle this ourselves."
One night, when everyone else slept, Xiao Chi stared into the darkness, his reflection faint in the cold surface of his spear.
I still hear their screams… he thought. Try not to think about it. Think about how many screams those bastards caused… or would've caused in the future.
He closed his eyes. But the forest was still whispering in his ear.
-
End of chapter 7 - Screams of the forest