v4c54: Crabs in a Bucket

Shao Heng was no stranger to ambushes. It was part of being an Outrider. Spirit Beasts, cultivating bandits, and rival sects were always eager to pick off the isolated disciples, and thus render blind and deaf the eyes and ears of the Shrouded Mountain Sect. Many a time had he been alone and outnumbered, arrayed against a superior force.

Even surprised in the heart of the Sect, even reduced as he was, Shao Heng’s body remembered what to do. He threw himself backwards, away from the sword strike, and barely managed to dodge.

Without Sister Ri Zu’s healing, and without the conditioning he had undergone, he surely would have perished right there. Shao Heng’s assailant seemed equally surprised that he managed to move, but then his enemy’s eyes narrowed.

The man’s face was covered in a mask and he wore black outer clothes.

Shao Heng’s mind raced. An intruder this far into the Sect should have been impossible! The Inquisitors should have captured one such as this with ease!

Shao Heng flared his Qi in warning—yet this assassin, with his superior cultivation, managed to capture the spreading beacon and snuff it out before it traveled too far.

His opponent snorted and brandished his sword.

“You should have remained a cripple,” the assassin told him. “It would have made this easier on both of us.”

Shao Heng’s eyes widened as the wind blew through the courtyard. The black clothes flapped in the air, and revealed that underneath them there lay a uniform of the Shrouded Mountain Sect.

But what was more, Shao Heng recognised this man’s stance… and his muffled voice.

“Mo Chaoge?” he asked, his eyes widening.

His former subordinate in the Outriders struck, and Shao Heng was engaged in a desperate struggle for his life. He parried the sword with his hands as best he could. His skills and reactions stretched to the limit. His experiences saved him, each precious second prolonging his life.

Yet despite everything, his opponent was still one in the Profound Realm. The outcome was foregone. His foe’s sword hacked down into his chest, cleaving bone in two, and barely missing his heart. Shao Heng fell backwards, collapsing onto the ground.

He coughed, blood erupting from his mouth. He could feel his blood pumping onto the earth. Mo Chaoge stalked towards him and looked down upon Shao Heng.

“So… It was your section, wasn’t it,” Shao Heng coughed. “You slacking bastard?”

Mo Chaoge pulled off his mask and looked Shao Heng in the eye.

“Close enough to yours,” the man said and raised his sword high. “Don’t wait for me in the afterlife, Captain.”

For a brief moment, Shao Heng considered giving in. Considered accepting his fate.

But Shao Heng didn’t quit.

His hand lashed out, his own blood pooled within, and he threw the liquid into the bastard’s face. His sword wavered as it descended just enough for Shao Heng to force himself to the side—yet he collapsed to his knees as he tried to rise.

Mo Chaoge snarled as he wiped the blood from his vision. “You little rat. I was going to make this painless—” he started only to stop short when he suddenly blurred, his sword managing to strike away three silver needles.

“You. You dare to disturb the sanctity of this place of healing?” the furious voice of Sister Ri Zu demanded. She stepped out of the shadows, but they seemed to drag with her, elongating unnaturally. Small, dark figures with malevolent red eyes formed around her in the blackness. They danced and capered around her, squeaking laughter coming from the black depths. The stench of virulent poison filled the air.

Mo Chaoge snarled and made to strike at Shao Heng, but Ri Zu moved. She intercepted the blow with a long silver needle, and then the battle became nothing but flashes to Shao Heng as he slumped.

A slash across Ri Zu’s face was accepted in return for the woman driving her needle between Mo Chaoge’s knuckles. Her Qi pulsed, and Mo Chaoge’s Qi fought back—but in the end, he locked up, his eyes rolling back into his head as her peculiar technique overrode his senses.

Ri Zu left him where he dropped and then she was beside Shao Heng, her delicate fingers assessing the damage while she brought out healing medicines.

“How—” Shao Heng started.

“The diagnostic formation went beyond its alert parameters and then cut out,” the healer said, her voice as cold as ice. “Do not speak now; conserve your strength.”

Shao Heng did as he was told. He stared up at the moon until the darkness claimed him.

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When he awoke again it was to Ri Zu’s gentle fingers upon his brow, her healing Qi beckoning him back to the land of the living.

He awoke to her concerned eyes, and she pulled back from him.

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The word brightened again, revealing Shao Heng’s room. Instead of just Sister Ri Zu by his bedside though, the place was a bit crowded. Fat Han was seated by a window, his complexion dour, while Yushang was guarding the door, her massive blade leaning against her shoulder and her normally bright, mischievous eyes devoid of humor.

Biren was by the final window, looking out it and similarly brooding, while finally, and to his surprise, Inner Disciple Bi De was seated near his bed, the man bright and alert. He glanced at Shao Heng and nodded.

Shao Heng let out a breath, his chest still smarting. Yushang turned from her place to look at him, then smiled.

“Hey Uncle, you look like shit,” the woman said, trying to inject some levity into things.

“I don’t feel the greatest, kid,” he replied, smirking to show he was alright. Yushang smiled, and Fat Han chuckled, before the mood became somber again. He turned to look at Ri Zu, who had a heavy frown upon her face. “Once more you have saved my life, Sister Ri Zu. This Shao Heng owes you a debt that can never be repaid.”

He tried to bow, but Ri Zu kept him upright, her hand almost painful on his shoulder. “Ri Zu does not heal-save to receive favour-gifts—but if you wish to repay Ri Zu, speak-tell her why this happened.”

Shao Heng paused at the strange, guttural accent the woman had, in contrast to her normal razor sharp diction. It snarled and it bit as she repeated words, like the rhyming slang from the worst parts of the cities, but even more base.

Her brows were narrowed into a harsh line and her teeth were grit. Though the terrifying aura and little shadow-beasts were gone, her Qi was obviously straining at her control.

“Mo Chaoge of the Outriders. Member of the prestigious Mo family. A man who has been loyal to the Shrouded Mountain Sect for a long time. What could cause him to want to kill his superior?” Biren asked. He turned to look at Shao Heng, his eyes narrowing to something that looked almost vulpine.

Shao Heng took a breath as he was suddenly under their scrutiny.

For a brief instant he debated saying he was just as confused as them— But he did know. He knew exactly why Mo Chaoge had tried to silence him… even if he had been so consumed with his own healing that he had put it out of his mind.

If he spoke on the reason why his subordinate had tried to kill him, they would surely lose any shred of respect they had for him.

What a pitiful creature he was, to have that be his first thought; but his saviours had demanded his voice and so Shao Heng would speak.