Depthless Hunger-Chapters 481-484
Chapter 481: Omens of an Incursion
Kai burst downward with a wordless cry, chasing the man falling into the darkness. Lofgan fell faster with every passing moment, so Kai had to push himself to the limit to catch up. When he matched speed and caught Lofgan, the man's body felt like nothing but a piece of meat.
Slowing down strained his wings as he struggled to reverse course, even as monsters began to launch themselves at him. Kai had no idea if the body he was carrying was alive or dead, he just lashed out with Manticore Quills, dropping every monster that came at them. Eventually he shot back up, trying to catch his breath enough to ward off the Starvation Wraith.
Maybe they slipped past one another in the rush, maybe it had hidden itself, but when he reached the crystal platforms, only his allies remained.
One of Talndim's arms was severely injured, kept in position against his chest by a crystal sling. Inafay and Orotaisin, while not harmed, slumped together on the crystal platform, gasping for breath. When Kai set down Lofgan, he let out a groan but didn't wake up.
"You see?" Talndim stared down into the darkness and shook his head. "It'll be back soon enough. We'll be lucky if it doesn't come to the surface after us."
"How long do we keep trying?" Inafay asked. Even her usual irrepressible enthusiasm seemed muted now, her hair limp around her head. "We almost lost one of us, and if it comes with all the other monsters..."
"Not yet," Kai said, even though he didn't have any answers.
While they spoke, Orotaisin took the more practical step of tilting a potion into Lofgan's mouth and forcing him to swallow. They didn't have many of those left either. Kai could keep fighting, but Behemoth's Heart had been pushing him for ages and he hadn't slept at all.
He didn't want to come this far just to give up. Kai sat down at the edge of the crystal, less to rest than to think.
So far, his attempts to attack with more spiritual methods had been only partially successful. It wasn't simply an issue of physicality, otherwise the wind techniques would have worked immediately, and Talndim's concentrated crystal knife would have been ineffective. Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong...
As he looked through the essence in his soul, Kai realized that he had neglected something. Isulfr's Bite might be a physical-seeming technique, but it had always been deeply connected to his hunger. Even though it wasn't strictly necessary for him to consume monsters, using it had always naturally absorbed their essence. Maybe... he struggled to shift his weary soul and move the essence back into the active portion.
Below them, a deeper darkness was stirring again.
"Kai..." Orotaisin looked over at him and only spoke his name.
"Once more." Kai slowly stood up and took a deep breath. "Use the technique you've been working on. Don't try to cut it apart, just make intense enough wind to pin it down. Just give me one chance."
"Alright." Inafay slumped as she rose, but then threw her shoulders back and forced a grin. "We'll give it a shot."
Meanwhile Talndim retracted part of the crystal platform, wrapping up Lofgan and raising him to a safer position. There was no telling if the elite would support them any further, but it might not make a difference either way.
When the Starvation Wraith attacked again, it did so at the head of a flood of monsters. More than before, with dangerous varieties snarling from the depths. Kai flew in a circle around the side of the pit, exhaling enough Baleful Breath to create a ring that would slow the monsters, at least for a while.
The Starvation Wraith shot past him, aiming to kill the others. Inafay and Orotaisin hovered in its path, holding hands as they gathered their power together. When its claws swept out to tear through them, they finally unleashed a storm that shone so intensely that even the abyss was briefly illuminated.
In that moment the Starvation Wraith was pinned in place, fully visible as the energy crashed around it. Kai leapt, not as a hunter but with pure hunger, and his maw opened wide. The wrath twitched toward him, as if startled for the first time, and his jaws snapped closed.
Darkness.
Kai opened his eyes, bleary and disoriented. He could only have been out for an instant, but now he was being carried upward by Orotaisin. He could see Inafay behind them, desperately hurling bursts of wind at the monsters that were charging after them. When Kai managed to turn his head, he saw Talndim's platform retreating skyward as well. It was actually getting brighter as they ascended, but the monsters were coming after them in a flood.
Had he somehow triggered the incursion early? Had he doomed everyone? Kai shook off his fatigue and flew for himself, unleashing Manticore Quills into the rush of monsters as they continued their fighting retreat.
When they burst out into the open air, it almost didn't seem real. His world had contracted down to the circular space, but now that he was on the surface again, he realized just how vast the pit was. There were monsters crawling up from every side, more than they could hold back on their own...
At that moment the Frontier elites arrived, rushing from the wall in every direction. Magma, qi, thorny vines, and hundreds of other attacks rained in from all sides, annihilating the monsters as they tried to crawl to the surface.
The others retreated to a safe distance and collapsed, while Kai hung in the air supported only by Thunderbird's Wings. He knew that he should help, but for once even the idea of an incursion couldn't motivate him to act. Everything about his soul felt wrung out and all he wanted to do was look and see if it had been worth it. His eyes blurred, but finally he spotted what he'd hoped for:
<
Starvation Wraith - alpha (I)
>
Yes, he could feel the wraith's essence in his soul. As the flood of monsters began to slow to a trickle, Kai finally let himself smile. It had been worth it.
As they retreated with the others, their grueling ordeal dissolved into giddy relief. When one of the elites helped heal Lofgan and he woke up, the exhaustion lifted further. Talndim actually cracked a smile and Orotaisin kissed Inafay full on the mouth. Even though some of the elites seemed to be unhappy about the entire operation, they softened when they saw the enthusiastic response.
Kai knew that they had done him a favor, letting him do this at the cost of so much of their effort, and the risk of utter disaster. Yet that just made him even more confident that working with them had been the right decision, and more determined to pay them back. When the real incursion came, he would be there with all the power he could gain.
"You happy?" Talndim asked gruffly.
"Yeah, I really am." Kai couldn't help but grin back. "Thanks, we couldn't have done it without you."
"This didn't weaken the incursion at all, you gotta understand. Slowed it down a little, at best. When it happens, it will be just as bad as it would have been or worse. Now you see why we don't try to push down there?"
"I got it, I won't make another attempt. But this was worth it."
While they spoke, Inafay and Orotaisin approached, still with arms around one another's waists. She grinned up at him. "It was crazy how your mouth just opened and... I don't know how you ate the entire thing in one bite, but you did. What happens now?"
"There's still some business I have to deal with, like getting my ship completely built, and finding the last cultivators. But..." Maybe it was the exhilaration from the victory, but Kai felt like he could do anything in that moment. "I want to thank you for what you did. Come with me when I go back to Cloudspire... I can get you sources of power you've never seen before."
"Are you sure we'll be back in time?" Inafay asked. "Only about... three quarters of a year left until the earliest time the incursion could start."
"If the ship is as fast as I hope, there's time. I won't just be returning with allies, you'll be fresh off new training. We'll be able to make a difference this time."
Inafay glanced at Orotaisin, and his expression was impossible for Kai to read, but after she grinned at him. "We're in! How many people can you take in that ship of yours?"
"That's a good question." Kai looked over to Talndim, who grimaced at the whole idea.
"We can't stop you if you want," Talndim said, "and it's true you've given us benefits we couldn't get anywhere else. We can teleport anyone else who's willing. But we're not formally sending any trainees with you. The historical odds on people going to Cloudspire are still bad."
"Make sure to get Raghi and Juray as well, I have ideas for them." Kai started to turn away, then hesitated and turned back. "Actually... this shouldn't be limited to people I know. Let the other elite trainees know about the offer. Find anyone who has potential, but hasn't gotten lucky. I can't make any promises, but I want to give them a second shot at a different fate."
Talndim grunted and went to speak to the other elites. With the hunt finally over, Kai's mind was moving in too many directions to rest. Just the time spent talking with the others had given Behemoth's Heart enough time to restore him, so while he didn't want to fight another battle like that soon, he could move easily.
"Hey," Inafay called after him. "We'll get everyone else together, but what are you doing now?"
Kai grinned and cracked his knuckles. "It's past time I took care of some Cloudspire business."
Chapter 482: The Final Use for an Old Tattoo
Once everything was confirmed stable at the Frontier, Kai left the others to jump back across the continent to the Southern Reach. Since they had established the door anyway, it was deemed acceptable to teleport Lofgan as well, since Juray could take care of his treatment just as well as the beleaguered elite healers. So they skipped back to Razorfall City, Kai supporting the other man with one arm.
Yet again, he was struck by the immense spread of energy levels. The Southern Reach had struck him as a void of energy after Cloudspire, but the air felt rich with mana compared to the abyss. It didn't seem so crazy to believe that there could be another continent out there that made Cloudspire look like a qi wasteland.
When they arrived at the Goralian Merchants Guild, there was a flurry of activity as everyone realized how injured Lofgan was. Soon Juray and Raghi were there too, demanding to know what happened as they got him into bed. Kai managed to get out the basics while they made sure he was comfortable and got more potions into him, though he wasn't sure how much more effect they would have.
Eventually Lofgan was asleep with Raghi watching over him protectively. Kai remained at a distance, realizing that he actually stood outside of this little family circle. He might have played an important role in the lives of Juray and the Tonjin brothers, but while he had traveled on other continents, they had grown closer together. In theory there were other lives he could have lived where he stayed with Juray and became close friends with the Tonjin brothers... he wouldn't ever give up his life with Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena for that, but the gap filled him with a sense of melancholy.
"Hey." Juray had somehow moved beside him and now jostled his arm. "You don't need to look so serious. No one would blame you for this, and Lofgan is going to come back stronger anyway."
"Just thinking," Kai said quietly. They left the room, leaving the brothers together, and into the hallway. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to come along to-"
"And I wanted to ask you what the hell is that tattoo?"
Kai blinked, having forgotten about it. The Beggar King's Robes were growing back much slower than usual after the encounter with the Starvation Wraith, as if still recovering, so his chest was mostly bare. Juray apparently shared Zae Zin Nim's sensibilities, because she looked over the manticore and then pretended to gag.
"I'll have you know this is considered the height of male fashion on Cloudspire," Kai told her.
"I feel extremely confident that isn't true." Juray closed her eyes a moment, then shook her head. "It's not even really adding to your strength."
"Actually, it started out as a disguise. It's been gathering mana, but I don't think I can absorb it as power, it would just be wasted as a temporary boost. They do use tattoos for power over there, but it may not be compatible with how I've built my soul."
"Do you still need the disguise?"
"I guess not." Kai considered the number of patriarchs and young masters who wanted to kill him and figured that his reputation had advanced far beyond that point. "Why do you ask?"
Juray stepped closer, eyes narrow, and tapped at the tattoo with one finger. "This is odd... embodying mana is common, of course, but we don't do it like this at all. Would you mind showing this to Pyrinye? Maybe she can figure out something."
"Sure, it's not doing me much good anymore."
He wasn't actually completely sure about that: there was a percentage rating that had appeared at some point he hadn't noticed and then slowly crept up to 100%. But it hadn't done anything after that, so he presumed that the tattoo simply wasn't compatible with his body. Maybe because he had completely burned out his Class, maybe something more complex.
They left the Goralian Merchants Guild and headed out into Razorfall City toward the old dryad's shop. As they walked, it was almost like they were back in Monskon City together, though of course so much had happened since then. Juray glanced over at him as they walked.
"So what were you going to ask me?"
"Right now they're building a ship that can take us to Cloudspire, and it can carry a lot more than just me," Kai explained. "I'm planing to take Inafay and some others, to train with other sources of power. And yes, before you ask, I'm mostly confident we can get back before the incursion."
"That actually isn't what worries me," Juray told him. "Raghi talked to me about how strong that cultivator was... it sounds like Cloudspire is a bloodthirsty place. If even the Tonjin brothers would struggle to protect themselves, what are the chances I die a meaningless death?"
"You're right that it would be a risk, but I wasn't actually planning to take you all the way. Don't tell anyone, but my plan is to stop at our island on the way through the ocean, drop y-"
Juray was staring at him hard enough to interrupt his sentence. "You have an island?"
"Uh... yeah, I guess so." Kai thought about telling her that it had been a strange gift from the elves and wasn't sure that would help. Seen from the outside, his life really did look crazy. "The point is that it's completely isolated and mostly safe. It would be a great training environment. I want you to talk to Omilaena too, but that will have to wait until we take care of some problems."
"I guess I should be flattered, but I'll have to talk about it with Raghi. You know how people who leave Deadwaste generally don't come back." Whatever else Juray might have said, they arrived at the shop then and the conversation was interrupted.
At first Pyrinye just greeted them grandmotherly, inviting them in and offering them a bitter sort of dryad tea. When Juray mentioned Kai's tattoo, however, her eyes glittered within her bark-like skin.
"Well now, that is interesting." She leaned forward, squinting to see up to his tattoo. "Can I take a closer look?"
"Why not?" Kai shrugged. "We have a little time."
.
..
.
Several days later, Kai lay on his back in the shop, gritting his teeth as needle-like roots pushed into his skin. They didn't really hurt, certainly not compared to the intense battle against the Starvation Wraith, but it required his full concentration to prevent his body from resisting or retaliating. The roots were sharp, but at first they'd been completely unable to pierce his skin until he relaxed his defenses.
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<Manticore Tattoo (83%)>
As they worked, the percentage was decreasing... and yet Kai didn't feel as though he was getting weaker. That was no surprise, because it hadn't been intended to, but something was different. With the tattoo ink gone, his chest was bare, but he also felt something opening up in his soul that he couldn't quite pin down. It was severely distracting as he lay on the table and let them work.
Meanwhile Juray and Pyrinye spoke cheerfully to one another, mostly about technique but occasionally just chattering during long extractions. The old dryad really did seem to be a thoughtful mentor, and Juray listened to her raptly.
Bit by bit, the mana ink that had been injected into his skin was being extracted into one of the jars. According to their tests on the first result, the substance was intensely different from anything Goralians or dryads used for liquid mana, yet compatible with their techniques. They were both excited about the potential, apparently learning new things even in the process of working. Kai mostly just had to endure it and wondered what Omilaena would have to say about their theories.
Midway through the work that day, he got a welcome interruption when Razz came through the door. He greeted them both, awkwardly asking if there was space, and was shooed to the other side of the table.
"So, uh, your ship is almost done," Razz said. "They want you to check it out, but I said you were waiting here."
"Right." Kai tried to ignore the roots and focused on him. "Is there a problem?"
"It will all work in theory, but if you want it to fly at max speed, it will consume an insane number of qi crystals. Just operating this thing will cost... well, nobody is happy about it. Krainuun said that it would empty out the treasury of an average city."
"We're not going to use qi crystals. We can fly it using qi directly."
Razz stared at him. "Are... are you sure that could work? They said the requirement was so large..."
"Only for here. With Cloudspire's qi, it would be much easier. In fact, if I'd kept some of those Earth Souls alive, I could have used them as batteries. But if necessary, I'm planning to power the thing myself."
"All the way across the ocean? That seems far, even for... wait, there's the island you won't tell us about."
"Right, so we can take it in two trips." Kai was planning to stop there anyway, to drop off the noncombatants and rest so he could arrive on Cloudspire fresh. "I assume that takes care of the problem?"
"I'll have to talk to them about it, but I think so."
Razz stuck around to talk, easily merging with the conversation. He and Juray still got along well, and Pyrinye even teased him about talking to the young dryad merchant. Apparently he had, and Kai realized that he had missed another step in these lives while he was off at the abyss.
But he was going to miss another one, because at that moment the elites' communication device glowed with the signal that they were out of time.
"Oh dear," Pyrinye said. "It will take quite some time to pull these out."
"Time we don't have." Kai jerked the roots out of his chest and let the minor wounds heal even as he sat up. "We'll have to finish this later."
There was one last piece of his plans on Deadwaste, and he was more worried about this one than the ship or even venturing into the abyss. But now was the time to find out, so he crushed their last teleportation artifact.
Chapter 483: Against Poison and Crown
When they left Hul Ping, even Omilaena was convinced of his sincerity, just not his efficacy. For her part, Zae Zin Nim thought they could expect at least some information from him. He might not be the sort of man Kai was, but he had some backbone, and it was noble that he still wanted to avenge his sister instead of being seduced by the luxuries of the Masterful Crown clan. Several days later, when he gave the signs for them to meet, it turned out that she had been right.
"The young masters have begun a qilin hunt," Hul Ping said as soon as they met. Zae Zin Nim nodded, but Omilaena just cocked her head.
"Alright, what's that?"
"It's an extremely rare sacred beast, some even call it the immortal of all beastkind. They say anyone who manages to touch one, and is accepted, will receive immense great fortune, a hundred lifetimes of good karma. Only the noblest cultivators even qualify to attempt to hunt one."
"Is any of that true, or is it just a legend?" Omilaena asked.
Zae Zin Nim shook her head at her cynicism. "Qilins are real, and many of the stories are true. They say the blessing of a qilin can open the path to Sky Soul or grant even more wondrous blessings." She turned back to Hul Ping. "Has one been sighted, or are they just hoping?"
"There have always been rumors of a qilin in the great forest," Hul Ping said, "but recently there have been actual sightings. Given how many have died in the battle, all the young masters are desperate for a blessing that would allow them to become a new patriarch. Many are venturing into the forest... and I know the Poison Prince's hunting plans. I can tell you everything."
As he explained what he'd overheard, Zae Zin Nim exchanged a glance with her wife. They absolutely needed to get back to the Krysali again, since their location might be discovered if too many people were exploring the deep forest. Aside from that, however, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to ambush one of their enemies.
Remarkably, the first stages went according to plan. Cragrila thought they might have spotted the qilin, but agreed that it was far too dangerous to remain, so they retreated further east. Then it was just a matter of monitoring the city entrances for the Poison Prince, waiting for him to begin his hunt and travel a significant distance from civilization.
As she waited for their moment, Zae Zin Nim examined his soul:
<
Name: Poison Prince
Total Power: 1205
Cultivation: Sky Soul (800)
Physique: F-5 (40)
Immortal Body (+250)
Soul Level: 5 (25)
Poison Crown (+90)
>
He was stronger than some of the young fools, even if not equal to them. It might be interesting to have a fair fight... but there was no reason to be fair. As far as Zae Zin Nim was concerned, the Poison Prince was just a material that her wife needed to advance, so he should be harvested.
Soon the Poison Prince was wandering in the deep forest, trying to commune with the world itself in order to summon the qilin to him. Or at least that was what she had heard - qilin were native to the Heavenly Mountains and Lakes, and thus were rarely seen in the Eastern Plains. She and Omilaena were on opposite sides of their target, and when the moment came, they struck.
They very nearly killed him in the first instant, but the Poison Prince was just a fraction of a second too fast. Two of Omilaena's needles pierced his body, while he spun aside from the rest. The poison didn't seem to slow him much and when Zae Zin Nim arrived, he was able to spin away from her. Unfortunately he didn't attempt to fight her physically, otherwise she would have had a second chance to end the battle at the beginning.
Instead he managed to evade them, dodging to the end of the clearing with the two of them on the opposite side. His back was to a wall of thick brush, but he could always escape upward through the canopy if he had good enough flight skills. As Zae Zin Nim set her feet, the Poison Prince pulled out the needles in his shoulder.
"Your poison is potent," he said, "but I have been drinking poison from birth. After our last encounter, I opened our family's most deadly treasures and enhanced myself until you can no longer touch me."
"The steel seemed to touch you just fine," Omilaena said.
"You've made a terrible mistake trying to attack me here. Soon, everyone will know where you ran to." He pulled out a medallion in his right hand and began to activate it, extending his qi into the metal. Omilaena lunged forward and hurled another needle, shattering the medallion before it could send a warning.
But she had been distracted: Zae Zin Nim had waited silently while they spoke, and noticed that the Poison Prince's left hand was moving suspiciously. Even as the medallion shattered, he was starting to break a jade slip.
There was little time to think, only enough to act. Zae Zin Nim shot forward, grabbing Omilaena on the way and arriving just in time. The swirl of teleportation magic caught all three of them.
Her world spun wildly and she had a moment to think that this might have been a terrible mistake.
They emerged in a dark courtyard, shaded by the bulk of great towers within Floodisle City. Zae Zin Nim had no time to orient herself before she saw that there were several cultivators around, in the middle of meditation... and one of them was a patriarch. She didn't recognize him, but as he rose to his feet, a crown lit up over his head.
"What is this?" he demanded.
"Kill them!" the Poison Prince gasped as he retreated. And surprisingly, the older cultivator acted immediately, sending a great flaming palm toward them.
Omilaena hadn't turned fast enough. With no time to prepare, Zae Zin Nim leapt in the way and met the flaming palm with her bare hand.
.
..
.
The teleportation had been hell on Omilaena's senses and she hadn't clocked the greatest threat fast enough. Fortunately, Zin Nim was more familiar with how cultivators teleported and intercepted the first attack, her small dark hand meeting the massive flaming one.
And the flames ripped themselves apart.
For a second the patriarch just stared in shock. "What is this? You dare stand before the patriarch of the Grand Crown sect?"
"I dare," Zin Nim said. "Try again."
He unleashed a second flaming palm, larger than the first, and this time Zin Nim leapt to meet it. The qi within each palm struck the other and exploded... when the patriarch fell back, he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.
In that time, Omilaena got a good look at his soul.
<
Name: ???
Total Power: 1603
Cultivation: Sky Soul (900)
Heavenly Cultivation (50)
Physique: E-3 (89)
Mighty Crown (200)
Immortal Body (+100)
Soul Level: 8 (64)
Grand Crown (200)
>
He was strong, but when it came to a direct conflict of strength or qi, he was clearly inferior. Omilaena felt reassured in her former judgment: the "Immortal Body" granted by the elixir was fragile, prone to exploding in blood. The body Zin Nim had might still be mortal, but it was unified and held far greater strength. When the two clashed directly, the comparison was wildly unequal.
The Poison Prince had recovered and began hurling flying swords in Zin Nim's direction, forcing her to defend. And unfortunately, the patriarch of the Grand Crown sect wasn't stupid or arrogant enough to keep trying a failing strategy: he folded his hands in his sleeves and began sending out lightning fast lances of golden power that staggered Zin Nim.
Of course, Omilaena hadn't been idle. She leapt into battle in a flurry of all the needles she had prepared meanwhile, battering the Poison Prince back and sending an onslaught at the patriarch. His lancing beams could only deflect the majority and the one needle that bit deep into his shoulder immediately began spreading poison throughout his body.
Unfortunately, he wasn't so unprepared: the patriarch struck his own chest and a wave of qi rippled through him. It made him cough up more blood, but this was intentional, somehow expelling the poison that she had used on him. Traces of it remained in his flesh, but it was no longer disabling.
Before she got a second chance, the Poison Prince turned his attention to her, forcing Omilaena back with every flying sword at his disposal. She was immune to his poisons, but the raw swarm of steel would be deadly if she wasn't careful.
Meanwhile, Zin Nim did her best to fight the Grand Crown Patriarch. He advanced on her, still sending out golden lances, then a second crown manifested over his head. This one seemed to carry with it immense power and his body swelled. When he began to fight Zin Nim with a complex martial art that involved both physical blows and lancing qi, she actually struggled to keep up.
But oh, what a treat it was to see her manage it. Zin Nim became a creature of merciless precision in battle, and her new gray skin made her look like death itself. Even though she was fighting a patriarch who had lived far longer than her, she was keeping up with him.
Then a sword nearly caught her arm and Omilaena was forced to focus again. She skidded back, trailing blood, and realized that a barrier had come up around the courtyard. They weren't getting out of this battle easily, and unless they could win quickly, the entire sect would be falling upon them.
Chapter 484: The Space Between Two Slaps
Wan Fei had no idea whether or not the others were alive, and he didn't care. He intentionally decided on a plan that required no one else, because they were only likely to make mistakes and cause trouble. There was no need to steal any resources, as some fools had attempted, or seek the best transportation. All they needed was a secure method off this wretched continent, which he could accomplish on his own.
"Seriously, Grandpa Wanwan? That's the best you can do?"
On his own, plus the most significant liability of all. Yul Wei Ren sulked behind him on the boat as they slowly rowed toward the ship. The young master had complained every step of the way, but had quieted down after seeing some of the others die. Now that they were nearly away from Deadwaste he seemed to have rejuvenated his insufferability.
"We're almost away, young master," Wan Fei assured him. "Only suffer this place a little longer, then you can return home."
"But that ship is a miserable heap of wood! I'll have to suffer it for... how long does it take to get across the ocean, anyway?"
"We'll never get across if you keep making so much noise." Wan Fei snapped out the words faster than he'd intended and Yul Wei Ren drew back in shock. Normally that would have caused trouble, but they were far from home and his patience had worn thin. At least the young man kept his mouth shut during the next stage of the plan.
It took only a step for Wan Fei to glide from their tiny boat to the large galleon crewed by naiads. It was indeed inferior compared to Cloudspire vessels, but he had made certain it was capable of long ocean voyages before choosing which one to seize. With several simple movements Wan Fei disabled the guards nearest him, then grabbed the neck of the captain manning the wheel.
"I don't intend to kill any of you," he announced in a loud voice. He'd learned the hard way that making violent examples or threatening directly didn't produce good results. "Simply obey our orders and cause no trouble, then all of you can return home alive."
The sailors all stared at him, but they knew that they couldn't win. He wasn't entirely sure of all their communication methods, so he needed to rule by absolute fear. Wan Fei began glaring at individual sailors, willing them to return to work, all while keeping his grip on the captain. This could work if they just got far enough away...
"Oh, not bad!" Yul Wei Ren had climbed up the side of the ship and now stared at the female crew mates. Some were indeed shapely and glistening with water, but this was not the time. "Maybe this trip won't be so bad after al-"
"Enough!" Wan Fei put more of the qi into his shout than he intended and Yul Wei Ren actually staggered back a step. He stared at him in shock.
"You can't talk to me that way!"
"You won't survive unless we get back!" Wan Fei snarled. "If you want to live, you won't touch any of them."
The young master stomped away and sulked on the opposite end of the deck. That seemed to put him in the way of some of the sailors, but they nervously edged around him. Good, the ship was getting back underway. They only needed to keep the primitive sail technology working long enough to set a course for Cloudspire, then they would finally be done with this place.
Just when Wan Fei was beginning to relax, he heard a long, clear horn. There was a naiad man at the back of the ship, blowing a signal that he instantly knew was not normal.
Wan Fei crossed the distance in an instant, separating the sailor from his horn. He shattered the horn in one hand and only just resisted killing the sailor with the other. Even held in the air by his throat, the man continued to glare down at him.
"Why summon help?" Wan Fei asked. He had meant to sound disappointed, but his voice was more desperate than he expected. "You know I'm going to kill you."
"Better to... die for something..." The naiad choked out.
"But no matter how many guards you summon, I'll kill them all." His anger fading, Wan Fei set the man down and just stared at him. "None of your kind has a chance against me."
"Well, maybe you're right..." The naiad glared at them in between coughs and rubbing his throat. "You two got an unfair amount of strength from somewhere. Maybe enough to kill everyone in your way. But I gotta believe someone can stop you."
Most of his statements were meaningless, barely making an impression on Wan Fei... who was stuck on the first words. This man - not human, but certainly a man - had looked at him and Yul Wei Ren as if they were the same. The naiad knew that he was going to die, and he was afraid of it... yet he also saw the attack as a petulant tantrum. That disgust shook Wan Fei more than he wanted to admit.
"Enough." There was no force in the word this time. Wan Fei struck the man, knocking him out but not killing him. "Someone tie him up. The next person who tries to summon help will die."
"Come on!" The young master burst up from his sulking position. "If you're that spineless, they'll never listen to us! They'll try to mutiny before tonight!"
Nothing Wan Fei could say seemed to make sense. He was so tired of that voice and its childishness...
Someone dropped onto the ship from above, soft as a leaf, and yet his arrival shook the ship.
Wan Fei attacked the instant he saw the barbarian, yet found himself thrown back in the initial exchange. He snapped through the railing of the ship before gaining control of himself and flying back, glaring at the huge man. The horn must have summoned him, but how long had he been waiting and listening?
"And I was beginning to think I'd made a mistake with you," the barbarian said with an easy smile.
"Stop this yammering." Wan Fei raised his fists, preparing to do battle again. "Do you think my sense of duty is so weak that I will be swayed by a few words? You insult me."
"Not at all. I respect you enough to think you know that you have more than one kind of duty."
"I told you, I have debts to the Masterful Crown clan."
It seemed as though they were doomed to repeat the same words when Yul Wei Ren couldn't resist moving forward. "Come on, Grandpa Wanwan, just kill him! I'm tired of this guy insulting us!" freēnovelkiss.com
"Would it be easier if I killed him?" The barbarian took a step in the boy's direction and Yul Wei Ren gasped and reeled back.
There was no choice: Wan Fei had to leap to protect the young master. Yet as he closed the distance, he realized that it had all been a setup: the barbarian's raised fist was a decoy, never intended to strike. His other arm had prepared a technique he hadn't seen before, which unleashed a claw of energy through the air.
It tore three lines of blood across Wan Fei's chest and he staggered back. The barbarian was getting stronger... his Physique, the pride of his entire sect that had protected him for so long, was no longer enough. While Wan Fei had been babysitting the young master, the barbarian had grown stronger.
At least when he fell back, he put himself between the barbarian and his ward. That technique wouldn't work again, if he was foolish enough to try it. Even though his chest ached, Wan Fei had survived worse injuries. He no longer used his qi to fly, feeling the wooden boards underneath his feet as he prepared for a fight.
"Stop messing around! What are you doing, Grandpa Wanw-"
Both he could stop himself, Wan Fei turned and slapped the young man across the cheek. It was only a light blow, but Yul Wei Ren staggered back and shrieked. He held a hand to his slapped cheek as if he had been mortally wounded, at first too astonished to speak, then he almost exploded.
"How dare you?" Yul Wei Ren's face had turned bright red with shame and rage. "You lay a hand on me? My father will have you executed for this!"
"Could he really do that?" the barbarian asked from the side, as if mildly curious.
"You! Shut up!"
Wan Fei was still shocked at his own action, but slowly drew his hand back, calming himself and preparing for whatever was to come. "Yes," he said quietly, "the crime for striking a member of the Masterful Crown nobility is death."
The barbarian smiled thinly. "I see. And what's the crime for killing one?"
Yul Wei Ren's eyes twitched back and forth between them, still bulging, perhaps not even fully understanding. Wan Fei realized now that the barbarian could be as ruthless as any cultivator, it was simply a subtle ruthlessness. The cut of a sword instead of the bash of a mace. He sighed, for once feeling very old.
"And what future can you offer me?" Wan Fei asked in an even tone.
"Let yourself be presumed dead," the barbarian told him. "When I'm done, if there's anything left of the Masterful Crown clan, it won't have the strength to harm you. Go back a survivor and rebuild the Deepriver sect. Make it something you could be proud of."
"I see." Wan Fei closed his eyelids, which felt so very heavy.
"What are you doing, Grandpa Wanwan? I'm telling you-"
When Wan Fei slapped the young master a second time, he used his full strength. The blow crushed the side of the fool's face and sent his head spinning around so rapidly that it cracked. Everyone on the ship was completely silent as the body fell to the deck.
"Good." The barbarian's posture changed entirely and he walked forward with a friendly smile. "You can actually help us get back to Cloudspire, so this will work out. Here on Deadwaste we shake hands on an agreement, so let's shake."
Wan Fei eyed the extended hand, then slowly stretched out one of his own. "And you really trust me?"
"That would be nice." But when the barbarian reached out, a spike flicked out from his hand, piercing Wan Fei's wrist.
Instantly pain shot up his arm and he staggered to his knees. It was the same technique that had broken against his skin, but Wan Fei was weakened and his opponent's technique was stronger than before. The patriarch tried to purge the poison spreading through his body with all the qi techniques he knew, but they seemed to be ineffective. This was no human technique, it was more like some abomination from the depths of the ocean...
"I figure that someone with your Physique can survive the poison for quite a while," the barbarian told him, still in the same mild voice. "So if you prove trustworthy and we get back to Cloudspire, all is well. But if not... well, that would be disappointing."
"And then... you'll give me the antidote?" It took almost all his concentration just to keep the poison from consuming him, but he could hold it at bay with his cultivation base.
"Actually, I don't have one. I can produce the poison, but not its antidote, and neither can anyone on Deadwaste. My wife could make an antidote for you, but if we don't get back quickly enough, for whatever reason..."
"I... see..." There was no choice but to trust in this barbarian's insane mercy. Wan Fei focused fully on circulating his qi to endure and collapsed unconscious.
.
..
.
It had actually worked out after all. Kai made sure to smile at the naiads and reassure them that everything was fine now. He told them this was part of a Goralian operation to get rid of attacking cultivators, which they understood in general terms. And it had been successful: Yul Wei Ren was dead and Grandpa Wan Fei had turned.
Honestly, though, he was mostly disappointed that he hadn't needed to use the Starvation Wraith's essence. That would have made things interesting.
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