Mage's Cultivation Journey 5

As he looked at the three martial artists standing against him, Yu Xing knew that he was in mortal danger, but that wasn’t enough to make him lose his composure. He was familiar with mortal danger. He faced it whenever he climbed Kunze mountains, where he could meet his end under the claws of an errant savage beast. 

He just didn’t expect it to come from a disaster he had left behind when he left the city and abandoned his martial ambitions. “Really, Wang Fu? You think I can’t defeat you,” he declared, raising his fist, taking the third stance of the Furious Wind style. “Come and try me!” 

“You’re bluffing. Your talent has been ruined!” Wang Bi declared. 

He was right, but Yu Xing said nothing, just holding his fist high. With his injuries, he would be lucky to throw two punches before he collapsed in pain, but Wang Bi had always been a coward, never challenging him back when they were both at the school, not even for a spar.

As he watched the way Wang Bi looked at his two bootlickers made the briefest of the smiles dance on his lips, but a sharp look replaced it. “That was back then. Now, I’m cured,” Yu Xing declared. “Come if you want to try me.” 

Wang Bi once again looked at his two followers, but they just took a step back. “It’s a lie. If you had recovered, you would have attacked me,” Wang Bi declared. 

Yu Xing paused, trying to come up with an excuse. “Because I don’t want trouble,” he replied. “If I kill you, they will send others, and I will have to move away. I just want to stay here, living a simple life.”

“Don’t you fear I will still reveal your location?” 

“No, because I know your cowardice, Wang Bi. Can you take the risk to say to your boss that you finally found a clue about the location of your master’s legacy, yet you turned back because you’re afraid. If I let you go, you will keep my secret, but killing you will reveal it. That’s the only reason you’re alive.”  

A flash of indecision covered Wang Bi’s face, his weak attitude not solved by his recent breakthrough. Once a coward, always a coward, Yu Xing decided. While his enemies struggled, he glanced at the thin, rough path that wound down from the Kunze foothills into the village, wondering if it would be better to just run into the mountain. If he could hide his tracks…

No, he decided, abandoning that direction. He knew Wang Bi well. Escaping would mean revealing his weakness. Even if he succeeded, Wang Bi would kill everyone in the village in a petty revenge. Yu Xing couldn’t let them die due to his mistakes. He wasn’t an ingrate. 

A minute passed in silence, the usual hum of the village absent as the others had long barricaded inside their homes in the hopes of avoiding the trouble. Yu Xing didn’t blame them. Even if they attacked relentlessly, an Initiate martial artist could kill a dozen people before he was brought down. That was true even for a poor excuse of human beings like Wang Bi. 

And, that required the villagers to hold on bravely while their neighbors fell around them. Even for trained soldiers, it was a challenge, let alone villagers. 

It was much easier to let Yu Xing face his life alone. 

Yu Xing continued to stand at the village’s edge, shoulders straight, fingers tense to hide the subtle tremble of his fist, wondering if he could pull one punch while hiding his pain. He couldn’t take down Wang Bi, but if he took down one of his bootlickers, maybe. Unlike Wang Bi, they were merely Intermediate Initiates. 

“You’re lying,” Wang Bi declared after a brief silence. 

Yu Xing did his best to radiate confidence, hoping that it would be enough to sell his lie. But, the more he stood still, the more he could see the doubt in Wang Bi’s eyes grow. “Wang Su, attack,” he declared. “He’s bluffing.” 

“Are you sure, cousin —” his lackey, who apparently also shared a bond of blood, declared in fear. 

“Yes, just walk,” Wang Bi ordered,. Wang Su looked hesitant, enough to make Yu Xing hope his lie might see him through, but his hopes were dashed when Wang Bi pushed his cousin forward, sacrificing him to test him.   

“Do you dare to push me, you coward,” Yu Xing declared, lashing with a fist, mobilizing the meager amount of internal energy he possessed. He had no other choice. Unbalanced by the push, Wang Su wasn’t able to avoid the attack. His fist landed on his chest, several ribs shattering under his attack. 

For a fleeting moment, Yu Xing hoped that he succeeded. Wang Bi’s fear was apparent. 

If only he hadn’t collapsed on the ground a breath later, the pain invading his body worse than being stabbed by a molten blade. 

“Ha ha ha! I knew you were bluffing. You should have stayed in the city and died obediently, cripple,” declared Wang Bi. 

Yu Xing didn’t answer. It wasn’t the approach of the death that scared him to silence. He wanted to point out Wang Bi’s cowardice, unable to approach him before he collapsed, but his body didn’t agree. Not shouting in pain was the best he could do. 

“What a pity, the so-called genius of the school, turning your nose at us like you’re better than us, refusing the honor of the Black Wind Gang. Do you regret standing against us!” 

Yu Xing couldn’t answer, still wriggling in pain. A kick from Wang Bi, delivered hard enough to crack his arm, didn’t help. But, he could do nothing. He was alone, injured, lost. 

Another kick landed on him, this time his stomach. “You are lucky that you still have some value. Just reveal the location of that coward, and I might even let you live after cutting one of your legs.” He paused, a cruel laugh escaping his mouth. “The idea of you struggling in the mountains as a pathetic cripple is even better than granting you a quick death. But, it’s still better than being dead, isn’t it,” Wang Bi declared. 

“Not - everyone - is - a - coward,” Yu Xing managed to spit out, the most he could achieve in his injured state. His defiance received another kick, this time directly to his head, making his ears ring. Even in pain, Yu Xing forced himself to laugh, hoping to enrage Wang Bi. At this point, a quick death was all he could hope for. 

He would have smiled when he heard the distinct sound of a blade being pulled off its sheath, but before he could rejoice, his hopes of a quick death had been interrupted. 

“Enough!” a voice called. One that Yu Xing didn’t recognize, meaning it wasn’t one from the village. 

“Who are you?” Wang Bi asked, but even in pain, Yu Xing could catch the fear in Wang Bi’s tone. “And how dare you meddle with the business of Black Wind Gang!” 

The mysterious person did not answer, making Yu Xing think that he had been intimidated by the enemy. But, why Wang Bi was walking away? Yu Xing was forced to push through the pain and opened his eyes. His sigh was blurry, unable to see much. He just saw a figure wearing a robe, walking forward slowly, like he wasn’t about to interfere with a battle between martial artists. 

“Black Wind Gang? Merely a tiny force, and you dare to speak its name,” the unfamiliar voice declared, his accent foreign yet imposing. “Why do you force this poor monk to kill, you poor man.” 

“M-monk? I don’t believe you,” Wang Bi declared even with his trembling voice, but the mysterious figure seemed to ignore him when he crouched down and touched his chest and his stomach. Then, the impossible happened. 

“The pain,” Yu Xing muttered, fascinated as he jumped back to his feet. “It’s … gone.” He hadn’t recovered completely. His ears were still ringing, and his cracked arm still hurt. But, the chaos of his internal energies, raging wildly in his body, was gone. 

His sight recovered as the worst of the pain evaporated, and he finally recognized the face. 

The man he saved, and was caring for almost two months. Then, his eyes widened when he caught the shockingly familiar gray attire. His tattered gray blanket, yet wrapped around him in a complicated pattern, somehow enough to overshadow even the attires of the rich merchants. 

Just like he had hoped when he saved him. A man who appeared in such a commotion couldn’t be someone ordinary. 

“I … Master, thank you,” he muttered, bowing. The fact that he was able to cure him from pain even the apothecaries in the city — the ones he could afford to pay — could not handle implied a great skill. 

Wang Bi spoke. “I don’t believe it. You’re faking, trying to save this waste!” But, his fear radiated. 

“Please don’t make this poor monk bloody his hands, young man,” his benefactor said as he took a step forward. 

Yu Xing watched.