Tian Xin stood amongst the other hunters, his breath visible in the freezing air. He had spent the last hour trying to convince the village council of the impending doom he had witnessed in the ravine, but the reception had been icy. The village has been safe for too long and has given them an ironcloud security. They refused to even imagine a possibility of the village being in danger of destruction.
"Tian Chen, look at him," Tian Hei sneered, his voice dripping with disdain and jealousy. He gestured toward Tian Xin, who was as pale as a ghost. "It's true that the White Moon Wolf we saw earlier wasn't normal, but it is definitely not the so-called Spirit Blood Moon Wolf. Tian Xin must have finally gone crazy after that woman's death. He has started seeing things."
Tian Hei was a robust man, a martial artist of some repute in the village, but his vision was narrow, clouded by pride in the village's 400-year standing and his desire to see Tian Xin fall from grace. He leaned against his spear, a mockingly relaxed posture that belied the danger surrounding them.
Tian Chen, the Village Chief, did not join in. He was looking fiercely at the dark line of the forest. He had yet to see the Spirit Blood Moon Wolf with his own eyes, but he knew the weight of Tian Xin's words. They had grown together, shared food from the same plate, and survived in the inner layer of the Black Crescent Mountains Range. Few people could challenge the trust he had in Tian Xin's judgment, even in the current state.
"Hmn!" Tian Chen grunted, turning a sharp, silencing glare toward Tian Hei. Does this idiot have his judgment clouded by jealousy even in this situation? "Tian Hei, I don't want to hear another one of your stupid remarks. We are in too much danger for you to act this way."
"This night is almost over, so the Moon wolves should not attack. Most likely they will try something tomorrow night, but nonetheless we stay on watch."
The reprimand silenced the group, but the tension remained. They knew the Moon Wolves both the Black and the White varieties, were too agile and swift and with the geographical advantage of the Black Crescent Mountains Range behind them, the villagers' chances of escaping a coordinated pursuit were close to zero. They had to hold the line, or they would be hunted down like livestock.
"You can go to sleep," Tian Chen said softly to Tian Xin. "You have done enough for the village."
"No, I will stay on watch as well," Tian Xin replied. "I just want to be positioned on the eastern side."
"If that's what you wish, be my guest," Tian Chen sighed. "But I still hope that you can rest for a while. The worst is yet to come. Tomorrow night will most likely be a terrible night."
Tian Xin did not try to sleep. He sat by the fire, sharpening his hunting axe to a razor edge, his movements slow and methodical. He intermittently practiced the breath control of the Eight Hidden Inner Turtle Breaths, forcing clarity into his mind, enough to steady the tremor in his hands and keep the exhaustion at bay. He sat there, eyes fixed on the darkness beyond, listening to the mountain wind with every fiber of his being
Howl! Howl!
The sound tore through the silence, followed by the heavy, rhythmic thud of paws on the frozen earth. From the grassy hills, the shapes began to emerge. They were massive, demonic beasts, each the size of a tiger.
"What! No, this shouldn't be happening!" a hunter cried. "The night is almost over! Moon Wolves don't hunt during the day!"
"Go!" Tian Chen roared, his voice cracking like a whip.
the practiced fluidness of a high-level martial artist and the highest cultivator in the village a
The Chief did not hesitate. He was the first to move as a high-level martial artist and a 9th Layer of Qi Refining Realm cultivator. He reached into his robes and brought out a black magical weapon: a heavy, inscribed iron rod that hummed with a low, dangerous frequency. He struck the first Black Moon Wolf that cleared the village fence, the impact echoing with a sickening crunch. The beast let out a miserable howl, its abdomen ruptured, internal organs spilling onto the frost-covered ground.
For a moment, it seemed the defense might hold. The villagers fought with desperation, Tian Xin was dealing with two White Moon Wolves at the same time, standing his ground, and trying at the same time to sense where the Spirit Blood Moon Wolf was. His senses, sharpened by desperation, picked up an anomaly but he was not the first one.
"Something's wrong!"Tian Chen screamed from the front line.
Howl!
He tried to sweep the area with his spiritual sense, but the mist rolling down from the mountains was not natural. It was thick, heavy, and damp, limiting his perception of the world; the only thing he saw was a White Moon Wolf.
"No! That wolf demon is definitely not a White Moon Wolf!" Chen gasped, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
A gust of chilling wind assaulted his face, and goosebumps crawled along his arms. An illusory figure arrived in the blink of an eye, merging with the moonlight to deceive the vision. It was the Spirit Blood Moon Wolf. It stood taller than the others, its fur shimmering with a layer of frost that didn't melt despite the heat of the battle. It moved with a terrible confidence.
Whoosh!
The Black Moon Wolf that Tian Chen had gruesomely wounded did not stay down. In a display of horrific magical power the wound began to knit together. The blood didn't just stop flowing; it seemed to be sucked back into the body until not even a droop of blood remained on the ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Spirit Blood Moon Wolf didn't attack with claws alone. Two crescent moon blades of pure energy tore through the air, their light even more dazzling under the full moon. They were beautiful and lethal.
Tian Chen's emotions were ignited with a mixture of great sorrow and anger. He had spent his life protecting this village, and now he watched it being dismantled by a legend he hadn't believed in until it was too late. It was not until the energy blades slashed directly in front of him that he reacted.
"Hiss!"
Not far away, Tian Xin let out a muffled groan. He was swaying, his body feeling like it might collapse at any moment. Seeing the tragic state of Tian Chen, one of the few cultivators in the village and the strongest man he knew, Tian Xin lost all hope of defending the village. He watched as Tian Chen evaded the first blade, but the second sliced through his chest, leaving a deep, jagged cut in his leather armor and the flesh beneath.
Splat!
The sound of Tian Chen's blood hitting the earth was the final bell for Tian Xin. Despite being wounded and exhausted, he circulated the Eight Hidden Inner Turtle Breaths to the limit and then further. He felt something in his meridians snap, a temporary surge of power that came at a terrible cost.
IIt does not matter if my body breaks, he thought. I need to make sure my son survives. Honor and anything else be damned.
Fortunately, the Spirit Blood Moon Wolf was focusing its primary attention on Tian Chen. As his strength was greater making him the more immediate threat and had not yet turned its attention towards the village.
When the time had come to choose a position for that night watch Tian Xin had chosen the most eastern one, staying relatively closer to his own home. He turned and ran. He moved at a speed that, from the perspective of a normal human, was impossible. He was a blur of motion, a shadow flickering through the chaos.
He reached his house in seconds. He burst inside and saw Tian Shen Ji standing in the center of the room, his small face pale but his eyes wide and alert.
"Shen Ji, we need to go," Tian Xin gasped. He didn't wait for an answer. With a swift, jarring movement, he scooped his son into his arms and leaped back out into the night.