"Oh?" The woman's eyes narrowed, a devilish smile playing on her lips. Three glowing halos of light rose from her feet, swirling with energy. "I did not expect you to be so capable. But let us see how you fare against my three spirit rings."
"Three rings. How adorable," Shukaku's voice sneered inside Arthev's head. "She's preening like a peacock. Want me to show her what real power looks like?"
"Patience," Arthev thought back, his focus never leaving Zhu Zhuyun. "No need to reveal our hand. She is not the threat she believes herself to be."
Arthev studied her, his focus intensifying. Yet, despite the display of power, his assessment did not change. Her stance was arrogant, her guard lazy. To his eyes, she was still full of openings. He calculated that a simple, swift side kick would be enough to break her defense. Is she truly this weak, or is this a trap? he wondered.
"Cat got your tongue, little boy?" Zhu Zhuyun taunted, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. "Perhaps you finally understand the gap between us. Kneel and apologize, and I might let you crawl away."
Just as the woman, Zhu Zhuyun, gathered her energy to strike, a cold, strained voice cut through the clearing from behind a tree.
"Stop!"
Both Arthev and the woman turned. The girl was leaning heavily against a tree trunk, one hand braced against it, the other pressed tightly to her waist. Blood seeped steadily through her fingers. Her breathing was labored, but she pushed herself upright, her gaze fierce.
"Zhu Zhuyun, it is me you want. Do not harm an innocent person!" she demanded.
Arthev let out a quiet sigh. "You there. Why did you not use that time to run away?" he asked, his tone more exasperated than angry.
"I will not let other people die for my sake," she shot back, her voice trembling with pain and resolve.
"Now, younger sister, would it not have been easier to do this from the start?" Zhu Zhuyun said, her smile widening. "Tell me, how does the poison I prepared for you feel? Is it to your liking?".She brought her claws to her lips and blew a mocking kiss. "A special recipe, just for you."
As he watched the two sisters, a strange sense of familiarity washed over Arthev. The dynamic felt oddly similar to a perspective he knew, though he could not quite place it.
"First Soul Skill! Netherworld Stab!"
The wounded girl moved first. A yellow halo flickered around her as sharp, purple claws of energy extended from her hands, lunging toward her sister.
"Sister, you are still as reckless as ever!" Zhu Zhuyun sneered, a purple halo igniting around her in response."You think your paltry hundred-year skill can challenge my millennium power?"
But the attack was a feint. Mid-lunge, the girl twisted her wrist, bypassing her sister to instead grab Arthev's hand. With her other hand still clamped on her bleeding waist, she flung two gray pellets to the ground.
A dull thump echoed as they burst, releasing a thick, billowing cloud of smoke that instantly filled the clearing. The girl pulled hard on Arthev's arm, dragging him into a desperate run. From the choking smoke behind them,followed by Zhu Zhuyun string of curses that would make a soldier blush. "Find them! Don't let that little wretch escape!"
Arthev let himself be pulled, his eyes on the girl. Her long black hair streamed behind her, and her gaze was fixed ahead with a determined intensity, though she bit her lower lip against the pain.
"Your wound!" Arthev said. The injury at her waist had reopened, and the blood staining her clothes had taken on a sinister purple hue—the sign of the poison at work.
His words seemed to break her concentration. The strength drained from her limbs, and she stumbled forward like a marionette with its strings cut.
Arthev reacted instantly. He caught her, one arm scooping behind her knees, the other supporting her back. Without breaking stride, he leaped upward, landing swiftly on a thick branch high in a nearby tree.
"Put me down," she whispered, her pride warring with her weakness. "I can... I can run."
"You can barely stand," Arthev stated, his voice low but firm. "Be quiet if you want to live."
Below, the sound of pursuers soon reached them. Arthev held the girl steady against the trunk, her breathing shallow. He watched as the figures of Zhu Zhuyun and her men moved through the shadows beneath, searching, before continuing on and disappearing into the forest.
Arthev let out a low sigh and looked at the girl. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her brow furrowed in pain. Soft, pained whimpers escaped her lips.
Spotting a nearby cave with a small spring trickling through it, he carried her inside and laid her carefully on a flat, dry rock.
He examined the ugly purple wound on her waist. "Matatabi," he thought, "your Stellar Blaze can burn away poison without harming the host, correct?"
"Yes," the Two-Tails replied simply within his mind.
A single, violet soul-ring flickered to life around Arthev. Immediately, a sapphire-blue flame enveloped the girl's body.
Her eyes snapped open, wide with alarm as she stared at the blue fire covering her. A moment later, confusion replaced fear; she felt no heat, no pain.
"What....what are you doing to me?" she asked, her voice strained.
"Burning the poison out of your system," Arthev explained, his tone even."Just stay still. It will be over soon."
A few moments later, the flames vanished. The sinister purple hue had retreated from the wound, leaving behind a clean, though still serious, injury.
"Thank you," she said, her voice raspy.
"Talk later. Drink first." Arthev offered her his water pouch.
She took it eagerly, drinking in loud, desperate gulps.
"Drink slowly," he cautioned. "Your body cannot handle too much at once."
After draining the pouch, she instinctively ran her tongue over the spout, catching the last drops. Realizing Arthev was watching, she quickly looked away, a flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "Sorry. I was so thirsty."
"It is okay." He took the pouch back calmly and wiped the spout with his sleeve.
Satisfied that some color had returned to Zhu Zhuqing's face, Arthev stretched and walked to the stream at the cave's entrance. He cupped the cool water, splashing it over his head and face.
The sunlight, filtering through the trees, caught the droplets shaking from his hair as he tossed his head back. For a brief moment, the image of him, refreshed and strikingly handsome, was imprinted into the girl's mind.
He turned back into the cave, his eyes meeting hers. She immediately looked away, tilting her head to the side, but the tips of her ears burned a bright red.
"I am Arthev. What is your name?" he asked, sitting down on the rock beside her.
"Zhu Zhuqing," she said softly. "My name is Zhu Zhuqing."
"I see. So… what happened between you and your sister?" Arthev ventured, his tone careful.
At the question, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to shrink, as if doused in cold water. She fell into a heavy silence.
Arthev quickly waved a hand. "If you do not wish to speak of it, that is fine." He understood some memories were too painful.
"I was looking for someone," Zhu Zhuqing said abruptly, her voice low. "My sister tried to stop me."
"Stop you? With poison and assassins?" Arthev raised an eyebrow. "That seems a bit extreme for a family disagreement."
"In my family," Zhu Zhuqing replied, her voice hollow, "this is what disagreement looks like."
"But why? What could be important enough to lead to... this?" Arthev asked, feigning confusion though he knew the brutal dynamics of such a family.
"If I find that person," she said, pressing her lips together, "I will have a chance to defeat my sister." She seemed to have reached the limit of what she was willing to share.
Seeing her resolve, Arthev did not press further. Instead, he offered quiet support. "Then you must persevere. Never give up until the very last moment."
A moment of comfortable silence passed between them.
"So, what are you doing here?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, turning the conversation to him. "Resting in a place like this?"
"Me?" Arthev thought for a moment. The truth about the tailed beasts and his unique manifestation process was not a story for today. A simpler, half-truth would suffice. "I was hunting a soul beast for my soul ring." He gestured to the single violet ring that had appeared around him earlier. "It was a success."
To be continued....