The forest path leading away from the Southern Quadrant was usually a sanctuary of silence, save for the rustle of wind through the ancient pines. Today, however, that silence was shattered by the pathetic, rhythmic whimpering of the defeated.
Lin Bo dragged his heavy body forward, one hand clutching his groin, his face a mask of purple agony. Sweat, cold and clammy, dripped from his nose. Every step sent a jolt of lightning through his lower nerves, a reminder of the "trash" who had just dismantled his pride.
Beside him, Lin Gou limped, clutching his bruised ribs, his breath coming in shallow, wheezing gasps that sounded like a broken bellows.
"That... that monster," Lin Bo hissed through gritted teeth, tears of pain leaking from his eyes. "I'll kill him. I'll get my father. I'll get the Enforcers. I'll have him skinned alive! I want his tendons pulled out one by one!"
"Boss... slow down... I think my lung is punctured..." Lin Gou groaned, his face pale.
They rounded a bend in the path, desperate to reach the Healing Halls before they collapsed, when a shadow fell over them.
It wasn't the shadow of a tree. It was the silhouette of an old man standing perfectly still in the middle of the road, leaning on a gnarled wooden staff. The air around him felt heavy, smelling of dried herbs and old earth.
Lin Bo squinted through his pain, his vision blurry. "Get out of the... wait. Master Feng?"
Feng Xiu looked down at the two broken disciples. His eyes, usually warm and grandfatherly, were unreadable pools of deep green. He swept his gaze over Lin Bo's ruined posture and Lin Gou's caved-in chest.
'Clean hits,' Feng Xiu noted internally, a flicker of surprise crossing his mind. 'Efficient. Brutal. He didn't use Qi to overpower them; he used their own momentum and arrogance against them. He fights not like a duelist, but like an executioner.'
"Master Feng!" Lin Bo cried out, seeing salvation. He stumbled forward, grabbing the hem of the old man's robe. "Help us! That trash... Lin Kai... he went crazy! He used a demonic art! He crippled me! Look at what he did!"
Feng Xiu didn't say a word. He stepped forward, his green robes fluttering in a wind that wasn't there. He raised his hand, and a soft, emerald light gathered in his palm.
Whoosh.
He pressed his hand against Lin Bo's shoulder, then waved it over Lin Gou.
The Wood Attribute Qi—the essence of life and recovery—flooded their bodies. But Feng Xiu, in his hidden disdain, didn't make it gentle. The healing energy surged like a torrent, forcing the bruised tissues to knit together violently.
"GAAH!" Lin Bo yelped as the nerves in his groin reconnected with a stinging burn. But seconds later, the blinding agony dulled into a manageable throb. Lin Gou's breathing eased as his diaphragm was soothed, though the ache remained.
It wasn't a full cure—Lin Bo would be walking with a distinct waddle for a month—but it was enough to let them run.
"M-Master Feng?" Lin Bo stammered, surprised by the sudden, rough relief. "Thank you! You have to help us capture him! He is dangerous! He might have been possessed by a beast!"
"Go," Feng Xiu interrupted, his voice calm but possessing an authority that made the air vibrate. "The Medicine Hall is that way. If you delay, the blood stagnation will set in, and the damage... might become permanent."
Lin Bo went pale. The threat of permanent damage to his manhood was more terrifying than any demon or beast.
"Right! Let's go, Gou!"
The two disciples scrambled past the old man, their desire for immediate revenge momentarily replaced by the primal panic of self-preservation.
"We're telling the Elders!" Lin Bo shouted over his shoulder as they disappeared into the trees, picking up speed. "Lin Kai is dead meat! The Law Enforcement Hall will hear of this!"
Feng Xiu watched them go, his expression darkening into a scowl.
He could have wiped their memories. He could have knocked them out. But doing so would leave traces of high-level Spirit Qi. If the Enforcers investigated and found his energy signature on their bodies, they would know an Elder had intervened. That would lead the investigation back to him.
"Let them call the wolves," Feng Xiu muttered, gripping his staff tighter until the wood creaked. "It will create chaos. And chaos is the best cover for an escape."
He turned and moved toward the dilapidated hut. He didn't walk; he glided, using an Earth-Shrinking Technique that folded the ground beneath his feet, covering twenty meters in a single step.
Time was running out. The sand in the hourglass had shattered.
When Feng Xiu arrived at the clearing, the atmosphere was tense. The smell of ozone—from the discharge of Dark Qi—still lingered in the air.
He found Lin Kai sitting on the ground, his chest heaving. The boy was drenched in sweat, his white undershirt clinging to his frame. His knuckles were raw and smoking slightly, the skin red from the friction of the high-speed strikes.
Lin Kai looked up, his eyes sharp and vigilant. When he saw it was Master Feng, the killing intent in his eyes vanished, replaced by relief.
"Master Feng," Lin Kai breathed. "You're here early."
"And just in time, it seems," Feng Xiu said, looking at the crater in the Iron-Bark Pine and the scuff marks in the dirt where Lin Bo had writhed. "You fought."
"They tried to take Xiao Bai," Lin Kai said, his voice hard. There was no apology in his tone. "I didn't start it. But I finished it."
Feng Xiu looked at the boy—really looked at him. The timidity of the "trash" was gone. In its place was the cold resolve of a cultivator who had tasted blood.
"You hit the groin," Feng Xiu noted dryly. "And the solar plexus. Dirty. Efficient. Survivors' tactics."
"I did what I had to do."