Yue Rin stayed tucked behind the tree line, shoulders tight, eyes fixed on the turtle's shell and the water around it. If she was going to slip in unnoticed, she needed to know one thing first.
Was that water jet attack all it had?
A spirit beast that only spat water was dangerous. A spirit beast that could do something else, something sudden, was death.
So she waited and watched, letting the three cultivators test it for her.
Yue Rin told herself she didn't care what the turtle was guarding. That she was only here to test herself, to see if she could move in and out of danger without getting crushed, to pretend this spirit beast is the ape she was going to face in the future.
…Alright. Maybe she cared a little.
Just not enough to swing a sword at it like she had a death wish.
What she wanted was a clean chance. Like the turtle climbing onto land, its attention fixed on something else. If it stayed half-submerged, Yue Rin did not want to gamble on whether it would feel the water shift the instant she touched it.
Her gaze slid over the clearing, measuring distances, then she switched positions to the turtle's blind side, facing its back, ready for the moment an opportunity presented itself.
Farther from her, Qiao Min kept the turtle's attention, dodging in tight steps with sweat shining on his brow. Kang Loen and Deng Hai were already breathing hard, their clothes damp from spray. They had tried to slash at the turtle's front feet, but their blades only left pale scratches, shallow enough to heal before the pain could register.
If the enemy had been another cultivator, even a peak Qi Foundation one, three on one would have forced an opening by now.
This turtle did not even flinch.
It did not bleed. It did not stumble. It only grew more annoyed, like ants were biting at its feet.
The next time it swallowed water, it did not fire at Qiao Min.
It waited.
Kang Loen darted in, hoping for a deeper cut while the turtle's head was tilted toward the Qiao Min. The turtle's amber eyes shifted, slow and cold, and then its neck snapped toward him.
A jet of water burst out at point-blank range.
Kang Loen's pupils shrank. There was no room to dodge.
He activated his shield talisman and poured Qi into his defensive technique at the same time, but the water hit like a battering ram. He was launched backward, crashing into a tree hard enough that leaves shook loose. He coughed, and dark blood speckled the bark.
"Kang Loen!" Deng Hai shouted, taking a step toward him.
Just then, a shadow blotted out the moonlight over him.
Deng Hai's instincts screamed. He threw himself aside without thinking.
The turtle's foot slammed down where he had stood. The ground shuddered, dirt spraying.
Deng Hai's face went pale. He twisted his head toward Qiao Min, voice hoarse.
"Kang Loen's injured. We can't break its skin. This fight's lost, we should retreat!"
Qiao Min's expression hardened.
He had started this with confidence, with the easy arrogance of someone who believed numbers could flatten anything. Now, after watching Kang Loen wheeze against the tree, he finally felt the weight of what they were facing.
Still, leaving with nothing after all this made his stomach twist. He gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"Get Kang Loen somewhere safe, I'll try to draw it away from the pond. Then you go in and dive. Find if it's guarding something. The moment you surface, we leave."
Deng Hai hesitated. "That's…"
"Go!"
Qiao Min did not wait for an answer. He dashed in, barely slipping past another water jet that carved a line through the air beside his shoulder.
He ran straight under the turtle's head, close enough that the angle made its attack awkward. If it fired now, it risked blasting itself.
Qiao Min slashed at one of its front feet, not expecting to cut deep, only to provoke.
The turtle hissed. Unable to spit water cleanly, it began to stomp instead.
Qiao Min danced back, retreating just far enough that the turtle had to take a step to reach him, but not so far that he fell into the best range of its water jet. He kept teasing it, keeping the turtle's attention on his moving figure like a hook in its eye.
The turtle hesitated.
It wanted to crush him.
But it also wanted to stay in the pond.
Qiao Min saw that pause, and something sharp lit behind his eyes.
So it really was guarding something.
He lifted his sword and spoke with a mocking grin, loud enough to carry. "What's wrong, old shell? Afraid your pond will get stolen?"
Although the turtle did not understand his words.
It understood the insult of a small thing acting fearless.
With a rough hiss, it shifted forward, coming out farther, its heavy body dragging water and weeds with it. Each step shook the earth.
Yue Rin's heart began to pound.
This was it!
She slid her backpack off and set it beside a tree, angled so she could snatch it while running without fumbling. Then she moved.
Low. Quiet. Her cloak blending into the night.
She crept toward the pond's edge, keeping the turtle's shell between her and the cultivators as much as possible. The moment she reached the shore, she froze.
The turtle still had part of its body in the water.
Too close.
Yue Rin waited, barely breathing. She watched Qiao Min bait it again and again, watched the turtle stomp and lunge, watched it finally drag its full weight onto land.
The instant the turtle slammed its foot down with a thunderous crack, Yue Rin took a breath and jumped.
She hit the pond during the stomp, letting the noise swallow the splash.
Cold swallowed her whole.
For a moment, her vision became nothing but dark water. Her body jolted from the shock, breath almost tearing out of her. The pond was colder than she expected, like it had never truly warmed under the sun.
Ah… darkness.
The thought came with a flash of irritation. She should have planned this better.
But she was already in.
She kicked downward, forcing herself deeper. The surface above was faintly lit by moonlight, a pale sheet trembling with ripples. Below, the darkness thickened, pressing in around her shoulders and throat.
Regret nipped at her.
Not enough to make her turn back, but enough to make her pulse spike.
She held her breath and kept going.
The deeper she dove, the more the water seemed to change. It felt heavier. Quieter. Like the pond was swallowing sound along with light. Her own heartbeat became the loudest thing in the world.
She though she saw something move near her.
Or maybe it was only a strand of weed shifting.
Yue Rin forced herself not to panic. She pushed the thought down and kept her eyes open despite the sting. Darkness filled everything, but then, ahead of her, a faint glow pulsed.
Not bright, but still visible in the darkness.
She swam toward it, careful not to stir too much water. As she got closer, she realized the glow came from something embedded against the pond wall, half-hidden in a hollow between stone and roots. It looked like a small plant, clinging stubbornly, its leaves or petals giving off a dim sheen like moonlight caught on wet jade.
She did not have time to admire it.
Qiao Min would not distract the turtle forever.
Yue Rin reached out.
Then, her fingers brushed against something else.
Another hand.
Shock slammed through her.
A scream tried to rip out of her, but water rushed into her mouth instead. She gagged, swallowed a gulp, and her lungs burned.
The other hand jerked too, startled, but then it moved again, quicker. Whoever it was did not hesitate a second time.
They were reaching for the herb.
Yue Rin's mind snapped into focus.
Underwater, it was hard to see faces, only shifting silhouettes, but she could make out the shape of a body close to hers, the frantic motion of an arm tugging at the plant.
Yue Rin drew her sword.
The blade felt wrong in the water, heavier, slower, like the pond was grabbing it by the spine. Still, she swung.
Needle Draw.
Qi ran through her meridians and flashed into her sword, but the water stole most of the blade's speed. The slash landed on the other cultivator's forearm with a dull drag instead of a clean bite. A thin line of blood rose, drifting like ink.
It wasn't enough.
The other cultivator flinched, but kept pulling.
Yue Rin's lungs screamed. Her vision began to fuzz at the edges.
No time.
She clamped the sword's hilt between her teeth so it wouldn't sink, then lunged with both hands.
Her fist slammed into the other cultivator's stomach.
The punch was weak underwater, more shove than strike, but it hit hard enough to force a reflex. The other cultivator jerked, and bubbles burst from his mouth as he swallowed water.
That was the only opening Yue Rin needed.
She reached for the herb too, fingers scrabbling against slick stone.
But the other cultivator was faster.
With a sharp tug, he ripped the plant free.
The glow shifted in his grip.
Yue Rin's eyes widened in fury.
He kicked upward immediately, choosing escape over fighting. He already had what he came for. Staying longer meant drowning, or worse.
Yue Rin grabbed for his ankle and missed, her fingertips closing on nothing but water.
She kicked after him, but her breath was almost gone. Her throat burned. Her chest felt like it was being crushed from the inside.
Just then, the surface above them darkened.
Moonlight vanished in an instant, blotted out by something huge moving between her and the sky.
A shadow slid down through the water, wide enough to swallow her whole.
Yue Rin froze, suspended in the pond's black cold, watching that mass descend.