Relief flooded through Yuming's chest upon seeing Yujin—then immediately curdled into horror, before settling in his heart as coldness.
He's actually here! To put me into more debt!
Yuming pressed a hand against the cool cave wall beside him, doing his best to regain his balance.
We all came to this cave at the same time.
Yuming's hand pressed against the cave wall for balance. Stone grated softly beneath his fingers, and dust trickled down before he realized he'd been gripping too hard.
I stopped the flying boat to come here.
Yuming knew he didn't have time to speculate about what extraordinary methods those above had. He could only hope there were limitations.
If this is coincidence, then fate is cruel. If it isn't—then this is intentional.
He straightened from the wall.
But I can't take risks. I must assume the worst.
A cold glint flashed through his eyes.
I need Yujin to owe me.
Meanwhile, the three cultivators Yuming had been fighting paused. The battle had already been difficult enough with one person—but against two? And they both had Liu Family robes. One Liu might have been fine, but two meant they likely had forces in this area.
What's more, the opportunity they'd felt was in this cave suddenly seemed much less important than their lives.
The three communicated with their eyes. They'd probe for a bit, but prepare for a retreat. No need to throw away everything for this small cave.
Before they could act, however, Yuming made a choice for them.
"Senior Brother Yujin!" Yuming howled, with a voice crack that wasn't entirely fake. "These demons ambushed me! They're after the cave's opportunity—but I managed to hold them off!"
The woman's eyes snapped at him, narrowing. She was about to speak, hoping to deescalate and begin negotiations.
But Yuming was determined to cut off any opportunity for negotiation.
"Brother Jin! They tried to kill me to steal it—we can't give them a chance to escape!"
The sword-wielder's face twisted. He needed to calm things down. "That's not—"
"Silence!" Yujin's voice swung across the cave.
Yuming watched Yujin's hand move toward his waist, and saw the talisman paper emerge.
The three cultivators realized there was no chance to back down now. One man clutched his sword, the other prepared his fist. The woman's hands began forming seals. They would fight.
Perfect.
BOOM
Yujin's first talisman detonated, and fire bloomed in the narrow cave. The three scattered, but the woman's qi pulse disrupted the spread, making the flames dance without direction. Yuming's attention focused on her. He recognized the technique by now, that rhythm disruption technique that had beaten him.
He decided not to warn Yujin about it yet.
Yujin circulated the Hollow-Reed Guard technique, calming his mind and body. As he stepped forward, his paces carried an eerie steadiness that contrasted with the surrounding chaos. He closed in on the barehanded man—his closet target.
Yujin sent a palm flying at the man, whose qi-wrapped fist went up as a guard and blocked the strike.
Behind him, the sword-wielder was circling around, his blade raised.
Yuming's throat tightened. Wait. He forced himself to only consider himself, to not scatter his compassion.
The sword came down.
"Behind you!" Yuming shouted.
Yujin twisted, already having sensed it, and his arm came to deflect. The blade skidded off of a thin qi barrier, but the impact was enough to make him stagger.
"Senior Brother! The woman!" Yuming warned, his voice strained. "She controls rhythm! Don't let her dictate your pace!"
Yujin's eyes flashed towards her—but that advice came a second too late to prevent the first strike.
Yuming slumped back against the cave wall, breathing hard. The other four souls in the cave thought he was exhausted. In reality, he was counting the time.
The barehanded man regrouped with the woman, together they could coordinate and make Yujin's guard less effective.
Yuming forced himself to move upward. His Ren Meridian was exhausted, but he had enough strength left for one more move. He needed to prevent them from regrouping. No—he needed it to look like he was preventing them from regrouping.
Yuming rose with a determined look on his face. "I'll cut them off!"
"No wait, you're—"
It was too late for Yujin to change anything. Yuming heroically pushed off the wall, face covered in dust, dagger in hand. With a valiant spirit, he stumbled forward.
The woman was surprised. A wounded cultivator charging her? This boy was very reckless. She stepped back, and raised her hands to unleash another pulse.
But Yuming wasn't aiming for her. Instead, he threw his dagger. It didn't travel towards the woman, or to the bareheaded man, but to the space between them. It rattled against the stone wall, tossing soot and grime towards the two.
They both shifted to opposite sides. Their formation had temporarily broken.
But the bareheaded man had shifted into Yujin's path, and his chest was struck by Yujin's palm. The crack of his ribs filled the cave, and the man flew back gasping for breath.
"Nice!" Yujin said.
Yuming collapsed to one knee, his breathing heavy, barely forcing out his words. "I can't…"
Yuming was now far from his dagger, unarmed. Yujin had the two tougher opponents focused entirely on him.
The sword wielder, who now had burns covering his arm, circled around again in an attempt to flank. Yujin was unable to watch both opponents at once; the woman's pulses were disrupting his Hollow-Read Guard's sensory field, and the sword wielder's movements were rapid.
Yuming saw a blade swing at Yujin's side, a swing Yujin didn't notice. The sword was heading directly for Yujin's ribs—it would be a crippling or fatal blow if it connected. Yuming could have shouted a warning, but he didn't.
Instead, he threw himself forward. Not directly in the blade's path, but close. He thrusted out his hand, desperately grabbing at the sword wielder's trailing foot.
The man stumbled, his blade swinging two low, not hitting Yujin's ribs but instead grazing his thigh. Yujin gritted his teeth as blood poured out, but he stayed standing.
The off-balance sword wielder overextended, and Yujin sent a palm to his throat, causing him to choke and cough up blood before collapsing.
"Yuming!" Yujin's voice was sharp with concern.
Yuming looked down. The sword, in deflecting, had caught his forearm. Not too deep, but enough to cause bleeding.
"I saw the opening..." Yuming gasped. "I had to... take it..."
It wasn't a lie—there had been an opening. Yuming just hadn't needed to take that specific risk to exploit it.
Now, only the woman remained, standing at the center with her hands raised and qi-pulses radiating outward. Her eyes shifted between Yujin and the exit. She was considering running.
"You– you can't let her escape!" Yuming moaned, "She'll call for more!"
She was probably a loose cultivator, but there was no reason to take risks.
Yujin stared at her blankly, another talisman appearing in his hand.
"W- wait!" the woman yelled in panic. Seeing that there was no easy escape, her tired hands fumbled around her robe for her own protective talismans. They were old and wrinkled.
Needless to say, Yujin's talisman was stronger.
Fire erupted, and the woman was unable to disrupt it with her pulses—Yujin had adapted to it by now. The flames caught her robe, and her shrieking filled the cave.
Yujin's finishing strike was merciful. Silence filled the cave.
Three lifeless bodies lay on the floor, blood pooling onto the stone.
Yujin stood rigid with his chest heaving, staring at the bodies as if they might move again. His hands—which had been steady during the battle—began to tremble uncontrollably as he looked at the bodies. This is what is meant to be strong. Was he prepared to be strong?
Yuming's face was still, almost calm, but his fingers dug into his sleeve. His stomach felt hollow, then began to churn. He hurriedly looked away from the bodies, afraid that if he didn't, the cold mask he'd just learned to wear would crack.
Finally, Yujin broke the silence. "Brother Ming… that blade—"
He swallowed. "If you hadn't moved, I'd be on the ground right now."