Riot

It had been early afternoon when Zhèngyi and Toras together had led Kiyu outside.

On the way out of the hiding place, they had blindfolded her. As a security measure, they said, so that no more people than necessary would know the location of their hiding place.

On the one hand, Kiyu felt upset about it, because she didn't feel acknowledged by the other two yet, but on the other hand, it was understandable. She was an outsider and didn't even know them for a full day. Who would show a stranger the way into their own secret hideout and the dwelling there?

In the end, she accepted, and didn't think about it while they led her outside. As a precaution, they had walked some more and Kiyu found herself in the middle of the park when she took off the blindfold.

She was not too far from where she had been fighting Tānlán's men the night before.

'Just wait for me, Laki. I'll get you back!' Determined, she clenched her right hand into a fist and made her way across the large street that connected the park to the marketplace.

She walked for a few minutes, trying not to let her inner tension appear on her outside appearance. What she still lacked was a suitable method to break off the quarrel she needed as a distraction for Zhèngyi. Although she had to create chaos, she didn't want to drag innocent people into her affairs.

For a while she stood at the edge of the marketplace and surveyed the entire square. It looked crowded. Much more crowded than it had been the day before. Whatever she would do to attract attention, it had to be something small but hostile.

'What can I do to make the guards attack me without hurting a citizen of the city' Kiyu pondered as she let her gaze wander over the square.

'That's it!' Her eyes met the fountain just then, and a sly grin decorated her lips. She remembered the events of the previous day, when Toras had played a poor traveler who wanted something to drink from the fountain in the middle of the marketplace.

The guards had been rather aggressive and were ready to use their weapons.

'This is the perfect opportunity' While she was still recalling a plan on how she would signal Zhèngyi, Kiyu made her way to the well where there were guards again.

Because of the enormous crowd, they had not spotted Kiyu. After all, the well was only part of their task. They were also responsible for order in the square.

"Hey you! Get the hell out of there!" one guard yelled at Kiyu when she sat down on the railing of the large fountain.

"Oh, but it's so beautiful here," she replied, making no move to move away from the fountain.

"I won't say it again, little girl!" the guard yelled, drawing his sword. "I forbid you to sit by the master's well!"

"Oh, what a pity!" retorted Kiyu with mock sadness. "Then I may not drink some of the cool water on this hot day either?" she mocked, gathering some water in her right hand and bringing it to her mouth.

A few more guards had noticed her behavior and the aggressive guard and gathered around Kiyu as well, bracing for a fight to break out at any moment. People on the market also realized the tense movements of the guards around them and distanced themselves from the scene.

"I warned you!" the guard yelled, running toward Kiyu with his sword raised.

Kiyu, however, made no move to attack him. Instead, she dodged his attack at the very last moment and dropped him headfirst into the well, chuckling.

"Wait, let me help you!" she shouted and full of feigned pity to provoke the other guards.

But before any of them could react, she crouched down and grabbed the outer ring of the well with both arms. The bottom and the inner ring was a separate construct of the whole, so it was easier for her than she had first thought.

"Now then!" she shouted, lifting the outer stone ring of the fountain.

"Unbelievable!"

"What is she doing?"

"What a power!"

The crowd's reactions varied, and some felt fear as well.

"Haaa!" she roared and threw the fountain up with all her might. As the fountain flew into the air, she grabbed the guard by the collar and flung him out of the fountain's fall zone before she herself also moved away some meters just to avoid the stone ring itself.

No one attacked her after the throw. They all stared at the ring of the fountain, which flew many meters into the air and flipped over several times.

But soon they noticed that the stone ring lost height again and the people, who already kept a great distance after Kiyu, nothing more than a child in their eyes, had thrown up the fountain, ran to all corners of the marketplace.

With a loud crack, the stone ring shattered as it crashed to the ground. Splinters came loose and flew a few more meters, but none of them hit anyone. Everyone had kept more than enough distance out of fear.

Many had already fled when they saw the fountain, but at the latest when it was on its descent, everyone had moved away screaming. Behind the stands of the square, the remaining had sought and found their shelter.

Kiyu, however, strolled back to the center of the large square and after dodging the individual splinters and wrinkled her nose. "There I was just going to drink some water and then this happens."

More and more guards gathered around her, and they raised their swords and spears.

Kiyu took advantage of the soldiers' uncertainty and went into her combat meditation stance, placing one flat hand in front of her chest like a cutting blade while keeping the other fist closed behind her back.

From the outside it might look like she was in combat readiness, which was true, but Kiyu used this position to meditate, to restore her spiritual energy.

'I can use every bit. I just hope Zhèngyi caught the signal.'

But she could not concentrate on the problem for very long. More and more guards gathered around her, and before long she saw herself being surrounded by a ring of three or four dozen guards.

"Hey, I know that little one!" one guard shouted, upset. "That's the little fighter brat from the park I was telling you about. The one from last night!"

Some people present must have known and gasped when they heard who the person in front of them was. But this fear also turned around after people realized who she was.

"Didn't you take her by surprise with 12 people?" asked another guard, who must have heard the story firsthand, but wasn't there himself. "And now there are many more of us. So what are we waiting for?"

"You don't stand a chance, kid!" the soldier shouted, running at her with his spear.

With a single attacker, Kiyu still refrained from even using her powers. Instead, she dodged the spear attack and gave the warrior a shove against his back, causing him to fall forward and crash to the ground.

'I'd say I'm sorry..... but I'm not,' she said to herself in her mind, preparing for the next wave.

"Oh, shit!" The unsuccessful attacker left his spear on the ground and ran away from her, almost falling to the ground again.

Kiyu went back to her battle meditation. Every second counted, she knew. Her power was still small, but her regeneration was not bad and she had to take advantage of this.

The next attack would not be so easy to fend off, as several guards broke free from the ring they had formed around Kiyu and ran toward her with their weapons raised.

"Then it begins" she whispered and exhaled. Warmth flooded her body and filled her eyes and ears. Her only chance to survive and emerge victorious was to put into practice one hundred percent of the things she had learned in the practice fight with Toras.

During her fight with the guards in the park, and also the training session with Toras, which was not so long ago, she had exhausted much spiritual energy. Her healing had also taken a lot.

But through the use in both fights and the healing, she had widened her spiritual vessel; she felt that. There was no need to use up all that energy now. But if she would use it with care, she would succeed here, she just felt that.

The first guard approached her range and had to witness Kiyu dodge his sword strike, only to grab his sword arm and push him back with the flat of her hand, which she slammed against his chest.

'I don't have enough energy to make them all worn out, but they don't need to know that,'

Instead, she would disarm them and discourage them by sheer superiority.