Retreat

As the cold winter wind blew by, a stiff silence rang through the mountains as both sides waited for the other to make a move.

The bandits, situated atop the mountain slopes and peaks, glared down on the small group of cultivators with a greedy grin.

Stepping away from the bandit's group, a young man smiled as he dropped down from his spot, landing gracefully like a cat onto the fluffy white snow.

He didn't have the appearance like the rest of the ruff bandits that he accompanied. He looked more like a young master with his clean purple robes and pretty-boy face.

'Hmm, what a sight.' Crossing her arms, Zhu Na Ran scanned the man's appearance with cautious eyes. 'What is this flower boy[1] doing here with all of these dogs?' (ד ྊ ד )

"Greetings esteemed guests," the young man smiled as he cupped his hands towards the group. "If I may be so bold to ask, what brings our esteemed guests through Xiong Xian Pass?"

"We're just passing by. If you want money, we have that. We'd rather leave without the need to shed blood," Ye Lian Hua spoke up as she placed her hand on her sword's hilt.

"Ah," the bandit smiled as he eyeballed her movements. "No need to be hasty, young missy.

I'm sure that we can come to an understanding."

"Hmm, talk."

"Heh," the bandit smiled. "The one is called Xu Jing.

Now, as much your offer is tempting for us to take, I'm afraid we can't let your companions go," he gestured over to the Xue Lei Guang disciples.

"After all, not only did they decide to rush us first, unprovoked I might add, but they even led to the death of our Chief's beloved pet, Bao Bao[2]."

'Bao Bao? Are you telling me that that giant ice bear was called Bao Bao!' (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ))

Pursing her lips, Zhu Na Ran tried to channel her sister's tranquility as she stifled her laughter.

"In any case," Xu Jing shrugged, "even if you disagreed, we'd still find a way to kill them.

It's just a matter of when and how."

A nervous and uncertain murmur came over the group.

"...Should we leave them?..."

"...They did bring this upon themselves… why would we have to die alongside them?"

"... But what about the relationships between our sects?"

"...hmm, good point…"

"And we're headed to Yong Yuan He Mountain; we can't afford to lose our numbers…"

"Looks like you've come to a decision," Xu Jing smiled as the bandits from above smirked down in anticipation. In addition to eyeballing their goods, many focused their attention on Ye Lian Hua in particular.

'Ugh, who do these guys think they are?' She almost had the urge to stick her tongue out at them but decided against it.

'Sigh, I promised not to cause too much trouble for Senior Sister unless told otherwise.

Aiyah…' (_　_|||)

Especially considering what happened the other night. She didn't want to have to be walked back to their tent with her senior sister helping her.

'Aghhh, that was so embarrassing.' (°言°怒)

Even worse was perhaps the fact her senior sister insisted on them sharing a tent, even though they packed enough that each person could have one tent for themselves.

In her senior's words, it was to prevent her from going out and causing trouble late at night.

'What the heck! How could I cause trouble out here!' ＼`•̀益•́´／

While Zhu Na Ran fumed internally over this, the bandit Xu Jing seemed to be running out of patience as he struggled to maintain looking at Ye Lian Hua.

For looking like a noble young miss, he was appalled at how intense her gaze was, one that nearly made him bow his head like a naughty child.

"So," he strained out a smile as Ye Lian Hua's gaze made him feel as if hundreds of needles were pricking at his face. "What will it be?"

Looking at her Senior Sister, Zhu Na Ran wondered if her senior sister would let the Xue Lei Guang disciples die here.

'She wouldn't, right? (o_o;;)

She has no reason to hate them or anything other than causing us some delay from the Ice Bear attack.

But even so, Senior Sister didn't seem to care about that too much.'

"We reject your offer."

The group murmured in both surprise and relief, especially from the Xue Lei Guang group.

"Thank you, Martial Aunt," stepping, Bu Xiu He cupped his hands at Ye Lian Hua with a smile.

Looking back and nodding at him, Ye Lian Hua returned her attention to the smiling bandit.

"Hmm, interesting choice," Xu Jing nodded with his cocky demeanor as he stroked his chin in thought, "I must admit, I didn't think that you would make that choice considering the rot within[3]."

Nodding over to Shao Xiu Lan, naturally, everyone's eyes followed.

'What?'

"Junior Sister," Bu Xiu He questioned in confusion and disbelief, "did you…"

"Yes, yes," Xu Jing laughed as he clapped his hands, bringing the attention back onto him. "How do you think that we got here, hmm?

"I-I-" Shao Xiu Lan started to try and defend herself, but it was becoming more evident by the second that her hands weren't as clean as they'd expect.

Turning to her, Shao Xiu Lan tried to plead with her, but she couldn't find the words.

'She betrayed us… why?' Σ(゜゜)

"Haha, it seems like you don't know your group as well as you think you do," he laughed. "Anyways, enough talk.

My brothers are antsy for blood."

With a sudden cry from above, the bandits' horde descended from above and down onto cultivators.

---

"Why are there so many of them!" Kicking away two bandits, more seemed to replace them as they tried to cut down their numbers. ヽ(`д´;)/

Despite being cultivators and being more robust than your average human, they struggled to maintain their position as the bandit's number just seemed to inch closer and closer.

However, what worried them wasn't the sheer numbers of bandits coming upon; they already seemed to be combat practice for some disciple, but rather the few lurked in the back were their primary concern.

'Huh, those old men sure aren't simple.'

They must be wearing us down before they come into one fatal swoop!'

Knocking down one more bandit, that was already twenty men that she defeated. "Hmm, I wonder how many Senior Sister got?"

"Move out of the way," within a split second, Zhu Na Ran barely dodge the massive swoop of her senior sister's blade as she cut down ten people at once, cutting them in half.

'Wha! Since when did Senior Sister become so strong!'

Any second later, and she would've become one of those stumpy blood fountains over there!

'Ugh, how ugly,' she cringed as blood squirted out from the decapitated parts. 'Yuck.' (ﾟ×ﾟlll)

From above, one of the older bandits looked on with disdain at the scuffle. 'Hmph, at this rate, we'll lose.'

Eyeballing the scene, the elder's eyes landed on Zhu Na Ran as she single-handedly took down a few of his strongest men instantly.

"Tch, how annoying," jumping down from his position, he joined the fray. "I better finish this battle quickly."

---

"Oof!

Huh, ha," pushed back, Zhu Na Ran skid across the snow as she resisted the urge to spit up her blood as she held onto her left shoulder, which throbbed painfully as Zhu Na Ran gripped it tighter. "...sh*t…" she cursed as her voice began to crack slightly from the pain.

'Three broken meridians and a cracked dantian.

Hah, it looks like I wouldn't be able to escape this fight.'

She glared up at the old man before her; she tried to swallow back her blood as he remained unaffected by any of her attacks or advances.

'It like an adult fighting a child.'

"Little girl, it seems like you need to train for a century more before you think that you can compete against this old man," stroking his beard, the old bandit scanned her pathetic appearance with apathetic eyes. "Hmph, a small bunch of kids like you, inner sect disciples at one of the Great Three Peaks?

My, how standards have gone down."

'This old b*stard, getting his kicks from beating up juniors! Tch!'

Positioning herself despite the pain, Zhu Na Ran went in for another swing. Fist colliding into another protection barrier, the old man yawned as Zhu Na Ran fruitlessly tried to break the barrier.

"Give it up, girl. You and your little friends are going to die here anyway, might as well have an easy death."

"I won't start so soon," huffing, she slammed the barrier with one final swing.

"What!"

Glowing on the barrier's surface, explosive talismans glowed a fiery red as they started to activate.

"Boom!"

A fog of black smoke surrounded the man, and although he was unhurt, and for a brief second, he, unfortunately, dropped his guard.

"Hiya!" Tackling him down to the ground, Zhu Na Ran started to throw punches at the old bandit.

Although she had a bit of a guilty conscience for doing such, she pushed that concern to her head's back.

After all, would he feel bad for beating the crap out of her?

She thinks not.

"You little b*tch!"

Throwing her off, the old man slammed his fist against her chest, sending her flying.

"Heh," wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the old man frowned at the mild numbness in his face. "That little sl*t, don't you know respect!"

As the smoke around him dissipated, he expected to find Zhu Na Ran's corpse or her begging on the ground like a dog.

However, unexpectedly, the fearless girl was still alive like a cockroach.

"Oof!" Spitting up some blood, Zhu Na Ran was surprised to find that she wasn't thrown into the icy snow, but rather in the warm embrace of another.

"S-senior, sister?" Peeking her eyes open, Zhu Na Ran saw that her senior sister ignored her call as she glared at her attacker.

"Go and take care of the juniors; I'll take it from here."

"But-"

"Go," her senior sister ordered harshly before softening a bit. "Stay safe," she said before she unsheathed her sword and started to attack the old bandit.

'I should probably stay here and protect, Senior Sister," after all, battles can be unpredictable. She never knows when her senior sister will need her help.

"Senior Brother!" A shrill cry rang among the battlefield as Zhu Na Ran's attention was brought to an injured Bu Xiu He and his junior sister beside him. "Senior Brother, you have to get up," she sobbed. "This junior was wrong, Senior Brother, I didn't mean for things to come to this!"

"Cough, cough," using his sword for support and the help of Shao Xiu Lan, Bu Xiu He grit his teeth as he struggled to steady his stance. "Junior Sister, you have to take the rest of the disciple out of here.

Cough, cough!

We can't afford to stay too long!

Go," pushing her away, Bu Xiu He struggled to stand as he chopped down another opponent.

"No! I'm not leaving," Shao Xiu Lan yelled back stubbornly. "I caused this, so I might as well fix it!" Joining the fray, she proceeded to take one a few opponents

"Heh," Bu Xiu He let out a tired chuckle as he watched Shao Xiu Lan in action. "My junior sister is finally grown up."

However, due to his fatigue, Bu Xiu He overlooked another opponent creeping behind him. "This is for my brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

"Not on my watch!"

Punching the bandit away, Zhu Na Ran helped Bu Xiu He gain his stable footing. "Careful."

"Many thanks, Martial Aunt Jing Ran," Bu Xiu He smiled.

"Em, it's no use. What's the status on the teleportation array?" After all, even though they may have the upper hand at the moment, in this situation, it was best for them to retreat.

"The array should be finished by now," he answered; however, we'd need to gather everyone back in time before it starts. "This is a one-way array, after all."

"Understood, I'll do my best to help spread the word," after sending Bu Xiu He back to where the group of disciples gathered to fuel the array, Zhu Na Ran started to dart around the battlefield to bring everyone back together.

Fortunately, they were without casualties; however, some disciples were in somewhat critical condition.

"Martial, Aunt! The array is almost finished! We should leave now!"

"Alright," Zhu Na Ran winced out as she grabbed onto her injured arm. "Do we have everyone?"

"No, wait! Martial Aunt Jing Hua still hasn't returned!"

"What!" How could that be? Zhu Na Ran was sure that everyone had arrived back, yet that disciple was correct.

She couldn't find a trace of her senior sister anywhere.

"I'm going out there! I have to get Senior Sister!"

"No, Martial Aunt! You can't! Without Martial Aunt Jing Hua here, who would lead us?!"

"Yes, yes! We need you here!"

"But-" Looking past the confines of the barrier and the array, her eyes desperately searched for the one she was looking for.

"Alright.

It looks like I have no other choice."

The other disciples sighed in relief at Zhu Na Ran's words. "That's good, Martial Aunt. Martial Aunt Jing Hua is powerful, we're-"

"Go without me!

I'm not leaving Senior Sister!"

[1] flower boy - playboy

[2] Bao3 Bao - a pet name for a baby. What an intimidating name for that bear lol.

[3] Xiu3 Lan4 - rot. Okay, this was just foolishness on my behalf. I didn't intend for her name to sound like rot. It was supposed to be like an elegant orchid or something, but I messed up. Oh well, that's life. Sorry SXL, I've wronged you in this lifetime.

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