48 She's All Yours!

MingYu, calm down, they just pushed the doors close. Surely, they didn't bolt it from the outside, MingYu thought as he took a deep, shaky breath in. His heart was beating in his ears, drumming against his skull.

YueQin's eyes were unblinking and set on her only prey, him.

MingYu's feet moved on their own. He was taking slow, steady steps backwards until his heel hit the doorframe. His hand pressed against the door. It didn't budge. He pushed with his fingers first, then his palm, but the doors were bolted shut on the other side.

ZhiYi, PingZe, I will kill you if I get out! MingYu's mind screamed. Blood was soaring in his head, suffocating all but the fight-or-flight response within him.

The flame talismans were dancing around YueQin, casting menacing shadows across her clammy skin. But, YueQin was still tied to the pillar. She had not figured out yet that she could rip the already faulty bandages off.

MingYu knew incantations, ones used for - whatever she was. What the hell was YueQin, exactly? Would the incantations work? If he cut himself, wouldn't she smell the blood and go into a frenzy? MingYu's mind was racing like a crazed horse, and he had long since lost the reins. The sound of fabric ripping awakened him from his thoughts.

YueQin movements were slow at first. She was testing her restraints. Bit by bit, the small tear grew larger until - snap - the bandage sat on her lap. The constraints drooped down her body, easing its hold.

Her hands moved first. Black talon-like fingers scraped against the stone slab as she pushed against the floor to stand up.

MingYu cursed under his breath. He couldn't let this creature out, or everybody else would be in danger.

YueQin moved, her motion fluid, deadly. Two strides and she was by MingYu's side, talons extended and mouth wide open, ready to clamp down on him.

MingYu ducked, barely missing the claws flung towards his face. Scrambling on his locked knees, he dashed left, running around the back of the Buddha statue.

YueQin was fast. Her feet hardly touched the ground as she lunged forward, slashing the statue with her nails, leaving a gash in the lower back of the Buddha. MingYu had jumped out of her way just in time.

Incantations be damned, he didn't even have the time to catch his breath!

It was a game of cat and mouse, and MingYu was running in circles. The Buddha statue smiled at his attempt to survive the blood-thirsty monster.

MingYu had to find a way to stop her, or she would kill him, or even worse, hurt others on the other side of these doors. Others outside - MingYu frowned as his steps faltered, his breath was laboured and sweat was seeping through his robes. Who others?

The silver butterfly was still stuck to the pillar. It was shining under the flame, winking at him. The Diefa sect! They had the same butterflies adorning their hair the last time he saw them. They must have been here for YueQin.

The entire grove and the surrounding land were uninhabited. Even if there was someone outside, it was just the two damn demons and the Diefa sect at most. None of them would die easily. The only one who should be scared for their life was him. He, who possessed a useless, mortal body!

A sharp sting ran across his shoulder blades, and MingYu hissed in pain as tears crowded his vision. One of YueQin's talons had caught up to him, cutting through his robes and delicate skin. A faint scent of fresh blood hit the air. MingYu shot a look back as he stumbled forward.

YueQin roared at the presence of blood, the sound piercing and unsettling. Her nose flared, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

That was it! MingYu would not die a heroic death and be mauled by a monster instead of others! He died a hero in his first life and look where it got him!

He raced towards the entrance, and turning around, he pressed his back against the doors. His breath hitched in his throat as he watched YueQin launch at him. Her hands were out and aimed at his gut. Good! He would get out of this damned place, no matter what!

And where the hell were the brothers?!

On the other side of those same doors, PingZe and ZhiYi had a minor problem or, more precisely, many minor problems.

Silver butterfly-shaped blades were now alive and darting around them in the night, diving to slice flesh, draw some blood. They swished pass the bamboo trunks, cutting them cleanly in half without even hindering their speed for a split second.

PingZe had bolted the monastery doors shut. Whatever monster YueQin had turned into, at least she was tied down with the bandages, unable to cause any trouble. These blades would tear MingYu to pieces if he stepped foot outside the monastery.

The wooden latch dropped in place when purple flames appeared next to PingZe's face. The sword was thin, edge sizzling as it went for his throat.

PingZe did something he hadn't done in centuries. He dispersed his body into thin air. It was painful but much more effective than to regrow an entire head. But it also drained a lot of his cultivation powers.

When he reappeared beside ZhiYi amidst the bamboo trees, he was gasping for breath. His limbs trembled like leaves in the wind. PingZe wouldn't be dispersing for a second time in a long while. Having a physical body had its disadvantages, but it was better than being scorched under the sun in spirit form.

ZhiYi looked menacing as his eyes ran over the forest, looking for the attackers.

"Zhu ZongYing, you stoop so low to attack us without notice?" ZhiYi snapped as his eyes narrowed. With a fluid movement, he snatched the silver butterfly flying towards him and cracked the wings in two with his bare fingers, dropping the quivering pieces on the ground. The rest of the butterflies halted, flapping their silver wings in the air as they hovered around them.

"Master Wang, we apologize for the sudden intrusion, but we are here under orders. It is nothing personal. Please don't hold it against us." A voice of a young woman said as the five Diefa disciples appeared from behind the clusters of bamboo trees, encircling the brothers. She seemed to be the leader of the group as the four others stood motionless with slender swords in hand, waiting for her orders.

"Lu YaYan, why would you attack us?" PingZe heaved, his heart still fighting to break through his ribs with the intensity it was beating.

"We are here to retrieve the girl. If you stand in our way, we must eliminate you. Huang GongZhu's orders." Lu YaYan said with a sincerely apologetic tone. She had respect towards her seniors, but her duties came before all else.

The brothers were well aware of her loyalty towards her sect leader, so it didn't come as a surprise as the butterflies dived towards them simultaneously, while all five swords lit up in purple flames, advancing with rapid speed from all corners.

PingZe removed his arrow from his sash and with a whistle, the arrow darted up in the air, replicating itself into five identical arrows. They flew off, impaling the flying blades against the tree trunks, shattering their metal wings.

"You know, that old sword of yours would have been useful right about now! And you had to give it away back then!" PingZe snarled from between his gritted teeth as he punched one of the disciples in the gut. He reached out and gripping her wrist, twisted the girl's hand, making her scream in pain and drop the sword.

PingZe apologized before kicking her over her shoulder, sending her flying backwards. Picking up the sword, he twirled it in his hand before he struck another advancing disciple, scraping metal against metal, purple sparks flying around them, lighting up the darkness.

"This is not the time to talk about it!" ZhiYi snapped as Lu YaYan's sword slashed at his face but only scraped the top of his head. His hair became undone from his ponytail, cascading over his back and shoulder like a curtain of darkness.

"Just hand her over, master Wang, and we will be on our way!" Lu YaYan's voice was level, her aim precise and deadly. For her, the only place worth striking was the neck and the head. Quick and merciful, no unnecessary suffering, unless ordered otherwise.

PingZe appeared next to ZhiYi, and reaching out his free arm, said, "Just use one of the ghouls!"

ZhiYi pushed PingZe's hand away from the bottles on his sash as he leaned back, letting Lu YaYan's sword glide over him, barely missing his face. "No! YueQin has already turned. We can't control many ghouls at once!"

Extending his feet, he gave a controlled kick to Lu YaYan's chest, sending her back, but it would not cause her any physical harm. Seeing the two brothers distracted over the bottles on ZhiYi's waist, Lu YaYan jumped over them, hurrying towards the temple with the other four in tow. As he regained his footing and noticed the disciples moving away, ZhiYi dispersed himself, reappearing between the advancing group and the monastery.

Over his dead body would any of them come near the girl, or MingYu!

The four disciples raised their flaming swords, ready to strike at ZhiYi's weakened form.

A loud 'creek' of wood giving in and the 'boom' of bricks shattering split the air, surprising the disciples and the brothers. As they halted and turned their attention towards the monastery, they realised someone had torn the entire front of the monastery off of its foundation.

Pieces of bricks and splinters flew across the front yard of the monastery. Dust and dirt swirled and suffocated the air. A hair-raising wail cut through the wall of grit and sand, sending chills down to their very bones.

As they watched with bated breath, MingYu dashed out from the ruins. His eyes had widened to the size of saucers, his skin grey and sweating. Blood had seeped through the back of his ripped robes, but it didn't seem to hinder his flight.

"MingYu!" ZhiYi called as the monk scuttled right past him without sparing him even a side-glance, heading deeper into the grove.

"ZhiYi! She's all yours!" MingYu screeched as he sped out of sight.

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Huang GongZhu - literally means Princess