Chapter 6 - The Dagger Plot
The sun began to set. Li Kang waited patiently, sitting in a lotus pose while he hid in the thick underbrush and observed his foes. The skinny Suhn clan crony was named Lod and the fat one was Yun. The arrogant Suhn Clan scion was called Jin. Lod and Yun had set up two tents, one for them to share and one for their boss, and were building a fire as the temperature decreased and the shadows lengthened. Suhn Jin was sitting again the cave wall, either cycling or sleeping.
Li Kang was continuously cycling his ki using the Simple ki Refinement method and he could feel a clear difference in ki activity from before. While he did this, he ran through different strategies in his mind. Clearly he would have to make his move quickly and silently when the Suhn Clan scion went to murder his lackeys. As the only way he'd be able to overpower them would be with the grade 1 heavenly treasure, he'd have to figure out how to disarm Suhn Jin first. Truly he didn't care if the heir succeeded in killing his goons since they were just Suhn Clan villains, but he knew it would be a far tougher fight if he had to face Jin after he'd absorbed their Ki. Once he'd bonded a martial spirit this would be a different story, but for now he would have to rely only on cunning.
As the fire was burning out and the three men retired to their tents, Li Kang knew he had about 30 minutes to prepare before they fell asleep. Creeping silently closer, he selected a likely stick and bundled dry grass around the end to make a torch. Additionally he found a sharp edged river stone with some heft to it and grabbed that too. Then he lay in wait, focusing on the Suhn heir's tent. As soon as he saw activity, he made his way to the edge of the camp and crouched behind a boulder. He watched as Suhn Jin drew the glittering dagger and crept over to the tent where Lod and Yun snored loudly and bent down to enter.
As soon as Jin was inside the tent, Li Kang sprung into action, sticking his makeshift torch into the embers of the fire and lighting it up. As it ignited, he hurled it at the tent where Suhn Jin was about to murder the two men. The silk tent burst into flames immediately and began burning with intensity.
Suhn Jin stumbled out of the burning tent, his plan forgotten in his haste to escape, the dagger still clutched in his hand. Li Kang was waiting for him. As Jin coughed, half blind from the fire and smoke, Li Kang clubbed his hand with the sharp rock, making him drop the dagger. He then gave him a hard shove back towards the burning tent where he stumbled and became entangled in the burning fabric and lines. Caught off guard, Suhn Jin could do nothing to resist.
Li Kang dropped the rock and scooped up the dagger. While his instincts were screaming at him to make a run for it while the Suhn Clan cultivators were distracted, he knew that it wasn't an option since they were camped at the entrance to the healing pool. Steeling himself, he strode forward and drove the dagger into Suhn Jin's chest as hard as he could.
Unfortunately for Li Kang, Suhn Jin was wearing an armored chestplate which deflected the thrust to the left, where it went straight into the fat cultivator's throat as he struggled to exit the tent.
Li Kang felt a strong influx of ki energy flood his ki channels and meridians. Each meridian felt like an exploding sun as he staggered under the flood of power. He began cycling the simple ki refinement method and he could feel the power slowly being regulated through his channels, making them wider and deeper. All of this power from a simple level 2 bone tempering cultivator? Imagine what it would feel like to drain the power out of level 4 Suhn Jin! He thought.
As the portly Suhn villain lay choking on his own blood, Li Kang lept back to create some distance between himself and Suhn Jin, dagger held low in a fighting stance. Suhn Jin smirked and said "Looks like some vagabond had the same idea I had. I would almost thank you for killing that lowlife here in Li Clan territory, except you also took my dagger. I'm going to need that back now. Give it up and I promise your death with be quick."
Li Kang laughed. "You want it back so bad Suhn clan scum? Come and get it!" With that, he lunged forwards and kicked the burning embers of the fire up at Suhn Jin. Not hesitating for a moment, and knowing that the more powerful cultivator could kill him in an instant if he made an error, he ducked around to Suhn Jin's back and stabbed him up through his left armpit. Immediately he felt the Dagger of Avarice's powers at work, draining all the ki out of Suhn Jin.
The Suhn Clan scion collapsed and Li Kang felt a flood of power even greater than the one he got earlier. He couldn't relax yet however, as the other Suhn clan goon was still in the burning tent. He approached and kicked the burning fabric off to the side. The skinny man was there but he'd inhaled too much smoke and died during the fight. Li Kang tried stabbing him with the dagger anyways but didn't absorb any power. Well, now I know that the victim has to be alive for the dagger to work, he thought to himself.
The power he'd absorbed threatened to burst his ki channels which weren't equipped to handle such large volumes. Li Kang burst into a sprint and headed into the cave to find the healing pool. It's my only chance to regulate this power before it rips me apart, he thought.