The last gift

"Do I really need to fight you, Big Brother?"

I glared at my feet, not trusting myself to not swear at Lin Tan if I raised my eyes. What was I even supposed to say?

"See?" Lin Tan said. "She defers to him even now."

"Not that unusual with disciples this young," Lin Deng said. "Maybe we should encourage the other one, then? Hey, Disciple-What's-Your-Name! Tell Disciple Fu to fight you properly. Otherwise, what kind of trial is this? We will have to make you fight a Rage Wolf afterward, just to make sure you can fight at all. Or two, since we have spares!"

I met Fu Zhou's eyes. The choice, if there was any at all, was taken from my hands.

"Yeah. Fight me with all you have, Little Zhou. Take my Qi, like Master Lin said. This is an order!"

My last sharp words forced Fu Zhou to stand taller. She nodded and squared her shoulders, finally taking a battle stance.

That was the girl who crushed dragon orbs with her fists.

Next, I felt a tug at my Qi, which I shrugged off on reflex before realizing what it was. Fu Zhou took my request literally and tried to suck out my Qi. But it was mine, and not as easily taken as Qi from a stone or from air.

Same went for her. Taking Fu Zhou's Qi was possible, but I will have to break her resistance first—by knocking her out, for example.

Since she had already attacked, I charged forward, planning to take advantage of my height and muscle.

With our equal cultivation level, our extra strength, speed and toughness nullified each other, returning the fight to the basics: height against height, muscle against muscle.

My fist flew at Fu Zhou's face, but she ducked under it and ran to my back.

If I was attacking slightly slower than usual, it could've been because I was distracted by stares of the Lin clan's cultivators.

She jabbed my leg before I spun to strike her again, but it was a weak blow. Then I hit her shoulder with my fist, but it only grazed her instead of hitting full-force.

The crowd booed, disappointed.

I was tall and strong, but Fu Zhou was a small and agile target. The fight was stretching out, especially since I was afraid to hit Fu Zhou too hard and kill her without taking her Qi.

Or—let's be honest—kill her at all.

Maybe I could've just taken a non-lethal amount of Qi and satisfied the Lin Clan this way. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

"This is boring," Lin Deng said. "I can see that both disciples can wave their fists in the air, but they don't go all out. These are not strikes, these are gentle pats! Lin Tan, do something about this."

"Of course, Young Master Lin Deng. Disciples!" Lin Tan whipped an incense stick out of his sleeve and lit it with a spark of Fire Qi. "You have until the incense stick burns out to finish this match, or you both fail this trial."

The spectators cheered, eager for swift bloodshed.

I and Fu Zhou disengaged and stopped three steps away from each other to stare at the burning incense stick. Heady and pleasing scent filled the air—a polar opposite to the slimy smile of Lin Tan.

No one opposed his decision. Not when Lin Deng ordered that. Even Lin Chu was silent—not that I hoped he would protect me. This man was a heartless piece of ice with a dantian full of purple and blue Qi.

What did it say about the Lin clan that simply not being a sadist made Lin Chu better than his peers?

I clenched my fists and turned to Fu Zhou. Without warning, I charged at her again, letting my desperation put more force into my punch.

My fist stopped a centimeter away from Fu Zhou's face. She wasn't even trying to dodge!

Tears were flowing freely down her pale cheeks, and she was shaking.

"I can't… I can't do it. Big Brother, I'm so sorry, but I can't fight you…"

My hand fell. I stared down at her with a mix of frustration and exasperation.

"Fu Zhou… Little Zhou! Don't you understand what's at stake? The Lin clan doesn't like weaklings and crybabies, remember?"

This only made her sob harder.

"I'm weak, then! Small, thin, can't protect myself. Only Brother Yujin thought I could do anything. Acted like I was smart and strong. Brother Yujin, how can I walk away, knowing that you died? I swore to myself that I will protect you, too…"

I put my hands on her shoulder and shook.

"Fu Zhou, snap out of it! Stop crying. Forget about your promises! As the person you wanted to protect, I declare that they don't count!"

Of course, she ignored me. The spectators whispered among each other, discussing this new drama—one out of the many put on this stage.

The incense stick burned to the middle.

Fu Zhou stopped sobbing. She wiped snot from her nose with a sleeve and looked up at me with a peaceful smile.

There was a warning tingle in the back of my mind. I stepped back.

"Why are you smiling, Little Zhou?"

Did her mind actually snap? Will she go into a murderous rage? Was I too good at recovering her will to fight?

"I'm just glad that I could become your Little Zhou, Brother Yujin. It was a good month. Now back at home, mom and dad don't have an extra mouth to feed, and you can have my Qi."

Oh yes. That smile was the smile of a person about to end her life. I reached out toward her, then paused.

With a sigh, I patted Fu Zhou's head.

"Little Zhou…"

I wanted to say that I didn't deserve a sacrifice like that, or that Fu Zhou was an idiot for putting my life over hers, or that I might still die if Lin Tan decides he wasn't done with being a sadistic piece of twice-digested shit.

"Goodbye, Little Zhou. I will treasure your gift." I said instead.

Her gift was my life, and I was going to take extremely good care of that.