A Blow for a Blow

Qingqing stole up the narrow staircase, noting the stale food odours and the creaking boards. A rat scurried past her and she got momentarily distracted.

"Stay focused, Qingqing. This is not the time for snacking," she muttered sternly to herself, turning resolutely away.

One of the doors opened and a red-cheeked woman appeared, half-dressed, with a baby on her hip feeding at one breast, a tub of dirty water under her arm on the other hip. She gave Qingqing a cool stare and marched past her, leaving a brief glimpse of a small bare room with tattered bed curtains and a pair of worn slippers lying askew where they had been kicked on the threshold.

Qingqing glanced at the faded markings on the doors. Two doors down, if the door man had told her correctly.

She rolled back her sleeves neatly, and cracked her knuckles with a brooding expression. She had not been cultivating for a while, which was a pity, but at the least she had not used too much of her spirit energy recently. She took a deep breath and started channeling the energy along her meridian lines as she warily approached the door.

Qingqing stopped softly before the door and listened carefully. There did not seem to be any sounds at first, and she wondered if Ah Gui had somehow managed to leave his room or slip out of the motel without her noticing. Then just as she was about to take her ear away she caught the muffled creak of a bed, and smiled to herself. Sure enough, the wretch thought he'd escaped. He was probably relaxing now on his bed, planning his next move since she had foiled his previous attempt. Fool.

Satisfied, she drew nearer to the door.

With a last look around to make sure no one was looking, Qingqing turned to the door and kicked it open, breaking the flimsy lock.

She leaped over the threshold and flung a bolt of energy that destroyed the bed's rafters just as Ah Gui sat up from the bed with a startled grunt. The big wooden beam came crashing down in a shower of half-rotten sawdust as he tried to get up.

Qingqing seized the chance to slam the door shut behind her, in case any curious person came to see what was happening.

With a powerful swipe of his arms, Ah Gui shoved the wooden beam aside, unhurt by the blow which might have dazed an average human, and staggered up with a growl. His eyes fell on Qingqing as she advanced slowly on him, fingers raised to strike, a cruel smile on on her lips.

"Cursed snake spirits," he panted, a trace of fear in his eyes. "Why are there so many of you?"

Qingqing cracked her neck joints deftly with a fluid motion that Ah Gui recognized as the snake about to strike. "You stupid turtle, why didn't you leave my sister alone when she spared you the first time? You'll pay for it now."

Before he could dodge, she sprang at him.

Ah Gui swung his back to her instinctively, which would have been the right choice if he had indeed been in his turtle form, but since he was not, he shuddered as Qingqing sent two rapid bolts into his body. Stumbling back, he clutched at his shoulder.

If nothing else, terrapin spirits were extraordinarily determined, and tough. He bore the pain without a sound, and Qingqing looked slightly dismayed when she saw the rage gathering in his eyes. Hurriedly, she focused more energy in her fingertips.

"You can't possibly win," she spat. "I would advise you to admit defeat quickly, if you want a less painful death."

Panting, she drew back as he ran behind the table and grabbed a stool, throwing it at her with a desperate snarl. Qingqing destroyed the flimsy stool midair with a bolt that she would have shot at him otherwise, a showy move which nevertheless was not a good idea given the cramped space between them. She had not taken into account the shower of wooden splinters that hailed down on her, temporarily obstructing her vision. Frantically, she tried to flick them away with her sleeve.

Ah Gui took the chance to fling a jet of energy at her, hitting her in the chest. It was weaker than hers, but it still hurt. Startled, and stunned by the unexpected pain, Qingqing staggered backwards with a gasp, clutching at her chest with a wince.

He got behind the bed, limping slightly. Picking up the broken beam with more speed than Qingqing would have expected from him, he hurled it at her.

Qingqing recovered herself quickly. She sprang into the air, levitating herself upwards swiftly with a sudden burst of energy. With a sharp turn of her waist that only a snake could have managed, she twisted her body midair, just managing to clear the beam as it hurtled towards her; then, bringing her feet down forcefully, she brought her entire body weight down on the beam.

Ah Gui gave a cry as the beam crashed back upon him, pinning him to the ground. Qingqing landed on her feet unsteadily and launched an attack on him almost immediately, while he was still trapped under the beam. With a running jump, she landed on top of the beam with a thud, and Ah Gui groaned as his ribs shuddered under the impact. Too late, he tried to push the beam aside.

She pinned him to the ground and drove her fist into his face, feeling the cartilage of his nose crack under her knuckles. "How does it feel now, thinking you were so clever?" she hissed viciously.

Qingqing pulled back sharply as he made a lunge at her, fingers clawing the air just inches from her face, and almost lost her balance as the beam swayed dangerously while he heaved under it.

With another sinuous twist she dodged a bolt of energy which he flung desperately at her, and in return she struck him full on the chest with one of her own.

"A blow for a blow," she whispered fiercely, watching him with merciless eyes as his face turned gray with pain, and his body shuddered under the impact. "You should never have meddled with us. We snakes, we are bad enemies."