Explosions of blades, flames, ice, and gold erupted from the shadows. Cha Ming summoned a barrier of sigils and blocked the bulk of these techniques, picking up the surprised girl as he did. She might be strong for her age—a middle-bone-forging cultivator—but she was nothing compared to these men. His body tanked damage from several blades, healing instantly from the shallow cuts and lacerations. Cha Ming summoned his Clear Sky Staff, then, seeing the nearby vendor stalls, chose to block an incoming blow rather than kill the assailant.
It’s a little hard to fight back against them, Cha Ming said. Can you take them out without destroying the city? He was, after all, responsible for all damage both he and Huxian inflicted.
On it! Huxian said. He entered the shadows, and all around them, puddles of blood appeared out of nowhere.
Do you have any parents or guardians I could take you to? Cha Ming sent, clutching the girl closely.
I have two guardians near Central Square, the girl sent back, shivering in his tight embrace. Fire came out of nowhere, and Cha Ming summoned a shield of qi to protect them. He reached out into the shadows and plucked out a cultivator by the throat. The surprised assassin transformed, his skin instantly transforming to the purest gold.
“Wrong move,” Cha Ming said. His eyes turned pale jade as he poured Devil-Sealing intent into his fist and crushed the devil’s throat. It howled as it became gold shavings that littered the city streets. Civilians and cultivators alike screamed to get out of the way as a burst of fire erupted around them. Cha Ming summoned two icy formations, one for them and one for their audience. The strain was ultimately too much for their own shield, so he expanded his qi to surround the girl with a protective bubble.
Huxian appeared beside them, his maw covered in blood.
“Was that all of them?” Cha Ming asked.
The small fox nodded.
He loosened his grip on the girl, but just as she left his embrace, Cha Ming felt a burst of power and a glint in the distance. It shot toward her at lightning speed. He threw up three hasty combat formations, but what looked like a small golden pin pierced through them all in an instant. He threw up his qi shields to block for her, but it was too little too late—the pin pierced her in the chest, knocking her backward and into his arms.
“Get him, Huxian!” Cha Ming growled. He lay her down on the ground and realized there wasn’t any blood. A quick inspection confirmed what saved her: a golden medallion with mystical blue runes nestled behind her clothes. “It’s better to be lucky than good,” he muttered.
His eyes flickered as two powerful presences appeared. To his surprise, they were both peak-marrow-refining cultivators. He doubted there were more than a handful of these on the continent.
“Unhand her,” the man said calmly. “If you release her now, we’ll grant you a swift death and won’t hunt down your entire family.”
“I think there’s a misunderstanding,” Cha Ming said with a raised eyebrow. But before he could react, the man appeared behind him and put a sword at his throat. The woman slipped in front of him and carried the girl off to the side.
“Any last words, savage?” the man said.
Cha Ming shrugged. “Do you really think an assassin would kill his own men?”
The man paused. He looked around and noticed pools of blood in the surrounding blocks, along with puddles of water and heaps of gold. Vicious, poison-coated weapons littered the streets around them.
“I suppose not,” the man finally said, pulling back his blade. He walked over to the girl, who’d just woken up. She was coughing and rubbing the spot where the pin had struck her medallion.
“Thank you,” the girl said, looking up at Cha Ming. “Thank you for saving my life.”
It was only now that Cha Ming noticed how strange she and her guardians were. Her hair was long and white, and her skin was a slightly blue shade of white that was covered in blue-and-gold runes; it was completely at odds with the normal clothes she wore. She looked fourteen, fifteen at most. Her guardians, unlike her, did not sport any runes on their skin. They did, however, have strange white hair that seemed to float about, despite the absence of wind.
“Haijing thanks you for your assistance,” said the woman. “My name is Gong Rufeng.”
“And my name is Gong Su,” the man said.
To Cha Ming’s surprise, the two mighty cultivators bowed at him with arms raised and fists clasped. “We thank you for saving our young mistress.”
“It was no problem,” Cha Ming said. He looked to Huxian, who’d just come back with a man in tow. He threw the late-core-formation cultivator to the ground. Cha Ming moved in to interrogate the man but noticed he was already dead.
“Poison,” Huxian said. “Ate it when he knew he was caught. I hate eating poison, so I brought his body back.”
“An assassination attempt that could have been avoided,” the man said with a scolding tone to the teenage girl. “If only you’d stayed by our side. Have you learned your lesson, young lady?”
The girl, who’d somehow grown a little paler, nodded. “I’ll stay beside you from now on.” She then looked to Cha Ming. “I’m not sure what I can give you in payment.”
“No payment required,” Cha Ming said. “It was my pleasure.”
“Nonsense,” the girl said. “I, Gong Shuren, owe karma. Karma is something Haijing cannot owe, so I must somehow repay you.” She thought for a moment, then her expression lit up. She reached around her neck and pulled out the blue-and-gold medallion.”
“You mustn’t!” Gong Su said.
“I must,” Gong Shuren said, berating her guardian with her gaze. “And this as well.” She pulled out a blue-gold disc, and within it, Cha Ming could see a swirl of something intangible. Huxian stopped him as he moved to refuse her.
That disc contains the essence of
