~~~

Run.

Three miles go by in the blink of an eye with a single use of Ground Contraction. No longer is Liu Jin limiting himself by remaining close to the ground. Instead, he dashes towards his home as fast as he can.

The building he is about to land on crumbles.

His feet touch the street next to it as he shifts directions with Ground Contraction. A horse neighs in surprise. Liu Jin’s eyes flick over to it and see the invader riding it.

Meng Yue’s knife flashes.

Liu Jin has no time to fight the soldier, but wounding the horse’s leg to cause it to fall over is a simple matter. He vanishes in a blur of speed before the soldier even realizes what is happening.

Faster.

He needs to get home. He needs to get to his father.

Should he and his father have moved into the Xiao Sect? The thought drifts into Liu Jin’s mind, and he lets it linger there for a while as the world around him blurs.

Certainly, the option had always been open to him. If he and his father lived inside the Xiao Sect, his father would be safe inside the compound right now. Xiao Nan and Xiao Zheng would have both been close at hand when the attack began. Liu Jin would have never needed to part from his father’s side.

How cruel it is to think of what could have been.

In the end, it is a moot point. His father would have never accepted moving away. He likes being a doctor in the outer districts. It is one of the many things Liu Jin admires about him.

His body zigs and zags as he tries to move through the city without encountering the soldiers. Their numbers keep growing and growing while the number of citizens in Liu Jin’s way only seems to decrease. Liu Jin tries hard to not think about what that means.

Dark purplish smoke rises in the distance. Liu Jin feels his heart freeze.

His house is in that direction.

Liu Jin grits his teeth and cloaks his body with Qi. His feet stomp on the ground as he accelerates into and through a house.

He’s almost there! He’s almost there!

He just needs to take his father and leave. If he uses Art of the Roaming Thief properly, he should be able to avoid the invaders and get his father to safety. In fact, he probably won’t even need to leave the city. There is no way Patriarch Xiao Zheng can lose. There is no way Xiao Nan can lose. Yes, Elder Brother was just being overdramatic back there. That is all.

Almost there! Yes, a few blocks more. That’s all!

Almost… almost…

“Father!”

He runs into the cloud of smoke, uncaring of how it could affect him. Even as the soldiers around him die, Liu Jin continues moving. Poison of this level is nothing to him.

“Father!”

The word comes from his lips as though it were a prayer.

This cannot be happening. It cannot be happening. This cannot possibly be real!

“Father,” Liu Jin says for the last time, his voice weak and defeated, his eyes blurry with tears.

Never before has Liu Jin wished he were a better doctor than at this moment. He wishes he could fix his father by the simple act of willing it. Instead, Liu Jin is just a good enough doctor to know the wound on his father’s side is fatal. He could mend it, but his father has already lost far too much blood, and his organs have been damaged. He could remove the poison from his body, yet that would just prolong his father’s suffering.

If his father could use Qi, his body might be able to survive, but that is not the case.

Weakly, his father raises his hand and touches his cheek, brushing Liu Jin’s tears away. His father’s lips move, but he is too weak to form any words.

In the end, Liu Jin can do nothing but hold his father as his eyes close for the last time.

How long does he stay holding his father’s dead body?

A second? A minute?

More?

For Liu Jin, it doesn’t matter. It is as if time itself has stopped, as if the world has lost all color and sound. He looks around yet cannot bring himself to believe this is reality. Even the scent of ash and blood feels fake.

“Ugh, to think so many of us would die to poison. The general will surely laugh at this.”

Ah.

The invaders.

“Brother, that boy, isn’t he still alive?”

They are still here.

“You seem to be right.”

Still alive.

“You two, bring him in. He’s young, so he’ll fetch a good price. Provided the general doesn’t want to add him to the army.”

Even though his father is dead, they are... still…alive.

Two men approach him, but Liu Jin can’t see their faces. He can’t see beyond their black armor and bloody weapons. He can’t see beyond the vile carnage they have brought to his home.

He roars.

With rage. With loss. With pain. Liu Jin roars so loudly he hurts his own throat. It is a sound that does not seem to belong to a human. The soldiers step back in surprise.

Liu Jin strikes.

White Venom Fist.

Liu Jin moves with unnatural fluidity. His open palm strikes the nearest soldier’s chest. It is protected by armor, yet his Qi flows into it and into him. The man barely has a moment to be shocked before the poisonous Qi starts ravaging his insides.

Ah.

So that’s it.

White Venom Fist is meant to be used like this.

Liu Jin’s red eyes glow in the night as he kicks off the ground and flows towards his next opponent. White poisonous Qi cloaks his entire body. The spear swung in his direction is easily dodged. The armor protecting the soldier melts, and soon enough, so does his skin.

“Pull back!”

“Call the Hundred-Men Commanders, quickly!”

Reinforcements?

No. He will not allow that.

Liu Jin moves like water. The horses don’t even react to his presence as he strikes at their riders. A throat turns to nothing in his hand, a cry for help is never uttered.

One. Two. Five.

He needs to keep moving. He keeps taking them down.

He leaps over a large spear and runs over it, striking its owner with poison before moving to his next target.

Increase the toxicity.

A blow to his torso misses. Liu Jin’s counterattack doesn’t.

Increase the corrosiveness.

He weaves in between his foes. He moves in and out of the wrecked buildings to find new angles to attack.

Blind them. Paralyze them. Keep adapting.

More. He needs to remove as many as he can. If he can do that… If he can do that, the city can still be saved. Yes! He just needs to remove them! There is still time. He still has time to fix things!

One of the soldiers recoils back from his blow, his armor still one piece.

A stronger metal? That is fine.

Meng Yue’s knife… His knife cuts through it just fine. White poisonous Qi coats the blade as Liu Jin keeps moving.

Art of the Roaming Thief.

The soldiers cry and scream.

He can do this.

He can do it.

His meridians scream in pain. His acupoints feel like they are on fire. Blood drips from his mouth.

He can still go. He’s still okay.

He can save the city. He can save—

A powerful hand strikes the back of his neck, and Liu Jin knows no more.

~~~