It could not really be said that Master Xinya died willingly, or without regret, though it may have looked that way to Jin, and to the men who were now being ripped apart by gleeful monsters.

Like any devoted martial artist, she had once set her sights on reaching the pinnacle of her potential, which for someone with her talent, could perhaps even have been one of the immortal realms. At the very least, she could have expected a long life, in the centuries. She had not wanted to make any oaths that would see her sacrificing herself for the will of a clan, or even for the boy she had raised. She was a good woman, but not so selfless as this. However, the duty of training and protecting the child at any and all costs had been the price of the rebellions of her youth, and refusal would have meant execution at Wuying's hand. A fair execution at that.

She had accepted that she may have to die in the course of this duty quite some time ago, and nearly made peace with it. It was just a few weeks until the boy would be of age, though, and then her sentence would have been served. How cruel to have this happen just when she was beginning to dare to hope that her pursuit of immortality might begin again.

Her comforts at the end, which were sufficient to allow her soul to pass on, were twofold: First, she was happy that she was taking all of her attackers - supporters of that bastard Bao - with her. Secondly, she had succeeded in her role of protector. She died knowing that as long as the tiger stuck to its word as honorably as she had, Jin would be safe, and the special parts of his training that had been entrusted to her would still be completed.

So far, the great tiger, a male magical beast of exceptional size and with intelligence on a par with a wise human, was doing exactly as he had promised. To stay by the tree and ensure that the boy didn't come down once her binding was undone, until any human threat was gone, was the first of the three favors he was honor-bound to perform for Master Xinya.

Jin had felt the life energy binding him to the tree vanish as he'd watched his master die. He'd been bracing himself to see her meet her end, but the rage and grief that filled him when it actually happened would have been enough for the men down below to sense, had there not been so much else going on. With his jaw clenched and his eyes prickling, he had sworn revenge upon those men, and whoever this Bao Shi who had sent them was. He'd been ready to summon his fighting strength and leap from the tree to engage the attackers, even though his chances of winning against even one of them would be terribly slim at his current cultivation level, and even though his powerful master hadn't stood a chance against their number. But as he looked down through the branches, preparing to endure a drop of 100 feet - a drop his body could withstand, but only if he was ready for it - his eyes met the glowing amber of the tiger's, and a low growl ascended to reach his ears.

The tiger wasn't threatening him. No, if he was prepared to rush in and fight more than 40 powerful men, one magical beast would not frighten him, not in that moment. It was warning him to think better. This tiger was not an enemy, though it was not a friend, either, and Jin knew that it was here because of Xinya, that whatever interest it had in what happened here was down to her wishes. She'd wanted him to stay in the tree, and so did the tiger. He made an expression at the tiger as if to ask it why it didn't want him to pass, and it whispered in a low voice:

"They will die here without your help."

It was true, of course. He could see the horses running, already killing several of the men in their fright, and he knew, too, that the clearing was only safe from the myriad terrors of the forest because of Master Xinya. Things would come now and steal his revenge upon the soldiers, but that only gave him a good reason to take the only course of action that would guarantee his survival today, and stay in the tree. He needed to live so that he could personally kill Bao Shi.

It was torture to remain outside of the action even now nobody was binding him, but restraint was sometimes the better path to a goal - a lesson he had first learned from Xinya, and which he was glad the tiger had reminded him of.

He leaned back against the tree, still perched on his branch, and resigned himself to watching the savage scene unfold. It brought him some bitter pleasure, under the circumstances, to see these men fight in vain against the overwhelming forces of the beasts, only to die. The gorilla type magical beasts seemed to be getting the bulk of the rewards, brutally tearing off arms and legs, though serpents, wildcats and wolves also made some kills, with darting movements and sharp fangs. Birds of prey dodged the men's futile attacks, before swooping down to gouge faces with fearsome talons.

The beasts did not work together in killing the men, as far as Jin could see, but they did not turn on each other either, in spite of what a precious treasure the flesh of the men, and of poor Master Xinya was to each one of them. Perhaps this bounty of cultivator meat - which would empower their own life energy as well as sustaining their bodies - was, to them, an unexpected blessing, and one which should be treated with some respect rather than bickered and brawled over. Well, it was either that or that their pecking order was so strongly ingrained that every beast knew their place, and did not dare challenge another for more than their share. Jin had spent a lot of time studying magical beasts, and yet he still couldn't make more than an educated guess as to why they were acting this way. He merely watched, inwardly cheering with sadistic delight at the suffering of these stupid soldiers. It was only when the last screaming man had finished dying that he realized that he was going to have to leave the tree at some point, and that he would be no safer than the Shi clan soldiers had been, now that Xinya's protections were gone. The clearing was part of these beasts' domain now, and no longer his home.

The reality of his situation hadn't truly sunk in, and he had nothing to form a plan with for what to do next beyond finding a place he could safely rest, and meditate, and decide. A place where he could explore Master Xinya's Interspatial Ring and look for answers, too. But that was enough of a plan for now.

He looked down again at the tiger, who was sitting patiently, watching the other beasts eat. He was about to call to him and get his attention, but the tiger seemed to sense he was being looked at, and turned his great head upward.

"Can you help me get out of the forest? I mean, I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go, but I definitely can't stay here."

It was a strange thing, to be asking this beast for help, but he'd guarded him this long, so perhaps there was a chance he'd aid him again.

"I will carry you safely from here to your next destination - thus, my second debt will be repaid," the tiger said, in his rumbling voice. Jin had no idea what he meant about the debts, but was too relieved at having a way out to pay it too much mind.

"Should I come down now, then?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Yes. While it will no doubt be an indignity to both of us, you should probably ride on my back. The other beasts will not challenge us while they are busy here."

Jin dived from his high branch and flipped in the air to ensure he fell outside of the reach of the lower branches, landing beside the tiger with grace.

"When you said my next destination, does that mean there's somewhere I'm supposed to go? Did my master tell you something?"

"Your master would not tell one such as me the details of her schemes, nor would I care what they were, but I am honor-bound to perform three favors for her. The first was that should this situation ever arise, I would be summoned to guard this tree. The second was to take you safely to a house deeper in the forest. She didn't tell me the third, so for me, once you are delivered there, my debt is repaid and I shall think no more of the woman."

Jin had a few ideas both about why the tiger might have three debts to Master Xinya, and why he didn't sound too fond of her. But it wasn't that that was concerning him. There was only one other house he knew of in the forest, and it was a place he had been taken to twice before. A place that the mere memory of chilled him to his marrow.

It stood to reason, though, that she'd want him to go there one final time.