Chapter 97: After the Kid!

Xue Shaonu continued to chase after the two bandits. They could see her from above but as of yet did nothing.

“We should stand and fight!” Xi said in annoyance as she called up her red rope.

“Not now.” Cho, who had the Snow Ram kid in his arms, said.

“Why?”

“Someone more dangerous is tailing us.”

Xi looked behind them and saw Hue Yi following behind at great speed. “He is catching up fast. What should we do?”

Silicy dove down, the gust of air she created sent both bandits flying away in different directions. Cho recovered, looking back at Xi who had fallen away. He turned his head and continued onward while she got up and ran away before Hue Yi passed by, going after Cho.

Xi decided she would catch up with Cho by going the long way. She had to dodge as someone came from the shadows and tried to pummel her. She leapt away only to be surprised by a barrage of thorns that she warded off by raising her arms.

Xi looked at Geyi Kun, and her empty hand that had shot thorns at her.

XI shook her arms, dislodging the thorns that had not gone that deep. “Well well, the useless one. Where did you come from?”

“I’ve always been here,” Geyi Kun said, “following you and Cho. Waiting fro my opportunity.”

“Well you wasted it.” Xi said. “Now run along.”

“No, I think I’ll kill you instead.” Geyi Kun said as they began to circle each other.

“What are you going to take a Booster Pill?”

Kun froze at this.

“Yes, I know your dirty secret.” Xi sang. “You take Booster Pills when things get tough. Some call it the Fool’s Pill because you give up a part of your ki base for temporary increase in power. Go ahead, take one… or two, cause that’s the only way you can beat me.”

Kun smirked, “Like you said, I take Booster Pills when things get tough. To deal with you, I don’t need one.”

“Ha! Or more like you don’t have any.” Xi accused. “You lost relatively a little power and gained a lot, so I’m guessing the pill you took was high grade. Don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t look like the rich type, which means you mostly likely had only one.”

“Believe what you want, its your life, even though to about to end.”

Xi laughed before she smirked, “bring it on, Chubby!’ she charged for her, ki sprouting from her hands like burning torch.

Kun turned tail and ran, weaving through the trees but it was of no use as Xi was catching up. Kun hid behind a tree and bent low just as ki plunged through the trees where her chest had been. She swung around the tree. Xi tried to swipe at her but Kun dodged low and delivered a powerful punch into Xi’s ribs.

Xi stumbled back, sure that her ribs would break if she was hit like that again. Kun pursued, not giving her a chance. She swiped at Kun but knew something was wrong. Her moves were a little more sluggish which helped Kun dodge her attack before delivering another powerful fist to her chest. Xi’s back slammed against a tree. Kun was still approaching and she raised her hands to sever Kun but the girl’s fist slammed into her face, making her arms limp and causing her to slide down along the tree to the ground.

“S-Something is wrong.” Xi said. “What… What did you do to me?”

“Kun smiled, “I poisoned you.”

“But how…” Xi’s eyes widened when she remembered Kun’s initial attack with the thorns.

“I still had my poison and all I had to do was mix it with another certain herb to make it even more potent. Don’t worry, it will soon fade, although tha won’t matter, considering by then you’ll be dead.”

Xi gritted her teeth as he technique flared to new levels. She got up and swung wildly Kun.

Rings of white ki formed around Kun before they grew serrated the ring. Xi slammed her technique down but Geyi Kun’s technique not only protected her but allowed her to get lose to Xi’s face.

“Mind Thorn!” A pike of white ki grew from Kun’s face and impaled Xi in the forehead before dissipating. Blood squirted out of Xi’s mouth, nose, ears and eyes before her head fell back. Kun delivered another punch to Xi’s exposed neck, crushing her throat.

Xi fell backwards, lying on the ground as she suffocated, blood from her crushed throat coating her lips.

“See?” Kun said, looking at Xi’s dying form. “I told you I didn’t need a Booster Pill.”

Cho stopped and faced his pursuers. “Stop!” he shouted.

Hue Yi stopped and so did Shaonu, who was on Silicy. Silicy hovered in place, as she and her master watched Cho carefully.

“If you two don’t back off, I will kill this thing!” Cho grabbed the throat of the squirming kid Snow Ram.

“Go ahead,” Hue Yi said. “We don’t care about that.”

“What?” Cho said, mirroring Shaonu’s distress.

“There were 3 travellers walking through the forest. I found them dead and most of their things taken.” Hue Yi pointed to the glinting necklace around Cho’s neck, an oval with the character for freedom etched in it. “The fact that you have that around your neck confirms my suspicion that you are the same bandits who killed them.” Hue Yi twirled his short sword as he glared at Cho. “I’m going to take back what you stole from them and as revenge, I’m going to kill you.”

“You-You may not care but she does.” Cho nodded toward Shaonu. “Are you really going to let me kill this little beast.”

Shaonu turned to Hue Yi, who kept his eyes focussed on Cho. “Hue Yi, please, we need to think about…”

Hue Yi sped forward.

He moved so fast that Shaonu was stunned for a moment before following his progress toward Cho.

Hue Yi swung his blade, sending out a thin line of ki.

Cho mad a move to kill the kid Snow Ram asw he leapt up and away from Hue Yi to the nearest branch. Blood splattered on his shirt as he landed on the branch. Something was wrong… He looked down and his eyes widened when he saw that the blood was not the Snow Ram’s but was blood from wrist where his hand was severed from the rest of his arm. He cried in pain and in his shock he let the Snow Ram which still had the bandits hand arouns its neck. The hand fell away from the Snow Ram as it dropped to the ground.

Shaonu and Silicy swooped beneath the kid Snow Ram and caught it before it could hit the ground! Shaonu cooed soothingly to the Snow Ram as its squirming gained new vigour. She freed it of the rope around its mouth and it opened its maw wide and bleated out loudly.

Hue Yi looked back at the bleating Ram as hey flew across the air. “That’s not good.” He said to himself until he turned his attention back to Cho, whose screaming grew more distressed.

Cho’s shock turned into anger and he narrowed his eyes at Hue Yi, the killing intent he was now emanating was as thick as the foam that came from his mouth. “Look what you’ve done to me! I will kill you!” He activated his ki technique, putting so much ki in it that blood squirted from his eyes, turning them red. He dropped off the branch, aiming his technique at Hue Yi below.

Hue Yi leapt back to dodge and Cho’s technique slammed into the ground, causing debris to erupt up before massively flowing forward to Hue Yi. It seemed the technique was much stronger than before!

Hue Yi sidestepped… side jumped to dodge the attack. To his surprise, Cho came out of the flowing debris, his ki covered hand coming for him. Hue Yi dodged the ki claw. He aimed his sword at Cho as Cho brought his attack back around before slamming it into the ground. Once again, soil and earth erupted from the ground, engulfing both fighters before flowing forward and slamming into a tree. When the debris settled, Cho was standing with his hand thrust out to the cracked bark of the tree.

Cho looked around in confusion, surprised that Hue Yi was not hurt at the end of his hand.

Hue Yi was actually on the ground, behind him. He got up and sighed, “That was close.”

Cho turned to him. Now he had calmed down. He had lost a lot of blood through the stump during the attack and his vision was slowly returning back to normal from his reckless attack.

Hue Yi’s blade began shining in the white sheen of his ki before he charged forward. He swiped at Cho but she stepped on the tree stem and launched himself over Hue Yi, his hand gathered in his murky white ki as he prepared for a counter attack.

“Flying Edge Attack!” Hue Yi shouted as he swiped his blade through the air, sending out a semi-circle of white ki into Cho’s chest which blew open as blood splattered out of it. Cho landed awkwardly but had no time to right his stance as his head flew from his shoulders when Hue Yi finished him off. Hue Yi caught the pendent that was sent into the air when he had beheaded him.

Hue Yi listened to the kid still bleating. He could sense a killing intent oming in from afar as well as a lot of power coming to their position.

“Shaonu, the mother is coming.” Hue Yi said. “You better leave that here and get out!” he lifted Cho’s headless body and ran into the forest.

“Yes,” Shaonu said as she finished untying the Snow Ram. Silicy landed on the ground and Shaonu placed the Snow Ram on the ground and it backed away fearfully from Shaonu. “Stay safe little one.” The ground trembled and Shaonu looked to the forest where she could already see the mother coming. She turned to the young beast and smiled. “Mama is coming.” She leapt on Silicy and they flew away just as the Snow Ram arrived and she looked back at the mother and child, happily reunited.