Chapter 193: Shibi vs. The Grey Stalker

Moments before…

Wang Zen’s eyes slowly opened. The wind fluttered through his. He parted the strand of brunette from his eyes to look at the sky above. The sky was turning auburn, shading the edges of the white puffy clouds red. At that moment he was at peace until a horrible realisation crashed into him.

“The Assassin!” He sat up so fast that he almost fell over the side of the soft feathery bed he was on. Upon closer nspection, he realised he was not on a bed but on the back of a Snow Dove. “Silicy? Shibi, what are we doing here?”

Silicy’s long neck craned back. She fixed her solid silver eyes distastefully at Zen. “My mistress commanded me to ferry you far away whil she faced the Assassin.”

“Xue Shaonu is facing the Assassin?” Zen said. “ My cousin, Jao Fuu, was she there also?”

“There was no else I could see,” Silicy said, “and I can see plenty.”

Zen and Shibi exchanged glances. “Turn around, Silicy. We can’t leave her to face the Assassin alone.”

“I am ound my my mistress’command.” Silicy said. “I cannot turn back.”

“I thought you were meant to protect her?” Zen shouted. “If you leave her to face a dangerous enemy alone, how is that protecting her?”

“My purpose is to both protect her and follow her orders.” Silicy said, her voicde with a tinge of conflict and confusion.

Zen thought for a while. “So she ordered you to take me far away. I’d say you’ve done that, Shibi and I would struggle to cover the distance you have in the time you’ve done it.”

“What?”

“Well done Silicy, you’ve followed Xue Shaonu’s orders well.” Zen continued. “Now you can turn back to protect her and by bringing me with you, it will make it easier for you to protect her.”

“This distance is not far for me.” Silicy said.

“Its not about you, Silicy.” Zen said. “All that matters is what I or Xue Shaonu consider far away.”

Silicy turned to look at Zen again. “You are not as foolish as you look but you are as untrustworthy.”

Silicy turned around and began to fly back to Xue Shaonu.

Zen felt butterflies in his stomach. Though he did not want to face the seemingly unbeatable Assassin, he could not leave his friends and family to her mercy. Shibi climbed to his shoulder Zen could read him and he felt his concern for Silicy.

“Silicy, what’s wrong?”

“The Assassin’s hound is following us.” Silicy said.

Zen peered below. There were times when he could see a dash of grey following after them. “That damn Stalker!” Zen gritted his teeth as he summoned the Zen Blade from his storage stone. “I should skin it alive for all the misery it caused me.”

“No,” Shibi said, moving off his shoulder. “Zen goes with chicken. I stay and fight.”

“Shibi,” Zen said, “are you sure?”

Shibi nodded before he hopped off the back of Silicy. Shibi fell through the air, helnaded on a branch and hopped from one branch to another, getting closer to the ground before he landed on the ground in the Grey Stalker’s path.

The Grey Stalker stopped and bared its teeth while it growled.

Shibi gathered fire in his fists and lunged for the hound with a punch. The hound’s body glowed with ki before it activated its movement ki technique, it shofted to the side in the path of a curve, dodging Shibi’s flaming punch and stopping beside Shibi.

Large ki claws grew from the Grey Stalker’s paws and it swiped for Shibi who summersaulted out of the way. It tried again but Shibi was able to twist out the way again. The Grey Stalker lunged again, this time with its teeth. Shibi dodged by hopping on its head and twisting in the air, meanwhile building fire in his core while the hound took the opportunity to try and run away.

Shibi let the plume of fire out and it landed in the hound’s path, catching its leg. In a panic, the hound tapped its leg on the ground to put out its burning limb. It noticead Shibi overhead, about to slam a flaming fist on him. The hound once again activated its technique, dodging the fist which hit the ground it had just shifted from. Shibi’s fist smoldered on the ground as the floor absorbed the fire which spread out.

Shibi turned in time to see the grey dog lunge at him with its jaws aiming to crush his auburn coloured fur. Shibi was able to grab onto both the upper and the lower jaws of the hound. Shibi was able to keep the jaws from claming down on hm but then the teeth of the hound began to glow in ki and ts strength increased, the sharp teeth coming closer to clamping down on the Scorch Ape’s skull.

Shibi’s arms and hands began to tremble under the strain of the jaws. Shibi gritted his teeth and his body began to glow as his body temperature rose. The Scorch Ape screamed in determination and his body ignited, exploding in yellow and orange fire that knocked the Grey Hound back.

Dark grey smoke rose from the hounds mouth as it tried to use its tongue to put out the fire. Shibi’s last attack had singed off tiny patches of fur near its head and had also disorientated the beast. However, it was cnginitive enough to see the coming danger of Shibi, with a ball of fire around its fist.

The Grey Stalker activated its ki technique and shifted out of the way of Shibi’s attack, however, it shifted directly into a burning flame. It gave a cried in pain before attempting to hop out of the fire but it was intercepted by Shibi, slamming its flaming fist into the beast’s hound. Shibi gave an enraged scream and the fire around its fist intensified, almost engulfing his own body before causing an explosion of hot red.

Shib landed away from the fire, looking at its hear where the dead Grey Stalker’s body was burning away.