60 Chapter 59: Interlude (1/2)
Fifteen minutes before I arrived to haul Zhu Jiao's ass out of the fire…
”Where could Fei Wu be?”
Tang Qi Hong was growing frustrated, but she clamped down her emotions and looked around. Clenching her fists, she took a deep breath.
”And I hope Lian Rou and the others will be fine…”
”They will be,” Zhu Jiao assured her. ”Each of us has a sexagenary of artificial qi. These demonic cultists don't. In terms of sheer strength, we are definitely superior. We just need to be careful and not let our guard down.”
An explosion from outside caused the two of them to jump. Gulping, Zhu Jiao glanced outside a nearby window.
”I hope Teacher Jiao will be all right.”
”Yeah,” Tang Qi Hong agreed worriedly. ”That Chinese Parasol Tree Sect elder seemed pretty strong. Even if Teacher Jiao has several sexagenaries of qi…”
Another tremendous clash sent extreme reverberations throughout the creaking structure of the decrepit warehouse. It was clear that the crumbling building wouldn't be able to withstand the collision between two titanic forces for long.
Teacher Jiao and that Chinese Parasol Tree Sect elder are one thing, but we literally have two armies fighting outside…
”We have to hurry,” Zhu Jiao told Tang Qi Hong. ”Our job is to find Fei Wu and get him out of here as quickly as possible. Let's hurry.”
Tang Qi Hong frowned, but nodded. She wrung her hands anxiously.
”The sooner we achieve that objective, the faster we can meet up with everyone else. They all should be heading for the same destination.”
”That's right…”
The two of them rounded a corner and headed toward the stairs. From their intelligence after asking a captured demonic martial artist was that poor me had been imprisoned in some basement that had been converted into a torture chamber. The last thing he had heard was that I was still alive, but his boss, Ba Yun, intended to devour my qi essence.
If they wanted to save me, they had to hurry.
”Downstairs!”
Zhu Jiao was about to sprint forward when the ceiling blew apart. Lightning crackled as someone surged into the space, blasting the place apart and sending the two Wu Ling Academy students reeling back.
”I knew you would be here.”
Qi Fu Ren grinned as he stepped into the broken corridor, occupying the staircase. Shaking his head in mock disappointment, he glanced at Zhu Jiao and Tang Qi Hong, who were rising to their feet and getting ready to do battle.
”Boss!”
”Leader!”
A bunch of hooded Chinese Parasol Tree Sect underlings followed suit, dropping in behind Qi Fu Ren and flanking the bully. Qi Fu Ren waved them back impatiently without turning to face them, keeping his eyes on his former classmates instead.
”Zhu Jiao, Tang Qi Hong. It's been a while, hasn't it?”
”What are you doing here?” Zhu Jiao demanded. ”Why are you…?”
”He…he's part of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect,” Tang Qi Hong realized in dread. ”The people behind him are part of the sect, and they're calling him a leader…”
”Bingo!”
Qi Fu Ren clapped slowly, grinning brightly.
”Thanks to you guys causing my expulsion from both the White Tiger Sect and Wu Ling Academy, I was forced to throw everything in with this lot. But…I can't say I hate it. In fact, the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect fits me far more than Wu Ling Academy ever did!”
Both Zhu Jiao and Tang Qi Hong exchanged glances, but didn't deny it. In fact, they rather agreed with Qi Fu Ren's assessment. The bully was obviously far more at home in a demonic sect than an orthodox academy.
”Here, as long as I have the strength, I can do whatever I like! Ha ha ha ha!”
A chill ran down Tang Qi Hong's back. ”You…”
”Ah…yes. You must be here for that trash, Fei Wu. It's too late.”
Cackling madly, Qi Fu Ren charged forward and seized Tang Qi Hong by the throat. Lightning clashed with fire as Tang Qi Hong unleashed her Nine-Tailed Fire Fox technique to combat Qi Fu Ren's Element of Thunder and Lightning. Okay, I stole that name from a Korean murim manhwa, I don't know what the name of the White Tiger Sect's lightning techniques were.
The two of them crashed through the wall, but Tang Qi Hong managed to free herself from his grip and kicked him in the chin. While Qi Fu Ren recoiled, she jumped back to widen the distance between them and then injured a flaming spear. Spinning the flaming spear around elegantly, Tang Qi Hong slashed at the retreating Qi Fu Ren.
”Hmph. You and I have a score to settle.” An ugly grin was spreading over Qi Fu Ren's roguish face. ”If I recall correctly, you're Fei Wu's woman, aren't you?”
”W…w…w…what the hell are you talking about?!” Tang Qi Hong spluttered, and she overzealously struck at Qi Fu Ren as he jumped back with an amused laugh. ”Where did you get such a weird idea from?!”
”It's pretty obvious from the way you cling to him!”
”Was it?” Zhu Jiao, being the typical dense protagonist, didn't seem to have noticed Tang Qi Hong's affections at all. I couldn't say I wasn't aware, but I just wasn't self-conscious enough to do something unless Tang Qi Hong actually took her own initiative and confirmed it herself. Because, you know, if everything was just me being overly self-conscious and delusional, then that would be one hell of an embarrassing mistake.
Everything would just become pretty awkward.
Besides, who said the guys had to make the first move? If the girl was interested, then she should take the initiative. Otherwise it was her loss. I was a firm advocate of gender equality, after all.
”And since it was both you and that trash who drove me out of Wu Ling Academy, I guess I'll start with you first.”
”!!”
Tang Qi Hong barely managed to block Qi Fu Ren's Lightning Fist, his attack being so much more powerful than before because he had sucked two sexagenaries' worth of qi from his former underlings. With triple the amount of qi she possessed, Qi Fu Ren was overwhelming her with brute strength alone.
”Tang Qi Hong!”
Zhu Jiao jumped forward to help, activating his Golden Kirin Armor, but Qi Fu Ren's new underlings intervened, placing themselves firmly between him and their leader. Kicking and punching, they drove Zhu Jiao back in a frenzied assault that send shockwaves reverberating through the sturdy field of yang qi.
”Kuh!”
”You guys, keep him off my back for a bit. Kill him if you can, or at least delay him until I finish this bitch off.”
”Yes, sir!”
The bunch of underlings crowded Zhu Jiao, cutting him off from reinforcing Tang Qi Hong. She was on her own for now.
However, that didn't matter. Tang Qi Hong was determined to bring down Qi Fu Ren and finish him off once and for all, even if she had to do it on her own.
”Haaaaah!”
With a determined yell, Tang Qi Hong swung her blazing spear at Qi Fu Ren, but he blocked it with his arms that were wreathed in protective lightning before countering with a kick. Her reflexes honed to perfection, Tang Qi Hong elegantly dodged his next Lightning Punch, but Qi Fu Ren followed up with a massive Lightning Flash that tore open a hole in both the wall and the ceiling.
”Aaaah!”
Crying out, Tang Qi Hong found herself hurled through the large gape in the ceiling as the shockwaves from Qi Fu Ren's enormous attack battered her. Flipping herself in the air, she landed on the rooftop and skidded backward.
”Huff…!”
”Ha ha ha ha!”
Gripping the edges of the hole he had just carved into the ceiling, Qi Fu Ren hauled himself up and out onto the rooftop. His boots clacking against the crumbling concrete, he cracked his knuckles and drew closer to Tang Qi Hong.
”You bastard…!”
Gritting her teeth, Tang Qi Hong stabbed her blazing spear into the ground and raised both of her hands. A golden, fiery bow materialized in her hands and she launched nine flaming arrows at Qi Fu Ren. The fiery projectiles slammed into him with unerring accuracy and exploded, enveloping the rooftop in a blinding conflagration.
”Kuh!”
Smoldering heavily, Qi Fu Ren stumbled out of the inferno with a hacking cough. His lips curling into a snarl, he glared murderously at Tang Qi Hong. Surprise flickered through his dark eyes as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.
”Even with three times as much qi as you, I can still be hurt by your attacks? How shocking. I guess the decisive of a battle isn't solely about the difference between the quantities of qi that the combatants have. I can't afford to be careless.”