Heir to the Wolf's Blood (5)
A choking wave of nauseating demonic energy pressed in from behind, intense enough to suffocate. It didn't bother hiding itself at all, like it was roaring, 'I've chased you this far. If you don't want to get caught, run harder.' It barreled after us like a runaway locomotive blaring its horn.
I'd expected pursuers, sure, but this guy felt like a total psycho.
"Oppa, I can't help you right now. So please, just... "
Yeomhwa's beautiful red eyes shimmered with a distant light, trembling. She didn't outright say "leave me behind," out of consideration for my feelings—her own little act of kindness. Damn kid, way too perceptive for her own good. It pissed me off.
We're family, aren't we? Just be a burden already.
Random, but back during the Chu-Han Contention, when Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were duking it out for the throne. While everyone else was swinging swords and spears like mad, Xiang Yu—straight out of a wuxia novel—led a detachment that crushed Liu Bang's coalition of feudal lords at Pengcheng.
A miraculous exchange ratio of 30,000 to 500,000, unprecedented in history. The Battle of Pengcheng.
The key point? Liu Bang, who'd been stripped down to his soul by Xiang Yu, fled in a carriage without proper escorts. His soldiers were hot on his heels, foaming at the mouth to tear him apart. Total do-or-die moment.
Any normal person would've collapsed, legs giving out, pissing themselves in terror. But Liu Bang, the guy who tamed the chaos and sat on the throne above ten thousand, did something no ordinary man could.
"We can make more kids!!"
He tossed his children out of the moving carriage to lighten the load and pick up speed.
"Get out! You too!!"
"Nooo~ Papa's gone crazy?!"
"Mama! Where are youuu?!"
The ultimate ploy only a winner in turbulent times like Liu Bang could pull. You need that kind of shamelessness to survive against a slaughter machine like Xiang Yu.
But his ingenious booster plan—ditching the kids to speed up—backfired. The charioteer, Xiahou Ying, the Han dynasty founding merit number eight and Lord of Ruyin, slammed on the brakes.
"Hah!!!"
Witnessing parents hurling their own flesh and blood to save themselves, Xiahou Ying went full ape, exploding in rage.
"Abandoning one's blood kin is worse than a beast...!!"
King or not, the man had guts. Xiahou Cola’s piercing words snapped Liu Bang out of Xiang Yu's domineering aura, and he stopped chucking kids from the carriage.
From the annals: the heartwarming true story in Xiahou Ying's biography.
The important takeaway? Even in chaotic times, ditching family was seen as worse than an animal. And I'm no beast. I'm human. Adopted or not, abandoning family isn't an option for me.
Besides, leaving Yeomhwa here would be the worst of the worst plans. I've got a scheme ready for pursuers, and I need her to pull it off.
"Shh—no more talking. My cute little kitten."
"...Pardon?!"
I whispered playfully in a tender voice to ease her tension. Her face flushed crimson in an instant, flustered.
"I've got a plan. And I need you for it."
I meant to stress her necessity so she wouldn't suggest being left behind, but instead, she averted her eyes and cast them downward.
"...That's why I said to leave me. I can't use fire right now."
...Can't control fire?
My pupils dilated at the unexpected snag, and a bitter shadow crossed her eyes as she noticed.
"Sorry. I'm still too inexperienced. Once a month, when my condition worsens, I can't handle fire."
I checked her complexion. Now that I looked, she seemed faintly exhausted, her face pallid. Was she sick? That'd be bad.
"...Like a chronic illness? How bad is it? Can you hold on? Got any medicine?"
For some reason, my barrage of questions turned her face beet red. She squeezed her eyes shut as if steeling herself, then leaned to my ear and whispered softly.
"It's... not a chronic illness. It's... my period."
"Ah—."
An awkward vibe clashed with the dire situation. Tiny tears welled in her beautiful red eyes from embarrassment.
Well... biology happens. Can't be helped. Yeah, unavoidable. Not even an issue. Totally natural. Proof she's healthy. Nothing for her to be ashamed of.
But humans gonna human—it's embarrassing. Awkward as hell. Especially for a sensitive girl like her. I had to play it cool, or she might bite her tongue in mortification.
Suppressing my ragged breaths, I forced a gentle, composed tone.
"It's fine. Even if you can't use fire, you're my precious little sister. I'll never give up on you."
"...But you said you needed my power earlier."
Using my staff for lightness skill instead of my bad leg meant one arm propping her butt—an inefficient strain on my running body. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she never complained, just gazed at Mancheon's face as he fled with her in his arms. Her red eyes, filled only with him, wavered.
She'd told him to leave her, but now her arms around his neck tightened. Of course—she didn't want to be abandoned by her oppa.
Yet anxiety gnawed, craving reassurance of his love, so she uttered words against her heart. Useless as she was, she yearned to be needed. A monster craving selfless love.
How vulgar, how base.
"That's a minor issue. Just tweak the plan a bit, no problem."
And Mancheon didn't betray his little sister's hopes.
His mind never stopped racing. If she couldn't use fire, adjust the plan accordingly. Topple the pursuer and save his sister.
He hid his trembling body and labored breaths. Gritted his teeth, crushed the fear. Chant the magic spell that fueled his confidence.
"I'm a genius, after all. This too—that too—I'll handle it somehow. So don't worry."
Pausing to catch his breath, he looked at her. He gave the lonely girl craving affection the words she longed to hear.
"I'll protect you."
A first-rate assassin of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Black Killer Squad, Shadow Blade, rolled his eyes in disbelief at the granary before him.
Mancheon's trail ended here. The lock was smashed.
Disappointment flickered in Shadow Blade's eyes. Hiding inside and thinking I wouldn't find him? No way. Or maybe terror overrode thought, and he just ducked in blindly.
Either way, pathetic. I'd expected more from a wolf's whelp. Just a spoiled young master after all. Tiger father, dog son. No—wolf father, dog son.
Should've let someone else chase and fought that iron-ball chucker instead.
In Shadow Blade's mind, Mancheon was mere prey, scrambling from a hunter like him. Nothing more, nothing less.
So he walked right into the trap without suspicion.
'What the...?'
In the pitch-black granary, the first thing that caught his eye was the hazy white powder filling the air.
He flicked his tongue at the floating dust—nutty flavor. Soybean flour.
'Smoke screen to blind me?'
His face twitched, disappointment shifting to anticipation. Dark granary, no light. Eye-catching flour upon entry. Obvious position revealed at the door.
Next up: ambush. His eyes gleamed. He sensed the ki.
— Dam Head Rod Strike —
Smashing the head to scold.
Manchon, dangling from the ceiling, unleashed the form straight at Shadow Blade's crown.
A fine ambush in the dark. But naive.
Shadow Blade was Black Killer Squad. Death in shadows was his domain. The granary's gloom was no hindrance.
Demonic arts summoning fiends to the hand.
Bam—!!
A sonic boom echoed through the granary, impossible for fist meeting staff. Flour swirled.
Caught off-guard, Shadow Blade grinned ear-to-ear, his facial scar twisting, and slammed his fist into Mancheon's exposed gut mid-air.
Mancheon flew back, crashing into the wall. But he clenched his teeth, righted himself instantly.
Resolve burned in his wolf-like amber eyes. Shadow Blade's lips twitched in response.
"...Just to check—are you planning to beat me?"
He raised his staff at the sneering cultist.
For the first time in his life, killing intent surged toward another.
He steeled himself.
"No. I'm going to kill you."
"Best answer yet."
No signal needed—they closed the gap. Demonic-ki-clad fist clashed once more with resolve-forged staff.