Mana 4 Chapter 13 (Patreon)

Quinn, Mei, and Kat were poking at a small fire that Kat had built. Anxiety lit within me as I assessed the chance it would give away our location. But the fire was putting off almost no smoke, and in the cave, the light wouldn’t be much of a risk. I decided not to say anything.

But I knew that something had woken me up. Based on the way the girls were all braced around the fire, sitting stock still, whatever had awoken me had them concerned as well.

A giant boom of thunder shook the mountain, and I rolled over, propping myself up.

We’d been in the cave for about a day at that point. The girls had taken care of everything. Aurora was doing much better, and several rounds of dual cultivation had sped up both of our recoveries.

“Think that’s the big fight we were expecting?” I asked as thunder rattled the mountain continuously for almost a minute.

“It’s fighting something strong.” Quinn agreed, as the lightning paused for a moment. The mountain shook without the sound of thunder in response.

We all nodded solemnly. Whatever the raiju was fighting now seemed to be able to shake the mountain on its own. “Then we keep still. We’ll let those two fight it out, and tomorrow we will try to lure Guo Ying.”

“Time to wake up the sleeping beauty?” Kat asked with a snort at the name.

Mei frowned, and her ears flopped as she tilted her head. “She’s not very beautiful after you dragged her through the mud.”

Kat and I burst out laughing before quickly trying to suppress our volume. “Not what she meant, Mei.” The thunder easily covered up any noise from our discussion, but I was still anxious about being found before we were in position.

“Mei go snuggle up with him. I’ll wake her up, and we can pretend to be all be asleep. I’m curious what she’ll do.” Kat stepped around the fire and over to Tracey’s sleeping form.

Quinn let out a small huff, and I pulled her with me, knowing she liked physical contact more than the others.

We settled into a position on the floor that would allow all three of us to get to our feet quickly if needed. There was no telling what moves Tracey would make.

Kat walked across the cave and pulled open Tracey’s eyelids, staring into them for just a second before letting them fall. She walked away to a spot closer to the entrance and settled in as if she was keeping guard but had fallen asleep.

It was the most dangerous position. If Tracey thought to harm us before leaving, Kat would be the prime target. But I had to trust that she could handle herself.

Another attack from above rocked the cave, and I realized this might not be the most believable plan. Sleeping through the fight taking place would be difficult. But that fact didn’t matter anymore; it was already done. Tracey snapped awake and looked around in the dark cave.

I kept my eyes as closed as I could, only looking out between my eyelashes.

Tracey froze and waited, taking in her surroundings before slowly, like a mouse suddenly illuminated in a dark room. Her head was on a swivel, looking back and forth between our group and Kat, working to be as soundless as she could.

I regulated my breathing, working to make it sound like the even, steady breath of sleep. As the cave shook again, I had to put a bit more focus into my breathing and stop myself from swearing. I was waiting for her to not buy the act.

But Tracey seemed startled that she’d miss her opportunity and we would wake. She darted out of the cave in a dead sprint, abandoning any attempts at stealth.

Kat must have realized the same thing I had, because she started stirring at that moment, making sure to yell after Tracey like she’d just woken up. But Kat didn’t pursue her, staying in the mouth of the cave.

“Think it’ll work?” Kat asked.

I nodded. “She was scared enough that logic and details might not make sense to her right away. She slept through the beginning of the fight, so for all she knew, she woke up on the first attack and us the second. Either way, she’ll want to be right, to have won rather than been handed a victory. But this means it’s time to head out. Quinn, can you track her in the dark?”

“Yes. Follow me.” Quinn took the lead out of the cave, her golden irises wide as they caught as much light as they could.

Tracey sprinted through the night, stumbling blindly in the dark as the mountain shook with the battle that raged at the peak.

We kept a respectable distance behind her, not needing to be any closer. Quinn was able to track her through the woods without a problem.

“She’s going into that ravine.” Quinn broke from her stride, and we moved over to the edge to avoid being seen. Tracey scrambled down the sidewall and hit the bottom.

I couldn’t see it, but I could hear the sobs.

“Don’t think she intended to go down like that.” Mei whispered.

“She’s stopped.” Quinn offered.

“Then we wait.” I said.

***

The battle on the peak died down eventually, and we sheltered against the roots of a large tree as Quinn and Mei took turns watching Tracey until morning. Tracey had pulled herself up and traveled down the ravine into a small cave and seemed to be hiding, waiting for daylight.

When morning broke across the horizon, Quinn and Mei returned to their rings as Kat and I took up watch. Finally, Tracey awoke and started walking through the ravine aimlessly.

“Does she even know which way is back to the city?” Kat scoffed quietly as we kept an eye on the bait.

“I don’t think any of them even had camping experience.” I kept my voice low and focused away from Tracey. The last thing we needed to do was to be caught before the bait, and there was silence around us. It seemed that any life in the forest was still hiding from the reverberations of the fight at the peak.

The sun hadn’t been up for more than an hour before someone appeared on the other side of the ravine across from us. Luckily, they didn’t spot us, focused on Tracey. After following her for about half an hour, they left. Tracey hadn’t managed to identify them, or us, at all.

“Guess it won’t be much longer.” Kat pouted. “After this, we are going to be separated again, aren’t we?”

“For a time. If Tracey survives, I’ll take her back to the pavilion in hopes of earning some ‘value’ as Madam Orchid might consider Tracey’s life. But I can’t get this cuff off without paying her my debt. Not to mention I’ll need Tracey to tell a story.”

Kat nodded, staying low as we watched Tracey stop and take a break. “I’ll talk to the Hua sisters. They might not be here yet, but they know how to make money. If I can use some of what I’ve found so far, they can help me multiply it.”

“You don’t have to do that for me.” I felt myself prickling at the idea of Kat earning money for my freedom.

“You know I want to. And the others will want to too. We will earn your freedom and kill any who try to take it away.” Her eyes changed colors more rapidly as she became angry at the thought.

I leaned over, giving her a kiss to calm her.

We found a nice spot to settle in, and we watched Tracey as she picked rocks out of her shoe before throwing it against a rock in anger. I had to hold back laughter. She had no business being out in the wilderness.

I spotted figures appearing in the trees above her, and I got excited. We were finally making progress.

The ambushers jumped from the other side of the ravine and then dramatically fell down around her, quickly circling her.

She startled up with a shout that echoed against the stone. “I can tell you where he is! And there’s another with him too you can use.” Tracey didn’t waste a moment before offering up Kat and I. I could feel Kat stiffen against me.

Guo Ying appeared among the six mages that circled Tracey. “You bitch. Do you realize what you cost me?” His words were punctuated by a slap. “You will be my servant for the rest of your life, and even then, you won’t be able to recoup my losses with this. My father had to come out here and deal with the raiju. How are you going to pay for the pills required for him to heal from that?”

Tracey was on the ground, holding her cheek, sobbing something that I couldn’t quite hear.

“That’s right. Now, where are they? This better not have been for nothing. My father will not tolerate coming out here and having nothing to show for it.” Guo Ying looked up from Tracey, and his eyes circled the surrounding ravine. “And why the hell are you down here?”

Ducking low, Kat and I stayed out of sight, but I realized he wasn’t as stupid as Tracey. He knew they were in a vulnerable position.

“I fell. It was dark when I escaped.” Tracey yelled back at him, her voice breaking a little at the end.

Kat scooted next to me. “I think we are running out of time.”

“Just one more moment. When they go to collar her, I think she’ll make a delightful distraction.”

Kat snorted softly in my ear. “You just want revenge.”

I shrugged, not able to deny it. A part of me probably did, but I also knew she’d fight back against the collar and it would be a great distraction.

Guo Ying snapped his fingers, and the men around him circled Tracey.

“You can’t do this. Do you really want to start a fight between the Ying Family and the Pavilion? Madam Orchid will destroy your family.”

“She sells all her lovely little petals to the ancient families all the time. I’ll throw some money at her, and she’ll go away. I’ll just add that to your debt to me.”

Tracey scooted on the ground, backing away from them as they closed in.

“Now.” I whispered.

Bursting from the top of the ravine, I jumped into the air. Drawing upon all the mana I could muster, I formed the image of a massive Kunpeng’s Claw above me as I crested my jump.

“Above us!” One screamed as his head snapped skyward.

They all could feel me coming. The amount of mana I was putting out was like a bonefire at night.

My spell dropped like a bolder and the top level of soil exploded outwards. The Ying family’s men scattered as they tried to defend against my spell, but they hadn’t had time to prepare and were blown away.

I landed in the dust cloud created by my spell.

Kat was on the ground immediately, executing surprised immortals before they could recover.

Guo Ying skidded to a stop. He’d protected himself from my blast, his arms still crossed from the spell he had used.

He dropped his guard and glared at me. “I see. You thought to ambush us.” He flicked out his wrist towards Tracey, but I moved and deflected the knife he threw. Guo Ying’s brows furrowed at my protection.

“Technically, I’m supposed to be guarding her. And unfortunately I still need her.” There was no love for Tracey, but without her to explain what happened, I doubted I’d be allowed to return to Murdock.

And while I wasn’t brimming with the desire to return to Murdock, I’d already managed to anger the Ying family. I didn’t want to add Madam Orchid and her pavilion to that list. I still needed to build up my strength before I could take anybody on, and I hoped to fly under the radar of the Su family a while longer.

“Loyal dog.” Guo Ying sneered. “Tracey, I’ll forgive your debt if you crush him with his cuff right now.”

“Sorry, you feel you need that advantage. As you can imagine, we already got the crystal from her.” I laughed. Kat had cleaned up Guo Ying’s men and was picking Tracey up. I gave her a short nod, and she jumped away, getting herself and Tracey clear of the fight.

“Fine. No matter. We will fight just us.” Guo Ying snorted seeing his target disappear. “Or are you going to have those strange women of yours appearing again?”

He seemed overly confident given his position, and it set off alarm bells in my head. I’d clearly bested him at the pavilion. He should be more afraid.

It piqued my curiosity, and I made sure to keep my senses on alert as I challenged him. “I think I’d like to see what you think will be different this time.”

Guo Ying’s stance widened, and a sword appeared in his hands.

“I wasn’t able to go all out in the Pavilion, and admittedly, I wasn’t clearheaded. This time will be different.” Guo Ying held his head high.

I shrugged. If that’s all he actually had, then the fight shouldn’t be too bad. But I still stayed skeptical he’d have something else up his sleeve. “Crushed balls will do that to a man. Your anger then was acceptable, understandable even. But you’ve made this into far too big of a deal.”

He turned his hands over and showed me his palms. “It is out of my hands; you must be made an example of. For my family.” His hands snapped back around, and he charged me with a slash of his sword.

Despite his talk, he still came at me with sloppy sword work. His arms were over extended, weakening his attack.

I parried it to the side. His cultivation did put quite a bit of power behind the attack, but that was all it was. It was all power and no skill.

He came again and again, those crushing waves coming with him each time he attacked.

I’d been hopeful that he could offer more of a challenge, but it was dashed when he failed to show me anything new from the brief fight in the pavilion. I quickly stopped blocking his attacks and began countering.

He’d already started drawing his sword back for the next hit. It was a weak attack, and I pushed through until I pressed his own blade up against his chest.

His hips moved, and I brought my knee up to crack at his hip and stop his kick before I tossed him back on his ass. “Really? You should really work to back your bluster.” I stalked up to him.

“You really think you are going to win? You might be some expert from your world. But here, all I need is power!”

Something in the wind changed, and motes of light gathered around Guo Ying.

I jumped back and readied myself for what was to come, adrenaline pumping through my body at the change in circumstances. I’d been waiting to get to experience something new.

But the motes of light didn’t form an attack. Instead, they gathered on his forehead and formed an indistinct golden mark. Squinting, it was hard to focus on it, as if it defied my attempts to concentrate.

Whatever he had been doing was done, and his mana was different somehow. It reminded me of…

Guo Ying shot forward before I could finish the thought and slashed again with his sword. This time, the wave of the attack felt more like a tsunami. There was an incredible force behind it, far beyond anything I’d experienced.

I didn’t even try to block it, using Mei’s void mana to move myself up into the air to avoid it. Below me, the ravine shattered with the strike. All the top soil blasted into the air, as the pressure from his attack uprooted and pulped all the vegetation.

“Amazing.” I couldn’t help but agree that all he needed was power, if that was the kind he was bringing to a fight.

In all the dust below, the mark on his head gleamed as he looked up at me and swung again.

There was no dodging this one. I wrapped myself in metal mana and reinforced my body with life mana, as the colossal wave of mana he sent crashed into me and launched me into the air.

For a moment, my body was flung through the air like an arrow in flight. I was helpless to control it. As my body moved, I tried to figure out my options. I needed to find a way to compete with the power of an ancient family. Belatedly realizing just how potent that power was.

Looking deep within myself, I could feel my bloodline still pulling mana from my surroundings. It was my best shot at going head to head with him, but I had yet to use it in this new world.

My thoughts were scattered as I hit the ground and dug a furrow into the soil, crashing right through roots with a thump.

Something heavy hit the ground next to me, and Guo Ying looked down at me in the furrow I’d dug into the ground with my own body. The indistinct mark was still glowing on his forehead. A part of me had hoped it would have fizzled out.

“You don’t even understand the difference between the two of us.” He crouched down, assured of his victory at that point. “Mortal worlds are the bottom tier of a system you didn’t even know existed. Ancient families have bloodlines from the beings that were once the gods of this world. Beings so powerful that they understood countless dao, principles of the universe. They could manipulate them in ways we can’t until we become celestials. But that power was passed down through their kin.”

Guo Ying pointed to his forehead. “This marks me as the child of beings that could rightfully call themselves gods.”

I groaned and tried to push myself up out of the hole, but my body resisted making any movement. “So, you're some big bad’s great great great grandchild? Wouldn’t know it from your sword skills.”

As the frown spread across his face, I worked to puzzle through my thoughts on my bloodline. Knowing I didn’t have long, I dug deep as quickly as I could, trying to connect and commune with it. I’d always suspected that it had depths I hadn’t discovered, but I hadn’t really needed them before. Survival gave me the need to rip those secrets out now.

Pushing mana into my heart, where the personification of my bloodline rested, I tried to stir it into action. My bloodline came alive as it normally did, filling my body with extraordinary strength. But it was like holding a candle to the sun compared to what Guo Ying’s bloodline had created. A part of it still seemed dormant.

But it was at least enough for me to start digging myself out of the hole. My mana beasts beat on my chest, wanting to come out and help. But I knew it was useless to bring them into this. They’d be at risk of dying if one of his attacks hit them. I finally understood why the ancient families got the respect they did, and why others like Tracey wanted to join them.

Knowing the Ying family was low on the tiers of ancient families was a scary thought. There might be hundreds or thousands of cultivators that had this sort of power at their disposal.

I gritted my teeth and finished pulling myself out of the hole.

I had been knocked down before and built myself up to lead one of the strongest sects in my world. I could do this, with or without my family’s power.

But as I pulled myself up, a boot crashed into my chest, sending me flying into the air as I burst through the limbs of several trees.

This would not work. I cursed at my bloodline, annoyed that it was letting me down.

Skipping past my elemental mana that came from each of my mana beasts, I drew on the surrounding immortal mana and cycled it as quickly as I could, even as it burned my meridians. I took it and shoved it into my bloodbeast, not trying any finesse, just jamming it in as hard as I could.

I battered it with mana, shoving it into every pore and demanding it wake up.

“Wake up. Your power is mine.”

I could feel it stir, and I focused internally. I watched as the bloodbeast’s mouth opened up, sucking my consciousness deep into my inner world.