Mana 6 Chapter 4 (Patreon)

A knife flashed before my eyes as I leaned back. The beads of poison slipped off the knife, splashing into my brow as I avoided the strike.

The fifth rank assassin had moved far faster than I’d expected, but they weren’t fast enough.

My knee shot up into his chest with the full force of my cultivation and bloodlines.

He rocketed up to the ceiling as I ducked low, crouching as two needles passed through the space I’d just occupied.

I fended off two more attacks from the side before I caught another poisonous needle. Both my brow and my hand tingled from the Yin Harmony Bird bloodline as it devoured the poison.

Celina was the one of our group with poison techniques; my bloodline and the use of those toxins were primitive at best.

My finger struck out, burying itself in the shoulder of another fifth rank assassin before poison spread from his wound, his skin blackening. He staggered, clutching his chest as he coughed up dark blood.

A concoction of thousands of poison flowed through him in a combined strength only a volatile bloodline like the Yin Harmony Bird could accomplish.

He gasped several times, falling to the ground dead shortly thereafter.

Blocking several more attacks, I had to dodge out of the way as Celina sent a spray of dark purple feathers throughout the room.

Two assassins were unlucky enough to be hit, their skin collapsing inwards, their bodies blackening as they fell apart.

“Terrifying.” Lanhua floated back out of the way of her own attackers. “She isn’t even your head wife.”

I broke the ribs of an attacker that got too close before throwing him into his ally’s attack. “There are thirteen others just as impressive as her.”

As if she needed to prove herself, Lanhua burst into flower petals. I watched as they shot around the room, covering four low rank assassins in enough cuts that their bodies fell to the ground, completely unable to move. She gave a soft, triumphant snort. It was like she was auditioning for the fifteenth spot.

“They still have much to learn.” She said.

I grabbed the arm of an attacker, holding him still for a moment as I brought my head forward, my body reinforced by my bloodlines and mana.

His head cracked against mine like an egg thrown against a stone.

A dagger scratched my back, more poison added to the mix as the 6th rank assassin tried to take me out.

I shrugged off the poison and turned to face him. “Poison won’t work.” Tapping into Mei’s void mana, I reached forward through the space in front of me and caught hit lapel before pulling him back.

As I pulled him forward, my other fist raced towards him.

He blocked me at the cost of his forearm, which snapped against my reinforced fist.

In that moment, with all his momentum lost, my fist hammered into him repeatedly, making his body jerk before a final punch sent him flying. He crashed into the wall, breaking off a few bricks before another assassin came at me.

That assassin was halfway through his strike when his arm turned black and went limp. I kicked him away, watching Celina’s poison do its work.

By the time all twelve were dead, I could sense more of the Bishou lurking in the shadows.

The sixth rank assassin from earlier was clutching his chest with dried blood on his chin.

“I’m going to leave you alive.” I pointed at him. “You will be the witness for the cost to the Bishou to attack me or mine.” My eyes raked over the shadows where the other 6th rank immortals lurked. “Come, I’ll break you all as the penalty for striking at my wife.”

I used Mei’s void mana to slip between the cracks of reality as I appeared next to one of the hidden assassins, wrapping him in my domain and exerting the full pressure of the heavenly dragon bloodline with a single palm strike.

The assassin tried to fend me off, but the overwhelming power of my bloodline crushed down on him.

My strike broke his block and pressed forward, crushing his chest and everything inside of it to paste.

Such an attack was exhausting using everything at my disposal, but while these might be 6th rank cultivators, their foundation was shaky at best. And they possessed no bloodline to strengthen them.

Celina moved quickly, holding large purple feathers in her hands as she swung them about like the two deadliest daggers in the world.

All it took was a brush from the two of them and black poison spread throughout the attacker’s body.

Suddenly, a ball of spikes rolled into the center of the room, and a small explosion sent little pyramid shaped barbs flying in every direction.

I was before Lanhua in an instant, letting those poisonous barbs catch my skin as my Yin Harmony Bird bloodline flared to life. It began working hard to gobble up the complex poison within.

“Thank you. But you needn’t be so concerned.” Lanhua surrounded herself with a swirl of petals that fought off two assassins before breezing past both of them, turning both of them into swiss cheese. “As you can see, I can take care of myself.”

I smiled, seeing for myself that she was stronger than I’d thought.

Moving quickly away from her, I caught several of the Bishou that tried to leave. There were dozens of sixth rank assassins within the space, proving that the organization was larger than I’d imagined.

But they’d surprised me before. This time, I was ready.

I struck out with lightning, turning the dark sewer tunnel into broad daylight as I crashed through two more assassins.

Fire stormed out of me and blocked off the exits; I was tired of chasing these assassins down.

“Girls, finish this.” My five mana beasts shot out of me. Aurora, Mei, Quinn and Lumi didn’t hesitate for one second, joining the slaughter with their strength.

Phoebe on the other hand, stood by my side looking on curiously. “There is no need for me to join; they are already dead.”

I smirked, having the same confidence she did in her statement.

In less than a minute, the remaining assassins lay on the floor, blood running along the grout of the cistern floor.

“Master.” Aurora landed on me with a great big hug before giving me a sloppy kiss among the dead and disappearing into her ring.

Lumi and Quinn both kissed each side of my face before disappearing. Mei strutted over, her fluffy black tails twirling behind her with little white tips like they’d been dipped in paint. “I love you, master.” She kissed me before disappearing.

“I’m not calling you, master.” Phoebe disappeared, rolling her eyes.

That one might have been eager for sex after thousands of years trapped in her mana core, but she still wasn’t sure about us or anything more than that.

But that was okay. We had plenty of time.

“It’s okay if I don’t call you master either, right?” Lanhua gave a throaty chuckle.

Celina rolled her eyes. “It’s just his mana beasts… and maybe Kat. She likes a little play, if you know what I mean.”

“I very much do.” Lanhua deadpanned. She ran a brothel, after all.

A coughing fit interrupted their banter. My living example was struggling; his ribs were smashed to pieces.

Taking out a simple healing pill, I slipped it into this mouth and held his jaw shut until he swallowed. “You get to live, isn’t that great? Now…” I gestured to the death behind me. “If your organization even thinks about touching my wives again, I will repeat this as many times over as it takes.”

They were nothing more than tools, but sometimes you had to remind the tool that they were being used on the wrong job.

Slapping his cheek, I stood and dusted off my robes. Thankfully, I had managed to avoid getting them bloody.

“Let’s see if they have anything useful.” I commented to Celina, who was already bent over a dead assassin, rummaging through his pockets.

“Might as well take some of this garb. It’s enchanted wonderfully, and we could pretend to be Bishou. Stir up more shit for them.” Celina was stripping the body and turning it to dust with a palm strike. The dead immortals had little defense left in their bodies.

Lanhua stood still. “This is distasteful; let the dead rest.”

“No.” I quickly answered. “We’ll scrape all the use we can out of them. Celina is right. We could dress as Bishou and attack a major family, like the Leon family, and create more problems for both of them.”

Lanhua sighed and rolled over a corpse next to her before stripping it. A flurry of petals turned it into paste that slowly seeped down the drainage system of the cistern.

“At least cleanup is easy.” Celina poured out a canteen from her spatial ring, washing an assassin down the drain.

The one living assassin’s eyes flicked between us in concern as we treated looting his fellow assassins like plucking cabbage from a field. It wasn’t like this was the first time I’d done this with my wives.

Back in the mortal world, survival was difficult, and often looting the dead was necessary to survive and grow. There was nothing distasteful about it to me.

“Clean up isn’t what I’m worried about.” I spoke my thoughts aloud. “I’m more concerned about how the Bishou reacts. But if they come after you all again, I will fulfill my threat. We’ll find another den and then another, ripping their organization up by the roots if needed.”

There needed to be clear consequences for them taking a job regarding me. This was how I made the cost abundantly clear.

Anybody who touches what is mine will have their beating heart ripped from their chest. It was a gruesome message, but some people only respected ruthlessness. Assassins didn’t scare easily.

Lanhua was primly picking through the assassin’s pockets.

Despite her clear revulsion at the task, she was trying to back me up, and I appreciated that.

I still wasn’t sure about her full motivations, but if she had truly just wanted my girls with spirit bloodlines to train, she had that already.

This felt like a loyalty to me that ran deeper. Her motives still weren’t clear, but I was starting to trust her a bit more.

I looked up to see the remaining Bishou staring at me with quaking eyes. I wondered if he’d be more likely to speak now. “Are you going to tell us who is behind the hit?”

To my surprise, he nodded rapidly before jerking his hands in their language. “How about I ask, and you nod or shake your head in answer?”

He agreed.

“Was this the Yunpi family?” I had to rule them out first. There was a chance some of the family was resistant to me.

His head shook rapidly.

I relaxed a bit, glad that I wasn’t headed into a family actively trying to kill me.

“Su family?” There were likely problems among the family, even with the elder’s support.

The assassin shook his head again and made a menacing gesture before fanning his hands around his neck.

I already knew what my third guess was, and he was making it obvious. “The Leon family.” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded his head rapidly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but notice a rapid shift of emotions on Lanhua’s face. She pulled herself together quickly, but that flash of emotions told me more than words.

“Do you know who in the Leon family ordered this?”

He rapidly shook his head and started signing frantically. I didn’t need to know what those head moments meant to know that he was begging for his life.

“Do not fret. You will live on. I need somebody to relay the cost of attacking me to your organization.” I had no doubt that the Bishou spread far behind Blueheavens. I hoped that by leaving him to share the information, it would reduce further attacks. It would be tiresome to have to sift through all the tunnels in Blueheavens, ripping the Bishou out of the city.

“Anything else?” I looked back at the two girls.

Celina tossed a handful of spatial rings as they clinked together. “We’ll sift through these back at home.”

I had my own stash of spatial rings in my pocket. I fished my hand inside my pocket and jangled them to confirm they were still there. “Then let’s head out. I don’t want to smell.”

“That ship has likely already sailed. I’m going to have to burn this dress.” Lanhua gestured down at her still pristine white dress.

“You look great in it, though.” Celina said. “I’m sure we could get the smell out.”

Lanhua shrugged. To her, a dress was disposable. “We’ll see. What did you get from the assassin?” She pretended like she hadn’t heard me.

“It was the Leon family. They’re already striking out from Cloud City.” I shook my head. News had traveled quickly, and they had reacted faster than I could have expected.

That meant they were terribly threatened by me, and it also meant they would try again. This wouldn’t be the last attack. Once it was clear this had failed, they would strike again.

I needed to take my mother up on her offer and head to the Yunpi family in the next day or two.

“What are you frowning about?” Lanhua asked.

I sighed, hating what I was about to say. “The Leon family is going to end up pushing me right into the Yunpi family. I need their protection for my wives and kids.”

“The Leon family is ruthless.” Lanhua grimaced. “The golden lion bloodline that they have is a close descendant from the ancient guardian lions.”

The iconic two lions at the front door of many establishments immediately came to mind. “Powerful creatures, according to legend.” They were powerful guardians of the earth element. According to legend, they were defenders of the god emperor’s palace.

She nodded, clutching in her arm in almost a defensive measure. “They take their bloodline very seriously and their dispute with the Yunpi family is vicious. I wouldn’t put it past them to be making attempts at every turn to destroy the future of the Yunpi family.”

It was well known that the two families were operating just below all out war for the ruling position of Cloud City. Assassinations and trickery were likely just the tip of the iceberg. “What aren’t you telling me, Lanhua?”

She paused, fidgeting with her sleeve before she met my eyes, and spoke. “Once upon a time, my last name was Leon.”

I felt a chill run through me as I almost instinctively labeled her an enemy. My mind began swirling with possible implications.

Lanhua held up her hands. “I hate the Leon family as much as you do.” She grabbed her hair, that was already showing silver at her roots. “Because I was born without their bloodline and that of another, I was cast out onto the streets at a young age, so that I did not ‘dirty’ the family’s bloodline.”

I winced in sympathy. “How did you get where you are now?”

“My foundation was strong. Before my bloodline was revealed, they considered me a genius in the family. Even alone on the streets at the age of fourteen, I was able to handle myself. I quickly found a home helping at a brothel, helping protect the girls and manage the books.” She fumed at the painful memories.

“It was later that I expanded that brothel into the Orchid Pavilions that now rest in most of the major cities of the world. I have built myself up, and I have done so knowing one day I would use everything I have to hit the Leon family hard enough that they regret what they did to me.”

She wanted revenge against my enemies. At least I knew she could be trusted for the short term. The enemy of my enemy was indeed my friend.

“Why not strike before now?” I asked, curious to understand why she chose me and this moment to help.

“Because, there was little I could do on my own to upset the Leon family. No, you are a massive thorn that could become the wedge that topples the Leon family. Lending you my full support is the best use of what I’ve built up.”

Frowning, I didn’t like how she spoke of me. “So I’m just a tool for you’d use to strike back at the family that abandoned you.”

She saw the error in her words at that moment, her eyes flashing. She moved to close the distance between us, but Celina stepped in, stopping her short.

Lanhua held up her hands before she grabbed my arm. “I admit you were a tool at first, but after listening to how your girls talk about you and how you treat them. I… I… I think I want more.”

“Your relation to my mother?” I asked coldly.

“We are the same generation. Were friends before and after my ejection from the Leon family. This was before the Leon family betrayed the Yunpi.”

I frowned. “Have you had any contact with the Leon family since?”

“Of course I have.” She admitted. “But I treat them like shit compared to the other ancient families I work with.” A smile rose on her lips. “I treat the Yunpi family well, hence my continued friendship with Lily.”

I knew I needed her help, although I was more confused than ever about her. “Fine, continue to help me. We’ll see about anything else. I make no promises outside of working together to rid myself of this Leon Family problem.”

She winced, and I could see regret on her face. She could feel the rift it had put between us, but I’d known there was some secret she was keeping from me. Even if it made everything more complicated, now that it was out at last, it was something we could start to work through and move forward from.

I wasn’t sure what would be more important to Lanhua if she had to choose between my family or her revenge, but for now, I would accept her help.

AN - Saving Supervillains is out. I hate doing this, but there is an issue/change with amazon. Only reviews with text appear to be going through since 4/5. You can look at things like HWFWM 5 or other big recent releases and their reviews are abysmally low. Idk if they are going to resolve it, or what's happening but I don't want Supervillains to look pathetic because it is on the edge of the issue/change.

If you guys would be willing to leave a written review I'd greatly appreciate it.

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