章 31: You're Hurt!
Clang! Instead of stabbing into flesh, Feng Ming got stuck between two metal blades. "You're good, but still too inexperienced," the masked man commented. Wang Jingyuan realized immediately that she fell into his trap. She tried to pull her sword back with all her might, but it didn't budge at all.
Just as he did with Mo Xian, the assassin flipped his wrists suddenly. However, Wang Jingyuan had a tighter grip on Feng Ming than Mo Xian did on his sword. With a yelp, Wang Jingyuan felt her wrist twist with the sword. Feng Ming didn't fly out of her hand, thank goodness, but her wrist was burning.
Frowning, the assassin kicked his leg out and landed a kick squarely on Wang Jingyuan's abdomen. The force sent her crashing backwards into a nearby tree, but she had also yanked Feng Ming Sword back. For a few moments, all she could see were black spots. Her abdomen hurt, as did her wrist. All the air was knocked from her lungs.
Through the haze, she saw the assassin stalking towards her, his scimitars ready. He stabbed one forward, and Wang Jingyuan barely rolled out of the way as the weapon pierced the bark of the tree at where her heart used to be. She staggered to her feet just as the second scimitar came bearing down on her head. Feng Ming narrowly saved her from being sliced in half.
Wang Jingyuan's right wrist burned like fire every time she used her sword. Her forms became lopsided and off-center. The assassin had the upper hand now, and he attacked mercilessly and relentlessly. Clang! Clang! Clang! Gritting her teeth against the pain, she gripped the hilt with both hands and managed to block several subsequent attacks, though just barely. The tip of a scimitar nicked her left shoulder, and blood appeared immediately.
As Wang Jingyuan faltered, the assassin suddenly used one scimitar to cut at her legs. Wang Jingyuan leapt up to avoid the knife, but it was also a trap. The other scimitar was waiting for her in midair as a slash through the night air. Wang Jingyuan held Feng Ming Sword diagonally in front of her and countered the blow, but the force sent her flying back again. She landed, hard, into another tree. This time, she could no longer hold on to Feng Ming and the sword flew out of her hand.
She watched as the masked man charged towards her again, scimitars outstretched, and thought she would die for sure. But just when he was only a few meter away, Mo Xian jumped out of nowhere and thrust his sword towards the masked man, who couldn't dodge in time. The sword pierced through the assassin's lower left ribs.
With a roar of pain, the assassin turned his attention to Mo Xian. But he was now severely wounded, and Mo Xian quickly landed several other cuts on his limbs. Seeing how the tables had turned, the assassin turned and fled into the depths of the forest. Mo Xian started after him, but turned back and ran to Wang Jingyuan instead.
"Miss Wang! Are you alright?" He crouched beside her and peered at her worriedly.
"Childe Mo, aren't you going after him? Didn't you want to know who sent him?" Wang Jingyuan asked.
"It's fine. I know enough now to pinpoint who is behind all this." Mo Xian's gaze landed on Wang Jingyuan's left arm. "Miss Wang, you're hurt!"
Wang Jingyuan looked over. A large patch of red was diffusing across the sleeve of the inner garment of her light green hanfu, which was wet with rain. "It's just a small cut. Nothing to worry about."
Even as she said this, she felt the pain catch up to her. Her head hurt, her back hurt, and her wrist and shoulder burned like fire. Mo Xian peeled back the short sleeve to look at the wound. "It's not a deep cut, thank heavens, but it's bleeding nonetheless. We've got to get back to the inn to get that taken care of."
"Okay." As the adrenaline wore off, Wang Jingyuan was aware, for the first time, of the wet clothes sticking to her skin and the chilliness as the night wind blew by. Strands of her hair were plastered to her face. "Childe Mo, could you help me find my sword?"
Mo Xian looked around and spotted Feng Ming lying in a patch of wet grass. He picked it up, carefully wiped off the stray grass blades, and helped Wang Jingyuan sheath it. He noted the skillfully crafted phoenix design. It was a beautiful sword, and indeed a very memorable one. He understood why Wang Jingyuan usually kept it wrapped in black cloth.
Wang Jingyuan wobbled to her feet. Immediately, Mo Xian was by her side and wrapping an arm around her to support her. She leaned into him, too tired to care about the intimate contact. As the rain fell in soft drizzles, Mo Xian and Wang Jingyuan made their way out of the forest and back into the city.
The innkeeper was waiting for them as they entered through the front door of the inn. "Childe! Miss! Where did you go? What happened—oh, dear!" His gaze swept over the two soaked people in front of him, the swords in their hands, and landed on the blood on Wang Jingyuan's shoulder.
"There was an intruder, and we chased him all the way out of the city." Mo Xian stated simply as he and Wang Jingyuan made their way toward the stairs. "Innkeeper, could you bring up some first-aid materials?"
"Of course, of course. I'll also bring up a small fire bowl for you, Childe; you and the miss are soaked." The innkeeper, after he got over the initial shock, decided that he should treat them kindly. They were two martial artists, after all, and had just engaged in battle. If any more intruders came to his inn tonight, he wanted Mo Xian and Wang Jingyuan to be able to fight the intruders off. "Would you like a fresh change of clothes as well?"
Mo Xian and Wang Jingyuan paused halfway up the stairs. Neither of them had any extra clothes, and both wanted to change out of their wet clothing. "Yes. That would be nice," Mo Xian answered.
"I will be right up!" The innkeeper scrambled to get everything. Mo Xian continued to support Wang Jingyuan as they made their way up the stairs and down the halls toward their room.
Pushing the bamboo doors open, both saw the mess that their room was in: overturned chairs, shattered teacups on the ground, a splintered table. The coat rack was toppled in the corner. The window shutters were open, letting in rain and wind.
"Oh dear," sighed Wang Jingyuan. "Will we have to pay for damages?"
"Don't worry about that, Miss Wang. Let's get your shoulder taken care of first." Mo Xian flipped over the chairs and had Wang Jingyuan sit down. He found the candle that had rolled onto the ground and relit it. Then they waited for the innkeeper and the first-aid materials.
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