Xuanyi caught sight of something bright streaking over the walls of the guarded headquarters. Towards the quarters of the male disciples. Then a loud explosion. The stinging smell of acrid smoke wafted over, causing him to sneeze.
Fire. His eyes widened.
Intruders, he could sense them. Twenty of them. All high-level practitioners.
Outnumbered if the prince is the target. They had to move towards the elders quickly.
He immediately leaped off the roof and rushed into the room. Xuanjing was already fitting his armor on.
"How many intruders are coming here?" Xuanjing asked.
"Odd, twenty are heading to the disciples' side, but let's evacuate the prince first."
"To elders' side?" Xuanjing asked.
Xuanyi nodded and hastily shook the sleeping prince. No response. Still sleeping like a log.
"Mmmm…. one caramel latte, no sugar…," the third prince mumbled in his sleep and slapped his hand away.
What strange language was the prince uttering? A spell incantation ? Xuanyi frowned.
"Ohhh, one tiramisu. Cream on top, please," murmured the prince, as copious amounts of drool leaked from his mouth, staining his pillow.
No time to waste.
"WAKE UP. FIRE!" he yelled into the prince's ear.
***
The smell of acrid smoke stung my nostrils. Am I in that dreamscape again? Nah, can't be. I am ordering my coffee at my favourite cafe in Hong Kong. Maybe the coffee roaster or toaster burnt the bread again.
"Mmmm…. one caramel latte, no sugar…," I told the smiling waitress as she jotted down my order.
A look at a delicious strawberry cake and then the scrumptious tiramisu in the glass display refrigerator. Maybe I should have the tiramisu. It's on special with an order of coffee. Sweet chocolate. It feels like I haven't eaten you in a while.
"Ohhh, one tiramisu. Cream on top, please."
Out of the blue, the whole coffee shop started shaking violently. Wait, I was shaking as the patrons were staring at me. What the f**k was shaking me? I waved my hand around.
"WAKE UP. FIRE!"
OWWWWWWHHH! My ears rung badly.
My eyes sprung open. Same darn room on the canopy bed with an expressionless Xuanyi staring at my face.
Damn, I was not on Earth anymore. Stuck in Jinshi.
The smell was real. And we could spot the glow. Clean clothes were thrown unceremoniously onto my head. Then a comb hit my hand. Damn long messy hair.
A wet towel offered as Xuanyi indicated where my drool was with his hands.
Utter humiliation. The side of my mouth was slick with the slimy saliva. Like a drooling baby.
Tiramisu - how much I friggin miss you.
A quick wipe of my face and it was done as the two kept nervously looking out of the windows and doors.
"We need to move out quickly!" Xuanyi hurried me.
Alright, alright. Hanfu on. Wrap around. My hands knotted up the attaching strings. I wished they had t-shirts here. So convenient. Top jacket worn on.
Only to have Xuanjing wave the belt at me. He hurled it over to me. Stupid, inconvenient clothing.
"Go go go," Xuanyi urged as he peeked out of the room once more.
"Wait, Yoturuki…" I ran over to my table and grabbed the sword.
There is a jolt of static that zapped my finger. Danger ahoy.
***
Five figures in the dark lurked in front of him. Another flash of light and he could make out that the eyes now trained on him.
Same dressing in black. Tianjin dodged an attacker who lunged. He drew his sword and went into stance as they stared each other down. Another bright flash and he noticed another person had a whip. A glint of metal. He leaped away. The whip went for him like a striking snake. He flipped backwards to a clear spot.
Two shadows zipped past him. Tianxiang had jumped into the fight with Master Jianfa. Loud clanging of metal clashing with sparks flew around them.
Blinding bursts of multi colour flashes illuminated their area. Exchanges of blows and hits in the scuffle.
Three to five. All on par. They were outnumbered.
The other disciples were trying to defend with the ling beasts.
Shouts and screams were filling the area.
"XIAOHUA… THEY ARE TRYING TO GET TO HIM!" a disciple shouted loudly.
The target was Xiaohua. The boy was trouble from day one and this was day three.
If it was the third prince, the sect will be deep trouble. He could not be sure if the prince was also a target. There were twenty storming inside the compound.
Still, no one should kidnap any of their disciples, no matter how new they were.
Tianjin's opponents came at him with lightning speed. Blows were parried. Fortunately, not the fellow with the whip. The hits were more defensive.
He made a grab at the wrist. A rotation counter and it slipped out of his grasp.
Tianxiang's telepathic message echoed in their heads: [Break off if we can. Regroup near Xiaohua]
Jianfa's telepathic message came after: [need to stop them all from using the ling beasts. May attract mo beasts]
Summoning his inner strength, he punched away the foot flying towards his neck, sending the intruder flying into another while Tianxiang and Jianfa broke away from the other three.
"STOP… ONLY INNER DISCIPLES USE THE LING BEASTS. REST OF YOU DEFEND!" Ye Jian's voice echoed against the pandemonium.
***
Wholesale BIG F**KING rampage was going down on the front. Massive fireworks of ling beasts smashing against each other overhead. Some had five or six against one. This may attract mo beasts.
My hand held Yoturuki tightly. My heart was thumping so fast. Sweet adrenaline was flowing through my veins. Fight or flight moment. F**king exciting.
Xuanyi and Xuanjing almost looked like those action movie actors in those war movies. Hand signalling each other and moving in an almost leap frog manner along the walls and trees. They must have scouted the area several times before. It was dark where we were, but each step they took was an assured one. No hesitation.
Woo-hoo real life action.
They chose the back route, away from the commotion. No one was really around. Away from attention. It was actually one long freaking detour around the compound. Of a comforting note, my stamina had improved tremendously through the exercise classes for two weeks. At the speed they were moving, I was not panting in Ji Feng's body.
Sounds of footsteps were heading our way. All three of us stopped.