Hua Yan stumbled over a tree branch, the angry tears in her eyes nearly blinding her. She drew one of her jian swords from beneath her skirt and whirled, slicing a tree in half with a roar.
Daiyu, who had been running ahead of her, watched her as she panted, wiping away the tears on her face and tucking the object Youmei had given her into her clothes. Turning to him, she sheathed the jian sword and scowled at him with red eyes. "Let's go. We need to head for Binghuo Mountain, where the Ice Fire Blossom grows. It's the most important ingredient to cure the qi-sealing poison, and we don't have time to waste."
Hua Yan forced her tired, aching body to move again, the grief of losing her one and only true friend making her limbs feel heavy. Daiyu seemed to have sensed her bad mood and remained silent, following along behind her. Thank goodness for small mercies, Hua Yan thought grumpily.
Only when the sun rose in the east did they stop to rest, both being used to pushing their bodies past their limits if it was necessary in order to fulfill their mission. They rested in a small cave until the sun had moved across the sky and dipped into the west.
Hua Yan opened her eyes from a troubled sleep and allowed her locked muscles and joints to loosen. The ache in her side had subsided somewhat since the ointment Youmei had provided had begun to help heal it, and so it did not affect her mobility. She stood at the same time the Fox did, making her look over at him.
The expression on his face was a little cautious, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'll be fine, Daiyu. This won't interfere with our quest to cure ourselves."
He nodded. "I understand. Let's get moving. Gao Tai and the others will have most likely picked up our trail again by now, and we need to keep going."
"En. The Binghuo Mountain is a very dangerous place, and I wouldn't suggest entering there with our qi sealed, but our need overrides safety, so off we go. Besides, when have martial artists ever looked down on a chance to train in harsh and life-threatening conditions?"
Hua Yan put her emotions to the side and began to employ her movement techniques again. She plucked edible mushrooms as they moved, tossing half of them to Daiyu. They could not afford to have the smoke give them away, or she would have caught an animal to cook over a fire, since meat was much more filling than mushrooms.
It took them two of their precious seven days to live to travel to Binghuo Mountain, and one day had already passed while they lay unconscious on the lake shore and made their way to Hongse. They now had only four days to cure themselves before they died.
Hua Yan coughed, the excruciating pain in her meridians sending a rush of warm blood from her lungs. Daiyu was no better, his smooth jade skin pale and wan. Hua Yan struggled to suppress another cough as a white, tiger-like magic beast known as a Snow Ghost padded by the rock the two of them were concealed behind, its paws barely pressing into the snow at all.
The thinner air on the mountain seemed to be accelerating the degeneration of their meridians. Hua Yan inserted a silver needle into a few of her own acupoints, then turned and did the same to Daiyu. The Fox remained still and silent as she worked, never moving even though the acupoints she pressed would cause even more pain. Bending over to place her mouth to his ear, she whispered, "The places I've just pressed will slow the poison a little, but it causes the pain to be worse. I'm sorry, but you'll have to bear with it."
The other assassin nodded, his stoic face making Hua Yan appreciate him a little more. His silent presence by her side had helped steady her after the tragic events in Hongse, and though she still hated him, she could admit the hatred was weakening a little. At least he hadn't made any flirtatious comments or tried to joke around like he had before.
The Snow Ghost finally departed, and Hua Yan and Daiyu flitted out from behind their rock, heading for the peak of the mountain. There, among the lava and ice that somehow coexisted within one crater, grew the Ice Fire Blossom. Unfortunately, it was guarded year round by a ferocious magic beast of Tier A in the gradient used to measure the strength of the magic beasts. Only the Tier S and the god-tier magic beasts were more powerful than the Tier A beasts, and thus, this was the reason why not many chose to enter Binghuo Mountain.
Hua Yan lay down on her belly in the snow, ignoring the cold that seeped through her thin dress. Her golden core body was not much affected by either cold or heat, and so she was fine in the alternating hot and cold air by the peak of the mountain. She tried to call qi to her eyes to use her gift and enhance her eyesight, forgetting for a moment that it was currently sealed. The resulting vacuum in her dantian made her choke and cough up more blood.
Daiyu sent her a sidelong glance, the concern in his gaze surprising her, but she shook her head and waved a hand, indicating that she was fine. Squinting, Hua Yan stared at the enormous Spirit Bear that paced back and forth before a beautiful, glowing flower with flame like petals that alternated with icy ones. "We won't be able to face the Spirit Bear head on without qi. It would merely phase into spirit form and then sneak up on us, and without qi sensing we wouldn't be able to dodge its attacks. Perhaps we could sneak by it, but I don't really see how."
Daiyu shook his head. "That's impossible. The Spirit Bear is much too close to the flower, and much too sensitive to the smell of our souls, to not notice us, no matter how quiet and sneaky we are. Perhaps we could draw the bear away from the blossom? One of us could be the diversion, while the other plucks the flower."
Hua Yan frowned. "It's a good idea, but what would we do after we got the flower? The bear would just eat us both."
She rubbed her forehead, considering this plan and that plan. Finally she glanced down the mountain, seeing the Snow Ghost still padding across the snow, and her face split into an evil smile. "I've got it," she laughed.
Daiyu sent her a worried glance. "What crazy idea do you have now? I still haven't recovered from jumping off that cliff into the lake, you know."
Standing, Hua Yan smiled mysteriously as she glided down towards the Snow Ghost. "Just come on. I need you for this part of the plan."
He followed along behind her reluctantly, his every movement conveying apprehension. Waving a hand, Hua Yan said airily, "It'll be fine."