Daiyu turned to look down at Hua Yan, the Night Rose, curled up on the floor. The expression on her face was peaceful, and she seemed far less cold and closed off when she was asleep, though he had noticed that she had seemed to relax a little around him during their journey to find the cure. Crouching, he gently shook her shoulder, but barely avoided a bash to the chin from her skull when she lunged up, half awake, holding a dagger that appeared in her hand from somewhere in her clothes.
"Calm down, it's me," Daiyu said calmly, unsurprised that her reflexes, though impeded by the pain she had experienced, were conditioned to attack first and ask questions later.
Hua Yan looked around with sleepy, half closed eyes, and when her gaze fell on him, she tucked the dagger back into her clothes. Pushing herself to her feet, the Night Rose rubbed her eyes, seeming to finally wake up all the way. She glanced down at her clothes, which were soaked with sweat just like his, and the pulse points on her skin which were covered in the smelly paste, and frowned.
Daiyu wanted to smile a little, since it seemed like she was a bit of a clean freak, but knew she probably wouldn't appreciate it. Instead, he strode over to tug on the cord that would summon a maidservant. The high class inn they were staying at offered a personal servant for each of the rooms.
The maidservant prepared baths for them both, and Daiyu climbed into his tub behind the folding screen, sighing in relief as his muscles, which still ached from being tensed up during the pain, finally relaxed.
After he had washed himself thoroughly, he dressed in black and gold clothes that had been in his spacial storage bag, which he was finally able to access now that he had managed to get his qi back.
He also placed a new fox mask on his face, unwilling to reveal his features to Gao Tai and the rest if they ever appeared before him. Turning to glance at the folding screen that concealed Hua Yan, he was just in time to see her coming out, dressed in black and red clothes, with her formerly dyed hair now flaming red again. As he watched her, he saw her eyes glow with qi, and her crimson hair and blood red eyes morphed colors, fading to a nondescript black. She tied a silky red mask around her head, concealing the upper half of her face from view.
"That's a neat trick," he commented. "It would certainly be useful for disguises on missions."
Hua Yan adjusted the jian swords in her belt. "En. It's saved my life more than once on particularly dangerous missions, back when I was still building my career and honing my skill. I find that—"
*BOOM!*
The door shattered apart as the Night Rose spoke, sending splinters flying in every direction. Immediately, Daiyu drew his broadsword, moving to stand with Hua Yan. The two of them stood together, eyes focused on the door as they waited for the smoke to clear.
Min Ling stepped over the pile of wood, which was all that remained of the door, her body shrouded in an ominous bloody glow. Her hands revealed long claws as she raised them to brush her hair aside coquettishly, and she smiled at her lover Gao Tai with fanged teeth. "See, I told you they were hiding here! Like little rats scurrying into a sewer."
Daiyu shook his head, shivering at the disgusting sweetness in the girl's voice. Gao Tai, once his best friend, curled his arm around Min Ling, smirking at Daiyu.
"You were right, sweetness, just like you always are. But...I must admit, my old master, I am quite surprised you and the Night Rose are still alive. It seems that the Night Rose's medical expertise is even more excellent than I imagined."
Hua Yan smiled coldly, murderous intent driving into Gao Tai and Min Ling so powerfully that for a moment even the two blood cultivators hesitated.
Then Min Ling simpered once more, "Oh, Master, though I must admit you are quite powerful, you will certainly be able to sense that you and the Fox are no match for us. We've grown much stronger now that we no longer have to hide what we are!"
Daiyu stood holding his broadsword as he stared at them while Min Ling droned on, boasting of her power. Sighing inwardly, he tapped into his own gift and spoke telepathically to Hua Yan.
"*Night Rose, you can sense that they're more powerful than we are right now. Even though we're both golden orb and they're merely foundation cultivators, the innocent blood they have consumed is making them equivalent to a nascent soul. And due to the large gap between nascent soul and golden orb, we won't be able to fight them head on. I suggest catching them off guard again and escaping. We'll raise our cultivation and confront them again soon.*"
Hua Yan twitched slightly beside him, but thankfully didn't reveal her surprise that he was able to communicate telepathically when his cultivation was so low. Daiyu counted inwardly. 1...2....3.
On the third count, he tapped Hua Yan's hand, and the two of them lunged forward together. Caught by surprise, Gao Tai and his lover barely managed to get their weapons up to block the blows.
Daiyu exchanged a few strikes with Min Ling, using all his strength to deliver crushing blows shrouded in his shadowy black qi. However, the blood cultivator blocked his attacks easily, her petite body belying monstrous strength.
The two blood cultivators laughed maniacally together, attacking with their claws and fangs as well as their weapons. Calling up more qi, Daiyu concentrated as he whirled his broadsword in a powerful move, which he had named Wind in the Dark Night. Min Ling's weapon cracked as she received the blow, and her feet dug trenches in the floor as she was driven back by the waves of black qi.
The cultivation technique Daiyu practiced was called Shadow of the Fox, and it involved using waves of qi to distract and crush the opponent with pure strength while also allowing him to dart around in the shadows at high speeds, which was how he had gotten the name of Fox.
Next to him, Hua Yan battled Gao Tai, her eyes glowing red as she swung her swords which were wreathed in crimson flames. Though Daiyu and Hua Yan were quite powerful, and they had managed to catch the other pair by surprise, the tides would soon turn if they didn't escape now. Hua Yan whirled gracefully as she spun in a tornado of red qi, sending objects and broken pieces of the room flying in the wind generated by her attack. The qi tornado continued to gyrate as Hua Yan slipped out of it, grabbing Daiyu's hand as she sheathed her jian swords.
The two of them jumped out the window and immediately suppressed their qi to nothing as they melted into the night, running away for the third time in a week.
Hua Yan growled in her chest as they ran, snarling, "Those traitors deserve to get their heads chopped off, but instead we have to run away like cowards!"
Daiyu glanced at her, a little surprised at her vehement words, but he shrugged. "Sure, but this is just a strategic retreat. As soon as we raise our cultivation enough, we can confront them. Besides, I think they did get some retribution."
Hua Yan met his gaze. "What do you mean?"
Daiyu smiled happily. "Your qi tornado flung the pile of Giant Silver Ape crap into their faces when we left."
The two of them looked away from each other, faces expressionless. Then peals of laughter echoed into the air, scaring a housewife who was getting a drink of water from a well and causing her to visit a Buddhist monk for advice on getting rid of ghosts the next day.