Chapter 17 - Interlude

Li Fan couldn't sit still. Well, he couldn't sit at all. His ass was on fire. At least that was what it felt like.

"I'm going to kill that motherfucker!" he erupted, his anger bubbling up into swearing for the twelfth time in his third rude awakening. "I'm going to kill his forefather, his ancestor, his entire clan. This Li swears it to the heavens."

"Of course you will, Big Brother," a soothing, feminine voice replied from beside him, her delicate fingers tracing over his back, opening the bandages. "Just lie still."

"GUGGHH!" Li Fan howled, almost jerking upright, a fresh wave of pain surging through him. "Dear Sister of mine, couldn't you tend to me a bit more gently?"

"I would have," his sister, Li Ran, snorted, "if I didn't have to tend to your sorry ass."

"What sorry ass?" Another voice chimed in from behind them, traces of amusement in his tone. "There's nothing left of them. That fella was ruthless."

"This is all your fault, Shi Xing," Li Fan groaned, directing his ire toward the source of the voice.

"How is it my fault?" Shi Xing shrugged as he settled down next to the hearth flames. "While I do apologise for failing to save your ass in time, you're the one who rushed into this mess."

His sister, Li Ran, the adorable abomination, even joined in the laughter, making fun of his misfortune.

"Your poison didn't work," Li Fan snapped back. "It should have impaled him; dulled his senses. He should have been stripped of all essence abilities, but he wasn't."

"That was an oversight on my part," Shi Xing admitted as he continued to roast the meat until it was almost edible. "But you should not have acted so hastily, my friend. Who knew the fellow had rare potions on hand?"

"You said elves were soft and easy picking. At worst, they'll imprison us, if we don't make big mistakes," Li Fan grumbled. "But that elf nearly killed me."

"That's where you're mistaken, brother," Li Ran interjected. "That was no elf, but a man, a cultivator like us."

"And a dark-skinned one at that," Shi Xing added. "What are the odds of that?"

"I wonder if he's one of those cultivators who has pledged allegiance to the elves," Li Ran mused aloud, finished applying ointment to her brother's barely closed wound.

"That doesn't matter," Li Fan roared once more, anger etched across his sickly face. "Because this Li is going to hunt him down and end him."

"Killing might be unwise if he is with the elves," Shi Xing cautioned. "You must also consider Lin Yun's predicament. You lost your ass, not your brain."

Li Fan clenched his teeth, seething with the agony that only fuelled his hate for the cultivator.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. We'll get her back," Li Ran reassured him, "no matter—"

"What was that?" Shi Xing interrupted, jolting to his feet. He scanned their surroundings intently, reaching for his weapons. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Li Ran asked.

Shi Xing remained silent for an extended moment, his senses on high alert as he listened and observed keenly. "Crap, it's a great serpent," he groaned. "I sense a high iron-ranked aura. Pack up quickly; we need to leave."

"Big Brother, we have to go," Li Ran urged, swift to take action. Unfortunately, it appeared her big brother lost consciousness for the third time.

Shi Xing let out an exasperated groan, assuming a defensive stance with his bow and arrow. "Carry his sorry ass, or there won't be anything left of us until we find Lin Yun." He aimed his arrow into the darkness, zeroing in on the source of the high-pitched squeaking sound. "Come on, I'll only be able to hold it off for a few minutes."

"Heaven is with you, Brother Xing," Li Ran said, but didn't follow up with a bow. She hoisted her brother onto her shoulders and sprang towards the mountains.