Wu Xiaoyun handed Xin the crossbow:
"That was hard, reloading this thing. Will he live?" Her voice was very nervous.
"Shut up." Xin was trying to work on the wound, but he now needed to create a qi drainage.
The fiery lingzhi method he was about to use was very taxing on the body.
"Rui Ming pulled the monsters away! I'll reinforce master Taowei! Join me if you can!" Tu Qiang shouted.
Xin looked into master Lu's eyes. They were peaceful, there was no longer any regret or anger there. Just acceptance. Won't you fight? Won't you endure? Xin thought this, but by his estimates, master Lu had a one in ten chance of survival.
"Aaaaaagh! Fuck!" Lei cried out in pain somewhere outside. Xin could barely hear it, as the wind was getting stronger. His heart jumped.
Xin looked at master Lu, then at the inn's door.
After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed the crossbow and the glaive and ran outside, eating a spirit stone, the medical procedure half-finished.
There was a severe tempest raging, the trees on the horizon were bent diagonally. Xin was almost pushed back inside.
The plant creature was assaulting master Taowei, who looked like an earth elemental, covered in rock from top to bottom, and held his crystal mallet. The creature itself had a ton of dents and bruises on its barkskin armour, and there were two massive burn marks, one on its shoulder, another on its thigh. Lei's doing, most likely.
"Flank!" Tu Qiang ate a spirit stone as he ran. He was conjuring a stoneskin technique, similar to that of master Taowei. Murong Zhan and Xin also followed, the trio forming a vedge.
The creature turned its ugly head towards them, then jumped back and extended its legs.It was now two floors tall, but most of its height were ugly dark green leg-vines.
It swiped at master Taowei again, then turned its lanky body and ran!
"Careful! This might be a trap!" Master Taowei didn't chase. He had no movement methods,and his transformation method slowed him down. And he was probably low on qi, too, Xin thought.
Lei was standing on one of the rooftops.
"Chase the bitch! Avoid the snake attack, it's a ring on her left hand! Her ranged methods are weak!" He shouted, his flesh left arm dangling like a noodle.
Xin chased the creature, but it was escaping rapidly. His wedge partners didn't seem to be moving faster than him.
"Tu Qiang, Murong Zhan, help Windsplitter! Me and Lei will poke her down!".
"Back off! I'll kill ya!" The hag screamed at them with anguish.
"Not my first time beating up an old woman! Come and try!" Lei taunted her.
Xin scanned the situation. Lei will jump off the rooftop and deliver his spit. She might try to dodge it or get it off her if it hits, this will give me a great opportunity to shoot.
Xin scanned the creature as he ran, his sharp vision barely obstructed by rain. Out of all the different dents and burns, one location picked his interest - a shoulder burn, with a dent below! Lei's lava spit ate through the bark!
Next moment, Lei jumped off the roof and flanked the creature, just as Xin predicted. He spat on it, and Xin was amazed at how much further his spit could reach with this Molten Heart technique.
"Aaaagh!" The creature cried out in pain, but then touched its belly and produced a stone out of it.
"Back off!" Xin shouted.
The hag then threw this stone at Wu Lei...
That's it!
Xin infused his crossbow bolt with as much metal qi as he could. This method would have diminishing returns, and he'd stress his meridians, but it was still an optimal thing to do.
The shot itself looked very hard.
Sixty steps. Strong wind, almost favourable, slightly diagonal. There was a small anxious part of Xin asking him not to shoot. But it was also the only moment where the creature would stop like that. He pulled the trigger.
Swish! He pierced the creature's shoulder, hitting almost perfectly. Would this even damage a rank two master?
"Aaagh! Fuuuck! Aaaagh! I'll rape you!" The creature cried out, but continued running. Luckily, Lei also dodged the stone toss.
"Please take your armour off, I'll check you out and tell you if I am interested!" Wu Lei kept taunting her, but she quickly retreated. He now had no means to damage her.
Xin considered chasing. She was injured, and he had his endurance bracers, and some qi to spare for another shot. But what if she just ate a spirit stone and threw a ranged method at him? As a mortal, he'd be dead in one move.
"Back off, Lei! It's over!" He ordered as he reloaded.
"Fuck, you think so? Fine, let's help Rui Ming!"
But it wasn't necessary. By the time they reached the fighting group, Rui Ming was already sitting on top of one of the dead creatures, his legs crossed into the lotus pose.
Everyone else stood at a respectable distance, looking at a dozen plant monster corpses.
"Did he kill them all?" Xin asked Murong Zhan.
"Of course not. But he killed five in this fight, if I am not mistaken. This guy is crazy."
The wind in the manor got even stronger. It wasn't just the tempest now, but also the winds attracted by Rui Ming's breakthrough.
He stood up and raised his blade, pointing it towards the audience, and proclaimed:
"The waves are delivered
The leaves are untied
The bamboos are bent
My wind is unsplit!"
As he declared this poem, his hair and robes waved, as if they weren't wet from the rain.He then sheathed his blade and looked into the distance.
"Have you succeeded, Windsplitter?" Master Taowei was still breathing heavily.
"Apparently." He sighed. "What now?"
"What's with outrider Lu?" Xie Taowei asked everyone.
"He's gone." Wu Xiaoyun looked heartbroken.
"You two couldn't do anything?!" Xie Taowei looked at Xin and Xiaoyun. "Forget it, it was a rank two method. Good job, everyone. Disciple Ming, I'll elevate you to the rank of master temporarily, even if the whole procedure isn't certified."
"Yes, master Taowei." Xin looked at Rui Ming again. He could swear that something was different about him. His demeanour was calmer, his eyes were filled with a peaceful detachment. He ran up to him.
"Brother Ming, you broke through! I can't believe you did it while fighting! How is the quality?"
"High, but not perfect. I... can feel the inspiration in my mind. Coupled with my new core, I'll be able to perform some new techniques. You'll like them, brother. Thank you for everything."
"What? You saved our asses. No one expected a mortal to be the one to save the day. What did I do?"
"Your analysis, and your advice. And your interest in the Five Winds. I appreciate it." Xin was embarrassed. Admittedly, he only read the first half of the book, but he could tell how much it meant for Rui Ming.
"Too early to celebrate, kids. There might be another fight, and we've lost a master." Xie Taowei looked grim as he said this. Xin appreciated him lately. His combat leadership wasn't that bad, and he was slowly growing on him. But for a rank two, his combat strength was lacking.
"It's a tragedy, what happened. Should we bury the master? I don't think we'll be able to burn his body." Tu Qiang said with a solemn expression.
"Oh, a tragedy? You think so? From where I stand, he had it coming." Xie Taowei spat on the ground. "Degenerate fucking gambler. Look, I am not trying to sacrilege, shittalking the dead man, but tell me, what was his mistake?" He looked at everyone, his challenging gaze reminded Xin of Huang Lingbo.
"I am not partaking in this quiz." Tu Qiang rolled his eyes and left. Everyone else went quiet.
"Oh, you wanna play the silent game now? Let me drop some truth on you. This guy, a degenerate gambler. A good outrider? One of the best. Why do you think he was rank one? Couldn't keep his hands from throwing some dice. Gambled his dao shards away. Neglected his training. Neglected his studies. Thing is, he always acted like he wanted to leave the sect. Decided to become an outrider instead. Half-assed.
You people are some of our brightest prospects. If someone has to die, I am glad it was him. Now go and make sure you don't repeat his fate. Did I make myself clear?"
"Yes!" Everyone answered amid the rain and wind, both dying out. The tempest was over.
"Master, may I ask something?" Xin raised his hand.
"The answer is yes. You are now in charge of scouting."
Xin nodded.