Forbbiden Cultivation Ch. 0043

****** Chased *******

After resting for a while, I have Ning remove the shield. Then, I go into the tunnel. Slowly. With the spear in front. Listening. Detecting qi. There's nothing.

I peek carefully. All I find is blood and stained pieces of fur. A little further on, more blood. I can't hear anything. I call the girls.

"From the size of the stains, I'd say three or four hyenas have died. It's not big enough for a bear," Liang suggests.

"There're blood stains over there. One of the bears must have been injured," Yu supposes.

"Or they took the dead hyenas," Yi contradicts her.

"Those stains don't look like hyenas," Yu protests.

"Those do," Yi contradicts her again.

"Why don't you go check it out?" Song intervenes, sighing.

"Be careful. Don't get too close," I request them, worried.

They nod and leave. I don't know why they're blushing. The rest of us move on. There're almost no fragments left from the trap. And some are bloody.

"There're traces of the hyenas retreating. Let's hope they don't stay close," Shi intervenes.

There're footprints. And several traces of blood. The twins aren't long in coming back.

"There's at least one wounded bear. Maybe more. They're quite alert. Maybe, they've heard us. It'd be better to leave as soon as possible," Yu explains.

"And they were devouring a hyena," Yi adds.

It's not that this last piece of information is very important. I suppose it's to emphasize that she was also right. Anyway, we better hurry. It seems that the hyenas retreated after some casualties.

I go up the hill with Yi. The rest have returned to the Residence. She goes ahead. A bear comes out of the cave and looks in our direction. It doesn't seem like it wants to chase us.

"Don't stare at my ass too much," she mocks "Ouch!"

I slap her ass. Very softly. Playfully. She whines, playing along. But that's all we allow ourselves. The smile quickly disappears from her face. Focused and attentive. She's very attractive like that too. I shake those thoughts out of my head.

I use qi detection to avoid any weak presences. They're probably insects. Or small snakes. But there could be some poisonous ones.

From the top of the hill, we have a view of the whole area. And what's beyond. There's no sign of the hyenas. For now. I call the rest again.

"According to the map, this should be almost the limit of the hyenas' territory. We have to cross this forest to get to the Stone Bridge. There shouldn't be any dominant packs like here, but several individuals with the strength of stage seven. And some of stage eight. Maybe, some of stage nine," I explain.

I've gone over the map with Rong. I don't think she lied to me. If I die, I don't know what would happen to her, but I told her she'd die too. I'd say she believed me. Anyway, she only gave me some extra information. The rest is on the map.

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I'm still with Yi. On this side, the forest looks different. It's more humid. And it's denser. There're quite a few insects. Luckily, they're normal insects. A little qi is enough to keep them away. Although, that makes us more detectable.

We've hidden from a red elk. It had dangerous antlers. I don't know if it didn't detect us or ignored us. Its strength is comparable to mine. Which means I could hardly beat it. I'm not good enough in combat. With all of us, we could, I think. But it's not worth the risk.

It just continues on its way. I guess it's not carnivorous, although you can never be sure. Its behavior can change as they get stronger.

A snake have attacked me. Luckily, I had already detected it. And Yi's stabbed it with a dagger. It looks poisonous. I'm keeping it in case it comes in handy in the future.

A little later, we hear a screech. And the forest goes silent for a moment. It's a rather large bird. And powerful. It might be equivalent to someone in the soul realm. It's one of the reasons they recommend staying out of open spaces. In the marked areas, it would be very rare to encounter beasts of that power. The exception is those that fly. Luckily, the forest protects us from them.

Anyway, we stay still until it leaves. Yi is very tight to me. I can't help but squeeze her ass. Unfortunately, we can't afford much more.

"We'll continue later," she kisses me, suggestively.

"It's a promise," I earn her smile.

We continue through the forest. There're many plants that could be valuable, but we don't know how to distinguish them.

We cross a small stream. Yi starts playing in the water. And she slips.

"Yi! Are you okay?"

"Ouch... Yes, help me up... Ouch!"

It seems that she has twisted her ankle. It's not serious. It'll heal soon. She just needs to circulate the qi and rest.

"Don't tell Yu," she begs me.

"If you give me a kiss," I point to my cheek.

She smiles and kisses me. But not on the cheek. It's a long and wet kiss.

"An advance," she laughs.

I send it back and bring Yu.

"Isn't it a little early?" she looks surprised.

"Yes. But Yi was a bit hurt, so I've sent her to rest. Nothing serious. But it was painful to walk," I half lie to her.

"Is she okay?" she looks at me worried.

"Yes, yes. I already told you it's not serious."

"Thank goodness," she sighs. "Oh, a little river."

"Be careful," I warn her.

She slips like her sister. But this time, I'm in time to catch her.

"Thank you..." she thanks me shyly.

"I told you to be careful..."

"I... I'm sorry... Don't tell Yi!"

I promise her too. She kisses me too. They're not just twins in appearance. I'm tempted to tell them both. And make fun of them a little. But I'll keep my promise.

I look at Yi. She's sitting in her room. Eyes closed. Meditating.

Shi is gardening. Though dressed. Swords in the belt.

Liang is trying to learn a bow technique. Something about applying qi to arrows. She said it was called "Spiritual Arrow." The problem is that a certain little feline is awake. And wants to play.

Song is practicing with the spear. Besides "Tiger Fist," she's learning the basic techniques of the weapon.

I look at Yu. She's just as focused as her sister before.

We keep walking for more than an hour. We look at each other. Something is not right. We fasten our pace. And whatever is following us also fasten. We haven't seen anything. It doesn't even come within range of qi detection. But there's something.

We run. And suddenly, we stop abruptly. We can hear the sound of someone doing the same. There're more than one of them. Three at least. I send a signal to the girls. I put them together. And a red handkerchief. They should be ready. Yi seems to have recovered.

Suddenly, they appear. First three. Then, the fourth, which is cutting off our retreat. They've been surrounding us. They're some kind of ape. More than two meters tall. Quite broad and muscular. They emanate the power of stage seven. Only one below me. But I can't take on three. And it would be difficult for Yu against one.

I send Yu back to inform everyone. I call Rui and send her back. I send her clothes and weapons. Our attackers seem confused by the appearance and disappearance. But they don't hesitate to approach. Little by little. They're five meters away. The maximum range to summon the girls. That's what I do.

Rui and Ning are against one of them. Very nervous, Ning creates a barrier. While Rui distracts it. She's more agile and determined than I imagined. When Ning creates half a shield, Rui hides behind it. The huge ape attacks the shield. It won't last long. But it's enough to keep it busy. That way, Rui can get behind it and stabs it deeply with a dagger. Its skin is thick, but its knee is a weak point. It falls to the ground.

Meanwhile, the twins take turns against another. Always one pf them is looking for its back. Continuously cutting it. Yi uses qi to stop a blow. It's a bit crude and wastes a lot of qi, but it works. They should learn some protection technique. Yu takes advantage to stab her dagger all the way in. It turns around furiously. And Yi skewers it from behind. It's at a clear disadvantage against the two of them.

Song, although she can't move much, keeps it at bay with her spear. Shi takes advantage to attack from closer. Her "Heron Dance" technique is very effective at dodging and distracting it. Song's spear hits with the basic "Skewer" technique. When it turns towards her, Shi takes advantage.

The apes aren't prepared to fight one against two. They probably wanted to do it the other way around.

It's my turn. It has stopped before reaching me. So, I move towards it. It's looking at me. I think it's hesitating.

An arrow almost stuck in its eye. It's used its hand to block it. Liang is here too. But I'll take her out if there's even the slightest danger. A blow could kill her. She can help to distract, but little more. That's what she did.

I throw the spear at it after it stops the arrow with its hand. It's a basic technique that I don't master. Although I have practiced it a little with Song. It tries to defend, and the spear sticks in its arm. It's not very deep.

I take out another spear and attack its left side. It's now its most vulnerable part. It had to defend itself from an arrow and a spear. It doesn't have time to move away or block. And my power is above its.

Without support and against three, it would've been impossible for me. Now, we have the advantage. The spear penetrates its defenses and sticks deep. It also breaks. The quality wasn't quite good. Luckily, I have more. I take out another one and hold it against the huge hand that is trying to hit me. Another broken spear. Another wound on the ape. Some cuts for me.

When it's distracted, an arrow hits its eye. The arrow doesn't go very deep, but it's enough to make it scream in pain. Liang really has good aim. It covers against the next one. And leaves me a clear gap. I pierce its foot. This time, the spear hasn't broken.

It staggers and falls. I take advantage to attack it hard. I pierce its heart. Or so I hope. It falls inert.

I look at the others. Liang has just shot the one which is against the twins. They take advantage of the distraction to cut the skin of their enemy again. Although, I think it wouldn't have been necessary. It seems overwhelmed and scared. It's bleeding, and holding up with its hands.

Anyway, I go over to help them. Better to avoid trouble. I finish it off. They've seen me coming, and have made it turn its back.

The three of us head toward Shi and Song's. We're late. Song smiles pleased. Her spear is piercing the ape's neck. She has the one with the best quality. Shi looks at her smiling. She knows what it means to her. That she can do it despite her leg.

We look at Rui and Ning's. Theirs is on the ground, half dead. Trying to defend from Rui's harassment. Ning looks scared. Did she really have the nerve to try to kill me?

Looking a little closer, I realize that the ape doesn't seem to see Rui's attacks. It's just covering. Its eyes are destroyed. Rui is the opposite of Ning.

I approach and finish it off. I send them all back. More than one is bruised. Especially Rui. I keep the carcasses. Maybe, they'll be useful. I'll leave one for Rong to skin. I didn't trust bringing her to battle.

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Shi stays with me. No matter how much I insist, she says she's fine. Well, she insists on me too. And I tell her the same thing. Well, she doesn't seem to have any problems moving.

The twins and Song are resting and healing. So is Rui. Shi and I heal as we walk. We can't afford to stay still. It slows down the healing process. But it's the only option for now.

"This place is dangerous. But it's been a good experience," Shi says.

"I guess so. But I was afraid something would happen to any of you."

She stops and kisses me.

"And to us, that something would happen to you. Or one of the others. We're in this together."

I stare at her as we walk.

"What's wrong? Is there something in my face?" she asks me a little puzzled.

"No, it's just that... You're amazing. You're the only one who can say this," I tell her honestly.

"Stop flirting and pay attention!" she protests.

But I can see her smiling a little shyly. She even blushes a little. She's beautiful. And she's also smart. I don't know what we'd do without her.