Pilgrims and great sages alike visit the divine shrines in their travels. The Pilgrims pray for blessings at the sites holding the relics while the great sages and other martial arts masters meditate there in the hopes they'll be granted insight to aid them in their mastery.

  Tae stood under the eaves of a building, his back against the wall as he watched the rain come down. He didn’t mind getting wet, but knew he’d have an easier time watching the commotion if he stayed out of the way like this. Several adults were rushing around. They thought they were being quiet, but people didn’t move about in the rain like that unless they had no other choice. It didn’t matter if one was rich or poor, everyone avoided getting soaked by the rain whenever possible. It was uncomfortable, and if you weren’t well enough off, it could be deadly.

  Tae closed his eyes and focused. He tuned out the sound of the wind and rain, so he could hear what the men were saying. They were stressed about something and Tae wanted to know what was going on. He’d noticed that the men of the Seong clan tended to be well put together, if something had them this riled up it was something he needed to pay attention to.

  “What about the villagers!” a man said loudly, objecting to something said earlier that Tae hadn’t caught.

  “They’ll be fine as long as none of them leave the village until after the storm.” a second voice said. Tae realized the first one was from one of the younger guards, this second voice must belong to the guard that tended to be paired with him to help him train. He was a cool headed middle aged man.

  “And if not all of them made it back to the village in time?” the first man questioned. Tae sighed. He understood why this man had been paired with the older gentleman, he was too hot headed and needed to be mellowed out.

  “Wandering through the mud in this storm is only going to increase the chances someone gets injured. Besides, the beasts aren’t likely to wander in the storm either. There’s nothing more we can do until the storm passes.” the second man said. He really was a good pairing for the first man.

  “From the reports we got, those aren’t ordinary tigers.” the first voice countered.

  Tae understood what was going on now. Tigers had gotten too close to one of the villages. With this storm they couldn’t send warriors out to take care of the problem. Ordinary tigers would have taken shelter from the storm as well and wouldn’t be a threat to anyone until after the strom passed. Tae continued to listen. The conversation didn’t really go anywhere though. The younger guard was upset about not being able to do anything and Tae began to suspect that the man had family in the village in question. The second man was correct though. Reckless wandering in mountains in this storm would just put the warriors at risk.

  Tae waited until things calmed down a bit before taking action. He climbed up onto the roof he’d been hiding under. With a bit of Qi he was able to use the extra height to make it to the top of the wall. Not pausing, Tae quickly hopped over the wall and to the ground below. He dashed for the trees. With the storm his form wouldn’t be as visible and no one should have noticed him. Though things had quickly calmed, the guards were still preoccupied and hadn’t reacted to his use of Qi.

  The grumblings of that younger guard and told him which direction he needed to go. Tae didn’t waste any time. Things were less wet under the trees, but not by much. Thankfully he could use Qi to keep himself from sliding on the wet grass. It also allowed him to see further in the storm. His senses wide open allowed him to quickly spot traces of an oddly murky Qi. Tae froze. He studied the Qi traces and relaxed. It wasn’t the same as the kind from the men who’d held him captive, but it still wasn’t something that should be out here.

  Tae followed the murky Qi to it’s source and was surprised to find the tigers that had been mentioned earlier. The younger guard had been right to be worried. These were not normal beasts. Someone had done something to them. They weren’t hiding from the rain like animals normally would. No, they were stalking their way towards the village. Tae’s hand went to his waist only to realize he’d left his sword behind. He sighed, at least he had his dagger, this would make things messier though.

  Tae climbed a tree and watched the odd tigers, trying to pick out which one was the leader. He noticed one had a higher concentration of the murky Qi. That one was probably his best bet. Tae launched himself from the tree landing on the back of his target. He buried his dagger into the back of the tiger’s neck. He quickly jumped off it again, using the strength in his legs to pull the dagger free. He landed in the middle of the tigers. They immediately noticed and turned towards him.

  Tae didn’t hesitate. He lunged at a second tiger, making quick work of it. The blood sprayed out as he slit its throat. He turned and stabbed a third tiger in the eye. The beast roared and lashed out. Tae dodged. He then caught the paw of the fourth tiger. He swung a fist at it’s head, stunning the beast before turning back to the third tiger. Tae grabbed it’s head and snapped it’s neck. He then retrieved his dagger and faced the fourth tiger again. The fifth had disappeared, but Tae trusted his senses to tell him if it tried to attack.

  He infused the small blade with Qi before plunging it into the neck of the tiger. The fourth tiger taken care of Tae began scanning his surroundings for the fifth. It didn’t take long to find. The beast launched itself at him. Tae thought briefly about trying to get out of the way but decided against it. He moved towards the tiger, encasing his body in Qi and grabbing the tiger, twisting his body as it came into contact with him. He grappled with it only briefly, just long enough to position himself and stab with his dagger. His knife got it in the heart.

  Tae took in the sight of the dead tigers around him. He sheathed his knife and went back to the biggest of the tigers, the first one he’d killed. He slung most of it over his shoulder, before grabbing the one he’d snapped the neck of. He glanced at the remaining bodies and sighed when he realized he couldn’t carry all of them. He’d wanted to take back a third as well, but the first one was too big to allow him to carry another as well. He turned his back on the corpses and trudged back up the mountain, half dragging the two tigers through the forest. He didn’t bother being careful about how he made his way through the trees. If he left a good enough trail the men of the Seong clan could follow it back and collect the remaining three tiger corpses.

  The rain had let up a little by the time he made it back to the gate. He was surprised to see a crowd at the gate. The men had decided to wait out the storm before going after the tigers so he wasn’t sure why they were all gathered together now. They even had torches as if to go searching for something. Well he needed them to go get what he’d left behind so this would work out well. He shifted course and headed right for the gate.

  Tae chuckled to himself at the memory. The rain today had reminded him of that day. He’d gotten scolded by everyone for a week afterwards. Hyuk had had to explain to him why everyone was mad. Tae rested his head against the door-frame as he watched the rain. He heard Min stirring and slid the door closed before making his way back to their bed. Min had rolled over to the edge of the bed. Tae kissed his forehead and Min grumbled something still half asleep. The man’s face was positively enchanting.

  “Come… back… to bed.” Min mumbled.

  Tae chuckled and obeyed. No sooner had he laid next to Min than Min rolled over and snuggled against him sighing contentedly. Tae kissed the top of Min’s head before wrapping his arms around him. He loved seeing Min relaxed like this. The sound of the rain outside was soothing. Tae closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy the moment. He thanked the ancestors that Min had found his way into his restaurant that day. Min had breathed life back into him, something Tae was incredibly thankful for. He’d been just going through the motions of being alive after he’d lost Hyuk. Meeting Min and being reminded that there was more to life had helped him heal in ways he hadn’t thought were possible. He felt himself relax as Min drifted back off, mumbling something in his sleep.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  ***

  Min leaned back enjoying the feel of the wind in his face. He still couldn’t get used to this view. Clouds floated past them and Min stuck a hand out, smiling as he pulled it back, wet and cold. It was surprisingly comfortable riding on Tae in his dragon form. They glided through the air and Min had found he quite enjoyed the sensation of being up above the world like this.

  Tae wove through the air, staying near the mountains so they wouldn’t attract attention. Min chuckled at the reaction he imagined the villagers would have should they see the giant black and white dragon flying through the air. They’d probably all bow down in reverence. Tae would hate that, so it was probably better that they stayed away from where they might be seen by civilians.

  He felt Tae tense and followed the direction of Tae’s neck to see what his lover might have spotted. Shapes, nothing more than specks from this height, raced through the forest. There was something off about them. Tae must have thought the same because he altered their course. Min activated his Qi and let it fill his eyes so he could get a better look at what they might be getting into. He frowned, there was something wrong with the Qi of the people they’d spotted. There was something… sinister about it. He felt his gut knot and go cold as he realized why it was familiar. The men that had ambushed them when they were leaving the Seong clan had had Qi like that.

  Min bit his lip not liking this. Tae was stronger now and neither of them were caught unprepared so he wasn’t worried about their safety. He was more concerned with how Tae might react. Though he was certain Tae had also noticed the similarity between the group they were flying towards and the one they had faced all those months ago.

  Min felt Tae’s Qi and flooded his own system with his own to brace himself. Tae’s form shifted, before Min could fall Tae grabbed him. The two descended together. They’d have looked like divine messengers in any other situations, floating as they did towards the forest below. Their feet landed lightly on the ground. Min drew his sword, not wanting to wait a moment. Tae’s hands shifted and his fingers turned into talons. Tae glanced at him and Min nodded.

  They had timed their landing just right. No sooner had they readied themselves than the figures with that sickly Qi emerged from the forest around them. The men stopped in surprise, not having sensed Tae or Min. None of their enemies wasted time in readying their weapons. Min sighed, he hadn’t expected to be able to talk their way out of this, but he’d really hoped to learn why these men were in the white jade mountains.

  Tae launched forward towards the ones on the right. The men immediately reacted, doing their best to surround him. If Tae was taking the ones on the right, then he’d go after the ones on the left. From the count he’d made before they’d landed there had to be at least two dozen of them. Only six focused on him, Tae was clearly the bigger threat. Min threw one of the knives hidden in his sleeve before rushing forward as well.

  The dart knife sunk into the right eye of the first of the men on Min’s side. The man crumpled to the ground dead. The remaining five surged forward, likely hoping to reach him before he could throw another knife. Min used Qi to strengthen his body and his sword. When the first of the five swung at him, Min met his enemy’s sword with his own. The Qi enhancement allowed him to parry his opponent’s blade.

  Min quickly dodged to the right, his Qi enhanced senses warning him before the second man’s sword took his head. Min plunged a dagger into the third man’s abdomen before kicking him to the side. Min danced between his opponents blades, using their own movements to inflict small wounds. That would have been pointless against warriors like these, except Min had laced his daggers with Qi eating poison.

  These men were a cut above the usual assassins he faced. This was not a fight he could win in just a few moves. Instead he played a longer game. The poison would weaken his targets allowing him to find more openings as the fight wore on.

  The man who had attacked him first stumbled and Min took the opening. His sword swung in a smooth horizontal arc, his Qi allowing him to cut through the very bone, severing the man’s head in a single motion. He used the momentum from his swing to move his body out of the way of another attack from the second man. He had no time to think before he brought his sword up to block the blade of the third man again.

  Min wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he and his opponents were breathing heavily now. He wished he could spare the concentration to see how Tae was doing but he knew doing so would cost him dearly. His arm vibrated from the force of his opponent's attack. Using Qi to apply extra force Min shoved the man, kicking his knee. The kick connected with a satisfying snap of breaking bones.

  While he’d taken out as many as ten opponents on his own before, this four on one was not great odds for him. Min gritted his teeth and launched backwards, clearing the air above his opponents. He needed more room to move, they kept surrounding him. He was not going to be a weakness for Tae a second time.

  Min threw two daggers in quick succession. One took out the injured man, the second lodged itself in the throat of the third man. That one had been particularly annoying and Min didn’t want to keep dealing with him if he could help it. Min landed softly on the grass thanks to his Qi. Two left, he could do this.

  The fifth man charged forward. Min braced to meet him but a movement out of the corner of his eye alerted him. He twisted his blade just in time to block a dagger thrown at him. Seems he wasn’t the only here who excelled in hidden weapons. Min threw a dagger in return and barely had time to block the blade of the fifth man. He heard the fourth man grunt and knew he’d hit his target. It hadn’t been a great throw and likely hadn’t killed him.

  The screams from Tae’s direction told Min that his lover was doing fine. He just needed to take care of these two before Tae finished cleaning up the rest. He knew that Tae could easily handle these two but Min did have some pride and wanted to take care of them himself.

  There was no emotion in the eyes of his opponent. The blank look much like the eyes of a corpse sent shivers down his spine. This one had infused his blade with Qi as well. Being this close to the sickly energy was revolting. It just felt wrong, like it didn’t belong. Min parried each of the fifth man’s attacks looking for another opening. As their blades clashed he noticed something interesting. There was a small tightening around the man’s eyes every time Min’s Qi flared. That ugly dark red Qi seemed to flinch away.

  Min flooded his Qi outwards. The man screamed as Min’s golden Qi came into contact with him. Min swung his sword as the reaction gave him the opening he’d been looking for. He knocked his opponent’s sword out of the way and plunged his own blade into the man’s heart. Pulling his blade back out of the man’s chest caused Min to stumble backward slightly.

  The sound of rending flesh, caused Min to turn around. The fourth and final man behind him. Min stared wide eyed at the talons sticking out of the man’s chest. Tae ripped the man’s heart out in a smooth motion. The now dead man slumped to the ground, his heart in Tae’s hand dripping blood. Tae tossed it before grasping Min’s shoulders. His lover scanned him up and down checking for injuries.

  “I’m fine, Tae.” Min laughed.

  “You almost weren’t.” Tae growled. “Their blades are all laced with toxins.”

  “So are mine.” Min countered.

  “It’s not a poison you have a resistance to Min!”

  “Tae!” Min grabbed his lover’s face with both hands. “I’m okay, none of their blades got me. Besides, it doesn’t matter if I’ve got a resistance to the poison or if I’m carrying the antidote on me. I’ve got you.”

  Min watched as Tae slowly came back to his senses, taking deep breaths and calming himself down. Tae had every right to be scared. If Tae hadn’t gotten to that man in time he would have plunged his knife into Min’s back or side. Tae was an army unto himself, Min however skilled he was, was not.

  “I doubt you left any of them alive, so let's see if they’re carrying anything on them that could tell us why they were here.” Min said after Tae calmed down. Tae nodded his agreement.

  Rifling through the clothing of corpses was not pleasant. It did allow Min to retrieve his thrown daggers though. He also started a little pile of the enemies’ weapons. He liked their daggers. As he searched one of the men who Tae had ripped the heart out of he found some parchment. Min unfolded it and felt the blood drain from his face.

  Targets:

  Han, SeoJun

  Han, Nari