Hao moved as quickly as he could the moment he put his hand on the Swordsman. He had to ignore all the signals that his body was falling apart just to stand, yet he ran. It pained him, life would have been easier if he had the strength to make all things dance in the palm of his hand. However, he had to leave all the things he wanted here, behind.

  All his plans went to the wind; that feeling had yet to fully sink in. His mind was occupied. There were other things he could do in exchange, one thing that made him feel better about himself, at least. Even if it didn’t benefit him in any way, perhaps that was worth something.

  The girl Hua Yi’Er was not sinister, if she were, he would have left her. But she wasn’t, from what little Hao knew.

  Hao leaped across the shallow pit around the polarity flower. He landed steadily next to the girl; he could lift her, but she could move, that was enough.

  “Get up, crawl on my back.” He tried to whisper, but it came out as a yell. He had little control of his body, not even his voice; most of it he could attribute to injury. Why did I yell? Am I scared? No, no! I don’t have room for such things anymore.

  Hua Yi’Er was quick about it. Though sloppy, her bloodied arm and hand smeared Hao’s face and robes. She got around his shoulders, her elbows dug into his back, and her feet into his thighs.

  Hao didn’t care how she moved or dirtied him. She couldn’t hurt him more than he already was. His robes and underclothes were already smeared with blood. Even the patch that soured the air on his face didn’t bother him. It was a smell he knew all too well now. Human blood smelled unique, it was different from fish blood, beast blood of all kinds was different too, in a similar way. It was human blood that stung his nose differently every time.

  Hao took one last look at the Polarity Flower. It sat there, a few roots open to the sky, the rest of it untouched. The flower had more use than many could know, than Hao could know, but he knew that. That only made it worse to leave it. Pulling his head away, he grunted as he leaped out of the cave. All of it left behind, the girl on his back his only prize. His head shook as he started down the mountain slope, hoping he could still run until noon and for a while after.

  When it came to a fight with someone above his rank, Hao had a fair shot. He knew that much, but the swordsman was on another level. Perhaps another Realm entirely. With such a person, like the first one he killed here, in the mid-summer cave, he could only rely on the sun. It was the only way to even the ground.

  A strange thing to Hao, he was raised to respect and fear the summer season, especially the season of storms. Now he used its conditions to his advantage.

  Hao only made it about one hundred steps before he heard a slobbering pant behind him. He turned his head for just a moment, seeing Swordface. Eyes, nose, and lips, scrunched like a hound showing its teeth. Each step they took, a leap, his sword pointed out.

  Did he ignore the flowers or trample them? I might just be able to… Stop that. The flower already caused him this much trouble, there was no point in going back. Hao knew not many cared for keeping the root intact. No one else had a spatial treasure like his as far as he knew.

  Hao wasn’t right in his guess, but close.

  *

  The Swordsman was angry enough to ignore them, but he still grabbed them in his rage. Never before had he taken such an injury, nor been insulted, not from some low-born type like Hao. And worse, it was over a pair of flowers he didn’t care for. They were a gift for another, a token to sever the last of his favors to these Southern Sects. To that vile woman. He wasn’t a prisoner, a toy, for some old woman with limited potential from the south.

  *

  Hao’s bruised arm lost feeling after the thousandth step. All it could do now was dangle as blood rushed to his legs. Seven Colored Steps had never been so demanding, and so soothing at the same time. His head swam with ideas. Hundreds of ideas he didn’t dare to follow, so far, the secret realm hasn’t proved too much of a challenge. This time, though. Too much planning and scheming or not enough.

  Hua Yi’Er more than once readjusted on his back. A few times, she fell into his view, the shade she provided was welcome, the extra weight and body heat not as much. But up close and in the sunlight, she reminded him even more of that Junior Sister Dai, the girl who was on the hunting team led by Brother Yi Shou. he was smitten with every girl. But his affection for that strange girl Dai was something different.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Neither of them entered the Secret Realm, I hope. They shouldn’t have, no, I didn’t see them outside. It had been a while since any heat had gotten to him. Hao had almost forgotten it. The burn on his feet and hands reminded him, and now the sun made them hurt worse.

  That woozy effect he was feeling wasn’t just from pain and heat. Blood was splashing from his good arm, the gouge wounds from finger and nail closed slower than a slash. And the slash on that arm was also torn open. If not for anything other than his own satisfaction, he hoped that Swordface behind him got a shower of blood every time his heart beat.

  Hao wasn’t far from the camp. Each step he took was to get around the mountain, he could see it come into sight as he made his last wide turn. Sets of tents in rows, one or two off the line, no people outside, they were all hiding from the noon sun before it came. Inside, most of them would stay until tomorrow morning, avoiding the storm and ice that came in the afternoon. Perhaps not, it could have been different at this mountain. After all, just a few steps away was a cave entrance where Day-Night Amethyst could be mined, and with a few, one could multiply their wealth, change their life, a tempting thing to go out in the rain for.

  Hao didn’t come to the camp to stay or hide. He had no interest in the tents, other than one that could hide the girl, Hua Yi’Er in. As things were, he would never get away from the Swordsman. Slowly, Hao worked up his speed, World Energy and blood crashing to his feet. Pushing himself while he could to create distance for her escape.

  She was kind, all things considered. A few times, she spoke out to Hao, yelling in the wind created by his run.

  “Senior Brother, your injury!” she spoke through her sobs, if Hao had to guess, to escape the thoughts of how this could possibly end. Another, “Senior Brother, Your name?” Those two statements summarize all she said.

  Hao answered her once, just to stop the shouting, “Monkey, Captain of the Sun Drunk Pirates!” The name he got from one of his favorite tales, of a strange man who just wanted adventure and freedom. As for the ‘Sun Drunk Pirate’ he made up, he wasn’t sure why. Damn, I want some water. How long has it been since I’ve been thirsty, truly thirsty?

  Hua Yi’Er seemed to take the hint; talking wasn’t welcome right now, not even to thank him. She was silent the rest of the way. Instead, she bounced up and down on his back; he would have gotten some enjoyment out of it, but she slapped his shoulder wound every time she came down. Still, there was a floral scent coming from her. If you could ignore the smell of blood and sweat.

  She moved even more. Her excitement peaked at the sight of the tents. The sight of an encampment gave her some reassurance or something similar, obvious with how quickly she lost sight of the situation.

  Hao had to remind her to be quiet and gave her instructions. A great burst of speed and a small jump made the two seemingly fly. They landed amongst the forest of tents in the middle of the camp, Hao didn’t know which part, which Sect, it didn’t matter.

  He tossed Hua Yi’Er aside and whispered to her, “Stay low and hidden or die.” It all came out like one word then, as he was starting forward again, “Find friends, hide.”

  With that, Hao was off again, he had a lot more to say, but no time to say it. The stomping of feet in the distance was getting closer by the breath.

  Before Hao was out of the camp, he had to raise his better hand; neither was good, but one could still move. The whistle of wind generated by a sword swing closed in on him. I wish I had time to wish her safety… A thing for his own satisfaction, just to prove to himself he was not entirely a monster, not like the person at his heels. Not yet.

  Blood and sweat trailed down Hao’s face. His fingers were soaked in red, he had forgotten whose blood it was. That red hand reached for the spirit-holding bag over his heart, on his chest. His mind wilted, waning between thought and reality. Only steady because of the bag and Seven Colored Steps. But just before his mind fell into the void, the space inside the spatial treasure, he felt an urge to argue.

  In the days since leaving the Island, which was by no means that great of a place to begin with, he found life’s suffering was much more than hunger and mean words. It was death at every step and every corner. Create death to eat. Die to feed the earth. Kill, kill, kill for any reason, sorrow, revenge, joy, love. Want power for all those reasons, want power to kill more, to stay alive longer, to kill and eat through death. Take, take what you could get, take more, find everything that you could wrap your finger around, take it, and when you’re no longer satisfied with what your hand could wrap around, then your arm, two arms, legs, torso, until you're nothing but what you had taken, wanted, fought against. Until you’re nothing, then at death, when all of it’s over, you find yourself again.

  If death gave living meaning, why was he trying to become immortal? He only needed strength. What other purpose did he have? Nothing, a voice like his own, rang in Hao’s head. Just a single word, he hardly noticed it. I have to make it out of this alive, one day see my parents.

  But I can’t leave Meiqi and Zhengqi with that Taoyi, he won’t leave them alone forever. The greasy smile of the man who claimed to be their ancestor made his teeth grind. Slicked back hair in a ponytail. His second chin shone back any light that landed on him. Leader, more of a Master, an overlord of the Servants’ hall.

  Power, if he had influence, wealth, a legion of zealots, pure strength that could bend the very law of life and death. I hope they are well, comfortable. This time, he meant it; he owed them too much. Even if they said they didn’t, even if their purpose was purely to use him, he used them in return. When he left this place, he planned to do the same. If for nothing else but to comfort him.

  Hao’s mind found more stability in the Spirit-Holding bag. Not even a breath had passed since the first thought. He thought nothing of them; they were just meanderings, and he had other things to worry about. He needed a way to block that weapon from falling on him. He had no way to hold the saber, not steady; even maintaining a grip on the spear would be a struggle. If he took them out, Swordface might chase him with more fervor, if that was possible.

  Two things came into Hao’s hand as he pulled his hand away from his chest. The tiny blade Senior Li Tuzai gave him for draining blood before butchering. And stuck between the grooves of his palm and the knife handle, bright orange mushroom spores that were searing to the touch. Hao shot out his hand. It was a quick but precise movement. His feet slowed for just a moment so as not to stumble.

  The tiny blade didn’t have to do much of a block, still, the contact it made with the unsteady sword blade chipped it. The orange powder was already floating in a cloud before they made contact. Hao held his breath, he knew to fear it for what little he knew of it. A spiritual herb unique to this Secret Realm.

  It started with a sneeze, the swordsman going unsteady, choking on the little that was in the air. At the same time, that’s when Hao got the little blade in a spot to save him. It stopped the sword’s momentum, breaking in exchange. Hao opened his hand the rest of the way, turned and ran again, as far as he could. A small cloud, bright orange and sparkling behind him.