Chapter 6

Xie Li was starting to think he’d seriously offended Tai Sui this year. If he managed to get out of here alive, he swore he’d douse himself with a whole bucket of black dog’s blood.
(Note: “Offending Tai Sui” is a traditional Chinese superstition implying bad luck; pouring black dog’s blood is a folk method to ward off evil.)

Just moments ago, he’d been shoved headfirst into this stone chamber by some hidden mechanism. In the chaos, he’d even lost his sword sheath and boots, and had spent a good while pounding on the door to no avail. Now, he stood there in the pitch dark, feeling utterly lost and helpless.

Ye Fusheng had meant well. Sharp of hearing in the dark, he’d detected the echo behind the wall and guessed it was a sealed chamber. Spotting the incoming threat, he pushed Xie Li out of the battle to keep him safe planning to come find him once the danger passed. Unfortunately, the world never lacks for misbehaving kids.

Xie Li, still a child, hadn’t yet committed the classic “climb on roofs and rip off tiles” mischief, but he sure had a knack for courting death.

Realizing that pounding on the door was futile, Xie Li turned to explore other options. He didn’t know the layout of the place, had no fire source for light, and stumbled about like a headless fly. Luckily, he was both bold and meticulous. Following the lines between wall bricks by touch, he finally lucked into something after tapping seven hollow-sounding bricks, he mentally mapped out their position. With quick decisiveness, he slammed his palm onto the Tiānshū point.
(Note: Tiānshū, or “Celestial Pivot,” refers to a strategic or spiritual center in Daoist cosmology and feng shui.)

The hollow brick caved in with a loud boom. Xie Li ducked aside as the wall collapsed halfway, letting in a cold wind sharp enough to sting the skin.

A faint light shone through the hole. His eyes, having adapted to darkness, stung at the intrusion. He picked up a stone and tossed it into the opening

clack, clack, clack

It bounced around and rolled off into the distance.

There were obstacles inside.

Any clever person would hesitate here. But Xie Li was, quite frankly, not very clever.

He was ten years old. Started martial training at three. Wielded a blade at four. His father didn’t care, and his mother had died young. All those childhood dreams of crying for help or throwing tantrums had long been buried under silent resolve.

Duan Shui Manor. Duan Shui Blade. Xie Wuyi… These were the names etched into his heart. For three years, he had trained day and night without rest, witnessing treachery and betrayal, hearing the echoes of a faded glory. In his still-growing heart, a sprout had taken root a wish to uphold the collapsing beams of his inheritance. He had no notion of retreat.

Xie Li took a deep breath and drew the Duan Shui Blade from his back. The blade was nearly as long as he was tall almost comical, really.

Then he dashed inside. Before he could stabilize his footing, he heard a sudden whir of wind above. He instinctively ducked. His tightly bound hair came undone in a silent flutter; the lapis lazuli hair ring snapped clean in two.

In that fleeting glance, he realized another stone chamber, similar to the last but much larger. Three ever-burning lamps hung on the walls, illuminating a round stone platform encircled by water. At each corner stood a life-sized humanoid figure.

They resembled four identical men like quadruplets. Each held a different weapon: sword, spear, saber, halberd. They looked just like the Four Heavenly Kings from Buddhist lore, standing sentry to subdue evil.

The sword-wielding automaton was closest. Its first strike missed. Its second came immediately, the iron blade precise and lethal, heading straight for his throat. Just in time, it clashed with Xie Li’s blade sheath.

The impact knocked him back three steps. Wind whooshed behind him. He spun and raised his blade horizontally blocking a thrusting halberd. The sheer force drove him to one knee, tearing a gash in the skin between his thumb and forefinger.

Before he could catch a breath, his face blanched. He threw himself to the ground in a roll

thud, thud, thud, thud…

Eight sharp impacts slammed into the spot he’d just vacated.

Eight new holes had been punched into the stone floor.

Then came the spear-bearer. The ninth thrust collided with his blade sheath sending a violent tremor through his body. His organs churned. Blood rose in his throat. At that precise moment, the saber-wielding automaton struck down from above.

With a loud clang, the Duan Shui Blade finally left its sheath in a flash of cold light. Xie Li, having endured long enough, struck back. Sparks flew as their blades collided.

His first strike wasn’t even complete, yet the momentum of the Duan Shui Blade chopped the automaton’s saber in half. Undeterred, the automaton discarded its weapon, its fingers cracking ominously as they folded into a massive fist.

The four automata surrounded him. Each attack came more ruthless than the last. Xie Li wished he were a monkey, just to leap his way out.

Then he noticed.

That water-ringed platform remained untouched. From the start, the automata hadn’t let the fight drift in that direction.

Feigning a blow, he let the iron sword knock him into the air like a broken kite just as he’d planned. He was about to land squarely on the platform when the spear-wielder, unwilling to let him go, hurled its weapon at his face.

Midair. Nowhere to dodge. No foothold to borrow strength from. Xie Li’s pupils shrank

Then

“I’ve never seen a kid this damn reckless.”

A cold male voice sounded by his ear. A ghostly shadow appeared, a pale finger flicking the oncoming spear off-course. A hand grabbed Xie Li’s collar and flung him onto the platform like a chick.

Sure enough, the four automata didn’t follow. They stood eerily by the water’s edge. Chu Ximei released him without ceremony Xie Li face-planted, coughing up a lungful of dust.

Chu Ximei glanced around. The platform was about ten feet square, surrounded by glowing green water. He raised a brow and tossed a silver coin in it hissed ominously as it sizzled in the water.

“This is the forbidden ground of Duan Shui Manor. You’re the Young Master been here before?”

Xie Li coughed. “Young Master, not Master.”

“Pah. Still just a burden.” Chu Ximei kicked him. “Get up. It’s about to begin.”

What was about to begin?

Xie Li didn’t ask. He wiped blood from his mouth and gripped the Duan Shui Blade, readying himself.

As it turned out, the rare warning from the Sect Leader of the Hundred Ghost Gate wasn’t an empty scare.

Several iron bars sprang up in unison around the platform, embedding into the ceiling forming a cage.

Chu Ximei pressed a hand on Xie Li’s shoulder and inspected each bar. Then he slammed a palm into one violent tremors followed, but the bars remained intact.

Xie Li looked up. “The top stone just dropped three inches!”

Chu Ximei frowned and hit it again with more force. One bar cracked halfway, but the ceiling slab sank a full foot.

If the cage couldn’t be broken in one strike they’d be crushed to death.

“Give me the blade.”

Xie Li hesitated, then handed over the Duan Shui Blade. Chu Ximei inhaled deeply, gripped the hilt and the next instant, the blade was out.

Xie Li hadn’t even seen it move. A steel hum pierced his ears. The moment he blinked, the blade was already back in its sheath.

The four bars in front of them had been sliced into twelve pieces. Shards fell away. The ceiling came crashing down.

Chu Ximei snatched Xie Li and shot out like a drifting leaf. The massive stone block slammed into the platform, water splashing violently.

Yet not a single drop touched them. Chu Ximei moved like smoke through chaos, still holding the boy.

Just as they were about to land

click click click

mechanisms on three walls snapped open. Layers of holes emerged, and sharp stone needles shot out in a dazzling storm.

They were mid-air, with nowhere to dodge. In front four automata. Behind and beside needle rain.

One needle was already about to pierce Xie Li’s skull.

Chu Ximei shoved him forward. Twisting midair, he slashed in a sweeping arc. The blade wind pulled the needles off course redirecting them into the next volley. His body spun like a fish through water, clearing a space three feet wide.

But even the best lightness skill couldn’t defy gravity.

Before he landed, the halberd wielder lunged. Chu Ximei couldn’t guard in time. He raised his left hand, chopping like a blade severing the automaton’s wrist.

But yellow-green smoke spurted from the wound, spraying him in the face. Though he held his breath, his eyes burned fiercely.

The automata pressed in. Xie Li slipped in between, shielding Chu Ximei. A powered-up kick shattered the sword automaton’s knee.

Chu Ximei, eyes shut, asked, “What’s happening?”

Xie Li scanned quickly. “They’ve all got cracks clean ones. Like they’ve been sliced before.”

“These traps are meant to trap first, kill second. One step triggers the next. It’s a sealed formation… Wonder who it was designed for.” Chu Ximei chuckled, then sat down. “Kid. I’m blind now. These four are yours. Don’t let them hurt me.”

For a grown man to say this to a child shameless. And yet, the child didn’t hesitate.

Xie Li took the blade and stood guard. The ring of clashing metal rang endlessly. He fought, fluid and sharp, maneuvering the automata into each other’s paths. Lacking internal strength but gifted in movement he made every step count.

The more he fought, the calmer he became.

Had he been born to a normal family, he’d be a carefree ten-year-old. But he was born into the jianghu destined for blades and blood.

“The legacy of Duan Shui Manor must not fall. You’re Xie Wuyi’s son you don’t get to be a child.”

Sweat soaked his brow. Hair hung loose. A fresh cut marred his cheek.

The Duan Shui Blade held overhead, blocking a deadly sword strike.

His knees bled. He could retreat but behind him stood a blinded Chu Ximei. He held the blade of his father’s legacy.

He gritted his teeth and stood up.

Behind him, Chu Ximei raised a hand. A palm strike charged with power.

“…Fei, Liu!”

A hoarse cry erupted from the child’s throat. The Duan Shui Blade shrieked as it struck the sword was sent flying, and the blade sank deep into the automaton’s waist.

This strike flowing water cutting stone.

Chu Ximei followed with a palm strike that blasted the automaton away.

But the remaining three charged.

Just then a blur.

Ye Fusheng flew in through the broken wall like a swallow. Without a word, he and Chu Ximei struck in unison. Xie Li ducked between them, his hair slicing in the wind.

When it fell, only broken wooden limbs remained.

Thunderous palms. No mercy.

Seeing Ye Fusheng, Xie Li sighed in relief.

Then he turned and froze.

A figure stood in the doorway. Backlit. Gaunt. A woman.

He squinted trying to see

A hand pressed his neck.

He didn’t even make a sound before collapsing.

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Tai Sui (太岁): A deity in Chinese folk religion associated with misfortune. “Offending Tai Sui” brings bad luck

Fei Liu (飞流): A special technique. Also a poetic term meaning “flying cascade,” hinting at overwhelming power.