Zarthos
patreon
141 - A Storm on the Canopy
🕑 Added 2025-01-31 20:12:21 +0000 UTCWhile keeping his gaze up, Qin Yun took a few steps backwards before bending down and retrieving the arrow deeply embedded into the ground. He then raised it to his eyes and noticed that the tip was black yet didn't resemble any metal he knew of. This was to be expected for this was no metal at all.
“Obsidian?” Qin Yun muttered, unable to contain his surprise. “No spirituality whatsoever. Just an ordinary rock.”
This struck him as strange, for no mere obsidian should have been able to even nick his skin. It was then that he noticed a peculiar scent wafting from the stone. It was faint, barely perceptible, yet it reminded Qin Yun of something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Yet, he knew this was the most likely reason for the arrow’s unusual piercing power.
"Aren't you going to come down?" Qin Yun asked, but then tilted his head again, for another arrow sped right by his head. If not for his quick reflex, it would have pierced right through his forehead.
However, this attack wasn't as futile as it appeared. By tilting his head away, Qin Yun had lost sight of his assailant. They had hidden themselves within the thick foliage, acting as a ceiling for the jungle. With the wind blowing through this canopy, Qin Yun couldn’t differentiate between the archer’s footsteps as they leapt from branch to branch and the breeze rustling the leaves.
“Quite the agile one," Qin Yun said, trying to peer through the veil, but his admiration was genuine.
The speed at which they carried themselves was almost inhuman, so much that Qin Yun could barely follow it with his eyes. Only when he heard the whistling of arrows as they pierced through the air did he have a chance to find their location. Fortunately, they were relatively easy to dodge as they could only travel in a straight line, giving him ample time to move out of the way.
And yet, something unexpected happened, as it always did.
One of those arrows was headed way off course, more than a few meters away from Qin Yun. His eyes narrowed slightly, but once he determined the arrow would only end up in a nearby tree, the threat faded from his mind. That was a mistake.
Just before its flight ended, the arrow unexpectedly curved, creating an arc with Qin Yun as its new destination. Taken aback, he could only twist his body. The arrow avoided its primary target, mainly his heart, but pierced his shoulder instead, burrowing almost halfway through.
The pain was intense, almost maddening, yet Qin Yun showed virtually none of it. Instead, he merely winced as he checked on the wound. The arrow's shaft remained, spilling out of the wound akin to the blood flowing from it. Qin Yun's first instinct was to pull it out. He even wrapped his hand around it, yet changed his mind at the last second.
This was his only good arm, and he could barely raise it as it was. Were he to sever some nerves, he would become completely defenceless. Instead, he raised his hand to his black box, retrieving his mechanical arm, the same one he had stored again when choosing to disguise himself. With deception being ineffective within this space, Qin Yun saw no reason to keep up the pretense.
“Are you alright?" the young man asked from his perch on the trees.
From the time of the first arrow, he had climbed upwards, leaving his blade embedded into the tree. Fortunately, he also possessed several smaller bone knives he could use, either in melee or as throwables.
“I’ll be fine,” Qin Yun replied, putting the artificial arm back into place.
He first removed the bandages, then pressed the arms onto the stump. Countless metal needles dug straight into his flesh, digging deep until they found the nerves and attached themselves to it.
Pain flared once again, and he couldn't help but grunt. It was even worse than the wound on his other shoulder. He felt a scorching heat, almost like he had put the limb straight into lava. Every severed nerve burned as they came alive, binding him to this mechanical creation.
It was far from the first time he had experienced this pain, yet he could never get accustomed to it. The pain of having your very nerves drilled through wasn't something any man was meant to endure, yet Qin Yun endured nonetheless, even while dodging incoming arrows.
Now that he knew their path could bend, Qin Yun paid much more attention to them. He didn't dare to look down on this opponent anymore, as every motion and every shot was done purposefully, meant to lower his guard. Even the most innocuous of actions may have untold consequences. He seemed to be facing a master of its craft.
Still, how could an arrow bend without qi?
This puzzled him. While this world was one of fantasy where miraculous things existed, it was still, for the most part, bound by the laws of physics. The main thing that separated this world from the many others was the Heavenly Dao and the mysterious form of energy born from it—qi.
To his knowledge, there was no other way to break the world's rules except for one—Intent. However, manipulating physical objects through intent alone took a level of mastery even Qin Yun found difficult and he had practised this for many lifetimes. He almost couldn't believe someone could have a greater understanding than himself.
However, this, too, was wrong, for he was overthinking.
While dodging another arrow by moving backwards, Qin Yun felt the arrow embedded in his chest move. He felt it tug on his flesh, forcing him to stop his escape as the pain flared once again. His legs almost buckled under him as another arrow was headed straight for one of them. Fortunately, his mechanical arm was now connected.
It moved just as he wished and grabbed the arrow shaft mid-flight. The arrow remained suspended midair, held within Qin Yun's grip, but then he saw the arrowhead was split in the middle, almost on the verge of breaking. The slightest impact would have shattered it into countless smaller pieces.
He couldn't help but shudder at what damage those shards would have done were they to have been stuck into his flesh. While he could easily heal the wound, removing those shards would have proven time-consuming but also extremely painful, much more than the arrow stuck in his shoulder.
“What a cruel one," Qin Yun muttered, but all he felt was admiration.
While they seemed to be enemies, Qin Yun couldn’t help but praise the skill displayed. This assailant among the branches produced almost no sound. If not for the arrows periodically whistling through the air, one would merely believe it was but a breeze blowing. And yet, it was deadly.
Qin Yun ducked to avoid another one but then realized something. A small string, almost imperceptible to the human eye, was attached to the tail of the arrow lodged in his shoulder. He traced it back to the end, only to watch it disappear among the leaves.
So this is how they made it swerve, even stunting my movements...
All these shots happened in less than a minute, leaving Qin Yun little time to get his bearings. As such, he missed this crucial piece of information, leading to his injury. However, this was not all. Had he been in optimal condition, such details wouldn't have escaped his scrutiny.
From the time he used his sword intent to blast away the two outsiders a few hours ago, Qin Yun's mind had been fuzzy. While using this method came with consequences, he would generally be able to heal in just a few hours, but without the support of his internal qi, these types of injuries took much longer to heal.
After all, these weren't physical but more akin to mental. Though he did bleed when using this power, this was merely a result of overusing his nervous system. It made him slower to react, his reflex having been diminished. However, the worst of it all was the strain on his mind. While in this state, his thoughts wandered, making concentrating much harder, leading to blind spots or weaknesses that others could exploit.
There was also the pain he felt from the arm he had reattached and the strange substance coating the obsidian arrowhead. All in all, Qin Yun's current situation was slightly dire. Not enough for him to lose his life, as he always had the option of fleeing back through the portal, but admitting defeat would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
However, the young outsider had already sprung into action before he could choose. Unlike the hidden assailant, the bronze-skinned man charged through the treetop, breaking smaller branches in his wake.
Each of his mighty footsteps threatened to shatter his footing, while countless leaves fell to the ground like rain, but it gave him uncanny speed, enough to be on even ground with his prey.
"Not bad," Qin Yun said as he could finally catch his breath and remove the arrow stuck in his shoulder.
He tugged on it gently, twisting slightly as he did so, just hard enough to not break the arrowhead in the wound, nor the shaft attached to it. It took him a few seconds, and he had to bite a nearby branch to fight the pain, but he felt relief wash over him once it was done.
Meanwhile, the young man rushed forward like a hurricane, destroying everything in his way. However, he was no mindless beast. His every action was purposeful and precise, leading him to slowly gain on his opponent.
While he had yet to see them fully, he was merely following the movement of the leaves as they danced back and forth. The chase began only two minutes ago, yet two minutes of this herculean effort left the man feeling drained. Qin Yun could see him almost out of breath, yet the young man's eyes showed his confidence. These two minutes were enough to learn the pattern.
He took one of his bone knives and threw it forward. He aimed just ahead of where the figure would be. However, this wasn't one of his preferred weapons, and he couldn't hide his intent as skilfully as he wished. As such, the figure hidden in the leaves swerved to the side, heading back toward Qin Yun, but this was what the young man hoped for.
He followed soon after and then heard a satisfying crack. In its hurry, the figure had just stepped on one of the branches the young man had broken. The first step hadn't been enough to break it completely, allowing just a fissure to run almost the way through. But, when the hidden figure stepped on it the second time, it failed utterly, pulling the ground from under it.
This wasn't enough to take them down, but that wasn't the point. The young man only needed the slightest advantage, and this was it. He pounced forward, reaching the slim figure he was chasing all this time before tackling it with all his might.
Both fell back to the ground with the soft soil cushioning their fall. The young man suffered no injury, but the one under him was far less lucky. The wind was knocked right out of them, but they didn’t lose consciousness.
Their body was petite, not unlike a woman, and she seemed to be half his size. Despite being pinned under the young man’s weight and having her slim wrist caught in his hand, the woman still tried to resist, only until she got a good look at the man’s face.
“Kerak?” she said softly despite deeply seeking for air.
Her eyes widened as she looked upon him, and the young man did the same, only for her struggle to cease almost instantly. Qin Yun stood over them both, clutching at his wound to stop the bleeding, noticing the young woman’s skin peeking out of her clothes.
"Friend of yours?" he said, seeing her clear bronze skin and long silver hair held in a bun.
