Vindicator’s Wrath - Chapter 15

Hong Wu’s progress in recovering her strength was slow. After suffering from starvation for weeks, Hong Wu could not stomach large portions of food. Hong Wu gradually restored her vitality with a combination of cultivation and small meals of food Yan foraged.

Hong Wu’s primary focus now was increasing her cultivation base. Hong Wu never left the black rock. Slowly, Hong Wu made her way towards the third layer of Qi Condensation. Progress was halting, but Hong Wu was able to refine two more strands of spiritual qi, bringing the total to five.

Periodically, Yan returned with food and incense for Hong Wu. Hong Wu was touched, but worried about the burden she was placing on Yan. Yan was spending too much time trying to help Hong Wu and no time on her own cultivation. Sometimes Yan came back with injuries greatly alarming Hong Wu. Any attempt to voice these concerns fell on deaf ears. As soon as Yan arrived, she started preparing for her next excursion. When she was ready, Yan would leave, never telling Hong Wu what her plans were or where she was going.

Fog charged toward Hong Wu as she utilized her breathing technique. The sun slowly crept through the clouds to illuminate Hong Wu’s bare silhouette.

Bit by bit, Hong Wu’s flesh had regained some of its vigor. Hong Wu was never considered robust even before her imprisonment, but her appearance now was even more diminished. After a month of recuperation, Hong Wu’s frame was still gaunt and unhealthy. ‘I’m finally capable of moving uninhibited, though it will take more time to fully regain my strength.’

Hong Wu’s back was now fully healed. Hu Huan’s medicine greatly assisted in rousing Hong Wu’s recovery speed. Even with the medicine’s effects, raised scar tissue crisscrossed down her back, a sinister reminder of Hong Wu’s abject humiliation.

Standing up, Hong Wu donned her robes and stretched her muscles, testing their strength. ‘I cannot rely on Yan forever. Now that I can move around I need to start pulling my weight.’

With that thought, Hong Wu ventured out on a hunting expedition. Shortly after leaving the camp Hong Wu came across a wild chicken. Thinking back to her first encounter with the chicken on her first day of exploring the woods, Hong Wu smiled ruefully. Remembering the humiliation she experienced at the hands of the fowl, Hong Wu’s expression became sinister. Cloaking herself with Shrouding Fog, Hong Wu slowly crept up behind the animal. Before the bird had time to realize what was happening, Hong Wu firmly grasped it by the neck and twisted. ‘Success!’

Hong Wu had made her first kill. A myriad of feelings washed over her. She was proud and excited to have come so far, but also slightly unnerved by how easy it was to kill the chicken. ‘I never realized how fragile life can be. All it takes is someone with more power than you decide that you need to die. I could just as easily be the chicken in this situation. If I want to avoid such a fate I have to be strong enough to defend myself.’

Resolved to improve herself, Hong Wu decided to capitalize on her success and continue her hunt. Hong Wu found herself two more chickens before returning to camp. She arrived to find a worried Yan pacing back and forth. Noticing Hong Wu approaching, Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the chickens in Hong Wu’s hands, Yan grinned, “The master hunter makes her triumphant return. Hardly any meat on em. How did ya get those, find the only three sick and starvin ones on the entire mountain?”

Hong Wu put on her best arrogant breadwinner face and scoffed, “This is the thanks I get after a hard day’s work? Hurry up and make a meal out of this meat woman before I decide not to share it.”

Both girls struggled to maintain serious expressions, before they both burst out laughing. Hong Wu delighted that the heavy atmosphere surrounding the camp had finally dispersed. Joking with Yan like this carried away the past few months with the wind. It felt as if a large weight had been taken off her chest. Yan’s cavalier attitude towards everything had disappeared since Hong Wu returned from the month of isolation. Seeing it again gave Hong Wu a sense of normalcy and comfort.

After having their meal Hong Wu and Yan sat down together to discuss their future steps forward. Yan began by explaining her activities for the past few weeks. “I did a little research with the help of that friend of yers, Hu Huan. He’s a fleecer if I ever met one, but I was able to find some things he needed in exchange for some info about the sect. Turns out, the Black Mountain Sect used to be a lot bigger in the past.

“Apparently, our sect used to be the biggest sect around, had a hand in everythin in this country. The Black Mountain Sect was so powerful, they practically owned the entire Southern Kingdom!”

This was shocking news to Hong Wu. “If they were so powerful then why hadn’t I heard about them before?”

“Couple o hundred years ago, the old patriarch died. Since then, two other sects have moved into the kingdom, the Holy Pill Sect from the east, and the Infernal Blade Sect from the west. The three fought for control of everything for a while before reaching a strained peace.

“Ever since the war with the three sects, the Black Mountain sect is still recoverin. A bunch of people in the sect died, including a good chunk of the higher-ups. Without the people to live there, some parts of the sect were abandoned. According to Hu Huan, this entire forest used to be part of the sect!”

Yan was getting excited, but Hong Wu was just confused. “This is interesting and all, but how does this help?”

“I figured if we search around long enough, we may be able to find a few things left behind worth trading in for resources, and look what I found!”

Excitement shining in her eyes Yan held up a small dirty sack. At first Hong Wu was unimpressed, but after a moment of thought, Hong Wu remembered the bags that all inner sect disciples had tied to their waists. This bag looked older and more worn out, but it was definitely the same kind of bag. The senior disciples only needed to slap those bags and items would immediately pop out. Whatever was inside this bag was bound to be valuable. “This is how we’ll beat those stuck up bitches back in the Drifting Clouds Quarters. From now on, the two of us are treasure hunters!”

Last Batman inspired title … for now.

As always thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.