Quickly arriving in the alleyway that has their shack, I’m able to see the silhouette of a pale, scrawny man’s back searching through piles of stuff within the shack. A woman on a blanket is curled in a ball with her head in her hands.

In the corner, facing the man as he searches, is Lin’s unconscious body. Bruises cover both of them, from head to toe. Faced with this sight, I try to understand the situation. “Hahaha, I knew you and your sister had some stuff packed away, but to think this is where you stashed the medicine. I can probably get a good price on these. This’ll teach you to lie to your Old Rong.” 

Well, that helps a little. I think these people are being robbed, but it could also be something like a domestic assault situation. However, I don’t know the full context. I’ve never been in this kind of situation before, whether in this life or my previous. What should I do? Starting off this is a kid, a woman I don’t know, and a man that seems to rob them.

I don’t really know these people well, though the kid seems alright. Should I really stick my neck out for these people? In the other world, it would be easy to look the other way or call the police. I’m sure that there are guards that can help here.

Then I hear the scrawny man’s mocking voice, say in slow, gravely words, “Don’t worry Lin, I’ll take care of you and Ai quite nicely after I grab this stuff. Like always.” It’s like he’s said this countless times to them.

A shiver runs down my back.

Fuuuuck. I have to decide.

I’m just making excuses at this point. I have to assume that no one will come to help. Now that I think of it, the police couldn’t really help with domestic assault cases either in my world. There’s no one else but me who can help these people right now.

Looking at the situation, I notice my hands shaking subtly, and I try to think of any other way through this. Forcibly grabbing my hands together, I try to stop the shaking. It helps a little. I’m sure that if I get involved, especially with this situation, I need to be ready to be attacked. Looking around quickly, I see a large broken piece of pottery nearby.

Picking it up, my hands stop shuddering a little more. I have to harden my resolve. I’ll try to knock him out, but if that doesn’t work… I’ll try to take him down. I think with my healing power, I should be able to keep him unconscious but not bleeding out. I’ll aim for a lethal blow and then immediately start healing him when he goes unconscious. I creep to the door.

Luckily for me, the man is facing away from the door and there doesn’t seem to be much light. He also seems to monitor Lin’s unconscious body specifically. With the pottery piece raised, I creep toward him. Carefully, I get just close enough to land a blow. However, the hairs on my neck raise and my eyes meet his on a reflective surface nearby.

The feeling of extreme danger rides down my body. Jumping backwards, I barely see him swing around with something in his hands. With a broken piece of pottery. Facing me with an angry look, he stares me down. “Who the hell are you?! Get the fuck out of here before I slit your throat!”

With a quick realization, his eyes squint in greed. “Wait a second, are you some kind of noble or somethin’? Mmm… trying to play hero, huh?”

His eyes twitch as he keeps his eye on my hand with the pottery piece still raised. “Wait a second. How d’you even get around Gong, huh? She’s letting anyone in nowadays?”

He steps closer and closer.

I only barely remember taking Tae Kwon Do when I was a kid and in college did some minor LARP’ing. I’ve used no actual weapons or trained with them. Relying on my fantasy reading knowledge, I take a shoddy stance with the pottery in my right hand, attempting to wave him off.

He scoffs.

This is not good. I don’t see a way I can beat this guy without getting hit. “Come on, just put the piece down and we can talk about this. All your money and clothes might help to clear things up.” He says with a disgustingly wide grin.

Luckily, I see a bit of movement from behind the man and Lin standing up. Okay, we might have a chance with this then. Time for some deception. I raise my hand with the pottery piece slowly, right until it is ready for a quick downward motion. His eyes flutter between me and the piece.

With a nauseating smile, he looks beside himself with how stupidly obvious my actions are.

With a loud exhale, I lower my hand quickly, like I’m attacking. However, I let go of the pottery piece, just as I begin the downward motion. His eyes following the downward motion of the pottery piece and furrow in confusion as it drops, helping to mask Lin’s attack from the back.

Leaping onto his back, Lin holds a sharp rock and stabs it into his neck and back. Taking the opportunity, I also run at the man and kick at his legs as he tries to fight Lin off. The man desperately stabs behind him at Lin, but Lin seems to avoid most of them. While Lin distracts him, somehow, I score a hit at his kneecap with a full force leg kick.

His leg crunches inward sickeningly, and he falls to the ground screaming, right on top of me.

Lin continues to stab into his back as he falls.

Scrambling from underneath the man, I’m already out of breath from the little I’ve done in this fight. Lin continues to stab over and over, only stopping once the man’s back and neck is a series of deep lacerations and that his struggles have stopped.

My breath heavy and ragged, I look at the body on the ground and the current situation. Shit, I was naïve. How could I stab a man and try to keep him alive afterward? There’re so many things that could go wrong with that. If we leave him alive, then things… can only get worse.

What kind of abuser would take a beating like this and not think of revenge?

Especially, if there is a long-standing abusive relationship, like the one I’m guessing they have. Even if he looks dead, I’m sure that I could still bring him back. And if I’m able to, I should be able to assume someone else could.

Taking a glance at the woman on the blanket in the corner, she seems to watch the body with a mixture of pain, fear, hope, and sadness. My adrenaline is still racing and I can feel a sharp taste of metal in my throat. With a bit of a painful cough, I look at Lin and ask,

“Do you mind if I make sure he’s dead? I don’t think it would be good for you guys, if he made it through this.”

After a hard, long, and haunted look at me and a moment of staring at the body… he nods softly and turns his head to his sister.

Shakily standing to my feet, I walk over to Lin, who flinches and watches me carefully. “Lin, can you turn around for this? Your sister probably needs you right now and I don’t want you guys to see this.”  Lin seems slightly confused by the first part of my words, but seems to break out of his shock and realizing, rushing over to take care his sister, completely focusing on her.

It is very clear that these two know him personally, and if possible, I want to reduce the weight on their hearts with this. I can’t do much, but I can at least do this.

Dragging the body out of the shack, I try to orient the body where they can’t see from their position. Man, I’m weak. I can barely lift him.

Finally getting him into position, I grab a heavy piece of rock nearby and hold it right over his head.

I can still barely see the faintest movement of his chest.

Shit shit shit.

I don’t want to do this.

My heart pounding in my chest, I force myself to think of all the negative outcomes that will happen if this guy lives. He will definitely take revenge on the kids. If he remembers me, he’ll be coming after me. In a cultivation world, where grudges can literally be eternal, if you get powerful enough.

Fuck, I don’t want to do this, but I really don’t have any other choice, do I? Okay. I just need to get this done and take care of the kids. I have to focus on what comes after.  

With a breath, I raise the rock high.

Then slam it brutally down, hitting his nose and causing a spurt of blood to come out, spraying my clothes and area with blood.

Even more frighteningly, his body twitches. In fear of him waking up, I smack his head even harder and keep going until it stops. By the time the body stops twitching, I’ve completely caved in the skull and destroyed the inside. Brain matter and blood everywhere.

If he’s not dead, he soon will be.

My stomach turns and I almost throw up, but I see Lin is in the doorway, watching me. Holding it in, I put the rock to the side. His eyes are still dull, staring at the body with a complicated look. When I slowly wipe my hands off on my pants and give him a pained nod, his eyes focus on me. He returns it with a pained smile and a nod. With a hurried turn, he heads back to check on his sister.

As I head into the shack again, I can see Lin is covering his sister up and holding her closely. Soft sobs and pained breaths come from her, as she was beaten pretty badly. With a swollen arm and multiple bruises across her body, based on the level of bruising, it looks like he broke some of her bones.

Crouched in a ball, she is in an enormous amount of pain. Lin’s eyes are watering and pained, bearing with anger, anguish, and helplessness.

Unfortunately, I realize I have no more time to worry about them.

I’ve slowly noticed a throbbing in my side, as I realize I haven’t gotten through this unscathed either. Because of the adrenaline of the fight and execution, I didn’t notice, but the scum buried his pottery piece deep into my side.

“Ah, shit.” I vocalize, before realizing that metallic taste from earlier, was blood.

Man, I feel tired. Ah, that’s a flag, isn’t it?  

Carefully lowering myself onto my back, I look to the side. I can only see Lin and the sister, cradling each other in comfort, as darkness covers my eyes.