CH67 — Standoff
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How come I run into everyone important except the woman I’m looking for? Standing on boulders a few paces off were the two contestants of the Wuu clan. From up close, he could get a better look at their faces. They were extremely similar, but while the man had an attractive countenance, as far as the straight Ku Lo could tell, the woman was somewhat plain. Despite being by no means ugly, she failed to match up to the sensual beauties roaming the sect.

The man, who had called out to him, carried a sheathed sword strapped to his belt while the woman seemed completely unarmed. He couldn’t rule out a weapon stored in a ring, but they didn’t seem ready for a fight at least.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ku Lo could see Za Huan step back out into the open. “What brings you here? Surely the reclusive Wuu wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal our prey.”

With an amiable smile, the man answered. “Of course not. But this ascended beast is of great importance to us. We will compensate you for its core with the same amount.” Three smooth green gems twisted into existence in his hand.

If the reward’s the same, why do it the hard way? I still have Gingge to find. The sun had already begun sinking below the horizon, so the first round would end soon, but it was still better to reach her late than never.

But as it turned out, his ally had different ideas. “No. Scram.” To stress her point, she brandished the giant sword in her hands.

Despite being faced with this hostile behavior, the man remained calm and deliberately friendly. “There is no need for violence, lady Za. We neither have any interest to scam you nor in winning this tournament. All we need is the body of the beast in that cave.” more cores appeared in his hand. “I am willing to double the price, or agree to any other reasonable demand.”

At this display of almost too eager bargaining, Ku Lo’s thoughts were torn between two ideas: That the spoils he had been quite proud of seemed a lot less valuable than anticipated and that they might be able to press for more, with the latter being pushed ahead by the former.

He knew that his thinking was small-minded and petty, his position wasn’t one that allowed him to take losses for honour. Forfeiting the mines they had offered to participate would cripple the Huang clan and by extension throw his growth plan back to near zero.

Being standoffish and rude didn’t seem to be a very fruitful negotiation tactic to him, so he wanted to appear at least somewhat friendly. “We are assured of your sincerity. Za Huan, what do you wish for?”

“Transient Wuu, always appearing friendly to anyone, not committing to anything!” Nonetheless, Za Huan appeared hell-bent on standing her ground. “This idiotic conflict my clan celebrates with the Ingen people could be ended if only you were willing to meddle! All of us would profit in the end! But instead, you pursue obscure, meaningless goals through hot air and false smiles.” Her voice was drastically raised towards the end.

She didn’t look aggressive at the opening, but to think that she wants to go this far. Aside from this surprise, he couldn’t help but be in wonder at her method of dealing with politics. 

The ever mute woman in the back showed a touch of displeasure at her rant, but the man, if he was offended, did a perfect job at hiding it. “You overestimate us. We do not have the power to bend either Ingen or Za. But as you seem to be filled with distrust, know that letting us into that cave will bring us far closer to that goal than could otherwise be hoped for. I do not speak for my family, but staying out of everything will not be beneficial to the Wuu, either.”

“More talk. Fight me or leave.”

Finally, his smile faded. 

Ku Lo silently cursed her stubbornness. You want help and the first thing you do is offend them?

“As you wish. Sister, if you would.” He looked over his shoulder to his companion, who slowly nodded at his words.

Ku Lo could see her lips part and registered a sound, but before his brain could process its meaning, he felt the world crash down on him. 

Hearing, touch, sight, his entire awareness got blown away and faded into nothingness. 

… 

When he came to, his hands had been tied together, as were his feet. His body ached from laying on the icy rocks and buzzes permeated all of his senses, a fading reminder of what had knocked him out.

His sword was gone, as was his storage ring.

Leaning against a boulder across was Za Huan, similarly bound and disarmed. 

Taking a look around, he didn’t catch a glimpse of their captors, but a loud roar followed by a crash coming from the cave answered his question. 

“You’re awake.”

“Yes, though I feel mangled. What was that?”

“I have no idea what underhanded tricks those bastards used. Should have given them a beating as soon as they showed up.” She pulled a grimace.

“It didn’t seem as though it needed a lot of preparation to be honest.” He gathered Qi in his hand. 

After a few misses due to lacking sight, he managed to hit the rope with a Yin paw, but it appeared to have little impact.

It would be stupid of them to leave us unattended if it were that easy, now would it? His last option was using the sword of the swordless, even if poking a weapon capable of digging into a rock grizzly around near his back was not exactly preferable.

Wriggling his body until he fell over, he willed his Qi to move again. Immense quantities escaped his body, the drain made him realize his growing exhaustion. Not strong enough to inhibit him drastically, the fatigue did nonetheless exist and would unlikely reduce until the conclusion of the tournament.

He just would have to manage his usage well.

The sword slid into a gap in his cuffs, putting painful pressure on his hand as it expanded. As he was about to be forced to stop by the tingle in his hands from cut off blood flow, the rope tore, along with his Qi weapon.

With his hands freed, the knot tying his legs could be easily removed. He got up and rubbed his wrists.

Za Huan had already turned to the side, allowing him access to her shackles as well.

For a short while, the two just stood there and patted off their clothes.

“So, what do we do? Go in there and demand our things back?”

But instead of answering, her head turned towards the entrance while she ducked behind one of the boulders. “someone’s coming, so stay quiet.”

Doing the same, Ku Lo could see a man wearing a robe with a stylized rock grizzly embroidered into it enter the ring.

He looked at his ally to coordinate their actions, just to see her walking into the open. “If you’re here, than means Sho’er must also be around. He’s been avoiding me more than usual lately, so bring me to him.”

With a playful smile, the man turned around and waved his hand towards the forest.

The image of her stepping up unarmed to an enemy party made Ku Lo once again question her sanity, but after a second, he found a connection.

Both her and one of the Ingen participants refraining from open hostility, demanding the Wuu to aid in stopping the conflict, now this show of familiarity towards one of her supposed enemies and endearing address of another.

So a forbidden love in warring clans? Whether this plot would affect the Huang or not was beyond his knowledge, but she was his ally, so he followed behind them.

More people appeared, led by the short sword wielder he had noticed during the assembly.

The man cupped his hands with an overly courteous bow. “Young lady Za. It is an honour to meet you, as always. But with the current relationship of our families, it would be unwise to act excessively familiar in public places.”

The tone was polite, yet the rejection could not have been any more clear. And by the amused expressions of his followers, this most likely wasn’t the first time.

As he straightened his back, his eyes found Ku Lo approaching. A mixed expression emerged on his face as he saw the two stand next to each other.

Surprise, and something Ku Lo wasn’t able to clearly identify.

“I shall excuse myself now.” He turned around, appearing even more eager to leave than before. 

The one who led them here looked back and forth between the three of them before following.

Once the group was too far to hear them, Ku Lo turned back to the rockface. “Now then, about getting our things back…” he formed a Qi sword.

Before they could enter the cave, two white silhouettes emerged from the darkness. Both of the siblings seem exhausted, but not actually wounded anywhere. 

Ku Lo steps forward while raising his broken blade. “You should still have our possessions.”

“You hadn’t been exactly friendly towards us either, so what makes you think I am going to return them, just so you can spend your time trying to get back at us?”

A deep, bone-shaking horn echoed through the valley.  By the rules of the tournament, anyone who failed to arrive at an entrance within an incense stick of time would be searched for, but disqualified from further participation. 

The Wuu siblings were the first to move. “I suppose this can very well be settled another time.” with a slight bow and the usual amiable smile, he retreated after dropping their weapons and rings. His sister let her eyes wander over the present people, then turned around to follow.

As the two were alone again, Za Huan spoke up. “I sincerely thank you for your assistance in this matter, even if it ended as it did.”

“In the end, I profited more than you, so there is nothing you owe me.”

She, too, left for one of the caves now marked by blazing bonfires that had been lit on the cliffs above them.

Guess it’s time to go… Despite starting with the goal of finding Gingge before anything else, he had ended up being constantly distracted and as a member of the sword sect would look for anyone missing, looking for her would do little but exclude him from the second round.

Heck, what am I thinking? She knows this place far better than I do and she’s not stupid. Laying low and carefully picking fights, she’s probably reached an exit savely long before I will.

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