I dodged the attack at top speed too, throwing my body sideways just as the wind of the strike hissed past my ear. My friends were equally reactive, scattering like frightened birds. Mei scooped Yanyin up into her arms and blurred away from the perimeter, putting a safe distance between the child and the violence.
However, even as I scrambled for footing on the ground, my gaze didn't leave Longwei. The sting of the attack was nothing compared to the burning heat of his sadistic betrayal. I could see the bastard smiling under that mask.
"What is wrong with you?!" I screamed at him, my voice cracking with a mixture of panic and fury as Lai reset his stance, preparing for another strike.
Longwei just shrugged again, a gesture so casual and unbothered it made my blood boil.
Lai didn't wait for our internal dispute to settle. He went for the rest of the gang as my friends swiftly avoided his strikes.
"Master!" screamed Liangyu, ducking under a horizontal swing that would have taken his head off. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the fight seemingly has begun! Now would be the perfect time for you to join!"
Lai made sure each one of us received his equal attention. He flowed between targets like water, attacking us one by one with a rhythm that was impossible to predict.
"I don't think the jerk will be joining us!" screamed Qinyue, her voice tight with annoyance as she rolled away from a downward smash.
Lai swung his staff at me once more. I went full on acrobatics, twisting my body in mid-air to clear the weapon's reach. My feet skidded in the dirt as I landed. "This is not what we planned on last night!" I shouted, trying to remind Longwei of our carefully constructed Plan A, which was him kicking the guard's butt.
"I said I'd make sure you won't lose," Longwei replied calmly. He strolled over to a large, flat rock and sat down, crossing his legs as if he were settling in to watch a theatrical performance. "I didn't say anything about me fighting. Not every fight needs me."
"Ugh, how cheap!" I spat the words out mid-dodge, barely avoiding a thrust aimed at my ribs. "This fight can be over in seconds!"
"Yeah, every fight with me will be! But I'm not sure if you've grasped it yet, but I also need you toddlers to get stronger!"
Annoyed as I was with his twisted teaching methods, I didn't have time to argue. The wind from Lai's staff was getting closer with every swing.
"Plan B!" I hissed, signaling my friends to regroup. "Circle him and keep the spacing. Don't let him focus on one target!"
From the sidelines, Yanyin watched on with jumping excitement. She cupped her hands around her mouth and cheered, "All the best, brother Lai! You too, brother Ziyang!"
I nearly tripped. I mean, I get that she was a child, but we were literally there to save her uncle. Whose team was she even on?
Qinyue lunged first. She rushed in, roaring a battle cry, and kicking up a massive cloud of dust, running towards Lai head-on with reckless aggression.
Instead of retreating or bracing, Lai simply stepped into the charge. The staff blurred and a sharp crack echoed across the field. Qinyue folded in a matter of a second, clutching her stomach and wheezing into the dirt. Lai spun the staff behind his back, resetting instantly.
"Oof," Yanyin squinted her eyes, wincing in sympathy.
"Spread out!" I barked, taking command before he could pick us off. "Jian, left! Liangyu, right! I'll take the center!"
Jian cut left. Liangyu, trying to outdo him, cut wider, then swerved back in. They bottlenecked each other and shoulders bumped.
"Watch it, clumsy!" Liangyu snapped.
"Stay in your lane!" Jian shoved back.
While they were bickering, Lai moved. He slid the grip of his staff, extending the reach. The tip caught Jian in the shoulder, hard. As Jian stumbled back into Liangyu, Lai dropped low into a sweeping arc. Both of them went down in pain and curses.
"Whoah," Yanyin exclaimed, eyes wide.
The sight of Jian and Liangyu reminded me of how much their teamwork sucked if they didn't have access to their qi and couldn't use long range earth cultivation.
That left me.
I gritted my teeth and engaged. I tried a bunch of different attacks. High kicks and low sweeps, but the staff was a wall between us. Every time I tried to close the distance, the wood was there, poking and keeping me at bay. It was infuriating, really. It felt like trying to fight a ghost that could turn solid whenever it wanted.
Regardless, I kept pushing. I searched for an opening, saw a momentary gap in his defense, and lunged. I was desperate to grapple him, to get inside the reach of that weapon.
He side-stepped with maddening ease and brought the staff down, halting it with firm control just an inch from my collarbone. I froze. The wind from the strike cooled the sweat on my neck.
He pulled back and tapped me on the chest with a light, playful thump.
"If this was a sword, you'd be dead," he said calmly.
"That was… embarrassing for Brother Ziyang," said Yanyin from the distance.
That got a chuckle out of Longwei. "Sure was."
I collapsed backward onto the ground, my lungs burning as I gasped for air. To my left, Qinyue was still groaning, curled in a fetal position. To my right, Jian and Liangyu were glaring at each other, covered in dust and shame.
Lai stood over us with his staff resting casually against his shoulder, watching us with pity. He wasn't even breathing that hard.
I probably know what you're thinking. The fight was barely a minute long, we lost like a bunch of babies attempting to fight an adult, and we had the audacity to break into the prison. It looks bad. I admit that. But in my defense, all we had to do was wait until the qi release interval. Once that hit, we would have the cultivation advantage. I'm obviously not dumb enough to think we had a chance against a venerable in a contest of pure physical martial arts. We were stalling, though poorly.
What about the prisoners who'd break free, you ask? It didn't take long for me to figure out that Longwei could simply take care of them. Although, I surely started to worry he might pull another stunt on us, saying 'Oh, you toddlers gotta learn to navigate through chaos' or some bull like that. Never was I gonna not be super specific in my planning conversations with him from that day on.
Lai's attention now turned towards the rock where our "teacher" was sitting. "Time for the leader to step in," he said.
"I really don't think you'd wanna engage with me," said Longwei, throwing up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender.
I rolled sideways, coughing up dust, and gasped, "I really think you should. Engage with him! Please!"
"Yes, engage with him!" cheered Yanyin with a delighted clap.