Chun and Little Butterfly did not keep running.
Instead, they stopped.
The wind swept through the forest, thinning the mist that coiled beneath the log bridge. The two girls stood side by side, eyes wide, staring at the battle unfolding on the opposite bank.
In the distance—
steel flashed.
The clash of metal rang out again and again, each strike tighter and faster than the last.
Chun had only meant to glance back, just to see whether that reckless 'idiot' still had a chance of surviving.
But that single glance—
froze her where she stood.
"This… how is this possible… Is that really Wei?"
Just moments ago.
Only moments.
That same boy had been thrown to the ground by a second-rate mountain hunter.
Overpowered. Beaten down.
Struggling even to speak.
At the time, Chun had already been calculating—
If Wei fell, how would she convince herself to drag Little Butterfly and run?
But now—
The boy in the distance looked like someone else entirely.
Blade light spiraled.
His saber cut in sweeping arcs, fluid and brilliant.
Those were techniques only a true warrior could display.
Had he been hiding his strength all these years?
Was he secretly some once-in-a-generation prodigy?
The thought struck her like a dream she hadn't realized she was dreaming.
The black-clad warrior was retreating.
Not dramatically.
But inch by inch—forced back.
It didn't look staged.
Sparks burst from the armored bracer on his arm. Even from this distance, Chun could feel the violence of each collision.
This was no illusion.
This was real.
Her pupils slowly widened.
"No… that can't be…"
She muttered under her breath.
"I tease him all the time… and I've even punched him more than once…"
A shiver of delayed fear crept up her spine.
She silently swore to herself—if she ever argued with Wei again, she would stick to words. No more fists.
Little Butterfly clutched her sleeve.
"Sister Chun… how did Brother Wei get so strong?"
Chun didn't answer.
Because she had just noticed something even more unsettling.
Wei's saber technique—
the way he initiated,
the way he chose his landing point,
the turn of his wrist—
what had once been rigid and straightforward was becoming faster… smoother… harder to follow.
It wasn't that he was growing stronger.
It was—
more complete.
The word surfaced in her mind without warning.
Rounded. Connected. Flowing without obstruction.
And the black warrior—
had become his whetstone.
Across the clearing—
the black warrior roared.
His blade aura surged violently.
The killing intent of a battlefield butcher finally descended in full force.
The air twisted. Fallen leaves burst upward in spirals.
But the boy did not retreat.
He advanced.
His saber slashed diagonally. The armored bracer erupted in sparks again, and the warrior's arm dipped sharply—
For the first time, he was forced back half a step.
In that fleeting instant—
Chun thought she saw Wei smile.
Not bravado.
Not defiance.
Excitement.
Like a young beast finally tasting blood.
Chun's heartbeat quickened.
And suddenly she understood.
Wei hadn't lost to that hunter because he was weak.
He had lost because—
he hadn't taken it seriously.
After all, when would a lion care about the strike of a mantis?
Her mind began constructing excuses for him without effort.
And now—
Wei was serious.
The black warrior was powerful. A killer forged on battlefields.
But Wei, at this moment—
looked as if he had been born to become something even greater.
Chun swallowed.
Amid the shock, something else surfaced—
a thrill she couldn't quite suppress.
"Wei…"
She whispered his name.
This time, there was no worry in her voice.
Only anticipation.
In the distance, the two separated again, facing one another.
What they did not know—
was that Wei's heart was pounding harder with every passing second.
Their unguarded backs—
clear, exposed—
were offered completely to the shadow already crouched in the darkness across the bridge.
And they hadn't even looked.
The two foolish girls were just standing there, staring at him.
In that moment, Wei realized something with painful clarity:
If he did nothing—
they would die.
The distance was too great.
And the biggest problem stood right in front of him.
If he turned and ran now, the black warrior's blade would cut him down without hesitation.
Even if he screamed himself hoarse, they would never hear him over the wind and steel.
The black warrior watched Wei closely.
The confusion in his eyes deepened.
An experienced fighter.
A true warrior never underestimated an opponent.
Yes, there were moments of miscalculation—
like that first strike. He had clearly believed no child could possibly dodge it.
But now—
he was fully alert.
There would be no tricking him again.
Step by step, the warrior was being forced backward.
His boots ground against gravel with harsh scraping sounds.
It almost sounded like mockery.
His expression darkened completely. Rage simmered beneath the edges of his armor.
"Boy,"
he growled through clenched teeth,
"You know military saber techniques?"
The words struck Wei like a hammer.
His mind blanked for a fraction of a second.
His step faltered.
The saber in his hand trembled, its edge drifting slightly off the line it should have held.
He hesitated.
And in battle—
hesitation is handing your life to your enemy.
A cold flash ignited in the warrior's eyes.
In the same heartbeat, he stepped forward.
The ground cracked under his weight, stones bursting outward as his fist shot straight toward Wei's face.
Wei jerked backward, barely avoiding it.
But in the next instant—
he realized something was wrong.
That punch—
was a feint.
The warrior's other fist exploded upward from below.
A crushing uppercut.
Bang.
The dull impact detonated against Wei's abdomen.
It felt as though his organs had been churned together in one violent twist. His body lifted off the ground and was hurled backward.
He landed hard, dropping to one knee. His throat tightened. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't draw breath.
"Ha—ha—ha!"
The black warrior threw his head back and laughed, the sound rolling through the mountain wind.
"Remember to kneel now?"
His grin twisted cruelly.
"Bow a hundred times and maybe I'll spare your worthless life."
His momentum surged like a rising tide.
The frustration from earlier was gone.
That foolish promise of three moves?
If he killed this half-grown boy now—
no one would ever know he had been pushed back.