MadFireGod

  "Drop your ons!" the hostage-taker barked, pressing his bde tightly against Sun Li's throat. His two rades fnked him, their expressions cold and unyielding.

  "Okay, okay." Jin Shu crouched slowly, pg his M17 and karambit on the ground with deliberate movements.

  "You! Girl in the veil! Bring me his ons," the hostage-taker ordered, jerking his head toward Biyu, who had rushed up alongside Jin Shu.

  She hesitated, her eyes darting to Jin Shu fuidance.

  "Do it now!" the man shouted, his voice sharp and impatient.

  "Hold on," Jin Shu interjected with a calm, measured tone. "She's scared. Let's all just calm down." He stood, pig up his ons again.

  "Hey! I didn't tell you to move!" the man sightening his grip on the bde.

  "I'll just hand them to her," Jin Shu replied smoothly, taking a step toward Biyu.

  The hostage-taker’s swisted into a threat. "No funny business, or the little pris his throat slit."

  Jin Shu's face remained calm, but the words caught him off guard. The little prihe slip gave him crucial information: these men knew who Sun Li was. They had e for her specifically. Peaceful resolution had never been an option.

  As he approached Biyu, Jin Shu handed her the pistol and karambit, leaning close to whisper in her ear. "Remember how to use this?"

  She gave a barely perceptible nod.

  "Enough! Quit whispering and bring them here now!" the hostage-taker snapped.

  "Alright, just one sed," Jin Shu replied, his tone disarming. As he stepped back, his hand slipped behind his back, produg a small pellet hidden from view.

  Biyu moved forward hesitantly, feigning fear.

  Jin Shu brought his hand forward in a swift motion, flig the pellet past the men. Their focus was fixed on Biyu; none of them noticed the small object s through the air.

  Bang!

  The pellet exploded with a deafening crack. The men whipped their heads around instinctively.

  Bang!

  A sh out. The man on the hostage-taker's right colpsed, a hole in his chest.

  The hostage-taker spun back, his bde still too close to Sun Li.

  Jin Shu was already in motion. In a blur, he closed the distand grabbed the man’s wrist, wreng his sword hand away from Sun Li's neck. With a shove, Jin Shu pushed Sun Li out of harm’s way.

  The remaining maated before finally reag. He raised his sword.

  Bang!

  The shot echoed through the air. He dropped instantly, a gaping wound in his face.

  Jin Shu and the hostage-taker tumbled to the ground in a violent struggle. The man tried swinging his sword, but Jin Shu twisted his wrist sharply. A siing ch filled the air as the sword cttered to the floor.

  A Ka-bar appeared in Jin Shu's hand, aimed for the man’s throat. Desperate, the hostage-taker raised his palm to block the strike. The knife pierced his hand, blood spilling as Jin Shu bore down, pressing his other hand onto the pommel to drive the bde further.

  With a small iion of qi, the Ka-bar ignited, deep red fmes lig up the bde. The man screamed, his flesh sizzling as the fire ed his hand. Jin Shu yahe knife free and leaped back, his eyes locked on the hostage-taker’s futile attempts to extinguish the fmes.

  The man poured his qi into resisting the fire, only for the fmes to fre brighter, greedily feeding on his energy. Realization dawoo te—the more qi he used, the fiercer the fire became. It quickly spread, crawling up his arm and onto his chest.

  Jin Shu crouched and drove the still-fming ko the man’s heart. His body vulsed as his struggles waned, and moments ter, he grew still. Dead.

  Jin Shu retrieved the knife, extinguishing the fmes with a flick of his wrist, then stood. He barely had a moment tister the silence before a small body threw itself against him.

  “Shu-gege! I was sooo scared!” Sun Li sobbed, ing her arms tightly around his waist.

  Jin Shu stiffened, his eyes sing the room for more threats. He ignored her as he methodically assessed the area. No more dark-clothed men seemed to be present, but that didn’t mean the danger had passed.

  As he sed the surroundings, Huai Jiahou, Sun Li’s caretaker, stepped out from a side room. He walked toward them, calm and posed, a stark trast to the se of age around them.

  Jin Shu’s gaze narrowed on the older man. Somethi off. He was too calm—unnaturally so. Huai Jiahou didn’t even g the fallen intruders. And while Jin Shu could sehe man’s cultivation in the Core Realm, Jiahou had stayed hidden until now? Why hadn’t he acted sooner?

  “Let go,” Jin Shu said, prying Sun Li’s arms from around his waist.

  She pouted but obeyed, her eyes lingering on him with a hint of sadness.

  “Little prince,” Huai Jiahou called out, his tole. “Let’s get you back to your room. There could be more intruders lurking about.”

  Jin Shu tensed, his eyes narrowing. “What did you call her?”

  Jiahou blinked, his expression turning puzzled. “Little prince? He’s the Emperor’s you, after all,” he said with a chuckle.

  “That makes sense,” Jin Shu replied, stepping aside as though satisfied. However, his grip on the Ka-bar tightened.

  As Huai Jiahou stepped past him, Jin Shu lunged, his knife aimed for the older man’s back.

  At the st moment, Huai Jiahou sidestepped gracefully, defleg the bde with his palm.

  “What are you doing, young man?!” Huai Jiahou shouted, his face twisting with feigned e.

  “Shu-gege! Why are you attag old man Jiahou?” Sun Li cried, her voice trembling with fusion.

  Jin Shu ignored her, his focus razor-sharp as he closed in again. This time, he wielded two knives—one engulfed in crimsohe other emanating an invisible bde of wind.

  Huai Jiahou’s demeanor ged. His calm facade dropped, revealing a hardened, calg expression. “Get the prince!” he barked, his voice ced with authority.

  Jin Shu darted a gnce over his shoulder. Two sailors stepped out from the scattered crowd, daggers gleaming as they advanced on Sun Li.

  “Biyu!” Jin Shu shouted.

  Uanding his meaning instantly, Biyu moved between Sun Li and the approag men. She raised Jin Shu’s M17, her hands steady, but hesitated. The crowd stood in the way, blog her shot.

  Jin Shu couldn’t spare another moment to watch. Huai Jiahou struck, a palm flying toward his chest with crushing force.

  Jin Shu crossed his knives in front of his chest just as Huai Jiahou’s palm struck. The force of the Core Realm cultivator’s attack sent him flying backward. His arms folded painfully against his chest as his feet skidded across the ship’s wooden floor, leaving shallow grooves in the pnks.

  He grimaced, gng down at his trembling arms. If that palm had hit my chest... I might’ve died. A shudder ran through him. He’s strong.

  Jin Shu raised his gaze, log eyes with Huai Jiahou, who stood smirking smugly.

  “Give up, young man,” Huai Jiahou said, his tone desding. “And I won’t kill you.”

  Jin Shu's arms throbbed, the pain making them difficult to move, but he weled the stalling. Huai Jiahou seemed fident—too fident—and likely expected Biyu to be overpowered at any moment.

  “I’m not going to bother asking why you’re doing this,” Jin Shu said through gritted teeth, his voice shaky but sharp. “I guess—maybe it’s one of the other princes, or hell, maybe even Uhey’re all terrified of Sun Li’s abilities. And, to be ho, so am I.”

  He paused, running a shaky hand through his disheveled hair, then sighed in exasperation. “But... why the fuck did you have to do this while I was here?! You couldn’t have waited just one more fug day?!”

  Huai Jiahou’s smirk faltered for the first time, his brow furrowing as he stared at Jin Shu, clearly caught off guard by the sudden outburst.

  “Jin Shu!” Biyu’s voice rang out from behind him.

  He whipped his head around just in time to see his pistol and karambit flying through the air toward him. Halfway to his hands, they disappeared into the space within his earring.

  Jin Shu wao che Biyu, to see if she was holding her own, but the creak of the floorboards ahead snapped his focus forward. Instinctively, he rolled to the side.

  Huai Jiahou’s palm smashed into the spot where Jin Shu had been standing. A deafening crack followed as the blow carved a hole through the wooden wall, allowing beams of the m sun to stream inside.

  Jin Shu’s knives vanished, repced by his M17 in a fluid motion. He ejected the magazine, unchambered the round, slotted a fresh mag, and rechambered it—all in uwo seds. Then, without hesitation, he leveled the gun at Huai Jiahou and pulled the trigger.

  Bang!

  Huai Jiahou moved at the st moment, sensing the dahe bullet missed, pung a smaller hole through the wall behind him.

  Huai Jiahou g the bullet hole, his expression shifting from smugo caution. His gaze returo the on in Jin Shu’s hands. “That is a dangerous on, young man,” he said, his voice low and measured.

  Jin Shu’s lips curled into a humorless smile as he shifted his stance. “Very.”

  The two stood locked in a standoff, the tension thick as the m sunlight illumihe battlefield. Jin Shu’s breath slowed as he steadied his aim. Whatever advantage Jiahou thought he had, Jin Shu was determio show him he had uimated the wrong oppo.