The group continued for another two hours before Go Lan allowed them to rest. They sat in a circle, consuming the disgusting jerky and quenching their thirst with mud-like water.

  “What’s the point of all this?” Lei asked after scarfing down another piece of jerky. Ishin hoped his friend wouldn’t be sick later from the meat.

  Though if he is, then we’ll all be.

  “I told you,” Go Lan said. She took a gulp of water. “We need to make sure there are no approaching threats.”

  “I get that, but going this far out? Even if another group came this way, the odds of them taking the exact path to stumble across the fort seem slim.”

  “Very slim,” Six agreed. He was lying on his back, staring up at the gray canopy.

  “See! He agrees!”

  Go Lan rolled her eyes. “We also need to make sure there aren’t any camps along this route before we follow it to the island’s center. We wouldn’t want to stumble into an ambush.”

  “Has that happened before?” Ishin asked.

  “It has.” Go Lan set her waterskin down. “The closer we get to the crater at the island’s center, the more likely ambushes will be. A lot of candidates won’t bother fighting for the pills themselves—they’ll just wait to ambush the ones who do. Easier to kill someone exhausted and off guard than risk their own skin.”

  “There’s a crater in the center of the island?” Tan Chen asked.

  “A big one. The pills are always deposited at the bottom.” Go Lan’s expression turned dark, as though reliving something unpleasant. “A lot of people have died in that crater.”

  An ominous silence fell over the group at that implication.

  “The good part,” Wen Mei said, trying to sound optimistic, “is that Vampire Monkeys won’t enter the crater. It’s too exposed to sunlight, so that’s something.”

  “It’s really that big?” Rhee asked.

  “Huge,” Go Lan affirmed. “It stretches a hundred feet across, with a forty-foot drop to the bottom.”

  “That’ll make it very dangerous to leave,” Ishin noted.

  Near suicidal.

  “That’s why we need a lot of allies,” Wen Mei replied. “Few would dare enter the crater alone. Most who try, die.”

  “I see why others would rely on ambushes instead,” Wei Long remarked. “Seems safer. Smarter.”

  “We’ve tried that before,” Go Lan admitted. “Had mixed results.”

  Wei Long cocked an eyebrow. “Really? I would’ve thought with your numbers you’d easily succeed.”

  “Depends on who you try to ambush,” Wen Mei replied. “We’ve always split our forces when we tried that. Once we lost four members in a single attempt.”

  “And who could possibly manage that?” Rhee asked, surprised.

  “Bai Hao,” Go Lan growled. “A real monster. Now we avoid him on sight.”

  “You’ve mentioned that name before,” Ishin said to Wen Mei.

  She nodded. “Yes. He and Isho Nel are the two most dangerous candidates on the island—or at least the most dangerous we know of.”

  “Isho Nel at least has his own allies,” Go Lan added. “We fought them before and took heavy losses. His poisoned swords were a real problem.” Her expression turned sour. “But Bai Hao shouldn’t even be on this island. I don’t know how he isn’t at the Adept Realm already.”

  “What type of cultivator is he?” Tan Chen asked. Ishin wanted to know as well.

  Go Lan and Wen Mei exchanged a glance before Go Lan answered. “We think maybe metal. Maybe blood. We’re not entirely sure.”

  “You’re not?” Rhee pressed.

  “He leaves… messes,” Wen Mei explained hesitantly. “Even when we’ve only seen him from afar, his combat style is strange. Like his hands become claws.”

  Ishin thought back to Bo’s Steel Forge Finger technique.

  Could it be something like that?

  “Don’t worry about it,” Go Lan said, taking another sip of water. “If you see him, just run. That’s our plan.”

  “You’d run away from a challenge?” Lei asked, displeased.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “No. But I’d run away from certain death.” Go Lan rose. “Let’s keep moving.”

  They continued on for two hours, moving deeper into the trees.

  “Wait,” Wei Long suddenly whispered.

  Lei and Go Lan immediately halted. It took the others a moment to realize the front had stopped. Ishin watched as Wei Long tilted his head toward the right.

  “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

  “No,” Lei answered, his naturally booming voice carrying.

  “Be quiet,” Go Lan hissed.

  Lei frowned but said nothing.

  Ishin strained his ears but only heard the faint rustling of leaves somewhere in the forest.

  There’s nothing strange.

  He glanced at the dead-looking trees, their branches unmoving in the still air.

  Wait. Why would leaves be moving? There’s no wind here.

  His thoughts were cut off by a distant chorus of howls.

  Vampire Monkeys!

  The howls grew louder, echoing closer through the forest.

  “Wretched monkeys,” Go Lan snarled. “And they’re coming our way.”

  Lei stepped forward to face the oncoming sound. “Good. I’ve wanted a rematch for some time.” The words were bold, but his arm and shoulder were still wrapped in bandages. He was in no condition to face them.

  We should have made him stay back to recover.

  Ishin moved beside his friend, spear raised. He wouldn’t let Lei face them alone.

  The first of the Vampire Monkeys appeared in the distance, swinging from tree to tree. At least five—no, six—of them, moving quickly.

  “Run,” Go Lan ordered. “There are too many.”

  Wei Long nocked and loosed an arrow. It erupted into flames as it soared through the air, striking the lead monkey. The beast’s fur caught fire and it tumbled to the ground, shrieking in agony. The rest kept advancing.

  “Now there’s only five,” the archer remarked. “We can handle them.”

  “Idiot,” Go Lan snapped. “Don’t let pride blind you. We need to run.”

  “Nonsense,” Lei argued. He slid his steel-tipped knuckles over his fingers. “We fight.”

  Ishin agreed with him. There were only five left—the sixth still writhing on the ground. Between the eight of them, they could deal with this threat and prevent it from ambushing them later.

  “Yes, let’s fight,” Tan Chen declared, stepping forward.

  “We should listen to Sister Lan,” Wen Mei urged, but she was ignored.

  The monkeys closed within twenty yards. The time for debate had passed.

  “You fools are going to get us all killed!” Go Lan roared, but she moved forward to face the beasts alongside them.

  Wei Long loosed another flaming arrow, felling another. Like the first, it didn’t die outright, but it writhed in pain. Then an icicle shot through the air, piercing a monkey’s skull and dropping it thrashing to the ground. Ishin turned to see Wen Mei’s palm extended toward the creature.

  She’s an ice cultivator?

  Ishin had no time to dwell on it. The remaining monkeys leapt from the trees above, descending on them.

  One landed directly on Ishin. He thrust his spear at it, aiming for its head, but the beast’s arm lashed out, catching the shaft and redirecting it harmlessly.

  What!

  It sank its fangs into his right shoulder before he could react. Agony ripped through him, his muscles spasming violently. His grip loosened and his spear fell from his hand.

  “Get off!” Ishin roared, trying to shake it off. But the creature’s strength and weight overwhelmed him. A powerful blow smashed into his face, throwing him onto the ground.

  His vision blurred as his head struck the dirt, his ears ringing. He had no idea what was happening to the others, but he didn’t have time to care.

  A chilling sensation spread through his arm as his blood drained unnaturally away from his muscles. The pain was unbearable.

  It’s draining me dry. I have to get it off!

  Abandoning his spear, Ishin pressed his free hand against the monkey’s skull. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, he focused on cycling his qi. Indigo sparks flickered at his fingertips. The glow caught the beast’s attention, and its bite slackened in fear.

  Too late.

  The Indigo Sky Bolt erupted point-blank into its skull, blasting the upper third clean off. Blood, brain, and bone sprayed across the forest floor as the body went limp beside him.

  Ishin panted heavily, staring at the corpse.

  That was too close.

  Groaning, he examined his shoulder. Deep puncture wounds oozed blood. He sat up and tested his arm, managing to move it, but with terrible pain.

  I won’t be able to use my right arm for a while. This is bad.

  Rhee appeared at his side, worry etched across her face. “Ishin! Are you okay? Oh Heavens, your arm.”

  “The others,” he managed. “What happened?”

  “No one’s dead,” Rhee assured him, pulling out a roll of bandages he hadn’t known she carried. “Go Lan is injured though.” As she swiftly bound his wound, she explained, “One tackled Lei and he nearly died, but she intervened—cleaved its head off. Then one of the burnt ones Wei Long shot snuck up on her. Her leg is… it’s not good.”

  “Those two were alive?”

  “They were. Burnt but furious. Chen and I killed one of the others. Wei Long and Wen Mei killed another. Go Lan”—there was admiration in her tone—“killed two.”

  “That’s good,” Ishin said. At least the fight was over.

  But Rhee shook her head. “The last one ran off, like it was afraid.” She looked toward the trees. “But I don’t think it was of us.”

  Ishin frowned. “What do you mean?”

  A deep, monstrous roar rolled through the forest, from the same direction the monkeys had come.

  “What is that?”

  “I don’t know,” Rhee whispered, fear clear in her voice. “Go Lan! We need to get out of here!”

  The sound of snapping branches and shifting leaves drew closer.

  Ishin turned and saw Go Lan limping toward them. A terrible gash stretched down her left leg, blood pouring freely. She dragged her massive blood soaked battle axe behind her.

  “Can’t flee anymore.” Her voice was hoarse with fatigue. “Told you we should’ve run. Now, we’re stuck here.”

  “What’s coming for us?” Rhee asked.

  Go Lan spat blood to the side, wiping the rest from her lips. Her expression turned grim.

  “Vampire Ape,” she said. “Worse than the others. Get ready.”