297: Time to Settle the Score

Time to Settle the Score

2She raised her own twin swords. The crimson light flowing over them was so dark this time that it was almost black. With a hard clang, she met my blow, just as the yazis behind her pounced from the shadows into the light.2

A jaw snapped down within an arm's distance from my ears. I paid it no heed, knowing that Bai Ye would keep his word for me, and I spun, bringing my blades down in another fast strike straight ahead. Our swords clashed at the same time when I heard metal slicing through a yazi's flesh behind me, leaving it whimpering before falling to the ground.

The echoes of blades clinging and beasts growling filled the cave. I blocked out all the sounds from my mind, focusing only on my opponent as we exchanged move after move. My command of Twin Stars had grown tremendously over the past few months, but I limited my power for the moment, keeping the attacks fast but less than full force. I wanted to study this sword spirit's techniques before showing her my best—our encounters so far had been sparse, and it'd be much safer to get more familiar with the enemy first.

Her swords clashed with mine in a steady rhythm. Where I struck, she blocked; where I retreated, she advanced. Her maneuvers were precise, each cut landing at the perfect angle, always keeping her position and the distance between us ideal for her to both protect herself and aim for my weakest places. The way she moved reminded me of the practice sessions I saw in Bai Ye's memory … In my past life, the style I used had been quite similar to what she was using right now, a skillful balance of defense and aggressiveness.

It made sense. While my current style was passed down from Bai Ye, my previous self was born from a sword, and so was my twin sister. Their techniques must have both been influenced by their shared affinity to swords.

That realization made me even more glad to have learned about my full past with Bai Ye. After watching the countless practices between us, I couldn't be more familiar with all the moves that used to be my favorites, as well as Bai Ye's strategies to counter them. It was a huge advantage that my opponent right now didn't have.

With that confidence in mind, I gave my spiritual power a push, bringing my strikes to full force. Letting Twin Stars fully resonate with me, I crossed my swords, slicing both of them forward in a diagonal sweep that broke through her defense. It was a modified version of Bai Ye's favorite technique against me in the past.

The sword spirit's eyes widened. Thanks to her fast footwork, she barely dodged, and the spiritual power of my strike crashed onto the cave wall behind her, leaving two deep cuts with a rumbling cascade of dust.

"You weren't this strong the last time," she bit out through gritted teeth, regaining her purchase. "How are you able to do this much with MY swords?"

I made another wide sweep, forcing her to retreat another step. "Apparently I'm not strong enough yet, if you can still be so wordy."

The truth was, this battle itself wasn't the part that worried me. Even without the advantage of being familiar with her techniques, I knew my limits with Twin Stars. Its power grew with me, and it followed my will. That was why I could break through Bai Ye's meditation barrier at Mount Hua. That was why the swords came to my rescue without me physically holding them at Jade Temple. As long as my mind didn't waver, I knew I wouldn't lose the fight. The part that I was more concerned with was what would happen afterward.

Pushing that thought aside, I focused on the moment, keeping my power rolling into Twin Stars like a tidal wave. The crimson light along the blades was pulsing so strong now that it lit up the whole cave in a dark shade of red. Moving as swiftly as I could, I gave my opponent no break, and as our swords crossed faster and faster, I could see that she was struggling to keep up. Her footing was growing unsteady. Her strikes became weaker. My constant advances had left ruts and marks all over the cave floor and walls around her, forcing her to retreat step by step into a corner.

It was time to end this. I slashed down one last time, and just as she blocked my left sword with one of hers, I swung my right sword to her other side for the last strike. This was an attack that left her in a dead spot—I had seen myself losing to Bai Ye because of it too many times. In her current position, she wouldn't be able to reach my moving blade without releasing her perry on the other one first.

A hint of fear flashed in her eyes, and I knew she saw it as well. Her only choice would be to try to block me, although it was of no use. But to my shock, she didn't. The next moment, her eyes darted toward the other side of the cave chamber, and instead of raising her free blade to meet mine, she threw it toward the hoard of yazis.

Bai Ye … She was aiming for Bai Ye!

My head snapped in his direction. He would notice it, I tried to remind myself. Every weapon carried the spiritual power of its owner, and he would easily feel the menacing presence of the sword spirit coming for him even without looking back. But I couldn't convince myself to take the chance. Before I could think any further, my hand had already moved on its own, and I changed the course of my sword, sending it flying in that direction instead. With the push of my spiritual power, it sliced through the air much faster than the sword spirit's blade, intercepting it just before Bai Ye turned back. Both swords clattered to the ground with a hum.

He was safe … I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. But then I saw his face pale the moment he laid his eyes on me. "Qing-er!" His shout reverberated in the small chamber, filled with terror.

It wasn't till then that I turned my attention back to my opponent. Her remaining sword was still caught in the air with mine, but her other hand was now holding a dagger. "You won't win," she snarled, and she plunged the dagger forward.

She had hidden another weapon? This one was good at playing dirty … But if she thought she could use cheap tricks like this to threaten the life of the person I loved AND take advantage of me at the same time, she was delusional. I simply looked at her, and I called to my sword from my consciousness.

It was the same way I controlled Twin Stars to save myself at Jade Temple. It may have happened as a fortunate accident back then, but I remembered the feeling in my mind at the time, and I made sure I learned how to repeat it.

With the sound of a blade slicing through the air, my other sword that was still lying on the ground a moment ago flew toward us on its own. In the blink of an eye, it was between us, and before her dagger had a chance to reach me, it sank into her chest.

"But I will," I said calmly, meeting her incredulous stare. "And I just did."

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