I kept falling for a little while until I landed in another puddle with a splash. The impact almost shattered my bones, and I let out an ouch.
Just where had I fallen to?
Fortunately, the night pearl managed to follow me even through that strange hole in the ground—which must've been a spiritual seal of some sort, now that I thought about it—and I could slowly start to see my surroundings in its soft light. This chamber looked similar to the earlier parts of the cave that we went through, only with more carved columns and fewer puddles. Judging from the faint sound of the underground river beneath me, it seemed that I was now further above it than before, as if falling through that mysterious portal had somehow sent me higher, instead of lower, from the bottom of the cave.
I got back to my feet. "Bai Ye?" I called. My voice resounded loudly in the darkness beyond. No responses came back. Did the seal not let him through?
Not knowing where I was, I picked a direction where the ground seemed to drop gradually and started walking, hoping that it would lead me back to the lower levels. Bai Ye must be worried, and in all honesty, I felt a bit afraid to be wandering alone in a potential lair of legendary beasts.. I could only pray that I wouldn't be so unlucky.
A soft thudding of footsteps sounded from ahead. I halted. "Bai Ye?" I called again. But instead of the familiar voice that I wished to hear, a low growl came back from the darkness. A pair of green eyes glowed at the edge of the night pearl's luminance.
I froze. The descriptions of yazi that I had read in books before rushed to my mind: a mountain wolf with the head of a dragon. Gray fur, silver scales. Green eyes.
Another low growl, and the beast stepped into the light. The scales on its head and neck glinted cold, the hair on its back stood up as it hissed at me. I tried my best to control my shiver. A yazi was no guardian beast, and I didn't dream of talking it out of eating me like I did with the bixie yesterday. My hands moved to my swords.
At least I was fortunate enough to have brought Twin Stars. And from the look of it, this yazi must be a juvenile, as it didn't have the large dragon horns on its head. I should have a decent chance.
The beast let out a deafening roar at the sight of me getting into a fighting stance, and it charged at me. I called on all my spiritual power, holding nothing back, and met its attack head-on as it leaped. This was how my parents taught me to fight a tiger in the forest—wait for it to leap over you and slice at its throat from beneath. I lowered myself, crouching as the yazi sprang into the air, and swung my sword.
Though of course, a yazi was nothing like a tiger. It was intelligent enough to realize my intention, and when my blade neared its skin, it twirled in the air and avoided the cut. Well, almost. The tip of my sword still grazed over its belly, and it landed on the ground with a whimper. A couple of blood drops splattered over me.
I winced, remembering what Bai Ye had warned me after I cut Chu Xi's spiritual beast with Twin Stars. But I had no other choice at the moment, and I could only wish that the yazi's blood wasn't where its venom was.
The beast straightened itself and charged at me again. I shifted to the side, trying to add another cut to its legs, but it was too nimble and moved out of the way before my swords could reach. We ran and chased in circles, its jaw snapping at me and my blades swinging at it in turns. After what seemed to be an eternity, the yazi was obviously getting tired, and its movements slowed down.
I knew this was my opportunity. When it attacked again, I focused all my spiritual power on my legs and leaped, flipping in the air and landed on the beast's back. Before it got a chance to throw me off of itself, I dug one of my blades deep into its neck. The yazi growled in pain, and when it struggled violently to turn its head around to bite me, I sliced its throat with the sword in my other hand.
The beast groaned and collapsed onto the ground. Its chest heaved a few more times, then everything went still. The cave turned silent once more.
I slipped off its back and sat leaning against the wall, panting. I did it. I managed to slay one of the most ferocious creatures from the legends.
Though the satisfaction didn't last long. I didn't know if yazi lived in packs. If a juvenile was here, could there be adults nearby? I strained my hearing, filtering out the sounds of water and tried to locate any new signs of danger.
As if on cue, a faint echo of growls and roars came into my ears. I stiffened. The sound seemed to be coming from my left, from what appeared to be at least ten beasts. That was too many of them for me to have the slightest chance against. I struggled back onto my feet, ready to start fleeing in the other direction when I suddenly realized—they were growling. Why? What was their target deep inside the cave?
Was it Bai Ye?
The thought washed away all the fear and tiredness in me, and I turned back towards where the sound came from. "Bai Ye?" I shouted at the top of my lungs, using my spiritual power to let my voice travel as far as possible. "Bai Ye! Are you here?"
It took me a while to hear a response, but it came at last. "Stay where you are, Qing-er! I'm coming to you."
Relief and joy swept over me. He wasn't too far away! Heedless of what he just said, my feet moved on their own, and I ran towards the direction of his voice as fast as I could.
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