Chapter 10: Three Oaths

On a night bereft of the moon, darkness stretched in every direction, with only a scattering of stars dusting the sky—their light so faint as to be almost swallowed by the gloom. The midnight wind began to stir, rustling the leaves with a persistent susurrus, adding a further shroud of dread to the pitch-black world.

Gu Yan had left her brother’s side. Fearful of the darkness, she dared not return home alone. Once out of her brother’s sight, she hid herself in the roadside thicket, curling into a tight ball, trembling, her hands clamped over her ears to block out the terrifying sounds, her eyes squeezed shut lest she catch sight of something dreadful.

Alone in the night, she was utterly helpless.

“Brother, why haven’t you come to find me yet? Yan’er is so scared.”

A sudden gust swept through, making the towering trees sway and moan with a sound almost like the wailing of ghosts from old legends. The already frightened Gu Yan was reduced to tears, and, unable to endure it any longer, she scrambled to her feet and fled madly, heedless of direction, plunging headlong into the forest.

“Help!”

Bang!

In her desperate flight, Gu Yan crashed hard into a tree trunk. Her head swam with dizziness; she barely registered the pain before her vision burst with stars and she fell into unconsciousness.

For a martial artist, the darkness of night is less of an impediment—the stronger the cultivation, the less the hindrance. To Gu Feng, the night was like the first light of dawn; he could just discern the shapes on either side of the path.

Gu Feng hurried back along the way at full speed, calling out as he went, “Sister! Sister, where are you?” But his sister was nowhere to be found. Panic seized him, and regret gnawed at his heart; he could have slapped himself in self-reproach.

At last, he returned to the place where they had parted. He searched frantically, calling, “Sister! Sister!”

“Boy, what are you so frantic for? Your sister’s in the forest. If you don’t start caring more, one day you’ll lose her for good.”

A vision flickered in his mind, a system display: his sister lay unconscious beneath a great tree not far into the woods. Not far from her, a jackal was closing in.

“Sister!”

Gu Feng was aghast, and launched himself toward Gu Yan at full speed.

Though Gu Feng had reached the fourth level in cultivation, his frail body limited his strength to that of a normal second-rank warrior—yet dealing with a jackal was well within his capabilities.

The jackal: similar in appearance to a dog or wolf, but smaller—about a meter long, weighing a little over ten kilograms. Its fur was reddish-brown or grayish-brown, interspersed with coarse, dark-tipped guard hairs. Its belly was lighter, its limbs short, ears stubby and rounded, tail long and bushy with a black tip. Its forehead bulged, nose was long, muzzle short and wide, and its nature was savage.

The jackal reached Gu Yan before Gu Feng did. It eyed her warily, suspecting a trap, and did not immediately approach. After circling her a few times and finding no danger, hunger overcame its caution. Baring its fangs in a savage grin, it leapt at her.

The jackal, seasoned in the hunt, cared little whether the prey was truly unconscious. With a snap of its jaws, it lunged for Gu Yan’s throat. Cunning and cautious, it was no less sly than a fox.

“Damn it!”

Gu Feng’s remorse deepened as he saw the beast pounce for his sister’s neck. He charged recklessly forward—if anything befell his sister, he could never forgive himself.

“Awooo!”

The jackal, spotting Gu Feng’s approach, mistook him for a rival intent on stealing its meal. As it lunged toward Gu Yan, it fixed Gu Feng with a ferocious glare and let out a savage cry.

“Ah!”

At that moment, Gu Yan awoke. Though she could not see what the creature was, she caught the gleam of green eyes lunging at her. She thought it a ghost and, terrified, rolled away in a desperate bid to evade.

It is said that, in moments of mortal peril, humans can unleash tenfold, even a hundredfold, their natural potential. So it was for Gu Yan—her sudden roll was as swift as any trained warrior’s.

The jackal missed its mark, its jaws snapping onto empty earth.

Gu Feng finally arrived, relief flooding him as he saw his sister escape death by a hair’s breadth. He shouted, “Run, sister, run!”

Gu Yan, recognizing his voice, cried out in excitement, “Brother!” Tears of joy streamed from her eyes.

Foiled, the jackal growled at the siblings, then, with a final desperate lunge at Gu Yan, let out another furious howl.

This time, Gu Yan was paralyzed with fear, unable to dodge—even if she had wanted to, there was no time.

The jackal, sensing its prey was finally within reach, became wild with excitement.

“Beast, you court death!”

Gu Feng, seeing no other option, hurled his refined iron dagger at the jackal.

The jackal’s sense for danger was acute. Just as its jaws were about to close on Gu Yan, it twisted away in midair. Though loath to abandon its meal, fear for its own life prevailed. Snarling at Gu Feng, it turned tail and fled.

Only when the jackal was gone did Gu Feng allow himself to breathe. He hurried to his sister and swept her into his arms, remorseful beyond words. “I’m so sorry, sister. This was my fault. I swear, I’ll never leave you alone again.”

It was this resolve that made him stay by his sister’s side, rather than chasing after the jackal.

Gu Yan, trembling, could scarcely believe her brother was really there. “Brother, is it really you?” She still felt lost, unable to grasp reality.

“It’s me, your brother,” Gu Feng replied gently.

“Waaah! Brother, you finally came. Yan’er was so scared.”

She clung to him, sobbing, all her grievances dissolving into tears that soaked through his clothes.

Gu Feng held her tightly, vowing again, “Don’t be afraid, sister. I promise you, no matter what happens, I’ll never leave you alone again.”

Resting in her brother’s warm embrace, Gu Yan said nothing more.

After a long while, Gu Feng carefully pried her arms from around his neck, only to discover she had fallen asleep, exhausted.

Looking at his little sister’s tear-stained, weary face, which yet bore a smile of happiness, Gu Feng silently renewed his vow: “Sister, I swear, I’ll never leave you alone again.”

He lifted her gently, afraid to wake her, and walked step by careful step out of the forest, heading toward their home in Sen Village.

“Awooo...”

Just then, deeper in the forest, a chorus of jackal howls broke out—more than ten voices in all.

Hearing so many jackals, Gu Feng was aghast. He suddenly remembered his grandfather’s warning: Jackals were savage by nature and bore grudges.

He hadn’t expected that letting that jackal go would bring a whole pack down upon them.

From her dreams, Gu Yan was startled awake by the savage cries, and called out fearfully, “Brother?”

Gu Feng hastened to reassure her. “Don’t be afraid, sister. It’s just a pack of beasts. As long as I’m here, they can’t harm you.”

As he spoke, the leaves around them began to rustle ominously. Looking toward the source of the sound, he saw, in the blackness, more than a dozen pairs of glowing green eyes—so eerie and menacing in the night as to chill the heart.