Red Rose [Never Let You Go, Again Book 3]

15: Something Familiar

"Hurray! Go, Jin Ling!"

"Oi! Stop shouting and get into the fight yourself!" Jin Ling barked as he flew around, Suihua jabbing the ten-feet-tall panther. Amidst its beautiful black body, a sharp line of red spiralled around its torso and drifted down its tail, like red ink from a thin paintbrush.

"Hm, seems demonic to me," Jin Xiyi muttered, bringing out her harp. "Hexie, ready?"

A single string shook in the wind, a yes from her spiritual instrument. Smiling, she fluttered her slender fingers over Hexie's strings. Lan Sizhui's Ningjing and Lan Jingyi's Taoqi joined in the fight, each of the three playing a different melody, effectively muddling up the beast's mind.

Through slashing his sword through the beast's back, Zizhen shouted, "Why does it feel less mature than it should be? I know it's ten feet tall..."

"Child. Black panther cub," Lan Hao explained.

"CUB?" Jiang Liwei shouted.

"YOU CALL THIS BLOODY MASSIVE THING A CUB?" Jin Chan gawked at him before running under its torso to stab it in the chest.

Eventually, the beast began to stagger.

"Hey," Jin Ling sheathed Suihua. "Xiuying, wanna stab it?"

The others smiled. After all, she was their conclusive attacker.

"Nah, I've got something else in mind. You end it," Xiuying called out from her spot on a high branch.

"Okay!" Jiang Liwei cried before slicing the beast's head off. Dusting their hands, the Terrific Ten gathered around the head and body that had bit the dust. "Any injuries?"

"A-Ling, I saw you getting scraped by a claw or a tooth, can't remember," Sizhui walked over to him.

"Ah, nothing," Jin Ling stepped back.

Ignoring the snickering from all around, Sizhui bent down and lifted Jin Ling's robes silently.

"OI!"

"See? It's bleeding. And it's purple..."

Jin Xiyi laughed at her cousin brother's crimson face. "Then let's go to Chengdu fast to get this healed."

"Mn," Sizhui nodded as he stood. Jin Ling crossed his arms and turned his reddening head away from Sizhui, fixing his robes to cover his leg. "Xiuying?"

"All done!" Xiuying called out from the place where the beast's head lay. She held up one sharp canine tooth.

"FANGS!"

"What are you doing holding those terrible things?" Zizhen ran over to her.

"Tch, stop panicking, I'm used to it now. These things have strong venom, see?" She nodded to the purplish liquid dripping down. "Might be a possible medicine too. It's a new beast, right?"

"Yes, haven't seen it before."

"Then maybe it's venom itself is the antidote. Unlikely that there'll be medicine for such an unheard-of potion. Jin Ling might be harmed already."

"WHAT!" Sizhui glared at Jin Ling for acting nonchalant about a poisoned leg.

"It really is fine!"

"Quiet. We're getting you to Chengdu. Now," Sizhui ended the discussion, grabbed Jin Ling by the wrist onto his own Lan sword and rocketed into the sky.

"Sizhui's like Hanguang-Jun at times," Nie Xiyuan laughed.

"And Jin Ling's as reckless as Senior Wei," Lan Hao chimed in before they all hopped onto their swords and sabres and took off for Chengdu.