Mystique Soul: A Cultivator's Flame
Chapter 114: Ambush

Chapter 114: Ambush

The alley reeked of old rain and trash, the kind of scent that clung to your lungs no matter how short your stay. Feng Jiao Xue slowed her steps, her eyes narrowing as they adjusted to the dim light that barely spilled between the narrow walls. Puddles reflected warped bits of the sky overhead, but the real focus lay farther down the passage.

A small body.

Slumped. Still.

Feng Jiao Xue’s boots splashed through shallow water as she reached the figure. Mo Tianze followed, tense, his tail dragging low behind him. She crouched down and gently turned the child over.

It was the girl.

The same one who had tugged at her sleeve days ago. The one with dirt-smudged cheeks and fear in her voice.

Now her eyes stared blankly upward. Her lips were parted, as if her final breath had been interrupted by something worse than fear. There was no sign of a struggle. No blood. Just silence and stillness.

Feng Jiao Xue’s fingers brushed across the child’s sleeve. Her other hand curled into a fist at her side.

"Its her. She is the one who warned me," she whispered. "And this is what it cost her."

Mo Tianze let out a breath, ears flicking. "Then someone didn’t want her message getting far."

The hairs on the back of her neck rose.

A clink echoed deeper in the alley. Then another.

Feng Jiao Xue rose, her gaze flicking left, then right.

Someone was here.

Mo Tianze bared his teeth. "We’ve got company."

The first shadow moved too fast. Feng Jiao Xue barely ducked in time as a blade hissed past her cheek, slicing the air where her head had been. She spun, drawing her sword and flicking her wrist. Her whip unraveled like a serpent and snapped forward. It caught the assailant’s wrist mid-strike. Bone cracked.

Mo Tianze lunged forward, claws flashing. He collided with a second attacker, throwing him into a wall with a sharp crunch. Bricks cracked behind the man’s skull as he slumped, unconscious or dead.

But more were coming.

They spilled into the alley like smoke. Clad in gray and black, their faces hidden. Blades gleamed in both hands. Silent. Efficient.

"Five more," Mo Tianze growled. "Maybe six. Hard to tell in this light."

Feng Jiao Xue stepped forward without hesitation. Her whip snapped once more, curling around a man’s ankle and jerking him off his feet. Before he hit the ground, her sword was already piercing his shoulder, not deep enough to kill, but enough to end the fight.

Another tried to flank her. Mo Tianze beat him there.

He spun, tail lashing hard against the attacker’s side. The sound of ribs breaking cracked through the alley, followed by a shout of pain. Mo Tianze’s claws followed, a blur of silver. He moved like something wild, feral, controlled only by the bond he shared with Feng Jiao Xue.

"Focus on defense," she called out. "We don’t know who else is watching."

"I don’t need to be told twice."

Another figure darted close, fast. Too fast for most eyes.

Feng Jiao Xue’s whip caught his wrist. She yanked him forward, spinning, letting his own momentum carry him into her blade. But she turned it last second, shifting the strike into a pommel strike to the temple instead. He collapsed instantly.

More shadows approached the alley’s entrance.The attacker came in low, blade angled upward for a gutting strike. Feng Jiao Xue twisted aside, her foot skimming a puddle as she slid back. The moment the blade passed her side, her whip snapped forward, catching the man’s wrist and yanking him off balance. With her sword already drawn, she lunged in, slicing across his thigh not enough to kill, but enough to drop him to the ground with a howl.

Another opponent rushed her from behind.

Feng Jiao Xue turned instinctively, sword raised to block but claws intercepted first.

Mo Tianze crashed into the attacker, slamming him hard into the alley wall. Stone cracked beneath the force, and his claws raked down the man’s chest with a brutal swipe, leaving torn cloth and blood in their wake. Without pausing, he kicked off the wall and spun back toward Feng Jiao Xue, his tail knocking another assailant into the mud.

"Don’t let them circle you!" he shouted, baring his fangs.

"I wasn’t planning to!"

Three more figures charged in unison, trying to split them up. One went for Mo Tianze, blades flashing in both hands. Another two flanked Feng Jiao Xue, attempting to catch her between them. She dropped low, ducking the first blade, her whip snapping upward in an arc, coiling around a sword and wrenching it free. The second attacker moved in, thrusting his dagger toward her throat.

She caught it with her bare hand.

Pain bloomed as the blade bit into her palm but her eyes didn’t flinch. Instead, she yanked him forward and headbutted him square between the eyes. He crumpled with a grunt.

Blood dripped from her hand, but her grip didn’t falter. She dropped the dagger, flipped her whip, and struck the last attacker hard across the face. The leather cracked sharply, and the man went down, writhing.

Across the alley, Mo Tianze moved like lightning. His claws were soaked, his knuckles raw, but he showed no signs of slowing. He grabbed one enemy by the arm and flipped him into another. Then, with a snarl, his tail wrapped around a leg and yanked a fourth off his feet. A flash of his claws, a savage roar silence followed.

Then a quiet breath.

"Still more coming," he muttered.

Feng Jiao Xue flicked blood from her blade and met his eyes. "Let them."

Another figure leapt from above, landing between them with a crack of stone and steel. This one wore reinforced armor and carried a broad glaive. He was larger, faster, more dangerous than the rest. With a twist of his wrists, the glaive spun, striking toward Feng Jiao Xue in a brutal overhead arc.

She blocked with her sword,barely. The impact shuddered down her arms.

Mo Tianze lunged in from the side, claws slashing. The man twisted to meet him, the glaive shifting with deadly grace, parrying his strike mid-air. They fought in a flurry steel, claw, leather, breath.

And in that chaos, Feng Jiao Xue moved low, whip trailing like a viper in the dust. One quick snap and it coiled around the glaive’s shaft.

"Now!" she shouted.

Mo Tianze grinned savagely. His claw struck the man’s exposed side, punching through the armor. A pained yell escaped the attacker’s lips as he staggered. Feng Jiao Xue pulled the whip taut, disarming him completely. One final strike her blade slicing across his chest and he dropped to his knees.

Mo Tianze finished it with a swift blow to the neck.

"Ten more, incoming" Mo Tianze muttered.

"I think they’re trying to trap us."

"Not very good at it."

"Let’s not give them a chance to improve."

Feng Jiao Xue didn’t hesitate. Her whip snapped forward, catching the first attacker around the wrist and yanking him off balance. She met him halfway, blade flashing as it slid neatly across his chest. He crumpled to the ground without a sound.

The others weren’t far behind.

Mo Tianze shot forward in a blur, his tail sweeping the legs of one while his claws tore through the armor of another. He moved like a storm fluid, deadly, precise. Blood sprayed as he ducked low, spun, and clawed upward in a rising arc.

"They’re faster than the last batch," he growled.

"They’re also better trained," Feng Jiao Xue muttered, breath short.

She parried two blades at once, her wrist twisting with practiced grace as she turned the momentum against her attackers. Her whip looped around a third man’s neck, and she pulled tight, dragging him toward her sword.

But one came at her from the blind side.

A dagger flashed, catching the edge of her shoulder before she could twist away. She hissed through clenched teeth and dropped low, sweeping her leg to trip the assailant before finishing him with a clean upward thrust.

"Are you hurt?" Mo Tianze called, flicking blood from his claws.

"Not enough to stop," she replied.

They moved back-to-back now.

The narrow alley forced the attackers to come in waves, but it also boxed them in. That meant fewer could rush them at once an advantage they clung to.

A man lunged from the shadows, dual blades aimed for Mo Tianze’s side. Feng Jiao Xue reacted instantly, her whip snapping across his eyes. He screamed, staggering, and Mo Tianze drove his claws into the man’s throat.

Then came the next three.

Feng Jiao Xue ducked under a strike and rammed her shoulder into one, sending him crashing into a wall. She followed up with a slash across his chest, twisting the sword before pulling it free.

Sweat dripped down her temple. Her muscles burned. The sting in her shoulder had worsened, but she didn’t have time to care. Not yet.

"They’re trying to tire us out," she said under her breath.

Mo Tianze bared his fangs. "They’ll be dead long before that happens."

Another enemy tried to leap over a fallen comrade, blade raised high. Mo Tianze met him midair, jumping with feline grace and tackling him to the ground with bone-cracking force. A wet gurgle followed.

Only four left now.

The survivors hesitated.

Feng Jiao Xue saw it in their eyes. the flicker of fear, the uncertainty. She took a step forward, whip dragging along the ground with a soft rasp.

"You can still run," she said coldly.

They didn’t.

So she ran first.

Blade low, whip ready, she charged. They met her with a cry, but they were too slow.

By the time Mo Tianze joined in, it was already over.

Silence returned to the alley, broken only by the distant drip of water and the heavy rhythm of their breathing.

Feng Jiao Xue wiped her sword clean and straightened. "Let’s not stay here long. If they sent these many after us..."

Mo Tianze nodded grimly. "More will come."

Her eyes flicked to the wall on their right. It was old and narrow, but scalable. Her whip wrapped around a metal pipe near the top. She gave it a sharp tug. Secure.

"Up," she said.

Mo Tianze snarled at the nearest attacker before springing into the air. He leapt high, using his claws to grip the wall and push himself farther. Feng Jiao Xue followed, whip coiled around her wrist again as she climbed swiftly behind him.

They reached the rooftop just as the alley below filled with noise and confusion.

Shouts. Commands. A flare of red magic.

Feng Jiao Xue crouched low and peeked over the edge. A mage had joined the ambushers, fire sparking around his hands.

Too late.

She and Mo Tianze had already vanished across the rooftops, shadows against the sky.

They didn’t stop running until they reached the edge of the merchant district, where flickering lanterns still lit the streets and people bustled through the twilight like nothing had happened.

Feng Jiao Xue dropped to the ground and leaned against a wall, catching her breath. Mo Tianze exhaled hard, shaking the blood off his claws.

"They weren’t just thugs," he said. "They were trained. Coordinated."

"And they knew where we’d be." Her eyes narrowed. "Someone’s watching our movements."

"Someone doesn’t want us asking questions."

She thought back to the little girl’s face. Pale. Cold.

This wasn’t just about the missing adventurers anymore.

It was about covering tracks.

She wiped her blade clean and sheathed it. Her whip coiled around her wrist once more.

"They’re getting desperate," she murmured.

Mo Tianze gave her a sidelong glance. "Desperate people make mistakes."

"Good."

She straightened up and met his gaze, her voice low.

"Let’s make them regret this."

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