![\"Sword.png\"](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmTQ3GM7gAHNAoRPirj8GKPHQaKuGXXZXasNCjrkoaSm41\/Sword.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sun checked his spirit sense. There was a flood of hostiles incoming. There were too many of them. And they were all converging on his position.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarrier up!\u201d Sun boomed.<\/p>\n
Infernal screeching and chattering drowned out his voice. Xiaohou bashed in the windows and leapt themselves into the room. All at once they charged at the duo\u2014and smashed against a dome-shaped barrier.<\/p>\n
\u201cFOLLOW ME!\u201d Sun shouted.<\/p>\n
Sun blasted away, cutting down a group of xiaohou between him and the exit. The survivors of the barrage recoiled from the radiant heat and light. Running to the door, Sun kicked it open, revealing a narrow hallway.<\/p>\n
And four gunmen.<\/p>\n
He obliterated the first. Destroyed the second. The third fired, and his bolts splashed off Liu\u2019s barrier. Sun gunned him down. Turned\u2014<\/p>\n
The last man swatted down Sun\u2019s weapon and raised a pistol to his face.<\/p>\n
Sun ducked. The pistol fired, scorching his hair. He released his weapon and seized the man\u2019s crotch. Twisted. Ripped.<\/p>\n
The gunman shrieked, doubling over. Sun captured his throat in the crook of his elbow, swept out his leg and slammed his head into the floor. Stepped aside and shot him in the face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSun Yao!\u201d Liu yelled. \u201cBehind us!\u201d<\/p>\n
She had blocked off the door with a barrier. The xiaohou screamed, trying to break through.<\/p>\n
\u201cFang Fang! Get behind me!\u201d Sun shouted. \u201cKeep left!\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned and ran, clearing a line of fire to the door. Sun held down the trigger, walking bolts back and forth across the fatal funnel. The infinity gun gulped down his\u00a0qi<\/em>\u00a0and turned it into thunderbolts. Flesh exploded, fur ignited, and blood spattered.<\/p>\n No more xiaohou remained.<\/p>\n \u201cFollow me!\u201d Sun said.<\/p>\n Down the corridor, he found a door to the stairs. Entering the stairwell, he heard muffled voices and bootsteps. He looked down.<\/p>\n Men. Guns.<\/p>\n He stepped back just as the gunmen opened fire. Blinding bolts slashed the air, slamming into the stone all around them. Reaching into his interspatial storage, he drew a fragmentation grenade, pulled the pin, and bounced it down the steps.<\/p>\n \u201cGrenade!\u201d a man yelled.<\/p>\n \u201cUpstairs!\u201d Sun whispered.<\/p>\n Sun and Liu flew up the stairs. He halted at the landing, opened his storage again, and produced another sticky bomb. The grenade exploded, eliciting screams and cries of pain. Sun armed the bomb, pasted it against the wall, and dashed to the roof.<\/p>\n The outside air was cool and sweet and refreshing. Sun staggered to a stop, gasping for breath. He had expended most of his\u00a0qi<\/em>\u00a0reserves, and without his gloves he was only barely more powerful as a normal man. Liu wasn\u2019t doing much better.<\/p>\n The sticky bomb exploded. Liu gave him a thumbs-up. He laughed. Once. And forced down more oxygen.<\/p>\n \u201cFang Fang\u2026\u201d Sun gasped. \u201cWe need to\u2026 use\u00a0qinggong<\/em>\u2026 to escape. I need my gloves back.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded. Reached for the left glove\u2014<\/p>\n The door to the roof burst open, revealing a gunman with a pistol.<\/p>\n Liu raised a barrier. The newcomer fired, his bolts splashing against the barrier. Sun dropped to a knee and loosed a long burst. Squinting through the light show he saw\u2014<\/p>\n His own bolts shattering against an invisible forcefield.<\/p>\n The enemy could use a barrier too.<\/p>\n Sun\u2019s infinity gun beeped angrily and shut down. The barrel was glowing red and billowing smoke.<\/p>\n At the same time, the enemy ceased firing, his pistol red hot.<\/p>\n Stalemate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Defenders are on their way,\u201d Sun said. \u201cIf you surrender now\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do that. You destroyed my sect.\u201d<\/p>\n His\u00a0qi<\/em>\u00a0flared. He was strong, stronger than Sun, stronger than Fu, stronger than any cultivator he had seen. This must be the sect leader.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re finished!\u201d Sun shouted. \u201cYou can\u2019t break the barrier!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n The rogue cultivator swung his right foot forward, revealing a sword. He smiled.<\/p>\n And blurred.<\/p>\n \u201cFang Fang!\u201d<\/p>\n She raised her barrier. The enemy materialized, his sword meeting the barrier\u2014<\/p>\n And shattering it.<\/p>\n Growling, Sun drew his pistol from storage, aimed\u2014<\/p>\n The enemy fired.<\/p>\n A colossal blow slammed him to the ground. His pistol clattered away. Sun coughed. He\u2019d taken the shot on his chest plate, but it still hurt.<\/p>\n The rogue cultivator loomed over him and aimed his handgun at his face.<\/p>\n \u201cStill alive?\u201d the sect leader asked.<\/p>\n \u201cQu si<\/em>,\u201d Sun retorted.\u00a0Die.<\/em><\/p>\n THUNK<\/em><\/p>\n A white wall sent the sect leader flying.<\/p>\n Sun got up. Liu was back on her feet, her hands outstretched. She must have slammed a barrier into the cultivator. The enemy was reeling, shaking his head.<\/p>\n Sun\u2019s infinity gun was still overheated, and his pistol nowhere in sight. He drew his\u00a0jian<\/em>.<\/p>\n And lunged.<\/p>\n The sect leader recovered, deflecting the\u00a0jian<\/em>\u00a0with his own sword, then sprang into a thrust. Sun swerved aside, parrying the thrust, and cut at the enemy\u2019s head. The cultivator danced out of reach, then stepped back in and windmilled his arms, clearing Sun\u2019s sword arm and plunging his blade at his throat.<\/p>\n Sun sprang away, safely out of range. He was exhausted, but the enemy was fresh. He had to end this now. Assuming his guard, he leaned back and lowered his\u00a0jian<\/em>, exposing his head.<\/p>\n The enemy blurred.<\/p>\n Sun thrust.<\/p>\n And struck a barrier.<\/p>\n His sword slid off.<\/p>\n \u201cHah!\u201d the sect leader yelled, and slashed\u2014<\/p>\n And his arm bounced off a barrier.<\/p>\n \u201cEh?\u201d<\/p>\n Sun cut at the exposed arm. The hand fell off. He flowed into a double-handed slash. The cultivator\u2019s head flew away.<\/p>\n Blood gushed all over Sun. Stepping back, he wiped off the sword on the cultivator\u2019s clothes and checked his spirit sense.<\/p>\n \u201cAll clear,\u201d he said. \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled. \u201cThanks for saving me.\u201d<\/p>\n There was nothing more to say. Sun stowed his sword and held her in a warm, sweaty, weary embrace. He was done. It took all his willpower just to stand.<\/p>\n In the distance, sirens wailed.<\/p>\n \u201cNow<\/em>\u00a0they arrive,\u201d Sun said.<\/p>\n Liu laughed. \u201cWhat\u2019s the date?\u201d<\/p>\n Sun checked his utility band. \u201cIt\u2019s the seventh day of the seventh month.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh?\u201d Stepping away, she tilted her head and pointed. \u201cLook!\u201d<\/p>\n High in the skies above, a triangle of stars glittered in the infinite heavens.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the Magpie Bridge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Legend held that long ago, the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven married a mortal cowherder. Furious at the union, the Goddess snatched her daughter back into the heavenly realm and scratched a river in the sky to separate them. But one night every year, all the magpies in the world took to the skies and formed a bridge, allowing the couple to meet again.<\/p>\n Tonight was that night.<\/p>\n It was now or never.<\/p>\n \u201cFang Fang.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n He took her hands in his.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe make a great team, don\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n She squeezed his hands tightly.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n He licked his lips. \u201cBefore we were interrupted at the airport\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou had something to say to me back then.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we graduated from high school, I asked you a question. Before we left Hongcun, I asked the same question. Both times I didn\u2019t receive an answer. Just a promise we\u2019ll meet again. And here we are.<\/p>\n Now I\u2019m going to ask again: Do you still choose me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and parted her lips.<\/p>\n Leaning in, he kissed her.<\/p>\n They stayed that way until the Defenders came.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Previous parts:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a>,\u00a07<\/a>,\u00a08<\/a>,\u00a09<\/a><\/p>\nThe End<\/h2>\n
![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmNPjQAkaGvtrys87bjqAghP62AqHAB7edWEt44bH8yfwD\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
<\/p>\n