[ON HOLD] Defy the Heavens: The Journey of Miss Black Belly

15 I Gray Wolves

Going through the portal was comparable to taking nosedive down a 70 meters water well—it wasn't pleasant experience by any means.

*plop*

Xiren landed on ground with a thud near the foot of the mountain.

She stared blankly at first before carefully surveying her surroundings. Looking around, she could not sense anyone nearby; it was liking that the portal dropped them each at random locations. Xiren didn't care either way.  

"It's almost dark, I need to hurry and find Mythos Hall. It wouldn't be wise to stay here for too long with my limited resources." Xiren said to herself.

Using her qigong technique (áo), she propelled herself upwards and jumped from tree to tree in swift and calculated movements. By doing so, she was able to travel twice as fast up the mountain. Even without cultivation, qigong could be taught through years of training. Providentially, Xiren was trained with fundamental skills to protect herself. Wang(Chu) Meifeng loved her daughter, so she couldn't tolerate the thought of Xiren being unable to protect herself when calamity strikes. Therefore, Madame Wang (Meifeng), had Xiren go through vigorous training as a young child.

But base on her stigma, Xiren could only keep this up for an hour or so before she's completely drained. 

After a short amount of time, darkness sets in and engulfs the mountain. The only source of light that could be seen was the full moon from above.

Unable to continue in the dark, Xiren took a rest, finding shelter in a treetop.

Tomorrow I shall continue at sunrise.

Then she closed for eyes and drifted off to sleep.

.....

[LATE IN THE NIGHT]

"Aaaahhh! H-h-ha-help!" A frantic cry of young male could be heard from a distance.

"ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

*Boom*

"ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

"aaugh!"

Xiren jolted awake, sitting upright.

What now? She frowned and pulled out a dagger from her belt as the sounds of screaming and howling came closer and closer.

Unease crept up and down her spine, sending a chilly trill up to her face. Trouble is brewing, her instinct warned her as she watched the scene unfold with adequate clarity above the treetop.

Down below, a pack of gray wolves were chasing a young man relentlessly—jumping and snarling in a collective frenzy. One wolf leaps in to attack, but the young man manages to dodge and kill the wolf with a long sword. 

In seconds, two more wolves pounced at him. This time the he couldn't avoid it. Their claws tore into his robe, down to the skin and straight through. Still, the man kept on running while the pack continued to chase.

It was not long before the pack had him surrounded.

Naughty wolves, they sure love to toy with their pray, Xiren apathetically observed.

Cornered and desperate, the young man draws his last resort and activated an attack spell (using a rune).

Within seconds, hundreds of fist-size fireballs shot outwards instantaneous, injuring a few wolves in the process. However, none died due to the spell's lack of attack power. Consequently, the surrounding trees took more damage than the wolves did.