Rain was falling in sheets. The darkening sky flashed with lightning, showing white fangs as long as Yu’s forearm in a mouth large enough to consume her tiny form in one bite. The boom of thunder that followed caused the puddles of water to ripple and her ears to ring.

Forcing herself onto her side, Yu watched the mighty beast stalk forward.

Wait. Something isn’t right with it.

The Jing cultivators were looking at each other, and particularly at Jing Wei, hoping for instructions. Their distraction meant Yu was the first to realize that the beast was limping, a jagged wound lay open on its side, with awful black veins running through it. The wound oozed black blood, staining the beast’s white coat.

Black blood and veins?

One of the group spoke through the falling rain. “It’s huge! It has to be at least grade 4.”

Yu’s mind was still too groggy to work out what that meant.

Another said, “We need to leave. If it goes for the freak first, we can get away.”

A blast of lightning and crack of thunder shook the trees, causing some of the teenagers to stumble where they stood. But it also illuminated the long bleeding gash on the tiger’s side, which exposed white ribs and dark flowing blood.

Jing Wei noticed the wounds for the first time and yelled while pointing, “Look, it’s injured. Badly.”

The others stared as the tiger wobbled slightly on its four massive legs, barely able to stand. “This is too good an opportunity. It can barely stand, never mind fight,” the ambitious young heir said.

“I don’t know, Jing Wei. It is much stronger—” one of the others said nervously.

“Can you imagine the accolades we would receive if we brought that thing’s body back?” Jing Wei spoke over his companion, greed evident in his voice. The group’s ambitious leader did not want to let the chance pass. “The beast core must be worth 50,000 silver by itself!”

Seeing that the others were wavering, Jing Wei carried on. “Think of the rewards my family would share. And the face we would earn! You would instantly gain standing in the clan.”

The same greed began flashing in the eyes of Jing Wei’s cronies, and they began to eye the tiger with ambition instead of fear.

“Jing Wei is right,” said the largest.

One with a spear followed that with, “It’s nearly collapsing.”

Still sprawled on the forest floor, Yu’s mind was barely clear enough to focus on the mighty beast. But somehow, it still drew her gaze. It was beautiful. Might and majesty radiated from its form, despite its wobble and limp.

Yu’s mind was groggy. She knew demonic beasts were dangerous. Cultivators fought them to protect the city. But in her addled state, she felt a kind of kinship with the battered animal. They were both crippled. Both unwanted. She wished she could help it. But there was nothing someone like her could do.

Without thinking of her words, she moaned out, “You can heal it. Like you did me.”

Jing Wei yelled over the rain, “The freak wants to help a beast. She’s a traitor as well as trash. Or maybe she is as crippled in the head as she is in the body.”

Then he looked at the others and ordered, “Circle it. Spears, pin it down at range. When it moves to strike, sword-wielders attack. Cycle the entire time. Just like we practiced.”

The six young teenagers moved forward and attempted to surround the creature, keeping their weapons trained on it the entire time. The tiger attempted to move away to avoid being surrounded, but its condition caused one of its legs to collapse out from under it, almost forcing it to fall before it regained its footing. This gave the group of humans time to surround it, laughing and cheering at its weakness.

The beast straightened and roared in defiance, but the move lacked Qi and thus any true force. Once again, the group of humans rejoiced in their inevitable victory.

“Now!” Jing Wei yelled.

Yu could only watch as three spear-wielders, spread around the tiger in a triangle, thrust their weapons forward. The one closest to the creature’s head stared in shock as his spear was caught in midair and pressed into the earth, snapped in half by a massive front paw.

This distraction, however, granted the other two the opportunity to pierce the beast’s beautiful hide from the side and rear. The steel could barely even make an impression in the robust fur coat, but the spear-wielder on the side hit the vulnerable, wounded area. The beast roared in pain and fury, causing it to step off the remains of the front spear and turn toward the person who had further injured it.

Yu saw that the tiger was fighting a losing battle, much like she had been doing moments before. Like she had done every day of her life. Yu knew she was not thinking straight, but its distress saddened her. That such a mighty creature should be brought low by these awful Jing – it wasn’t right. Yu attempted to struggle to her feet but fell back into the mud.

“Swords, now!” Jing Wei yelled as he and the other two teenagers leaped forward and brought their blades down in a slashing motion. With two flashes of white, the other two teenagers were launched away as – faster than any of them could follow – one front paw swung outward. It sent the healer girl tumbling through the air and into the mud at the edge of the clearing. The other Jing grunted as the air was forcibly propelled from his lungs, and he was also thrown into the distance at the same moment by a rear paw kicking backward and striking him in the chest.

Watching from her position crumpled in the mud, and still struggling to stand, Yu whispered, “Why aren’t you using your claws?”

It made no sense. Beasts were dangerous, they would kill if provoked. Often with great ease. Yet this massive beast seemed to be holding back.

Perhaps it was just Yu’s barely conscious mind playing tricks on her.

Jing Wei was now the only remaining sword-wielder, and his next strike slammed into the creature’s weakened ribs. The tiger roared and stumbled, this time much worse than before, nearly falling. Seeing this, the two remaining spear-users struck again at the creature’s vulnerable wound. Another roar of pain rent the water-logged air. Yu could see that the tiger’s strength was waning. Its injuries and blood loss were preventing it from moving fast enough to avoid its assailants.

Yu realized the creature was about to fall. It wasn’t right. Perhaps she was worthless, but she refused to accept that such a majestic creature would fall to these poor excuses for cultivators. People like them had tormented Yu for her entire life. Yet she had never complained. She had borne the pain and shame because, deep down, she knew she deserved it. Because she was corrupted. Useless. She was a lost cause. But this beast, this mighty, beautiful creature, was not. She had to do something. Anything.

Gathering every meager bit of energy she had, Yu rose to her knees. With a great effort, she raised one leg and pressed down with barely enough force to push herself onto her feet. Then she started her slow plod toward the fight.

Yu saw the tiger swipe a paw and knock a spear-wielding teenager aside. Blinking back tears of pain and exhaustion, she realized only Jing Wei and one other remained standing. She wobbled forward just as they both charged the staggering creature. Jing Wei’s sword was knocked from his hand by a frantic paw. The other youth stabbed his spear into the creature’s torn and weeping injury.

As he did so, the tiger’s strength gave out, although one last wave of its mighty paw sent the last spear-wielding Jing stumbling into the mud. Then the beast itself finally fell, landing on its side in some puddles of pooling rainwater.

Panting and struggling in the deep mud, Jing Wei approached the beast and laughed. He had no weapon, but the beast was prone and vulnerable.

“I will be the heir now!” he cried. “And nobody will speak of me with anything but awe.”

He reached forward and pulled the spear free from the beast’s bleeding wound. The yanking motion caused a whimper from the mighty tiger. The five others who had been knocked down or away were starting to rise and approach. None of them paid attention to the cripple who was slowly making her way toward them.

Lightning struck and thunder boomed as Jing Wei looked at the others and yelled, “The heavens have shown their favor. Mark this moment in your memory!”

He took a single step forward to stand over the creature’s head, lifting the spear high and thrusting downward toward its single visible eye. Yet just before the spear landed its fatal blow, Yu’s tiny muddy form came flying in unseen, and struck the boy in the back of the knees. He collapsed backward into the mud, his limbs flailing and the spear flying from his hand.

Yu’s skin-and-bones body rolled in the mud and came to a stop in front of the beast’s gigantic head. She was gasping for air, having used all her breath and energy to get there in time.

“You fucking little bitch! You freakish cripple! How dare you?!” Jing Wei climbed to his feet, cursing and screaming, a crazy gleam in his eyes. He slipped once in the mud and then managed to stand. He stomped over to Yu, splattering mud with each step.

When he reached her side, he swung his leg back and then kicked her in the ribs. Yu, even through the fog and exhaustion, felt the blazing fire as pain exploded anew. She heard and felt the snap and crunch as her ribs cracked and broke. She coughed up blood, curling onto her side just as another kick struck her stomach. Scrunching herself up around her middle, she tried to cry out, but only blood spewed from her mouth. Everything darkened except for the flashing lights of the storm above as Jing Wei kicked her in the face, breaking her nose and cracking her skull.

“You disgusting filth! I’ll—”

Jing Wei’s threats were cut off as another flash of lightning illuminated the now standing tiger. Its weakness apparently forgotten, the beast stood straight and proud. Its eyes were glowing a deep blue while the rest of its body was glowing a swirling green and brown. It opened its mouth and roared a sound of such might that even the thunder was silenced for a moment, and the young cultivators were all thrown backward. Yu wasn’t affected, but whether intentionally or not she did not know. Perhaps, broken as she was, the beast did not consider her a threat. Her mind was numb, barely able to process the scene. Blood and her head injury obscured her vision.

The young cultivators screamed.

“Shit! It’s using Qi now. Run!”

None of them would survive even a single blow of Qi from a beast this powerful. Even Jing Wei knew that, so he turned around and ran from the clearing, leaving Yu alone with the mighty beast.

Yu simply watched them go. In the floating place beyond pain that her mind had retreated to, she felt slightly annoyed. Her inability to move worked in the Jings’ favor. Like they had said before, if the beast took the time to eat her, they might be able to escape its fury.