Present - The Immortal Vale - Talen Head down, lungs burning, Talen raced up the hill beside Mei Ling. They ignored the bolder at the first pagoda that would tell people where they were and carried on sprinting. Out of breath, Talen reached the top of the hill, just after Mei Ling. Ten more steps and they were unable to see back over the rise. Coughing, Talen bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. He could plant, dig and lift things all day long, but he’d never had to do much running as a farmer. The plants at the edge of the road rustled slightly like they were laughing at him. “Come on,” Mei Ling said. “We need to keep moving if we want to stay ahead of them.” With a groan, Talen stood up and started walking again, reluctantly breaking into a jog to try and put a bit of a buffer between them and the advancing horde of demons. They had three more small hills to cross before they started the long climb back up to the castle and Talen’s legs already burned from the pace. “I’m going to hang back and see if they’re gaining on us,” Mei Ling said, frowning at Talen. He had no breath to spare for talking, so he simply nodded and carried on. Mei Ling ran back the way they’d come. How she had enough energy to do that he didn’t know. Suddenly, pain erupted in the back of his left arm. Talen dropped to the ground like a stone, avoiding a second knife that sliced the space his neck had been in moments before. Exhaustion forgotten, he whirled around knocking the legs out from under two small demons. Jumping to his feet, Talen sank down, his weight on his back leg, arms out ready, waiting to see what the demons would do. The left one lunged forward with his knife. Talen flowed into Clouds Blowing in the Wind, deflecting the attack and pushing the demon off balance. Pulling Kai up through his feet, he sent a sharp blast into the demon’s back, flattening it to the ground. The second demon tried to take advantage of the distraction and stabbed at Talen’s side. He used his momentum to spin out of the way and brought his right arm up as he turned, smashing the demon in the face with his elbow. The prone one got back to its feet as its partner screamed in a language Talen didn’t understand. He took two quick steps backward to put his opponents in front of him again and waited. They both sniffed the air, eyes narrowing and nodding to each other, as if the smell came from Talen. He knew he’d broken a sweat, but he didn’t think he smelled that bad. Without warning, they charged, knives out before them. Talen turned, circling around them at the last moment so he only had to face one at a time. He grasped the knife hand of the closest one and spun into him, elbowing him in the face for the second time. As the demon reached for its face, Talen wrenched the knife out of its hand and stabbed it in what passed for a chest. The first demon went down with a gurgling cry and didn’t get back up. Talen whirled to meet the second demon. Its gaze alternated between him and the path behind them. Suddenly, it lunged at Talen. He wheeled around, narrowly avoiding the demon’s blade. With Eel Darts his Head, Talen thrust his fingers into the base of the demon’s throat. As soon as the demon lifted its arms up, he stabbed it. Clawing at its neck, it collapsed to the ground. A bright golden light erupted out of Talen as a gong sounded loudly in his ears. He shook his head, noticing a small white spot at the bottom of his vision. This time he knew what that meant. Focusing on it, words appeared in front of him. Congratulations! You have become a level 3 cultivator. He dragged the first of the two dead demons to the side of the path. Mei Ling hadn’t yet returned, so he figured he had time to try and hide them. With luck, the horde marching up the road wouldn’t realize their scouts had disappeared until it was too late. Just as he got the second one off the track, Mei Ling rushed over the crest of the hill. “We’ve got to go,” she said, running down the hill toward him. “What are you doing?” “Hiding the dead scouts,” he replied, continuing to drag the body. “Scouts?” Mei Ling came to stop beside him. “Are you going to help or not?” Talen asked. She rushed over and helped him hide the second body behind a nearby bush. “We’re going to need to run,” she said, dusting off her hands and starting to jog.” “Right behind you,” Talen said catching up. *** “Have. To. Stop,” Talen gasped as they finally reached the bottom of the hill that led back up to the castle. Crossing the river, he collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to catch his breath. Mei Ling just stood there shaking her head. “I can’t believe how weak you are,” she said, crossing her arms. “Hey,” Talen said, glaring at her. “I took out those scouts on my own, and I leveled up.” “You’re level 3 now?” Mei Ling asked, all her frustration seemingly forgotten. “That means we can go and explore Sun Long Shan.” She grinned making Talen roll his eyes. He got unsteadily to his feet, looking up at the path before them. “We have to get back to the castle and survive this first,” he said, taking the smile off her face. They started walking up the slope. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be able to see the demon horde behind them, which meant they’d be visible too. Best to conserve as much energy as possible now incase the enemy decided to speed up and chase them. Mei Ling kept glancing back and frowning, but so far they were still hidden. A loud screech split the air. Mei Ling and Talen both spun. Behind them on the top of the last hill stood the leading demons. One of them pointed at the pair on the hill ahead. Others were lifting their heads to look. All of a sudden they broke into a shambling run. “Run,” Talen shouted, grabbing Mei Ling’s hand when she just stood there with her mouth open and eyes wide. He pulled Mei Ling sharply, knocking her out of her shock. As pale as a ghost, she sprinted up the hill leaving him behind. Mumbling, Talen did his best to keep up, or at least stay ahead of the approaching horde.