It was well past midnight; about the time I'd thought someone might make their move that I noticed activity. I was surprised that there were two people until I realized they weren't working together. Both of the people were skulking, making use of the night to inch their way towards Healer Hut.

The person in the lead was masked, but because he hadn't bothered to change his clothing or shoes, the disguise was inept, and Thomas was easily identifiable. The person following behind was Matriarch Helena. She had left the underhang where she had hidden and was taking additional pains to ensure that Thomas would not notice or realize he was being followed.

Once Thomas reached Healer's Hut, he paused, spending a considerable amount of time listening at the door before skirting the side of the building. Creeping, his motions careful and methodical, he made his way to a first-floor window. Peering in, I could only assume he wanted to check Anya's condition or make certain that no one else was there.

It was amazing how detailed my extended Qi perception was. The mental picture I was able to construct based on air fluctuations, differences in temperature and the increase or decrease in ambient Qi levels allowed me to construct a detailed picture of events. My perception would only increase as I gained Realms, but even at this stage my awareness and my ability to filter and understand the information that perception was collecting was impressive.

Thomas paused for the longest time at a back window; watching, evaluating the scene within. Helena had wisely chosen to stand in a recessed doorway at a house nearby. She had a clear enough line of sight from her position, that only one side of the Healer's Hut was hidden. She was able to see the rear entrance but would have to reposition if Thomas decided to move, choosing another method of egress.

Thomas seemed satisfied at what he was able to see, a tension that had been noticeably dispersed as he relaxed his vigilance. A new sense of purpose, a conviction to act replaced any hesitation and uncertainty that had he had been telegraphing, his fear replaced with resolve. Newly determined, his posture firmed, and he abandoned stealth for action.

He was still crafty enough not to be obvious since he was at the back door of Healer's Hut, he was safely out of view. The door was unlocked, and he opened the door carefully paying attention to any squeaks or groans that might be made. Entering the building, he left the door open, knowing there was no need to obscure the light, the building's position making it unlikely any neighbor might notice.

Helena took that as her cue and moved, rushing forward, she entered via the same door, her passage much easier because of Thomas's ineptitude. I thought about letting the drama play out, not intervening and waiting to see what would happen, but decided that it was best to just end this farce now before the Matriarch or the Healer were injured.

Hoping down from the roof, I narrowed my expanded Qi, focusing my expanded perception the tightened field allowed me to focus on the activities inside the hut. I chose to use the front door, reasoning that if Matriarch Helena managed to gain his attention, coming in from behind, my coming in from the front would allow me an element of surprise.

A strategy I was practicing even though it was not necessary. Thomas was not a cultivator, he didn't have the reactions or martial techniques to defend himself against me, but I had reasoned when I first decided on this venture, to treat Thomas as if he were a powerful cultivator. If I built good habits now when I needed caution and thoughtful response they would be ingrained as part of my operating procedure.

There was also the real possibility that he had used some of his ill-gotten gains to purchase attack and defensive arrays and formations. It wouldn't be the first time a Cultivator was surprised when a non-cultivator used tools to level the playing field.

"You might as well take off the mask, Thomas," Helena said drawing his attention. "I know it's you. I followed Lenna earlier. I was outside, listening, while you discussed killing the bandit, the only thing I don't understand is why."

Thomas wasn't the kind of villain that spent long moments gloating and pontificating. He had no intention of answering Helena. Striking with a knife, something he used when butchering animals, he aimed for a killing blow. Helena wasn't entirely defenseless, no one who wore a Hanfu and had trained using the flowing garments to confuse and deflect an attack was completely defenseless. And even non-cultivators trained in rudimentary defensive abilities.

Her movements were jerky, none of the dance-like quality and fluidity that I strove to perfect, but they were effective. The sleeves of her Hanfu confounding the knife blade and tangling Thomas's arm. His only choice was to switch to wrestling attacks, releasing the knife and allowing it to be engulfed in the folds of Helena's garments.

As he changed position hoping to use his size and strength to overpower her, I attacked. The room was too small for some of the bigger movements I had learned. [White Crane Opens Wing] and [Spin and Dive Into the Ocean] were most effective when outdoors where I had room, but there were [Tessenjutsu] forms and Kata's that were ideal in limited or tight spaces.

[Thunder Strikes the Mountain] used the momentum from twisting my body, transitioning from standing with legs apart to a twisted almost kneeling position with legs crossed. As I unfolded, twisting my body and extending my arm, the fan snapped open. I had guided the Qi so that the energy, including the kinetic energy of motion, was gathered, the twisting motion storing the momentum.

When I struck, the fan extended and snapping open, deciding the outcome of this exchange before Thomas had any idea I was in the room. [Thunder Strikes the Mountain] could have been a killing move. My ambush was perfectly performed so that he had no time or chance to even put up a token defense. If I had aimed for his neck instead of his shoulder, I would have decapitated him.

Instead, I severed his arm.

I think my face may have been as full of surprise and wonder as Matriarch Helena's. I had never used these martial skills in real fights, only sparring with blunted weapons or against training dummies. Without the ability to hone the body that cultivation offered, the Qi enhanced edges of the steel spines and garroted edge of fabric met no resistance. Even the bone in Thomas's arm offered no impediment, the Tessen meeting no obstruction.

Helena was the first to react to the newly severed arm. Arterial blood began spurting, drenching her in a liquid fountain of red. Her scream and attempt to disentangle herself from Thomas frantic. Her actions jump-started Thomas's brain, processing and registering the neural impulses that cataloged what had happened to his body. He released a keening wail of despair and pain.

The sharpness of my fan blades and spines had been perfected and crafted until an edge had been produced on the micro-molecular level. This was only possible with the use of Blacksmith techniques that used Qi, Dharmic spells, and forging arrays. Techniques that allowed the tempering of metal to be forged by a craftsman in minute detail.

As sharp and powerful as my weapons were, they were still only basic weapons. It wasn't until I could afford a spirit item that I would have graduated into the beginning stages of real power and wealth. But the use of Qi as part of my techniques made a qualitative difference to the efficacy of the weapon.

I cast around the room, cataloging the supplies Anya had available. Finding enough cloth and a tourniquet, I quickly applied pressure and managed to get Thomas's blood loss under control. I regretted my actions, but more for financial reasons than because of any type of moral vacillation. I would have to donate another of my restorative pills unless I was willing to allow Thomas to die, I doubted the healer was skilled enough to deal with this if I didn't.

That is if she could be roused. With all noise and commotion that we had been making, she was still sleeping soundly on a cot tucked into a back corner of the room.

"You might want to check on Anya," I suggested to the Matriarch. "I think Lenna may have drugged her earlier. Find out if you can wake her, or if Thomas here is going to have to bleed out." I had the bleeding under control, there was no real danger of him bleeding out, but he didn't know that. And perhaps the fear of death might loosen a tongue.

At least loose enough to let us know what they'd drugged Anya with, and if there was a panacea that was effective for purging the toxins she'd imbibed.