Scorched Twilight

Chapter 19: False and Fallen

Lungmen

There was a haunting silence between the two, contrasted by the clash of steel made from their blades. One blade had an aura that was solid enough to cut through, the other was still in its sheath, but held beautifully against its opponent.

Ch'en and Y/n mimicked the nature their weapons. Like the fierce Chi Xiao, Ch'en's attacks kept coming, performed quickly with no sense of stopping anytime sooner. Like the elegant Ya suyi, Y/n's moves were reserved, his eyes calculating and even had a hint of playfulness, like he was toying with her without using his full capability. You could say that Y/n was like a sword still hidden in its sheath.

In terms of strength and speed, Ch'en was superior, but that didn't make the battle any easier. Y/n had the upper hand when it came to form and intuition, watching every movement of Ch'en's body to predict her next move.

Ch'en: I wasn't told you knew your way around the sword.

Y/n: We never touched upon that during our years working together. But yes, I knew the basics.

Ch'en: Yet you have a student under your wing?

Y/n: I taught him all I knew, the rest he took from others around him.

Ch'en: Then show me how much of the "basics" you really know!

Cuts ran along his arms as Ya suyi tanked Chi Xiao, the latter blade roaring at what was presumed to be anger from Ya suyi refusing to shatter.

Switching it up this time, Y/n took a turn in the offensive, purple flames bursting around his arms, black scale-like armour grew from his skin. With Ya suyi in one hand and a pistol in the other, he took a swing at Ch'en, who dodged and weaved like a piece of string in the wind, each time she dodged, he would aim and shoot at spots where he predicted to where she would move, earning him a few bullets grazing her body.

Y/n: Elusive as always...

Ch'en: My Chi Xiao will devour you even before your bullet penetrates my body.

Y/n: It's a test of endurance then, seeing as that sword of yours will also worsen your... condition.

He placed a lot of emphasis in the last word of his sentence, Ch'en caught the oddity and immediately knew what he meant.

Ch'en:...

Y/n: As your Assistant Head, having access to your financial records can reveal a lot of secrets. Swire bought over 10 purses this month, Hoshiguma purchased a phone before filing a complaint to the company that the phone was too fragile to hold. Yours was interesting, a large sum of money was being taken out weekly to Mama John's, and I don't think you were that into pizza to eat it every week nor were you going through the hassle of buying it in secret. So my next guess was obvious: you bought drugs.

Ch'en: Then how did you figure out my relationship with Talulah?

Y/n: Oh. Wei told me.

Ch'en: What...?

Y/n: Nothing!

Y/n blocked another slash from Chi Xiao, but blood gushed from his armoured arm like he had been hit, the rush of adrenaline temporarily numbing the pain. He shot three more times a different places, preparing a fourth shot before nothing, a fake out meant to bring Ch'en into position, he swung Ya suyi at her shoulder. Due to the blade being sheathed, he did not cut through her but merely bruised her shoulder.

Y/n: Got'cha bitch. Even you can't perfectly control your own speed.

Ch'en: Tch. Crafty bastard, you were good with a gun but I never expected you to be decent with a sword.