The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Five

Shu Haolin had to keep fighting. That was what her shifu had told her to do, and that was exactly what she did as the second wave of demonic cultivators came in. Her sword was merciless, and each stab seemed not to gratify the hate in her heart, but rather increase it tenfold. All the disciples seemed to be on death's door, their steps staggering and slow as they fought for their lives, but Shu Haolin felt her blood boil, energy surging in her veins, growing more and more powerful.

From the sky came the rumble of thunder. Clouds gathered, thick and dark, roiling with energy, a sign of an incoming heavenly trial, and as Shu Haolin glanced towards the sky, a derisive sneer curled her lips.

"Come at me!" She screamed as she pulled her sword out of another one of the countless demonic cultivator's chests. It was unclear if she was screaming at the demonic cultivators, or heaven itself. As if in response, the first bolt of heavenly lightning split the skies, hitting Shu Haolin squarely in the back, forcing her to kneel on one knee. She felt her entire body tremble, and a mouthful of blood came loose, dripping from her lips. The spiritual energy in her meridians was going crazy, and she shook her head, seeing double. An incoming demonic cultivator made her push herself to her feet and resume fighting, but she had only killed one demonic cultivator before a second bolt of lightning caused her to stumble to the ground. Blood stained her teeth and gave her a strangely savage look as she slowly crawled back to her feet. The same pattern repeated over and over again, and after the eighth bolt of lightning struck, she lay on the ground, unmoving.

The clouds in the sky rumbled lowly, and the clouds thickened and gathered even tighter. A blinding light flashed, and at the same time, Shu Haolin pointed her sword towards the sky, taking it head on, using the power of the heavenly lightning bolt to forcefully subdue the spiritual energy in her body and condense it into a golden core. Agony stretched to her fingertips, and a wordless scream tore from her throat, and all of a sudden all was dark again. The lightning bolt had been absorbed into Shu Haolin's body, then exploded outwards with violence, killing all of the demonic cultivators in a ten-meter radius around her. At the same time, the sword in her hand shattered. A sharp shard of the metal scraped by her cheek, and it carved a line into her face, like the tear track of a drop of blood.

The hilt lay on the ground. Shu Haolin's flesh was severely battered and red, and as the healing rain beat down, regrowing the flesh on her bones, Shu Haolin picked up the hilt of the sword. She could see a part of her face reflected in the remaining metal attached to the hilt, a bloody tear track and a red eye reflected in the shiny surface, her mouth slightly parted.

Shu Haolin refused to open the door to her parents' knocking. Multiple martial arts manuals were scattered all over the floor, in various states of disarray, as well as other belongings. It was clear that there had been a fight just previously in that room.

"I won't! I won't learn medicine! You can't make me! I want to be a sword cultivator!" She cried out. "I won't learn medicine!"

"Lin-er, just open the door. Mom just wants to talk to you, okay?"

Shu Haolin crossed her arms. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was slightly messy, but it only added to her boyish look. She refused to answer.

"Lin-er, I brought you something. Don't you want to know what it is?"

Shu Haolin's mouth was pinched into a thin line.

"Alright, if you don't say anything, Mom will come in, okay? I'm coming in now..."

The door rattled a little as her mother pushed it open. Shu Haolin had her back resolutely turned to her mother.

"Won't you take a look at what I brought you? I'm sure you'll like it very much."

"I won't learn medicine!" Shu Haolin repeated.