Chapter 22: Jiang Xue

"You wretched girl!"

Staring at the short dagger that gleamed with a poisonous blue sheen, Ji Hao gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his chest. His hands darted out like swimming fish. The fingers of his left hand flicked and pressed against the girl's wrist—there was a sharp crack as her wrist dislocated, leaving her hand limp and powerless. Ji Hao's right hand thrust forward, as swift as lightning, landing squarely on the girl's chest. His fingers splayed, and a violent burst shot from his palm.

A thunderous boom shook the small courtyard as flames erupted from Ji Hao's palm. The girl cried out in pain, a jet of blood spurting from her delicate lips. Dense yellow runes surfaced across the beast-hide armor she wore, and a solid, earthen force wrapped protectively around her slight frame.

Though Ji Hao's first strike wounded her, the subsequent killing blow was absorbed by the runes on her armor. His fingers struck sparks against the yellow barrier, unable to harm her any further.

The girl stumbled back in panic. Ji Hao let out a sharp whistle, leaping forward and advancing with unwavering focus.

The ground trembled subtly. With each of Ji Hao's steps, the earth for several yards around rippled as if disturbed by water. The girl's footing was thrown into chaos by the quaking ground—her feet tangled, and she tumbled helplessly to the dirt.

Wide-eyed with terror, she glanced down at the scorched beast-hide over her chest, then glared fearfully at Ji Hao, whose murderous intent was palpable. "I'm Jiang Xue of the Bi Fang tribe! My father is Elder Jiang Zhu of the Bi Fang! You lowly brat, how dare you hurt me?"

Ji Hao's gaze sharpened at her declaration, but he continued his relentless approach, murmuring the secret incantations of the Fire Crow tribe under his breath.

In the Southern Wilds, the difference between shamans and elders of the tribes was often ambiguous. Many powerful elders held both titles. In essence, shamans specialized in communing with spirits and ancestors, mastering myriad mysterious and formidable spells, making them the pinnacle of a tribe's martial strength. Elders, meanwhile, governed the people, settling disputes and distributing the spoils of the hunt—handling the tribe's concrete affairs. In terms of rank, full-time shamans stood above elders, but elders remained among the tribe's most powerful figures.

Jiang Xue’s father was an elder of the Bi Fang?

"So what if your father’s an elder of the Bi Fang?" Ji Hao strode up to her, looming overhead as he barked, "According to the laws of the Southern Wilds, you entered my home uninvited. I have every right to kill you!"

"How dare you!" Jiang Xue shrieked in panic, her eyes flashing with anger. "My father is Jiang Zhu, the tenth-ranked elder of the Bi Fang! Do you dare lay a finger on me?"

She paused, breathless, then shouted, "You killed Ji Wu! He was engaged to me just last year! You murdered him. Is it not right that I avenge him?"

"Ha!" Ji Hao arched an eyebrow in surprise. So this fierce girl burst into his courtyard and attacked him while he was communing with the shadow, all to avenge that dead Ji Wu?

"It was Ji Wu’s own father, Ji Shu, who killed him with his own hands! What does that have to do with me?" Ji Hao retorted, jabbing a finger at Jiang Xue. "You have no grounds for vengeance. If I kill you today, even your Bi Fang elders will have to concede I’m justified."

Jiang Xue’s expression shifted, then suddenly morphed into a delighted grin.

Ji Hao’s instincts screamed a warning. Suddenly, a sinister wind swept up behind him. He quickly formed a hand seal, chanted a spell, and his body erupted like a burning wick—scattering into countless sparks that reassembled seven or eight yards away. The fiery motes converged, and Ji Hao’s figure reappeared.

A brawny warrior, who had just been holding down Fat Bear, now stood in shock where Ji Hao had been, a steel sword thrust at a slant. Had Ji Hao not dodged so quickly, that blade would have pierced his heart.

But Ji Hao moved too swiftly—even Jiang Xue and the warrior hadn’t seen how he did it.

"You’re just a lowly shaman apprentice!" the warrior cried out in fear. "I'm at the peak of the Lesser Shaman realm, and you evaded my ambush? Damn it, they say you’re the greatest genius the Fire Crow tribe’s seen in a thousand years?"

Jiang Xue glared at Ji Hao, her jealousy plain.

Just now, Ji Hao’s body had dispersed into sparks, becoming an insubstantial wraith before fleeing—that was clearly a profound shamanic spell. Only shamans at least at the Lesser Shaman realm could perform such feats. Warriors without shamanic talent, no matter how strong, could not wield such mysterious arts.

Yet Ji Hao was only a shaman initiate, his bloodline powers not even awakened, and he could already cast such secret techniques?

Jiang Xue’s pretty face twisted with disbelief, her rosy lips turning pale as she stared at Ji Hao as if he were her mortal enemy. "How is this possible? I am supposed to be the genius of the Bi Fang! I am already at the peak of the twelfth level of shaman apprentice, yet even I can't..."

Ji Hao glanced at her in surprise. This ruthless girl possessed the strength of a twelfth-level shaman apprentice? She looked even younger than Ji Shu by a year or two, yet her power was so formidable? No wonder the Bi Fang was the most powerful tribe in the Southern Wilds—the resources enjoyed by the children of their elders were beyond the imagination of those in the Fire Crow tribe.

"They say I’m the Fire Crow’s brightest hope in a thousand years to become a Shaman King," Ji Hao replied arrogantly, shooting her a sidelong glance. "I began learning secret shamanic arts from the shamans three months after I was born. At three years old, I cast my first spell—Summon Venomous Insects."

He smiled coldly. "So, you bring people to attack me in my own home—does the Bi Fang wish to suppress our Fire Crow tribe? Do you mean to snuff out the rise of a Fire Crow Shaman King? The shamans of my tribe will not let this go lightly."

Jiang Xue’s face paled abruptly. She cast Ji Hao a panicked look, gritted her teeth, and sprang to her feet, her eyes flickering with indecision.

Ji Hao’s argument was solid. Any conflict involving two powerful tribes would escalate into a serious matter.

Jiang Xue, caught off guard by his words, was thrown into confusion—she had never encountered such a situation and didn’t know how to respond.

Meanwhile, Fat Bear struggled furiously behind them. With one peak Lesser Shaman warrior distracted, the remaining men could hardly restrain the beast. Suddenly, Fat Bear let out a roar, flinging two warriors far into the air. Before they could rise, its massive paw slammed down like a mountain, caving in their chests and sending them flying, blood gushing from their mouths.

Fat Bear lumbered to its feet, swinging its huge paws and roaring menacingly at Jiang Xue, thick saliva dripping from its jaws. Its little eyes now blazed red—it was thoroughly enraged.

"Ji Hao, I, Jiang Xue, will not let you go," she snarled, fixing him with a venomous glare. "I didn’t come to avenge Ji Wu today. I came on behalf of my aunt, Jiang Yao, to visit your injured parents."

She sneered coldly, her voice icy. "I came here out of goodwill to visit your sick family, and you let your war beast maul my guards. I will tell my aunt all about this."

The glow of her beast-hide armor faded. Jaw clenched, Jiang Xue stalked from the courtyard with her battered guards, turning back to glare at Ji Hao with every step.

Ji Hao watched her retreat, his heart heavy as lead.

The ancestral ceremony was not yet over. Ji Shu had not officially become the tribe's chief warrior, and already the suppression and retribution had begun?

***

Monday! Where are those recommendation votes?