The monk stepped forward, eyes locked on Kai.
“You know, any other monk would’ve died on the spot,” he said, as his twisted neck popped and shifted back to normal. “But lucky for you, I can control every muscle in my body. There’s not a single fiber that doesn’t follow my will.”
“Lucky for me?”
Kai muttered, not breaking eye contact.
The monk looked him over from head to toe with unsettling calm. Maddie, still on the floor, tried to push herself up with her one working arm, but failed.
Then it happened. The air turned heavy. Sound dropped off. A warm breeze swept across the room in a way that made no sense. The sun was no longer on the horizon.
And for the first time… the monk’s smile disappeared. His serious face was even more terrifying as he turned toward the street.
"I lingered too long," he muttered to himself. "Forgot you’re not just mine… that other sinners must’ve sensed your pulse too."
He spread his feet apart and stretched his fingers—rigid as blades.
Kai didn’t have time to speak.
He clenched his fist. If he had snapped the monk’s neck before… maybe, just maybe, if he used every ounce of strength and adrenaline left in his body, he could take off his head. Or at least knock him out long enough to grab Maddie and run—before the monk recovered.
The monk stepped forward. The air tightened. For a brief second, they locked eyes.
Kai struck with everything he had. The force of it shattered the air around him, snow blasting up like an explosion in the shape of his punch.
But he missed.
The monk ducked, dodging the blow by mere inches. And for a split second, there was something like concern in his eyes. He didn’t hesitate.
He attacked.
His fingers shot forward like knives, stabbing clean through Kai’s abdomen with surgical precision.
Blood splattered across the street. The impact shredded Kai’s insides—his organs torn apart and spilled onto the ground in chunks. When the monk withdrew his arm, Kai dropped to his knees. His guts slid out of the gaping wound, trembling in the freezing air.
He couldn’t think. Couldn’t even feel the pain.
It was like his entire nervous system had just gone dark.
Only a choked groan escaped his throat as blood began to pour again—this time from his nose, ears, mouth. But it was different now. There was no more panic. Just… numbness. Like his body had already begun giving up.
Why am I still conscious?
It was the only thought that crossed his mind.
Maddie screamed with everything she had. Tears ran down her face as she tried to crawl to him. Her injured arm was useless, but the other reached out, desperate.
The monk turned toward her, his smile widening, his face covered in blood. He looked like a hunter who had just brought down a white rhino.
"You should’ve taken my offer, miss," he said, brushing blood off his robes.
Maddie stared back at him—rage in her eyes, but also pure, soul-crushing fear. She kept crying, screaming, unable to stop. Every sound seemed to irritate him more.
He grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her back against the wall. She kept struggling, but it was no use. The hit had left her half-numb.
The monk raised the same hand that had pierced through Kai. His fingers tensed, blade-like once more.
"It’s time to be quiet," he said, smiling again—but this time the grin was even sicker than before. His eyes were glowing.
"A reincarnation and a sacrifice, all in one day… What a glorious offering for my lord."
He fixed his gaze on her neck. His eyes gleamed.
Maddie screamed even louder. She screamed like it might somehow bring help—or stop time itself.
"Your head will make a fine offering, I think," the monk said.
"Don’t—" Kai tried to shout, but his voice cracked. His lips moved, but not even a whisper came out. Air slipped from his lungs, his vision blurred, and all he could smell was blood.
The monk, overcome with ecstasy, struck.
Blood exploded in every direction.
The sobs stopped.
But...
Maddie’s head was still there. Her neck untouched. Her face, frozen in shock, was soaked in blood but unbroken. Her eyes wide. Locked in place.
Then the temperature spiked—suddenly and violently. It felt like summer had arrived all at once.
The snow around them melted instantly as the monk’s smile vanished… and his severed arm hit the ground with a wet
thump
.
The monk let out a scream that surely echoed all the way to Kansas. His face twisted grotesquely as he clutched the stump, trying to stop the bleeding.
The scream snapped Maddie out of her shock. All at once, she was sweating. The air grew thick, heavy. A sharp smell of sulfur filled the street, and the heat kept rising uncontrollably.
Kai lifted his gaze with what little strength he had left. And he honestly didn’t know what shocked him more:
That the person standing beside Maddie was wearing nothing but an unbuttoned shirt in the middle of winter…
That it was the same strange guy from earlier that afternoon…
Or that he was, quite literally, engulfed in flames.
"Hey, monkey," the young man said, voice calm and confident, a smile tugging at his lips. "Nice to see you again."
Maddie stood frozen. The guy looked like he’d stepped out of a comic book—light skin, sharp Asian features, rebellious energy radiating off him.
If she hadn’t been soaked in blood, with a broken arm and teetering on the edge of a full mental collapse, she probably would’ve screamed like her anime crush had just walked out of the screen.
But right now… all she could do was shake, struggling to stay conscious.
The boy looked around the scene. When he saw Kai bleeding out and Maddie barely holding on, his smile vanished.
He hadn’t really taken in what was happening—he’d just shown up and maimed the one who
looked
dangerous.
His eyes lit up with fury.
"Sorry," he said, voice tight with irritation and frustration at himself. "Guess I showed up a little late."
He opened his hand.
A spear materialized in his palm, nearly six feet long. The metal was dark, but its blade was laced with gold, and glowing orange flames surged along its edge.
“But don’t worry,” the boy said casually. “I’ll make sure you both get out of here alive.”
The monk stumbled back, suddenly pale.
“You… you’re not supposed to be here. That’s impossible…”
His voice shook. The bleeding from his stump had stopped, but now his entire body was trembling. The boy grinned at the sight of his terrified face—there was no trace left of that grotesque, smug smile.
In desperation, the monk threw a talisman marked with strange symbols. It exploded in a burst of golden light. The walls trembled. The ground cracked beneath them.
For a moment, the monk exhaled in relief.
Until he looked toward Maddie.
She was surrounded by an ethereal shield—completely unharmed by the blast.
Then, without warning, his legs collapsed beneath him.
His face slammed against the ground. He turned his head slightly. Two flaming gashes now burned across his calves, fresh and deep. The blood pouring from them hissed and steamed, nearly evaporating on contact with the air.
And the boy… was already kneeling next to Kai.
Kai looked up at him, dazed. His body felt like it was burning from the inside, but the heat radiating off the stranger—it was warm. Comforting. Familiar, even.
That illusion shattered the moment the guy opened his mouth.
“Damn, that’s one clean hit. Is this what they call a fashion-model liposuction?”
The boy pulled something out of his pocket—a piece of fruit, amber-colored, like a dried mango.
“Didn’t expect you to get wrecked this bad by a second-rate monk,” he said mockingly, holding it up to Kai’s lips. “Technically I’m not supposed to give you this during your transition, but you’ll be dead in like a minute, and I’m all out of ibuprofen, so—here.”
Kai didn’t ask. He swallowed the fruit despite how irritating this guy was. What did it matter now? He was pretty sure he’d already lost most of his stomach. Literally.
“That should do the trick… Even without a digestive system. Let’s hope you don’t catch fire from the inside.”
“YOU BASTARD!!” the monk howled, managing to stand. “You’re not allowed in this plane!”
“Oh, I’m not?” the boy replied, turning slowly toward him. He raised the spear again. His grin returned—this time, laced with pure hatred.
“Gods can’t be in this plane!” the monk shouted, pulling another talisman from his trembling hands. “You’re breaking the rules, you son of—!”
A flash of flame cut him off.
A wave of fire burst across the alley.
And the boy appeared on the other side, casually stepping through the smoke.
“As if I’d be part of
those
old bastards,” he whispered.
The monk’s head hit the ground, his face frozen in stunned disbelief. And at last, the rest of his body followed.
The boy turned back to Kai and Maddie, smiling again—calm, relaxed.
“Well, at least neither of you ended up…
seriously
hurt,” the boy said, then gave the monk’s severed head a casual kick, sending it rolling like a soccer ball.
Kai had no idea what to say. He still had a gaping hole in his stomach, so that seemed like a bold statement.
Then, with a surprisingly gentle expression, the boy extended his hand toward Maddie.
She hesitated—still trembling—but took it cautiously. A soft cry escaped her as she tried to stand; her arm hung twisted at her side and her ribs were on fire. Tears welled up again from the pain, but this time there was no need to scream.
“We need to take you both to the Mountain of Flowers,” the boy said calmly. His voice was so soft and steady it made Maddie feel safe just hearing it. “Sorry, but I can’t give you the same thing I gave him. You’re mortal, after all.”
He tapped her forehead lightly with two fingers.
Instantly, she collapsed—unconscious, eyes rolled back.
The boy caught her carefully and laid her down with precision, cradling her head so it wouldn’t hit the ground.
“Hey!” Kai shouted, alarmed.
The boy turned to him, still calm as ever.
“Relax. She’s just asleep. It’s faster than letting her cry through the pain and trying to explain why we’re about to head to China.”
“
WHAT?
” Kai tried to scoot away as the boy approached. “Don’t you
dare
knock me out!”
The boy raised his hands in mock surrender, not losing his composure for a second, and stepped back.
The boy raised his hands in mock surrender, not losing his composure for a second, and stepped back.
“I won’t force you,” he said. “But I’ll tell you this—what I gave you? It’s only temporary. Your body can’t handle the energy of an Immortal Peach.”
His tone had shifted—more serious now, almost solemn. Something in his voice told Kai he wasn’t joking.
“I can only treat you somewhere with the right resources. And for the record, there’s no place in the mortal world that can save you. So… what do you say?”
Kai froze.
He
felt
okay… but he definitely hadn’t forgotten the part where a monk had rammed a hand through his gut.
“…Fine,” he muttered, voice shaky but trying to sound firm. “But don’t even
think
about knocking me out.”
The boy nodded. Then, with almost absurd ease, he hoisted Maddie over his shoulders. His expression was blank—almost nihilistic—which only made his sharp features stand out more.
He’s so annoyingly good-looking,
Kai thought, clenching his jaw.
The boy reached into his clothes and pulled out a talisman, which he placed on the ground.
Instantly, a glowing magic circle formed beneath them, inscribed with Chinese characters Kai couldn’t begin to understand.
“What is this…?” he asked, suddenly realizing—he could finally speak again.
When he looked down at his abdomen, he realized the hole was gone. The wound had almost completely closed. His muscles were still partially exposed, but the skin was visibly regenerating—right before his eyes and at a ridiculous speed.
“Don’t panic. I’ll explain everything once we’re at your place,” the boy said as he adjusted the markings on the talisman. Then he added, “Your
spiritual
home, not your earthly one.”
Kai sighed, too drained to argue. He felt like if he said one more word, he’d just pass out on the spot.
Still, he pushed himself to ask one last thing.
“Why do you talk to me like we’re friends? You barely know me. At least tell me… who are you?”
His body, though dizzy, felt strangely full of energy. Almost… new.
The boy turned his head, flashing a smug grin.
“I talk to you however I want. And as for the rest—what,
isn’t it obvious
?”
He straightened up with effortless grace. The flaming spear in his free hand vanished as the circle beneath them glowed brighter and brighter.
“My name is Nezha,” he said. “The Lotus Prince.”
End of Chapter.