Despite the punishing pace, Lu Yong made sure to make frequent stops to give Wu Chen a chance to rest. At first, Wu Chen protested that it was an unnecessary loss of time. But, as the day wore on, he appreciated Lu Yong's thoughtfulness. Three blankets were definitely not enough padding.

Neither of them had detected anything other than animal life as they hurried through the foothills. This did not stop Lu Yong's vigilance, however. He was not about to take risks with Wu Chen's safety.

They were nearing the end of the foothills when Lu Yong felt a disturbance ahead. They had nearly reached the entrance to a narrow ravine when his senses alerted him. Knowing Wu Chen wasn't in peak condition, he called a halt just outside of the ravine for a rest break.

Not questioning why, just relieved to get off the horse, Wu Chen slid down and reached out to hand his reins to his Guardian.

Lu Yong pulled Wu Chen close and nuzzled his ear. Before Wu Chen could pull away, he whispered, 'There's an ambush ahead. Stay here.'

'En.' Wu Chen answered back quietly, his own hands taking the reins instead. He led the horses to the side and pretended to care for them. Then, he began quietly filling Xiao Lei with qi as he swallowed another healing elixir. With his adrenaline pumping through his system, the aches and pains disappeared. If he had to fight, he would not let himself be at a disadvantage.

Lu Yong had completely disappeared by then.

Lu Yong concealed his aura and breath and used the late afternoon shadows to hide as he scouted the area. It didn't take him long to find the men who were lying in wait above the ravine. He watched for a bit until he was sure there were only six men. They were dressed in sandy colored clothes, making it difficult to see them amongst the rocks.

Sure of their numbers and positions, Lu Yong quietly drew his sword and stood behind three of the men. His eyes glittering with malice, Lu Yong sent an icy qi flare into the unsuspecting backs of the three men.

Two of the men were killed instantly as the flare sliced into them and froze their blood at the same time. The third managed to detect him at the last moment and rolled to avoid the same fate. Unfortunately for him, his hand was still caught in the flare. It was sliced neatly from his body, while the ice qi traveled up his arm and froze it completely solid.

His pain filled scream alerted the other three men to the danger.

Two qi flares barreled toward Lu Yong, and he sent a powerful counterflare that ate through them and continued toward the two swordsmen. They swiftly rolled out of the way and began running toward Lu Yong.

Lu Yong flipped through the air and landed behind the pair. With a swift kick, he sent one flying into a nearby boulder, knocking him out. Then, he raised his arm and blocked the swing from the other man. He brought his sword up and slashed neatly through the man's body, easily slicing him in two. In two steps, he stood over the screaming man with the frozen arm and swiftly silenced him with his sword.

He spun around, knowing there was one more man, but he didn't see him. Cursing, he realized that he had probably gone back for Wu Chen. He grabbed the unconscious man and used his qinggong to quickly return to the area where he had left his ward.

************************************************

Wu Chen was ready when the man rushed out of the ravine. He stood steadily with Xiao Lei pointed at his attacker, and sent a tight beam of lightning directly at him.

The man barely dodged, and his ear was sliced cleanly. Roaring in pain, the man drew his sword and lunged at Wu Chen.

Wu Chen gracefully spun out of the way of the rash attack and sliced into the back of the man with his longsword as he stumbled past.

The man hissed at the deep slice and turned to block Wu Chen's next move. Instead, he watched the world spin for only a few moments before darkness overtook him.

Wu Chen looked coldly down at the head as it rolled back toward the ravine. Reaching down, he grabbed the body's sandy colored robe and wiped his longsword clean before starting to sheathe it.

Sensing someone else approaching, Wu Chen dropped the robe and readied his swords. His eyes narrowed as he faced the ravine entrance.

Lu Yong flashed into view, carrying one of the men over his shoulder. Seeing that it was Lu Yong, Wu Chen sheathed his swords and ran to see if he had any injuries.

'Ah Yong, are you okay? Did you get hurt?' Wu Chen asked in a rush.

Lu Yong shook his head and dropped the unconscious attacker roughly to the ground, 'I'm fine. I hurried back when I realized that one got away. Are you okay?'

Wu Chen chuckled darkly and motioned toward the head lying near the ravine, 'Better than he is.'

Lu Yong shook his head, his pride in his lover shining in his eyes, 'Tie this one up, and I'll take care of the rest.' He said as he grabbed a foot from the headless body and began dragging it toward the edge of the ravine.

Soon, Wu Chen had the prisoner tied tightly, and the other bodies had been rounded up and searched. Finding nothing to identify the ambushers, Lu Yong asked Wu Chen to use his lightning to incinerate the dead men. Once that was done, they sat near the survivor and waited. Lu Yong cleaned his dark sword while Wu Chen took care of the new burrs on his longsword.

'You know, slicing the heads off is rough on my blade even if it is effective.' Complained Wu Chen as he used his sharpening stone to work at the damage.

Lu Yong chuckled and shook his head. Then, he used his qi to send a mild aura blast at their prisoner, causing him to wake abruptly and cower against the boulder behind him.

'What...where...?' The man's terrified eyes took in the two men before him, and he realized the danger he was in. His face paled, and he clamped his mouth shut.

Wu Chen continued working on the sword burrs as he casually said, 'I don't think he wants to talk to you, Ah Yong.'

Grinning at Wu Chen's dark humor, Lu Yong ran his finger along Black Ice and turned to the prisoner, 'Is that so? Well, it's a good thing I'm thick skinned and not afraid of offending people, ah?'

'Just kill me! I'm not telling you anything!' The man said through gritted teeth, his breathing getting heavier with his fear.

Lu Yong chuckled, sheathed his dark sword, and approached the man slowly. As the man shivered and shook, Lu Yong reached out and pulled off his boots and socks. He tossed them aside and squatted down in front of the confused man.

'So, you don't want to tell me who sent you?' Lu Yong asked pleasantly, his dark eyes growing colder.

'Nnnn...no. I won't!' The man stammered, unsure of what Lu Yong intended to do.

With a single finger, Lu Yong reached out and touched one of the man's toes. He made a quick sign with his other hand, and the toe froze solid.

The man hissed at the incredible pain, and tears appeared in his eyes.

'Still nothing?' Lu Yong asked, raising an eyebrow.

The man just shook his head fiercely, unable to speak with the pain coursing through him.

Lu Yong smiled at the agonized man, 'Do you know why it hurts so much to freeze your toe like this? It's because when I freeze a piece of a person's body, I sever all those tiny nerves between the living body and the frozen piece, leaving them raw, unable to reconnect, and forced to rub against the extreme cold. Fascinating, isn't it?'

Next, Lu Yong set his finger on the man's foot and made the same sign. The entire foot froze solid, and this time, the man couldn't control it. He screamed until his face turned red.

'Anything coming to mind?' Lu Yong asked with a soft smile.

'Just kill me!' The man screamed into Lu Yong's face, his tears flowing freely.

Lu Yong grinned and held his finger in the air just above the man's leg. The man's eyes locked onto the finger as it slowly made its way along his leg and hovered right above his crotch. There, the finger stopped, and Lu Yong's glittering eyes glanced up at the terrified man.

'Don't...please don't...' The man whimpered softly as he stared at the hovering finger.

'You know what I want to hear.' Lu Yong reminded the shivering man patiently.

The man glanced at Lu Yong's cold eyes and then back to the hovering finger. Finally, he cried out breathlessly, 'The Slave Master sent us! The Slave Master sent us!'

Lu Yong nodded, 'Good. What is his plan?' Lu Yong slowly began lowering his finger, and the man started to cry earnestly.

'We...we were supposed to...to lead you away.' He spat out between sobs, 'Then he would...would use his spatial ring...and grab...grab the boy.'

Lu Yong's eyes narrowed in anger, 'Where is he now?'

'I...I don't know!' Lu Yong's finger grazed the man's pants, and he screamed, 'I really...really don't know! Close! He has to be close so he can see the boy, or he can't make the grab!'

Lu Yong flicked his other wrist, and a dagger appeared in his hand. With a swift movement, he sliced the man's throat and turned toward Wu Chen. Using his aura, he pushed Wu Chen several meters from the spot he had been sitting in moments before a spatial crack appeared where he had been.

Harsh laughter rang as Lu Yong dived for the crack, only to have it disappear before he reached it. Loudly, he shouted, 'Ah Chen! Lightning bell!'

But Wu Chen was a step ahead of him. He had already realized the danger and quickly created a dome of lightning over himself. When the crack reappeared behind him, the Slave Master couldn't touch him.

The Slave Master chuckled, 'You can't keep your lightning up forever, Wu Chen.'

Lu Yong made an elaborate hand seal, and the ice dragon appeared in all its glittering glory. It roared and headed for the spatial crack behind Wu Chen. The crack disappeared, and Lu Yong ran to Wu Chen, stopping just before he reached the protective bell.

'Don't lower the bell yet.' Lu Yong ordered. Wu Chen nodded and held his hands in position to keep the bell around him. Lu Yong directed the ice dragon to circle Wu Chen as he used his qinggong to search the area. He found several places where the Slave Master had stopped and watched them, but the man had obviously left the area.

Cursing loudly, Lu Yong ran back to Wu Chen. The dragon continued to circle tightly, and the lightning bell still crackled with deadly power.

'Ah Yong?' Questioned Wu Chen still maintaining his bell.

Lu Yong shook his head, 'I couldn't find him.' He balled his hands into fists and sent out his aura in a wide search without even bothering to conserve his qi. There was nothing. If the man had to be close, how could there be nothing? He was just a Golden Core.

'This is going to get tricky.' Lu Yong mumbled angrily.