Forest Ambush, Part III

The clash of metal echoed in the distance. Zhou Lihua crouched low on a branch high above the forest floor and looked at where the sound was coming from, eyes narrowed as she studied the battle. Wu Jian was fighting against the two women who had attacked them. Wielding Pale Moon as though it was an extension of his own body, he sliced at the one he called Blonde--but her body seemed to vanish as though she were a mirage. She just seemed to flicker out of existence.

The one called Black (Wu Jian’s name for her) tried to attack him from behind, thrusting her sword forward, but he moved aside, avoiding the blade entirely, then spun around and swung his massive sword diagonally upward. His attack would have cleaved a normal person from hip to shoulder. Black moved backward as though she had sensed the attack, then thrust her sword forward once more. Her sword struck Pale Moon and knocked it upward. Wu Jian was forced to jerk his sword over his head.