Chapter 17:

Chapter 17: Wind Rises

"This isn't easy." Li Ji balanced himself on the cliff's edge, eyeing the small tree Danny Rand had crashed into. "That thing's already under too much pressure. If I step on it, it'll snap immediately. I'd be doing more harm than good."

He pressed his foot against the rock face and launched himself upward. A few solid kicks and handholds later, he reached a higher platform that overlooked the area where Danny dangled from the fragile tree limb. It wasn't a comfortable height, but it offered a clearer view.

"If only I'd brought Amu." Li Ji muttered, scanning for a rescue path. "That stupid bird might be an idiot, but he's reliable with this sort of thing."

From his prone position, he spotted something promising—a set of stone steps built into the cliffside. If he could descend from them, maybe he could reach Danny's legs and pull him down safely. The only problem was their condition: cracked, worn, and clearly ancient. Even looking at them made him uneasy.

"According to the first law of plot conflict," Li Ji said aloud, almost as if narrating to himself, "if someone falls off a cliff, they're destined to land in a tree. That's been fulfilled. Which means the second law kicks in next: the rescue attempt will inevitably go wrong."

He stared at the stone steps.

"Statistically speaking, they're about… what, eighty percent likely to collapse?"

Still, when he glanced down and saw the blood trickling from Danny's temple, all hesitation evaporated.

"That's not a scratch. He's losing too much blood. If I wait any longer, he'll bleed out before help arrives."

Danny's injury looked like it came from blunt force—probably hit a jagged rock during the fall. The wound was messy, not a clean slice. Bleeding that uncontrolled wouldn't stop on its own.

"Well," Li Ji took a deep breath, "you're Iron Fist's protagonist. You've got to have a bit of that protagonist luck in you, right?"

He threw himself sideways and flattened his body against the cliff. Using friction from his clothes and limbs, he slid downward onto the stone steps. They creaked ominously under his weight, but didn't break.

"Not bad," Li Ji whispered. "Still holding up."

He crouched, latched his right hand to the edge of the step, planted his feet against the rock face, and began to lower himself carefully.

"So far, so good."

Now hanging entirely off the cliff with only one hand gripping the brittle step, he assessed his angle. The plan had been to grab Danny's foot and pull him free. But there was one issue.

"Damn. Misjudged the reach again. I've been a kid so long, I forget how short my arms are."

He let his body sway gently. From a distance, it might've looked like a child playing on a death trap. Anyone watching would have passed out from the anxiety.

But Li Ji wasn't just anyone.

To him, the cliffside was no more threatening than solid ground. If it wasn't for Danny's delicate position, he might have just jumped straight onto the tree.

"One more swing ought to do it."

He leaned into the motion, letting momentum build.

"Now!"

Li Ji lunged, grabbed Danny's left foot, and yanked. The smaller tree finally gave way, and Danny dropped down—now hanging upside-down from Li Ji's arm.

"Gotcha," Li Ji breathed.

Then the sound came.

*Crack.*

The stone step groaned under the added weight.

"Shit."

He hadn't factored in Danny's weight. The combined load was too much for the eroded rock.

Li Ji tried to pull them both upward, but it was too late.

The rock split.

They fell.

Li Ji cursed under his breath. It would've been easy to let go of Danny and save himself—both hands free, no problem. But that wasn't an option he could accept.

"There's got to be something—anything—down below…"

His left hand clamped tighter around Danny, holding him still during the fall to keep him from hitting any sharp outcrops. He searched the cliffside frantically for any sort of ledge or hold.

Nothing.

Not a single handhold.

"If only Amu were here. That dumb bird could've flown us out."

Truthfully, he could've run back to Kunlun, grabbed Amu, and returned within ten minutes. But he hadn't. It felt like too much of a hassle at the time.

Now, he regretted it.

"Wait…" A thought sparked in his mind. "Fly."

Dragon Ball came rushing back to him. Wukong Technique. Qi control.

"Feel the flow of power. Relax your body. Control your energy…"

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.

But he couldn't. His thoughts were a mess.

Too many distractions. Too much panic.

Still, he kept trying.

"No… don't give up yet. Not now."

Wind rose around them—a sharp upward current from the mountainside.

A rare gust.

Li Ji's descent slowed slightly.

He shut his eyes again.

"Wind…"

He focused.

"Like the rising wind… control your anger."

His Qi shifted.

"Let it flow beneath you…"

His speed dropped more.

"Explode outward—like a storm."

Suddenly, everything changed.

His body jerked to a stop, suspended mid-air.

Then, in a blink, he accelerated upward.

They vanished from the cliffside in a blur.

Seconds later, they were back on solid ground atop the mountain.

Li Ji laid Danny down gently and examined the injury. Blood loss was extensive. The wound was ragged. His breathing was shallow.

"Not fatal… but close."

His fingers pressed over the chest and abdomen. Broken bones. At least three, possibly more. No village doctor was going to be able to fix this.

"Lei Gong might."

He remembered how Amu had once been injured far worse and recovered in days.

No more time to waste.

Li Ji scooped Danny up and launched into the air again, flying straight toward Kunlun.

* * *

"Li Ji!" Lei Gong's voice thundered as he saw him land at the entrance. "Why are you bringing outsiders here?"

"I'll explain later, Master." Li Ji didn't waste a second. "He's dying."

He flipped Danny over to show the blood-soaked temple.

Lei Gong's expression shifted instantly.

"Take him to Amu. Now. His life signs are fading fast!"

Li Ji nodded and took off again, cradling Danny as carefully as possible.

There was no telling how this would affect the future.

But he had a feeling the plot was just getting started.

*******

if you want to read more there's 15, 30, 50 chapters there of my written fanfictions and translated works in my Pat.Reon.

Here is the link:

https://patreon.com/LordFisherman?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

And if you can't find it just type my name: patreon.com/LordFisherman