The Drunken Old Man

Loose branches and pieces of green twigs tore at her clothes as Mei Lian sprinted through the undergrowth.

It took all of her effort to keep moving as every breath caused her battered body to ache with unbearable pain.

But she didn't dare to stop.

She didn't dare to even look backwards.

The snarls grew louder with every step. She could almost feel the hot breath of the rat falling on her ankles as the beast did not give up the chase.

Its claws scraped against the dirt as it bounded through the forest, its heavy, grotesque body somehow both fast and tireless.

Mei Lian ducked under a low-hanging branch, nearly stumbling as her left foot caught against a patch of tangled vines.

Her vision blurred as beads of sweat dripped down her forehead and entered her eyes. The stinging sensation made it impossible for her to think clearly.

Suddenly she heard a noise… a hiss just behind her ear!

Mei Lian lunged left on pure instinct, just as the rat-like creature snapped its massive jaws where her ankle had been a moment before.

The creature was too fast. Too strong.

And she had no other options.

She didn't know any spells that she could cast without a corpse nearby!

Damn it!

"Help! Help! Help!" Mei Lian cried out in desperation.

She knew that it was an unwise move to shout loudly in the middle of a forest, but she was at the end of her rope.

"Ghost lady! Help me!"

Mei Lian burst into a small clearing that was barely more than a patch of light caught between the gnarled trees.

Her chest began to tremble as she turned around with her arms raised… not a show of strength but rather as a final stand.

She had no more energy left.

Her legs could not move any further. All of her muscles were screaming and begging her to take a break.

The creature exploded from the bushes, teeth glinting in the moonlight with blood red eyes that shone with a crimson light.

Its jaw opened slightly, and Mei Lian saw a grin flash across its face.

Not a twitch of instinct or a flash of teeth, but something cruel and deliberate.

Its lips peeled back in a slow, unnatural stretch revealing rows of razor sharp fangs.

Was she going to die here? Having killed three bandits only to be killed in turn by an overgrown rat?

Mei Lian's fingers curled up into a shaky fist as she stumbled forward.

"Come… on… I SAID COME ON YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mei Lian hollered defiantly as she moved forward at the creature.

She was not going to die easily.

She would make the monster… PAY!

"Well, hic… hic… said!" a lazy voice echoed through the clearing and both Mei Lian, and the rat turned towards the source of the noise.

"Look out sweetie!"

CRACK!

A half- empty whiskey bottle slammed into the side of the rat's skull with a bone-shattering force.

Glass exploded in a burst of golden amber and crimson goo.

The impact hit like a thunderclap, splinters of bottle embedding into the creature's flesh. The blunt force from the blow snapped its neck with a sickening crunch.

The beast crumpled immediately like a broken puppet. A wet thud sounded in Mei Lian's ears as its twitching form hit the dirt.

"Damn… had to use my good drink…" the voice grumbled angrily.

Mei Lian stepped back nervously as a humanoid figure stumbled out of the bushes in the corner of the clearing.

He moved as though he had long forgotten what straight lines were.

Barefoot, wrapped in tattered robes stained with old wine and forest dirt, he resembled a beggar who had gotten lost.

His gray hair was tied in a messy topknot, uneven and frayed.

His face showed faint signs of the handsome man he must have been at one point in his life but was now covered by a beard that had grown wild and patchy, full of leaves, crumbs and the lingering scent of spilled whiskey.

The man's physique could only be described as undernourished and yet Mei Lian could tell that his muscles were like tightly coiled springs, ready to move at a moment's notice.

He stared at Mei Lian with eyes that were half-lidded and bloodshot, yet there was a strange clarity hidden beneath the haze.

There was wisdom behind those eyes… wisdom that came from living too long, losing too much and laughing at the absurdity of life.

Mei Lian did not dare relax as she remembered her encounter with the three men inside the temple.

What if this stranger had only killed the rat because he wanted her for himself?

"Are… hic… hic… are you lost?" the mysterious man slurred as he reached into his tattered robes for another bottle of alcohol.

"Yes… but you…" Mei Lian hesitated as she carefully moved to create some space between herself and the man.

"Don't worry sweetie… I took a vow of celibacy. I ain't gonna do to you what you're thinking…" the man laughed drunkenly as he took a large swig.

"Besides… the only woman I… hell that's a story for another time…"

"Thank… thank you for your help," Mei Lian politely spoke.

Of course, the man could be lying but there was something in his words that seemed oddly trustworthy.

"My name is… hmm… hmm… hold on just one more drink…" the man's words cut off as he took yet another sip from the bottle.

"You can call me old man Li… hmm… wait… I like the sound of that!"

"I drink, I sleep under trees, and I occasionally kill things that people pay me to kill. And I drink… did I mention I drink?"

"Okay Mr. Li… I… this may sound crazy, but I was teleported from another world! I don't know what's happening, but I need to get out of this forest!" Mei Lian confessed hurriedly.

If this old man was travelling so deep in the forest on his own, then clearly, he had the strength needed to take her out of this place and to civilization.

"A summoned one?" Old man Li thoughtfully stroked his dirty beard as he stared at Mei Lian.

"I thought you were all going to appear in churches… oh wait… that washed up goddess' temple is technically a church!"

"HAHA! You are an unlucky one, aren't ya?"

"The rest of your kind are currently being welcomed to this world with celebratory feats, beautiful maidens and meetings with nobles…"

"And here you are trudging through the forest!"

The old man tossed back his head and roared with laughter. His giggles echoed through the forest and yet none of the beasts or creatures dared to investigate.

"There's more people like me here?" Mei Lian asked in disbelief as she felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

She wasn't alone in this strange world!

"Yeah! The prophecy mentioned a couple million but so far… hmm…" the old man shook his head and raised up his hand to scratch the dirt behind his ear.

"Maybe a few hundred of you all have arrived? Might be more if some of you appeared in abandoned churches."

"By the way… that's a nasty wound… here let me help you."

He stumbled over to Mei Lian and grabbed her right arm with a sharp motion. He inspected the wound casually and whistled cheerfully as he tore open the bandages covering the injury.

Mei Lian hissed in pain as the monk uncorked another bottle hidden in his clothes with a careless flick.

The sharp, sour scent of the alcohol immediately overwhelmed the air between them. Her arm throbbed as the torn flesh was still raw and covered with dried blood.

"Hold still girl… this is going to sting… a lot… a lot...hic…" Old man Li muttered softly.

Then without waiting for permission, he tipped the flask and poured the liquor straight on top of her wound.

Mei Lian cried out in pain as the burn was immediate and brutal. The fiery liquid glowed with a golden hue as it covered the wound.

Then just as quickly as the pain had started… it disappeared.

Mei Lian could not believe her eyes as she watched the torn flesh on her arm begin to knit together seamlessly as if her skin had never been broken.

The dried blood evaporated into a pale mist, the bruises faded and within seconds, her arm was whole.

Tender maybe… but no longer wounded.

She stared in disbelief.

"What… what… that wasn't alcohol… was it?" Mei Lian asked curiously as she glanced at the opened flask in the old man's hand.

The old man shot her a lopsided grin before sitting down on a nearby rock and taking a small sip from the flask.

He grimaced as the strong liquid slid down his throat.

"Brewed that in a monastery that doesn't exist anymore. Heals the body but my god… does it wreck your liver… don't recommend drinking it," Old man Li replied casually.

"Now then…"

"Let's take about the death energy flowing inside your mana veins…"