This person was tall and lanky, with a ponytail and puppydog eyes.
"Pan Fa?" Qiu Yunru called out, puzzled.
However, Pan Fa didn't answer. This was because he was being attacked by a swarm of mini Shadow Demon Puppets!
For variation, the Shadow Demon Puppets had been created in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Most were human-sized, as demons usually were; some were enormous, taller than trees (and granting many more points), and others were as small as dumplings, clinging to one's robes and tears at them with their black teeth like kittens.
Pan Fa was being swarmed all over his body by these dumpling demons!
Quickly, Qiu Yunru hopped down from the tree. He didn't dare use Magnetized Qi Podwer; since the creatures were all over Pan Fa's body, Pan Fa would surely inhale some of the dust. Though it wasn't nearly as harmful to humans as normal Magnetized Qi Powder, he wouldn't risk it.
"Shixiong!" Pan Fa cried out, yelped and shrieking as he waved his sword wildly. "I can't--get them--off! Help!"
"I'm coming!" Qiu Yunru called out. He drew his sword reluctantly. Though he was a good swordsperson, he really preferred to use alchemy...but what choice did he have? Lunging forwards, he slashed up, his blade swishing an inch from Pan Fa's nose. He slashed down, skimming the edge of Pan Fa's robes. he slashed to the side, grazing Pan Fa's hair.
Just like that, the dumpling demons wailed and squealed, dissipating away with a sizzling noise and rising into the night sky.
Qiu Yunru shook off his plain sword. Shadow Demon Puppets left a bit of dripping demonix qi as residue, somewhat like blood. This was good; he must have at least gained a good for points for that. Though there wasn't a scoreboard visible to the participants, he was quite sure he was near the top of the list.
"Shixiong..." Pan Fa croaked tearfully. He slumped over, tugging on Qiu Yunru's sleeve like a pitiful child. Even though he was nearly grown, he still acted like this! "Shixiong, I thought I was going to die..."
Qiu Yunru sighed, patting Pan Fa's back gently. "There were many of them. But didn't you remember any of your close-range sword techniques?"
Pan Fa looked ashamed, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. There were small bite marks all over his arms and legs. "I got scared..."
Qiu Yunru sighed once more. What should he do with this kid? No matter how much training he got, he really remained the same forgetful, clumsy puppy. What's more, no matter how old he got, he remained just as adorable. "You shouldn't stay around here. Puppets are attracted to this area; more might arrive soon."
Pan Fa suddenly grabbed Qiu Yunru's sleeve again, harder this time. "Shixiong! You have to stop it!"
"...Huh?"
Pan Fa's large eyes were tearful, shining with fear. "I came looking for you! They're all going to die!"
"Who's going to die?!"
Somewhere not far off, there was a chorus of high-pitched screaming. The earth shook, causing both Qiu Yunru and Pan Fa to stumble.
"It's a giant puppet!" Pan Fa shouted, pulling Qiu Yunru towards the edge of the clearing. "Please! Even Lei-shijie can't kill it!"
"Giant puppet...?" Qiu Yunru muttered to himself.
The earth rumbled again, and Pan Fa fell over onto his backside.
Pew! Pew, pew!
A series of high-pitched shrieking noises sounded, and scarlet flares burst in the night sky above like fireworks, turning the entire forest bloodred.
"All right," Qiu Yunru said quickly, pulling Pan Fa up by the hand. "Let's go."
Even if Li Chenyuan was the last person he wanted to see right now, it seemed there was real danger. If his shidi and others were in peril, how could he just sit around? What if he later heard they had died?
Stumbling this way and that as the ground shook, Pan Fa led Qiu Yunru through brambles, branches, and bushes to a cliffside.
Indeed, there were cliffs within Heixi Gorge. Through the middle of the gorge ran the Leng River, cold as ice and as swift as the wind. Physical barriers had been set up around the edges of the cliffside to prevent falls, but disciples still had to be cautious and keep their swords on hand in case they slipped and needed to fly themselves back up.
Qiu Yunru really thought this was a major safety hazard--what if someone couldn't hop on their sword in time, and turned into mush at the bottom of the river?--but one couldn't expect such safety regulations in a xianxia game.
In addition, because there weren't many trees or bushes crowding the cliffside, there weren't many Shadow Demon Puppets lurking here, and contestants tended to stay away from this area anyways. Why go where less points can be won?
So, when they burst out of the forest and out to the cliffside, Qiu Yunru was shocked by multiple things:
First, there were a great number of disciples gathered here from all sects. They swarmed about, screaming and setting off flares like fireworks.
"It's not working!" Someone screamed, pointing up at the sky. "The puppet--it's too big! It's catching the flares before they light up the sky!"
Indeed, that disciple was correct. No one's emergency flares were going up properly, due to the even more shocking sight on the cliffside:
A giant Shadow Demon Puppet, as tall as four trees and as wide as three, with beady red eyes peered down at all of them, looking furious. It opened its mouth and let out a roar that nearly caused Qiu Yunru's ears to bleed. Hot, moist air assaulted him and Pan Fa, nearly sending them tumbling back into the bushes.
Qiu Yunru gagged. It smelled like rotten eggs! Disgusting!
"We're going to fucking die!" Someone else shrieked. Of course, this led to multiple people screaming and wailing.
Drawing his sword cautiously, Qiu Yunru looked around for the others.
"Qiu Yunru!" Someone screamed. It was Lei Ruolan, approaching the puppet from behind.
Her robes were torn, her shoulder was bleeding profusely, and her dominant sword arm hung uselessly at her side, clearly dislocated. She dragged her sword along like an axe with her other arm, limping forward.
Even now, her expression of fury was terrifying!
"Qiu Yunru!" She shouted again. "If you try anything, I'll kill you!"
"Ah...?" Qiu Yunru felt suddenly very awkward. Everyone nearby had turned to look at him, and he began to sweat. "No, no, you have it all wrong...I heard everyone was in danger, and I wanted to help..."