“Dammit,” Re’Kha cursed, adjusting her hold over the bag. She bit it harder, trying to ensure she wouldn’t drop it in the ensuing chaos. Her left hand grabbed hold of the shawl while her right continued to rotate the lever.

The gate moved up bit by bit as Re’Kha watched more than a hundred legs close in on her through her Water Qi perception. She decreased the folds on the shawl, now making its length span twice her height.

With a grunt, Re’Kha pushed the lever using her right, making a side step as she waved using the shawl, creating a clapping sound. The shawl slammed into a figure, shattering it. She pulled her left hand to the forward of her right, creating an outward arc with the shawl before pulling to the back of her left.

This motion increased the momentum stored in the shawl, pulling it towards her left and at the end of which it let out a clapping sound while curling up before colliding into the target. This increased the force it transmitted, making each of her attacks destroy a figure.

She moved her left hand in a flurry to attack, while her right exerted strength like mad to turn the lever. Part of her attention was on the gate while the rest was on her pursuers. After all, both were important details that would pave the way to her escape.

The figures spread along the sides, forming a larger arc as they rushed at her. Re’Kha made wider movements with her left hand, slamming the shawl into three figures at a time. This way, she prevented them from closing in on her.

Though, Re’Kha realised this was just a stopgap measure. Her hands were already tiring out, weary from the lack of rest. She was only pumping herself with the desire to live, the only fuel her body ignited to function. But, even that was a temporary burst of power, about to run out any moment.

Re’Kha stopped rotating the lever for a moment, held the shawl using both her hands and spun. She used the momentum from the spin, and the range of her shawl as leverage to create strong attacks that cleaved through the figures like a knife through butter.

If it wasn’t because the rain poured down with Water Qi and the shawl had wholly soaked in it, her attacks wouldn’t have been this effecting against the figures that were drenched from head to toe.

Her rapid spinning attack cleared out all the figures who were converging on her from all sides. It gave her some space as she staggered to the lever and continued to rotate it with both her hands. Her head spun a little, but as she wasn’t seeing anything through her eyes, she swiftly recovered from the sensation.

Though, she had only made three turns of the lever before a figure jumped at her. Re’Kha promptly kicked at the opponent’s chest, using the shawl to attack the others. She repeated the same spinning attack and cleared out the area around her before returning to rotate the lever.

‘That should be enough.’ She thought but continued to rotate the level while attacking the pursuers. Even though it would tire her out further, she didn’t want to take any risks. After all, the gate was a series of rods attached to parallel beams that held them rigidly in place. And, their tips were sharp spikes that would tear her flesh to bits if she was careless for even a moment.

So, she didn’t wish to take any risks by keeping the gap exactly fitting her girth. While moving, she was bound to make extra movements. And, her pursuers might attack too, so she wished to create a guarantee for her escape.

She fought relentlessly, keeping her Water Qi perception active, alertly watching the approaching feet of her attackers. They seemed like an unending stream, though, Re’Kha soon noticed the crowd thinning out.

‘So, the recovery is not fast enough to overwhelm their destruction by the rain.’ She made a couple more attacks before the opponents only numbered in the single digits. Something strange happened after this, the remaining figures didn’t attack her.

They just stood in place as they completely melted. There were no longer any figures around her. This fact also sent a chill through her spine. For she knew something was up.

‘I should escape.’ The moment she thought this, her limbs shuddered in fright. For she realised the plan of her enemies, whoever they might have been. Droves of figures rushed out from the houses, this time almost numbering a thousand.

Without any hesitation, Re’Kha stopped rotating the lever and sprinted towards the gate. She threw her bag through the gap first, slightly relieved when her aim didn’t miss. She then slid under it, watching a spike come precariously near her head as she passed by.

The dive scraped her body all over, inflicting numerous wounds, even opening the old ones that had scabbed before. She grunted in pain, rolled a couple of times to ease her momentum before standing up in a fluid action. She spotted her bag through the area in the water it was partially submerged in, grabbing it as she sprinted away from the gate.

A wide meadow or a flat plain was what she noticed, unsure because they just looked blue to her, without any design or texture. She felt the sensation of soft grass as her feet stepped on them. She kept watch of the ‘settlement’ behind her through her Water Qi perception, noting that the figures returned to their homes after she exited their settlement.

‘What exactly is that place? I’ve never heard about a place that had become a Sha. Or is this something entirely different?’ Nothing about her encounter made sense to her, even considering that she had a lot of supernatural encounters before.

Shaking her head, she continued to run, soon slowing down as her body ached. She then started to walk, albeit at a faster pace than usual.

In a watchtower within the settlement stood Ju’Tha, watching the escaping figure of Re’Kha, her expression blank, her facial features blurring until only the mouth remained, “Thank you for your visit, Burkurel Re’Kha. The Withered Courtyard would always welcome your stay.”