Chapter 52: Twice Cornered
52
Twice Cornered
I
Du Qing might be a conniving, ignoble wretch, but he knew his way with a sword—better than anyone Tian Jin had faced so far, even Lan Yue.
Tian Jin twisted his body out of the way of a cut aimed at his neck, then, turning on his heel, thrust his sword at Du Qing’s shoulder. Backstepping, arms jerking, Du Qing snapped his sword into position and parried the stab, throwing Tian Jin’s sword off to the side. Tian Jin shifted his weight forward and in one flowing movement, repositioned his sword in front of him to meet Du Qing’s.
Their blades locked.
Du Qing staggered back, but before Tian Jin could press his advantage, Du Qing adjusted his footing and brought his body up and forward, pushing back until the two of them were standing almost upright, leaning into their blades, counterbalanced by each other.
Dust hung in the air around, thrown up by the explosion from earlier, but most of it had already settled, rendering it barely noticeable.
Across him, Du Qing wore a hard, tight expression, sweat dripping from his brow. It wasn’t long before the stony mask gave way to a wince, then a grimace. Tian Jin caught blood welling up from a gash on Du Qing’s left arm, barely visible through the torn white sleeve of his robes. And on Du Qing’s right side, just above the hip, was another still-bleeding wound, deeper and wider than the shoulder one.