"Who is Baracus?" a husky, throaty voice asked from behind.
Alarmed, Hao Xuan turned around slowly to meet this new guest, trying his best to seem as harmless as possible in his current weakened state.
With a wide smile he looked towards the speaker who he was expecting to be a bulky middle-aged man judging from the sound of his voice but instead his gaze fell on a well-toned muscular female standing on a treetop not far from him.
She jumped down, landing right in front of Hao Xuan fearlessly. Stupified, Hao Xuan raised his head to met her eyes. She was a full head taller than him.
Her bright ginger hair were tied up in a ponytail hanging loosely behind her. She wore light leather armor made from some kind of a feline beast judging from the leopard marks-like pattern on them.
On her wrists and shoulder guards were giant teeth and claws, coarsely sewn directly into the leather. She was less than three inches away from his face, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
"Who were you talking to, human?" she asked in the same low tone of voice that brought Hao Xuan out of the stupor.
"U-Um...she, n-no he is..." Hao Xuan completely lost his train of thought.
He had never seen such an intimidating lady before. Her daunting aura left Hao Xuan tongue-tied. And not to mention, she was quite pleasing on the eyes. Her smooth skin and sharp features could confuse people but her attire made it quite clear that she was indeed a 'she'. (Image in Authors notes)
Her brows knit together hearing Hao Xuan stutter, '"What is it? Spit it out! What kind of man takes so much to make one simple sentence?" she said impatiently. She took the giant Axe off her back and pushed its blade against Hao Xuan's neck.
"Who is Baracus? Why are you, a weak human, all the way out here, this deep in the forest? Did someone send you?" she beratingly asked one question after another, her patience drawing thin.
"N-No I- *cough* -m not-" panicked, Hao Xuan tried to talk but stuttered again and ended up choking on his own saliva.
'God fucking damnit!' he cursed inwardly. The barbarian's face darkened and she pushed the ax further, drawing blood.
Hao Xuan backed up a step to take in a quick breath but as soon as he tried, the barbarian female grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back in.
"Are you a spy? Do you work for that viper bastard?!" she asked through gritted teeth. Her grip had tightened to such a degree that Hao Xuan couldn't even breathe anymore.
His face changed colors until it was almost purple. He grabbed her wrist trying to free himself and subconsciously, a minute amount of dark, shadowy Qi was released from the palm of his hand.
As soon as it came into contact with the barbarian her hand went limp and Hao Xuan fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping for air. She jumped back, dumbfounded.
Hao Xuan coughed a few times until his breathing returned to normal at which point he threw her a hateful gaze.
"What...the FUCK is...wrong with you, woman?! Who chokes someone they JUST met? Are you stupid?!" he couldn't help but bark in anger.
The barbarian on the other hand was too busy to pay attention to his insults. Her expression was one of pure shock as she examined her limp hand. No matter how much strength she channeled into her arm it simply vanished as soon as it got to the wrist. She couldn't feel anything or control it in any specific way. It barely felt like it was there.
"What...did you do...?" she muttered out loud absentmindedly.
Hao Xuan was still on the ground when he heard her and looked up. She turned to face him, this time her expression was quite somber.
"Are you one of the chosen ones?" she asked in a low voice.
Hao Xuan frowned. He wobbled back to his feet, rubbing his neck.
"Chosen one? For what? I don't know what you're talking about lady. I just came here by accident!" Hao Xuan explained.
But the look of absolute mistrust on her face could not be replaced by anything Hao Xuan said. She threw the ax down and jerked her hand, getting some feedback.
With a raised eyebrow she looked back at Hao Xuan, "Take off your clothes!" she said slowly and took a quick step forward.
"O-Oi what the fuck are you doing?! Stay away!" Hao Xuan tried to move back but she was already on him.
***
Authors Notes:
All images are posted in the Official Discord.
Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ
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The female Barbarian reference image link: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c5/57/7c/c5577cc7ada4466dd3deca3ee0cb0cca.jpg
Shortened Image Link (case sensitive): https://urlzs.com/er8FU
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A batch of 10-ish chapters should be coming soon, as soon as I figure out the date through WN.