In the sky, Shi Cuiyan frowned as she steadied her restless horse. Her bright eyes scanned the surroundings, finally settling on the back of an old pine tree.
“Sir, why not come out and talk?” With that, Shi Cuiyan dismounted.
Laughter echoed, and a sturdy man indeed emerged from behind the pine tree. He stood seven feet tall, wearing a long robe made of animal skins, revealing muscular arms crossed in front. A five-foot-long saber was strapped to his back, his face stern and full of hostility. Accompanying him were five men in gray clothes, all holding weapons.
“Miss, you have sharp eyes!” The man sized up Shi Cuiyan, raising his thick eyebrows as if confirming something.
“Sir, you flatter me. My sister and I are just passing through. Could you please not trouble us women?” Xi Fuhong, trembling on horseback, saw the gray-clad men surrounding them and instinctively tightened her grip on the reins. Could these be the bandits from the stories? The kind that says, “This tree I planted, this road I opened. If you want to pass, leave a toll”?
“Sister Cui… let’s just give them the money?” Xi Fuhong tugged on Shi Cuiyan’s clothes, lowering her head, not daring to look at the men.
“Hahaha! What an amusing child. Of course, I want the money, but as for the people…” The man grinned menacingly, drawing his saber with a swish. “The ugly one can cook and do chores for me, but as for the pretty one, you must be a maid from some household. Fine! You’ll come up the mountain and be my concubine!”
The gray-clad men, already surrounding the two, moved forward. Xi Fuhong turned pale with fright, screaming as she was dragged off her horse and pinned to the roadside. Shi Cuiyan, however, wasn’t so easily caught. She deftly dodged the men rushing at her, tripping them with a few swift moves.
“Let go of my sister!” She warned, eyeing the men with knives, not daring to approach.
At this moment, the leading man lunged forward, grabbing Shi Cuiyan’s arm. “I’m in a good mood today. I’ll let the ugly one go, but you must come back to the mountain with me.” He said, using his other hand to hold Shi Cuiyan’s face, his thumb rubbing her chin.
“No! Sister Cui, you can’t go with him!” Xi Fuhong cried out in panic.
How could she let Sister Cui go with that man? He’s a bandit! He’ll definitely bully Sister Cui! This is all her fault… If she hadn’t insisted on finding Grandma, they wouldn’t have rushed and encountered this… Xi Fuhong was filled with regret, ignoring the knife handle cutting into her arm, she broke free and ran.
“Keep an eye on that ugly girl!” The man shouted, and the surrounding men moved to block Xi Fuhong.
Seeing this, Shi Cuiyan’s heart ached, but she quickly brushed aside the strange feelings. She tried to shake off the man’s grip, but he only held her tighter, so she glared up at him. “I’ll go with you, just don’t hurt my sister.”
“Hmph! That ugly girl, I’m afraid of dirtying my hands. Fine, tell your sister to save her strength.” The man released Shi Cuiyan, allowing her to comfort the crying girl.
Shi Cuiyan approached Xi Fuhong, her expression serious as she looked at the bleeding arm. Without a word, she tore off a piece of her expensive silk clothing to stop the bleeding, then gently wiped the mud from Xi Fuhong’s cheek. Seeing her actions, Xi Fuhong felt both sour and pained inside. Why did it feel like a farewell?
“Sister Cui, let’s just give him the money, right? Then we can leave, right?” Xi Fuhong nervously held Shi Cuiyan’s hand.
“You ride north first, remember to wait for my message once you reach the city.” Shi Cuiyan pulled Xi Fuhong into her arms to comfort her.
“No! Sister Cui, don’t leave me! I’ll go with you, okay? Take me with you?” Xi Fuhong pleaded, her eyes red with tears, but Shi Cuiyan frowned. She noticed the man watching their every move, afraid that saying too much would cause trouble.
“Be good, sister. I promised to find Gui Po for you, I won’t break my word.” Shi Cuiyan decisively pushed Xi Fuhong away.
She stumbled back, dumbfounded. How could Sister Cui push her away? Was she really going to follow the bandit up the mountain? How could she take her out of the valley and then abandon her? Xi Fuhong bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.
The man was pleased to see Shi Cuiyan approaching him. Whether or not he got the money didn’t matter, but capturing a beauty was exciting. It was a stroke of luck to find a girl with some charm, bringing her back to the mountain would be entertaining. Xi Fuhong watched as Shi Cuiyan neared the man, her body suddenly jolted, and she rushed forward with only one thought: she couldn’t let Sister Cui leave!
“Courting death!” The man suddenly shouted, and before Shi Cuiyan could turn around, the flash of a saber blinded her eyes. She only heard a muffled groan, and a warm wetness spread across her back, the heavy impact leaving her stunned. She slowly turned her head, horrified to see Xi Fuhong lying on the ground, her clothes stained with blood, a shocking sight.
Suddenly, something in her heart was piercingly painful.
“Hmph! Wasting my time!” The man flicked the blood off his saber, looking disgusted.
Ignoring the men behind her, Shi Cuiyan knelt down and turned Xi Fuhong over, seeing a wound on her shoulder, not deep enough to hit bone, but the blood loss was alarming. She tore off another sleeve, skillfully stopping the bleeding and bandaging her.
The man frowned, “It’s just a flesh wound, no need to make a fuss.”
“You said no harm, deduct a silver.” Shi Cuiyan stood up after finishing the bandaging.
“Damn it! I waited under the sun for a long time, played along with your act of kidnapping, and you just deduct like that? Do you think I’m a pushover? At least for our cooperation…”
A golden phoenix dagger silently pressed against the man’s neck, its cold gleam under the scorching sun sent shivers down his spine. The man quickly laughed it off, fearing Shi Cuiyan might apply more pressure and separate his head from his body.
“Don’t forget, I asked you to act to fool that girl, not to stab her. If you scratch the Black Dragon Tail Ring, I’ll whip your corpses.” Shi Cuiyan smiled coldly, staring the man down.
“Spare me, miss! I just wanted to give that annoying girl a quick end.” The man said helplessly. As a decent bandit, if it weren’t for the lack of government carriages recently, he wouldn’t have resorted to this pathetic act. What kidnapping? Even the storytellers in inns wouldn’t bother with such nonsense.
Shi Cuiyan snorted, pulling out a small pouch from her clothes and tossing it to the man. “I’ll give you a quick end! Now get lost!”
Opening the pouch to see the silver inside, the man quickly nodded and bowed, turning into a subservient innkeeper. Shi Cuiyan didn’t want to dirty her eyes, turning away without a word. Once the men were gone, she knelt beside Xi Fuhong. She stared at the face marked with red, not feeling sad, just a bit regretful.
Blame it on her being too naive, trusting this cunning Jianghu wanderer.
Her jade fingers undid Xi Fuhong’s outer garment, revealing the Black Dragon Tail Ring. Shi Cuiyan smiled, pulling the black ring into her hand. Though it weighed little, it felt incredibly heavy. This was the Black Dragon Tail Ring coveted by martial artists, the key to unlocking the Tiger Dragon Cave treasure.
Shi Cuiyan tucked the pendant into her clothes, her gaze returning to Xi Fuhong.
She pinched her cheeks marked with red a few times.
“Don’t blame your sister for being ruthless, dear sister. I can only sigh at the circumstances.”
