Chapter 45 Attendants, Part 13
The area around the camp was unusually quiet, which made the rustling sounds hidden in the forest and ravines in the distance all the more clearly audible.
The instant the scent of the King of Venom touched the tip of Shinju's nose, a hand suddenly appeared between them, pressing against the King of Venom's heart.
King Zhen lowered his gaze and saw that it was clearly Shinju's hand holding the cloth.
Shinju was intently looking in a certain direction. Although there was no window or door in sight, only a curtain, King Zhen had no doubt that Shinju was listening to the sounds coming from further away.
A hint of displeasure at being disturbed flashed across the eyes of the King of Poison. Then, while straining his hearing to probe the distance, he brazenly traced the shape of Shinju's lips in the air with his own, but did not touch them, even though they were so close that only a finger could fit between them.
However, even though their breaths had become so intertwined that they were indistinguishable, Shinjuku still kept his attention on the distance. The neglected King of the Poisonous Ones suddenly had a wicked thought and touched the corner of Shinjuku's lips with his fingertip.
Suddenly, a tangible sensation came from his lips, forcing him to pull back his attention from the far-off Zhen Su, who was focused on the disturbance. He then saw that Zhen Wang had a slightly troubled expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Shinjuku couldn't help but ask.
"Here, it's stained with ink." The King of Poison pointed to the corner of his lips, revealing his long, slender fingers stained with ink, and before Shinju could react, he pressed his face against him again.
A moist, sticky sensation reached the corners of Shinjuku's lips, causing his eyelashes to tremble slightly. It took him a few breaths to realize what the King of Poison had done to him.
The King of Poison's eyes darkened, and he slowly withdrew his tongue, like a venomous snake retracting its forked tongue. He saw that in the golden eyes of the True Monk who had turned back, the light of the candles inside the tent flickered, as if there were real flames burning in his eyes.
The King of Poison grabbed Masaki's wrist again, used the cloth in his hand to wipe away the water stains he had left on Masaki's lips, and revealed an innocent expression.
"..." Shinjuku still stretched out his fist and rubbed hard, wiping away the remaining dampness on the cloth, but for some reason he couldn't wipe away the heat there.
The King of Zhen observed the expression on Shinju's face. His eyes were wide open, and he seemed to be fuming. However, rather than disgust and anger, it seemed more like a warning not to cause trouble and disturb him.
Just as the King of Poison was about to chuckle, he saw that the True Monk's expression suddenly hardened.
"Two little children are in danger in the northeast direction, and I have to go there," Masakuni said to him solemnly.
The King of Zhen sighed silently, took off his cloak and threw it aside, "Let's go."
Shinjuku was stunned for a moment when he saw that Shinjuku was clearly going to come with him.
"I told you not to stray too far from me." After saying this, the King of Zhen grabbed General Yan from the next tent. "You stay here and oversee things. I'm going out with Xiao Qingzi for a bit, and we'll be back soon."
General Yan was dumbfounded, but before he could even speak, the Poison King and Zhen Su had vanished in the blink of an eye. If he were to give chase, he would have to go outside the camp. But if even he went out, he couldn't imagine the chaos that would ensue if the others discovered the Poison King's disappearance. Therefore, Yan Shang could only sigh and scratch his head as he entered the Poison King's tent.
.
It's about ten miles to the northeast.
The night breeze was gentle, the insects and birds were silent, and even the slightest movement in the bushes seemed particularly abrupt.
Behind a damp haystack, there was a small pit where several figures were curled up.
"Luo'er, don't go. Those bandits are no good. I understand you want to use their strength against them, but they won't act easily, even if the other side is a traitor instigated by the Feng Kingdom... unless they have something to gain." A boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, with his back against the mud wall, advised him slowly.
“I have to go. Those... villains will search the mountain tomorrow, we can’t hide any longer.” The little girl called Luo’er looked thin and short-legged, no more than seven or eight years old, but her expression was very calm and she had a maturity beyond her years.
During these past few days of fleeing, they drank wild water and ate wild birds and fruits. To avoid revealing their tracks, they ate everything raw and didn't light a fire. If it weren't for the cave where they huddled together for warmth at night, they would have frozen to death long ago.
Luo'er glanced back at her mother and elder sister lying behind her; they were too weak to move or speak. Then, looking at her sworn brother in front of her, whose head was injured, she couldn't help but clench her twin swords tightly.
Feng Shuo, the sworn brother, sighed and said, "Then I'll go with you."
"You stay here and take care of my mother and sister!" Luo'er refused to back down.
"You're going alone, and they're just kids; they won't listen to you. Let's go, time is running out."
Luo'er's eyes flickered, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded heavily.
Before long, they sneaked into the bandit stronghold nearby. It was late at night, and the henchmen on guard duty did not notice them at all.
Luo'er could feel her sworn brother's extremely disordered breathing behind her. When she turned around, she saw that his face was as pale as paper, even paler than his original skin color, almost as pale as the moonlight overhead, and he was so cold that he seemed to have no human presence.
Luo'er didn't even ask him if he could keep up. Feng Shuo was always stubborn, almost even more so than her.
This village was quite famous, mainly because it was headed by a female chieftain. So they bypassed a group of brainless burly men and sneaked into the female chieftain's house.
The chieftain had already retired for the night, but suddenly candles were lit inside the house.
"who?!"
"Lady Yin, I have a request."
After getting used to the light, Lady Yin looked closely and saw a handsome young man holding a little girl's hand, standing in front of her bed.
"How did you get in?" Yin Niangzi remained vigilant.
"I sneaked in," Feng Shuo confessed.
"Wow, not bad skills." Lady Yin picked up her outer robe from the side, put it on, and sat on the edge of the bed, looking them over. "Speak, what do you want from me?"
"I was harassed by a wealthy merchant. When I refused, he chased after me and my family. Although I have some martial arts skills, I was still ambushed and injured on the head. I barely managed to escape to this area, but I have nowhere else to turn, so I have come to ask for your help, Lady Yin. Although my family is not wealthy, my father still has some old connections with the government. If you, Lady Yin, are willing to help me, I will do my best to repay you."
Knowing that she was quite famous, Lady Yin was not surprised that the young man had heard of her. She looked Feng Shuo up and down, then noticed the almost festering wound on his forehead, and said sharply, "You've been hiding for several days, haven't you? This wound doesn't look fresh."
"Indeed, nothing can be hidden from Lady Yin. It seems that the wealthy merchant is going to search the mountain. My sister and I are truly desperate, which is why we dared to disturb you, Lady Yin."
Luo'er suddenly felt a tightness on the back of her hand, and immediately buried her face in Feng Shuo's sleeve, letting out a dry wail: "I'm so scared! Brother."
Yin Niangzi and Feng Shuo both felt their eyelids twitch simultaneously.
"..."
"..."
The two looked at each other in silence, only Luo'er did not look up.
Yin Niangzi suddenly smiled, "Since he's a wealthy merchant, we're sure to make a killing. But how many people are on the other side?"
"That man hired a caravan of about fifteen men. And they seemed to be wealthy merchants from Feng Kingdom." The implication was that the man didn't have much of a foothold in Nian Kingdom.
"They're from Feng Kingdom! You should have said so earlier! Even if I lose everything, I'll slaughter those Feng Kingdom scoundrels until they're all dead! We may be bandits with no morals to speak of, but we can still tell who we can help and who we must fight against." Yin Niangzi said with hatred and coldness.
"You're too modest, Lady Yin." Feng Shuo breathed a slight sigh of relief. Seeing that the other party's expression didn't seem fake, he squeezed Luo'er's hand.
"Thank you, sister." Luo'er was unusually sweet-talking for once.
Yin Niangzi smiled, and after some deliberation, decided to fight the search party tomorrow. She then invited a man with some medical knowledge to treat the wound on Feng Shuo's forehead.
After cutting away some rotten flesh, the medicine powder and cotton cloth were applied to the wounds one by one, and Feng Shuo was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely.
Luo'er looked at her sworn brother with some worry, and couldn't help but glance in the direction of the pit where her relatives were hiding.
At this moment, Lady Yin suddenly asked, "Are there only two of you on the run? You two seem to still smell of rouge on you."
Luo'er said, "And my mother and elder sister too."
What lingering scent of rouge could possibly remain until now… Feng Shuo frowned, sensing something was amiss, but then he saw the man bandaging him with a fierce glint in his eyes, revealing a triumphant, sinister smile.
Feng Shuo's heart sank, and he immediately said, "Luo'er, run! It's a trap!" But as soon as he finished speaking, the effects of the drug on his forehead kicked in, and he completely lost consciousness.
"!" Luo'er looked at the several burly men surrounding her and secretly gripped the hilts of her twin swords behind her back.
"Oh dear, why are you being so cautious? You have to make things worse, it's such a hassle." Yin Niangzi stopped pretending and extended her unusually sharp long fingernails, pressing them against Feng Shuo's neck. "Take my people to your mother's and who else, oh, your elder sister's place. Otherwise, your good brother will die here."
Luo'er's breathing grew heavier, her eyes blazing with fury. She never imagined the Feng Kingdom people had even bribed bandits and outlaws! Their influence had infiltrated so deeply. These people wouldn't let any of them go! Run? Where could she run to? Her whole family couldn't betray him! She had no choice; it seemed she would die here tonight.
After so many days on the run, she was under extreme stress and living conditions were at their limit. She watched her loved ones grow weaker and weaker, but all these difficulties did not break her.
There was no despair in Luo'er's eyes, only determination.
Then let's fight to the death!
With a flash of light, two flowers of blood suddenly bloomed from the fat calves of the burly man in front of Luo'er. After a wail, with two quick movements, the petite figure leaped up from the table, then landed, locking the throat of another burly man with her elbow, and the short knife fell straight down, deeply plunging into the neck bone, before being ripped out again.
Within ten breaths, two people had fallen to the ground.
Luo'er leaped back to the ground, panting heavily, her forehead soaked with sweat.
Yin Niangzi never expected that this little kid would remain so calm even when facing death. With a swift stroke of his knife, he acted like a well-trained assassin, displaying remarkable composure!
"All of you, charge! If we don't take down this little brat today, our entire village will die!" Yin Niangzi was anxious. She went to the wall, took down her crossbow, nocked an arrow, suppressed her slightly trembling hands, and aimed at Luo'er.
Luo'er glanced sideways, nimbly crawled under the table, then lifted the table leg and rammed it into Yin Niangzi.
Suddenly, a burly man grinned maliciously, deliberately drawing Luo'er's attention away. He then picked up a large knife and was about to slash into Feng Shuo's waist and abdomen, splitting him in two.
Luo'er was finally forced to cry, "No—"
As soon as Luo'er turned around, Yin Niangzi fired the crossbow bolt like lightning, aiming straight for the back of Luo'er's head.
Luo'er could sense the wind breaking behind her, but she had no strength to dodge. She looked at her sworn brother's figure, a trace of hatred appearing in her eyes.
Yin Niangzi's eyes, however, held a ruthless determination to win.
But at the critical moment, no one expected that two people would suddenly break into the room that was surrounded by bandits.
The flying crossbow bolt was precisely intercepted in mid-air by a jade-white hand, and then casually tossed to the ground. The owner of that hand—a young man in brocade robes—slowly turned his stunningly beautiful face and looked at Lady Yin.
At the same time, the burly man wielding a large knife, about to kill Feng Shuo, was also suddenly kicked away. His back and the back of his head slammed into the rammed earth wall, creating a large, human-shaped crater. The man who kicked him withdrew his leg, casually flicked the hem of his clothes, and looked down at the group of bandits in front of him with an indifferent gaze.
"I didn't expect to make it in time." Shinju said, standing behind Luo'er.
King Zhen glanced at the battle situation on Shinju's side and echoed, "Yes."
Yin Niangzi and the others were stunned by the strength displayed by the two men. They trembled and stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter a complete sentence, "What? Who are you? Do you know whose territory this is? How dare you... trespass?!"
Luo'er was also shocked. She had seen countless masters since she was a child, but she had never seen anyone with such monstrous skills. She suddenly held her breath, her eyes wide and watery, with a bright light swirling around them.
Shinju turned around and glanced at Luo'er's stance wielding two swords. He raised his chin toward Yin Niangzi, gesturing to Luo'er, "She looks pretty tough. You go and beat her up."
Upon hearing this, everyone thought to themselves: "Why send a little kid to fight? You're just bluffing, aren't you? Maybe you only managed to intercept the crossbow bolts by luck!"
Their faces regained their contempt, and they rushed toward Shinjuku.
Luo'er, however, dared not relax at all. As if being tested on her martial arts by her master, her eyes were full of seriousness and focus. She let out a dry cry with a strong voice but a childish tone: "Kill!!"
Then he rushed in front of Lady Yin and began to wield his twin swords.
Yin Niangzi threw away her bow and crossbow, rolled away to avoid Luo'er's cross slashes, snatched the dagger from the waist of the big man next to her, and confronted Luo'er.
After watching the show for a while, the King of Poison's eyes grew more meaningful. Then, he suddenly felt the palm wind coming towards him. He put his hands behind his back, spun around, delivered a diagonal knee strike, and then changed his leg in mid-air, instantly sending the two strong men flying. The door frame and furniture were smashed to pieces.
Those caught in the crossfire became human cushions, rolling and howling on the ground, leaving only two burly men still standing inside. Those outside could only watch, too terrified to enter.
Seeing that Luo'er could suppress Yin Niangzi, Zhen Su leaped off the ground and rushed out of the room in an instant.
Shinju intended to hold back, so he chose the strongest and fattest man and used him as a weapon, then proceeded to wrestle the next group of people to the ground like harvesting wheat. The force of the blows was like a thousand-ton pounding, or a hurricane sweeping across their bodies; their bones creaked under the strain, and in no time, none of the people outside the room could get up again.
Shinju kept his divine sense on the room the whole time. When he went in, Yin Niangzi was covered in bloodstains and a gleaming short knife was across her neck.
Hearing the footsteps, Luo'er, exuding a murderous aura, suddenly turned around, her knife pressing even closer. But upon seeing that it was Zhen Su, her eyes cleared considerably.
Shinju glanced at the other side, where the King of Poison had finished dealing with everyone and was dusting off his clothes, then looked at Luo'er and asked, "What's your name?"
Luo'er kept a straight face and obediently introduced herself, "My name is Xi Luo."
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Author's Note: Deng Tu Zi Zhen Wang: He wants Qing'er to be tainted by the real Mo Shui.
Ahh, we didn't actually kiss! Please don't hit me! This chapter is a bit long! Sorry, I got stuck there, I won't do it again next time (kneels down)
[Edited] Fixed censored words and grammatical errors.
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