211 Unexpected Visitor (1/2)
Darkness began to settle in heavily between the trees, a group of horses stationed together in the woods. Their riders nowhere in sight.
”Hk!” Before the bandit could shout, a hand covered his mouth as a sword plunged through his chest.
After killing the two bandits in front, An Sun took their clothing and tossed them to two soldiers with the same stature.
”Stand here and don't move until we return.”
The two soldiers nodded their heads. When all was said and done, An Sun and a small group of the soldiers snuck into the village. Hiding behind the buildings, they could hear the bandit's voices.
”I'm so fucking tired of sitting here with these pieces of shit! It's been three days! When will they give us the money?”
”Just be patient, I'm sure they received are message already. If they care about these people's lives, they'll give it to us.”
”So boring!” The bandit looked in the direction of a certain hut and his eyes shown with a sinister gleam. ”You know…maybe we should have some fun while we wait. I'm sure they wouldn't care if we touched a few of them, right? As long as they're alive.”
The other bandit noticed the lustful stare in his eyes and snorted.
”Be my guest. I have no interest in dirty swine like them. They smell.”
Hiding behind a building, An Sun glanced in the direction the man looked toward.
”That must be where they're keeping the women and children,” Fan Mingli whispered behind him.
An Sun nodded in agreement. Looking down at the young man beside him, An Sun's gaze deepened. Noticing his stare, Fan Mingli furrowed his brows in confusion. The longer An Sun stared at him silently, the more nervous he grew.
”Your figure…it's quite small isn't it.” An Sun's low voice commented casually.
Fan Mingli looked at An Sun with the expression of a man who devoutly hoped he'd misheard. When he glanced at An Sun, and his discomfort kicked up another notch as the man adopted a painfully neutral expression.
Fan Mingli swallowed nervously.
Inside, a village hut, a group of women huddled in a corner. While some wrapped their arms around the children, consoling them with gentle words, others sat by themselves, trembling with fear. As the door to the hut suddenly opened, the women's bodies shivered even more intensely.
The bandit ignored their looks and let out a big grin.
”Let's see…which one of you would like spending the night with me?”
The women listened to the bandit's words with pale faces. As he walked around the room, their figures shrunk into even smaller positions, as if they were trying to become invisible. When he abruptly stopped in front of a group of three women, his lips curled into a sneer.
”What a cute voice you have there. I want to hear more of it.” The bandit leaned his face close to whisper in her ear. The girl shivered and lowered her head. This pleased the bandit even further.
”I'll take you with me then.”
Just before the bandit dragged the girl out, a figure amongst the huddled women stood.
”Oh? Do you want to joi—” Before he could finish, the bandit's throat burst open and blood splattered all around the room like rain.
The women cried in fear but were quickly hushed by the woman who stood up just now.
”Don't make any sounds,” The voice that came from the tall woman was deep and husky, causing the village women's eyes to widen.
An Sun looked at the women's shocked expressions and sighed. He wore a village woman's yellow scarf, his arrogant demeanor shining as he slightly raised his head, showing off his sharp jaw. He removed the scarf from his neck and moved his long hair out of his face. Turning to the young girl the bandit tried to take, he squatted down to offer a hand.
”Are you all right, Fan Mingli?”
Fan Mingli felt his face go scarlet under the concealment of his hair. He never felt more humiliated in his life! To dress as a woman and not to mention be picked by the bandit, he felt shame! He looked up at An Sun with a wrongful glare.
”I'm fine, thank you very much!” Fan Mingli ignored An Sun's stretched out a hand and patted down his dress. This proved to be pointless as the blood on it smeared.
”Did you have to kill him so closely? I got blood on my dress now!” Fan Mingli shot An Sun a look of complaint.
An Sun looked back at the young man for several contemplative moments, then cleared his throat. Though he wasn't smiling, his eyes glinted with amusement.
”You still look good in it.”
”Whatever…” Fan Mingli muttered with flushed cheeks.
Just then, a few other figures stood up from the huddle women and muttered curses under their breath.
”He's right Fan Mingli, out of all of us you look the most like a woman.”
”Captain Sun has a good eye, to think he let that frail body of yours be of use.” The soldiers laughed.
Fan Mingli felt his jaw drop, and then bright spots of anger blazed on his plump cheeks.
”Shut up!” He got out through gritted teeth.
A soldier admired the small dress on his body. ”Damn, I never thought there would be I time I'd wear women's clothes.”
Another man chuckled. ”We don't look half bad.”
Two of the soldiers look at him with odd expressions and silently stepped away.
”By the way, Captain Sun, what gave you such an idea to dress as women?” Fan Mingli asked curiously.
Immersed deep within his own mind, An Sun unconsciously smiled, bending his eyes.
”Just a little inspiration from an old friend of mine.”
Fan Mingli tilted his head in confusion and shrugged his shoulders.
”Now what do we do? How exactly do we defeat all those bandits? We're still outnumbered, aren't we?”
The other soldiers looked at An Sun with bright eyes, awaiting his next order.
”That will be the hard part,” An Sun said in a quieter, far more serious tone, and jerked his head at group village women already peering curiously at them.
An Sun glanced at them for a moment, then crossed to the group of women huddled in the corner. As he approached, their bodies flinched. Pausing his steps, An Sun knelt on the ground to look into the women's eyes.
”Don't be afraid. We were sent from the Jinping province to save you.”
”R-Really?” An older woman in front looked at An Sun with hopeful eyes.
”Yes,” An Sun said with a rare soft smile.
The older woman's eyes watered as she placed a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob.
”T-Thank you.”