23 | Bandits

Raiya

It was a quiet peaceful day. I was sitting in my quarters looking over papers of the recent soldier recruitments as the chime hanging above the shoji screen doors ring lightly from the breeze. I sat the paper in piles when suddenly Hulang jumps in from the window behind me and the papers fly across the room. I sighed as I glared at him. He looked away knowing he'll have to pick them up later.

"He left." Hulang said calmly, but straight to the point.

I sat the papers in my hand down on the table in front of me and Hulang walks over to sit across from me while setting his sword beside him. Something within me boiled and for once I felt uneasy. Hulang passes me two letters and the first one I opened revealed such messy handwriting like a child had written it, but it was readable. All it said was,

'Thank you for the time you spent teaching me how to read and write. Now than I understand the world better, I plan to travel. Lord Yun has already given me his approval. Please take care. Junhe.'

I opened the next letter written by father,

'Junhe has finally chosen his own path. He wishes to cut ties with the Yun clan and travel the world. I've allowed him to leave for it was the first time he has asked me for something. One last thing, Junhe wishes for you children to be free of guilt and pain. He said there was nothing there to forgive.'

I sat there and waved my hand indicating Hulang to leave me alone. He stood up and hopped out the window. I gripped the letters in my hand so tightly they crumbled and ripped.

Junhe had always lived in the main house. It didn't matter when or where I went, I just always knew he'd be there. In the beginning I wanted him gone, I wanted him to suffer so badly that he'd kill himself, but now that this hatred subsided I wanted him to be in a place within my reach. I wanted to know where he was at all times, but now he's gone.

I felt an incredible sense of anger inside, but my expression stayed cool and collected. I grabbed my sword and walked out of my room as Naiwei walks into sight. He press his hand against my shoulder and asked me,

"Where are going?"

"No where." I responded calmly.

"Like hell I'll believe that! I'm your brother, I know if something's wrong even when you have such a straight face."

"..."

"Is it Junhe again?" He questioned.

"..." I don't know how my face gives it away, but my younger brothers always know when something's up.

"Are you planning to chase after him?" Naiwei sighed. "He left on his own. If you bring him back then you'll just be locking him up against his will like mother! Do you think he'll truly be happy like that? Always living in a cage."

"I'd rather lock him in a cage than lose him forever." I quietly replied as I walked pass Naiwei.

"Let him go." Hulang commented. "However, you have to come back in 15 days. Without the lieutenant, we can only cover so much. Not only that, but I didn't teach Junhe everything. If he really left then, he'll die for sure."

The first place I stopped by was back at the main house and the servants provided me with a basic description of what he wore and which direction he went. I asked people along the way if they saw anyone wearing white riding a black horse several days ago. Many said no, but those who saw him said he went into the mountains.

It was just a sea of trees. No pathways and barely any light. However, tracking him was easy. I just had to follow the horse tracks. It had already been 6 days that I searched for him.

The bushes rustled and the trees shook around me abnormally. Someone was following me. 10? No. 12 people. Are they assassins? I proceed to walk cautiously until the horse tracks became a stampede of foot prints. Junhe must have been taken by this group.

Anger fueled me knowing that he was probably injured when they attacked him. One by one I killed them off with my sword and left two survivors. Mountain bandits? They showed me the way back to their hideout and then I knocked them unconscious outside of the entrance.

As I walked into the cave like maze, bandits appeared from corners with weapons ready to attack, but they were too slow. I couldn't use my sword in such small pathways, so I knocked everyone one of them unconscious by hand otherwise they would have died by my sword. They were lucky.

A while later they finally dropped their weapons and gave up trying to fight back. They guided me to their leader, who sat in a spacious room on a bed with naked women and men by his side. None of which were Junhe. It disgusted me, knowing that he might have touched Junhe with his filthy hands.

"I'm searching for someone. He's dressed in white and wore a bamboo hat covered in a piece of cloth. He traveled with a black horse."

"I don't remember anyone like that. If he didn't please me then we probably sold him as a slave." he replied.

With that one sentence I left the room and came back with twenty of his men that stood in front of him in fear. In one second all their throats were slit open and they fell over lifeless leaving a pool of blood. The naked women and men screamed as they ran to one corner. The leader trembled in fear as I spoke to him.

"Do you remember now?"

"I do! I do! He was a beauty, right? With golden eyes. I remember him!"

"What did you do to him?"

His face paled as he knew he had to speak carefully.

"Although his face was beautiful, his body was covered in scars, so I threw him back into the cage."

With that one sentence I chopped off his right hand and he cried in pain. The only way to see Junhe's scars was if the person removed his bandages themselves. There's no way he would offer to take them off himself.

"W-why? I-I answered you." the leader mumbled.

"You touched him. Where is he?"

"He escaped with another prisoner several days ago. P-please spare my life." he begged.

"Kill him!" one of the naked men shouted. "Kill him! He r*ped us all. Kill him!"

They started to shout and cry begging me to kill him, but I didn't. Looking around the room, there was a stash of weapons and goods sitting in a corner. I noticed a familiar weapon, a fancy spear. Elegant, but overly decorated with strings, chains, and bells. I only know one person who would take the time to decorate a spear and still wield it.

"Where's the owner of this spear?" I asked as I grabbed the spear and showed it to him.

"He was the prisoner that escaped with the man you're searching for. We found him wounded in the woods many weeks ago."

I turn around to leave and as I do I look at the several naked women and men.

"His men are either dead or knocked out cold. He has a stash of money and weapons sitting in front of him. There's ten of you guys versus an injured man. Do you still need my help or will you take your own revenge?"

With that, they rush to kill him and his dying screams echo within the cave like hallways. I could hear them yell and mourn as they stabbed him to death.

Walking out of the mountain cave I decided to return back to the palace. I know ZhouHan well enough that he won't abandon Junhe. He's the type that likes to look after others, so I'll let him play dead for now.