Mountain Bandits
Guizhou was a relatively peaceful place and the two managed to secure a room at a luxurious inn. Daiyu dragged Zihan to a clothing shop to get him some new clothes and the day went by peacefully, even after the bumpy start. After having dinner at the inn, the two finally retired to their separate rooms.
"Hah. I can't believe I'm so weak." Daiyu muttered and closed her eyes. The helpless feeling when she was standing in front of that masked man kept coming back to haunt her.
"Then just get stronger, dimwit." Haoran's familiar voice made Daiyu sit up in anger.
"That's easy for you to say!" She had been trying her hardest for a year but it felt as if she was not getting anywhere.
"Well, let's go train now. I think there is a stream nearby. I doubt anyone would be there at this time." At Haoran's words, Daiyu jumped to her feet and grabbed her sword. Zihan, who had taken up the adjacent room, had not explicitly warned her against sneaking out.
Daiyu followed Haoran's directions and reached the stream after walking for some time. The place was deserted, as Haoran had predicted and it was the ideal place for her to train.
"Shall we start then?" Haoran smirked and sat on a rock by the stream. "Let's start with the Twelve Movement Violet Equilibrium and move on to the Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Sword Technique."
Daiyu raised her sword and swung it down with a graceful motion. Under the moonlight, her sword dance looked exceptionally mysterious and beautiful. Even though the air was chilly, she did not feel cold.
After she was done with the first technique, Daiyu began the Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Sword Technique. The blade of her sword glowed violet with her Qi and the tip started vibrating ever so slightly.
A butterfly emerged from the tip of the sword and it continued until dozens of butterflies had surrounded her. Each and every movement of the sword was fast and flashy, yet it was powerful and graceful. The butterflies moved like a storm and then like an overflowing river based on Daiyu's sword movement. She was at the center of the beautiful illusion that surrounded her.
Daiyu finished performing the technique and she could feel exhaustion building up within her. It took a lot of Qi and stamina for Daiyu to perform this technique but she could feel that she was getting better.
Daiyu's peaceful moment was interrupted when she heard the sound of a twig snapping. She turned her head around and raised her sword, expecting an enemy to come out any moment.
"Who's there? Show yourself." She asked in a demanding voice.
"Eh, I don't think he means any harm." Haoran dawdled lazily. He had already sensed someone watching her from behind the dense cover of trees but he couldn't sense any maliciousness from that person.
A young boy stepped out of the forest with his arms raised above his head and an embarrassed look on his face. He was barely sixteen years old, with dark brown hair and a rather handsome face.
"Oh um, I'm sorry for watching you without your permission. It's just that the butterflies were so pretty that I…" The boy stuttered as he spoke and Daiyu lowered her sword when she realized that he wasn't there to harm her.
"Who are you?" Daiyu asked and frowned a little. She was annoyed that her training had been interrupted in such a way.
"Oh, right! I'm Tang Bo from the Sichuan Tang Family. It's nice to meet you." The boy greeted Daiyu politely and gave a warm smile.
"He looks exactly like that little snake did back then." Haoran had a small smile on his lips. Even though he was looking at Tang Bo, his eyes were looking somewhere far beyond him.
"I'm Cheon Daiyu." Anyone would know who she was when they heard her surname, so she didn't bother adding the Cult's name. Tang Bo's eyes widened with surprise when he heard her name.
"Oh! You're from Demonic Cult. I've heard that our ancestors had a friendly relationship with the Fourth Heavenly Demon." Daiyu was surprised that Tang Bo didn't show any signs of hostility upon learning her name. The Justice Factions still hated the Demonic Cult, even though they had signed a treaty.
"Friendly relationship, my ass. That Tang Fei used to keep running behind me begging to spar with me all the time. Well, I guess he was a bit cute in his own way." Haoran snorted at the fond memories of his old friends.
"Are you participating in the Young Phoenix Martial Tournament as well?" Tang Bo asked with an excited look in his eyes. Daiyu felt a little unnerved talking to someone so energetic.
"Well, yes. I think so." She replied while avoiding his eyes. It felt as if her eyes would fall out if she looked at him any longer.
"I'm also headed to Sichuan! Let's go together. I'm sure Tang Xia, my little sister, would be happy to meet you as well." Daiyu tried to avoid the puppy look Tang Bo was giving her but she couldn't refuse no matter how much she tried.
"Give up. You can never refuse it, seriously. I've been through that." Haoran sighed and shook his head.
"I.. will ask Master Zihan." She finally choked out the answer and Tang Bo gave a small laugh.
"Alright! You're staying at the Moon Pavillion right? I'll see you downstairs at breakfast!" Tang Bo ran off before Daiyu could give a reply and she sighed, feeling drained from the interaction. Tang Family was well-known to be vicious and unyielding. She wondered if those were all made up lies.
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"Umm.. so…" Daiyu stuttered to explain why Tang Bo and his cranky sister were sitting at the same table as them to have breakfast. Zihan had a bewildered expression on his face that clearly meant that he had no idea what was going on. Daiyu was going to tell him about her meeting with Tang Bo at breakfast but the two siblings sat down before she could get a word in.
"You must be Master Zihan! Hello, I'm Tang Bo and this is Tang Xia. We are also going to Sichuan so I asked Miss Daiyu if we can go together and she agreed!" Tang Bo happily chattered away and Zihan turned his face to look at Daiyu with questioning eyes.
"Please." Daiyu looked away and began eating her food to avoid answering any questions. When Zihan realized he had no say in the situation, he just sighed and shook his head.
"Are you the Third Son of the Tang Family's patriarch?" Zihan asked Tang Bo, who had stuffed his mouth with food. He nodded vigorously and Tang Xia gave him a dirty look.
"You are so disgusting." She side eyed her brother and frowned at Daiyu. She reminded Daiyu of an angry and hissy black cat.
Once they finished their breakfast, Zihan went out to arrange a carriage and some horses while the rest went to their rooms to grab their things. They all sat in the carriage while Zihan volunteered to drive it.
They decided to stop at Luzhuo at night before leaving for Sichuan the next day. Tang Xia kept her eyes averted with a pout on his face and Tang Bo chattered away the entire way. Daiyu felt as if her ears were going to start bleeding if he talked anymore. Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop and Daiyu looked out to see a mob of mountain bandits blocking their way.
"Hand over your things and women if you want to pass the mountain." A rugged man stepped forward with a smirk on his face. Tang Xia, who had been quiet till now, gave a little snort and spoke with an animated voice.
"That is so cliche. Do they all learn the same lines?"
Zihan looked back at the three of them and asked with a relaxed voice.
"Do you guys want to deal with them?"
Tang Bo jumped off the carriage along with Tang Xia, and Daiyu got off right behind them. If Zihan was asking them to deal with the thugs, she was sure she could do it.
"These tiny punks? Seriously? Ugh. Those clothes and that hairpin looks expensive. Go grab them, boys." The man waved his hand and a bunch of bandits stepped forward instantly.
"Ah, looks like they wanted this hairpin." Tang Xia took off the hairpin she was wearing and clutched it in her hands. "I guess I can give it to them."
She hurled the pin at the bandit in front of them and it went through his throat in an instant. The man clutched his throat and gurgled blood before collapsing on the ground. His skin began changing into a grotesque shade of purple and he began foaming at mouth.
"That little bitch." The leader's face twisted in anger and he screamed at the men to charge at them.
Daiyu peeled her eyes from the corpse of the man with a hairpin jutting from his throat and took out her sword in an instant. She closed the distance between her and the bandits in an instant before making a sweeping cut with her blade. The bandits began retaliating and swung their heavy daos but they seemed extremely slow to Daiyu. One by one, the bandits in front of her began falling to the ground from an injury or having been knocked unconscious. Daiyu still wasn't ready to swing her blade to kill yet.
"Ah, what an annoying bunch of flies." Tang Bo took out several needles from his sleeves and shot them at the bandits. The bandits fell down unconscious the moment they got jabbed by the poisonous needles. Tang Xia looked like she was having a lot of fun playing around with the bandits.
By the end, only the leader remained standing while all his men were on the ground.
"P-Please spare me!" The bandit fell to the ground and bowed before them. It seemed like he had given up the idea of fighting them.
"Well done. Now then, what shall we do with him?" Zihan gave a soft smile and looked down at the grown man who was shivering on the ground from fear. It seemed like it wasn't a good day for him.