Being Saved

"Haa, haa, whew." The sound of panting and heavy breathing could be heard inside the forest.

The sound of the dry leaves being crushed under the foots rang out in a messy way.

"I...I can't walk anymore. Haa.." A little girl of 10 years old said in a weak voice and squatted. She looked very skinny and was wearing shabby clothes. Her face was small and had some freckles on her cheeks, looking somewhat cute.

"Then let's rest here for now. We are already far from the border and no guards would come to the forest." A tall and slightly muscular man in his twenties said after looking around the surroundings.

He was also wearing shabby clothes that were torn in some places. He was holding a short stick and a small baggage.

"Haa, thank you big brother." The girl smiled and thanked the man and sat on the ground.

Another man who looked slightly younger and slender than the tall man sat near a tree as his back rested against it.

"I'm dead beat. How long will it take to get to the nearby town? We have been walking for hours!" He asked impatiently. He was wearing a pair of pants and a dirty looking outer.

"It should take at least an hour from here. Don't worry. We are now out of that hellish place so we can take our time and be safe. Don't go anywhere from here. Take some rest, I will look around for water." The tall man then set aside the baggage and walked deeper into the forest after saying that.

There were two more people with them. A young girl and boy. The girl seemed to be around 16-17 years old while the boy looked like 13-14 years old. They were both looking unhealthy like others in shabby clothes.

The common thing among them would be the glaring tattoo at their neck that read 'Slave'. Fortunately, it could be hidden under the collar of their robes.

The tall man went inside the forest as he looked around in search of food and water. Luckily, he found a small pond near a small hill. The water was clear and drinkable.

He went near the pond to scoop up some water in the water pouch and drank some water from the pond.

Just as he was about to head back, he saw a black figure lying on the ground.

He was startled at the sight of it.

"An animal?" He muttered confusedly then headed towards it. He nudged the black figure with the stick once and got no response.

After he came near the figure, he finally saw that it was a heavily injured person. The person was wearing a black mask and black cloak with a sword tightly clutched in her hand.

The man took off the mask to see who it was but saw a beautiful pale face of a girl under it. She was soaked in blood.

The man was shocked to see her like this and stretched out his hand towards her nose to see if she was breathing or not.

Although her breathing was weak, she was at least alive. He was unable to think about what to do next so he put the mask on her face again and scooped her up in his arms carefully and went back to the place where the others were waiting.

...

....

"Why isn't brother Heng back yet? It has already been an hour!" The small boy grumbled in a soft voice.

"He must still be searching for some water. Wait a little more. I will go and find him." The young man said and got up from the ground when he suddenly saw the tall man coming towards them with a black thing in his arms.

"Big brother is back!" The young girl exclaimed happily.

They got up from the ground and went towards the tall man.

"Ah Heng, what is it in your arms?" The young woman asked him curiously.

"Yeah, what is it? What is it? Is it a bear? Or a boar?" The small boy also asked curiously.

"I'm back. Wait a bit. Let me through and I will tell you." They finally stood aside and let him through. He then put the girl down and leaned her back against the tree.

"Oh! It's a person! Brother, where did you find him?" The young man asked after he saw that it was not an animal but he couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy because of the mask.

"I found her lying on the ground heavily injured and she was still alive so I couldn't just let her be. There should be some medicinal herbs here that can help in healing her small wounds and stop the bleeding, as for the severe wounds....that will need a doctor to heal it. Here, have some water." The man explained and handed them the water pouches.

" Woah, it's a girl?? It's a surprise that she could still live with such wounds. If it were me, I would have died long ago." The young man cried out in shock after he saw the deep wound on her arms and other places and shuddered.

"Did she encounter an animal? Or else how can she get such deep wounds? Or maybe....she is also someone like us?" The young woman said in a low voice.

"That's also possible but she doesn't have a tattoo so maybe she was attacked by an animal. Anyway, Ning'er, can you take care of her and change her clothes? I will search for some herbs for her." Ah Heng said to the young woman who was also his wife.

" Okay, but maybe we should head towards the pond so that I can wash her wounds." Ning'er said after she thought a bit.

" That's okay too. Ah Mo, help Ning'er to take care of the girl and look after Ah Feng and Xiao Li. I will come back later." Ah Heng then said to the young man.

" Okay, brother. Be careful." said Ah Mo.

Ah Mo helped to carry the girl and they all headed towards the pond while Ah Heng headed to search for medicines.

Ning'er and Xiao Li were the only girls there so they helped in changing the clothes and washing the wounds of the girl.

Ah Mo and Ah Feng looked around for some firewoods to light fire and also searched for some food.

"Gasp!" When Ning'er and Xiao Li carefully changed the girl's clothes, they finally saw how severe her injuries were.

There was a long and deep wound on her left arm while there were some big and small wounds all over her body.

"What could have happened to her to get injured like this?" Ning'er murmured softly under her breathe.

"Sister, will this big sister die?" Xiao Li asked timidly after seeing the wounds on the girl's body.

"No, she won't die. If she were fated to die, she might have died already. She is still breathing which means she hasn't given up to her wounds. She is a strong person." Ning'er said in a low voice, her eyes lingering on the wounds.

Ning'er took off the black mask from the face which showed a face that could destroy cities and countries.

The face hidden under the mask was so beautiful that words couldn't ever describe it. Calling it outstandingly beautiful might not even do any justice to her beauty. She was so young yet her beauty was already so breathtaking. One couldn't imagine how beautiful she would be after she grows up.

Her facial features were flawless with pale white skin like snow that was as smooth as a top quality jade, her closed eyes made her eyelashes look like beautiful fans, her small nose and pouty lips made her look adorable. Her long jet black hair was messily scattered on her back but it didn't seem unkempt and added even more beauty to it.

It was just that she looked very pale and her lips were white from her injuries. Tiny drops of sweat forming on her forehead which was creased into a frown even in her unconsciousness.

"Wow, this big sister is so pretty!" Xiao Li exclaimed in awe and shock. Even Ning'er couldn't help but nod at her words but then felt like the words weren't enough.

"Let's focus on washing her wounds now. We should finish it fast or it will be past noon." Ning'er got out of her awe and said to Xiao Li. They then quickly washed the wounds with water carefully and changed her into thin undergarments and a loose robe with short sleeves.

Ah Heng returned with herbs shortly after they finished changing her and he crushed the herbs into a paste and gave it to Ning'er to smear it on her wounds.

They finished applying the medicine in a short while and the wounds were bandaged with some cloths.

"Brother, I am back! Look, I caught a rabbit in the forest. I also found some berries. Oh by the way, I saw a part of the forest was torn apart as if a storm had came before. The trees were all uprooted and it was a total mess. I wonder what happened there. Other parts of the forest were all fine." Ah Mo told them whatever he saw just now and handed the rabbit to Ah Heng to skin it.

" Storm?.. How could there be storm in just one part? Don't go there next time. It might be dangerous. Come, help Ah Feng to light the fire." Ah Heng felt that it shouldn't be a storm and felt that it was something they shouldn't meddle in so he gave some warnings to Ah Mo.

Ah Heng finished skinning the rabbit and the two boys also finished lighting the fire. The rabbit was then skewered in a stick and left to roast in the fire.

They ate the rabbit and berries after a while and went to rest a bit. It was still noon and the sun was high in the sky so they didn't have to worry that they won't get to the town on time.

They still had to look out for the girl too so they decided to stay for a while longer.