Chapter 11 - Assaulted.

In the town near the castle, Ben casually strolled on a street with Holly, his personal assistant. He had done restocking all the herbs and medicinal supplies he needs and Holly who was helping him to carry all the stuff started ranting.

"Dr Ben, why don't you bring more people with you? Those palace guards would certainly be glad to help us carry all these things," said Holly.

"Well, if we brought those brutal guards with us, do you think those suppliers will have the guts to provide us with these 'special supplies'? If those stocks are too heavy for you, I can help you carry some." said Ben, in a more casual tone than usual.

"No, Dr Ben. How could I let your precious pair of hands carry all these? Don't worry, I can handle it just well all by myself," said Holly who rejected Ben's offer.

"I see. But if you really need my help, just ask, don't force yourself too much," said Ben.

"Don't worry, I am okay by myself… Hmm? Hey! Dr Ben, look, there are three ladies who dressed up as men." Holly exclaimed, out of the blue while pointing in a random direction.

Out of curiosity and slight boredom, Ben looked to the direction pointed out by Holly and saw some familiar faces.

"Miss Rei? How did she manage to get out of the castle?" said Ben, a bit confused as he watched Rei and her two maids entered an alley.

"Heh? That was Miss Rei? She certainly looks different in these outfits. Should we go after them?" Holly asked.

Ben shook his head but still decided to follow them quietly from behind…

***

"An Er, is this really the way to the marketplace? This alley looks a bit deserted…" Rei asked, she looks a bit disturbed and anxious by the shadiness of the alley they walked in.

Rei's concern was totally valid as the alley they walked on was not just shady and dim, it was quite shabby and looks like a part of an abandoned construction site, with loose stone bricks and broken wooden pieces all over the place.

"Mmm… According to the palace maids, this is the fastest shortcut." said An Er, who sounds slightly worried as well.

"My Lady, don't worry, I can see the marketplace from here, this is the right path," said Xi Er, the younger maid as she jumped up and down trying to get a view from the exit of the alley.

Hearing this, Rei is relieved a bit. However, that relief doesn't last long, just as Xi Er jumps around to get a clearer view of the marketplace at the exit of the alley, she accidentally bumped onto someone else. It was a tall, slightly muscular man with dirty and torn clothes.

"Ah… I am sorry… Ah!" Just as Xi Er was about to apologize to the man she knocked into, he brutally dragged her up by pulling her hair.

"Xi Er!!?" Rei and An Er shouted in shock.

"Fresh… blood…" The man mumbled as he drooled at Xi Er while staring at her with his bloodshot eyes.

Sensing the life-threatening dangers faced by her own maid, Rei hastily picked up a wooden stick and hit the assaulter's hands repeatedly, trying to make him loosen his grip a bit and obviously, it is not a very wise move. Rei's bold yet reckless move indeed successfully loosens the grip of the assaulter, but instead of just letting Xi Er go, he switched his target to Rei.

"Argh…"

"My Lady!" An Er screamed in terror as she witnessed the assaulter brutally strangle her lady.

Before An Er could do anything, the assaulter turned his head towards An Er upon her scream, he stared at An Er with a creepy smile and drooled non-stop while his hands were still strangling Rei. Terrified by that scene, An Er's legs gave in, she collapsed and kneeled onto the ground, the fear in her was so extreme that she is unable to move even a finger, the only thing she could do was helplessly watched the scary assaulter's brutal deed on her lady.

Suddenly, a piece of stone brick 'flies' towards and smashed directly onto the assaulter's face which caused him to lose balance and fall onto the ground thus releasing Rei from his strangle.

"Get away from him! He is a dangerous person!" A man shouted, in Qin's language, and yes, it was Ben.

"Dr Ben!" The two maids exclaimed as if they saw a life saviour.

However, just when they are relieved by Ben's arrival and about to leave the spot, their assaulter had slowly stood back up as if that impact from the stone brick is not a big deal, despite his whole face being covered in blood. Then, without giving the ladies any moment to escape, he grabbed a thick rusty iron pole and violently swung it towards Rei and Xi Er who are the nearest to him.

Fortunately, Ben reached the ladies just in time and blocked the iron pole barehandedly.

Noticing the unusual state of the assaulter, Ben glimpsed at Rei for a bit. After confirming that she had totally lost consciousness, Ben sighed and took off his glasses…

***

After a period of time, Rei slowly regained consciousness and found herself in an unfamiliar environment. It was a nice and clean room with a nice scent of herbs mixed with a dash of jasmine scent

"You had finally awoken, Lady Rei. Do you remember what happened before you lose consciousness?" a lady asked as she walked towards Rei and she doesn't look very happy.

Rei recognised that lady as Ben's personal assistant, Holly.

"I was heading to a marketplace in the town… And was assaulted by a strange man… and he strangled me…" said Rei, trying to recall what happened.

"You don't even know how did you get here? And not even knowing who was the one that saved you?" Holly asked, in a slightly more rude tone than her usual tone.

"Holly, mind your manner," said Ben as he walked into the room with a bowl of herbal soup. Rei noticed there is something special about Ben, aside from not wearing his glasses, he looks rather tired, and his right arm is injured. Rei immediately understood that it is Ben the one who saved them from that crazy man who assaulted them in the morning.

"If you are wondering where you are right now, you are in my house. And no, I don't live in the castle if you wondered about that as well," said Ben, who sounds even more casual than usual…