Chapter 95 The City Of Warriors Part 31

Looking down at the two men, Lan Huan glanced coldly at the two men sitting on the roadside. "Follow this road for seven days and you will arrive at the gate of Magior capital." Lan Huan pointed to the road behind her.

Haneul stood up with a smile and threw the fruit in his hand to Lan Huan. He said, "The beauty is right in front of me, why bother to look for the beauty seven days away?"

Lan Huan threw the fruit back to Haneul and frowned, "I don't have time for this."  She grabbed the reins, but Haneul quickly grabbed the reins and stopped Lan Huan.  "Let go."

Haneul asked, "Where are you going?"

Lan Huan said, "It's none of your business."

Haneul smiled seductively and said, "I have never seen a woman who looks like you. Although your complex is not as good as other women I have seen, you are still quite interesting."

Lan Huan held the riding crop tightly in her right hand and looked at Haneul, which made Lan Huan even more angry.  "Imbecile," she yelled madly, lashing her horsewhip at Haneul, but to her surprise, her horsewhip was grabbed by Sukh, who had just been sitting next to Haneul a moment ago.  Sukh moved so quickly that she didn't even notice that Sukh had stood up.

Sukh slowly loosened the horsewhip and said, "My lady, pardon my friend's behavior. He can't control himself in front of a beautiful lady."

Lan Huan looked at Sukh, who was more polite than Haneul.  She put away her horsewhip and asked, "What is your real purpose in going to Magior City?"

Sukh said, "Sightseeing.  We heard from other people that people from this city are taller than the normal human, so we just wanted to prove that what was written was true."

Lan Huan looked at the two of them and said, "Am I taller than normal people?"

Haneul said, "You look pretty normal to me."

Lan Huan said, "There you go; you got your answer." 

Haneul asked with a smile, "So, where are you going, beautiful?"

Lan Huan looked at Haneul and Sukh and found white pure energy floating around them. She knew that people surrounded by pure white energy were virtuous, so she decided to tell them the truth. She said, "Master has entrusted me with a mission to save her lover."

Haneul chuckled and said, "Is there such a mission?" He turned to look at Sukh.  "Why does my general always define me when I want my general to do something for me." He continued laughing.

Sukh frowned and said, "Because some of the tasks you gave the general are a bit childish and ridiculous."

Haneul said, "I don't think they're ridiculous or childish."

Lan Huan said, "As I said, if you go in that direction, you can reach the capital of Magior."  She whipped her horse and her horse charged forward leaving the two men and the others behind, rushing in the opposite direction of Magior City. 

After riding for a while, she noticed two horses chasing her. She kept riding forward, but somehow the two horses behind her began to catch up with her.

Haneul shouted, "Hey, pretty lady, wait a minute."

Lan Huan looked back and found that the two people chasing her were none other than Haneul and Sukh, so she slowed her horse and waited for the two men to catch up.  When the two were close enough, Lan Huan looked at them and asked, "Where are the others?"

Sukh said, "They will go to the capital of Magior and wait for us there."

Lan Huan asked, "Your subordinates are going to Magior capital, what are you two doing here?"

Sukh said, "It's all because of him."  He looked at Haneul.

Haneul chuckled and said, "I don't think a beautiful lady like you should travel alone."

Lan Huan said coldly, "I don't need your protection."

Haneul said, "Whether you need it or not, we're already here. And a journey of three is better than a journey of one. And, with us, you won't feel alone."

Lan Huan said, "I have always traveled alone."

Haneul said, "Since we are with you now, let's go together. You may not need our help now, but you may need our help later."

Lan Huan said, "Helping me will gain you nothing."

Sukh said, "We don't expect to get any benefits from helping you."  He gave Lan Huan a smile.  "Just think of it as the beginning of friendship."

Lan Huan looked at Sukh, who smiled warmly at her.  Sukh was the second person to give her such a smile. "If you knew who I was, you wouldn't want to travel with me," she said, looking at the two men riding beside her.

Haneul said, "I don't judge a person by their appearance. I judge a person by his actions. For that, please forgive me for being rude. Seeing you traveling alone reminds me of myself during my difficult times, but I'm a little luckier than you, because in my difficult time, when I was chased by the enemy, Sukh was by my side." He smiled at Lan Huan. "When I see you completing the task by yourself, I think about how lonely you would be if you didn't have anyone by your side to help you complete that important task."

Lan Huan was moved by Haneul's words.  Looking into Haneul's eyes when he spoke, Lan Huan knew that Haneul was speaking from his heart and the words that were expressed were not false.

Haneul smiled and said, "My lady, please forgive me for being rude. I completely forgot to introduce myself." He cleared his throat. "I am Haneul of Tangzang Kingdom…" He looked down at the ground and chuckled because he had just realized that he was an exiled King in the kingdom that should have belonged to him. "Let's start over. I am Haneul an exiled person of Tangzang Kingdom."

Sukh said, "I am Sukh."

Lan Huan said, "This untouchable slave is Lan Huan."

Haneul asked doubtfully, "Untouchable slave?  Are there such people that are untouchable?"

Lan Huan said, "There is a group of slaves who have been labeled as untouchables since they were born."

Sukh asked, "I have never heard of such a group of people being called 'untouchables.' Why do you treat yourself as a slave?"

Lan Huan said, "We untouchables are born to serve our masters. If we could choose to be born, we would never choose to be born as untouchables. We would rather walk freely among the crowd." She sneered. "But who are we kidding? When we first come into this world, we are already marked as untouchables."

Haneul asked, "How do you tell if you are an untouchable or not?"

Lan Huan said, "There is a group of people called the Cutlass Exiles.  They are a group of people who do not have land of their own. They usually live in the mountains and go from one place to another, selling or trading their children for money or goods.  These children could predict the future and can stay young forever as long as they remain pure."

Haneul said, "I know about the Cutlass Exiles, but never heard about the Untouchables, what happens if they lose their purity?"

Lan Huan said, "Once they lose their virginity, they are just ordinary people and die young."

Sukh murmured, "Heaven is always fair."

Lan Huan asked, "You think so?" She rolled her cold eyes at Sukh.

Sukh nodded and said, "Everything in this world has a price as long as you are willing to pay." He looked at Lan Huan, and his warm eyes met Lan Huan's cold eyes. He did not express dissatisfaction but gave Lan Huan a warm smile.

Haneul said, "I hope you won't call yourself a slave when you introduce yourself in the future."

Lan Huan said, "I'm used to it. I'm destined to be a slave until I breathe my last breath."

Sukh asked, "Have you ever predicted your future?"

Lan Huan said, "I tried."

Haneul asked excitedly, "What did you see?"

Lan Huan said, "I saw myself in shackles, alone in the dungeon."

Haneul asked, "What does this mean?"

Lan Huan said, "That means I can't escape my fate." As soon as Lan Huan finished speaking, the sound of dogs barking, and horse hooves could be heard in the distance. Lan Huan turned around and found a thin cloud of dust hovering in the air not far from them. She looked at Haneul and Sukh.  "We have companies." 

Sukh said, "Let's not rush into anything. Let's wait and see whether they are friends or enemies."

Lan Huan, Sukh, and Haneul slowed down their horses and slowly pulled themselves to the side of the road to leave space for others. As people walked past them, they realized that these people were just ordinary citizens.

"I can't believe that even the army itself can't handle it," said an old man.

A middle-aged man holding a child in his arms and carrying a basket full of goods said, "That land is already too messy. We should never have settled there in the first place."

A young man walking among the old men sighed again with a heavy heart, "I wonder what happened to those soldiers. They haven't left the forest for weeks."

The middle-aged man said, "I'm sure they are goner as they stepped into the forest."  He turned to look at the old man and the young man. "Have you ever seen anyone come out after entering the forest? I know I didn't."

The old man and the young man both shook their head.

Lan Huan dismounted, rushed to the three of them, and asked, "Are those soldiers from Magior Kingdom?"

The older man said, "They are soldiers from different kingdoms. That's all we know."

Lan Huan asked, "Which direction is the forest?"

The older man stopped and pointed to the mountains behind them. "That forest, but I don't recommend you follow the soldiers."

The young man stopped a few steps away, and then walked towards the old man and Lan Huan. He said, "Believe this elder. Everyone in our village is dead, and we are the only one alive in our village of two thousand people." He shook his head. "There are still nearby villages who refuse to leave."

Lan Huan ignored the warnings of the old man and the younger man, she asked, "How do I enter the forest?"

The old man said, "Young lady, do you really want to enter that forest?"

Lan Huan said, "I have a person trapped in this forest, and I must save him."

The older man said, "If you go in that direction, you will soon encounter a crossroads. Take the crossroads above and walk for about an hour. If you see sedan chairs on the roadside, then you have reached the entrance of the forest." The old man looked at Lan Huan. "I still recommend that you do not enter the forest for your own safety."

Lan Huan bowed to thank the old man and said, "Thank you." She jumped on her horse and rode towards the mountain pointed by the old man.

As Haneul and Sukh rode past the older and younger men, he asked, "What is the name of this forest?"

The young man looked up at Haneul and said, "Skull Forest."