A Fateful Reunion (1)

The following morning while deep in her slumber, Rin had started to feel her chest become somewhat uncomfortable. Her eyes blearily opened awake, her eyelashes faintly batting against her lids when she blinked. Streaks of sunlight penetrated the window and blinded her slightly.

The moment she glanced down, her body stiffened. Curled up in Rin's arms, was none other than Aiguo. However, his head was resting closely on her chest. At some point, he snuggled himself deeper.

Rin was shocked, frozen for a second before a boiling rage overtook her.

"Insolent little…Get up!" She immediately retracted her foot coiled around Aiguo's and delivered a swift, merciless kick.

While sleeping, Aiguo woke up from the harsh impact. Before he had the chance to process the situation, he fell out of the bed. On the floor, Aiguo's eyes blinked awake, his spiky hair slightly tousled. When he realized what happened, his expression darkened.

He opened his mouth but stopped himself from saying anything when he saw Rin's expression. The dark aura around her, her furrowed brows and the thin line formed by her rosy lips; all these signs showed that she wasn't happy.

For whatever reason, he knew he was apparently in the wrong. In the end, he said nothing and cleared his throat.

"G-Good morning, Rin." He scratched the back of his head.

"Mm." Rin hummed, her arms crossed over her chest.

Glaring at the boy a few more seconds, Rin's eyes glanced at the window. From the sun shining through, she could guess it was early in the morning. Sighing softly, Rin uncrossed her arms and walked over to the table.

"Come on, start getting ready, we're leaving soon."

Aiguo nodded and got up from the floor. When the two finished packing all their belongings, the sound of the door knocking caught their attention. Assuming it was the inn worker reminding them that their stay was over; Rin walked to the door.

The moment she opened the door, a man suddenly rushed in. Rin's neutral expression disappeared as her pupils contracted.

He swung his dagger at Rin, who stepped back and grabbed the chair behind her. Having failed to hit his target, the man cursed and lunged again. However, before he could react, Rin had already swung the chair towards him and struck him in the head, hard.

Then, Rin grabbed hold of the broken leg of the chair and again, slammed it hard against his head until blood formed at the top and flowed down his face. When he collapsed to the ground, the room fell silent.

Aiguo stood in the corner, his face pale with fright and hands slightly trembling. Rin's expression at this moment had turned threateningly cold.

"Are you all right?" She looked over at the frightened boy.

In shock, Aiguo finally recovered himself a little.

"Y-Yeah…"

Just as Rin opened her mouth to speak, she caught the sound of heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Grabbing her crossbow on the table and hurling it over her shoulder, Rin walked toward the window. She peered over at the street below; must be five stories down.

Lowering her head for a moment as if in deep thought, she suddenly unlocked the window and walked over toward Aiguo.

"We're leaving."

"W-What?" Aiguo stuttered and was shocked when he felt the seemingly petite girl lift him. "Rin?"

"If you're scared, just close your eyes." She said calmly.

At that moment, just as Rin took a few steps toward the window, a group of burly men barged into the room. When they turned their heads to the window, they were stunned. Looking over her shoulder, Rin's lips suddenly curled into a cold smile.

Then, without hesitation, she turned back toward the window and jumped out, the men shouting behind her.

…

"Blegh, what's with this rice?" Bai Han's smacked his lips. "It tastes like sand!"

Sitting across from him, an eyebrow rose on An Sun's face, but he said nothing. However, Bai Han was very quick to notice his expression.

"What? What was with that face?"

"Just didn't think you'd be such a picky old man." An Sun said amusedly behind his cup of water.

The look in Bai Han's eyes darkened.

"It's not being picky, it's called having standards. Besides, if I'm paying to eat and sleep here I'd expect to have a decent meal, not grains of sand!" Bai Han pushed the rice aside and harrumphed. "And don't act like you're any better than me. I saw your expression when they said there was no wine."

An Sun's hand holding his cup of water twitched. He showed him a faint frown and said, "You make it seem like I can't live without wine."

In response, Bai Han snorted contemptuously. "I'd like to see you do that."

The corners of An Sun's mouth twitched. His brows wrinkled for a bit before he broke out into a sudden cold smile. "Oh? You want a bet?"

Bai Han smirked back in return and laughed. "Why not?"

An Sun nodded. "In that case, for an entire day, I will not drink a drop of wine. However, to be fair, you must promise for a day that you will not issue a single insult toward me. First to lose is punished."

When Bai Han heard the terms, his lips tightened into a thin line. He had to admit, that was easier said than done. However, not one to back down from a challenge, Bai Han nodded.

"In that case, you have yourself—"

Just as Bai Han was speaking, they saw something fall quickly past the window. Although it was fast, they were both very clear about what they just saw.

Someone just fell from the top floor!

At that moment, a sudden commotion from upstairs caught their attention.

"Damn! He jumped out the window! Quickly, give chase!" They heard a man shout from upstairs.

In the next second, the sound of heavy footsteps was heard, followed by the appearance of large, unkempt men. When one of the men rushed in An Sun's and Bai Han's direction, he suddenly found himself plummeting to the floor, nose-first.

"What the—" He cursed as blood gushed from his nose.

Looking up, he saw a young man sitting in his chair, his long leg stretched out to the side. An Sun calmly sipped his water before setting it down on the table and getting up. Glancing down at the fallen man, a shadowed crossed over his gray eyes.

"So early in the morning, you bastards really have no morals." An Sun muttered to himself.

He raised his fists and cracked his knuckles. The man on the floor unknowingly felt a chill run down his spike when he met with An Sun's cold smile.

Why is it he felt he was in greater hell than getting in trouble from his boss?

…

Occurring at the same time, after jumping out the window, Rin landed on the ground, Aiguo in her arms.

At that moment, a sparring pain shot to her ankle. Rin froze before gritting her teeth and proceeded onward after detecting the nearby sound of men's shouts.

While running, Aiguo wrapped his arms tightly around Rin, slightly worried by the petite girl holding him for so long. When she could no longer hear their voices, Rin settled around a corner and set Aiguo down, her chest rising up and down heavily.

"Hide here and I'll draw them away." She looked ahead and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Once she had finished speaking, Aiguo quickly clutched onto the edge of her robes and shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.

"No, it's too dangerous! Stay here, we both can hide!" His grip tightened.

Noticing the slight trembling in his hands, Rin could guess what the boy was thinking. She let out a soft sigh and touched his hands gripping her robe.

"Wait for me. I promise I'll be back." She said each word slowly. Each filled with confidence.

Aiguo looked up into her eyes and could not help but loosen his grip. At this time, he was not strong enough to help Rin. He would only be a hindrance to her. With reluctance, Aiguo swallowed his words and agreed.

Rin smiled and patted the boy on the head. When she looked up, the tender expression vanished as her eyes glinted with a dangerous and sharp gleam. After ensuring Aiguo was properly hidden, she left.

"Hey, I see him! He's running away! Catch him!" Aiguo heard a man yell.

Following that was the sound of men's running footsteps. Several heartbeats passed, and all he heard was the men's heavy boots pressing into the ground, mingled with the ambiance of the passing wind.

After what felt like an hour, did Aiguo raise himself from his hiding spot and try to run back to the inn to seek help.

Yet, who would have thought upon standing up, he confronted two burly men staring in his direction. At that moment, Aiguo silently let out a loud curse in his heart at this bad luck.

Ah, shit.