The man with the whip stepped back, flicking his wrist to the side, looking to his master.

“Hah, still dreaming! You can’t take revenge if you’re dead,” Gao Wei chuckled, swinging a leg off of his horse and drawing his sword.

“Hold it!” cried a young man shooting between them, launching himself off a still moving horse. His sword was out and instantly clashed with Gao Wei’s. 

Gao Wei stumbled back, holding his wrist as pain reverberated up his arm. He hadn’t even seen the sword come out of the scabbard. The counter blow was so strong that the sword that he was holding had flipped out of his grasp and pierced into a nearby tree. As he looked on, it was still shivering from the force of impact.

Gao Wei turned to snarl something, but the words died in his throat as he looked to find not only the young man, but a group of horsemen drawing up. He realized with a start that the group of men were all dressed in the same navy-blue robes and they had formed a circle around one particular person whose face was covered by the hood of his cloak. It was immediately apparent from his bearing that he was no ordinary person.

Not good! Gao Wei had been so absorbed in his own affairs that he had failed to even notice the sound of horses at full gallop, or rather he hadn’t really cared because he didn’t actually believe someone would interfere with his business. So, this was a rather unpleasant turn of events for him.

One of Gao Wei’s guards ran up and whispered something into his ear. His face turned red and then paled three shades.

Xiao Yu heard only a snatch of it as she cradled Cui Xi in her arms, but she had heard the word ‘General’. These people were probably military men with the Western Imperial army, the An Xi.

“You are blocking the way,” said the young man calmly, gesturing with the sword that was now sheathed in a plain, but well-made scabbard. “Move your business out of the road.”

Some colour returned to Gao Wei’s face along with his arrogance. He was still the eldest son of the City lord and regardless of anything else, that person was only a subordinate and had no right to speak to him in this fashion. If he was to give way, he’d hear it from the leader – the man had to at least give him some face.

“Sure, sure,” he said, cupping his hands and bowing. “May I know the name of the honoured lord so that I can thank him for letting this go?”

The leader did not move. The young man narrowed his eyes.

“You may not. Move now and we won’t investigate what happened here,” he said sharply.

Gao Wei’s face turned green, but one of his men, who was a little older, gripped his arm and shook his head slightly. 

“Young Master,” he said warningly in an undertone.

Gao Wei coughed and reluctantly allowed himself to be guided out of the way.

“Investigate? This is just some trouble with servants,” he smiled obsequiously, and quickly jerked a hand at his men.

The man with the whip and another dragged Cui Xi roughly to the side and threw her on the dirt face down. Another tried to grab at Xiao Yu, but she took this opportunity to shake off her shock, pushed away and threw herself in the road in front of the leader’s horse.

“We are not his servants! He wants to harm us ordinary civilians! Please help us!” she begged, prostrating in the dirt.

“Y-you!” the man with the whip raised it, but the whip did not come down as there was a sudden loud twang followed by a wet thud as he was pierced through by an exceptionally thick black fletched arrow. A huge gout of blood burst out of his body as the arrow exited and he simply collapsed dead onto the ground. There was a sniff of distaste as the bow was lowered.

For a moment, no one moved in the stunned silence.

Then Gao Wei’s men shifted nervously.  While moving their hands to their swords, they raised their eyes to stare at the handsome man with the bow who sat on the horse next to the hooded leader. They continued to hesitate as they saw that the bow was no ordinary weapon…It was a giant black thing, much bigger than a normal bow and decorated with jade and silver. The draw weight on it could be no less than one hundred jin…and in the entire empire there was only one family that could possess such a bow.

“Enough,” said a deep voice, the commanding sound of it penetrating through the air. “A’Yan.”

At the sound of his name, the man with the bow dismounted and stood next to the leader who leaned down and said a few things. He also passed something down to him. The man with the bow nodded and then strode forward gesturing to the young swordsman who gave a sharp whistle. His horse immediately returned from where it had been patiently standing and the young man easily caught the reins. It was clear that the animal was a well-trained war horse.

“Gao Gongzi,” the bowman said bowing. “Our Master’s matter is urgent. We thank you for giving way. I am ordered to escort these maidens back.”

The words were delivered with a crispness that brooked no argument.

Seeing that he was to lose his quarry, Gao Wei’s expression tightened, but he said nothing further. It was clear that the other party would not let this go…and the difference in strength was not small.

“Leave,” Gao Wei said quietly to his men, jerking his chin. He backed away and then swung his leg onto his horse and followed by the others spurred back down the road towards the city.

“General! Thank you for saving us!!” Xiao Yu cried with tears of relief, her head hitting the dirt.

The leader only nodded and then silently raised his hand. Turning the horses, his group also spurred their mounts forward in the opposite direction, thundering away.

“Are you alright?” the man with the bow asked, pulling Xiao Yu to her feet. He inclined his head and introduced himself: “I’m Murong Yan.”

Xiao Yu looked at him curiously. She saw that he was quite good looking with his long hair secured in a loose plait. The bow indicated that he was no ordinary person but obviously someone with very high martial skill.

“I’m Yang Wan Yu. This is my adopted elder sister, A’Xi. Murong Gongzi, thank you for help. We have troubled you,” she acknowledged, nodding, as she hurried back over to Cui Xi who was bleeding and unconscious.

He frowned looking down at the bloody mess of a girl dressed in boy’s clothes.

“She will die if someone doesn’t tend her wounds. She might die anyway,” he said.

“Not a chance! My father is a skilled doctor. Help me take her home.”

Xiao Yu was very much regretting her decision to separate from her father. Even with the horses, it was a half day’s journey back to the mountain. She hoped that they would make it back before A’Xi’s situation became unsalvageable.

“Stupid,” said the other young man shaking his head. He looked angry. “What a waste of the Master’s time!”

“A’Bo!” Murong Yan said sharply with a dark look.

The young man looked sullen, but sighing, he stepped forward and held out his hand to Xiao Yu 

“That Gao Wei…” A’Bo muttered. Seeing that the girl stared idiotically at him, he reached down and grabbed Xiao Yu around the waist. Pulling her up, he put her in front of him on the horse, ignoring her squeal of surprise.

“Indeed,” said Murong Yan in a tone that indicated that nothing further should be said. 

Taking off his cloak, Murong Yan wrapped it around the bloodied girl and picked her up. A moan escaped her lips as he touched her damaged back and he wondered how the girl was still alive. There had been at least twenty or so strokes and they had not been light. Murong Yan found that she was featherlight, her tiny frame exceptionally easy to carry and he managed to get onto the horse and set her on his lap without much trouble. 

He felt sympathy for her and quite a bit of admiration. She had allowed someone to beat her bloody in order to protect her adopted sister. It was brave, but very foolish…but for a girl, choosing between her sister’s honour and death…he shuddered to think about what might happen if his own beloved sisters were put into such circumstances.

This sort of thing likely happened all the time as the officials in these outer regions were lax. Away from the center of imperial control, life was precarious here. If the people were oppressed by those with power, who did they go to for justice? Gao Wei was the son of the City lord…and these were just two young girls without backing. He swallowed his sigh and turned his mind back to the task at hand. Once they delivered her, they would have to hurry back in order to catch up to the Master. The issue in the border region truly could not wait…but this was the nature of the Master’s kindness.

“Where are we going?” he directed this to Xiao Yu. The horses twisted and turned, pawing  impatiently at the earth.

She pointed to the mountain path in the distance that cut up and away from the main road. The men spurred their mounts towards the northwest until they could climb up the mountain path as swiftly as was comfortable, and even then, they road furiously.

There was only a moment’s pause for some water.

“Now, tell me exactly what happened,” Murong Yan said to Xiao Yu, quite seriously.

She summarized it very quickly and his face grew darker and darker as she explained what had happened with Gao Wei.

Lifting her back onto the horse, A’Bo’s expression was full of disgust.

“That evil bastard!” he spat. “Harming innocent citizens like this… We will have to report to the Master.”

Murong Yan nodded grimly. Gao Wei deserved to die.

Murong Yan glanced sideways at the girl seated in front of A’Bo. He felt that she spoke rather well for a commoner and he wondered if there was something more to her. Her manner was gentle and more refined than he had expected. It made sense if her father was a successful doctor. 

He also noted that the girl that he was holding didn’t seem to be ordinary either, in fact as it started to rain, he noticed that the girl’s face started to run a bit and after a while the rain washed the brown paint away completely and he was astonished to find that the person he was holding was in fact a beauty.

“A’Yan…how did she get so pretty?” his companion blurted, staring at the girl’s face, as they continued to pick their way swiftly up the mountain path that had now narrowed to the point where it only allowed the passage of one horse. They went as quickly as they could but the footing on the mountain path was becoming more and more dangerous now that the rain had come. 

Despite the situation, Xiao Yu smirked to herself. Even in this situation, men stayed true to their natures, she thought wryly. 

“Pay attention!” Murong Yan replied a little gruffly, looking uncomfortable. This was unexpected. This girl!

The girl he held in his arms was courageous enough to defy the son of the City Lord; clever enough to hide her striking appearance; and beautiful enough to rival any girl of the capital born of a noble house. Further than that, as a soldier, he knew that only a person with great force of will could have silently endured such a thing as that beating. More than twenty strokes for a slender girl was a serious matter and her life was now in danger.

Xiao Yu said nothing, but only looked curiously over her shoulder. A’Bo was also looking.

“Hai! Don’t look like that!” A’Bo teased, incredulous at Murong Yan’s suddenly complicated expression. He also recognized a deep emotion flickering in the dark thoughtful eyes.

“Insolence is not tolerated,” said Murong Yan with a warning look. His face remained stoic, but his ears became pink. He frowned at A’Bo and then turned his face slightly, trying not to look down at the girl’s face.

Inwardly, A’Bo was filled with glee. He had never seen the vice general look like a lovesick dog before. This could only become more interesting. He had initially been very annoyed to be sent on an errand that had nothing to do with him as he could not stand being away from the army, but it was well worth it just to have seen that expression on the mighty Murong Yan’s face. The man whose arrows unerringly found their mark had himself been struck through the heart.

They carried on for a time with the silence only broken by the rain and the sound of the horses struggling in the mud.

“Ah, Miss Yang…your sister…” Murong Yan started clumsily. “…Is not promised to anyone?” he swallowed, looking very stiff.

“Murong Gongzi!” Xiao Yu snapped, finally boiling over with all the fear and anger that she had repressed, her eyes flashing. “Can we save her life first?”

What the hell!

A’Bo could not hold back his snickers any longer and spurred his horse forward. Finally breaking into gales of laughter, he laughed until tears streamed down his face, ignoring an outraged Xiao Yu who was yelling and hitting him furiously in the back without very much effect. 

What a hopeless idiot! thought A’Bo. 

Only straightforward, awkward Murong Yan who had never really spoken to a woman before in his life, would fall in love with a girl who was about to become a corpse.