Lotus Fragrance
XuanRong was already sitting comfortably in a corner. Although she was tired, but the fact that she was able to sit down and have a chance to take a long rest made XuanRong contented. The only thing she needed was to hide till dawn and find YuYing and Fei Bai Zou afterwards.
Her location inside the cave was perpendicular to the cave's entrance. Although the place where she was currently sitting was a little damp and chilly, making her dress wet and dirty, but XuanRong did not express any disgust.
'Endure.'
The word she always repeatedly says to herself.
If she could endure everything until the end, XuanRong knew that taking revenge would not be a distant dream. What she need right now was patience. Patience to endure everything.
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"She might be hiding around the temple or ran away from here. You, You and You, try finding that slut within the premises, search the rooms thoroughly! The rest, follow me and search the entire mountain!"
The men in black disappeared in the dark. They were alarmed when they found out that the woman escaped from their claws. The order arrived late so they were not able to act immediately. Regret flushed inside their hearts. They could not refuse the order since the one who paid them came from the capital. Failure was not an option. They couldn't afford to fail.
The men in black hurriedly searched the entire mountain. They decided to look for common hiding places in the mountain such as small caverns, thick bushes, big holes in the trees and caves. It took them half a sichen [1] before reaching the southwest part of the mountain.
"Leader!! I found something!"
One of the men in black leaned forward and pulled a small piece of cloth hanging on a tree branch. The man in black knew that it was carried by the wind from somewhere, but it would also mean that they were in the right direction. If he was not trained to see in the darkness, he wouldn't have seen the cloth hanging near him since it was dyed in green and a shade darker than the normal color, perfectly blending in the surroundings.
The leader and the rest of the men in black immediately gathered together to see the cloth. The leader encircled the tree, trying to find any possible clues that could lead to XuanRong's whereabouts. Few seconds later, his eyes flashed as if he thought of something. He wiped the leaves near the area where the cloth was found and saw two dent marks on the soil. He immediately squatted on the ground and traced the markings on the soil using his fingers.
Footprints.
Although XuanRong tried her best to cover her tracks, but due to her negligence when her sleeve was torn, her idea of concealing her mark using dried leaves was exposed. Her plan was thoroughly seen by those men in black.
"Search!! She's near!! She's going in that direction!! Look for her footprints!!"
Like a cheetah who found its prey, the men in black run forward to where the leader pointed his fingers.
Although the men in black was able to trace XuanRong's track, it took them a great effort since the moon was not enough to illuminate the whole mountain. The men in black could only inspect the area one by one and patiently search for her footprints.
Half a sichen later, they arrived at the edge of the mountain where trees were thicker than the normal size. The leader carefully wondered his eyes around and tried to locate some hidden places. He saw a big rectangular boulder next to a small creek. His eyes narrowed for a second before looking away. He looked at his comrades and asked, "Did you find something?"
He was in a hurry to find their target since dawn was almost there. Once the first sunray arrives, they would have to retreat, and the operation would be considered as a failure.
"We---" but before one of his comrades could say anything, he fell on the ground. The leader was baffled as to why his comrade suddenly fell but his intuition kicked in, telling him that they are in danger .The leader hurriedly jumped away from the fallen comrade and shouted "There are enemies attacking! Be careful!"
The members who were busy looking for XuanRong's footprints immediately alerted themselves, seriously observing their surroundings.
*swish*
*swish*
*swish*
Three flashes were seen before the men in black started falling on the ground one by one in an instant. The leader saw that those flashes were small daggers used for assassination. His countenance darkened as he gritted his teeth due to anger.
'Those people are also assassins! Who hired them?'
The leader unsheathed his sword and ran towards the source of those daggers.
"Kill them!" after hearing his words, the men in black also unsheathed their swords and followed their leader. Few minutes later, one could hear the clashing of swords and the shouts of the dying men.
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XuanRong had been counting the time ever since she ran away from the temple. She approximately guessed that it wouldn't take long before dawn arrives. She had to go back and meet YuYing and Fei Bai Zou halfway if she wanted to save her reputation.
She stood up and was planning to leave the cave when she heard some noises outside. When she peeked her head, trying to see the commotion, she saw the sparks coming from the clashing of swords. Although the mountain was enveloped with darkness and she could not see even the silhouette of those people fighting, she could still hear the shouts and the clashes of swords.
XuanRong's face crumpled.
'What is going on?'
She was completely confused as to why there were people fighting outside the cave. In her previous lifetime, when she was hiding in this cave, she safely passed the entire night without witnessing this kind of commotion.
XuanRong bit her lips. Her mind was working overtime, trying to guess what was currently happening outside. She knew that between the two group who was currently fighting, one of them was the group of people her Er Niang paid in order to assassinate her, but who are those people they were fighting? Were they friends or foes?
XuanRong inwardly shook her head and slowly took a step back, trying to move far away from the cave's entrance and once again hide at the corner. Although she had to make sure that she would be able to find YuYing and the rest before dawn in order to protect her reputation, she did not want to gamble and run head first into danger like a mindless dear ready for slaughter [2]. So, XuanRong could only wait patiently inside the cave.
She only took a couple of steps away from the entrance when a fragrant smell assaulted her nostrils.
*baaam*
Her back was slammed on a soft but firm body. XuanRong was startled to death and could not help but inhale deeply. Her eyes widened as she smelled the faint lotus fragrance coming from behind her.
Before she could even react, the person behind her spoke.
"Do not move."[3].
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[1]. One sichen is roughly two hours.
[2]. Acting rashly without thinking thoroughly
[3]. A/N: Duun duun duun~ who is that person? LOL!
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Edited and Proofread by: Prikkrang and Supremetobs