The downpour in her heart

"Master...what about the soldiers in the city? Should we stop them or let them be?" They returned to the inn after the search to wait for the 7 guardians.

It has been more than an hour after they returned and it was about to get dark outside. Lan Xing saw that her master was different than usual after she got to know that Ah Heng and others were missing and they were most likely captured by the soldiers. Her master was always calm in all situations but she was restless today.

But she found it reasonable too, after all, even if her master was the youngest genius in martial arts and medicine, the leader of one of the strongest sects and cults or someone whom many in Jianghu dreads and hates or worships, she was still only a young lady who haven't even reached adulthood and gone through the coming of age ceremony.

Although Ling Xue had gone through many hardships from her childhood till now, she was still very young and didn't know many things about life. She was someone who took her relationships seriously and was very protective of her people. So it was natural for her emotions to fluctuate when she heard something bad happened to her people and also her saviours.

Lan Xing also felt the anger from her master so she shared the same feeling as she did which made her hate the soldiers outside even more. She only wished to cut them into pieces and feed their meat to the wolves.

"Soldiers, even if we do anything to them, so what? They are only following orders from their superiors. If we kill one, another person will fill up the space. It's just a waste of time." Ling Xue said as she slightly calmed herself down with a cup of tea. She had been feeling restless since she got the news and felt that something ominous might happen.

She believed her intuition which helped her so many times to stay alive whenever she went through any life and death situation but she suddenly wished that her intuitions were false and it was only her being too worried.

Ling Xue looked outside the window and saw the sunset, it looked very beautiful but also indicated the coming of darkness. She couldn't help but frown. Then a sudden ominous thought came up in her mind. 'What if Ah Heng and others had already been killed by the soldiers? It might also be the reason why they couldn't find them anywhere since they only searched for those who were alive and running.' This thought made her grip on the tea cup tighten suddenly as her hands trembled.

'Clank!' The tea cup shattered under her tight grip and the shards pierced through her palm, blood gushing out in no time.

"Master! Are you alright?!" Lan Xing was startled by the sound of the tea cup shattering and when she looked at it, she saw her master's hand bleeding which made her panic in worry.

Ling Xue finally came to her senses when she heard Lan xing's shout and found that she accidentally broke the tea cup and injured her palm. She wouldn't have got hurt with just this if it were before but now she couldn't use her spiritual qi because of her internal injury.

"I'm alright. Don't worry." Ling Xue said in a low voice when she saw the worried look on Lan Xing's face. She blamed herself for losing her mind upon just a random thought and making her companion worry about her.

"Master, what happened? Why did your emotions suddenly burst out?" Lan Xing asked after she saw her master trying to calm her emotions. Just now, she felt her master's murderous intent when the tea cup broke under her grip. She must have thought about something unpleasant to make her lose her composure like this.

" It's nothing. Just some nonsensical thoughts. It's alright. Go and bring clean water, I'll tend to my cut wound." Ling Xue looked at the shards that pierced her hand and commanded Lan Xing in a low voice.

"Yes. I'll bring it immediately." Lan Xing knew that her master didn't want to tell her so she obeyed her order and went out of the room to get some clean water.

After Ling Xue heard the door closing, she finally couldn't keep her frown from forming on her forehead. Many questions and thoughts whirled around her mind which gave her a headache.

"Whatever the answer is, it will be found after I see it for myself!" She finally set aside all the questions in her head and decided to at least search around the dead bodies of the slaves to prove her own intuitions wrong.

....

....

Lan Xing brought a pail of clean water and a clean cloth in the room and closed the door lightly. She saw Ling Xue still sitting on the chair but looked much calmer than before. She finally released a breath of relief when she saw that.

"You are here. Put it on the table." Ling Xue said without looking back at her. She had taken out all the shards in her hand and was taking out the medicine for cut wounds.

Lan Xing came near her and put the pail of water on the table.

"Master, let me help you clean the wound." Lan Xing requested.

"Okay. You do it then." Ling Xue nodded lightly and stretched her injured hand to her. Lan Xing grabbed the clean cloth on her hand and dipped it on the water then cleaned the wound carefully in fear of hurting her master.

Lan Xing finally finished cleaning the wound after a few minutes and sprinkled the medicinal powder inside the porcelain bottle on the cut wounds. She then wrapped the wound with a bandage and tied it.

"It's done." She said with a smile. Ling Xue retrieved her hand and looked at it.

"Your nursing skill has improved recently." She praised Lan Xing as she smiled lightly.

"I am only so-so and learned it after seeing master tend to the wounds from your side." Lan Xing said with a shy smile when she heard it. She felt happy to get praised by her master.

Ling Xue suddenly put away her smile and said in a serious voice.

"We are going to search all the dead bodies in the city tonight. The soldiers mustn't have taken the bodies away and left them somewhere to get rid of them later after their work is done. We must find out where they have kept the bodies and search each and every one of them to see if.... they are there or not." Ling Xue was talking about Ah Heng and others when she said 'they'. She could only calm herself down after she saw that they weren't dead with her own eyes.

"We are searching the dead bodies? Master, you think that they.....?" Lan Xing didn't finish her sentence but the meaning was clear.

"I just want to check to not miss out anything. I just hope that I won't find anything there." Ling Xue said in a voice laced with worry.

"I see... Then, when are we going?" Lan Xing asked as she looked outside the window to see that it was already dark. Ling Xue also looked outside and said slowly.

"Now."

....

...

Two shadows flickered through the roofs of the houses in the dark as they moved towards the place where the soldiers were staying. Since it was already dark, the soldiers had gone to their temporary living quarters to rest and no soul could be seen on the street.

The bloody scene and the fierceness of the soldiers had scared the residents of the town which made them scared to even step out of their houses.

The two shadows finally reached the temporary living quarters which was near the front gate.(where people go to other cities from the town.)

The two shadows were Ling Xue and Lan Xing who came here to find out the location where the soldiers kept the dead bodies of the slaves in.

They were wearing their black cloaks which blended with the dark night and lowered their bodies as they sat on the roof. They were hiding in the place where they could see and hear the things happening inside the courtyard clearly which was hidden by some branches and leaves of a tree.

They saw some soldiers sitting outside for a drink and chatting around merrily like the scene before in the daytime had never happened.

"Puah! It's good to have a drink after a tiresome day! The wine just seeps away all the stress and tiredness like magic." A soldier shouted in relish after drinking a bowl of wine.

"Right, right. It is very magical. Hahahaha." Other soldiers also agreed and laughed merrily.

"It was indeed very tiresome today. Capturing and killing those lowly slaves, I really felt like I was lowering myself to deal with those lowlife. Hmph!" A soldier then said in a disgusted voice.

"What can we do? It was after all a decree from the emperor and Prince Xian had assigned all the low ranked soldiers to all the towns and cities for this." A soldier shook his head helplessly and said.

"Just for those slaves, some normal manual labourers can also do it. Why send us here?"

"What do you know? This matter is of great importance! If we can find the spies who are hiding among the slaves, who knows if we might get promoted to higher ranks in one go?" A soldier said after he gave a disdainful look at the others.

"Yeah, that's right." The soldiers echoed in agreement.

"But what if we couldn't find the spies? Will the emperor and Prince Xian punish us for not doing a good job? What if we lose our heads instead?" A soldier said in fear after he thought about it.

"That won't happen! Prince Xian is a good person who won't punish us for just this."

"But wasn't he also the one who suggested the emperor to either kill or capture the slaves?"

"Even if he is the one, so what? Whatever comes will come. Here, drink some wine and forget about such things." A soldier then lifted up a cup of wine and others also lifted their cups up and downed the wines in one go.

"A pity..." A soldier suddenly said with a sigh.

"What is a pity?" Others asked with questioning eyes as they looked at the soldier.

"You know, I saw some pretty girls among the slaves who were captured today. Sigh, a pity that only those bastards who could escort the slaves to the city can enjoy such delicacies now." The soldier shook his head helplessly and sighed again.

"Tch! So this is all you were worried about. Heh! So what? Let them be. We shouldn't dirty ourselves with those lowly slaves. There are so many more beauties in the town, just pick one and have fun, right? Hahahaha." They burst out in laughter as they continued to talk about more dirty stuffs.

Ling Xue and Lan Xing creased their brows in disgust but they also picked out the main point in their conversation.

'Prostitution? Or..rape?' Ling Xue suddenly flared open her eyes widely when a realisation struck her.

'No! That can't be. They must be safe. Nothing like that will happen to them.' She denied the thought but she became more worried about them as she tried to deny it. Ning'er, although was skinny because of lack of nutrition, she still had above average face and was young. While Xiao Li was a cute girl with dimples in her cheeks and had some resemblance to Ning'er. Although she was just a little girl but who knows....

"Xing'er, go and force out the location where the dead bodies are kept from a soldier. Remember, do it secretly. Don't let anyone see you or find out our purpose. Kill the man after you get the answer. Go." Ling Xue commanded in a low but serious voice while her eyes were still looking at the soldiers, her ears focused on the conversation to not miss out any information.

" Yes." Lan Xing nodded and went to another corner of the courtyard silently. She saw a soldier who was about to piss at the bushes and went towards him. She then covered his mouth with her hand which made the soldier to let out a muffled voice in shock. His pee even stopped because of the shock.

"Don't shout if you want to keep your life." Lan Xing threatened in a whisper when she saw that the soldier wanted to struggle.

The soldier finally stood still in terror when he heard her.

" You only have to answer my question and I will let you go. If you lie to me or deny to tell me and shout for help from others, I will kill you without a second thought. Want to try to see if your helpers will arrive faster or my sword will pierce your heart after you shout?" Lan Xing whispered coldly.

The soldier became more scared and he nodded to indicate that he understood and will answer her questions. Lan Xing then finally retrieved her hand from his mouth but her sword was still pointed at his heart from his back.

" Where did you keep the dead bodies of the slaves?" Lan Xing got to the point and asked him.

"T-the dead bodies were all collected and t-thrown away in the nearby g-grave site. They weren't b-burried and were p-piled up randomly. The dead bodies must have a-already attracted the wolves and wild animals." The soldier answered as he stuttered, his back was straight like a ruler in fear of getting stabbed by the sword.

" Where is the grave you mentioned? "Lan Xing asked after hearing it as she frowned slightly.

"I-it's slightly to the w-west of the town. It takes o-only 3 incense stick of time t-to get there." (15 minutes since 1 incense stick takes 5 minutes to burn out) The soldier answered truthfully.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Lan Xing pushed the sword closer to his back as she asked coldly. The soldier was startled and cold sweat poured down his back and his forehead.

"I-I am not lying! I told you the truth! Please let me go." The soldier said in a panic.

"Are you sure?" Lan Xing asked again.

"I-I have already answered everything I know about it. Y-you promised to let me go a-after that." The soldier said in a fearful voice.

"Is that so? I don't remember it clearly. Did I really promise you?" Lan Xing said coldly and pierced the sword through his heart. The soldier let out a muffled low shout in pain and blood oozed out of his mouth and chest then died. Lan Xing took out the sword from his chest and wiped the blood in his clothes as she threw the body behind the shrubs. She then went out of the corridor and came back to where Ling Xue was hiding.

"Master, I got the location. The bodies are thrown at the nearby grave site which is slightly to the west of the town. The man said it only takes 3 incense stick of time to get there." Lan Xing whispered to Ling Xue and informed about what she found.

"Good. Let's go there then. There is nothing worth to get here now." Ling Xue said as she stood up and went away from the place silently. Lan Xing followed her and left the courtyard, heading towards the gate.

....

...

Ling Xue and Lan Xing got out of the town silently without letting anyone find out. They climbed the wall and went out of the town like phantoms.

Ling Xue had her brows creased all the way to the grave, her mind lost in thought although her body moved towards the location. She was still thinking about what she heard from the soldiers in the courtyard. If it was really true then...Ning'er and Xiao Li were in danger!

She shook her head to throw away such thoughts and finally stopped at the sight of the grave in front of her.

"Master, we are here." Lan Xing said in a low voice.

Ling Xue didn't say anything and went inside the grave. The grave was dead silent with many stone tablets with the name of the dead people scattered around. Some random plants were growing around the grave that reached upto the length of their knees.

They searched around the grave and finally found the dead bodies of the slaves which were piled up upon each other and thrown there randomly. Some bodies were even missing some body parts and some seemed to have been eaten by the wolves and other animals. Only the bodies at the bottom were safe from the animals.

They upturned all the bodies and checked if the siblings were there. They searched for half an hour but still didn't find the siblings which made Ling Xue calm down a bit in relief but there were still some bodies left to be checked which made her unable to feel relieved completely.

They checked more bodies and didn't see the siblings.

"Master, I think you were worried for nothing. I don't think they will be here. They must have been captured only. There are only 3 bodies left, they can't be the siblings." Lan Xing said as she looked at the 3 remaining bodies.

"Mm. I guess you are right. They can't be dead. We can still save them. Let's burry them first and go back." Ling Xue released a sigh of relief and said as she looked at the dead bodies. She could only let them be buried and hope they could rest in peace.

" Yes." Lan Xing then found a worn out shovel which was left at the grave and dug a big grave for the dead slaves. They then put the dead bodies in the grave one after another.

Just when Ling Xue carried a body of a man which wasn't checked before, she suddenly became stiff and her face muscles trembled violently. Her eyes widened in shock and her hands that were holding the body trembled and tightened their grips on the body.

"...Ah..Heng?" Ling Xue called out in a trembling voice. The body she was carrying was the dead body of Ah Heng. His face was smeared with mud and dirt with some traces of blood on his mouth and chest but she could still tell that it was Ah Heng.

She remembered the mature man who took care of his siblings and wife with a gentle smile on his face. The memories of him saving her, taking care of her, talking to her with his usual gentle smile flashed through her eyes like she was watching a movie. But all those memories ended up with the current sight of his icy cold and stiff body with no trace of heat left, his eyes wide open with terror etched deep inside and his wound which was rotting with bugs and worms wriggling around his body.

Ling Xue took Ah Heng as her own big brother after all these days because of his genuine care towards her like caring about his own little sister. She herself didn't realise that until now when she saw his dead body in her arms. She felt a sudden pain in her heart that felt like thousands of needles were piercing it. Her knees felt weak as she fell down but she kept on holding Ah Heng in her arms.

Lan Xing saw her fall down so she stretched out her hand to hold her but Ling Xue pushed her away, her eyes still looking at the man in her arms. Lan Xing also looked at it and was shocked to see that it was actually Ah Heng.

"Ah Heng...brother Heng...wake up." Ling Xue said in a low voice which had a trace of rare gentleness in it. She shook his body gently like waking someone up who was only sleeping.

"Brother Heng, please wake up. We still have to look for A'Li and others. Wake up, please wake up! Brother Heng!" Her voice became from low to high as she continued talking and shaking the dead body. She sounded desperate, afraid, sad. All the emotions she held up inside her from the worries to the fear she felt when she thought about what might have happened to the siblings rushed up to her head which made her lose her composure. A single drop of tear dropped upon Ah Heng's face followed by more drops of tears that continued flowing non stop.

"Ah Heng...Brother Heng! wake up! Please wake up!!" Ling Xue cries became louder as she sounded like she was pleading for him to wake up but the dead couldn't be brought back no matter what. Ah Heng didn't budge a bit as the stiff body remained the same.

"Ah Heng!! AHHHH!!" Ling Xue cried out loudly as she hugged the dead body. Her emotions already out of control but a part of her still kept on reminding her to stay calm which held her back from losing her mind to her emotions.

"Master...."Lan Xing looked at her master as she cried. She felt pain in her chest when she saw how sad and lonely her master looked from the back and hated herself for not being able to help her protect them. She couldn't think of how to console her master so she stayed next to her in silence, letting her master to pour out all the sadness in her heart.

Suddenly, she felt a cold sensation on her face that dropped from the sky. She touched it and found that it was a water droplet. Just when she wondered where it came from, more drops of water rained down from the sky. In no time, the rain poured down heavily as it soaked them from their head to toe. Thunder roared and lightning flashed in the sky as the downpour continued pounding on their body.

Ling Xue was stricken with grief as she continued hugging the head body, unaware of the coldness she felt from the rain. Lan Xing was worried about her health but she didn't know how to persuade her so she only shielded her from the rain with her own body.

The rain continued pouring down like the emotions that gushed out of Ling Xue as it washed away all the happy memories like a flood, like the tears that trickled down in pain of losing someone. While the thunders sounded like the cries of sorrow and rage that were fighting inside her heart to be let out.