18 | Mountains and Rivers

I didn't have much belongings, only a pair of clothing, a leather water pouch, a dagger, and a bamboo hat draped with a translucent piece of cloth. Lord Yun also gave me money in case of emergencies. When he heard that I was going to travel by foot, he gave me a horse.

Luckily, I was taught how to ride a horse. It was only once, but I think I can manage. The horse's name was LoWei. He had a deep black coat of hair that looked like silk.

I actually don't have a set destination. I just went East and followed the pathway. I passed by several towns and entered the forest. It was breathtaking. The sun was shining through the tall trees creating sun rays and I could see little particles moving in the air.

I stopped by a small waterfall to rest. Lowei drank the water and laid down. The sun was starting to set, so I lit a fire. I caught some fishes in the river and cooked them to eat. By nightfall, I slept next to Lowei for more warmth.

Every day I did the same thing, but I never stayed in the same place. If I didn't catch fish then I would lay out traps to catch animals. Sometimes I wasn't be able to catch any food, but any left overs I had, I turned them into dried meat just to be safe.

Luckily, I haven't run into any dangers or anyone. I avoided dark murky areas and made sure I wasn't invading dangerous animal territories. However, this peacefulness didn't last. I was bound to run into trouble.

I went deeper into the forest and ran into some frightening people. They said they were mountain bandits as they robbed me. Hulang said that if there was more people to fight then it was best not to struggle unless they were going to take my life. However, what do I do if they steal me too?

After checking all my pockets and sleeves, they threw me in a cage.

"He doesn't even have anything worth stealing. Just pocket change and a horse." said a man.

"Then why did you bring him too?" another man asked.

"His face was pretty nice, so I thought leader might like it." He replied.

"He does enjoy both men and women. Quite sick." the other man commented as they walked off.

Enjoy both men and women? So my face is the reason why I was taken as well? What do they mean by enjoy? I sat there thinking to myself struggling to understand what they said.

"Waow~ A beauty? I'd like to see that." said a young man sitting in the cage next to me.

The surrounding walls were made of brick, so I also couldn't see anything except the bars in front of me.

"Were you perhaps taken as well like me?" I asked.

"Mmm. Kind of. How did you get captured?"

"I'm a traveler. I was just waking by with my horse, Lowei, and then they popped out and robbed me. How about you?"

"Mmm. I was just unlucky. I was severely injured when they caught me. Otherwise I wouldn't even be here."

"Are you still injured?"

"No. I'm just about done healing. I'll be leaving soon."

"That's good at least they will let you leave."

"Hahaha. Are you perhaps dumb? These people won't let me leave so easily alive. I'm breaking out of here."

"Breaking out? How?"

Before the young man could answer someone walked in and opened my cage.

"Get out. The leader wants to see you." said the man.

I do as the man say and walked out of the cage. They put a bag over my head to prevent me from seeing, but having been blind for so long I could remember my way back to that cage just by feeling the surface of the ground. They also put a bag over my head when they caught me, so finding the exit was easy.

They walked me into a room and took off the bag revealing my face and the leader stood in front of me. He had long wavy hair that looked like spikes and an eye patch over his left eye. He was tall and very muscular. His aura scared me a little, but his handsome face didn't match that of a bandit or evil person.

"Ah. Hello. I'm Junhe." I greeted. It's only proper to greet yourself if you're meeting someone right?

He started laughing and everyone in the room looked dumbfounded. Did I perhaps say something that was funny?

"I've never seen a prisoner greet me. Usually they would show anger or fear, but you're the first that didn't show any. You're either confident about your position or just straight out dumb."

"Ah. I'm sorry. I'm just new to this kind of situation."

"Hahaha~ So my men brought me a dumb beauty."

The leader grabs my face and turns it side to side before looking down at the bandages on my neck. He proceeds to take it off revealing my scar.

"That's quite an ugly scar you have there. Are those hands perhaps covered in scars as well?"

"Yes. I covered them with bandages, so I don't look too unsightly."

"Bring him back. His face is nice, but his body is covered in scars. It'll just spoil my mood." He ordered his men.

Just as he commanded, they threw me back in the cage. The men turned around to leave and I quickly get up to ask them a question.

"Um. When will I be let out of here?"

"Ha~? You'll live the rest of your life here until you die." the man replied.

This wasn't looking too good for me. I wanted to travel the world not live in a cage. As the man left I began to panic and the cage began to look smaller than it was before. It felt like I couldn't breathe and flashes of that tiny dark room began to haunt me. My vision starts to blur and I started to suffocate.

Just then a few men came back in and threw a man into the cage next to me where the young man was in. He coughed in pain and groaned. It was the same young man that was talking to me. It looks like his escape failed.

"Are you still there?" the young man asked painfully.

"I am. They threw me back in here. I think I was deemed unworthy. They also said they wouldn't let me out."

"That's a good thing. Now you don't have to worry about being that guy's prostitute."

"Prostitute? What's that?"

"... How naive are you? I'm saying you won't have to sleep with him."

"I see, so what happened to you?"

"I tried to escape, but it's practically a maze out there. There's not even a window or. Are we perhaps underground?"

"Ah no. We're not underground. It's more like inside the mountain. If you're looking for a way out, I know where to go."

"You know where the exit is?!"

"I do. It not that far. I believe they left my horse outside of the mountain as well."

"How can I believe you? Your eyes were probably covered the entire time like mine. There's no way you could see the way out."

"I didn't need to see though. It's a bit hard to explain, but I just do."

"So you're saying I should just trust you?"

"Hmm?"

"If you can lead us out of here then I'll protect you, but you'll probably have to wait at least 10 days. My injuries need to heal first."

"You'll help me leave?"

"Mmm. Usually I'd just blow everything up, but I didn't want to be buried alive.

After agreeing to help each other out, I laid on the hard ground and 10 days felt like an eternal suffering. Many times the young man would keep calling out for me to see if I was okay and I always replied back that I was fine. At times I would black out and dream of someone's back that refused to look at me. Raiya.

I wonder what you're doing now. Are you thinking of me? Probably not. I miss you. I want to see you, but you probably don't want to see me. Everytime you look at me you always look like you're in pain or angry. Why does my existence bother you so much?