18 Escape The Wolves Into The Tiger's Hands

Chinua killed a wealthy businessman in the village in front of everyone, and the assembled crowd screamed and took a step back. Chinua quickly grabbed the other arrows on the ground and shot at the two servants who were charging at her.

"Murder."

"He kills someone."

The assembled crowd muttered to themselves.

Chinua yelled at the beast, "Go release them." She grabbed the jar of silver and started to run away, the law enforcement chasing her.

Ten law enforcement chases after Chinua as she rushes down an unknown street.

"Don't run away!"

"Stop!"

The officers chased Chinua and shouted.

Chinua scrambled for goods on the street and threw things at the law enforcement officers, but the vegetables on the vendors' tables didn't slow the law enforcement officers down. They chased Chinua like hungry wolves chasing their prey.

"Stop!"

Chinua knew she couldn't outrun the law enforcement officers on the most crowded streets. She drew a distance between the officer and herself. She opened the silver jar, grabbed a handful of silver, and threw it into the street.

Chinua shouted, "Someone drops their silver."

The people around rushed to the street one after another, blocking the law enforcement officers fighting for the money on the ground.

As Chinua fled, she continued to throw silver on the ground, carrying a black bag on her shoulders, and fled across the bustling street toward the camp.

Standing on the second floor of the inn, Ge Ming lowered his head and chuckled, "Wang Yong, this Chinua is a very interesting person." He drank his tea. "She refused to go to Tangolia with me, and she refused to take me to claim her reward. She also found out that we had a mole in the camp." He looked at Wang Yong. "Do you know that she also knows what our plan is?"

Wang Yong said, "You seem to be very interested in her?"

Ge Ming smiled and said, "Unfortunately, she refused to follow me to Tangolia."

"Get out of the way," the officers shouted to the crowd.

Ten officers finally made their way across the street, and Chinua was a long way from them. They started chasing Chinua along the dirt road. Even far behind Chinua, they could see where she was going. They also know where to find Chinua because of her armor.

The officers gasped by the side of the road, watching Chinua disappear from their sight, their abdominal muscle spasms beginning to slow them down.

"You can run, but we'll find you!" An officer yelled behind Chinua.

On the badland, Od handed the leather water bag to Khunbish. He said, "Khunbish, you two need to rest, I believe Chinua will be fine."

Chaghatai said, "Yes, that's right, Chinua is a smart man, he will run away, and sooner or later he will run back to the camp." He smiled.

Erden looked at Khunbish and Khenbish who had not slept since the day Chinua disappeared. He smiled and said, "How about you two taking a nap? Huh? If we find anything, we'll come to you right away."

"No, I can't rest until I know Chinua is safe," Khunbish said.

Khenbish said, "When we're fully awake, bad things can still happen to Chinua." He looked at Khunbish.

Och sat next to Khunbish and Khenbish, he asked, "Why are the two of you so loyal to Chinua?"

Khunbish said, "She saved us in a way no one else could."

While the men were resting to catch their breath, Muunokhoi ran toward them. He waved and shouted, "Hey...hey...Chinua..." The men stood up and ran to Muunokhoi. "Chinua is back at camp."

Khunbish grabbed Muunokhoi's right arm and asked quickly, "Really?"

Muunokhoi held his breath and said, "Yes, he's back. Uninjured."

Khunbish and Khenbish quickly ran back to camp.

Muunokhoi shouted, "Stop looking for Chinua, everyone. He's back at camp."

Chinua stood in front of Dzhambul and Lixin in Batzorig's personal tent. Khunbish, Khenbish, and Batzorig entered the tent and stood behind Chinua.

Dzhambul looked at Chinua coldly and said, "You seem to be doing fine. How did you escape?"

Chinua said, "I walked away."

Dzhambul asked, "If you were able to get out unscathed, that must mean you killed the two intruders?"

Chinua said, "It was two intruders, but the uninjured intruder was driving our soldiers away, and he left me with the wounded intruder."

Batzorig asked, "Princess, did you kill him?"

Chinua said, "No, I let him go."

Dzhambul slapped the table heavily, stood up, pointed at Chinua, "Chinua! How dare you let the intruder go? Especially the one who came to kill me."

Chinua looked at Dzhambul and said, "How much honor does one get for killing a wounded soldier who surrendered?"

Dzhambul walked slowly to Chinua. He gritted his teeth, "What exactly do you mean?"

Chinua said, "The reclaimed of Nue-Li City."

Dzhambul's anger suddenly came to his face. He raised his hand and slapped Chinua's face hard. He said angrily, "Father sent you here to train, it doesn't mean you can scoff at other people's problems."

Chinua felt the pain in her mouth. She spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "There is a saying that 'no secret can be kept forever'."

Dzhambul scoffed, "There is another saying that no soldier can violate the military law." He walked back to the table and sat down. "Batzorig, tied her to a post for four days without food and water."

Batzorig hesitated and said, "Prince Dzhambul, please reconsider. Chinua is a princess."

Dzhambul said, "Princess or not, now that she is a soldier, she will be treated as any soldier."

Khunbish and Khenbish quickly fell to their knees. They said, "Please let us replace Chinua."

Dzhambul said, "If you are so noble to your master, then maybe you two can tie yourselves to the same post beside her."

Chinua said, "No need! I accept."

On the first day of punishment, Chinua stood in the training ground, watching the other nine captains train their soldiers. Instead of training with the soldiers on the training ground, Chinua studied their formations. Chinua sat on the ground and wrote "How to protect a battering ram," "How to destroy a wall from a distance," and "How to keep an archer within five hundred yards of an enemy wall."

Haitao stood beside Chinua and sighed, "You are supposed to be serving your sentence, not drawing."

"I need to focus elsewhere and not think too much about food and water," Chinua said.

Haitao looked down at the ground; he read, "How to protect the battering ram?" He looked at Chinua. "How to destroy the city wall from a distance?" He smiled. "How to get an archer within five hundred yards of an enemy wall." He burst out laughing. "Chinua...oh, Chinua...you haven't passed the first stage of enlistment, you're thinking about an invasion." He smiled and shook his head and started to leave Chinua.

Chinua turned to Haitao and said, "Captain Haitao, among all the foods, which one can make you feel full longer?"

Haitao turned around and said, "I don't know." He smiled. "Are we talking about rationing now?"

Chinua said, "I was just thinking...what do we need to prepare if we are surrounded by enemy forces for a long time."

Haitao said, "Well, you have three full days to figure it out." He walked away.

On the second day of sentencing, Chinua's body became weaker and weaker. She had not eaten for three days. She was leaning against a wooden post and saw a spider quickly wrap a fly into a cocoon. She stared at it for a while, then she smiled.

Chinua sighed, "So the battering ram should be protected like this."

Chinua quickly looked up at the hot and humid air, and she could taste the moisture in the air. Chinua swallowed hard, but her mouth was already dry.

On the morning of the third day of Chinua punishment, Haitao and his party walked through the training ground. As soon as Khunbish and Khenbish saw Chinua, they rushed over, only to be stopped by seven others.

Timicin said, "You two know very well that the one who ordered the punishment of Chinua is Prince Dzhmabul." He pushed Kumbish back. "Helping Chinua now is like condemning her to death."

Erden, "Chinua will make it." He looked up at Timicin. "Hey, Timicin...we've told you, no matter how much you hate Chinua, don't take him for a woman."

Chaghatai said, "Yes, on that mountain." He pointed to the mountain in front of him. "You told us you don't hate him. Why do you keep referring to him as a woman?" He pushed Timicin away from him.

Terbish said disappointedly, "I'm not on your side this time, you've gone too far."

Haitao turned around and watched the other six team up to deal with Timicin. He sighed and said, "Because Chinua is a woman."

All six had their jaws dropped.

Od asked, "Does...Does...general Batzorig know about this?"

Timicin said, "Yes..."

Muunokhoi, "What did he say?"

Everyone looked at Timicin, waiting for his answer. "General Batzorig can't say much because Chinua pointed out that there is no law in Hmagol that prohibits women from becoming soldiers," Timicin said.

Od said, "Why do I feel like I'm such a fool. Not just me, but every one of us."

Och said, "Only you who are a fool."

"Hey, you didn't even know Chinua was a girl, so you are not a fool," said Terbish, who laughed suddenly.

Muunokhoi asked, "What's so funny?"

Chaghatai said, "What's so funny, Terbish?"

Terbish laughed and said, "It's funny because Timicin can't break free from Chinua's headlock."

Timicin hit Terbish in the head with the fishing rod. "You're trying to get Chinua to lock your head in her arms. Let's see if you can break free."

Haitao said, "Let's go."

"Chinua is very good at wrestling," Khunbish said. "Once she grabs you by the neck, it's hard to break free."

"She's been training since she was a child," Khenbish said. He looked at Timicin. "There's no shame in losing to Chinua."

Timicin smiled and said, "See? You heard the man. There's no shame in losing to Chinua."

Erden said, "What should we call Chinua now. He or she?"

Khunbish said, "It's a decision Chinua has to make."

Chinua watched from a distance as the ten slowly disappeared outside the gates of the training camp. She closed her eyes and murmured, "Batsaikhan...so hot..." Chinua fell to the ground.