The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 27

Fei YuXing stayed in the cave just as Long YinLian told her to. But then, she heard Long YinLian talking about the Thunder Hawk’s three iron-clad rule. ‘Thunder Hawk? Isn’t that the mercenary group that the Patriarch of Xia family is leading? It was said that he created it with a dear friend of his… Wait! Master Long said he’s one of Thunder Hawk’s predecessor?!’

Several questions were running through her mind. She was curious. And in the end, her curiosity overcame her reason and she slowly approached the entrance of the cave. The closer she got; she can hear the sound of battle. Weapons clashing, tiger roars and people’s pained scream.

When she finally reached the entrance, her face paled at the scene that greets her. She covered her mouth with her hands and started to heave. The meal that she had for breakfast, threatening to come out of her throat.

“There’s a woman! She must be his daughter or at least, someone important! Catch her!”

Fei YuXing could hear one of the bandit yells at her. Her feet suddenly became weak and she couldn’t move. Long YinLian had also heard the yell and his expression changed, looking slightly nervous.

“Zan-er! Quickly go and protect Miss Fei!” Long YinLian said as he proceeded to kill the bandit he was engaging.

Wang Zan heard Long YinLian’s order and quickly rushed over and stood before Fei YuXing in a protective manner. He roared at the approaching bandits, warning them to not come closer.

“It’s just one tiger! What is there to be scared of?!” one of the bandits said.

They were just about to rush over and attack Wang Zan when suddenly, they heard their leader yell at them to stop.

“Stop! Stop! STOP!!” the bandit leaders voiced out three times. When the bandits stopped and looked over at their leader, they saw that he was already on his knees. Behind him, stood a young man who held a dagger close to his neck and they could even see there was a trail of bloods trickling down to his collarbone.

Fei YuXing saw this young man, and she can’t help feeling relieved. “Brother Lin! You came back!”

Hearing her remark, the bandits turned to Lin Xiao and aimed their weapon at him.

“Everyone, stop right now and drop your weapon! Hurry!”

The bandits were still a bit lost but one by one, they dropped their weapon. Some were feeling apprehensive. After all, their rewards are right before their eyes and though they have lost some comrade, they still outnumbered their prey.

“This young man… my men have now stopped. Can you please release me?”

“Hmm? No. Not yet,” Lin Xiao said as he eyed every single one of the bandits. “Tell everyone to line up and get on their knees.”

The bandit leader glared at Lin Xiao, but Lin Xiao ignored the silent threat and instead, made a deeper cut on the leader’s neck.

“Everyone! Do as he say! Line up! On your knees, quick! Quick!”

Lin Xiao scoffed at the leader’s action. ‘If you want to fight back then at least be more determined.’

When Lin Xiao saw that all the bandits did as they were told, he nods his head in satisfaction. “Good. Good. Miss Fei!” Lin Xiao called out to the young lady. “I’m sorry to bother you. Can you grab the ropes inside? There should be one near the tanning rack.”

“Ah! Alright! Give me a moment!” Fei YuXing went into the cave to look for the rope.

On the other hand, Long YinLian had already cleaned up his blade and sheathed them back. Since Lin Xiao had already returned, everything seems to be almost solved now. “Xiao-er, what do you plan to do with them?” Long YinLian asked.

“Well, I plan to send them over to the Mercenary Guild to deal with.”

“That’s a good choice. They say they are from the Thunder Hawk. So, let’s just let the Mercenary Guild inform their leader about their conduct,” Long YinLian said.

“These people? The Thunder Hawk?” Lin Xiao glanced at the bandits. “Shizun, no matter how I see them, they look like your typical bandits. How can they be the well-known Thunder Hawk? Shizun was just taken advantage of!” Lin Xiao informed Long YinLian before he smacked the bandit leader’s head.

“Are they? I’m glad then. At the very least, the Thunder Hawk didn’t fall as I thought.”

“It’s because Shizun couldn’t see so they tried to take advantage of you. I’ll be sure to make them pay,” Lin Xiao grumbled.

Not long after, Fei YuXing returned with a coil of rope. “Brother Lin! Here it is!”

“Good! Throw it to those scumbags over there,” Lin Xiao said as he gestured to the bandits who were lined up with his head.

Due to her fear of the bandits, she didn’t get close so, Fei YuXing threw the rope as hard as she could, but the rope still lands quite far from the bandits. Lin Xiao didn’t mind this though. So instead, he pointed his dagger to the bandit at the very end of the line. “You, go get that rope and tie up your comrade’s hands together.”

The bandit at first hesitated but he was quickly being scolded by the leader that he ends up doing as he was told. Thirteen bandits were tied up, left with two. Lin Xiao then gestured for the bandit who was chosen to tie up his friends to come over.

“Tie your leader up. Don’t do anything suspicious or else, more blood will be spilt,” Lin Xiao warned, though his words were aimed more towards the leader since he has the final say. In the end, after the leader is all tied up, Lin Xiao personally tied the last bandit up.

“Alright! One last thing,” Lin Xiao used the rest of the rope and binds the bandit’s together so they will not be able to escape. “Shizun! Everything is done! Shall we go now?”

“En. Let me go and get my things. Then we can go,” Long YinLian replied as he went to the cave.

After Long YinLian came out of the cave, only then did they begin their journey to Senlin village. Their first stop was the Mercenary Guild Outpost. Lin Xiao literally just dropped the bandits onto the hands of the Mercenary Guild to handle since he doesn’t want anything to do with the officials in charge.

Next, they went to the southern entrance of Senlin village. Lin Xiao could see that the carriage and the wagon he bought is already properly prepared. He could also see a group of people nearby. ‘Eight people, exactly the number of the White Swan member,’ Lin Xiao thought to himself.

“Shizun, you will be in the carriage with Miss Fei. Come on, let me help you,” Lin Xiao said as he led Long YinLian to the carriage.

“No. Xiao-er, Miss Fei will be alone. I can walk,” Long YinLian told Lin Xiao.

“No way! Why do Shizun have to walk?”

“Xiao-er, a man and a woman cannot be alone in an enclosed space. Understand?” Long YinLian explained. “It is not proper,” he added as he reached out and pats Lin Xiao’s head. “Go and help Miss Fei into her carriage.”

“Then… Shizun should at least ride the wagon. Let me help you first,” Lin Xiao said as he then led Long YinLian to the wagon. He helped the man up and then told the three tigers to go in and rests. Only then did Lin Xiao helped Fei YuXing to the carriage.

After everything was done, Lin Xiao went to greet the White Swan Mercenary group. He walked over and then cusped his hands together. “Greetings, brothers and sisters from the White Swan. I am Lin Xiao, your client. I am relieved that you agreed to take the job to escort us to the capital. So, we will be in your care for these two days,” Lin Xiao said with a smile before he bowed slightly.

“Brother Lin, do not worry. We, from the White Swan is very reliable. There have yet a task that we failed to complete,” the leader said proudly. “I am called Ruo An. Leader of the White Swan. This here is the captain, Wei Yan,” Ruo An continued to introduce the member of the White Swan to Lin Xiao. After the introduction, Lin Xiao once again explained of their task, and their contract.

“So, brother Lin… Who is that young lady from before?” Ruo An can’t help but ask. He had noticed Fei YuXing earlier, and can’t help his curiosity. From her demeanor alone, he knew that she is a young lady from a very well-off family.

“Here is the first payment. The rest will be paid once we reached our destination,” Lin Xiao said as he handed Ruo An sixteen gold pieces, cleverly ignoring the question.

Ruo An counted the number of gold and found that it was double of what was promised. “Brother Lin! You’re giving more than what you stated earlier. Did you miscalculate?” Ruo An asked as he divide the gold pieces into two and was just about to give it back to Lin Xiao.

“No. I didn’t miscalculate, brother Ruo. The extra are payments for your silence,” Lin Xiao said as he placed a finger up to his lips. “I hope you won’t ask anything about my lady anymore.”

Ruo An was rendered speechless but he still cupped his hands together. “I apologize for my rudeness, brother Lin. You have my word that we won’t bring it up again.”

“Good. Let’s hope we have a pleasant journey,” Lin Xiao replied, feeling satisfied. “Since you already know that the one in the carriage is a lady, I hope sister Yun can be the coachman for the carriage,” as Lin Xiao said this, his eyes landed on one of the female members of the White Swan who only nods her head.

“Of course. That is not a problem at all!”

“Alright. Then let’s not waste anymore time. We’ll depart now. In order to arrive at the capital within two days, we will need to set camps in the wilderness. Don’t worry about food. I am quite confident in my cooking!” Lin Xiao said before he went to the wagon with the horses. Then he watched as the members of the White Swan made a final check on their inventory before they finally begin their journey.