Li Sui observed the perforrs closely, and they returned her gaze. Their eyes widened in astonishnt—they had never encountered a girl of such striking beauty.
“What are you looking at? Never seen a woman?” The old man flicked each of them on the head.
After glancing at the bronze coins resting in the bowl, the old man grabbed the boy’s shoulder, giving it a twist before reattaching his hand. “Let’s step out of the city. Despite our efforts, we barely made enough for a al.”
They packed up their belongings and drove their cart out of the city gate, only to notice Li Sui following closely behind them.
The younger n in the group imdiately beca restless, wondering if the girl had taken a liking to one of them.
The old man kicked them swiftly and pushed them aside. He clasped his hands respectfully toward Li Sui. “Miss, you’ve seen the performance. It’s getting late, so you should hurry back ho before your family starts to worry.”
At the ntion of family, Li Sui’s expression dimd slightly. “Grandpa, is this road the way to the You Capital?”
“Yes, it is. However, there are a few forks in the road along the way. It’s not far, but it would take about ten days on foot. Miss, you’re traveling empty-handed. I’m afraid you might not make it,” Chen Bin said before continuing on with his apprentices.
But soon after, he saw the girl following them again. “Are you also heading to You Capital? Can I go with you? I’m afraid I’ll take the wrong path.”
“Sure, sure! We’re going to You Capital too! It’s on the way!” Several young n, around eighteen years old, responded eagerly.
“What do you an’ sure’? Are you the master now?” Chen Bin said, then solemnly clasped his hands again toward Li Sui. “Miss, it’s improper for n and won to travel together. The road is long, and if you need to go to You Capital, it’s better to travel with your family or hire guards for protection.”
Chen Bin was not as lustful as his apprentices. It was too unusual for a pretty young girl to want to follow this group of n. There had to be a catch sowhere.
“But I can’t find my family...” Li Sui’s voice trailed off as she looked down. The young n felt their hearts ache, and they stumbled over their words as they rushed to comfort her.
Their sympathy was of no use. Chen Bin pushed them aside, grabbed the rabbit pelt she had given them earlier, and offered it to Li Sui with a bow. Without saying another word, he hurriedly led his apprentices away.
They ran for two hours straight and only stopped when the sky began to darken.
“Master, wasn’t that a bit much?” Lin Qishan, the fourth apprentice, asked while wiping the sweat from his chin.
“Better safe than sorry. It’s always best to be cautious. Sothing feels off with that girl. Anyway, start the fire and cook dinner.”
Dinner wasn’t much. There were just so coarse grain buns and a pot of wild vegetable soup. The only real flavor ca from a small jar of vinegar, but even that was rationed carefully.
Each person was only allowed seven dips with their chopsticks. That was Chen Bin’s rule.
They couldn’t afford to let the boys eat too much. If they were allowed to eat freely, the vinegar wouldn’t last a single day.
As they were eating, the youngest apprentice wandered to the edge of the forest to relieve himself, still chewing on his bun.
As soon as he reached the forest, he let out a bloodcurdling scream, much louder than when his hand had been dislocated earlier.
Everyone imdiately dropped what they were doing. They grabbed their weapons and rushed over.
“What happened? What is it?” Chen Bin asked. The boy pointed a trembling finger toward the dark forest. Chen Bin threw his torch in that direction.
They all froze at the sight before them. The girl, who had asked for directions, now stood in the forest as she held a bloody lump of flesh in her hands. She gently squeezed it while she took small bites from it.
Li Sui’s cheeks were puffed up. She wiped the blood at her lips with the back of her hand and pleaded, “I didn’t an to follow you, but I really do have sothing important to do in You Capital. It’s safer to travel together. If we run into any demons on the road, I can help fight them off.”
Chen Bin opened his mouth but was at a loss for words. His hands trembled as he reached into his pocket.
“Please?” Li Sui took a step forward. Seeing this, Chen Bin clenched his teeth and pulled out a string of sothing, raising it high in the air.
It was a string of bronze coins, a protective artifact passed down from his grandfather to ward off evil.
As Li Sui’s gaze fell upon the bronze coins, mories of her father and the bronze coin sword he always carried on his back flooded her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes.
As she burst into sobs, Chen Bin and his apprentices collapsed to the ground in fear. Lin Qishan, the most quick-witted of them, threw himself flat on the ground and kowtowed. “Deity, please spare ! Don’t eat !”
After a while, under Li Sui’s tearful pleading, Chen Bin readily agreed to let her travel with them.
He didn’t even bother to pack up the pot or let anyone sleep. They hitched the horses and set off under the moonlight, trembling with fear as they led the way, with Li Sui following behind.
As daylight broke, they would have stopped to rest under normal circumstances, but Chen Bin didn’t dare. The image of that bloody lump of flesh haunted his mind. He feared they might end up as the next al she stuffed into her mouth.
“Master, we shouldn’t go this way. Isn’t this Kai Shanbao’s territory? We could be robbed if we pass through here,” the eldest apprentice said.
Chen Bin glared at him and then glanced back at the girl, who was staring intently at the protective artifact. He whispered, “That’s exactly why we’re going this way. Let the wolves fight the tigers. Rember, when they start fighting, we run for our lives!”
Silently cursing his grandfather for the useless artifact, Chen Bin continued on.
Three hours later, a large tree suddenly fell across the road and blocked their path. Several burly n with knives approached them. Chen Bin’s heart leaped with hope—this might be their chance!
“This mountain is mine, and this tree I planted! If you want to pass, leave... Huh? This girl is quite sothing,” the bandit leader said as groups of bandits appeared.
They eyed Li Sui with a lecherous grin, who was lost in her mories. When she snapped back to her senses, she saw the man in front of her starting to undress.
She blinked in confusion, then stepped back and waved her hands frantically. “Thank you, but I’m not hungry right now.”
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