“Little girl, you should know that from the moment you surrendered, you’re nobody. You’re just my property now. Don’t try to bargain with me using what’s already mine,” the leader said, his eyes still gleaming with the excitement of recent bloodshed, causing Huang Beishuang’s heart to fill with panic.
“However, you’re the first woman to still consider herself human after leaving the sedan and seeing blood and flesh. And…” he drew closer for a look, “Well! You’re an extraordinary beauty too. Were you being sent as a plaything to some great nation? Ha! Why not let this master here have the pleasure instead!” He finished with a malicious laugh, inciting his brothers to join in the commotion.
At this moment, Duo Zai ran out from the carriage and stood beside Huang Beishuang, partially shielding her while shouting fiercely.
“Masters! I beg you to release Na Xiu’er. We didn’t leave our homeland to enjoy wealth and luxury. Our caravan and the gifts for the king cost the Ena Qi clan five years of savings. These jewels are thorns in our flesh, great knives that have scraped our bones and blood! Now, we’re willing to give up everything!”
“But we cannot abandon the desolate land that nurtured us, nor can we forsake our parents and children far away in our homeland. They are now diligently working, constantly worried. If our marriage caravan fails to reach the Yunpei royal palace on time, what awaits them… will be a baptism of blood and fire. It will be a catastrophe for over seven thousand innocent clan members! Masters, we’re not begging for our own lives. We fear that we cannot complete this mission!”
Duo Zai, originally a shaman, was accustomed to chanting and rhyming in her speech. Now she was extremely agitated, her wild hair flying in the wind like a witch with white snakes growing from her head. Her toothless mouth was like a gaping black hole, her rising and falling trembling voice seemed to contain ancient and terrifying suggestions, powerful and intimidating.
The scene was quite eerie, and the bandits fell silent.
“Duo Zai, step back! Even if your words just now moved a thousand cold-hearted, cruel bones, there’s still one person who remains cold as ice, viewing everyone as ants!”
Huang Beishuang leaped down from the carriage and walked in front of the guards, resolutely and indignantly staring directly at the leader standing before her.
“Why do you still laugh? Why do you still grip the butcher’s knife? Were you not born of parents? Do you not have children to care for you? Who are you? Why is there not a shred of humanity in your heart? Are you human, or a ghost!”
The leader looked at Huang Beishuang for a while, his face showing not the slightest emotion. He coldly smiled, putting away his previous playful attitude, and said, “Look at you two, one old and one young, you’ve got some skill. A few words and you’ve stunned my brothers into silence.”
Saying this, he slowly walked to the center of the circle. In an instant, a storm seemed imminent.
Clang! The curved blade struck the ground!
“This blade was a gift from my father. My father died by my hand.”
Clang! The sword struck the ground!
“This sword was hidden by my mother. My mother died by my hand.”
Clang! The long spear struck the ground!
“This spear was forged by my wife. My wife died by my hand.”
Under the scorching sun, his words were like the fires of hell. Huang Beishuang and her group were utterly shocked, suddenly feeling a sense of inevitable death.
The leader turned and roared, “Brothers! Where are your parents?”
“Born but not raised!” the crowd shouted.
“Brothers! Where are your wives and children?”
“Gone or fled!” the crowd shouted again.
As the shouts rose and fell, not a shred of mercy remained in the bandits’ hearts. They were emotionally charged, ready to strike.
The leader standing in the center was very satisfied with this. He suddenly pointed at Huang Beishuang and the others.
“Look there! Those who want wealth, seize it! Those who want wives, take them! Those who want nothing, go and kill to your heart’s content!”
“Oh oh oh!” The bandits excitedly grabbed their large knives and fiercely pounced forward.
Behind them, the leader turned his head to look at the desperate Huang Beishuang.
“I am Ruo Wen, belonging to no ethnic group. The world has long had no place for me, and I have long had no attachments in this world!”
With only slight instinctive resistance, over a hundred people from Ena Qi were either brutally killed or captured. Rough ropes tied their feet one to another, driving them westward.
Vast sandy soil, whistling north wind, blowing away the stumbling footprints and the scarred hearts of innocent children. They walked wearily with lowered heads. No one made wishes to the sky anymore, for the sky had no compassionate heart; no one prayed to the earth anymore, for the earth did not pity its children!
Huang Beishuang supported Duo Zai as they walked at the front of the captive circle, while Ruo Wen led his men forward solemnly. Several of his brothers beside him were very satisfied with this harvest. Two of them following behind him were discussing the upcoming distribution with animated expressions.
“Leader, can you reward me with those two yellow-robed beauties in the back later?” The skinny man with a big scar on his head seemed a bit impatient, occasionally casting lewd glances at his spoils of war.
“Lang Tou, you bastard, are you up for it? You want two at once?” A man with a full beard looked down on him. “Didn’t your thing get bitten in half last year? Can you still use it?”
“Man Hu, shut your mouth! Every time you set your eyes on the same things as me. This time, I won’t let you have them!”
“Haha, anyway, when we get back to the stronghold, we’ll have to fight in the arena. The winner chooses first! Let’s wait and see. The girls this time are really beautiful ones and all. It’s a shame to sell them.”
“That’s right, these yellow-robed and green-robed ones, they make one’s heart itch!”
“Which king were they trying to please, to need such a grand setup?”
“Ah! Speaking of that, that old woman just now said they were going to Yunpei. Looks like they were meant for the king!”
“Damn, being a king brings good fortune to women. One tool isn’t enough to use them all!”
“Haha, that’s right. For now, let’s just consider ourselves helping him use them!”