While Lin Xiao went to the village, Long Yinlian stayed with Fei Yuxing in the cave. Fei Yuxing didn’t say anything because she felt a bit uncomfortable, especially with three huge tigers staring at her. It already took everything within her not to faint on the spot.
“Young Lady Fei,” Long Yinlian called out, breaking the awkward silence. “If I may ask… what is your relationship with the Xia family?”
“I’m…” Fei Yuxing hesitated for a while, contemplating whether to tell Long Yinlian or not. In the end, she decided to trust him considering that this man was Lin Xiao’s master. “I’m betrothed to the third son of Xia family’s patriarch. His name is Xia WenYao. Although I have never met him before, it was something that both out families had decided upon long before either of us were even born. But I heard he has a good temperament. It was said that it was because of his father. Throughout his marriage, his father has never once taken any mistress. Everyone says he’s the ideal husband!”
“I see. Thank you, Miss Fei,” Long Yinlian said before he stood up.
When Fei Yuxing saw this, she deserately reached out to hold on to Long Yinlian’s arm.
“W-wait… Master Long, where are you going? Please don’t leave me alone!” she implored as she eyed the tigers worriedly.
“I am just going outside for some fresh air,” Long Yinlian said with a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Lan-er, Fan-er and Zan-er will stay with you.”
‘It’s exactly why I don’t want you to leave, Master Long! I’m scared to stay alone with them!’ Fei Yuxing frantically thought before she quickly said, “How about I go with you? I-I mean… you’re blind, right? Won’t you need help to go anywhere?”
“Young lady, I’ve already lived this way for several years. I’m used to it. You should just stay here,” Long Yinlian said placatingly.
Even after assuring her, Long Yinlian felt the hold around his arm only tightened and he let out a long sigh. “It’s not good for a lady to walk on the mountain alone with a man,” Long Yinlian said before he then removed Fei Yuxing’s hold on his arm and sat back down.
The awkward silence returned, until suddenly the three tigers stood up and faced the entrance of the cave. They let out a warning growl, as if to signal that an attacker was approaching them. Even Long Yinlian’s soft demeanour changed. Now he seemed to emit a chilling air.
“Miss Fei, please stay here. We have some unwanted guests,” Long Yinlian said as he stood up. He also grabbed his sword as he strode to the entrance of the cave, followed by the three tigers.
Outside the cave, there was a group of bandits circling around it. Each one of them was armed with a different kind of weapon. The number of bandits was around twenty people.
“Are you sure they’re here?” One of the bandits, who appeared to be the leader, asked.
“Yes, boss! I saw it with my own eyes! Those three tigers are surely inside! If we can catch them, we’ll make good money!” Another bandit answered gleefully.
“Alright. You, you and you, go to the inside and lure those tigers out!” The bandit leader said as he pointed at his men.
The three bandits who were chosen did as they were told, though their faces showed traces of unwillingness. They were just about to enter the cave when suddenly, a loud roar came from the cave. The roar was enough to make the three bandits from earlier to stumble in fright before they scampered off, back to their group.
The rest of the bandits had also raised their weapons when they heard the roar. Soon, right before their eyes, the three tigers came out from the cave. The bandit leader’s eyes were filled with greed at this sight couldn’t, but it quickly changed into a frown when he saw Long Yinlian behind the tigers.
“You didn’t tell me there was someone else here!” The bandit leader bellowed at the bandit who informed him of the tigers earlier.
“Boss! It’s just one blind man. Plus, look at the sword he’s holding! Don’t you think it’ll fetch us some good money?”
The bandit leader narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze onto the sword that was on Long Yinlian’s hand. Though it looked simple at first glance, one only had to look at it properly to discern that the sword is something remarkable. Knowing this, the avarice in the bandit leader’s eyes amplified.
‘And since he’s blind, we can easily take advantage of this situation…’ The leader of the bandits thought slyly, before yelling, “That blind man over there! We’re a mercenary group called ‘Thunder Hawk’. We were tasked by the mercenary guild to take those three tigers away because they have terrorized the locals nearby!”
The bandit leader’s announcement garnered looks of confusion from his men. The leader signalled his men to simply play along, then gestured to his eyes, then to Long Yinlian.
Once they caught on to their leader’s plan, these bandits all played along, showing their teamwork in weaving lies.
“Ah! Yes! Yes! We have just picked this request up this morning from the Senlin village mercenary outpost!”
“That’s right! Are you the master of these three tigers? Just be obedient and hand them over! They had already injured and even killed people. In fact, as their master, you should also be held responsible.”
“Yes, ah! Maybe if you hand that sword over, we can sell it and help you pay for all the damages that was caused by your tigers!”
Unfortunately for them, Long Yinlian was not someone who could be tricked easily, not to mention, he knows his little tigers well.
“I think all of you are sorely mistaken. It is impossible for my sons to harm the villagers. In fact, the people in Senlin village know them well. They also know that these three sons of mine always help lost children go back to their homes, so how can anyone post a job asking for them to be taken away because they’re dangerous?” Long Yinlian shot back.
“Are you saying that we, the members of Thunder Hawk, are lying?!” The bandit leader asked in mock outrage.
The reason he chose to impersonate the Thunder Hawk was due to their excellent reputation. Just like the White Swan, the Thunder Hawk is one of the top ranked mercenary groups, known for their righteous attitude. Also, compared to the White Swan, Thunder Hawk is bigger in size and their leader was said to be from a well-known family in the capital.
“I am not saying that the Thunder Hawk is lying,” Long Yinlian replied. “I am just saying that you are all mistaken. You might have identified the wrong tigers.”
“Shut up! In the end, are you going to hand them over, or forfeit your life?!” The leader blew up, unable to hold his anger back.
“If you have a son, and your son was unjustly accused of crime and someone came to take him away, would you hand him over?” Long Yinlian asked back. He then unsheathed his sword; the blade made a sound that was close to the sound of a dragon’s cry.
“The Thunder Hawk has three ironclad rules.” Long Yinlian said, his voice like the calm before the storm, “Never harm those who are innocent, never take advantage of those who are weaker, and lastly… never use the Thunder Hawk’s name for your own benefit.”
Long Yinlian said this in a matter-of-fact manner. He even used some of his inner force to amplify his voice so even though he spoke in a relaxed manner, every single one of the bandits around him can hear him clearly.
“Since you’ve broken one of these rules, as one of your predecessors, it is my responsibility to hold you accountable for it. Breaking any of these the ironclad rules can only result in one thing... death.”
