The man seemed to be dancing. Although he did not harm the men and did not raise any weapons, they could not get at him. With flying steps and swift movements, he made them turn around and fight each other.
The barbarians stumbled from one side of the street to the other without getting at him. He was surrounded, and Zhi Cheng could see the apprehension on his face. The Ghost King frowned.
"How strange," he whispered, fanning himself absentmindedly. The man was strong, he had the skills to strike them all down, and yet he did not.
Under other circumstances, he would have admired the arrogance it took to demonstrate such superiority and to show off in front of one's enemies like that. But the godlike dancer didn't look arrogant at all.
He distracted them, led them astray, but he didn't kill any of them. This man was... fascinating? Before he knew it, Zhi Cheng was standing next to him and just as deftly and elegantly fended off another attack.
He didn't show as much mercy, though, and the mugger lost his hand first, then his head. When Zhi Cheng turned around, he couldn't see horror or disgust in the bright eyes, only... sorrow? Was he mourning this unnecessary freak of nature? Zhi Cheng was speechless. How could you feel sorry for a pile of garbage?
"You seem to be a good fighter, what's your name?" Zhi Cheng asked lightly, thrusting his open fan into a man's throat. When he pulled it back with a jerk, the blood rolled off the smooth surface without staining the picture.
"Wu Qing Lai," the man in white replied, before twisting the arms of another thief behind his back and administering two well-aimed acupuncture strikes to put him to sleep.
"Qing Lai, why are you so gentle with a bunch of uncouth bastards who would slaughter you without a second thought?" he asked.
Qing Lai put another man on the ground and turned to Zhi Cheng. The remaining men slowly retreated. Beaten, confused, they didn't know what to do, but they realized that they had no chance.
"I don't harm anyone if I don't have to, and I don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary," he answered honestly. Zhi Cheng let out a sharp laugh.
"A pacifist? With your abilities?"
Qing Lai returned the laugh. "A person is more than just the outer layer. You're judging too quickly, brother..."
"Zhi Cheng... cheng!", he replied, stretching. Qing Lai blinked in confusion. It was as if he could feel the lie, which was in stark contrast to the meaning of his name. Sincere honesty.
"Zhi Chengcheng?", he repeated, puzzled. Zhi Cheng nodded quickly.
"Brother Zhi. Thank you for your help. I'll go help the injured now; there are some caves nearby that we can use as shelter. Since it was a fairly large caravan, reinforcements will arrive in a few days," he explained.
"Come with us, it's too dangerous for you to be alone, even though your fighting skills are not bad!" he suggested. Zhi Cheng couldn't help but smile mischievously. Not bad? he thought.
"Gladly, I think we can support each other better in pairs," he replied. No sooner had he spoken these words than his smile had already faded.
Wait, what? No, he didn't want to help, he wanted to get away from here. Why the hell couldn't he say no? Qing lai led the way and Zhi Cheng followed him, gritting his teeth.
Back in the forest, Zhi Cheng cursed to himself incessantly as he stumbled over the uneven ground, roots and stones. This is not how he had imagined his freedom. In his mind, he was always surrounded by beautiful women and good wine. In flourishing cities. But a life of prosperity was a lot more difficult to achieve than he had thought.
He kept fanning himself. The sky above them was an innocent blue, while the trees were so close together that it was almost impossible to get through them.
Only Qing Lai, this angel in white, moved like a divine presence even in this terrain. Zhi Cheng kept glancing at the tall, wiry, muscular figure.
His white robe clung to his skin and gave him the appearance of a young god. His skin was pale, his arms strong and his steps light but energetic.
He had pushed back his light brown hair and tied it loosely with a piece of cloth. When Qing lai noticed Zhi Cheng's glances, he smiled encouragingly at him.
Zhi Cheng hid behind his fan and continued to curse himself inwardly. After several hours of hiking, they finally arrived at the caves Qing lai had mentioned, bathed in sweat, disheveled, and out of breath.
With a sigh of relief, Zhi Cheng stumbled inside and sat down on the nearest rock. The cool air and the humidity reminded him strongly of the rapids of Duifang, but it was quieter here.
Everyone had gratefully sat down somewhere, only Qing Lai remained standing and frowned.
"What is it, Qing Lai? Why are you so unhappy?" Zhi Cheng asked him. Qing Lai turned to him.
"I think we should go deeper inside. We're not safe this close to the entrance," he replied. Zhi Cheng let his gaze sweep over the exhausted women. Indeed, no men had followed them.
"You're a slave driver, Qing Lai, let them catch their breath first," he grumbled, panting as he did so.
After all, he had been running all morning. Qing lai laughed softly.
"All right, let's rest for a moment," he agreed.
Zhi Cheng leaned against the rough rock and closed his eyes. Of course, he couldn't admit that inside he felt just as torn up as he had been just a few days before, lying shattered on the rocks.
The blood flowed sluggishly through his veins, breathing was difficult and his heart had torn open again during the fight. Zhi Cheng had patched up his meridians in a makeshift way, but it would take quite a while, a lot of time and rest, to recover to his old, full strength. At the moment, his only trump card was his physical and fighting strength.
An hour later, Qing lai herded them back up and deeper into the caves. Qing lai led the way, with Zhi Cheng bringing up the rear. He counted a total of about thirty people, only women and children and some noblewomen.
As a matter of course, their groups split up. While the noblewomen were carried on hands and their maids did everything possible to make them comfortable, The others immediately started to work.
They covered the children with the fabrics they had worn so that they would not freeze, others made a fire and discussed whether they should prepare something to eat from the ingredients they had carried. After all, the goods did not belong to them, and their employer could punish them severely for it.
Zhi Cheng strolled over to them and squatted down next to them. The women eyed him suspiciously. Some of them had hidden behind him and had experienced his change of moods, so they weren't sure whether they would be snapped at again. Zhi Cheng forced a smile.
"Ladies, most of the goods were destroyed anyway or taken away by the barbarians at that moment. I think a little more and a little less spices will hardly be noticed," he suggested.
"But it would be theft," one of the women objected. She was chubby, her face had a pink hue from the exhausting escape. Her clothing revealed that she was a simple servant. Zhi Cheng barely gave her a glance.
"If you take good care of the nobles here, they will certainly put in a good word for you. On the other hand, they could also complain about it if you don't." He added.
The women exchanged doubtful glances. In the end, it depended on the state of mind of their bosses whether they had stolen goods or used them for the benefit of the nobility.
"You might be able to go a few days without food, but they..." He turned to the noblewomen without appearing to do so. The women sighed. He was right.
"This discussion is moot if we can't find water, Brother Zhi," a voice sounded behind him, and Zhi Cheng almost fell headlong into the dust.