Legend of Fei

14. Southern Sabre's Wife Takes Care of His Affairs

A/N : I have picked the names of people and city using name generators and maps. If you find something dissatisfying, kindly let me know and I will see what I can do about it.

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Instead of riding through the paths in the early morning breeze, they were riding under the glare of the mid-noon sun. Thankfully, the forest around them was a cover of coolness. At some point in the late evening, they saw a stream that opened into a lake as they kept riding. The couple slowed their horses, trudged them towards the stream and dismounted. The horses didn't have to be lead, they immediately moved towards the stream. Xie Yun was about to make a joke on it, his expression said so, but the sounds of horses running and blades clashing in a distance stopped him.

The horses got nearer and so did the swords. A'Fei was sure, it would be visible any moment now, her hand was on her sabre hilt when the clashing stopped and the shouting started.

"Catch him. Don't let him escape."

"Here."

"Gun Dan." A'Fei saw a flickering image of a young guy in the distance, dismounting, running.

"Is that...?" A'Fei did not look at her husband even as he seemed to recognize the young man. She had her sabre drawn as other men came into view too. They were 5, 3 wearing animal skin like cavemen, much like the hairless man on the island while two dressed in green and white, covered with animal skin on their shoulders as well.

A'Fei saw the young man, being chased, out of the corner of her eye, heading straight for the water behind them. As suspected, he jumped into the lake at the stream flowed into it. just as the men followed him to the edge.

"We can't catch him in the water," said what looked to be their leader. "Inform everyone to gather around the lake, look through every corner of the forest, don't let him escape." A'Fei chanced a glance at the lake and saw the rippling surface but no sign of the boy.

"Isn't that White Tiger's younger brother? So, he was telling the truth. He is running away from their own men"

A'Fei recollected the minor event from some days ago and the face along with it, only when Xie Yun brought it up. The boy from yesterday. The said stooges turned to look at them, not that far off.

"Isn't that..?" A'Fei felt Xie Yun's fingers wrap around her wrist and tuck as the men spoke. She looked at him but before he could say anything, the men continued their sentence.

"That's the Southern Sabre and his wife." A'Fei positioned her feet between the pebble filled banks and positioned her sabre in front of her chest. Xie Yun looked from his wife to the arrogant smirks on the wild hairy faces of the men and felt bad for them. They all thought of him as Southern Sabre and thought light of his wife's skills. He took the other sabre from A'Fei's back.

"I am going to take care of the horses then." A'Fei nodded to Xie Yun once as the men came over. Xie Yun turned and walked over to the horses, idling at the lake now, a couple of steps away. He heard and observed while fixing the reigns and pampering the animals.

"So the Southern Sabre left his wife to take care of his affairs? What a man!" They mocked him to A'Fei. Xie Yun barely controlled his smile and looked past his stallion at the man who was going to get the worst blow. It was instant, A'Fei slapped the flat of her sabre at the man's head and he imagined his wife glaring at the man. He couldn't see since she had her back to him and the horses.

"Do you fight with your words? You are worse than little kids, at least they know how to throw fists."

The leader was clad in white and green with yellow tiger skin on his shoulders. His robes were lavish, compared to his similarly clad companion. If it weren't for the unruly facial hair, he wouldn't look as silly as he did being hit by A'Fei's sabre.