"Smack...smack!!" The maiden's hands slapped twice, and the man fell sprawling backward, groaning in pain while clutching his now swollen cheeks. His bloodied mouth hinted at lost teeth.
However, the man was shameless. In his pain, he rose in anger.
He scrambled up and attacked the maiden with both fists! His huge stature and potent punches posed a threat, making the onlookers worried for the maiden's safety. However, they were stunned to see that not a single punch landed on her. On the contrary, the maiden's kick sent the man sprawling for the second time. This time, however, he stood up clutching his stomach, hastily fleeing the scene without looking back, whether due to fear or to find a place to relieve his unsettled stomach! Seeing this, the crowd clapped joyfully and praised the maiden's prowess. In those days, many people tried to impose their will through their status, power, wealth, or strength. Hence, seeing such a bully getting beaten up delighted and satisfied them.
An Kiong recognized the maiden's skills and politely greeted her.
"Miss, you have helped me and drove off that bully just now. We kindly invite you to our home to get acquainted and allow us to extend our gratitude."
The wealthy man's attitude was highly respectful, and his words were warm and courteous. Hearing this, The Siang Hwi turned to her master.
"Shibo, should we take a brief detour?"
Hearing the maiden address the beautiful woman as shibo, An wangwie approached the latter and greeted her.
"Ah, so you are this young lady's master? My apologies for not showing the proper respect due to ignorance. Toanio, we kindly request that you and Miss could take a brief stop at our home for acquaintance and to express our gratitude. We always admire and respect martial artists like yourselves." An-wangwe's demeanor was indeed very polite, making Ban-tok Sian-li interested as well. This man, besides being charitable, was also very kind and respectful.
"Alright, we will stop briefly, Siang Hwi," she said, nodding. The wealthy man was overjoyed at her response. He signaled his people to continue with the rice distribution, and himself hastily escorted the two beautiful women into his home.
Meanwhile, the commotion outside the house reached the ears of An Kiong's wife and four children, and they warmly welcomed the two guests, which greatly pleased Ban-tok Sian-li.
The two guests were then treated to a feast by the host and his entire family, consisting of a wife and four children.
An Kiong raised his wine cup as a sign of respect towards them. "We would like to introduce ourselves to the honorable guests. My name is An Kiong, this is my wife and our four children, ranging from five to fifteen years old. If the guests don't mind, we would love to know the names of our honorable guests."
This humble attitude moved Ban-tok Sian-li. She usually never revealed her real name, only introducing herself by her nickname. But since An wangwie was not a martial arts world member and she didn't need to hide her identity, she introduced her real name, not even mentioning her nickname. "I am Souw Hian Li and my disciple is The Siang Hwi. We two are travelers from the Death Valley by the Yangtze River."
"Ah, as we suspected, the guests must be powerful and righteous figures from the martial arts world. Our eldest daughter is fifteen years old, and she has always wanted to learn martial arts, but she never found a skilled teacher. She was always fascinated by her deceased maternal uncle, General Gak Hui, and wishes to learn high-level martial arts. If toanio could guide her, it would bring us great joy."
Quietly Ban-tok Sian-li Souw Hian Li was surprised. "Ah, so An-wangwe is a relative of the late General Gak Hui? It's surprising, why are you still comfortably residing in the royal city?"
An-wangwe smiled. "Ah, we are only distant relatives. General Gak's wife is my wife's sister, so we are considered distant relatives. Besides, we never meddle in conflicts, why should we fear living in the royal city? We have never committed any crime."
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. They all rushed out. It turned out that the commotion was caused by dozens of soldiers ordering the helpers and officials who were distributing rice earlier to stop their work. They ordered everyone to leave. Those were dozens of soldiers led by Jin Kiat and Hak Bu Cu. When Jin Kiat saw An-wangwe, he pointed his finger at him and yelled loudly. "An Kiong, are you gathering people to rebel?" Anwangwe recognized the young man and quickly showed respect.
"Jin-kongcu, why say such a thing? These are the poor who are receiving my rice donation, kongcu."
"Ahhh, don't deny it. I bring the Emperor's edict to arrest the entire family of the rebel Gak! Surrender your family to me, An Kiong!"
An Kiong's face instantly turned pale upon hearing this. "But, kongcu...we...we are not the Gak family! We are the An family."
"Enough! Who doesn't know that you are the maternal uncle of rebel Gak Liu's wife?"
"Have mercy, kongcu. Kongcu have known our family for a long time, we have never done anything wrong."
"Enough talk! Soldiers, arrest them all!" ordered Jin Kiat.
"We are innocent! We won't be arrested!" shouted An Siu Hwa, the eldest daughter of An Kiong, drawing her sword.
"Ha-ha-ha, your daughter is quite brave, An Kiong! Leave her to me!" said Jin Kiat, rushing towards the maiden. Siu Hwa greeted him with a sword thrust, but her martial arts skills were far too inferior compared to Jin Kiat, a disciple of palace experts.
Jin Kiat dodged and struck the maiden from the side, causing Siu Hwa to feel weak, dropping her sword, and falling into Jin Kiat's embrace as he laughed.
The soldiers then captured An Kiong, his wife, and their three other children, who were still young. Seeing this, Ban-tok Sian-li was extremely angry.
"Filthy scoundrel, release them!" She slapped twice, and two soldiers fell dead instantly. Seeing this, Hak Bu Cu was shocked and realized that the beautiful woman was highly skilled and had a deadly strike.
He promptly attacked, and an intense duel ensued between Hak Bu Cu and Ban-tok Sian-li, who was also surprised by this sudden appearance of a terrifying black giant with immense strength and high martial arts skills.
Meanwhile, seeing how Siu Hwa was rudely embraced by Jin Kiat, The Siang Hwi let out a piercing scream and attacked the youth from the side. "Release the girl!"
Jin Kiat, still holding Siu Hwa, defended against Siang Hwi's strike with his left hand. He underestimated her, so when their hands collided, Jin Kiat was nearly knocked off balance.
He released Siu Hwa and was utterly shocked because the sweet, pretty maiden had inner strength that almost toppled him! He drew his sword and attacked Siang Hwi. But the maiden also drew a thin sword from her back, and they fiercely attacked each other. The soldiers also aided Jin Kiat, leaving Siang Hwi surrounded by many people. The soldiers didn't dare to assist Hak Bu Cu because the duel between Hak Bu Cu and the beautiful woman was incredibly intense, with a fierce wind whipping around their hands and feet, keeping any soldier from approaching.
A soldier ran to call for backup, and soon, dozens of royal soldiers arrived. Seeing this, Bantok Sianli had no choice but to leap far away, and along with her student, she had to flee.
It was impossible to confront the dozens of soldiers, especially since they were in the royal city, which could send hundreds or even thousands of soldiers, posing a serious threat to them.
Reluctantly, despite their anger, Ban-tok Sian-li and The Siang Hwi left An Kiong's family to be arrested and taken to prison.
They were also pursued by the soldiers. Wherever they went, they encountered a group of soldiers and several times had to fight, knocking down several soldiers and running again.
Eventually, they were trapped in an alley, both ends of which were guarded by hundreds of soldiers. At that moment, a young man dressed as a beggar appeared. His clothes were patched but clean.
"Toanio, sio-cia, follow me. There's no other way out. Hurry!" he said to the two women. Having no other choice, Ban-tok Sian-li motioned for her disciple to follow the young man. They entered a small house, and from there, they could slip through small alleys, escaping the besieged alley. They then entered a temple. It was a temple for female priests. An old ni-kouw greeted the arrival of the beggar youth.
"Ceng-niko uw, please help these two friends.
They are being pursued by the soldiers. Quickly!"
"Alright, come in, ji-wi sio-cia!" the old ni-kouw told Ban-tok Sian-ii and Siang Hwi. The beggar bowed and said to them.
"For now, ji-wi is safe here. I will find a way for ji-wi to leave the royal city. Until we meet again!"
Glossary
- An Kiong: The name of a wealthy man in the story.
- The Siang Hwi: The disciple of Souw Hian Li, the main female character.
- Souw Hian Li: The main female character, also known as Ban-tok Sian-li.
- Ban-tok Sian-li: The nickname or title of Souw Hian Li in the martial arts world.
- Jin Kiat: A character who led the soldiers to arrest An Kiong's family.
- Hak Bu Cu: A character who fights Ban-tok Sian-li.
- An Siu Hwa: The eldest daughter of An Kiong who tried to defend her family.
- Shibo: A respectful address for a female teacher or master in martial arts.
- Toanio: A respectful address for a senior or respected woman.
- Ji-wi: A respectful address for a guest or noble person.
- Toa-nio: A respectful address for a revered or elder woman.
- Sio-cia: A term of address for a young woman or girl. Also used as a term of endearment.
- General Gak Hui: The deceased maternal uncle of An Siu Hwa who was a martial arts expert.
- Gak Liu: The rebel whose mother is a relative of An Kiong's wife.
- Kongcu: A respectful address for a young lord or master.
- Ceng-niko uw: A respectful address for an elderly woman.
- Ni-kouw: A female priest.