After saying so, the disguised Si Mijka Tengkorak left the room and guarded the door with the sentries.
Hiang Bwee opened the door only to close it swiftly when faced with the spears of four guards. Upon opening the window, she saw the ends of the spears and two guards outside.
She closed the window again and sat on a chair. Why was she kidnapped? Who was her kidnapper? No, not the masked man. Surely, he was just a messenger, and there was someone else behind all this. But what could that person want with her? Fear began to creep into her heart as she remembered Tan Tiong Li. Ah, if only Tiong Li were her guard and was at the palace, she wouldn't have been kidnapped. However, who knew that the swordsman might appear to save her again.
She wanted to scream, to yell for help. But she remembered and restrained herself. Yelling might not be heard and she would be knocked unconscious again. Ah, it was not pleasant. It was better this way. At least she could still move and speak freely.
Eventually, the princess forgot everything and lay down on the beautiful bed, falling into a deep sleep.
In the morning, two maidens appeared, bringing water for bathing, even serving her. But when she tried to question them, they only shook their heads and didn't utter a word, not daring to speak at all! Hiang Bwee didn't care, after cleaning herself she had breakfast brought by the two maids. After she was done, the two women left.
Not long after, the masked man entered again. Hiang Bwee immediately confronted him.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me and bring me here? Aren't you afraid of severe punishment if you get caught?" "Miss, please don't ask too many questions and just obey," said the masked man, and suddenly his hand struck. Hiang Bwee collapsed unconscious.
She was then carried out of the room and soon she was in a carriage, in the middle of the four concubines of Prime Minister Jin Kui! Because she was sandwiched in the middle, the princess seemed like one of the concubines. Meanwhile, she was unconscious.
The carriage was driven towards the north gate, escorted by a cavalry officer. When passing through the gate, all the officers informed the guards that the Prime Minister's concubines were going out to visit the tomb outside the city that morning.
The guards didn't dare to fuss, just peeking when the carriage curtain was lifted by a concubine and saw that inside the carriage were young and beautiful concubines. The carriage then passed through the gate and headed north.
After going some distance from the gate, there was another smaller carriage waiting. This carriage was driven by Ciang Sun Hok himself and even guarded by Si Mijka Tengkorak. The princess was then transferred to the carriage and then the concubines' carriage continued its journey to the tomb.
After the princess was moved to the smaller carriage, accompanied by Si Mijka Tengkorak, Tang Boa Lu quickly released her acupoints. Hiang Bwee regained consciousness, opened her eyes, and suppressed her scream when she saw a skull-like face sitting in front of her.
"Sssst, no need to scream. No one will hear you, and if you scream, I will have to knock you unconscious again. I won't bother you!"
Hiang Bwee looked at that face with disgust and fear. "Who are you? And where... where am I going to be taken?"
"I am a general of the Kin Kingdom."
"Ohhh ......... .!" Hiang Bwee was shocked to hear that she had fallen into the hands of the enemy!"
"Don't be afraid, we won't harm you. You are just a hostage and I will hand you over to our general. If you stay quiet and obedient, we will treat you well."
Hiang Bwee just nodded, her eyes wide open, her face pale. She understood that for now, she couldn't do anything and it was indeed better to obey than to be knocked unconscious again.
The carriage was then driven rapidly northwards, entering the lawless lands between Kin and Sung.
The carriage ran fast, being drawn by four horses. But when the carriage was close to the Kin territory, suddenly from behind the reeds and tree trunks, around fifteen people jumped out. The carriage was forced to stop as it was blocked by people wielding swords and machetes. There were fifteen of them, led by a handsome and gallant young man holding a sword.
"Stop! Who's in the carriage and where are you going?" The young man shouted.
Hearing this, and seeing a dozen people blocking the carriage, Hiang Bwee yelled,
"I am the emperor's daughter, I've been kidnapped." Her voice halted as
Si Mijka Tengkorak had already incapacitated her! Tang Boa Lu immediately leaped out of the carriage and faced the dozen people along with Ciang Sun Hok.
"You don't interfere in our business...!!" Ciang Sun Hok shouted. "I am a general of Prime Minister Jin Kui, and I have to escort this girl somewhere."
"Free the princess!" a shout was heard.
"Kill the evil Minister Jin Kui's lackey!" another shout was heard.
However, the young man leading the group raised his left hand to stop his subordinates from shouting and then he spoke to Ciang Sun Hok.
"Is it true that the girl is a kidnapped princess? It's impossible you are a general of the Prime Minister if you kidnap a princess!"
Feeling pressured by that statement, Ciang Sun Hok became angry and shouted,
"You all must be eliminated!"
And he rushed forward with his claw technique. The young man was surprised to see the vicious attack. He jumped back and swung his sword to counter. As soon as he drew his sword, Ciang Sun Hok knew that he was dealing with a high-level Kun-lun-pai disciple. So he drew his sword from his back and they were soon engaged in a fierce fight.
Meanwhile, a dozen others surrounded and wanted to help their leader, but Si Mijka Tengkorak was in a frenzy. His frenzy was so intense that within a few seconds, four people had fallen due to his strikes. What's more, when he released a steel chain with a sharp tip, there were even more of those fighters who fell bathed in blood.
Seeing this, the Kun-lun-pai young man was extremely shocked and before he could do anything, Si Mijka Tengkorak jumped closer to help Ciang Sun Hok. His long chain wrapped around the young man's sword and with a single pull, the sword was disarmed and at the same moment, Ciang Sun Hok delivered a kick that knocked the young man unconscious! The remaining five fighters then ran away, unable to withstand the two high-level fighters.
"Let's capture this Kun-lun-pai young man, take him to meet the general as a gift!" said Si Mijka Tengkorak and Ciang Sun Hok agreed.
The young man was then shackled and thrown into the carriage, while Si Mijka Tengkorak sat at the front with Ciang Sun Hok. The carriage was then driven again northwards, entering the Kin territory border. Hiang Bwee was shocked and also worried seeing the young man thrown in. Initially, she thought that the young man was Tan Tiong Li, but it turned out to not be him and her heart felt somewhat relieved.
Now she looked at the young man. A handsome young man who was bound hand and foot. When the young man groaned, Hiang Bwee helped him to sit on the carriage seat in front of her. The young man opened his eyes and was stunned when he saw the face of a beautiful girl sitting inside the carriage.
Then he remembered and tried to struggle and free himself from the bonds, but in vain, the bonds were too strong. He then realized his situation. The two men were too strong for him and they sat in front. Even if he could free himself from his bonds, it would be useless.
He couldn't escape from the two of them. He remembered the shouts earlier then lifted his face, looking again at the girl. Hiang Bwee was also looking at him. Their eyes met and Hiang Bwee looked down.
"Miss, is it true that you are the emperor's daughter?" "Yes, I was kidnapped from the Palace," Hiang Bwee replied softly.
However, however softly they spoke, they could still
be heard by the two men sitting in front. And it seemed that the two men didn't care because they were sure that the two captives couldn't do anything to free themselves.
"Where are they taking you to, miss?"
"I don't know. What's your name?" "I am Souw Cun Ki, a disciple of Kun-lun-pai who joined the rebels."
"Souw-enghiong (Warrior Souw), you must try to free me. I am Sung Hiang Bwee, the emperor's daughter ..."
"Ha-ha-ha, don't dream!" Suddenly Ciang Sun Hok laughed. "You won't be able to escape, and if you make too much of a fuss, we will knock you unconscious!"
Hearing this, Cun Ki signaled with his eyes to the princess to keep quiet. He knew the words were not empty threats. The two men possessed high martial arts skills, and even if he could free his hands and feet, he wouldn't be able to compete with them. Especially since he had lost his sword.
Eventually, the carriage reached the fortress where the Great General Wu Chu resided. This general was a gallant man, over forty years old, tall and sturdy, with a strong face and a thick beard, his eyes wide and he had been an officer since his youth. When he heard the report of his subordinate, Si Mijka Tengkorak, that Hak Bu Cu was killed by a rebel, he was very angry.
"Why didn't Prime Minister Jin order the murderer's arrest and bring him to me?" He shouted angrily.
Ciang Sun Hok, the envoy of Prime Minister Jin Kui, immediately saluted. "Please, thai-ciangkun, don't be disheartened. We will hunt down the murderer and he is already our target. Meanwhile, Jin-taijin apologizes and to console thai-ciangkun, Jin-taijin has sent a siuli (beautiful woman) to entertain Ciang-kun."
"Hmmm, thanks for Jin-taijin's concern. But I already have enough concubines and don't need a beautiful woman," said the great general in a still angry voice.
"But thai-ciangkun doesn't know who has been sent to thai-ciangkun. She is the daughter of Emperor Sung!"
Glossary
- Si Mijka Tengkorak: A character in the story, known for his skull-like face.
- Hiang Bwee: The princess who was kidnapped.
- Tan Tiong Li: A swordsman who Hiang Bwee hoped would save her.
- Jin Kui: The Prime Minister.
- Ciang Sun Hok: A general of the Prime Minister.
- Siuli: A term for a beautiful woman.
- Kun-lun-pai: A martial arts sect.
- Souw Cun Ki: A disciple of Kun-lun-pai who joined the rebels.
- General Wu Chu: The Great General in the Kin Kingdom.