As night began to fall, we stopped at another rest area. Surprisingly the snoring atop the coach never ceased even as the balding man unhitched the horses leading them to a small stream to let them drink their fill. After gathering the wood for the fire, I began fixing gramps and my dinner, absentmindedly, noticing the balding man doing the same at a nearby campsite. During my walk through the woods, I had found many herbs I personally liked. I spent many nights testing the amount of qi needed to bring them to their peak flavor. As the porridge began to boil, the smell wafted throughout the clearing, causing everyone to look my way, including the child and veiled woman who happened to leave the coach at that moment.

Before the child could run off toward our campsite, the veiled woman grabbed her, guiding the child toward the balding man. As she went by, the veiled woman bent to snatch up a small stone flinging it behind her. I watched the stone sail unerringly toward the top of the coach with a thunk it hit something solid. Moments later, a young woman who looked slightly familiar jumped off the side of the coach, but she must not have been fully awake as she stumbled and fell back on her rump. Causing both old men to chuckle while the child and veiled woman covered their mouths to hide their own laughing. When I saw her stand and dust herself off, I turned back to my cook pot, ladling out a bowl for Gramps.

While I was passing it over, I heard a thump from close by, turning toward the noise. I found the young woman on her knees with her forehead pressed to the grass. I sat frozen in confusion, trying to understand what was going on, when the small child ran up to the woman and began yanking on her arm, asking if she was alright, all the while glaring at me. Gramps came to my rescue from the angry child who looked like she wanted to bite me for some wrong I did her. "Come here, child, have a bite while I tell the story of Beast King Fenrir and how he became the Emperor's closest ally in the north." I was also interested in the story, but I had other problems to deal with.

I glanced around nervously while trying to decide what to say; when I caught sight of the other camp, I noticed the veiled woman watching me with narrowed eyes while the balding man had an eyebrow raised in my direction. Neither seemed amused at my silence. I looked back at the kneeling woman trying to figure out what was going on. The first thing I noticed was her garb. It is identical to my plain linen shirt and trousers, except she wore sandals on her feet while I was barefoot. Not that I mind; I like feeling the steady pulse from the earth beneath me. Her hair is black and surprisingly clean, considering the direction she came from. According to gramps, the nearest town is several days away by coach. Still not understanding who she is or why she is kneeling, I decided to ask. "Excuse me, Miss, but do you by chance have me confused with somebody else?"

Apparently, that response was not what she expected. Her head jerked up, and I could see both anger and confusion in her eyes. However, I just sat calmly waiting for her answer, not wavering in the least. I still felt she was familiar, but I can't place where I could have known her, meaning she must have been an acquaintance before the clearing. When thoughts of the clearing came to mind, I heard the voice of the woman who ordered my arm removed. "Ah, I recognize you. You were the young woman who ordered my left arm removed. Listen, everything before waking in that clearing is lost, to me. So any debt you think you owe me, consider it void you don't have anything I want nor need." My voice got a bit harsh at the end, but I didn't care while I don't know what happened, I can feel that the boy whose body this belonged to was miserable. I can only assume that had much to do with those people I saw back in that clearing.

When I finished speaking, I notice the child jump to her feet, pointing angrily at me. "You better stop bullying sister Ling." Gramps placed a hand on her tiny fists and chuckled. "Come child lets let these two talk in peace." Then he held the girl's hand as he led her back to where the other two were watching the drama as well. It wasn't until they turned to walk away that I noticed the two furry ears jutting from the top of the child's head. Huh, no wonder she enjoyed the story of the Beast King so much. When I turned back to Miss Ling, I found her sitting upright, legs crossed, observing my face. I found the sight adorable the way her nose kept scrunching up and the way she kept tilting her head from side to side as she thought about something. Apparently, something showed on my face because she flushed and lowered her eyes. I smiled softly before filling two more bowls with porridge. Luckily I made far too much for both Gramps and me.

After I convinced Miss Ling to join me on the log, we both ate in silence. Occasionally I noticed her eyes darting either to my face or my missing arm, but she kept quiet for now. Then, when I was nearly finished with my meal, she suddenly gasped and darted around to my left side, watching closely as I used small threads of Qi to move the spoon back and forth from my bowl to my mouth. When I stopped to ask what the problem was, she waved at me to continue. Unfortunately, I became nervous with her scrutiny, then I lost my concentration, and my spoon fell to the ground. We both stared at the spoon laying on the grass; after a few moments, Miss Ling grabbed it up before sprinting toward the stream, mumbling something about washing it for me. I shrugged, wrapped a couple of qi threads around her spoon, and continued eating. When she returned, she looked between the spoon and her bowl a couple of times before her face flushed, and she sat back down to finish her own meal. A strange response, but what do I know.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Upon scooping our last bites, a yawning child suddenly slumped between us, throwing her head on Miss Ling's lap and her tiny legs on mine. She mumbled something about you guys' flirting is making the old guys jealous. Then her tiny eyes closed, and she fell asleep. We both looked at each other in surprise before we both burst into laughter. I looked over to smirk at the trio sitting by the other fire, but that turned to horror as I saw dozens of arrows come from the woods. At first, I was convinced that the two old men would be fine since I was sure they were both stronger than they let on, but I was badly mistaken. Although most of the arrows missed their marks, at least three managed to hit each target. The balding man took one in the throat and two in the chest knocking him back over the log. Gramps didn't fare any better as I saw multiple arrows punch into his body, four stuck out of his chest while several more punched into his arms and legs. Finally, the veiled woman took an arrow to her left eye, and she too fell immediately.

I had barely enough time to cover the sleeping child with my body as a storm of arrows rained down on my back. None were infused with Qi, however, and they either bounced off or shattered upon impact. I looked to Miss Ling, noticing the same happened for her. Whoever attacked must have sent all the cultivators after the adults thinking us the least likely to cause them problems. "At least four cultivators, probably more. If you can get to their leader, most likely, we can end this quickly. With my missing arm, I would be more useful in protecting the child and drawing their fire. I can't sense anyone in the woods to the south. You can probably slip their notice and swing around behind them." Surprisingly Miss Ling didn't question me giving orders and immediately sprinted toward the south. I sent a strand of Qi next to her ear as she ran and whispered, "Try to incapacitate them. My gut is telling me things will go bad if we kill them outright." I don't know if she got my message since I hadn't used that trick since Gramps taught me to use it.

After placing the child on the opposite side of the log, the arrows were coming from. I pulled gramps traveling pack over top of her for extra protection. When I started to move away, I felt her tiny hand grab my pant leg. Looking down, I found the poor child crying her eyes out, begging me not to leave her alone. I bent down, still ignoring the arrows raining down on me, and placed my hand on her head. I was right. Her ears are really fluffy. I rubbed her head affectionately before whispering. I need to draw their fire away from your hiding spot. "I need you to be a good girl and stay under this pack while I take care of the bad guys. Can you be a good girl for me?" When she gave a jerky nod, I bent down, planting a kiss on her forehead before getting back to my feet.

Before I took my first step toward the attackers, the Qi enhanced arrows finally started coming my way. The first hit took me in my thigh, making me stumble, which probably saved my life since another flew over my head a split second later. I could hear the poor child scream, and her wailing got even louder, seeing the blood flowing down my leg. I gave her a reassuring smile before turning towards the large man walking out from the wood, clapping his hands while giving me a mocking smile. "Well, it well seems I found myself a strong one. Why don't you give yourself up, and I can let you live. Better alive and sold to the Kings arena than dead, am I right?... Could you shut that damn kid up already? I'm not too fond of the sound of wailing children."

I scowled at the man. "Perhaps you should reconsider your choice of occupation... Sir." I had to sidestep another Qi-infused arrow while slapping more from the air. Once I knew which ones to look out for, they were not much of a threat. The people shooting them are probably barely cultivators. I took a good look at the man noting that his gear, while looking ragged and frayed, was actually in good repair. The damage I could see at first glance seemed to be camouflage to cover up what lay beneath. I raised an eyebrow at that.

He seemed to notice my look because his eyes narrowed to slits. Then he sighed and held up a fist. The rain of arrows stopped immediately. "So I see you are not as stupid as I thought. Too bad for you; now I have to kill you. We can't let word get out that a mercenary group is playing bandit in the region. Our employers would not take that kindly." The leader, I assume he is the leader anyway, looked around confused. "Where did your little girlfriend run off to?"

I ignored the man's question and instead looked down at the arrow protruding from my thigh. It wasn't nearly as bad as I first thought. The tip was barely inside the flesh; I could even see the back of the arrow point from my position through the blood. I also saw the girl was holding both hands over her mouth in an attempt to be quiet. Her tears still flowed in a steady stream dripping from her tiny hands. I gave her a wink before I sent a pulse of earth Qi into the ground sensing everything that moves within one hundred yards. I sensed a form sneaking up on one of the other forms, and I smiled, realizing Miss LIng had already incapacitated two-thirds of the archers. I suppose I will do my job and be the distraction. I turned my own mocking smile toward the leader. "I think you will find me harder to kill than some distracted old men."