Bounty Hunter

Act I - Captivity

[Author's Notes]

I'm glad you made it, welcome to chapter 16 of Bounty Hunter!

I'm thankful you checked in! - As always, I am eternally grateful for your renewed support when it comes to this story. It's taken me some time to notice and for it to sink in but wow... We're above 100K words, way above it, actually. How do you guys have the patience for this?

I'm sorry for blabbering a little bit here but this chapter is mainly filler, it adds to the story but it's extremely slow-paced and is designed to give some in-depth context to events. However, for those grizzled veterans who enjoy filler as well as those extra neat details I include, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the rest!

Anyways, as usual, if you'd like to leave a review discussing anything eventful, provide with some criticism or just simply give some feedback... The review tab is available and ready for your words, after all, your feedback helps me improve as an author!

Okay, that's enough rambling. Without further ado, Naidvar proudly presents to you...

Captivity

4 AM - Inside the carriage - Trail leading to Pao's homeland...

Crestfallen. The only word that could be used to respectfully and accurately describe Lyqni's mindset. She had faced constant belittling from Pao's generals alongside some inappropriate stares from the wolves when she was washed for the very first time. Whilst she started with her set of light armour and her traditional robes, she had now been left with her undergarments and a humiliatingly thin robe alongside a paper-thin blanket to sleep with.

A shiver that played with her spine as if it was an instrument ran up through her back and resonated across her body. Although she had initially been defiant of Pao's barbaric actions as well as his inappropriate references towards her body and gender, she was beginning to accept that fate was going to oppress her like hell... She was even unsure of Po and Tigress's promise to rescue her. They held no obligation to save her and that became clear with Po being the Dragon Warrior, however, she held onto the thin thread of hope she had as well as part of her chest plate that she managed to shield from the wolves grubby hands as they seized her clothes.

A giant rumble boomed from the pit of her stomach as she looked over to her brittle wooden bowl and the equally battered spoon and noticed the bowl had been emptied of rice several hours ago. She had heard from outside the carriage how the wolves didn't really care about feeding her, they would just do so once they felt as if she had starved enough... Which reminded her, they had been feeding her nothing but rice, grain and the occasional slice of bread ever since they began their adventure across the Chinese countryside.

Lynqi hadn't slept since her journey began, her confidence drained with every passing second as she could finally feel herself slipping into a coma of sleep. Her eyes began to blur and the noises around her became muffles as her mind was introduced to darkness. She unconsciously hoped she would be able to get some sleep in before her day began, yet, Pao had different plans.

The jet black lynx couldn't feel it at the time thanks to her idle and resting state but Pao had just climbed onto the carriage and was preparing to rip open the door, eager to refill her bowl of rice before having another crack at her as he laughed at her lack of ability to move thanks to the thick chains that bound her to the back of the carriage.

"Rise and shine, prisoner!" Pao cackled like a liberated demon as he crawled into the carriage and poured his boiling pot of unseasoned rice into Lynqi's bowl. Unlike his wolves, he was much more generous with his offerings as he knew he would have to try and appease her a little bit to avoid her from socially isolating herself from him and therefore not giving him any conclusive information. "I heard from the wolves that rice is your favourite!" Pao's maniacal laughter continued to ring across the carriage as Lynqi was awoken from her slumber a literal 2 minutes into her state.