The carriage jolted to a stop. Huian slammed into Cheung, her forehead smashing into his chin. He woke with a yelp, while she confusedly touched her forehead. Her face was inches from her brother. Both held confused, sleepy looks. She pulled away and looked out the window. It was nighttime, the night canopying them in darkness. "What was that?"
"I wonder . . ." He swallowed. "What if—"
She brought a finger to her lips, indicating for him to be quiet. She could hear a scuffle outside and low voices. She didn't dare poke her head out from the window and instead slowly pulled the shutters of the window in place. She flicked the lock in place. "Do you have a weapon?" she asked in a hushed voice.
Inside the carriage was pitch black, but she didn't need to be able to see to know that he was freaking out. She placed a hand on his trembling shoulders. "Cheung, do you have a weapon?"
"N-No," he choked out.
"Calm down," she said quietly.
[There's seven men outside.]
Panic surged within her. Without a weapon, she didn't know if she could fight against seven men in the dark. What was she going to do? Would Cheung and her be killed? She refused to die in such a pathetic way. No, she would fight, but how? She chewed on her bottom lip. It was only a matter of time before they would yank the door open and take them out. They were the children of the Lin family; of course bandits or thieves would try to get them!
[Calm down, Huian. Have you forgotten my demon clan?]
Your demon clan? She scrambled for thoughts, barely understanding why he was bringing this up. The Faline clan?
[Correct. Our magic stems from the shadows. Fear not, the darkness is your friend. Now, calm down.]
She breathed out deeply. That was right. She couldn't forget who she was. She was Lin Huian, and she had never lost to anyone before. Tonight wasn't going to be any different. With or without a weapon, she would beat them all. After all, she had demon's blood running through her veins. Sure she was an abomination, but that didn't make her any less perfect.
"Don't leave this carriage," she told Cheung as she reached for the door.
His hand seized hers. "W-What are you—"
"Stay put," she said quietly. "I'll handle them."
"B-But—"
She slapped his hand away before pushing the door of the carriage open. She jumped out without a thought and landed on her feet softly. She slammed the door of the carriage shut behind her. In a split second, she took in her surroundings. There were two men wrestling with the driver of the carriage, who had been dragged down to the floor, and there were two guards who were facing off five men. The corner of her mouth twitched. They were outnumbered pretty badly.
The moonlight cast a silver glow across all the men in the vicinity. The carriage behind her, her dowry carriage, was halted as well. The driver of the carriage was slumped over the seat, an arrow burrowed into his neck.
"Lend me your strength, Bazyn," she murmured. A surge of strength pumped through her arms and legs and she breathed out deeply. Her eyes glowed red. She didn't have much time to think, so she decided to help the driver first, since he didn't know how to fight anyway. Her muscles licked away at Bazyn's magic and flourished, begging for more. She grinned. It wasn't often that she drew in Bazyn's magic, since it made her eyes red. Now was an emergency, though. Besides, she doubted anyone would be able to see her red eyes in the dark.
She darted towards the driver, her feet light as she joined the fray. The driver was barely fending off the men with his sword, dark blood stains coloring his clothing. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Huian rushed to his aid, ducking as a swing came her way.
"A woman—" one of them started.
She didn't let him finish before she sidestepped and sent a powerful punch against his ribcage. She felt the satisfying crunch of his bones break. His sword clattered to the ground and he screamed. Huian took her opportunity to swipe the fallen weapon and meet the second man's attack. Metal clashed with metal and she grinned widely at the man in front of her. He blinked back in surprise as she held him off easily. Typical human women weren't able to rival a man's strength, but when she was like this, she was stronger than humans.
"You must be Lin Huian," he spat out. "Just who we were looking for."
"You made a mistake when you thought you could attack me and my people." She dodged his next attack. Her dress was constricting her movements but when she was using Bazyn's magic like this, she could move faster than normal and her range of motion improved as well. She ducked away from his sword and found an opening at his lower abdomen. She slashed, watching as his entrails spilled from the quick attack. His eyes widened in shock and he coughed out blood. His scream rang in the sky as he fell to the ground.
"L-Lady Huian?" the driver sputtered.
Huian didn't look at him. "Stay by the carriage and make sure they don't touch my brother." She glanced over at the guards. One of the guards was lying on the ground, leaving five men against one. It wouldn't take long before that guard was taken down too.
She rushed towards them, raising her blade. She closed the distance between them and cut down the closest man to her. He didn't even notice her until it was too late, his scream muffled by his own blood. He fell to the ground, his hands weakly going to his slit throat. Huian turned to the other man and propelled towards the two men that had turned their alarmed attention to her.
"Who the—"
Her sword clashed with the surprised man's. She jumped back when the second man tried to swing at her head with his axe. He missed. She rolled on the floor and kicked the back of the knees of one of the men. He fell down, but swung his sword in the process. She jumped away and narrowly missed the other man's axe. She sidestepped around his moves as he sent a barrage of attacks at her. She moved to the right and quick as lightning, lopped an arm off. While he screamed, she turned her attention on the other man, who was charging at her full speed, sword raised. She rolled to the side and swung at him, cutting him cleanly across the chest. He fell like a sack on the ground. She then slid her sword into the throat of the man whose arm she had severed.
"H-Huian!" came Cheung's frantic cry.
The carriage door was flung wide open. The driver was lying on the ground, moaning. One of the men had managed to get there and was holding onto Cheung, a sword pressed against her brother's neck. "Be quiet—" the man said.
Red colored her in rage and she didn't even think; her body moved on its own. She ducked down, swiped a dagger from one of the corpses, and shot it through the air. It lodged itself into the man's throat. Blood gurgled out and splattered over Cheung's face, who watched in muted horror. The man fell to his knees before planting into the ground.
She blew out deeply and glanced at the one guard that had survived. He had managed to kill the last bandit. Adrenaline pumped through her veins but Bazyn's power dissipated from her body in a rush. She jogged over to where Cheung was. He had fallen on his butt and was staring at the corpse with wide teary eyes. She stooped down in front of him. "Any injuries?" she asked.
He gaped at the dead man, staring at the blood dripping from his throat.
She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. "Any injuries?"
He swallowed. "N-No—"
"Good." She rose to her feet. "Looks like they were after the dowry and the both of us."
The lone surviving guard came over to them. "Are you alright, my lord, my lady?"
"Fine," she said brusquely. "Who are these men?"
"Looks like they were after you, my lady."
"Me?"
"The bride of Zhulong."
Her expression darkened. So it was all his fault. Well, not necessarily, but in essence. "What makes you think that?"
"They asked for you."
"So they're Ki scum, huh?" She frowned. "Well, whatever the case, we have to keep moving forward. I doubt my father's carriages were attacked. How did we lag so behind in the first place?"
The guard pointed at one of the bandits. When she peered closer, she realized that he wasn't actually a bandit. He was dressed in the same clothing as the guard. It clicked in an instant. "We had a traitor in our midst," the guard elaborated.
"I see," she said with a frown.
"What should we do, my lady? The two drivers are dead—"
"H-He's alive," Cheung managed to stutter, jabbing a finger at the driver.
Huian rubbed her chin thoughtfully. They were left with one guard and one driver and zero people to protect them in case of an ambush. The guard could offer protection, sure, but who would drive the carriage with the dowry then? There were bound to be more bandits and thieves within the forest. The corner of her lips twisted into a frown. "Alright, I've got it. Cheung stays in the cart, I'll ride a horse and protect from the outside, and you—" She pointed at the guard. "—drive the dowry carriage."
The guard's mouth dropped. "B-But, lady—"
"I can't drive a carriage," she said. "I don't know how to careen two horses like that. I can fight, as you clearly saw, so I'm better suited for it. Besides, it's only for a little bit before we meet up with the rest of the carriages."
"A-Alright," he said.
"Let's bandage the driver up and head out."
"Yes, my lady."