Chapter 15: Little hero of the mountains

"I don't give a damn about your stupid fraudulent contract, you little brats!" he snarls, turning to the six guards, "Get these brats out of here, NOW!"

The guards stare at the man, their faces pale. These are grown adults and most of them are Bronze Core Cultivators hired by the Hall of Land and Border.

Bullying three kids like this is a bit too much but the man continues, "You heard me, get them out of my office before they cause me any more trouble."

"You heard Sir Wennen," one of the guards orders the others, stepping forward. "Escort the three of them out, and lock the doors."

The guards move forward, their eyes wide as they watch Sir Wennen walk away, carrying the golden contract away.

"You guys wait here," one of the guards stammers, leading the trio down the hallway before stopping in front of a heavy wooden door before the Main Lobby.

He stares at Rihan's group with a stony expression, "You should be thankful you didn't get arrested. Now, you can leave. But don't come back, alright?"

"Sir Wennen…?" Rihan muttered, before remembering something. "Wait, did you say 'Wennen'?"

The guard stares at him, his eyes narrowing.

"That Wennen from the Union of Artic Tablet?" Rihan stares at the man, "The current Chief of The Golden Pavillion?"

The guards were surprised that Rihan, a little boy would know someone as important as Sir Wennen, especially the mysterious Artic Tablet.

"How the hell did you know that?" he asks.

"I'm not telling," Rihan snickers, "No wonder he's so obsessed with this silly thing. It's just a piece of parchment, what makes it so special?"

The man stares at Rihan with a puzzled look. "I don't know. All I know is, that you're lucky you weren't thrown in prison."

"Hmph. Whatever," Rihan grumbles, "I wouldn't mind being robbed by bandits or getting my wallet stolen by thieves. But to be treated like this by an official of the Hall of Land and Border, no way."

"That's what I think too," Ijohen replied.

"Hmmm, I won't say no to that." Sung Li said.

"You better stay out of our business, kid," the guard snorts, "or you'll regret it."

Rihan stares at the man, snorting. "I'm sure I will."

After all, his trip to The Great Hall was to ensnare the higher ranking Hall Officers, but to think that he would hit the jackpot with the Chief of the Golden Pavilion himself!

It looks like I have to upgrade my 'act' a little more, Rihan thought to himself.

"You'd best remember what I said." the guard stares at them with narrowed eyes, "Or else, I won't hesitate to throw you into jail."

Rihan smirked before shouting, "Wennen! You pompous old bastard! Come back here, that document is incomplete! I've got the other set here!"

The other guard stares at Rihan, stumbling backwards. "What the hell?"

Sung Li proudly stares at his friend, patting him on the shoulder, "See? He's the same old Rihan!"

"Yeah," Ijohen stares at the man, snorting. "We're still the same old us."

***

Northern Forest Mountain of the Hennesy (Flashback)

"Argh! It's no use!" Ijohen stares ahead, his mind reeling with the images in front of him. "We'll just end up like them!"

Corpses lie everywhere, scattered across the ground. Bodies of men, women, children—all dead. The stench of blood and gore fills the air, stinging his nose and making his stomach churn. The sounds of battle echo through the air, making him cover his ears.

Behind him, Sung Li screams in horror, his voice piercing Ijohen's heart. 'They're coming! They're coming!' he shrieks, his voice trembling.

"What the heck?!" Ijohen stares at Sung Li, his body shaking.

From the distance, he hears the sound of marching feet, drawing closer. Soldiers dressed in black armour march towards them, their swords gleaming in the moonlight. Their helmets hide their features, making it impossible to tell which side they belong to. But the blood splattered across their chests and legs is enough to make anyone fear for their life.

"Run, hurry! Right here!" Rihan yells, grabbing both of them by the arms and dragging them to safety.

Ijohen pauses to glance over his shoulders, seeing corpses strewn all around them.

"Don't stop! Run!" he cries, pulling Ijohen with him.

Sung Li stares at the soldiers approaching them, her hands clasped together so tightly, that it hurts.

"Look here you two. I know the road ahead is safe," Rihan whispers to them, "there's a hidden tunnel nearby that I used to play in, you can escape from there." he stares at them.

"But the people—" Sung Li stutters.

Ijohen stares at the two of them, his mouth agape, unable to speak. What's going on? Why did things turn out like this? How could this happen to these innocent villagers? Did we do anything wrong? No way!

Having lived in the palace since birth, Ijohen has never seen such gruesome scenes of death. In fact, he's rarely even left the palace grounds, but the one time he did - he got kidnapped by bandits and brought to the capital.

"Why?!" he stares at Rihan, tears streaming from his eyes. "Why are they doing this?"

Rihan stares back, snapping his fingers. This act shocked Ijohen and Sung Li. A gust of wind blows by, scattering leaves and dirt in its wake.

"I don't know!" he stares at the soldier stumbling towards them, "but you're not going to die today!"

They stared at him in disbelief, stuttering, "What?"

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"You heard me!" Rihan snarls. "You're not going to die!"

Ijohen stares at Rihan, snorting. "Are you crazy or something? Those are the Black Crows! The most feared mercenaries in the mountain range!"

Rihan snorts, stabbing a finger at them. "Yeah? So what?"

Huh? They stared at the little boy, not much older than themselves. His words sounded odd, but he looked like he knew exactly what he was talking about. Then again, this is the child who managed to survive for months alone in the mountains; his courage and resourcefulness have earned him the title: The Little Hero of the Mountains.

"Look, you're not going to die," Rihan stares at the Ijohen, snorting. "Just run to the tunnel!" he stares back, his face serious. "If you want to live, then go! If you can get out of here, just do it!"

"What about you?!" Sung Li stares at Rihan.

Rihan glances back at them and nods, stuttering, "I've got an idea," Rihan stares at the pair of them, "you two head for the tunnel, I'll distract the soldiers while you run." he snatches a dagger and a red pouch from his belt and stares at them with determination. "If you don't, they might kill you."

Ijohen stares at Rihan, feeling uneasy as he stares back, snorting, "What kind of stupid plan is that?"

Rihan stares at him, stuttering, "It'll work. Trust me."

Ijohen stares at Sung Li, stuttering, "Sung Li, let's just get out of here."

Sung Li stares at them, biting his lip, "But Rihan, if you're caught—" he stares at the corpse nearby. "You're a little kid. You don't stand a chance against them."

Rihan stares back at them and snorts. "I'm a kid?" he stares at them, snorting, "I'm ten years old, okay?"

"Ten?" Sung Li stares at him, snorting, "We're the same age, you little brat."

Ijohen stares at them, his fear slowly receding as he stares back at the little boy.

Rihan snorts, "Hmph. Just because you're taller doesn't mean you're better."

Sung Li stares at the little boy, his lips twitching, his hands still trembling from the fear he's experiencing.

Ijohen pauses, staring at Rihan, before turning to Sung Li. "You know, you're right."

Sung Li stares at the young man, snorting. "What?"

Ijohen stares back at Rihan and smiles, stuttering, "Let's try this." He stares down the path, looking ahead, his eyes wide as his gaze stares beyond the trees. "If you're lucky, you may be able to catch up to us."

Sung Li stares at the young man before snorting, "What's gotten into you?"

"He told us to trust him, didn't he?" Ijohen stares at the man, snorting. "Now come on, Sung Li."

"Yeah, yeah," he snorts, stumbling after him.

"You better come back alive." Ijohen stares at the boy before him.

Rihan pats his shoulder. "That goes without saying. Don't worry." he smiles as he runs ahead of them, disappearing into a thicket of bushes before stumbling out the other side.

Sung Li stares at the bush, before stumbling forward, tripping on a rock.

"You idiot!" Ijohen stares at him, stuttering, "Get your head straight." he stares back at the forest, his eyes widening.

"What did you say!?" Sung Li stares at him, his voice quivering as he stood up and started to walk through the forest to get to the tunnel that Rihan pointed out earlier. They continue to walk through the woods, the scent of blood slowly reducing.

Rihan stares at the pair from the bush, smiling to himself before stowing away the dagger and red pouch into his pockets and running off to the other end of the path to distract the soldiers.

Sung Li continues to stare at the dead bodies, his hands trembling, until finally, the tunnel came into view.

"We're almost there!" Sung Li cheers, sprinting towards it.

Ijohen follows behind him, his heart beating faster with each step. He looks back, seeing soldiers marching in their direction, their swords glinting in the moonlight. They're close. Very, very close. Ijohen feels like he can hear their footsteps and feel their presence.

"Hey! You bastards! Over here!" Rihan shouts, waving them over. "Looking for me!?"

The soldiers turn their heads towards him, their faces were hidden under their helmets.

"Come on, hurry!" Rihan shouts.

Ijohen stares at the boy, his heart pounding in his chest. "What is he doin-!"

Bomb! Bomb!

Ijohen's words are cut short when he sees the soldiers disappear in a blinding light. A loud explosion echoes in the distance, causing the ground to tremble. Ijohen stares at the spot where the soldiers disappeared, wondering what happened.

Sung Li stares at the place, a confused expression stitched onto his face.

"What just happened?" Sung Li asks, stuttering.

Ijohen stares at the ground, his heart thumping harder. "I don't know," he stammers. "I don't know, but we should keep moving."

Right before they enter the tunnel, Ijohen stares at the distance and sees the figure of a young boy scurrying away.

"Rihan?" he stares at him.

"Hurry!" Sung Li yells, pulling Ijohen along.

Ijohen stares at the boy, his heart racing with excitement. 'The little hero of the mountains', how appropriate.

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