Blood-Stained Love Chapter 18

Urging Bu Sin, this youth's voice also trembled.

"Wait a moment, Sin-ko. It's impossible for us to just leave these six corpses. They will surely be torn apart by wild beasts."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"We must bury them first. Have you forgotten Father's message that when seeing people in distress, one must help; toward the elderly, one must show respect; toward children, one must protect; and upon seeing unkempt corpses, one must bury them?"

Instantly, Bu Sin's face flushed red.

"Thank you, Lin-moi. I almost forgot Father's message due to the horror and dread. Let's go."

Now Sian Eng had managed to steel her heart, and these three young people then used their swords to dig a hole large enough to bury the six people. Because Lin Lin and Sian Eng were reluctant to lift the male corpses, Bu Sin took charge, lifting the bodies one by one, placing them into the stacked grave. Then, the three of them covered the hole with earth.

It was already daylight when they finished this task, and they quickly left the great forest, heading toward the rising sun. They felt relieved that they encountered no disturbances on the road until they exited the forest and passed through villages. The eating house was still quiet. It seemed it was still too early for a meal. Bu Sin and his two younger siblings were extremely hungry. Understandably, they had walked continuously all night under the moonlight. The delicious smoke wafting out from the kitchen of the eating house assaulted their noses, making them unable to resist their hunger any longer. There were only two tables occupied by guests. Coincidentally, it seemed, these two tables were the one on the far left and the one on the far right.

One table was occupied by a long-bearded man, about forty years old, sitting quietly alone. The second table was occupied by two people, apparently a husband and wife, around thirty years old. The demeanor of both these people was imposing, both the husband and the wife. They sat facing each other, quickly eating hot porridge with chopsticks, as if they were in a hurry. The hilts of two weapons hung on their backs. Initially, Bu Sin and his siblings thought that they were each carrying *siang-kiam* (paired swords), but they were surprised to see that the two weapons were not the same. One was a sword and the other a saber. Bu Sin and his two younger siblings had not yet had a chance to choose a spot, because the moment they entered the front room of the eating house, a loud shout suddenly rang out.

"Thieves of the Hou-han people, where do you intend to hide?"

Four men, appearing agile and strong, leaped in and immediately surrounded the husband and wife. One drew a sword, another produced a pair of *siang-kek* (paired short spears), the third man brought out a steel whip whose tip resembled a small anchor, while the fourth man, who seemed to be the leader of this group and who had shouted earlier, adopted a stance with bare hands.

"It would be better if you returned that item to us; perhaps we might spare your lives,"

Said the one with bare hands again. The husband and wife exchanged glances. When the husband lowered his bowl, his wife chided,

"Finish eating first, then deal with these dogs. Why the rush?"

The two of them then calmly continued eating, finishing the porridge in their bowls. Bu Sin and his siblings were greatly impressed watching the demeanor of these two people.

Extremely calm and very imposing. However, the three of them could not sympathize with this couple because hadn't the group just said that they were Hou-han people? This meant they were people from the same region as the three Bu Sin siblings, but who knew if they were aides of the Hou-han Kingdom, who were enemies of their late father? The Kam family was known as a family unwilling to submit to the Hou-han Kingdom, even considered semi-fugitives. The husband and wife finished eating. Suddenly, they moved, and the two pairs of chopsticks in their hands shot out like arrows. The four chopsticks attacked the four people surrounding them. However, their besiegers were also not ordinary people. They easily dodged, and the chopsticks pierced more than halfway into the wall.

"Excellent!"

This praise came from the mouth of the long-bearded man who had been sitting in the corner all this time, facing his table and calmly eating fried meat while watching the scene before him.

His eyes shone and his face beamed; he seemed extremely happy to be able to eat while enjoying this free spectacle. Seeing that their chopstick throws had missed their targets, the husband and wife threw their empty bowls onto the floor while leaping up, and as soon as their hands moved, they had already drawn their weapons. Now the left hand held a sword while the right hand held a saber. They made a turning motion and stood back-to-back, ready with weapons in hand. Clever of them, thought Bu Sin, who was watching near the door. The husband and wife stood back-to-back; in this position, they could prevent sneak attacks from behind.

The fight began without words. The four men immediately charged. The one armed with a sword and the wielder of the *siang-kek* ganged up on the husband, while the woman was besieged by the whip wielder and the one with bare hands. The servants of the eating house scattered and ran out, screaming in fear. Bu Sin and his siblings became impressed after the battle raged fiercely. The skill of the four men was quite high, especially the one with bare hands, but their movements were ordinary. Conversely, it was the husband and wife who inspired awe. The husband moved calmly, yet his stance was solid and strong like a rock. His wife, on the other hand, was incredibly agile, leaping here and there like a swift swallow, pressuring her two opponents.

The battle grew fiercer and fiercer, and the three Bu Sin siblings realized that the skill of these fighters was generally higher than their own level of expertise. Secretly, he felt very worried about the legacy of his father that he possessed, as well as his two siblings—how would the three of them be able to wander the *kang-ouw* world, and even more so, how would they be able to find and avenge their parents' grievances? The closer they got to the royal capital, the more people with extremely high martial arts skills seemed to appear. Suddenly, the young mistress let out a sharp cry, her body soaring upward, and her saber slashed toward her toughest opponent, the man with bare hands. At that moment, the whip of her second opponent flew and lashed out, the small, sharp anchor tip shooting rapidly toward her neck."

"She's going down..."

Lin Lin whispered. Lin Lin's attention had been focused on this woman all along. She was greatly impressed, knowing that in martial arts, the woman far surpassed her, both in weapon play and lightness skill (*ilmu meringankan tubuh*). However, since she did not know the reason for the fight, her heart was not taking sides.

Nevertheless, seeing the anchor-like tip of the whip striking toward the neck, she cried out with a tense heart. But the woman, still leaping in the air, suddenly moved her hip and... like a living snake, her long sash flew backward, and its tip precisely wrapped around the end of the whip. A mutual entanglement and tug-of-war ensued, making the flow of the battle on the woman's side somewhat stiff. Suddenly, the short-bearded man who had been sitting in the corner laughed, and before anyone knew it, his body had shot into the fighting arena. Bu Sin and his two siblings were extremely shocked, not expecting that strange spectator could move so quickly. All of a sudden, this man stretched out his hand, yanking the ends of the sash and the whip that were entangled, saying.

"It's not exciting like this."

This man was formidable. With just one yank, the entanglement of the two weapons was released, and his left hand was seen moving quickly toward the body of the man who was being besieged from behind. Then, after the whip and sash were separated, the bearded man, chuckling heartily, leaped out of the spot. The husband and wife, facing the heavy siege, apparently did not pay much attention to the bearded man's interference, but Bu Sin, who had been watching sharply, could see that the bearded man was holding something when he moved behind the besieged man earlier.

"Come, follow him..."

He said softly, signaling Sian Eng and Lin Lin. The three of them quickly leaped out as well and slipped among the many people gathered and watching outside the eating house.

"Sin-ko, why should we interfere in their business?"

Lin Lin complained, but seeing Bu Sin and Sian Eng had already jumped out, she was forced to follow them.

They shadowed the long-bearded man from a distance, and because the one being shadowed was merely walking casually, it was easy for them to keep following. However, after leaving the village, the long-bearded man started running with rapid movements. Bu Sin, who was very curious to know who this man was and what he had stolen from the Hou-han couple, urged his siblings to continue following. Towards evening, they entered the city of An-sui, and after entering the city, the man returned to walking normally. An-sui City was quite large, and since it was already within the territory of the Sung Kingdom, and especially because it was not far from the royal capital, it was bustling, and there were many large, ancient houses belonging to noble people. The long-bearded man finally entered a large house whose front section bore large characters: PRINCE SUMA'S MANSION (GEDUNG PANGERAN SUMA). Naturally, the siblings did not dare to enter immediately.

"We will spend the night in this city,"

Said Bu Sin, and they went to look for an inn.

"Tonight we investigate."

After settling into the inn room, Lin Lin complained again,

"Sin-ko, wasn't our journey meant to find Elder Brother Bu Song and seek out our great enemy? What is the necessity of interfering in the business of that bearded man?"

"You saw for yourself, he stole something from that Hou-han husband and wife earlier,"