"It's good to see you again, Lord An." Rin's eyes bent into the shape of crescent moons, accompanied by two dimples on her white cheeks.
An Sun stiffened. He hadn't expected Rin to respond this way. He stared at her in a daze.
"You…I…" He was at a loss for words.
"Hey, over here!" A man shouted nearby, followed by the sounds of footsteps running in their direction.
It was only after they had heard the sound of the men's voices that the two remembered the current situation.
"We should run." An Sun said.
"Yes." Rin nodded seriously.
The two left the narrow alley and ran in the opposite direction of the incoming footsteps. While running side by side, An Sun stole a glance at the girl beside him. His eyes moved to the light beads of sweat pouring down her white, flushed cheeks.
Right now, she was there beside him. Alive.
He found her.
A corner of An Sun's lips lifted. He shifted his head away to conceal the sudden smile on his face.
"Mind explaining why these guys are chasing you?" He asked, eyes looking ahead.
Rin glanced at him and suddenly smiled clumsily. "Your guess is as good as mine."
The eyebrows on An Sun's face rose.
"Then what the hell are we running for…" He muttered under his breath.
Suddenly while running, An Sun stopped. Noticing his actions, Rin paused as well. A wrinkle developed between her brows as they drew together.
"Lord An?"
An Sun looked back at her, his lips stretching into a wicked smile. "If you say you don't know the reason why they're trailing you, then why don't we ask them?"
Rin, who had served him for only a few months, was already familiar with the meaning of his words. Every time An Sun showed an expression like that, it meant that misfortune was about to befall some poor soul...
She chuckled and walked up to stand beside him. "I couldn't agree more."
An Sun nodded and the two turned to look at the approaching group of men. It was at that moment; they were surrounded.
"Heh, finally decided to give up?" One of the men's lips curled into a sneer.
An Sun ignored the man's question and asked in a calm tone. "Who sent you?"
The corners of the man's lips twitched. He crossed his arms in an imposing manner and lifted his chin arrogantly.
"You're outnumbered, lad. If you give us the boy, we'll cut you a deal? Get it?"
An Sun's pupils dilated as a dangerous light shone from them. His entire body clad in a fearsome aura. It made him hard to read. Even Rin felt slightly surprised by An Sun at this moment.
With arms crossed over his chest, he asked in a voice that was both cold and heartless, "I want to know who sent you? Get it?"
The group of men stared at An Sun with an uneasy gaze. While the boy beside him seemed frail and scrawny, this man appeared more difficult to get through. Conversely, they were all extremely hesitant.
"I sent them." The sound footsteps suddenly sounded behind the men.
Looking in the direction of the voice, Rin's brows raised.
"Ah, drunk guy." An Sun and Rin said in unison.
The two glanced at one another.
"You know him?" An Sun pointed to the man.
Rin nonchalantly nodded her head. "He was some drunk I dealt with at a restaurant last night. To be honest, I forgot about him. You?"
An Sun let out a mocking snort. "Some wasteless drunk that bumped into me on the streets."
Meanwhile, the 'wasteless drunk' both were lightly conversing about, listened on the side, his expression cloaked in anger. He felt beyond humiliated!
"You little bastard! I'll make you pay for that night!" He bellowed angrily as he stared fiercely at Rin.
"Oh, is that so?" She innocently blinked her eyes.
"Yes, and if you're not a coward, no weapons this time!"
He could only think that was the reason for his loss that night. That, and for the fact he was drunk.
Rin raised her eyebrows in ridicule as she looked up at the man, a sneer on her face. "Who said I needed a weapon to beat you?"
The man's face immediately flushed red, his eyes bloodshot from his own rage. In a burst of temper, he seized a sword from a man beside him and charged toward Rin.
Although he hadn't learned martial arts, he was still a tall man and had put enough force into his action that with a single move, he was sure he could dispose of the small youth.
The moment, the man charged, Rin too launched an attack. She dug her fingers into the bicep of his swinging arm and ripped at the muscle, while striking the forearm on the same side, straight in with the heel of her palm before striking his throat and nose.
There was no wasted motion; each movement was precise and thorough.
Blood splattered from his nose and mouth. His eyes shut, and he emitted a choking sound, thrashing his arms impotently as he flew backward - the sword in his hand falling to the ground with a loud clang.
The group of men stood frozen on the spot for a moment. When they finally processed what happened, their faces paled. The actions that just occurred appeared to be one simultaneous tornado of movement, a blur too fast for the eye to follow.
The entire fight took less than five seconds.
They all looked at the figure responsible and were surprised to see the youth wiping a bead of sweat from his brow with a relaxed expression.
"See, no weapons." Rin laughed light-heartedly.
On the side, An Sun looked at Rin with raised brows. At a place where nobody could see, his gray and profound pupils flashed. The smile in his eyes could not be hidden.
At the same time, the man coughed a few times and turned to his side to spit out blood. When he raised his face again, it contorted into a monstrous expression, veins popping out on his forehead.
"Kill them!" He bellowed.
The group of men immediately charged over. Two against eight of them, they were certain they would win. On the other side, Rin and An Sun looked at the attacking men with calm gazes and stole a brief glance at one another.
"Lord An," Rin looked at him with a slight twinkle in her emerald eyes.
A corner of An Sun's mouth lifted a little. "Bai Rin."
Without further explanation, the two nodded and looked back at the men before launching forward. One of the men struck his sword at An Sun, who quickly swept to the side and gripped the man's wrist.
He lunged himself toward the man, slamming his shoulder against his armpit, and breaking his arm before seizing the sword from his hand.
Simultaneously, Rin kicked a man charging at her and grabbed the bow from her back. She took two feather arrows from the quiver and aimed, releasing them at two of the men. Both arrows pierced into their hearts. Their bodies stiffened before they collapsed to the ground.
Fighting with a sword in hand, An Sun glanced over and felt his heart jump when he saw a man pointing a bow at Rin.
"Fuck," He cursed under his breath and cut through the men in front of him before rushing toward Rin. "Bai Rin!"
Not again! He couldn't let it happen again!
However, it was too late; the arrow was too fast and powerful. There was no way of dodging it.