Several hours later, we finally come to a stop for the night. Guozhi easily slides off the horse and turns to me with a smirk. He holds his hands out for me but I remain sitting on the horse while glaring at him.
He shrugs and nods his head before stepping back and waiting. I grit my teeth and slowly slip off the horse but instead of standing, I end up on the ground in an ungraceful heap. My legs... I can't feel my legs!
I hiss in pain as I lean to my side and pull my legs to me. Oh... *Hissss* They were asleep but now they're coming back to life! Guozhi watches me with amusement as he slowly squats next to me while saying "You are one stubborn woman... but I feel like something's off about you."
I give him a sarcastic look as I say "You're just now noticing that "something's off"? Your observation skills are truly lacking..." Guozhi looks at me with a blank look before "Pffft... I knew I made the right decision in keeping you! You are definitely to my liking..."
I shake my head and go back to squeezing the life back into my legs. Three men walk over to Guozhi and say "Boss, everyone's set up and ready for the night. We'll hut the area and see if we can catch meat for dinner tonight."
Guozhi nods his head and waves them off as I roll back and forth on the ground behind him in pain. The three frown and look at me with confusion but Guozhi snaps at them "Watch where you're looking!" The three snap their heads back to Guozhi before saying "Yes boss! Sorry boss!"
I sneer at the three stooges as they scurry off. Guozhi turns to me and grabs my left foot. I panic and try to pull my foot away but he easily pulls me to him and starts squeezing my calf. I look at him with fear and anger but I know better than pissing him off.
He squeezes my left calf several times before moving to the right one. I'm so tempted to kick him in the face but images of him shoving his fist through that man's chest yesterday are still fresh. As he messages my calf, I look to the glass vial swinging from his neck.
I swallow hard and look back up to him as he looks up from my legs. "You seem strangely obedient..." He says with a knowing smile. I roll my eyes at him and look away but when he looks back down at my legs, my eyes dart to the vial.
I've never really been one to work out... only occasionally when my belly starts getting extra giggly, so when I say that I did the fastest sit up/crunch in my life, know that I'm not exaggerating. I lean up and quickly grab the vial but Guozhi's larger hand quickly wraps around mine as his dark eyes look into my green eyes.
We are now only a foot away from each other but I refuse to let go of the vial. If I can just crack it... I tighten my hand as much as I can on the vial but it doesn't snap. His dark eyes narrow a bit as a smirk slowly crawls across his face. "Why are you so attached to this necklace? Is it worth a lot of money or does it have sentimental value?"
I nervously lick my lips and say "Which one will get you to return it to me?" His smirk turns into a full-blown smile as he says "Neither but if you could somehow persuade me, I might just give it back to you."
I grit my teeth and give him a twisted smile as I ask "And how might I do that?" His smile turns cunning as he says "I'll leave that up to you to decide bunny. You have plenty of time to think of something."
He lifts his other hand and easily pries my hand off the necklace as my starts heart sinks. "W... what if I show you a magic trick?" I say with desperation. He quirks an eyebrow at me and says "Depends on what kind of magic trick."
I give him an awkward smile as I say "I need the necklace to do the magic trick." He suddenly smiles again and says "You'll have to do better than that bunny. This necklace will stay with me until you convince me otherwise."
He slowly stands up and says "You can walk around for a bit before dinner. If you try to run, you will be punished. I know these woods like the back of my hand, you won't get far." He then turns around and walks off, leaving me on the ground with a look of defeat.
I slowly stand up and rub my poor ass. Even though it was no longer numb, it still didn't feel right. I kick at the ground and the few leaves before slowly stretching. I look around the large wooded area with a sinking feeling. What was I thinking... I should have just stayed in my bed!!