"We have to do something," whispered Ying to Zheng Dan and Shi Yiguang.
Zheng Dan nodded and said, "He's alone. His friends are still fighting behind!"
Ying and Zheng Dan then made a plot to kill the bandit who drove the chariot.
The bandit drove the chariot without realizing the danger the beauties could bring.
He was driving his chariot when suddenly Ying used all of her strength to grip that man's leg. At the same time, Zheng Dan took the opportunity to put the silk that had been tied in such a way as to strangle the man's neck. They didn't have any weapons. Therefore the girls cut their outer robe sleeves to make a silk scarf.
The time the scarf landed on the bandit's neck, Zheng Dan, who stood behind him, and Shi Yiguang, who was inside the chariot, pulled the scarf with all their might. The bandit released his chariot horse harness and tried to stretch the rope tie that ensnared his neck.
"Push him off from this chariot!" said Ying ordered Zheng Dan. Both girls then pushed the bandit off the chariot while the chariot was running fast. Shi Yiguang, who was holding the silk scarf inside the chariot, was almost pulled away if Zheng Dan didn't pull her hand to take off the scarf.
Ying took control of the chariot. She had never driven a chariot before. She just tried to resemble what she saw from the chariot drivers on how to handle the chariot and the horses.
Watching the bandit fell off from the chariot, with his neck snared, the girls were pretty shocked but also relieved.
"We did it!" said Zheng Dan.
"For now! Then where should we go now?" asked Ying. She slowed down the chariot. Ying was lucky that the horses were well-trained, and she could control the chariot after some time.
After some discussion, the girl decided to go back to Yue. But they should not take the same route, as they might encounter the same bandit troupe. Therefore instead of heading back directly, they decided to go to the western direction first to take a loop before they went back to Yue.
Shi Yiguang cried as she was shocked. She's just participated in killing someone. Zheng Dan was busy comforting her, telling her that they only defended themselves.
Meanwhile, Ying was just busy driving the chariot. Although she didn't like the idea of killing someone, she didn't mind killing a bandit. Instead of feeling guilty, Ying felt good. She felt great; she could be a hero.
The fighting between the Yue soldiers and the bandit troupe was pretty fierce. Falling casualties from both parties. Luckily, some Yue aid force arrived on time to help. It was Minister Fan Li who sent them as he was worried that there might be some danger during the trip. It was Fan Li himself who led the troupe of thirty soldiers. Besides, he wanted to see Shi Yiguang again for the last time before she became Fuchai's concubine.
The bandit troupe knew they couldn't win the battle. Besides, they already got some carts and the chariot. They galloped their horses and fled the fighting heading to the east.
Fan Li ordered his soldiers to chase the bandits, to retrieve their carts and chariot.
Zheng Dan broke some of the bread that she brought and divided into three. She gave a piece to Shi Yiguang, and while eating her portion, she fed Ying, who was busy driving the chariot.
"I hope our troupe manages to survive!" Zheng Dan said.
"Hmm," said Ying while swallowing the bread Zheng Dan fed on her mouth.
They were lucky the bandit didn't chase them. They were busy dealing with Fan Li's aide troupe.
"It's almost sunset!" said Ying while she pulled the horse harness to stop the chariot. "I wonder if we should just take a rest here for tonight."
"I agree with you," said Zheng Dan. "At least at night, they would not easily find us if we don't make any fire."
"Are we staying in this chariot tonight in the middle of nowhere and even without any light?" asked Shi Yiguang. She was terrified by the idea.
"I guess so," said Zheng Dan. "We should find a place far from the road and hide behind the trees and bushes. So nobody could find us. We should not create any fire or noise too!"
Meanwhile, Fan Li and his troupe managed to get back some of the carts that were plundered by the bandits. The most crucial task for them now was to find out the chariot with the three beauties.
Fan Li was a calm man most of the time. But that time, he was so emotional and panicked. He was so worried about Shi Yiguang, who was inside the chariot.
Afraid that their strength was not enough to deal with the bandits, Fan Li had to send his man to get more soldiers to attack the bandit headquarter and bring back the chariot. Although he was so eager to catch up with the bandits, he knew that he couldn't move any further before the aid troupe came to help.
=======
"What if the bandits caught us?" asked Shi Yiguang.
"Don't say an ominous thing!" said Zheng Dan. Deep inside her heart, she was worried too.
"Fight!" said Ying. "We managed to kill one of them. And if they come again, we should fight them to death!"
"We only have one sword from that bandit!" said Zheng Dan laughed. "I learned swordplay, but I'm not sure if that kind of swordplay could be used in a real fight!"
Ying sighed and said, "Through all ages, women always be victims of wars, riots…"
"There's nothing we could do," said Zheng Dan. "Not to say common civilian like us. Even Queen Yue was humiliated during her time in Wu!"
The tree of them said nothing. They have heard how Goujian and his wife had to endure hardship and humiliation during their time in Wu. Goujian had to dress in a tattered sacking and a battered hat and cared for Fuchai horses. His wife, wearing shabby clothing, fetched water, did the cooking, and swept the stables and courtyard.
One day when Fuchai was ill, Goujian asked for permission to see the ailing king show his loyalty. " I know a little about medicine, " he told Fu Chai, " And I can judge a patient's condition from the flavor of his stool. " He tasted the ailing man's stool and announced that he would soon recover. This act made a big impression on Fuchai. In the beginning, Fuchai didn't mean to honor his word about keeping Goujian for only three years. But later on, he was moved by Goujian's seeming loyalty. Therefore he decided to release him. He even gave him a big sendoff with a banquet. After Goujian returned to Yue, the humiliation that had been forced on him ranked within. Over his bed, he hung a gall. And before every meal and at bedtime, he would taste a bit of its bitter substance. To strengthen his resolve, he gave up his luxurious palace and slept on a pallet of brushwood in a thatched hut. Sleep on a pallet of brushwood and taste bitter gall, then later become a famous idiom, which means: to endure hardship to accomplish some ambition.
All the girls saw how Goujian personally inspired his people by working on his fields while his wife made threads and wove by hand and lived a simple life. If their king and queen lived in such a lifestyle, then how could they not be loyal to them.
"Our queen is a brave woman! I would rather die than to face humiliation like that!" said Ying.
"I saw the bandits killing the villagers in my village a few years ago!" said Shi Yiguang with teary eyes. "Blood everywhere. It was like a pool of blood all over. A mother with one arm chopped, an old man with his intestine blurted out, a man with a neck that almost chopped off! Those images are still lingering in my head!"
"I know! Those are horrible. I'm also scared of death. But I would rather be dead rather than doing nothing and be humiliated! I hope that I don't have to die in a horrible! way," said Ying.
"They all said, we are the beauties of Yue. I'm sure they won't mistreat us!" said Zheng Dan smiled bitterly.
In a turbulent time, being a beautiful woman was not a good option, but being an ugly woman was not a good option too. Being beautiful women, they were subject to rape and human trafficking. But being ugly women, they were also subject to slavery, rape, and killing.
That night they slept inside the chariot. It was past midnight, and the girls were all asleep since they were exhausted.
Ying had a kind of déjà vu that she dreamed of herself being a one or two years old toddler, lived and raised among the wolves.
Ying quickly opened her eyes. She heard something outside the chariot.
Ying quickly awoke and opened the curtain to see what's outside. She began to tremble. She saw two wolves, gazing at the chariot and the horses. Although they didn't make any move, they were staring at her chariot direction with their blue eyes that glow in the dark.
Ying saw Zheng Dan and Shi Yiguang were in a deep sleep. She felt unnecessary to wake them up. She woke up and got off from the chariot.
"My parents said that wolves raised me. If that's true, wolves won't kill me or harm me!" Ying spoke in her mind. "Even if they kill me…perhaps that's even better than becoming Fuchai's concubine!"
She walked and calmed the horses, while she didn't take her eyes off from the wolves.
One of the wolves then walked forward. The horses were frightened and neighed. Ying calmed them down, and she moved on toward the wolves. As she moved forward, the wolves moved back forward as if they were afraid.
Ying moved forward again. This time she ventured, and with one leg kneeling on the ground, she reached out her hand toward the wolves.
Unexpectedly, the wolves started to move their tails and walked towards her and licked her hands. The wolves looked so docile as puppies when dealing with her.
Ying was surprised, but also very happy. "My parents didn't lie to me! I was raised by wolves!" she mumbled.
It was an odd scenery seeing a girl playing with two wolves in the middle of the night.