It was a game of tug of war between She LiangLin and Lan QingYu with YaYun as the rope. They were both pulling the poor unconscious guy in two different directions, while the three She sisters stood on the side, waiting with bated breath whether the right or the left hand would tear off first.
"QingYu! We need to tie him up!"
"Hell no! You aren't torturing my future husband!"
LiangLin snarled as he tugged at the man harder, making his limp head to nod against his shoulder. The two male snakes glared at each other, both holding an intense gaze of 'I won't give up!' in their bright eyes.
A soft groan interrupted the two, and they turned their attention on the man. He groaned again, this time with more force, and tried to blink his eyes open.
"YaYun!" QingYu squealed and pulled the man successfully out of LiangLin's surprised clutches and straight into his embrace.
"You hit me..." The man muttered as he winced and frowned, leaning to QingYu's chest.
LiangLin's hands itched to punch him again. That voice was identical to XueYa's!
"I didn't! YaYun, it was brother LiangLin." QingYu hurried to say as he shot a scowl LiangLin's way.
"Brother?" The man blinked, his eyes shot between the two men and his brows slowly rose as he realised his mistake. "You are twins?"
"Yes, they are twins," LiAi said as she smacked the man over the back of the head with her fanning hand, rendering him unconscious once more.
"Why did you do that?" QingYu screeched as YaYun wilted like a dying flower over his arms.
"We need to tie him up. Can't do that if he is awake." She shrugged.
"We should do it soon before he wakes again." LiBai offered and motioned them to get inside the inn. QingYu looked reluctant as he moved YaYun's face to lean into his shoulder.
"If we keep punching him, we might break his brain." LiChun pointed out a little too excitedly, alarming QingYu. The snake hurried to pull the man up and dragged him towards the front of the inn with the rest following in tow.
When they reached the stone steps, they spotted LiYue leisurely fanning herself under the faint light of the lantern. A giant black and white husky was sitting beside her, leaning its head over her lap with content in its eyes. But when it saw the man in QingYu's arms, it raised its head with alert.
"There you are!" LiYue called as she stood up and dusted her robes. Resting her gaze on the limp body, a smile quivered on her lips. "Did you bring me a midnight snack? I'm starving."
"What is it with you snake gods and killing, torturing, and or eating my husband?" QingYu snarled as he heaved up the stairs with YaYun's limp body.
"You're married to a mortal? Aren't you a snake?" LiYue asked in surprise as she raked QingYu with her eyes.
"He's not a mortal second sister, it's the sorcerer!" LiangLin snarled. "And QingYu isn't married, he is just wishing to!"
With what LiangLin was planning, it would stay as a wish too!
"What's with the dog, sis?" LiAi asked as she eyed the dog suspiciously.
"I don't know, it just came to sit next to me and next thing I knew it was rubbing itself against me," LiYue said nonchalantly as she followed them through the door. The husky was quick behind them, glued to LiYue's side, but its gaze was fixated on the unconscious man.
The inn was dark, not even a single candlelight was lit. LiangLin stumbled and hit his toes, cursing under his breath. The others didn't have the same problem. They still had their snake zodiacs intact and had perfect night vision. This only fueled LiangLin's anger further, and he wanted to sink his toes in that sorcerer's gut.
He had no idea where they were heading, and clinging to one of his sisters, he was guided along like a blind man. A faint rustle caught his attention, and he perked up, turning his head towards the sound. Tightening his hold on his sister's robe, he whispered, "Did you hear that?"
"51, if you cling to me like that, I will have to walk home to Hei'ang naked," LiAi muttered and LiangLin eased his grasp. He could feel LiAi adjusting her robe, and he mewled a weak 'sorry'.
"And yes, I heard it too. Maybe a rat? Ugh, they are disgusting and messy to kill." LiAi continued.
"A rat? Where? Ah, I hate them!" LiYue grumbled somewhere in the front.
"No rats, it's something else," LiBai hissed and everyone halted in their tracks.
LiangLin strained his ears, but he couldn't hear anything besides his own breathing. He was about to open his mouth to declare this when LiChun snapped,
"Shit!"
A sharp 'shing' sounded as swords were drawn out of their holsters simultaneously, and before LiangLin managed to react, an icy edge of the sword was pressed against his throat.
What the-!
Candles were lit around them, and for a brief moment, LiangLin was blinded by the bright glare.
"Oi, I thought YaYun said he was meeting up with someone, I didn't know he was into group things." A mocking voice said by LiangLin's ear.
"Look at that, young master Zhang is out cold." Another man's amused voice sounded further ahead.
LiangLin was blinking furiously, and as his vision sharpened, he could make out three men holding swords and daggers pointing at the snakes' throats. They were all dressed in modest cotton robes, with their hair tied in a high ponytail. These men could have easily infiltrated the crowd without anyone paying them any attention.
"ChangChang, weren't you supposed to keep an eye on him?" A man holding the blade against LiBai's throat said. His round eyes were pulled into a frown and his lips were now only a tight line as he shot a scolding stare at the husky.
ChangChang was looking guiltily at LiYue before it reluctantly moved from her side next to the man's feet.
"Who are you?" LiangLin hissed through gritted teeth as the blade pressed closer to this neck, scraping his skin. It was more delicate now that his zodiac animal was taken away. A thin trail of blood ran down his neck, pooling over his collarbone.
The man holding him still chuckled as he shifted and moved the sword back and forth in a threatening motion, nearly sawing LiangLin's head off.
"Oi, guys, we haven't introduced ourselves yet, how rude."
The one holding LiChun hostage snickered as he gave a slight bow. "We are young master Zhang's personal guards, nice to meet you."
"You suck at your job, no offence." LiangLin snapped, his eyes shooting murderous glares at them.
"He has a point." The man holding LiBai said.
"Well, who would have thought they would ambush him in this little town on one of his wanton trips?" The one behind LiangLin muttered. "Besides, he knows martial arts himself."
"I wasn't ambushed." The slow drawl could be heard on the floor, where QingYu was crouching with the body. "I touched the wrong guy."
The three men groaned at the same time. Even the husky looked embarrassed at its master.
"Now that's just shameful, YaYun."
"How can you explain this to your ancestors, master Zhang?"
"Oi, YaYun, really? So now you are a molester."
"It was dark," YaYun grumbled as he tried to stand up with QingYu's help. "And to my defence, they look identical."
LiangLin wasn't buying it! These guys must be that sorcerer's friends, no way two identical men are visiting the same area within such a short time interval!
"Cut the crap, I know it's you, XueYa!" LiangLin snarled against the blade. The three guards shot bewildered looks at each other.
"What did you just say?" YaYun was now standing straight. A slight hint of pain was still present on his face, but he tried his best to contain it.
"How do you know about him?" The one holding LiBai asked.
YaYun took cautious steps towards LiangLin, curiosity now clear in his dark eyes. A smile tugged at his lips when his attention stopped over the little wound on LiangLin's neck.
"So, you must be that little snake XueYa stole from."