'What kind of excuses can I come up with?! Oh God... alright I've got it!'
"I didn't get close enough to see their faces. I only saw that there were two dead bodies who wore our robes. I was terrified about whatever killed them so I immediately came back." Yeah, this should be good enough.
The leader squinted his eyes as he looked at me, "That's not like you Liao Mu. Hmm.. why are you wearing the robe's hood as well? You usually always show your face, unlike those specific few outside."
"..." I couldn't say anything in response, after all what was I to say? That I've suddenly changed after that singular excursion? Surely, this wouldn't of been the first time this Liao Mu guy has seen his sect members die. So to say I've changed suddenly might just increase his suspicion of me.
With a calm and deep voice he spoke: "Why don't you take that hood off right now?" Within that single sentence I felt a pressure as well as a slight sense of fear rising inside me. It was the same pressure from earlier.
"Why aren't you taking it off? Are you going to go against my order? Don't you know the punishment for disobedience?" With each sentence he said, I felt the pressure upon my body increasing. I felt like a small boulder was being weighted on me.
"S-sir I-I have something to tell you." As quickly as I could, I came up with some bullshit to tell him.
Without letting up on the pressure being built atop me he responded, "Go on, I'm listening."
"While out there I suffered a facial injury, which seemed to cause some scarring. I just didn't want others to look at my face for the time being so it would heal."
"Oh, why didn't you say anything about that? Also, Why didn't you check the bodies to identify them? I couldn't have possibly been that difficult to look at their number on their sleeves right?" He seemed to believe me if only a little as the pressure loosened up a bit.
"The facial injury didn't seem important especially when considering the two of my fellow sect members died. I also must of forgotten to look for their numbers at the time, I was mainly terrified about what or who killed them." As I spoke the pressure gradually gave way, until the end where it was entirely dispersed.
"Hmm... alright, tell me one more thing. How did you-"
"Ahhh!!!"
"Hey what are you-!"
Before the leader could question me once more, a timely scream rang out. He stopping questioning me immediately and stood up. Sensing my chance to escape along with a feeling that Chen Huang had alerted the entire encampment I stood up as well.
"I'll go and check that out!" Without even letting him say another word I dashed out of the tent.
Looking around, I located the tent in which the sound came from and began rapidly approaching it. There were numerous people from the crowd which were looking this way and even a few who started walking over to check it out.
Reaching the tent before anyone else could, I went in closing the flaps behind me. As soon as the flaps close a familiar saber tip appears near my neck. The man on the other side held the weapon in one hand while shouldering a man with another.
"Brother Cheng? What are you doing here?" he said while lowering the tip of the saber.
"What do you mean what am I doing here?! We got to go, like now! You've alerted basically everybody! Just before I came in I saw the crowd start look this way as well as walking over! We have to leave, right now!" I spoke in a slightly frantic tone.
"What!? You're saying this tent didn't muffle their sounds at all?!" As he sheathed his saber, he used his now free hand to get a better hold on the man quicker.
"No! Of course not! The walls are so thin and also made of fabric! How much sound could they contain? In fact if anyone was just nearby outside right now they would probably very clearly hear our conversation." After saying so I opened the flaps just a little to see what was going on around us and to also make sure I wasn't jinxing myself.
When I turned back, Chen Huang had gotten himself and the other man off the ground. The man had clearly turned into dead weight though by being unconscious. He was being carried over the shoulder by Chen Huang.
"Alright, I'm ready."
"Ok, since you're carrying a guy it would probably wouldn't be good if you went out of the tent first. They would definitely question you for taking the prisoner away. I'll go out first to distract them and then you just run out of the tent whenever you want. When I see you running I'll start as well and will be right behind you!"
He gave me a simple nod of affirmation which I took as a signal to start as well. Just before I exited I saw through the sliver between the flaps a group which was gradually growing. As soon as I exited the tent I went to intercept them.
"HHHeyy! What are you guys doing grouping up like that?" Standing directly in front of the group I stopped their advance.
"Hmm? Did you just come out from that tent?" One of the frontal disciples asked, pointing at the tent behind me.
"Yeah, that's right. Did you need anything from there?"
"Well, we were just wondering what happened in there. After all those screams were very loud. We saw that you also went in there a minute ago from the leader's tent. Is everything ok in there?" He asked with hints of concern.
"It's alright, don't worry about what is happening in there. It's all under control, apparently both of the guards who were supposed to be by the door went inside."
"Why would they go inside their job is to guard the tent's entrance?"
"Apparently the prisoner within had said some things which irritated both of the guards at the same time and that led to them both being led inside. They were going to beat him some more, but didn't realize that the robes were loosened to which he attacked the guards and bit them. Or at least that was the reason they gave me for screaming."
"Hmm.. Well I guess we made a big deal out of nothing. Don't worry about us we'll go back." After hearing my story I concocted began to disperse his crowd he had been leading over.
'Wait, I convinced them? I thought I was just buying time for Chen Huang to escape, but I guess this is an even better result.'
"Hold on a minute! Liao Mu let me speak with you!" Out from the back of the group a girl began squeezing through followed by a few other women. It was that girl from before once again
Once she got to the front of the group it seems that no one else wanted to leave anymore all of a sudden. Instead they became rooted in place and began looking in our direction.
'No, no, no, why did all of you stop?! Keep going, don't just stand there and stare! At the very least don't stand so close to watch us.'
"Liao Mu, why are you running away from me and even telling me that you have a girlfriend. I know that you don't have one. Do you just not like me? Is that it?"
"No, it's not that it's ju-"
"Then what is it? Take off that hood, I want to see your face as you speak to me." As I heard that request I started to heavily wonder what Chen Huang was doing. There was only one exit from that tent and he couldn't possibly escape stealthily.
'Chen Huang, Where are you! I really need you right now!'
Ask and you shall receive or so the saying goes. A few moments later the dashing of Chen Huang was heard behind me and without missing a beat I spun around started as well.
"HEY!" The yell of the girl lightly echoes around me as dozens of sets of footsteps are heard behind me. I had gotten quite a head start on them as they seemed a little bewildered from seeing an unknown man running out of their tents.
But as I pivoted around and started after Chen Huang my hood was pushed down. To be honest I really don't know how it hadn't already fallen down, but at least now was probably the most optimal time for taking it off.
"Y-You're not Liao Mu. Who are you?! What have you done with him, you bastard!" As soon as my hood fell she realized that I wasn't that Liao Mu guy. Considering that she had only seen the back of my head while I was running she must of either really known the looks of the guy, or I don't look anything like this Liao Mu.
"Once I get my hands on you, you'll know true suffering! Just you wait! How far do you even think you'll be able to get?" He attitude changed completely once she knew who I was or well wasn't, just like I thought she would.
Chen Huang had already entered the woods and soon I would as well. When I turned around I saw around a two dozen or so people who were still chasing after us. I don't know what happened to the patrolling guard around this area, but I won't question it since we're escaping this place.