Brian and Minji were making their way back through the forest after their lunch by the lake when they heard the sound of voices up ahead. They stopped in their tracks, listening intently.
"Who do you think it is?" Minji whispered.
"I don't know," Brian replied quietly, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword. "But we should be careful."
They crept closer, trying to get a better look. Suddenly, they heard a loud grunting noise and saw two men come into view, both of them relieving themselves against a tree.
"That was a good haul we made yesterday," one of the men said, shaking himself off. "The look on that old man's face when we took all his gold was priceless."
"Yeah, and the girl wasn't bad either," the other man added, leering.
Brian and Minji exchanged a horrified look.
They were bandits, discussing their latest raid with gruesome detail. They knew they had to get out of there before they were discovered.
"We have to leave," Brian whispered to Minji.
"Now."
They turned and began to make their way back the way they had come, trying to stay as quiet as possible. They had just made it a few steps when they heard a voice behind them.
"Hey, what are you two doing here?"
They turned to see the two bandits standing a few feet away, their swords drawn. Brian and Minji knew they had no chance against two trained fighters. They were in trouble.
"A couple of kids out for a hike?"
Brian tried to reason with them, holding up his empty hands in a peaceful gesture. "Please, we don't want any trouble. We'll just be on our way and forget we saw you."
But the bandits just laughed. "Oh, we can't have that. You two might go back to town and tell everyone about us. No, we can't let you go."
They unsheathed their swords and advanced on Brian and Minji, their eyes gleaming with greed and malice. Brian knew he had to act fast to protect himself and Minji. He readied his sword, determined to do everything in his power to keep them safe.
Brian stood in front of Minji, his sword drawn and ready for battle. The two bandits sneered at him, their own weapons drawn and glinting in the sunlight filtering through the trees.
"You really think you can take us on?" one of the bandits jeered.
"We're both at the first level of the Qi condensation realm."
Brian gritted his teeth, determined not to let them harm Minji. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my friend."
The bandits laughed, clearly not taking Brian's words seriously. "Well, if you're so determined to protect her, maybe we can make a deal," the other bandit said. "Leave her behind and we'll let you go. Otherwise, you're both coming with us."
Brian's grip on his sword tightened. There was no way he was going to abandon Minji to these criminals. "I won't leave her behind," he said firmly.
The bandits sneered at him again. "Suit yourself," one of them said. "You're both gonna regret this."
With a battle cry, the bandits charged towards Brian and Minji, their swords raised for the attack. Brian prepared himself for the fight, determined to protect Minji at all costs.