"Brother Xiong, you can't," Wu Ling said in a tone that was neither insistent nor commanding. In fact, it seemed like he was expressing the most token of resistance to the murderous young man's idea.
"Such a gruesome sight would disturb Young Lord Yu's meal," Wu Ling added in fawning tones, throwing Yu Jinqi an exaggerated look of apology. "Let me handle these men. If they're still rude, it won't be too late to separate their heads from their shoulders later. I'll even help you place your new trophies next to the wolf skins, but we should talk to these men first."
"Apologies Brother Mao," Wu Ling said, turning back to the group of men in rough clothes. "Young Lord Yu has been tempering the bodies of his loyal guards with the blood of Red Mist Wolves, making them eager to bare their fangs," he explained as though it excused Xiong Dahuo's actions.
"What my good brother was trying to explain is that my sister, Xiang'er, doesn't play the zither," Wu Ling continued. "I'm the one who plays the zither here. Does your Little Boss Gao want this herald to come entertain him tonight?"
"Wu Ling," Yu Jinqi said sternly, doing his best to imitate Fang Lin's mannerisms. "Who are these people to invite this young lord's herald away? Are they even worthy?"
"Young Lord Yu," Wu Ling said, speaking quickly and suppressing the smile that wanted to bloom on his face when Yu Jinqi played along. "I'm sure that this Little Boss Gao is the famed Gao the Glutton, Little Boss of the Mountain's Bones gang," he added, letting the others know where this group had come from and giving them an idea why they'd be here to make trouble.
"Their gang may not be large compared to your father's forces," Wu Ling continued, concocting a fiction on the spot and hoping the other men wouldn't see through it. "I don't believe they have any Champions in their gang, but in these mountains, they are absolutely one of the most powerful of gangs," he said. "We should be at least a little courteous to them."
As soon as Wu Ling said the words 'Mountain's Bones gang' an even greater pressure descended on the group. It took everything Yu Jinqi had to maintain the haughty air he'd so often seen from Fang Lin in the face of such a menacing threat. Su Xiang's eyes sharpened and her hand drifted toward the hilt of her longsword but ultimately, she refrained from making a move.
"Herald Wu, was it?" Mao said, frowning at the posturing young lords. Part of him wanted to snatch their women away just to teach them that it didn't matter how powerful their forces in the city were, the only power that mattered was the power they had here.
The only problem was, the power they had on hand was likely sufficient to resist anything Mao tried to do. The woman with the longsword felt like she'd be a match for him all by herself and he didn't have confidence that his six new recruits could fend off the bearded man and the bloodthirsty fellow with the saber either.
"I'm afraid my Little Boss was hoping for the company of a delicate fairy," Mao Said, raising his hands and taking a step back. "I don't think Herald Wu needs to concern himself with our hunting party. I'll just have to disappoint my Little Boss with news that the zither player in question is a young lord who wouldn't suit his tastes."
As much as Mao hated to give way to these posturing brats, losing men to them would be even worse. Besides, he could always tell Little Boss Gao about the pretty women. If he managed to interest The Glutton, it wouldn't be too late to come back with more men.
"I suppose that's for the best," Wu Ling said, sounding almost disappointed that he wouldn't have a chance to play for Little Boss Gao. "Still, I imagine that working for someone as fierce as Gao the Glutton must not be easy," he added, walking over to the bamboo frames that Xiong Dahuo had stretched the wolf pelts across to tan.
"You don't want to go home empty-handed," Wu Ling said. "Take this, as a gift of our goodwill toward your Little Boss," he said, cutting the tail off the pelt of the Wolf King and returning to place it in Mao's hands. "This way, you don't get in any trouble for going back without a fairy to play the zither for your boss."
"Th-thank you, Herald Wu," Mao said, handing the tail over to one of the recruits and bowing slightly. "I'm sure my boss will thank you for your gift. Men, we're going back!"
Once the bandits left, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Yu Jinqi stood up on shaky legs and approached Xiong Dahou for a cup of his strong wine, while Jin Wuya turned to Wu Ling with a question.
"Brother Wu," she asked with an expression of genuine curiosity. "Why did you give them part of the trophy from the leader of the wolf pack? Wouldn't any of the tails from the Blood Moon Mist Wolves have been a sufficiently rare treasure to make a reasonable gift of goodwill?"
"It wasn't a gift," Wu Ling said, sitting on a rock and trying to still his trembling fingers now that the other men had left. "It was a warning."
"Brother Wu wants this Gao the Glutton to understand that we can kill beasts with the strength of Soldiers," Zhang Buyan said with a nod. "How strong is this Gao the Glutton?"
"According to the rumors, he's an early-stage Soldier, but he could have reached the middle stage by now. Depending on how many men he has, since this was just a portion of his forces, they might still be a real threat if they decide they really want to harm us. I just gave them a warning that we won't be easy prey if they just want to rob a few young lords. It should be enough to deter them."
"What if it isn't?" Fang Lin asked from his seat near the fire. "Should we try to escape now?"
"Not yet," Wu Ling said with a shake of his head. "Hou, follow those fellows back to their camp. Come back once you know where it is. Don't get too close and if they try to hurt you, come back right away. I don't want to risk yourself if they have archers or anyone who can attack you at a distance."
CAW!
"Brother Wu," Yu Jinqi began hesitantly. "How confident are you that they won't come back for you? After all, they must be out looking for you after what you did."
"Oh, I'm sure they're looking for me," Wu Ling admitted readily. "I'm also sure that the description of the person they're looking for, if they even have one, doesn't resemble me very much at all. As long as Gao's group doesn't make any hostile moves toward us, we should be fine. If it looks like they're going to stay in the area though, I have a few tricks in mind that might help us encourage them to leave."