"And good at the flute."
“Like to help people, also like to kill, like to steal...”
The hunters' voices varied, but it was clear to Bu Sin that none of them knew the truth. He thought silently. Is it true that the killer of his parents was this Gold Flute? And the one who appeared with the flute, whom It-gan Kai-ong seemed to be afraid of, was he the Golden flute? The clothes are indeed like student clothes, but black. About his face, he could not see it because the person had his back to him. But clearly the student's clothes are black and his body is big and tall.
“Never mind, whatever he is, it is clear that he is a powerful saint who has high intelligence. It's not good for us to talk about it. Who knows he might be listening to our conversation. Hiiihhh, bristling the hairs on the back of my neck. A holy person like him is not to be talked about. When he's good, it's really fun, but when he's angry…” The She Tan hunter shivered like a cold person, shoving the two his arm by the fire. "After all, if he gets angry and kills me, I won't be curious because I owe him a debt of gratitude and life."
A moment later, the six hunters were snoring by the fire. They are really reckless and careless. When the six people in the big forest are all sleeping? Not on shifts? How about a bonfire licking your clothes? Maybe they felt safe because there were three young people who didn't seem tired.
Miss Sin's heart aches. He didn't want them to think of him and his younger siblings as their guardians of safety. He took his two younger siblings away from that place and made a bonfire himself, about four hundred meters away from where the hunters were.
By midnight, it was very quiet in the forest. Bu Sin couldn't close her eyes one bit. The experience they had since leaving the village was great. They began to get acquainted with the overseas life, met the kang-ouw people and instead they accidentally plunged into hostility with the kang-ouw beggar group which was headed or ruled by a terrible sacred figure named It-gan Kai-ong. This name would not easily be forgotten from his memory and he knew that he had to be careful and distance himself from that old demon grandpa. Lin Lin and Sian Eng fell asleep curled up by the campfire, pillows with tree roots jutting out of the ground.
It's no good traveling with these girls, he thought. Even if the two of them were not inferior to her in intelligence, they were still girls, causing a lot of trouble and provoking a commotion. He hopes to meet his older brother, Kam Bu Song, in the city of the kings and he also hopes that his older brother, who is ten years older than him, has obtained a fairly good position. He must entrust his two younger siblings to his older brother, then he will continue his search for his arch enemy, alone.
A little past midnight, Lin Lin woke up. "Sin-ko, now you sleep, let me be on guard." Hearing his sister's voice, Sian Eng also got up, stretched and yawned.
"Let me be on guard," he said. "You guys go to sleep, I'm not sleepy," said Bu Sin who felt sorry for her two younger siblings. He gave in and wanted to stay up all night, letting his two younger sisters sleep and unwind.
“Ah, how could that be, Sin-ko? You too are human of flesh and blood, where are you not tired and sleepy? Let me and Cici Sian Eng stand guard," Lin Lin said while adding dry twigs to the bonfire so things got warm.
"Let us talk first, I was contemplating the results of our departure to the king's city. What if we can't find our elder brother there?”
“Sin-ko, don't worry about things we haven't faced yet. Of course he was there. If the word isn't there anyway, I think I'm looking for someone named Kam Bu Song, son of Kam-goanswe's late father,
a student who comes from Ting-chun at the foot of Cin-ling-san Mountain, it will not be difficult. Of course there are those who know him in the city of kings. Well, calm down and sleep Sin-ko.”
Bu Sin smiled. His eldest brother is indeed a big heart and when listening to what he says, he really doesn't need to be nervous. A brave man should not be afraid of things he has not faced, even things that have already been faced cannot bring fear.
“Lin Lin, you are right. Let me try to sleep so I can be strong tomorrow for a long walk." Bu Sin then lay down, tilted towards the bonfire.
But suddenly his body jumped up, also the two girls jumped to their feet. They stood and looked at each other, filled with shock and horror. The high-pitched voice was still ringing in their ears. Ear piercing high pitched, flute sound. Then followed a scream of fear, or maybe a scream of pain, after all, these screams one after another and very terrible.
Finally the three people couldn't hold back any longer, their ears seemed to be bursting with the screeching. With both hands covering her ears, Bu Sin beckoned to her younger siblings. They then sat cross-legged, clasped their hands to their ears, closed their eyes and meditated, exerting lweekang to keep the contents of their chests that were violently shaken by the sound. You can imagine how great the sound was because even though they had covered their ears and mobilized their Iweekang, the sound still invaded their ears and their bodies trembled. However, thanks to their Iweekang, the three young people were able to defend themselves and were not seriously injured.
Only ten minutes or so it was shrill, then quiet, quiet as a grave. They lowered their hands. Shiver when looking at each other. Their eyes gleamed in agreement that it must have been the Golden Flute that had made the sound, because they still remembered the sound of the flute that had pierced their ears when they were threatened by It-gan Kai-ong. However, the sound of the flute this time was terrible.
Until morning the three young people could not sleep again. In fact, they sat cross-legged to gather strength, ready to wait for danger and decided to defend themselves desperately even if there was an attack by a powerful person. However, nothing happened and the tense silence was soon broken by birdsong and partridge crowing.
“Let's get out of here quickly,” said Bu Sin. Her two younger siblings could catch the eyes and inner voice hidden in this speech, as if saying, "Luckily nothing happened to us, the sooner we leave here the better."
Usually on the last trip, before leaving, of course the three of them would look for springs or rivers to wash their faces or bathe, especially Lin Lin who loved playing in the water. But this time, the three of them seemed to have forgotten to wash their faces and left in a hurry.
"Ha, Sin-ko, look at them!"
The three looked. From a distance it could be seen that the six hunters were still lying down, some curled up, some on their backs or face down, while the bonfire had long been extinguished.
"The hunters are so lazy, why haven't they woken up yet?" Sian Eng said.
"Let's see, their attitude is a bit strange," said Bu Sin.
The three of them ran over and soon the three of them stood up with pale and blank faces. Presumably those six people are no longer alive and their heads, right at the top of the crown, have all been perforated so that their brains are visible! The three of them now knew that it was they who screamed last night, screams of fear and horror.
“Ahhhhh...!” Sian Eng covered his face, his stomach suddenly felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. Lin Lin quickly embraced him.
"Calm down, Cici." But he himself trembled and his accomplices turned cold.
"Let's go," said Bu Sin, also this young man's voice was shaking.
“Later, Sin-ko. There's no way we can just leave these six bodies behind. They would surely be torn to pieces by wild beasts.”
"After what do you want?"
"We bury them first. Have you forgotten Father's message that when you see someone in trouble you have to help, you have to respect your parents, you have to protect your children, and you have to bury them when you see an abandoned corpse?”
Instantly Bu Sin's face turned red. “Thank you, Lin-moi. I almost forgot about Father's message because it was horrified and spooky. Let!"
Now Sian Eng had steeled himself and the three young men used their swords to dig a hole large enough to bury the six men. Because Lin Lin and Sian Eng were reluctant to lift the man's corpses, Bu Sin stepped in and lifted the corpses one by one, piled them into the graves in piles, then the three of them filled the hole with earth.
It was already noon when they finished doing this task and they quickly left the large forest area, heading towards the rising of the sun. They were relieved that they encountered no disturbances on the way until they were out of the forest and through the villages.
********************
The diner was still quiet. Presumably it's still too early to eat. Bu Sin and her two younger siblings were very hungry. Understandably, last night walked on under the moonlight. The delicious-smelling smoke that wafted out from the restaurant kitchen attacked their noses, making them unable to hold back their hunger any longer.
There are only two guest facing tables. Coincidentally, the two tables are the table on the far left and the table on the far right. One faced a man with a long beard, in his forties, sitting alone. The second table was faced by two people, apparently husband and wife, more or less thirty years old. The attitude of these two people is gallant, both the husband and the wife. They sat facing each other, eating hot porridge with chopsticks, as fast as if they were in a hurry. On their backs hung the hilts of two guns.
At first Bu Sin and her younger siblings thought that each of them was carrying a Siang-kiam (partner sword), but they were surprised to see that the two weapons were not the same. A sword and a machete! Bu Sin and her two younger siblings had not yet had time to choose a place, because when they entered the front room of the restaurant, they suddenly heard a loud bang.
"Where are the Hou-han thieves hiding?" Four men appeared, who looked nimble and strong, jumped inside and they immediately locked up the husband and wife. One took out a sword, another took out a pair of Siang-kek (a pair of short spears), the third took out a steel whip with the tip like a small anchor, while the fourth person who seemed to be the leader of this group, also the one who had yelled earlier, made a stance with his bare hands. .
"You better hand it back to us, maybe we'll be able to spare your lives," said another empty-handed man.
Husband and wife glanced at each other. When the husband lowered his bowl, his wife taunted, “Eat until it's finished, then serve these dogs. Why the rush?" The two of them then continued to eat quietly, finishing the porridge in the bowl.
Bu Sin and her younger siblings were amazed by the attitude of these two people. Very calm and very strong. But the three of them couldn't sympathize with this husband and wife because didn't the group say earlier that the two of them were Hou-han people? Meaning that there were three people from the same village as Bu Sin, but who knew that they were servants from the Hou-han Kingdom who were hostile to their late father? The Kam family was known as a family that did not want to submit to the Hou-han Kingdom, and was even considered a half-fleeing.
The husband and wife had finished eating. Suddenly they moved and the two pairs of chopsticks in their hands shot like arrows. The four sticks of chopsticks attacked the four people who locked them up. But the incarcerated people are also not random. They dodged easily, and the chopsticks stuck more than halfway into the wall.
"Good!" This compliment came from the mouth of the long-bearded man who had been sitting in a corner, facing the table and quietly eating fried meat and watching the scene in front of him. His eyes were shining, his face was beaming, he seemed very happy to be able to eat while enjoying this free show.
Seeing how their chopsticks missed the target, the husband and wife threw the empty bowl onto the floor while jumping, and as soon as their hands moved, both of their hands had drawn their weapons and now their left hand was holding a sword while their right hand was holding a machete. They made a circular motion and were already standing back to back, weapons ready. They are clever, thought Bu Sin who was watching by the door. The husband and wife stand facing each other, in this position they can prevent dark attacks from behind.
The match started without words. The four men immediately attacked, those armed with swords and the lunch holders ganged up on the husband, while the woman was beaten by the whip holder and the empty-handed one. The waiters at the restaurant ran outside, screaming in fear.
Bu Sin and her siblings were amazed after the battle was so exciting. The intelligence of the four people is quite high, what else is empty-handed, but their movements are normal. On the contrary, it is the husband and wife who bring admiration. The husband moves calmly, but his position is solid as a rock. On the other hand, his wife was incredibly agile, hopping here and there like an agile swallow, urging her two opponents.
The battle was getting more and more intense and the three of Bu Sin knew that their intelligence was on average higher than their own. Secretly he was very worried about his father's inheritance that he had, as well as his two younger siblings, how the three of them would be able to wander in the world of kang-ouw and moreover, how would they be able to find and avenge their parents' hurt? The closer to the king's city, it seems that there are more and more people with very high martial arts skills.
Suddenly the young mistress let out a shrill scream, her body soared upwards and her machete struck her most formidable opponent, which was the bare-handed man. At that moment the whip of his second opponent had flown and whipped, with a swift movement the small spiky anchor shot towards his neck!
“Collapse him...!” Lin Lin exclaimed slowly. Since just now Lin Lin's attention was focused on this woman. He was very amazed because he learned that in martial arts, the woman far surpassed him, both in the game of weapons and in the art of lightening the body. However, because he did not know what the problem was, the battle ensued, his heart was not on any side. However, seeing the tip of the whip that was like a small anchor grabbing the neck, he cried out with a tense heart.
But the woman who was still hopping in the air suddenly moved her hips and... like a live snake, her long belt flew back and the point was perfectly wrapped around the edge of the whip. There was mutual involvement and tug of war so that the course of the battle on the woman's side was a bit stiff.
Suddenly the man with the short beard who was sitting in the corner laughed and suddenly his body had jumped into the battlefield. Bu Sin and her two younger siblings were completely shocked, not expecting that the odd male onlooker could move so fast. Suddenly this man had stretched out his hand and grabbed the end of the belt and the whip that were intertwined, saying, "It won't be crowded like this!"
Great man. Just one grab, the entanglement of the two kinds of weapons is released. It can be seen that his left hand was moving quickly towards the body of the man who was being beaten from behind. Then after the whip and belt were released, while laughing the bearded man had jumped out of that place.
The husband and wife who were facing the heavy beating did not seem to pay much attention to the bearded man's involvement, however Bu Sin, who had been looking intently earlier, could see how the bearded man's hand was holding something when he was moving behind the man who was beaten.
“Come, follow him...!” he said slowly gesturing to Sian Eng and Lin Lin. The three of them quickly jumped out too and infiltrated the crowds that had gathered and watched outside the restaurant.
"Sin-ko, why should we meddle in their affairs?" Lin Lin taunted, but saw that Bu Sin and Sian Eng had already jumped out, so she had to follow them.
They were shadowing the long bearded man from afar and since the shadows were just walking around, it was easy for them to follow along. However, after leaving the village, the long beard then ran away with fast movements. Bu Sin, who was eager to know who this person was and what she stole from a husband and wife from Hou-han, asked her younger siblings to follow along.
Toward evening they entered the town of An-sui and after entering the town the man resumed walking normally. The city of An-sui was quite large and because this city belonged to the territory of the Sung Kingdom, what's more, it was not far from the king's city, so it was lively and there were many old and large houses belonging to noble people. The man with the long beard finally entered a large house which was written in large letters on the front: PRINCE SUMA BUILDING.
Of course the brothers did not dare to go all the way. "We spend the night in this city," said Bu Sin and they went to look for an inn. "Tonight we investigate."
After being in the inn room, Lin Lin again taunted, “Sin-ko, aren't we going to look for Brother Bu Song and look for our big enemy? Is there any need for us to meddle with the bearded man?”
"You saw for yourself, earlier he stole something from the husband and wife of the Hou-han," replied his older brother.
“What does it matter if he wants to steal anything? What does that have to do with us, Koko? Even though I admire that gallant husband and wife, we don't know them and don't know what caused them to fight, nor do we know who the opponents were."
Bu Sin sighed. “You're right, Lin-moi. However, there was one thing that attracted me and forced me to side with them. They are people from the Hou-han region, just like us. Who knows if the thing that bearded man stole is very important to the Hou-han Kingdom?”
Lin Lin frowned. “Sin-ko, you're on the side of the Hou-han Kingdom? Don't you remember that you had run away from the kingdom because of the king's tyranny?”
Bu Sin smiled. “That time was not yet a kingdom, my sister. Father is loyal and does not like rebellion. But now that it has become the Hou-han's territory, I don't defend anything, but at least it's definitely in favor of my own territory, right?”
"Little brother Lin, if you're scared, don't come tonight, just stay in the room, let me and Sin-ko go investigate yourself," said Sian Eng who was not happy to see Lin Lin's fussiness.
Lin Lin was not angry, instead laughed. “Cici, if anything should happen to you, who will help you if I don't go with you? Of course I'm in.”
"Then there's no need to fuss so much."
"We'll rest first this afternoon, who knows tonight we have to use a lot of energy," said Bu Sin. "I'll order food outside the inn."
Soon Bu Sin came out. When he entered again his face changed. “They are also already in this city.”
"Who?" asked LinLin.
"Who else? That husband and wife!”
Hearing this, Lin Lin was interested and they became tense. Did the husband and wife already know where the bearded man had gone? Did they already know that person was taking something from them?
“Great, how fast they can catch up here. Presumably they won in the battle just now,” Lin Lin said. "Did they know where the bearded man was?"
"I guess they would know. They were not ordinary people, but accomplished kang-ouw people. It will be crowded tonight, we'll just be spectators while adding experience," said Bu Sin, and the three of them then went into the resting room.
The occupants of the building house are Prince Suma Kong's family. This Prince Suma Kong is the prince of the Kingdom of Sung who is still a close relative of the emperor. However, because he had committed massive corruption and was caught by the emperor, he was dismissed from his position. However, remembering that he was still related, the emperor did not impose a sentence, only relieved of duty.
Prince Suma Kong then resigned from the king's city, lived in the city of An-sui, lived as a rich 'retired' nobleman, owned a large building and his rice fields outside the city of An-sui were very wide. Of course Prince Suma Kong secretly harbored a grudge against the Sung Kingdom, but because he was old and felt helpless, he entertained himself with various pleasures, not wanting to care anymore about royal affairs.
But not so with his son named Suma Boan. This son of his was not a weakling. Secretly he studied martial arts from a magician, namely none other than the Beggar King It-gan Kai-ong. Instead, Suma Boan secretly gathered strength, allied with the Wu-yue Kingdom in the south. Because It-gan Kai-ong himself was a southern figure who helped the Wu-yue Kingdom, it was easy for Suma Boan to gain influence in the kingdom and secretly form an alliance to jointly look for good opportunities and when the time came to overthrow the government of the Sung Kingdom. .
Suma Boan is over thirty years old, unmarried, but towards women he is notorious and a womanizer. There were many concubines, in that building alone there were seven people, not counting the concubines outside the building. The number of concubines still does not reduce his naughtiness to disturb every beautiful woman who attracts his heart, no matter if the woman is still a girl, a widow or even still being someone else's wife! He is a bear, his martial arts skills are high, so no one dares to go against him. In An-sui he was known as a champion, even his name was famous in the city of kings. In the world of kang-ouw he is also a well-known person with his very arrogant nickname, Lui-kong-sian (God of Thunder)!
Suma Boan only has one sibling, namely his younger sister named Suma Ceng, twenty-seven years old. Suma Ceng has long been married to a prince and now lives in the city of the king. The servants in the building understood how much different the character of Suma Ceng, who had moved with her husband to the city of kings, and Suma Boan. Suma Ceng is a woman who is soft spoken, gentle and kind, friendly and helpful towards the servants. On the other hand, all the maids fell in love and bowed in fear when faced with Suma Boan.
That night, in the inner room of the Suma family building, there was a sound of happy laughter. Several young and beautiful maids were busy serving three people who were eating and drinking facing a large table. These were none other than Suma Boan himself, It-gan Kai-ong who was his teacher, and a man with a long beard who had been overshadowed by the three of Bu Sin this morning.
“Ciok-twako, this time you really have made a big contribution. Let me congratulate you with a cup of wine!” I heard Suma Boan laughing and lifting his cup of wine.
The long bearded man named Ciok Kam laughed modestly, raised his cup of wine and said, “Kongcu (Young Master) is too praising. It was only by chance that I got the letter, not on occasion because of my services, but relying solely on luck and the generosity of Ongya who had passed on some of his skills in hitting me. Therefore, my respects return to Kongcu and especially to Ong-ya!” The long beard moved the cup towards It-gan Kai-ong while bowing.