::Chapter 4 (3/4)::

((Ep. 5)){Jiang Cheng}

"Should we see if there's more information at a different inn?" I asked Zewu Jun.

"This should be enough, besides, maybe my brother and Wei Wuxian have some information as well." He replied.

As we walked out of the inn I looked at the spot Lan Xiao and Wen Mei were last at and saw that they weren't there. My heart raced as my eyes quickly scanned the busy street.

"Wen Mei?" I called out a couple of times as Zewu Jun called out his sister's name.

"Where could they have gone?" I asked him, panic filling my mind.

"I don't know. Let's ask one of the vendors."

"Are you two here to buy something?" The man questioned as we approached his stand.

"Have you seen two girls? Around this height... one of them wore a similar outfit as mine and the other one was wearing a black and red Hanfu." Zewu Jun described everything to the vendor.

"Hm... I can't recall but I did see a group of kids pass by, they went that way." He answered as he tried to remember.

"That's all we need to know, thank you for your help." Zewu Jun bowed, then began to walk in the direction the man had pointed to.

"You think they went with the kids?" I followed closely behind.

"Let's hope." He replied, the concern now showing on his usually calm face.

We went down one of the alleyways and noticed a large book on the ground. I picked it up and went through the pages. There were images of different sceneries and flowers when I happened to land on a page that made my heart stop. It was a painting of my brother.

"It's Wen Mei's. My sister doesn't carry a book like that." Zewu Jun spoke as he also saw the painting.

"If it's hers then why would it be here? Shouldn't she have it with her?" I mumbled to myself.

"Unless something happened." He slowly replied.

He looked at the ground and let out a worried sigh. I followed his gaze and saw that the dirt looked stirred up.

'Something did happen.'

"They can't be far. We weren't in the inn for long so they should be somewhere nearby." He said as we ran out of the ally.

We were close to the outskirts of the town and saw a small trail leading towards the woods. I looked at him and saw that he also turned his attention to me. With a small nod, the both of us entered the woods.

'Please don't be too far.'

~~~

{Wen Mei}

My head felt heavy as I heard the faint chirps of birds around us. I tried to open my eyes but I just felt too tired and weak to do anything.

"Let us go! We won't say anything." I heard Lan Xiao beg.

I heard a couple of men chuckle at her response.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. If we let you go we won't get paid." One of the men replied.

I jerked my head up too fast and hit a hard object.

"Ugh." I groaned as I was finally able to open my eyes.

As I glanced around I saw that Lan Xiao was tied up to a tree next to mine. I also happened to notice a group of four men sitting around a small campfire.

"W-why is there a campfire when it's daylight?" Was the first question I asked once I swallowed the whole situation.

"Look who's finally up. One of our men went to go get food from the market in the town." One of them answered.

'So there are five men in total. But one of them isn't here.'

"Where will you be taking us?" Lan Xiao asked as I grabbed a small dagger I had in my sleeve. I had equipped it with me just in case I wasn't able to use my bow, I guess it came in handy.

"We'll be selling both of you at a market in a nearby town. The two of you are young and healthy. We'll be getting a lot of money." A man informed with a disgusting grin.

I was able to cut the rope but held it so I could give a chance for Lan Xiao to get free as well.

"What's that over there?" I asked aloud looking in the direction behind them. With them being distracted I tossed the dagger near Lan Xiao, who was able to reach it and quickly but quietly cut the rope.

"Sorry I thought I saw something." I apologized as I looked down.

"Yeah, the branch behind you all looked like a snake." She added.

"I guess my eyes were playing tricks on me." I stated, hoping Lan Xiao got my message.

"It happens to me all the time." She replied with a small smirk, seeming to play along.

"What's taking him so long?" One of the men asked as they seemed to not mind our conversation.

"You mean him?" A familiar voice joined in.

We turned to the source of the voice and saw Jiang Cheng holding up a badly beaten man with a serious expression. Zewu Jun stood next to him with a relieved expression as he noticed us.

"Jiang Cheng! Zewu Jun/ Lan Xichen!" Both Lan Xiao and I exclaimed.

"My brother! You'll pay for this!" A man exclaimed and rushed toward him along with the others.

"Now!" I signaled.

The both of us shot up and ran in different directions causing the man to stop and ask one of them to get us.

I didn't have to worry about Lan Xiao getting hurt since my dagger was with her. I just had to find somewhere to hide.

I quickly hid behind a tree once I heard footsteps rushing in my direction.

"Come on out~. I'm not going to hurt you." He sang out with a chuckle.

When I didn't do what he asked for his demeanor seemed to change.

"I know you're around here somewhere! Show yourself or you'll get punished." He demanded through grit teeth.

"I'm right here!" I heard Jiang Cheng angrily reply as he attacked the man with his sword. Another one of the injured men appeared and was going to attack him when I heard a voice next to me.

"Wen Mei, here you go." She tossed me my bow and quiver.

I caught it and quickly took out an arrow, then aimed at the man approaching Jiang Cheng from behind. I breathed in and let go of the arrow as I exhaled, successfully hitting the man.

A part of me felt guilty for shooting him but if I didn't then something would've happened to Jiang Cheng.

"Watch out!" I heard Lan Xiao exclaim as she rushed over and stopped a man from attacking me with her sword. I changed the way I held my bow and rammed it into the man's sternum causing him to shout in pain and lose his posture giving Lan Xiao an opportunity to land a clean attack on him.

She took her sword out of the man's body and helped me up.

"Good teamwork." Zewu Jun complimented us.

"Lan Xichen!" Lan Xiao exclaimed and hugged her brother as she began to cry.

"Are the both of you alright?" He asked while he rubbed her back to comfort her.

I nodded my head.

My mind played through the events that just happened to cause my hands to shake as everything slowly started to sink in.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jiang Cheng asked with a worried frown. He knelt down in front of me and gently took the bow out of my hands.

I couldn't reply as my vision blurred with tears threatening to spill.

"It's okay, you could cry." He softly assured me as he awkwardly brought me into a hug. I returned the hug and let my tears fall.

'Today was the day I killed a man... if only I had stayed with my sister then none of this would've happened.'

"Come on, let's go." Both Zewu Jun and Jiang Cheng ushered us with them, not letting go of our hands.