338: Escape 2.0 for the Artist’s Life

Escape 2.0 for the Artist’s Life

From the cracks of light that shone through the wooden planks, Yujia could see night slowly fall. The light of the sun was replaced by the light of men carrying torches.  1

And then, the time came. 

Yufeng had sawed through the ropes on her wrist. Because of the way the bandits tied her, she had perfect access to grabbing the knife she had hidden earlier in her robes. It only took some time to unbind her hands, and even less time to chop off the ropes around the pole. Once she was free, she helped to cut away the ropes around Yujia's wrists as well. 

The success of escaping these binds was likely due to Yujia's advice of hiding the knife. Yujia could only imagine how much more difficult it would be if the bandits didn't underestimate them from the start, like they were doing right now.

Once they were free, and once it was night, it was time to escape.

Yufeng and Yujia both crouched by the door, listening to the noises outside. When there were sounds of one of the bandits stepping away, perhaps temporarily to check on something, that was when Yufeng pushed down the door. Yujia didn't hear what happened afterwards, but she heard half a cry, silenced by the following sound of a blade slicing through skin. 

The body fell backwards, into the doorway. Yujia, who had been sitting by the side, flinched backwards as it was thrown inside, her eyes catching the gutted red line carved deep into that bandit's throat. He was still alive, gurgling, fingers clutched up to his neck, and Yujia could only look away as that bandit choked on his own blood.

There were more sounds. One pair of footsteps crunching against the grass as he returned back, the same half cry, the same slicing sound. This time, that bandit was not tossed back. Yufeng dragged him into the wooden shack herself, then threw him against the wooden pole. He was the one, Yujia recognized, that touched Yufeng and threatened to pull Yufeng's teeth out.

"Didn't I say that I would cut off your hands?" Yufeng whispered to the bandit.

Yujia could only look away again as Yufeng lifted the bandit's own sword up to his wrists. A chopping sound of blade cleaving through flesh and slamming against wood rang in Yujia's ears.

…

Once those two bandits were taken care of, it was time for them to run.

A path was lit by torches within the camp, yet they walked amongst the shadows, darting from wall to wall and using the buildings the bandits built as cover. It was a risky act, and Yujia followed Yufeng carefully. She found that with every step that she took, it was like stepping on a landmine. She feared the sound of grass crunching under her feet, the sound of accidentally bumping into a barrel, the sound of footsteps approaching and passing by without notice. 

Despite all of this and out of her expectations, they made their way to the exit without being noticed.Now came the hard part. Or, Yujia supposed, it would be hard for Yufeng, and not necessarily her.

Yufeng and her crouched in the shadows behind a building. It was a place that conveniently had a few barrels to block the view from behind, while the arrangement of torches allowed no light to touch where the two stood. They observed the two guards at the exit, a good few yards of open space away. Both of the guards clutched open jugs of wine by their side, likely their compensation for having to guard on the night of a banquet.

The bandits should've realized that handing guards alcohol was not the wisest choice. They would only realize, however, in the next moments that were to happen, when it was too late.

One moment Yufeng was standing next to her, and in the next blink of an eye, she was gone. Yujia's eye could only catch the flash of a shadow. Yufeng was faster than anything Yujia had witnessed before when the two were running together. 

With another blink, Yufeng had already reached the guards. One was turned around from her, and he had his neck slit first. Before that other guard could even call out an alarm, Yufeng had grabbed the sword of the bandit she had just killed— it had been propped up on the wall by the side— swinging it as it ripped into the arm of the bandit. He dropped his own sword in shock, and likely before he even realized what had happened, the blade dragged through his neck. He crumpled to the floor.

It was different to see Yufeng kill in person, with her own two eyes. Yufeng moved with machine-like speed and precision, every move calculated, efficient, and deadly. This was not something that an average person could accomplish. Nor was it something achievable by even the most athletic of people, without experience. How many times had Xie Yufeng practiced the art of killing, to the point where she could take care of two armed men within a minute's time?

The thought was terrifying. 

Yet Yujia didn't have time to be scared, or to think much about it at all. Yujia merely ran, pushing herself up and away from the barrels, across the open ground. Yufeng had pushed open the gate doors, and once Yujia was there, out they went.

For the first few moments of running, there was only the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. They were running into darkness, away from the light of the camp, into a forest of shadows. It was a moonless night; not even the light of the stars could illuminate the direction they went in. Perhaps because of Yujia's lack of ability to see anything, the heartbeat in her ears seemed even louder. Or perhaps it was just the fear and adrenaline doing its job.

The beating drowned out when Yujia felt something touch her hand: the warmth of another hand. It was Yufeng, reaching back for her.

Yujia took the hand, and onwards they went.

Unlike last time, Yujia didn't hear any footsteps behind her. This knowledge was only a temporary relief, upon realizing that in another second, the bandits could realize that their brothers had been slain and that their hostages had escaped. They would send their men after them. Yujia knew this for sure.

Because of this uncertainty, the two of them ran on, for as far as they could, for as long as they could. Yufeng's hand was tightly gripped around Yujia's, their fingers locked, as she led the way.

Finally, after much running, they saw light ahead. 

It was not firelight, but rather what looked like the sort of pale light that would come from the sky, signaling an opening from the forest. The two went that way, parting through the thick bushes and branches, until they stumbled out into the opening.

It was not something to celebrate for more than a split second. For before Yujia could even look ahead of her, her feet slipped. Down she lurched. 

They had rushed right to the broken edge of a cliff, and now, Yujia was falling.

pqdm.com