Flower of Azure

Chapter 11 - Robbed And Kidnapped

Beautiful women, flowers and plants.

More or less working hard for stalks of grain.

Flirtatious, slender and light.

A husband and wife cross paths, yet nothing happens next.

The empty space happened due to some rights and wrongs, and suffered some annoyances.

...

The next day before dawn, Fu Shun woke them up and urged them to be on their way. There was barely anyone on the street and it was gloomy. The carriage was slowly driven out of the city and began to travel through the mountains. In the carriage, Liu Li, who had a good rest all night, seemed energetic and kept asking Luo Xuan questions. Luo Xuan always replied in a few short words. When Liu Li was getting a little too overwhelming, Fu Shun would smile and help Luo Xuan out of this pickle. When Luo Xuan thought of how for the next two months, from morning to night, he would have to face such a noisy person in such a small space, he felt really uncomfortable. But for some reason, which he himself found strange, he did not force her to leave. Even though allowing her to follow him would mean a higher chance of death. This was very different to how he would normally act.

He did not want to delve into the real thoughts in his heart. Maybe this is just because of my curiosity. He lived such a long life, and for the first time in his life, he was a little curious about someone around him. Although he was now in a dangerous situation, he never had such a strong desire to live like he did right now. It was thrilling, exciting, and interesting. For the first time, his life felt a little warm and lively instead of just the usual steady stream of still water. The years were gentle and plain, like quicksand slipping through his fingers.

Liu Li hung up the curtains on both sides, breathing in the fresh air while greedily admiring the beautiful surroundings. She even secretly took two photos of Luo Xuan with her mobile phone. Luo Xuan watched her play with those gadgets and asked her casually what those were. Liu Li was so excited to introduce the things on her keychain and the various functions of the mobile phone to him. She showed Luo Xuan the photos she took which absolutely shocked Luo Xuan. The photos inside consisted of Liu Li's family and friends, scenic spots in tourist resorts, high-rise buildings, overpasses, vehicles and pedestrians...

Luo Xuan stared at all this with a dumbfounded expression, unable to process it for a long time. He looked at these things carefully and asked Liu Li bit by bit as to what is this and what is that. Liu Li answered him patiently, from airplanes to McDonald's, from televisions to the 9/11 incident in America. Luo Xuan was about to lose his mind. "Where exactly did you come from?"

"Me? I'm from abroad! You know... the land under our feet is not square, it is a sphere, you are on this side, and I came from that side. There is another country, a world completely different from here..." Liu Li closed her eyes and started to babble.

Luo Xuan asked her with a serious look, "Where did you come from?!" His tone indicated that it was not a question, but an order.

Liu Li lowered her head and said, "Actually it’s not that I’m afraid to tell you, it’s just that you might find it a little unacceptable. To be honest, even I find this hard to accept. I came from the future. Do you get it? Like hundreds of years later. To put it more succinctly, I come from the future. That era of advanced technology, got it? I went backwards in time and then I met you at this time and place! I don’t know how I got here, so I don’t know how to get back. However, what I do know is that one day I will definitely find a way to go home. So please don’t drive me away anymore, you are the first person I saw in this world, and you’re the only person I know. I have no family or friends here, and I don’t know anything... If you chase me away, I really can only wander in this world by myself..." Liu Li tried very hard to win Luo Xuan's sympathy with a pitiful look.

Luo Xuan nodded. He roughly understood what was going on, although it sounded a little weird. He figured that it was like a kitten or puppy who would treat the first one they see the moment they open their eyes as their parent. She was probably clinging to him because she thought he could save her. But their journey was immensely dangerous. Once his whereabouts is exposed, she will never be able to bring her by her side; he will definitely refuse to keep her by his side any longer.

Luo Xuan pointed to the photo on the phone and asked Liu Li, "These are your parents and younger sister?"

Liu Li frowned and moved the corners of her mouth. "Yes." Then she hurriedly changed the subject, "Xuan gege, do you want to listen to music? I'll play some songs for you, okay?"

As she spoke, she stuffed two earplugs into Luo Xuan's ear.

Suddenly, there was a loud and explosive sound of rock and roll music in his ears. Luo Xuan was shocked, but he still pretended to be unaffected by it. Liu Li held back her smile desperately, her stomach hurting due to this. Leaning aside, she watched Luo Xuan's expressions when he heard pop music, foreign music, and some quiet ancient music. The only thing he didn’t do was to vomit blood.

The two sat in the carriage, listening to the songs of the birds outside. The bright sunshine sprinkled on Liu Li's face in the morning like golden sand. It was a warm feeling. Liu Li looked at Luo Xuan, feeling very happy. Impulsively, she wanted to lean on Luo Xuan's shoulder, but she did not have the courage to do so, so she could only scream internally out of frustration.

Suddenly, they heard the neighing of horses. The carriage came to a halt.

"What's the matter?" Liu Li stretched out her head to look and couldn't help but stick out her tongue. Oh no.

They saw a large group of people dressed as bandits on the road ahead, standing fiercely with weapons in their hands. The leader tilted his head, his hair shaved like a hedgehog’s. He was shirtless, with tiger tattoos on his arms. He was also carrying a broadsword on his shoulders.

According to the standard drama plot, we must have encountered a group of bandits. Sure enough, we started off on the wrong foot! It's really a martial arts movie where the moment we go on a journey, there will be a lot of troubles along the way. Come on, isn’t this too typical??

They saw a head popping out from behind the leader. That person was no more than one meter tall, surrounded by a small skirt of tiger skin, shirtless underneath the mandarin jacket. "Hey, this mountain, mountain, is my mountain, this, this path, is, is…"

"Jeez!" Liu Li couldn't wait any longer, "You were the one who created this path, right? If we want to get over there, we should pay you money for the road, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's it..." The dwarf opened his mouth and laughed. The leading bandit pushed his head back with an impatient hand. He fiercely used the middle finger to point to Liu Li's carriage and luggage, and the big finger to point to himself. Then, he swung his broadsword, looking as if he would kill them if they didn’t give him the money. It was a very hideous and horrifying expression.

Liu Li reluctantly began to predict what would happen next. Will it be the same as how the officers and soldiers who surrounded them last time were beaten by Luo Xuan with the palm of his hand, and then everyone gets scared off?

Fu Shun turned his head and asked Luo Xuan in a low voice, “What do we do?” Luo Xuan frowned. He roughly estimated that this was not a good time as he was afraid that the poison would be triggered soon, so he would have to get rid of them as soon as possible.

"My friends, we are a little anxious to get to the next town. We happened to pass by your land, but we hope you can let us go. We will definitely repay you in the future."

A fierce, slow and distinct voice that clearly revealed a strong internal strength suddenly came from the carriage. Everyone felt like they were pushed a bit fiercely, their feet staggering. The leading bandit knew that there was a master in the car, but he also knew that he had the advantage in numbers, so he was unsure about what step to take next. However, he saw one of his followers who was a dwarf raise his knife without fear of death and yelled, “Brothers let’s- let’s go! Rob them of their silver, get the girl and kill the men! Go…”

Then he rushed towards the carriage.

Suddenly, something flew heavily towards him and hit his knife. The knife was thrown around 10 meters away from him and there was a humming sound. The dwarf's hand was bleeding and he was shaking violently in mid-air. Everyone lowered their heads to see a yellow leaf falling to the ground.

This time, the bandits were all dumbfounded. They took a step back together in shock.

"Damn..." The dwarf almost didn't pee his pants in fright. He stepped up with his thick and short legs and ran to the back of the group. Liu Li couldn't help but laugh.

"Boss, shall we withdraw?" someone asked the leader.

The leader was unwilling but he knew he had no choice. Thus, with a wave of his hand, a large group of people followed him carefully back and walked back.

They were about to enter the woods when suddenly, they heard an exclamation from inside the carriage, "Xuan gege, are you okay?"

Liu Li hurriedly supported Luo Xuan. Luo Xuan lied down with his trembling body and spoke with great difficulty to Fu Shun, "Go!"

Fu Shun yelled loudly and the carriage flew off like an arrow.

"Oh no, they're going to run! It was just a bluff. Go after them!" When the leader saw that something was wrong, he gave an order and everyone rushed up again.

"Take a few others and outflank them from there."

"Yes!" The dwarf immediately stood at attention after receiving the order. "You guys! Follow me!"

Liu Li watched as Luo Xuan's poison attacked him. She didn't know what to do for a long while. She took out a lot of medicine bottles from the bag. "Xuan gege, which bottle of medicine should you take?"

Luo Xuan tried hard to suppress the strange feeling that suddenly surged in his body. It was both hot and cold which was very different from the feeling full of desire that day.

He was a little unsure of this poison’s change. It seemed that the more he suppressed it, the more uncomfortable he was. He tried his best to get rid of the distracting thoughts and illusions in his mind and shook his head feebly. "Those medicines are useless. Looks like I’ll just have to endure it. Give the quilt to me, it's so cold."

Liu Li quickly put the quilt on him. "How can it be cold?!" She watched as Luo Xuan closed his eyes, his complexion gradually turning blue and pale, and soon a layer of frost formed on his eyelashes.

Liu Li was so anxious that she was sweating profusely. However, Luo Xuan was still trembling, so she quickly pulled out another quilt to wrap it around him tightly.

Suddenly, there was a cry of horses and the carriage stopped abruptly. Liu Li, who was originally squatting down beside Luo Xuan, lost her balance and fell on her back. She then got up and quickly looked out the window.

Fu Shun asked nervously, "Swordsman Luo, we’re surrounded by bandits. What should we do?"

Luo Xuan frowned. His bones seemed to be frozen and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Give them all the money we have and try to not let them hurt others."

The leading dwarf hid behind a person with a big knife and looked into the car with trepidation. When he felt that there was no response, he pushed the person in front of him roughly. "Go, go, go!"

The bandit in front rushed forward, grabbed Fu Shun by the collar and pulled him down from the carriage. Liu Li hurriedly picked up a heavy baggage and slammed it on the bandit’s head without knowing what was in it. "Let go of him!"

With a bang, the bandit staggered back. The dwarf was furious. "You- you- you... Pull- pull her out!"

Several people rushed up and pulled Liu Li out of the carriage.

Liu Li was anxious to see that they were about to get into the carriage. "We’ll give you all our money, so let us go!"

The dwarf smiled happily, walked over, pushed himself up on his toes and hit Liu Li's head with the blade. "Hmph, see- see if you dare to laugh at me again. You- Weren’t you acting quite tough just now! Brothers, drag- drag- drag her to the woods. We’ll- We’ll ** first, then **!"

Liu Li covered her head and rubbed her temples with a grin. She then struggled hard. "Ugly shortie! Let go of me, let me go!"

“Er ge*! There’s someone else in the carriage!”

*er ge = second eldest brother

"What?" The dwarf took a step back in shock, guessing that it was probably the man who had just destroyed his weapon.

"But he’s lying down, sweating profusely. I think he’s sick."

The dwarf laughed in relief and stepped forward. "Pull him out too!"

The two people pulled Luo Xuan out of the carriage. The dwarf saw him in his white robes accompanied with a fluttering and vain look. His eyes were closed, his whole body trembling and it looked as if it was difficult for him to stand.

“Xuan gege!” Liu Li shouted.

Luo Xuan's consciousness had gradually blurred, but his mind was still a little clear. He tried his best to reach into his robes, remembering that there was a poisonous mist pill that was tested by Ban Ruohua for its toxicity. Although it wasn’t the best thing to do, there was no other way.

Because of Luo Xuan's peerless demeanor, that dwarf didn't dare to step forward, but he also didn't know what else to do.

"Le-Lead the carriage away from here and ta-take this woman. Let's go!"

“What about these two?” one of their followers asked.

The dwarf wanted to kill them, but when he saw Luo Xuan's domineering aura, for some reason he didn’t feel the need to kill them anymore. "S-Search for anything valu-valuable on their bodies, then just le-leave them here."

"Yes!" The subordinate searched Fu Shun but found nothing. Then he stood next to Luo Xuan. When he saw how he was dressed in snowy white robes and looked back at his own his black hands, he couldn't bear to put his hands on him for a long time, so he just fiddled with him briefly.

“Er ge, there’s nothing worth taking!”

"Okay, drag that woman away. To-Tonight, I’ll be enjoy-enjoying myself!"

“Er ge! Are we not going to give this girl to our eldest brother first?”

The dwarf knocked his head vigorously. "You du-dumb oaf! Take her away, take her away!"

"Miss Liu Li..." Fu Shun looked at Luo Xuan anxiously. His body was partially leaning on the carriage, as if he would fall down at any time.

"Let me go! You stupid dwarf! You old pig!" Liu Li sat on the ground and refused to walk, kicking at the bandits.

"Car-Carry her away!" The dwarf looked at her helplessly! What a weird woman. Weird dress, weird words, even she herself is weird!

"Yes! Hey, hey..." The two were about to lift Liu Li onto the carriage, one carrying her body while the other carried her legs.

Luo Xuan was anxious. Just as he was about to throw out the fog pill, suddenly something like an undercurrent rushed to his temples. He convulsed and his vision went dark. When he tried to utilize his internal strength, he fell back to the ground with a sharp pain in his chest and fainted.

"Swordsman Luo, you..." Fu Shun barely spoke before he had to shut his mouth immediately.

The dwarf kicked him. "There is no po-point in calling him!"

Then, he happily got into the carriage with a satisfied smile and left with his group. He also slipped a cotton cloth into Liu Li's mouth as she kept yelling at him. Liu Li almost bit her tongue out of anger. They were really at a disadvantage!

Over here, Luo Xuan fainted on the side of the road. Fu Shun’s feet and hands were tied with ropes so he could only jump over to him. He then realized that there was nothing else he could do but to stand guard until Luo Xuan woke up.