Chapter 8 - Parting gift

The old man sighed and looked at Xuan Li Wei " This girl lost a lot of blood and her body is weak.

The wounds on her back are deep and her remaining skin is full of bruises. She need to rest here for a few days. It's better that you stay here. Moving her out of here is a bad option. "

" Sir, she and I are not related to each other. We just happened to meet each other. That's all to it. I request you to let her stay here till she recovers."

On hearing that they are not related the old man nodded " No problem. Both of them can stay here till they recover. After they wake up if they want to stay in this village, I will help them look for a house. If they want to leave, I will let them go. Is that ok?"

Xuan Li Wei pondered deeply and nodded " We will do as you say sir."

Though Xuan Li Wei agreed, deep in his heart he is actually afraid what will happen to her after he left. Xuan Li Wei is not aware that the worry in his heart is clearly reflected on his face.

On seeing his worried demeanor the old man laughed " Young man, don't worry so much about her. Under my care, she will be alright. You can be at ease."

Xuan Li Wei nodded his head but immediately froze ' Why am I so worried about her?'

' It must be because she fainted in my arms.. That's it!!' Xuan Li Wei assured himself.

A middle aged woman entered the room with a bowl of herbal paste and some cotton cloth. The old man said a few words to her and then looked at Xuan Li Wei.

" Young man, let's wait outside. My daughter in law will take care of her wounds."

Xuan Li Wei followed the old man.

After talking with the old man about their condition for a while, Xuan Li Wei handed him a pouch of gold. The old man refused but Xuan Li Wei persuaded him " Old sir, please accept this as a token of my gratitude." The old man accepted after some hesitation.

Xuan Li Wei realized that he needed to leave now but he hesitated in his heart. He then looked at the direction of the hut thinking deeply..

" Sir, after the girl wakes up give her this dagger" Xuan Li Wei handed his dagger to the old man. He also gave the old man some money and instructed him to give it to the girl later.

After handing the items to the old man, Xuan Li Wei mounted his horse " Sir, if the girl asks anything just tell her that the dagger is a parting gift from me and ask her not to think too much about the money. Life will be difficult without money if they want to live alone." He then galloped away from that place.

Meanwhile in the woods a heated debate is going on..

" I am telling you, the girl is definitely stronger than our master at that age" a loyal fan of Xia Lain declared.

" No, our general is more powerful than that little girl" another rebuked him.

" You idiots, both of them are strong. I feel that they should get married. Only a strong girl like that can qualify to be our general's wife." a couple-fan chirped in.

" Hmm.. in that way we can support the girl without feeling bad for our general." everyone sighed..

" It seems that you are all free to talk such nonsense. I think it's time to start special training for you bunch." a cold voice interrupted their lively discussion.

All the men froze on hearing their generals voice and even though he is wearing a veil they can imagine his darkened expression.

' We are dead meat. Our general is annoyed..' everyone secretly gulped.

His next words made these group of lively men to fall into despair " This time it will be for a month."

"..." Their general is such a bully ah!