Lin Lin moved a hand, momentarily touched the young man's arm. "I know. You had to sell it to buy my scabbard and for meals and room rent, for travel expenses, right? Lion-ko, you are a good person.”
Bok Liong's heart throbbed with joy, but he pretended to snort. “Ah, just like that, what's there to talk about? Also, two people traveling with only one horse, how awkward. We both have been practicing sprinting since childhood, what for? If we want, we will not be defeated by the running of a horse.” They laughed and continued on their way while talking.
********************
Let's leave Lin Lin and Lie Bok Liong who are traveling at night to the king's city because Lin Lin can't wait to be able to meet the person who is considered his biggest enemy, namely Flute Gold. Let's now look at the situation of Sian Eng, the girl who experienced something very scary in her heart.
As mentioned earlier, Sian Eng had previously managed to escape from the secret place under the grave where Hek-giam-lo lived, namely when Hek-giam-lo was fighting with Siang-mou Sin-ni who came to raid to ask for help. return of confidential letters. But unfortunately for him. In a forest, while he was feeling relieved and thought he had escaped from the demon's clutches, suddenly the demon himself appeared in front of him. Hek-giam-lo was already there, as if he had come earlier and was waiting for his arrival.
He tried to attack, but what power could he have against the powerful Hek-giam-lo? In another second, he fainted and was carried by Hek-giam-lo, then he was carried away as fast as he could fly! This time the devil in disguise was extremely meticulous, never giving him the slightest chance to escape his scrutiny. Hek-giam-lo was extremely respectful to her, calling her princess, but alongside this respect was an undeniable coercion. Forcing Sian Eng to come with him and obey his every request.
Finally this girl understood that there was no way she could free herself again, so she also no longer tried. As long as this demon doesn't bother him and treats him with respect and kindness, he's willing to go along and see what happens next and where he's taken.
“Hek-giam-lo, I have stated many times that I am not a princess as you say. I'm she Kam, my name is Sian Eng. You see wrongly, so please don't disturb me, let me go.” Many times the girl tried with his persuasion as they walked through a lonely hill.
Hek-giam-lo was indeed quiet and he didn't talk much during the trip, even though he was very attentive to Sian Eng's needs and was never late to find food with respectful service. He answered many requests from Sian Eng only briefly, "Your majesty, our princess has indeed been taken in by General Kam since she was young." That was all he answered and then he didn't want to talk anymore.
Through a very fast journey, sometimes Hek-giam-lo picked him up and carried him away like he was flying after apologizing first, they headed to the northeast and one day they arrived in an area far from the city, an area full of very dense forests. wild. Then, in the middle of this area, they arrived at a village house with houses that looked new. This is the new village that was made the center of the Khitan tribe, located in a wild forest surrounded by groves between the mountains on the border of Manchuria!
You can imagine how amazed and fluttered Sian Eng's heart was when Hek-giam-lo screamed in a language he didn't understand, even more surprised when he saw the greeters dropping to their knees along the path they were walking on.
"Look, Princess, our people pay their respects to Your Majesty," said Hek-giam-lo, his tone happy.
Sian Eng saw rough people who were well-built and strong, women who were beautiful but simple, there were also dashing qualities in the women who knelt by the side of the road.
"Where are we going now, Hek-giam-lo?"
"Come to Your Majesty, Uncle Paduka."
"My uncle?" Sian Eng did not receive an answer, he was forced to follow Hek-giam-lo who was heading to a big house in the middle of the village.
In front of this big house there are many guards, men in war clothes who look dashing and strong, with spears in their hands and big machetes at their waists. They lined up neatly and gave an upright salute when Hek-giam-lo and Sian Eng passed by. Also inside the house, along the passage, was lined with bodyguards. May the inside of that big house that looks simple from the outside, be very luxurious inside. Small flags fluttered everywhere, various colors. When they got to the inner room, the guards changed, now they were women who were beautiful and dashing with sharp eyes! But both the male and female troops all seemed to be very afraid and respected Hek-giam-lo.
Through the reporting of a guard who was like a giantess, big and fierce, they were allowed to enter a large room where waiting for a handsome man beautifully dressed, seated on a chair or throne made of ivory. This man was about forty years old, handsome face with sharp eyes.
Hek-giam-lo who led Sian Eng in, said briefly, "Mistress, please pay respects to Your Majesty, Uncle Paduka." He himself then dropped to his knees and heard a loud voice.
"Servant come to face. With the blessings of Your Majesty, I managed to get the Princess who is now joining Her Majesty."
The man turned out to be the King of the Khitan tribe named Kubuk. He looked at Sian Eng's face with concern. Sian Eng who did not want to kneel thought that this handsome king would be angry because he did not want to pay his respects, but I don't think so. The king looked at her with insolent eyes, then laughed heartily and spoke to her in fluent Han.
"Miss, come closer, let me check carefully whether you are really my niece or fake."
Sian Eng stepped forward until he was close to the king and said, “Hek-giam-lo knows that I am not your nephew. I've told him many times but he was desperate to bring me here. Whoever you are, hope you play cheap and let me go.”
The king looked again intently, then laughed once more. From his mouth emitted the strong smell of wine. “Ha-ha-ha, everyone claims to be my nephew, ha-ha. How I wish I could hug my niece, to feel her smooth neck. Good thing you're not my niece Miss, you're quite a beauty. Ha-ha, luckily...!” Sian Eng was very surprised and he was already horrified when the king's two hairy arms moved to touch him.
However, at that time Hek-giam-lo said in Khitan language which Siang Eng did not understand, “Sri Sire, this time there can be no mistake. He is General Kam's son. Unfortunately, General Kam himself was already dead when I got there. I heard that her children were going to the king's city, so I investigated and caught her daughter. Without a doubt, she is the late Princess Tayami's daughter."
“Hek-giam-lo, what made you so sure that he is really my nephew? Two girls had already been brought in and the officers who had brought them swore that they were my nieces. But it wasn't. You can see them. Even if those two of them are much better suited to be the nieces I've been looking for than this girl, they're not my nieces after all!”
The king signaled with clapping and soon two girls were led inside. Two beautiful girls, but their faces were pale and on both smooth cheeks, there were traces of tears. They stood before the king and bowed their heads.
“Ha-ha-ha, these are my nephews? But even if it wasn't, their arrival somewhat pleased me, even if only for a few nights. Hek-giam-lo, this girl you brought is not Big Brother Tyami's daughter.”
“But Your Majesty...”
"You want proof? Look, when I was a baby, I saw my nephew once. On its back there is a red mark. Let's check it out together!” He made a sign and suddenly Hek-giam-lo moved his hand. Suddenly he had wielded his great weapon, that very sharp crooked scythe.
The sparkling light flashed, Sian Eng screamed in horror because he felt how his body was trapped by the sparkling light. Then, he almost fainted when he realized that his clothes had been flying to the right and left by the light and a few seconds later he was completely naked!
You can imagine how embarrassed and angry Sian Eng was. He wanted to be reckless and lunge for his life, but the shame of his naked state made him lose his strength, instead he fell to his knees and half lay on the floor to hide his body. Of course, by doing so, his back was clearly visible and the king and Hek-giam-lo could clearly see the pure white skin of his back without the slightest blemish!
“Ha-ha-ha-ha, you see, Hek-giam-lo? He's not my nephew, dear thousand times dear. But it's not bad, she's pretty cute!”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Servant has been careless.” Hek-giam-lo said, his voice trembling with regret.
"It's okay, you look again. This girl will definitely please me. Uh, Miss, you stand up.”
Sian Eng was very surprised when he felt how his shoulders were being touched by the person who was trying to pull him up. He raised his head to look and presumably it was the king who had descended from the throne to wake him up, his eyes shining with lust. So horrified, embarrassed, and angry, Sian Eng can't remember anything else. Like a tigress, she leaped up and lunged forward, beating with both hands the king's chest and belly!
But suddenly his body bounced to the side, collapsing against the wall. The king himself turned white and staggered back three paces. He would have almost been in trouble if Hek-giam-lo had not been there to help him quickly. Anger is not playing. His desire to make fun of Sian Eng disappeared, replaced by an overflowing hatred.
“Hek-giam-lo, I'll leave him to you. Punish him, as well as these two fake princesses. I'm sick of them. Bury them alive, make a spectacle, let my people see and have the opportunity to insult those who annoy the king's heart!” After saying this, the king snorted angrily, then went into his room, accompanied by beautiful ladies and young ladies.
Sian Eng had woken up again and quickly grabbed his clothes which were torn into several pieces. She wrapped herself in it as much as she could and luckily the clothes were made of wide and long cloth so that even though they were torn, they were still enough to cover her naked body.
However, Hek-giam-lo did not give him another chance. With a terrible scream, this demon moved and suddenly he had caught Sian Eng and the two pale girls, carried the three of them like a person carrying three chickens, then took a big step out of the building.
It was a moonlit night, but outside the village, at the edge of the forest, things were very scary. What's more if one looks to the left, where there is an open space and the moonlight shines directly unobstructed onto the ground. That person would definitely shudder at what appeared there.
Three people's heads are above the ground. The heads of three surviving women! The two of them were the heads of two beautiful women with pale faces and they could be heard crying sobbing with tears streaming down their cheeks. However, the head on the left, Sian Eng's head, even though it looked a bit pale too, was not crying at all, instead a pair of eyes were shining with anger.
Hek-giam-lo's actions were indeed great and terrible, the devil man who obeyed his king's orders. He dug three narrow and deep holes, put the three captive girls into the well and buried them up to their necks. The entire bodies of the three girls were not visible, only their heads up to their necks protruding from the ground. Then this demon put his flag on a tree near that place. With this sign, no human in the village dared to try to help these unfortunate girls. Who dares to go against the Black Skeleton who is the king's right-hand man?
After Hek-giam-lo left, Sian Eng thought. He recalled the Khitan King's words to him and he remembered Lin Lin. His younger brother was not the biological child of his mother's father, but an adopted child. His father never talked about Lin Lin's parents, but his foster sister had a very strange temper. When he had seen the bodyguards and ladies in the palace of the Khitan King, how much did Lin Lin have in common with those women. Especially the eyelashes and nose. His heart was pounding. Hek-giam-lo might be wrong, thinking he is Lin Lin. And most likely Hek-giam-lo guessed that Lin Lin was the king's niece. Is this true?
The cries of the two girls in front and behind him disturbed him from his reverie. He looked and feeling pity filled his heart to see the two heads who were helpless and sobbing, completely forgetting that his own condition was no different from the two of them. He knew that he and they would face a horrible and miserable death. Buried up to the neck and left to die. Perhaps tomorrow he will receive humiliation from his tormentors before starving to death.
Suddenly there was a roar from far away. The two girls cried even louder and Sian Eng himself shuddered. Unmistakably, that's the sound of a tiger roaring from the forest. What if the king of the jungle came and attacked them? With only his head on the ground, Sian Eng could imagine how the tiger would eat their heads at will without them being able to retaliate or escape. Which of the three of them will be eaten by the tiger first?
“Hu-hu-huk, Father... Mother... please...!” The girl behind Sian Eng screamed.
"I... I... am afraid... O God, please take my soul...!" The beautiful girl next to Sian Eng was complaining and crying.
Sian Eng frowned, full of compassion. He didn't blame the two girls. Of course they were scared. They were ordinary weak girls. Oh, how miserable it is to die in such a state of fear.
"Both of you, calm your hearts. Humans live only to face death which will surely come at any time, sooner or later. Why be afraid? Dying is normal, all humans will die, it's just time, you see.”
The two girls looked at him, amazed to see that Sian Eng wasn't crying at all and didn't look scared at all.
“I... I'm not afraid to die... I... I'd rather die. What I'm afraid of is this horror and... and humiliation... ah, I'd rather die, but don't... don't die from being eaten by a tiger...,” said the girl in front of him sobbing.
"Before life leaves the body, one should not despair," said Sian Eng. "Both of you, please calm down, if it's not time for us to die, believe me, we won't die. When it's time to die, ah, let alone being as old as us, even children could die."
Sian Eng's entertainment and words that came out in a voice full of fortitude turned out to have results too. The two girls stopped crying and oddly enough, the roars of wild beasts from deep in the forest were not heard again. This opportunity was used by Sian Eng to invite the two 'suffering' friends to have a conversation.
From them he obtained information that like him, the two people had been kidnapped by Khitan figures because they were mistaken for princesses! However, when they arrived in front of the king, they were stripped naked and their backs examined, because it was said that the princess had red marks on her back. Of course, like Sian Eng, they do not have such a sign because they are not daughters of Khitan. Then, with tears in their eyes, the two girls told how for three days they had been played by the cruel king.
Sian Eng became hot hearted. The soul of the warrior in his heart was turbulent. If only he had the chance, of course he would have killed the Khitan King. He couldn't say much about the suffering of the two girls. But at least their conversation was also enough entertainment to spend this terrible night. Of course they had not been able to sleep a minute all night and before morning, remembering that the tormentors would surely end their lives with these heinous torments, the two girls started crying again. Sian Eng could no longer entertain them. This girl made up her mind that if she was given the chance to break free from that grave even once, she would rage to death!
There was the sound of hooves from afar, getting closer and closer. The two women looked at Sian Eng and their tears streamed down.
"Sian Eng's sister, goodbye...," said the girl in front of Sian Eng.
"Hopefully death will come to pick me up soon...," said the girl behind Sian Eng, welcoming the words of the girl in front.
Sian Eng was touched, but he forced himself to smile, “Sir, if one of us dies, of course the two will die too. How can you say goodbye? We will never be apart I think, will die together. Isn't that great fun? We will always have friends, even in nature."
The hooves were very close, coming from behind them. The three girls could turn left and right, but of course it was impossible to look back, because their bodies which were buried in the ground could not be moved at all. Therefore, even though their hearts were eager, they couldn't look at it and didn't know who this horseman who had come was.
Soon a big, strong horse galloped and stopped near them. A man dressed in all black jumped down. The two girls only glanced at each other for a moment and then immediately closed their eyes and started crying again. This person's clothes were the same as the Dark Demon, terrifying.
However, Sian Eng turned his head to the left and looked at her with sharp eyes and wrinkled forehead. His blood was throbbing, his heart pounding, making him feel very tight in his chest. The Black Cloak was not Hek-giam-lo at all, but a young man who had a very dashing, handsome face and had a pair of glazed eyes under the protection of a pair of thick, black, long, wavy eyebrows. A handsome and tall man.
What made Sian Eng's heart flutter erratically was the black robe, which reminded him of the man he had once seen. His back was in a black robe and his hat, a student hat that had two tails, namely a black rope that waved downwards. And the picture on the shirt on that chest. Gold flute! Woe, he thought. Presumably the big enemy of his mother's father who came here? People who have killed his mother and father, of course, have bad intentions towards him.
And that person ever since he jumped down from his horse, kept looking at him with sharp eyes full of inquiry! But the man immediately jumped close, his hand pulling out a long shiny yellow object. A flute! Without a doubt, he is a golden flute, because what else is he holding if not a flute made of gold?
With fast movements he approached Sian Eng, a yellow light flashed and in a moment the land around Sian Eng was exposed. After Sian Eng was able to free his hands, he pressed the ground at the sides and struggled, continuing to jump up, completely not remembering that his clothes were disorganized because they were torn and he only wore them to cover his body. As soon as he jumped and stood up, only then did he see his state, so he quickly moved his arms to cover his chest!
The young man swore, "Damn...!"
Quickly he opened his wide black robe, threw it towards Sian Eng. The cloth of the robe hit Sian Eng perfectly and covered him from neck to toe! Now Sian Eng stood dumbfounded, looking at the young man who now looked more manly in white concise underwear. However, the man without looking back was already working on his flute, unloading it from digging the ground to free the two girls. Again he swore because the two girls were put into the well almost completely naked.
"What a devil!" he swore and with exasperation he tore the large flag cloth marked Hek-giam-lo, tore it in half and handed it to the two girls who were very grateful and continued to carry the torn black cloth over their bodies.
“Quickly, you get on this horse and quickly go. It's very dangerous out here." He turned to Sian Eng, smiled slightly and said, "Miss, you are the strongest among the three of you, you are in front and quickly run this horse out of Khitan territory."
Since earlier, Sian Eng just stared, not knowing what to do. “You… you… Golden flute…?” Finally he could also say the words.
That handsome face and glazed eyes turned a little somber, but he nodded. "This is not the time to be chatting, hurrying and leaving is better," he said.
But at that moment there was a scream of horror and the two girls fell over. The black cloth that covered their bodies was opened and... the pure white skin of the body had now turned black, their eyes widened and their lips which were fresh red were now dry and blue!
“Ah, how stupid I am...!” The golden flute took a deep breath.
"Uhh, what are they?" Sian Eng exclaimed, dismayed and horrified.
The golden flute pointed at the torn black cloth marked Hek-giam-lo. “That cloth contains an evil poison. They're dead. It seems better that way. Well, let's go.”
Sian Eng didn't have time to answer, let alone argue, because all of a sudden his hand had been grabbed and kicked. The jolt was so strong that it was unbearable for him and his body flew onto the horse's back! In the next second, the horse had run very fast and Golden Flute was sitting behind Sian Eng.
"But... their corpses...?" Sian Eng shouted while looking at the corpses of two girls with the same fate lying on the ground and abandoned.
"They are dead, what to do with it?" replied the golden flute indifferently and he uttered strange words from his mouth to the horse which neighed loudly then raced as if flying fast.
Sian Eng's heart is abysmal. Indeed he has escaped from the threat of death at the hands of the Khitan people, death is very terrible. But he escaped the danger of the one falling into the hands of the other. He has now fallen into the hands of the Golden Flute! What is the will of this strange person? His attitude is suspicious, his character is also strange. There are times when he seems kind and helpful, but at other times he can be hard-hearted and cruel. The bodies of the two girls were left like that!
He wished he could see the face of the Golden Flute, but he sat in the front and the man sat in the back. He was at least relieved that Gold Flute didn't seem like such a fussy man. There is no evidence to suggest his dirty disposition towards women. Even now they sat together on the horse's back, but the Golden Flute sat a little far back so that it didn't touch him. If only the man's two hands were not visible on either side holding the reins of the horse, surely he would have thought that the Golden Flute was no longer behind him.
When he was kidnapped by Hek-giam-lo and taken to the north, Sian Eng experienced a very strange journey, with Hek-giam-lo as his servant and supervisor who rarely made a sound, with a purpose that was still a secret to him. Now on his way back to the south with Flute Gold, Sian Eng has a strange journey too. Like Hek-giam-lo, this character rarely opens his mouth. Even though that handsome face always looks sad and gloomy, imagining something terrible for Sian Eng is no less scary than the face of Hek-giam-lo, the face of that skeleton demon. How could it not be horrified and scary to see this person just silent, never looked at him, never spoke, in short, never anything like a living statue!