Because I Cannot Hurt You

"I don't think we should waste more time with her…" The one on the right whispered. "Hm. She is not listening to us."

"At this rate, somebody would definitely come," the man on the right said.

Caihong knew their whispering couldn't be any good news.

They must be planning to grab me by force, she feared.

She smiled and quickly said, "Thank you for your concern, but I have to leave now."

She turned, but the bandits quickly blocked her way. "Where are you going, Mam? You are so rude. We are helping you here and you are repeatedly refusing to take it."

She froze. Her chest tightened in angst and horror. "P-please you are bothering me now…"

The bandit at the center turned cold. "Bothering? You should be seriously taught a lesson. Always rejecting our help even though we are so kind."

Caihong clenched her fingers into a fist. There was no use talking now. She had to run away. She took a step back but she yelped as pain shot in her ankle. She stumbled and fell.

The bandits widened their eyes. They burst into laughter. "Hahaha. Seems you are hurt. You cannot even walk."

"Now you definitely need our help."

They walked towards her, making her shudder. "D-Don't come near me. I don't need your help. Please leave!"

The man at the left said, "How can we leave a beautiful woman like you in pain and distress?"

"It's our duty to help you."

They eyed her and disgustingly smiled with their intentions clear for her. Her lips trembled as she saw them approach her.

"H-help! Somebody, please help!"

They laughed out loud. "Nobody is gonna come here."

Caihong quickly looked for something that would help her. She clenched her palm and felt the soil in it. She got an idea.

As the bandits inched closer and were going to grab her, she clutched a fistful of mud and suddenly splashed it onto their faces. 

"Ahhh! My eyes!"

They shut their eyes as mud entered their eyes and irritated their irises. Caihong quickly got up, taking the chance. Once again, a sharp pain shot in her leg and tears escaped her eyes. It was too much to bear, but this was better than getting into their hands.

Stumblingly, she ran away with all her might. The bandits cursed her. She ran and ran and hid behind a big tree. Sweat trickled down her forehead. She breathed heavily, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Find that woman right now!"

As soon as their vision cleared, the bandits chased after her. 

"She cannot go that far with her hurt foot! She must be near! She is hiding somewhere."

The other two nodded and followed his orders. They looked everywhere for her.

Hiding behind a big tree, Caihong tried not to make any sound. She covered her mouth and did not let them hear the sound of her breathing. She trembled and tears streamed down her cheeks. In this huge and dense forest, she was completely alone and helpless and hurt. 

Please... please don't let them catch me…

The bandits were carefully searching every nook and corner. The leader narrowed his eyes. There were too many places where a small and thin woman like her could easily hide. It would take a while to find her and she might escape through some other route.

He signaled the other two and they nodded. "Seems like she is not here. Maybe she went the other way. Let's quickly go!"

From behind the tree, Caihong heard their steps fading away into the distance. She listened in to any faint sound but there was nothing. 

They left…

She finally let out her breath and gasped hard. She stayed at her spot for five minutes to make sure that she was safe. Only then did she slowly peek out. She didn't see anybody and relief washed over her.

I have to quickly head back to the camp!

Caihong stepped out of her hiding and walked out. Just then, she heard a snicker. "There you are."

She froze. She stood rooted to her spot. The bandits laughed at her. "We found you."

She slowly turned in horror and all the color drained from her face.

Over…it's all over…

The man at the center gnashed his jaw. "You dare throw mud at our faces! We will show you what we can do now. You will pay for this."

The other two shouted. "Now you are dead!"

Caihong lost her strength. With her hurt ankle, she had no more energy to run away from them. The leader took a threatening step towards her and grabbed her arm. "Come with us!"

"No…No!!" She cried. "Let me go!"

"Shut up!" He raised his hand to slap her and she shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.

But it never came.

Her teary eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes. Her irises widened as she saw Xiaosi crushing the bandit's wrist with an extremely vicious fury visible in his black orbs. His gaze was so cold that even the Arctic couldn't rival. He looked so bloodthirsty as if he would end their lives this instant.

He clenched his jaw and as his teeth gritted hard with an angry vein popping on his head, he menacingly enounced each word.

"What the hell do you think you are doing to my wife?"

---

As soon as Zhiyuan jumped into the water, the current made him fall across the waterfall just like it did to Xinyi. He was in the air for a few seconds before he landed inside a small lake with a loud splash. It took a few moments to regain his equilibrium and he swam upwards. His head popped out of the water and he took a sharp and loud breath. 

"Xinyi!"

He looked around and realized that he was in the main water body where the big waterfall finally ended. 

"Xinyi!"

Zhiyuan frantically looked around, but he didn't see her at the surface anywhere. He paled at the thought of her drowning and suffocating.

Xinyi...