Chapter 3: Before We Met
In the evening, they rested for the night before resuming their trip. They settled in one of the inns lined up on the outskirts of the capital.
Walking down the large staircase in the center of the inn was Shen Mohua with her grandma. On the first floor, where the dining area was, there were only two other tables taken.
She excitedly called the waiter over, "Six pork buns, three orders of cabbage wraps, and three bowls of noodles please."
When the food came, Shen Mohua could barely contained the saliva in her mouth. Everything looked delicious! Despite her hunger, she still forced herself to slowly mixed the bowl of noodles before diving in.
Thirty minutes later, the food on the table was gone. Most the work was done by Shen Mohua herself and Shi Yang, the young lad who drove the carriage. He was also a friend of the Shen family.
"A'mo, thanks for the food." Shi Yang said as he stood up.
Shen Mohua was happy with a full stomach. "Wait until we get to the capital, A'fai will treat us."
"Alright, I'll look forward to it. Rest well tonight." Shi Yang quickly left upstairs to his room.
Shen Mohua lazily yawned as she held Grandma Shen's arm. "Nainai, let's go sleep."
As the two women walked towards the stairs, the leader of the group next to them blocked their path.
He stood arrogantly as he pointed his sword at her neck. Once glance earlier, and it was obvious the jewelry was of high value. "Hand it over."
The necklace she had on was a silver chain with an outstanding blue pendant placed inside silver intricate carvings of a flower.
Shen Mohua cursed under her breath. On her first outing away from home, she had such horrible luck.
Staying as calm as possible, she still managed to shrug off his order somewhat carelessly. "Can't, it's not mine to give away."
The man laughed loudly in amusement before his eyes glared at her sharply. "Little girl, you're wearing the necklace and yet, you claim it's not yours? Do you take me for a fool?"
"It's really not mine." She really wanted to hit the annoying man. First, for trying to steal and second, for being a useless big head. The necklace really didn't belong to her.
In the corner, two young men witnessed the scene. The man in black robes became concerned and asked his friend, "Should we interfere?"
The other man finished the bun in his hand with leisure. He even drank his cup of wine before he answered simply, "Don't be rash."
Kong Yunru immediately understood and continued eating his plate of fried noodles.
Back to where Shen Mohua stood, the man tried to snatch her necklace away.
She had already predicted his move. When he reached over, she promptly aimed for his thigh. Her kick caught him off guard, forcing him to fall onto his knees. The impact of his knees banging the floor brought out a hiss of pain.
From the moment the man spoke of wanting the necklace, she knew he was at most a petty thief. The reason he carried a sword was to scare people away. His skills were at most a beginner's level.
He wasn't ambitious enough to be a murderer, but he wanted easy money.
"You said it's not yours, whose is it then?" The man stood up, this time with more caution towards the seemingly harmless woman he misjudged earlier.
Shen Mohua glanced at the shiny blue necklace came within her possession one year ago. "My fiancé."
Hearing her answer, one of the thief's friend came over. This man was bald and had a sticky smirk on his face.
In a taunting voice, he asked sarcastically, "This man you referred to as your fiancé, does he really exists? How can a man bear to let his beloved travel alone?"
His tasteless joke earned some snickers and laugh from their group of minions.
She rolled her eyes. "How is that any of your business?"
Bald Man was more annoying than Thief Man. She could see the lustful glint in his eyes. The clothes she had on wasn't showing skin, but she felt almost naked under his shameless stares.
Bald Man nodded to himself, feeling highly satisfied with the woman's appearance. It was rare for him to encounter such a beautiful woman in the countryside. "How about you spend a night with me? I can give you hundreds of treasures worth countless times than that rubbish of a necklace."
"If the owner is of no value, then what worth are the possessions?" Shen Mohua spat tauntingly, "Pure trash?"
"You!" Bald Man raised his hand, preparing to hit her. "Name it, who is your fiancé?"
Shen Mohua stood unmoving. There were two other customers, although the waiter had seemingly disappeared.
The door was about twenty steps away. There were five of them.
"What, you can no longer talk?" Bald Man smirked victoriously. He knew from the beginning she was lying.
Her eyes analyzed his hand. She was sure she could deliver a heavy blow before he could graze her skin.
Bald Man mistook her silence for contemplation. "Serve me well and you'll wake up a wealthy woman."
If her gaze was cold before, she was icy now. This perverted old man, how dare he looked at others so lowly?
The thought of ending him popped in her mind when Grandma Shen's shaking hand held tightly onto her arm. "Mohua, I'm scared..."
Shen Mohua calmed herself down. She couldn't afford to be violent in front of her grandma.
Bald Man saw the complexed look on her face.
Even if he hurt this woman today, the consequences wouldn't be high. At most, he would enjoy a blissful night with her first before dealing with anything else.
"Beauty, it's useless to wait for a fiancé that is nonexistent. Just come to me, I'll treat make sure to treat you well. Night and day, I'll treasure you more than gold..." Bald Man roared in laughter, fully satisfied with his imagination.
Unexpectedly, as he was laughing his head off, a bun flew straight into his mouth and shut him up right away-- almost choking him.
The force was so strong he lost control of his footing and fell back first onto the hard floor.
Bald Man spat the bun and along with it, came out blood and two teeth...
Shen Mohua's automatically stepped away. Her fingers clenched tightly onto the necklace.
She was afraid to lose it. After all, this was the only thing she had from him.
Her fiancé. She had never met him, but they were to wed.
Ou Junsan was his name.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone