No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 17

For some reason, the sun was exceptionally hot today. Yang Lulong and the others had breakfast before they set off, but they walked straight into the scorching midday heat. After just a short while, everyone was already drenched in sweat. The men were fine; they could just take off their shirts and go shirtless to cool down. But Yang Lulong and the other woman couldn’t. All they could do was roll up their sleeves and fan themselves from time to time.

Because of the intense sun, their travel was much slower than expected. They were supposed to reach a small village before nightfall, but now they had no choice but to camp out in the wild.

The sun was about to set, and they quickly started a fire. The group sat around the bonfire.

Most of the escorts were Qian Yuan, with only one or two stronger Zhong Yong men. The conversation naturally turned to a certain topic.

“I heard that the Yixiang Pavilion got some new stock, and supposedly there’s a male Kun Ze.”

“Oh, I’ve never had a male Kun Ze before. I wonder what it’s like.”

“I heard they’re even tighter than the female ones and can take more punishment.”

“Then we have to go and give it a try?”

“If all of us go, do we have to take a number?”

“Why take a number? Good things should be shared by everyone, shouldn’t they?”

“Hahahahaha, you old pervert, you’re so good at thinking.”

They were saying vulgar things without any shame, and they even laughed about it as if it were a normal joke.

Yang Lulong sat there with a cold face, finding their foul language disgusting. She wished she had earplugs to block it all out.

Someone noticed that Yang Lulong wasn’t saying anything and called out to her, “Hey, kid, have you had your first time yet?”

She didn’t answer him, but someone else answered for her. “Look at her, she’s definitely a virgin.”

The person next to her took a closer look, and suddenly pointed at her and laughed. “Look, the kid’s face is red, hahahahahaha…”

Yang Lulong hated being stared at by so many people, and the constant laughter disgusted her even more. She lowered her head and didn’t say a word.

“Kid, let me tell you, a Qian Yuan can’t be shy, or else how are you going to take a Kun Ze?”

“Who knows? Being so shy might make you come too early. Don’t go crying when that happens.” The man said, acting out a sad face, which made the others laugh even more.

Feeling so offended, Yang Lulong stood up in a fit of anger and left the bonfire.

“Tch! The kid can’t take a joke.”

They didn’t care that Yang Lulong had left and continued their vulgar conversation.

Not far away, she saw a lonely figure. She hadn’t seen Master Ma by the bonfire, so it turned out she was here.

Yang Lulong walked over and sat down beside her.

“I’m sure they said something to offend you, right?” She knew what her men were like all too well. “I’m not their parents, so I can’t control them. Let me apologize on their behalf.”

“It’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize.” Even though she was upset, she knew it had nothing to do with Master Ma.

“Want a drink?” she said, handing a flask to Yang Lulong.

“No, thank you. I don’t drink.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to drink, Master Ma took another swig herself. The two of them quietly watched the sunset in the distance.

“Why do you need this money?” she suddenly asked Yang Lulong.

“For my wedding…”

Hearing her reason and remembering her sad face this morning, Master Ma smiled. “You came without her knowing?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve seen people risk their lives for survival money, but I’ve never seen anyone gamble their life for a wedding.” She took another sip of wine. “That person must be very important to you, right?”

“Yeah, very important.”

“In our line of work, there’s an unwritten rule: those who have a family can’t escort valuable goods. And those who have just married can’t go on a mission for a year, just in case they die unexpectedly. It’s too difficult to leave a family behind.”

“If it’s so dangerous, why do you do it?”

“It’s exciting.” Her reason confused Yang Lulong. “I hate being boring. I can’t live that kind of plain, ordinary life. Being tied down like that makes me feel trapped.”

The two of them were getting along well when one of the male bodyguards suddenly called out to Yang Lulong, “Hey, new kid, Master Ma said you’re a great archer. How about you shoot some game for us to have a feast?”

Their skin was thick. They had just insulted her, and now they were shamelessly asking her to get food for them.

Master Ma shook her head helplessly when she heard that. She put her flask away, stood up, and patted Yang Lulong on the shoulder. “Want to go for a walk?”

It was just supposed to be a casual stroll, but they found an unexpected surprise. Not far from where they were, they found another campsite.

Master Ma cautiously crouched down by the campfire to inspect it. The fire had just gone out, so the people had left not long ago. Unsure if it was a bandit camp, Master Ma quickly took Yang Lulong back.

Even though the others usually acted so laid-back, they all became serious in the face of this unknown danger. They were a completely different group from the ones who had been joking and saying vulgar things earlier.

Master Ma told everyone to pretend to be asleep to lure the people into a trap. She told Yang Lulong to hide and be on watch. If she saw anything unusual, she should give them a sign.

Just as Master Ma had guessed, under the moonlight, the group pretended to be sound asleep. They had set up camp at the foot of the mountain, and suddenly, a few lights appeared on the mountain.

Yang Lulong hid in the bushes, quietly watching the lights. There seemed to be about the same number of them as in the escort group, and there were a few archers among them.

When she saw the archers aiming their bows at the foot of the mountain, she knew something was wrong. She quickly drew her bow, and the arrow flew out, hitting one of the men.

The bandits were thrown into a panic when a random arrow took down their companion. While they were flustered, another arrow hit a second person.

Yang Lulong suddenly shouted, “They’re on the mountain!”

Everyone who had been pretending to sleep immediately got up and rushed up the mountain.

The remaining archer of the bandits immediately calmed himself down and drew his bow, ready to fight. But before he could release the arrow, he was shot down. Faced with a sudden attack, the bandits were in chaos. They had no strategy and just started fighting the escorts. With Yang Lulong helping them, she could easily hit a moving target.

The fight ended quickly. The escorts were victorious. The remaining few bandits, defeated, abandoned their wounded and fled. The only injury on the escort team was a Zhong Yong who was cut on the arm, but it wasn’t a deep wound, just a minor one.

Everyone cheered for their victory, and their impression of Yang Lulong changed drastically. They came over to praise her for a job well done.

After that night, the rest of the trip was safe. The group arrived at their destination and delivered the goods to the owner without a single scratch.

When their work was done, they went to a restaurant to have a feast to celebrate.

“Kid, that archery of yours is incredible.”

“I was in the middle of a fight, and an arrow just whooshed past my head and took out the bastard who was trying to sneak up on me.”

“You’re so daring, kid. If you had shaken just a little, that arrow would have been in my head.”

During the meal, everyone couldn’t stop praising Yang Lulong. Their attitude had changed so much that Yang Lulong was a little embarrassed.

After eating and drinking, it was time for some fun. They tried to get Yang Lulong to go with them to the Yixiang Pavilion, but she refused, saying she would just stay at the inn.

“Why are you so stubborn? We’re taking you out to see the world and have some fun. Do us a favor and come with us!”

They pushed and shoved Yang Lulong, but she resisted and tried to break free.

“If she doesn’t want to go, then don’t force her. If you’re late, all the pretty girls will be taken,” Master Ma said, stepping in to help Yang Lulong. When she said that, the others stopped pestering Yang Lulong.

“Fine. Your loss, kid.”

“Master Ma has a good temper. Pretty girls, here we come!”

Yang Lulong watched as they all crowded around Master Ma and walked toward the Yixiang Pavilion. She felt a little disappointed, thinking that Master Ma was the same as her and wasn’t one of “those” Qian Yuan.

But her intuition was right. Master Ma was indeed not a lustful person. The reason she went to the Yixiang Pavilion was for a specific person.

Years ago, she was a young, inexperienced escort, not yet a master. She was ambitious and competitive, and afraid of being looked down upon, so she went with the others to the Yixiang Pavilion for the first time. It was that night that she met her.

Unlike the other girls who were very experienced, this girl was just like Master Ma—it was their first time. Although their first experience was not very good and full of mishaps, it was that night that a sense of love began to grow between them. Every time she went on a mission, Master Ma would come to the Yixiang Pavilion to see her. In the blink of an eye, the young escort had become an experienced and respected master. After all this time, the two of them had already secretly fallen for each other, but neither of them had taken the last step. They had maintained their relationship just as it was until now. The escort master had thought about buying her freedom. She had even saved up the money, but an accident happened on a mission. They were ambushed, and the entire team suffered heavy casualties. Master Ma barely escaped with her life, and the gruesome scar on her face was proof. After that near-death experience, Master Ma hesitated. She calmed down and carefully considered her decision. To marry that girl would mean she would have to give up everything she had now. She couldn’t be an escort anymore. She didn’t want to give up her carefree life, which, though dangerous, was free. She wasn’t a down-to-earth person who could provide a stable life for others. The idea of getting married was no longer an option.

But what had to be faced would eventually come.

Inside a room at the Yixiang Pavilion, the scents of a Qian Yuan and a Kun Ze were intense. Under the peach-colored curtains, two naked bodies were intertwined.

A smaller body was nestled in the arms of the tall escort master.

She rested her head on the girl’s hair, which still had a faint scent.

“Young Master Fu Jin of the store… wants to buy my freedom to be his concubine…” The girl in her arms suddenly spoke. Her voice was soft and gentle, but her words stabbed Master Ma’s heart.

“…Mmm,” she said. It was supposed to be a sentence with a thousand words, but only one simple word came out.

“Tonight… is the last time we’ll see each other.”

“Mmm.”

“Do you… love me?” This was a question that should have been asked years ago, but it was far too late now.

Master Ma was silent. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to take her and fly far away. But after a long silence, all she could say was one final, resolute thing.

“I’m sorry… I can’t give you a stable life…”