Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 89: Brother Baijian

Xuebi, who had been standing at the doorway, could have fled. Wuyi had expected him to seek help, but the official was paralyzed with shock. Jin pushed Koli's lifeless body aside and freed his other wrist.

"Run!" Wuyi spoke to Xuebi, breaking the man's stupor.

Regaining his senses, Xuebi looked at Jin, his eyes shivering a bit. "If you go now, man of the Long Beast Tribe, I will not stop you," he spoke as an official of the Huo Clan.

Laughter echoed from the cells, but Jin didn't join in. He studied Xuebi, his eyes filled with an intensity that Wuyi could feel.

"I'll take my brothers with me," Jin declared, his voice a deep rumble. Xuebi considered this, then stepped back. "Young Master, here," he said, keeping his eyes on Jin.

Wuyi sighed and spoke to Xuebi, "Just leave. You don't need to protect me." After speaking to Xuebi, Wuyi turned to Jin.

"Brothers?" Wuyi questioned, scanning the cells but seeing no other weird-looking tribal faces. Xuebi did not move.

The tension in the room was palpable, a contest of wills between the slender Xuebi and the hulking Jin. Jin's muscular frame seemed to dwarf Xuebi's slender build, making it appear as a confrontation between a beast and a human.

After a few breaths, Jin gave a broad smile and looked away from Xuebi, tinged with pain as he felt his burns. "Once, I had many brothers. Now they are far away, maybe dead. But the heavens have given me new brothers, path brothers."

"Path brothers," Wuyi repeated, letting the words roll off his tongue.

"Kill them both, and let me out," came a voice from a cell to Wuyi's left, the door rattling as if a bull were worrying at it.

"You owe me your life, Jin," Wuyi stated.

"Yes," Jin agreed, snatching the keys from Koli's belt and stepping toward the cell on Wuyi's left. Wuyi moved with him, positioning Jin between himself and Xuebi.

"You owe me, Jin," Wuyi reiterated.

Jin paused, glancing at Xuebi. "Go with this official, boy."

"You'll give me a life for what you owe, or I'll take yours as forfeit," Wuyi declared.

Laughter erupted from the cells again, and this time Jin joined in. "Who do you want killed, Little Brother? We are a menace to society; you shouldn't associate with people like us," he said as he inserted the key into the lock.

"I'll tell you when the time comes," Wuyi responded. "I'm coming with you."

From the corner of his eye, Wuyi saw a cell door opening. Xuebi, hidden behind tables, spoke up. "You have no place with these men, Young Master. You can't imagine the life they lead. They don't have the answers you want." His voice was filled with intensity.

Wuyi had never seen an official who took bribes and cared so deeply.

A figure emerged from the cell, stooping to come through the doorway. He was enormous, dwarfing even Wuyi's biggest guard, Zheng, and the tribesmen of the mountain. The man moved quickly, like a rolling storm, and came up behind Xuebi.

"Young Master," Xuebi began, but his words were abruptly cut off when a massive arm swept him off his feet, sending him hurtling toward the wall. However, before he could collide with the wall, it was as if shadows moved magically to halt his momentum, preventing a harsh impact against the stone. Then, he was gently dropped to the ground

The Giant frowned.

Then, he towered over Wuyi, his hair hanging down like curtains. Wuyi was mesmerized by the sheer scale of the man; he was an absolute unit. As the giant reached for him, Wuyi did not attempt to evade. The giant's hand caught him, almost encircling his waist. He was lifted until he was face-to-face with the giant.

"Heavens, you're one hideous offense to the eye," Wuyi remarked, devoid of fear as he stared at the Giant. "I am surprised. It should be you who is executed tomorrow for having such a ghastly face. Why are you not being executed tomorrow?"

The Giant frowned again at Wuyi's words.

Even from the obscurity of the cells, the laughter that followed was hesitant.

Clearly, Brother Baijian, aka the giant, was not a man to mock. Irritation could be sensed from his face. He lifted Wuyi as if preparing to dash him against the stone floor, like one would an egg.

"No!" The voice came from Jin, who was now helping a youth out of another cell.

"No," Jin repeated, addressing Brother Baijian. "I owe him my life. And besides, without him, you'd still be in that cell, awaiting tomorrow's torments, if not death."

Brother Baijian looked at Wuyi with impersonal malice and dropped him as if he had ceased to exist.

"Let them all out," he growled.

Jin handed the keys to another man, whom he called Brother Jun, and then walked over to where Wuyi had landed. Nearby, Xuebi lay face down, slowly sitting up confused.

"The heavens sent you, boy, to free me from that table," Jin said, glancing at the torture rack and then at Xuebi. "You come with the brothers now. If we find the man you want dead, maybe I'll kill him."

Wuyi narrowed his eyes, his expression conveying a clear distaste for the uncertainty implied by "maybe."

He glanced at Xuebi and noticed the poor official was shell-shocked.

A ghost of guilt flickered within him; the poor official was trying to protect him.

Then it was quickly extinguished by the amusing thought that Xuebi would think twice before taking a bribe from another young master.

Wuyi went and helped him up. Then he looked sternly at Xuebi, and Xuebi felt something—an order, a command of high intensity directly coming from this young master—that filled his mind. No words were spoken, but Xuebi suddenly realized this young master was not just another young naive noble but a mysterious young man who might have mysterious noble bloodline powers.

He quietly got up and nodded.

Wuyi turned and walked toward Jin. Xuebi followed him quietly.