The group was just about to depart when a falcon suddenly flew down and went around Lin Xiao. “Oh, its you again,” Lin Xiao said as he held out his arm and the bird landed on it carefully. “It’s been a while since your last visit. Where have you been?” Lin Xiao asked.

Few years ago, this falcon came to them and for some reason, it was very tame. It even liked to play with Lin Xiao. But the bird doesn’t stay for a long time. It would stay for a month before leaving, only to return few months later. This continues for a while and even now, it still managed to find Lin Xiao even though he’s not in the cave.

“We’re going to the capital today. Are you going to follow?” Lin Xiao asked the falcon who only screeches before it flew up and rests on the top of the carriage. “Well, alright then,” Lin Xiao said with a smile.

“Brother Lin, are you done? We should really depart now. There’s this path towards the capital that had been overrun by wolves recently. If possible, I wish to go past that path before nighttime. If not, we will have to camp before going there but the journey will be delayed by a day,” Ruo An informed.

“Ah, alright! We’ll depart now!” Lin Xiao said as he went to the front of the wagon to act as the coachman.

At the beginning, their journey was smooth and with the protection of the White Swan, they never had any trouble. Even bandits decided to steer away from them. But unfortunately, there was a group of merchants that was attacked by bandits and Lin Xiao’s group was just going through the same path.

The guards the merchants had hired struggled to keep up with the bandits’ assault. There was only one path forward so in the end, some of the White Swan members decided to help, while the rest kept guard.

“Xiao-er, what’s wrong? Is it bandit attack?” Long YinLian who were resting in the wagon asked Lin Xiao.

“En. There’s a merchant’s caravan before us that is being attacked by bandits. Don’t worry, the White Swan is already working on subduing the bandits,” Lin Xiao replied as he watched the battle before him.

Long YinLian who were resting inside the wagon then remembered that Lin Xiao do not have a weapon of his own other than a small dagger that was bought for him two years ago. “Xiao-er, come here,” Long YinLian called for Lin Xiao. He felt the wagon shifts and soon, he could sense the younger male nearby. “Here, take this,” Long YinLian gave his sword over to Lin Xiao. “And go help them with the bandits. Remember to be careful.”

“Shizun, if you want me to help them, I can just use the dagger,” Lin Xiao eyed the sword in Long YinLian’s hand. He knew how important this sword is to the other. After all, he always sees Long YinLian clean the blade with utmost care every night.

“It’s alright. Just take it and go. The faster the bandits are subdued, the better it is for us,” Long YinLian reasoned. “Also, a sword’s reach is farther than a dagger. Just listen to your master and take it.”

Lin Xiao wasn’t left with any leeway to reject it, so he took the sword in a carful manner. “I will return this soon,” Lin Xiao said before he left the wagon. Outside, he saw that the number of bandits are decreasing, but they still outnumbered them.

After telling the White Swan member who stays guard to keep watch on the wagon, he walked forward to join the battle. He had never used the sword before, but in just few swings, Lin Xiao was able to get used to it. The sword fits in his hand comfortably, as if it was made solely for him.

‘Whoever the craftsman is, they are very talented,’ Lin Xiao thought as he continued to cut down the bandits. Not only was the sword easy to wield, the blade was also sharp. They cleanly cut into the bandit’s flesh. Time goes by and the bandits was finally subdued. Some of them escaped when they noticed that they were losing while the rest were either dead, or heavily injured.

Lin Xiao glanced around the area and then turned to Ruo An. “Kill them and deal with the corpse quickly,” Lin Xiao said as he cleaned the blade off the blood that was staining it.

“Brother Lin, about the one that are still alive, can we just bring them along? If we hand them over to the Mercenary guild…” Ruo An tried to talk over Lin Xiao about killing them. After all, there are rewards for any bandits caught. Of course, the leaders would pack more rewards alive. Unfortunately, the leaders had escaped earlier.

“They are heavily injured; do you think they can survive?” Lin Xiao asked Ruo An.

“There is a village nearby, and if we go there quickly, we’ll be able to hand them over before they drew their last. Or if you’d like, I can send some of my people to get them to the Mercenary guild and they can just catch up to us later,” Ruo An replied.

Lin Xiao thought for a while before he glanced over at the wagon and the carriage. Then, he looked up at the sky, trying to determine the position of the sun. “It is almost time for lunch. Let us just go to the village then. We’ll have our lunch there,” Lin Xiao finally said after a while.

Just as he said it, the merchant who owned the caravan approached him, escorted by the guards he hired. Lin Xiao frowned as he stared at the merchant, not liking the vibe he’s getting. “Brother Ruo, I’ll leave this merchant to you. I’ll go and see Shizun to inform him of our change of plan,” Lin Xiao said as he walked away.

“Wait, wait… This young lord, please wait,” the merchant saw that Lin Xiao was about to walk away and he quickly called out to Lin Xiao to stop him. “Please, young lord, can you tell me where you are going? Are you going to the capital? If so, can I tag along?”

“Tag along? Why should I let you?” Lin Xiao asked back. Having a merchant’s caravan with them is simply like signaling the bandits to come over and loot them. It will only bring them nothing but trouble.

“Young lord, please! I can pay! Just let me tag along! I-… at the very least, can you just take my daughter to the capital?” the merchant tried to compromise. But Lin Xiao simply ignored him.

When Lin Xiao reached the wagon, the merchant was still following him. Even the price he’s offering is getting higher and higher. It was unfortunate that Lin Xiao does not want to let them tag along.

Long YinLian had heard the ruckus outside, and he heard what the merchant was saying. He lifted the sheet covering the wagon slightly and peeked his head up. “Xiao-er, what’s wrong?”

“Shi-“

“Lord! Please help this poor merchant. Please allow me and my caravan to tag along,” before Lin Xiao could even say anything, the merchant quickly cut him off and begged Long YinLian. He figured that since the other addressed Lin Xiao with a term of endearment, that means this person is the most probably the one with most authority.

“Are you also going to the capital?” Long YinLian asked.

“Yes, yes, yes! Please, lord! After the bandits attack earlier, the guards I hired are mostly injured and I don’t think it is safe for us to travel alone…” the merchant replied.

“Since the destination is the same, you can tag along,” Long YinLian said before turning to Lin Xiao. “Xiao-er, make sure you help the gentleman properly, alright?”

“I-…” Lin Xiao just stared at Long YinLian for a while before letting out a heavy sigh. He should’ve known that Long YinLian will agree to help the merchant since that was his nature. “Alright. But we’re going to the nearby village first. Brother Ruo said he wanted to hand the bandits who are still alive to the Mercenary guild and since we’re there, we’ll also have lunch there,” Lin Xiao informed the older male.

“That’s good. Go and inform Miss Fei too,” Long YinLian said before he went back to the wagon.

Lin Xiao turned to the merchant with a dissatisfied expression on his face. “You’re lucky. Go and prepare your caravan. You heard what I said earlier. We are going to the village first,” Lin Xiao said before he went to the carriage where Fei YuXing is. After informing her of the small change, he returned to the wagon, but he saw the merchant was still standing around. “Do you need anything else?”

The merchant looked a bit nervous, but he still decided to speak to Lin Xiao. “Young lord, I am called Ping Jianyu. When we arrived at the capital, I will make sure to reward you properly! Also, I noticed that you have the White Swan as your escort so, when we arrive, I’ll compensate you too!”

“Very well. We’ll talk more about it once we arrive at the capital. For now, just go and prepare your caravan to move. We’ll depart as soon as the White Swan has finished dealing with the corpse.”

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A/N: If you guys like the story so far, you can read more at: https://tapas.io/series/The-Emperor-and-His-Thief

I update more regularly there (actually, still once a week. But because of an event from before, they received more chapter release than here so it is more advanced there).

Of course, I will still update here. Everything are still scheduled until January.