The Fragrant Wood Swordsman
pk 08 part 8

"Here you go, you're babysitting Lai Sek. I see she doesn't like being reminded of her bud."

"But you have to ask about his teacher, his party..."

The girl covered her sister's mouth with her delicate palm. "I'll do that, now drink this medicine first."

Ciang Bi had made a campfire and heated the medicine in the medicine bin from the land he had brought, the medicine and the place that Keng Hong had obtained before the criminals had come to raid.

Lai Sek was forced to take the bitter medicine and the bitter taste dissipated his lust so much that he began to close his eyes. His body was still tired so he had fallen asleep for a while.

Keng Hong came with some hot mangroves and a big jar filled with tea water that he bought from a hamlet not far from the rice field. He offered it to Ciang Bi and they ate without speaking, setting aside Lai Sek's portion so that the young man could eat when he woke up. Then the two sat by the fire.

"Thank God that your sister has recovered, Miss," Keng Hong said to break the gripping silence while looking at that beautiful face that was illuminated by the reddish glow of the bonfire.

"Thanks for your help, In-kong."

"Hope you don't call me In-kong or reachiap. My name is Cia Keng Hong and just call me big brother because of course I am older than you. I'm almost nineteen."

"You also hope not to mention miss. My name is Sim Ciang Bi and I'm eighteen, Twako."

Keng Hong smiled. "Alright, Bi-moi (brother of Bi). And please don't mention help anymore, you're making me feel ashamed."

"I'm just telling you the truth, Twako. You have helped us hate and sister, may I know which school you are from? Your science of intelligence is great." The girl looked with great awe, a genuine admiration and a fully imagined look at those sharp eyes, at that beautiful face.

Keng Hong took a deep breath. He is now quite full of what bitter experience it would be if people knew of him, knowing that he was a disciple of Sin-jiu Kiam-ong Sie Cun Hong, and above all, of Sin-jiu Kiam-ong, knowing that he is the heir to the sword of Siang-bhok-kiam is contested by all kang-ouw people because they think that the sword is the key to the repository of his master's relics. Therefore, now hearing this beautiful girl's statement, she was very reluctant to introduce her college to avoid any unwanted problems.

"Ahh, I'm not from any college, Bi-moi and I'd better not carry the name of my deceased teacher. My history is also not interesting, I am a kara, the house does not have. It's better to hear your story, Bi-moi, if you don't mind. Why are you and your brother hostile to them? Where are you staying and where are you going?"

"Twako, you're too humble. Someone with intelligence like you is certainly from a college and famous, or at least certainly a student of a very powerful. But if you keep it a secret, I will not dare to force it. About me. ahhh, me and my sister are just little disciples of Hoa-san-pai."

Also he remembered the story of his teacher's experiences of being infuriated by the Hoa-san-pai, which was because his teacher had stolen medicinal herbs and heirloom swords from Hoa-san-pai. Even then there was a female student Hoa-san-pai who was infatuated with Sin-jiu Kiam-ong and ran away with the mischievous swordsman! Recalling his teacher's words, inevitably Keng Hong smiled widely.

"Why are you laughing, Twako?"

"Ahh, it's okay, Bi-moi. Only I was excited that I had met the student Hoa-san-pai whom I had heard of his great name for a long time. Worth your swordsmanship is very beautiful and also very great!"

"Ihhh, what's so great?"

The girl looked on with admiration and did not hide any interest in her clear, parched eyes. "You are excellent cunning, you are kind and sweet of language, you are good at humbling yourself and now it turns out that you are good at commending people to please him."

"Wah-wah, who is good at praising this me or you?" Keng Hong laughed.

Seeing this young man laughing and revealing a row of white and strong teeth, the girl laughed as she said,

"We're both good at praising people. But is that wrong? Praising people means pleasing people, and I want to please you, Twako, even if it's a meaningless return."

"Already, Bi-moi. You better tell me why you and your sister are antagonizing them."

The girl took a deep breath. "Aahhh, it's all my fault, because I am the enmity, she said, then she told me.

The girl named Sim Ciang Bi and her sister, Sim Lai Sek is the son and daughter of a writer in the city of Liok-keng who is famous for being very good at making poetry and painting, and, it is known as Sim-siucai (the Sim writer). Because it has suffered a lot of misery due to war and unrest, where the intelligence of bun (literature) is not able to protect it, he said, Sim-siucai then took the two children to Hoa-san-pai to educate their two children with silat, because this Siucai argues that in the era of war and unrest, silat science is more useful than literature.

Thus, Ciang Bi who was then thirteen years old while Lai Sek was eleven years old last became a student of Hoa-san-pai. For five years they both studied silat.

After the leader of Hoa-san-pai felt that they already had enough intelligence to take care of themselves, what's more considering that Ciang Bi is already an eighteen-year-old adult girl and should have been in her own parents' house to later get married, the two sons of Hoa-san-pai were told to return to their homes.

By the time the two of them traveled to the hamlet of Ciang-cung, the beauty that always adorned the face of Ciang Bi then caused great business.