RIN

"You"re willing to help us find my granddaughter?" Bai Han looked at Yun Suyin with disbelief.

"Yes. w.a.n.g Sun mentioned last night over dinner that you two were looking for someone. As another thank you for saving our lives, I have promised to help you find her."

Yun Suyin peeped at An Sun who was standing beside Bai Han. There was a slight flush on her cheeks as she lowered her gaze.

"And as long as it"s something w.a.n.g Sun wishes for me to do, I"ll try my hardest." She said bashfully.

While Elder Cai chuckled to himself, Bai Han"s expression turned sour. The lovesick girl was still as bold as ever.

"In that case, I sincerely thank you for your help." Bai Han bowed his head in thanks.

An Sun nodded in agreement. As if she hadn"t heard Bai Han"s words, Yun Suyin stared at An Sun with eyes overflowing with delight. Her heart could not help but flutter.

"Y-You"re welcome." She bowed her head shyly.

Bai Han was once again speechless by the girl"s infatuation for An Sun. He stole a glance at the young man who appeared to be unbothered by her love-filled gaze.

When An Sun sensed the old man"s stares, he cast a glance with an eyebrow raised. Bai Han snorted and looked away.

At that moment, Elder Cai walked up to the table and pulled out a map. "Now then, are there any places you believe your granddaughter might be?"

Bai Han and An Sun peered at the map and quickly noted the various villages they had traveled to.

"We"ve already looked through here, however, we planned on exploring the next three villages for her as well." Bai Han pointed to a certain area on the map.

After saying so, Elder Cai"s expression changed. When he saw where Bai Han was pointing to, a deep frown bore on his face as he stole a glance at Yun Suyin. She too revealed a concerned expression.

Since the atmosphere had turned so grave suddenly, An Sun and Bai Han were quick to notice their grim expressions.

The two men frowned.

"What"s wrong?" Bai Han immediately grew anxious.

Elder Cai glanced at Yun Suyin. She caught his gaze and nodded her head. With this, Elder Cai looked back at the two and opened his mouth to explain as slowly as possible.

"During our travels, we were informed by villagers that these areas had recently been overrun with bandits and traffickers. It was said they had killed all the men and taken the women from two villages already. To avoid endangering my master"s safety, I have avoided traveling there. If your granddaughter is taking refuge in these villages, she could be in danger."

The room fell silent. An Sun"s current expression was dark and grim. However, after heeding Elder Cai"s words, the expression on An Sun"s face turned even more grave.

Sitting in his seat, Bai Han abruptly sat up, resounding a loud clang from his chair. His eyes were wide in fury.

"What?!" Bai Han could not repress the alarm in his voice.

An Sun didn"t say anything. The storm on his face simply turned even darker. No one could see the dissatisfaction and resentment in his eyes. He remained as still as a statue.

Elder Cai and Yun Suyin were both surprised by his reaction. Bai Han"s cold gaze pierced through the old man as he waited for his response.

Yun Ting, who had been standing beside her sister, watched the scene unfold. Her eyes flickered, although she tried her best not to be fearful, she could not control her body"s light trembling. An Sun"s eyes landed on the pet.i.te girl and he quickly suppressed the anger he felt in his heart, maintaining his calm.

"That"s enough, let"s calm down for a moment." He placed a hand on Bai Han"s shoulder.

At this point, Bai Han was close to panicking, but An Sun"s indifferent voice oddly calmed him down. When he noted the startled expression on the other"s faces, he had realized his reaction was over the top. His body tensed before immediately relaxing.

"I apologize for my actions just now." Bai Han cleared his throat with a lowered head.

Elder Cai soothed his beating heart. He could understand the reason for his reaction. He was just a worried grandfather concerned for his granddaughter.

"It"s all right. I understand your reason for being upset." Elder Cai carefreely waved.

However, very quickly his expression turned serious.

"But if that is the case and your granddaughter is within one of these villages, I suggest finding her immediately."

An Sun nodded. "Then we should go there quickly."

The moment he finished speaking, Yun Suyin"s face looked startled.

"But w.a.n.g Sun, it"s dangerous there! You could be killed!" She said with widened, teary eyes of shock.

An Sun glanced at Yun Suyin and sighed. "Don"t worry, I can handle myself."

Besides, if Bai Rin was in danger, he wouldn"t hesitate to save her, just as she had done for him.

These thoughts, he kept to himself.

"w.a.n.g Sun…" Yun Suyin choked.

Bai Han watched the melodrama before him and resisted the urge to ram his head against the wall.

Give him a break!

…

It didn"t take long for Bai Han and An Sun to pack their belongings. Yun Suyin had given their horses plenty of food for their travel along with food for themselves.

When they had brought their horses" to leave, An Sun suddenly felt a small tug on his clothing. Looking down, he was met with a pair of wide, blinking eyes.

It was Yun Ting, Yun Suyin"s little sister.

He stared at the mute little girl silently. Her small white hands were clenched tightly around his robe, her head slightly bowed down.

From his keen vision, he could see her lips were puckered into a small pout. An Sun sighed. He reached a hand out and rubbed the little girl"s head.

As she hadn"t been expecting An Sun"s actions, the expression on Yun Ting"s little face was priceless. She immediately became fl.u.s.tered, but she managed to calm down very quickly.

However, her round, fleshy cheeks was tinted with a soft blush. An Sun could not help but let out a chuckle when he saw her fl.u.s.tered appearance.

"I"ll be safe." He rea.s.sured in his deep voice.

Yun Ting paused, her cheeks puffed out and she slowly nodded her head. An Sun smiled and suddenly felt a pat on his back. Glancing behind him, he saw Yun Suyin staring at him with pouting rosy lips.

"You"ll come back right?"

An Sun nodded. With this response, Yun Suyin"s expression brightened.

"Please be safe, w.a.n.g Sun. I hope you find her." She smiled.

An Sun chuckled and nodded his head. "Mm, I will."

He will find her.

As An Sun mounted his horse, the two locks of loose hair from his ponytail fluttered from the cold winds. He looked up at the blue skies. A moment later, he swerved his horse around to glance at Bai Han.

"Let"s go." His lips curled into a cunning smile.

Bai Han returned a grin of his own and laughed.

"Let"s go save that foolish girl."