Legend of the Dragon Cultivator

1 Strange Helper

That morning, the sky was still grey when the horse-drawn carriage carrying Souw Liancu entered a quiet path. The nineteen-year-old girl sat restlessly in the carriage, her fingers clutching the end of a light blue silk scarf wrapped around her neck. Beside her, Tan Peklong, the young man assigned by her father to accompany her, kept a watchful eye on their surroundings.

"Miss, I think we need to be careful. This road is too quiet," said Tan Peklong with concern.

Souw Liancu nodded slowly. She knew that the journey to the Perguruan Tangan Sakti would not be easy. As the daughter of the Minister of Culture, who was highly respected and loved by the people, her father had many political enemies who were jealous of his position and influence. Several times, death threats had reached their residence, and that was why her father had decided to send her to the Sakti Hand Academy, a place considered the safest to learn martial arts and take refuge from her father's political enemies.

The carriage continued to drive through the dense trees that lined the path. The sound of horses' hooves and the friction of the carriage wheels on the rocky ground were the only sounds to be heard. Suddenly, a crow flew out of the bushes with a loud, startling cry. Their horses neighed and stopped abruptly.

"What's going on?" asked Souw Liancu as she opened the carriage curtain.

Before Tan Peklong could answer, several figures dressed in black appeared from behind the trees. They moved quickly, surrounding the carriage from all sides. Souw Liancu felt her blood run cold. This was the thing she feared most.

"Get out of the carriage, Miss Souw!" shouted one of them, his voice harsh and threatening. "We won't hurt you if you come with us quietly."

Tan Peklong immediately jumped out of the carriage, drawing his sword. "You'll have to get past my dead body first!"

A fight broke out. Tan Peklong moved swiftly, his sword dancing in the air as he faced three attackers at once. However, there were too many enemies, about ten of them, and they all appeared to be well trained. Souw Liancu, even though she had learned the basics of martial arts, knew that her skills were far from sufficient to face these professional assassins.

One attacker managed to get past Tan Peklong's defence and jumped towards the carriage. Souw Liancu screamed, trying to dodge, but her hand was roughly grabbed. She struggled, kicking with all her might, but the man's grip was too strong.

"Let me go!" Souw Liancu screamed in panic.

In the distance, Tan Peklong shouted in frustration. He was wounded in several places, blood flowing from his temple, but he still tried to break through to save Souw Liancu. Unfortunately, five attackers blocked his way with a tight formation.

The man who had captured Souw Liancu grinned cruelly. He raised his sword high, ready to bring it down on the girl's neck. Souw Liancu closed her eyes, her heart praying desperately.

But the sword never swung down.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Souw Liancu's eyes flew open and she saw the man who had captured her thrown several metres backwards, hitting a tree so hard that he didn't move anymore. Standing in front of her was a man with long hair that fell to the middle of his back. His black hair glistened in the morning sun that was beginning to break through the clouds.

However, Souw Liancu could not see his face because the man had his back to her, standing as a barrier between her and the remaining attackers.

"Who are you?" snapped one of the attackers, his voice trembling. Even from the tone of his voice, it was clear that they could sense the powerful aura emanating from the long-haired man.

The man did not answer. He only moved his hands with very subtle movements, almost like dancing. But from that simple movement, a strong wind suddenly blew, causing the leaves to fall and creating a vortex around them.

The attackers exchanged glances for a moment, then simultaneously attacked the man from various directions. Their swords glinted, forming a web of attacks that seemed impossible to avoid. But the long-haired man moved with extraordinary speed.

Souw Liancu could barely follow the movements. All he saw were blurry shadows, and then one by one the attackers were thrown in all directions. Some crashed into trees, some fell hard to the ground, and some were immediately knocked unconscious. It all happened in a matter of seconds. There was no blood spilled, no excessive cries of pain, only the sound of collisions and the last gasps of breath before the attackers lost consciousness.

In less than a minute, all the attackers were lying on the ground, none remaining standing except the long-haired man. Even Tan Peklong, who had been ready to attack, stopped in his tracks, his mouth agape at the almost unbelievable scene.

Souw Liancu wanted to thank him. He stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak. "Thank you—"

But before he could finish his sentence, the man suddenly turned and ran. It was not a normal run, but one of extraordinary speed, almost like flying. Even stranger, as he ran, he shouted loudly and incoherently, as if chasing something only he could see.

"Wait! Don't run! I almost caught you!" he shouted as he continued to run away, disappearing among the trees.

Souw Liancu stood frozen, her hand still raised halfway, the unspoken words of thanks still lingering on her lips. She was confused, shocked, and curious at the same time. Who was that strange man? Why did he help her? And most importantly, why was he shouting incoherently like that?

"Miss, are you alright?" Tan Peklong ran towards her, his face pale and covered in blood from his wounds.

Souw Liancu nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the direction the man had disappeared. "I'm fine. But... who was he?"

Tan Peklong shook his head. "I don't know, Miss. But we are very lucky he appeared. Otherwise, I'm not sure I could have saved you."

They both fell silent for a moment, processing what had just happened. Then Tan Peklong remembered something. "Miss, we must leave here immediately. There may still be other attackers hiding."

Souw Liancu agreed. They returned to the carriage and checked on the coachman, who was fortunately only unconscious. After carrying him into the carriage, they continued their journey with increased vigilance.

Along the way, Souw Liancu couldn't stop thinking about the man with long hair. His imposing figure, the way he easily defeated ten attackers, and especially his straight back, were all etched clearly in her memory.