I've Become the Demoness

Chapter 16-Mistaken for a Man

Xiu Xiang frowned as she turned her head in the direction of the screams. From within the thick forest came a young maiden who seemed to be no more than fifteen years old. She wore a yellow dress that seemed to have been ripped and dirtied in certain places. The young maiden had been running while looking over her shoulder. She missed the upturned tree root in front of her and tumbled to the ground. Close behind her were a group of bandits. Each one of them were the exact image of what a bandit was like, dirty and smelly. Xiu Xiang instantly pinched her nose from the stench.

"Ugh! Do all bandits not bathe?" Xiu Xiang thought. The wine she had drank earlier churned in her stomach.

The bandits laughed like wild beasts as they surrounded the young maiden. The one in front of the group was just about to pounce on her when something hit him squarely on the forehead. The leader of the bandits went flying backwards and slammed back first into a tree trunk. The rest of the bandits suddenly looked alarmed. They've never had anyone get the upper hand on them before and were quite stunned.

"Who's there?" one the bandits called out. He pulled off the saber that hung by his waist. There was no reply. All of a sudden that bandit let out a yelp as he raised his hand up to cover his forehead. Blood trickled through his hand. Upon lowering his bloody hand, everyone realized what had injured him. It was a small tree nut the size of a fingernail.

"A tree nut?!" cried the bandits. For someone to be able to injure them with a tree nut, that person wasn't ordinary. Almost immediately, they all dropped to their knees with their hands together in front of them.

"Forgive us, Master for trespassing in your area!" one the bandits cried out.

"Leave the maiden and get out of my sight," came a demanding voice.

"...a woman...?" whispered one of the bandits. Before they could decide on what to do, several nuts came raining down on them and they had no choice but to run for their lives.

Once they were gone, Xiu Xiang finally dropped down from the tree to check up on the young maiden who had been bawling her eyes out.

"Are you alright?" Xiu Xiang asked as she crouched down. The young maiden looked up, her face covered in dirty tear streak marks.

"I... I was almost disgraced by those filthy pigs...! Of course, I'm not alright!" the young maiden cried. Xiu Xiang shook her head as she patted her gently on the shoulders.

"They're gone now so you'll definitely be alright," Xiu Xiang assured her. The young maiden's cries turned to sniffles as she searched herself for a handkerchief only to find nothing. Sighing, Xiu Xiang pulled out her own handkerchief and handed it over to her.

With the quick thanks, the young maiden took the handkerchief and started to wipe up her dirty face.

"Who are you and what are you doing out here all alone?" Xiu Xiang asked.

The maiden looked up from the handkerchief and her face instantly turned beet red. Xiu Xiang furrowed her brows at the strange reaction as she turned her head slightly to the side.

"I'm Bai Qing from Qing Qiu. I was on a mission when I ran into those bandits," she replied shyly.

Bai Qing...? Why did that name sound so familiar? Bai Qing of Qing Qiu...?

Xiu Xiang frowned as she tried to remember where she had heard that name. When she couldn't pinpoint where she had heard it, she simply gave up.

"Oh well. It'll come to me one of these days," she thought with a light shrug.

"Thank you for saving me uh... and how should I call you, kind hero?" Bai Qing trailed off as she didn't know how to address her.

Kind hero? Did she get mistaken as a man?

It was true that Xiu Xiang had purposely worn male clothing so that she didn't stand out too much but for her gender to get mistaken with a face like hers? Xiu Xiang felt a little insulted.

"Ah! My name is Xiu Xiang and there's really no need to thank me." Xiu Xiang had never had anyone treat her with dignity and respect before so she didn't know how to react to such treatment.

After a few exchanges of pleasantries, Xiu Xiang finally got onto her horse and continued on her way. What she didn't know was, the moment she left the forest, that same group of bandits returned with full force to recapture Bai Qing. At the same time Wei Xing who had been tracking Xiu Xiang also appeared.

By the time, Wei Xing made it to the spot where Bai Qing had been captured, all there was left was a silk handkerchief. He picked up the handkerchief and gaped in shock. On the handkerchief, a name had been embroidered on it.

"Xiu... Xiang...?" Wei Xing read.

Could it be? Was the woman who screamed for help really Xiu Xiang?

He remembered how weak Xiu Xiang had been. There was no way she would've been able to fight off a horde of bandits. Suddenly fearing for the worst, he gave up chasing after the thief of Tian Ling Sect and rushed after the bandits instead.

The town that Xiu Xiang had entered looked quite run down except for the large manor in the distance. She got off her horse and led it toward a stable when she saw a group of burly men come out of a store with a young maiden screaming her head off. The way they were dressed were similiar to the men she saw in the forest.

Were they the same men?

An elderly couple came out of the store begging the group of men to let their daughter go.

"Please, give us a few more days! Just a few more days! We'll pay back our loans!" the elderly man pleaded as he tugged at his daughter's arm.

"Lord Wu had already give you enough time but you still failed to pay him back! We're taking your daughter as collateral!" the leader of the group spat.

"My daughter! Someone please help!" the elderly woman cried. Several people on the street watched but none jumped in to help and Xiu Xiang immediately understood why. No matter if it was a man, woman, or child, those burly men beat the elderly couple senseless until they were black and blue.

The young daughter cried out in agony at her parents suffering only to get slapped in the face by the leader of the group.

Unable to take in the scene any longer, Xiu Xiang jumped into the fray and kicked back the men one by one until they all scattered.

"You...!" The leader spat as he looked up at her only to blush upon seeing her pretty face. After taking in her full appearance, he grew angry again. "I don't know who you think you are but when Lord Wu hears about this, you're dead!"
The group quickly took off before Xiu Xiang could even touch them.

Just as she was wondering what the deal was with the town, a beggar woman suddenly rushed up to Xiu Xiang.

"Please, kind hero! Help me!" the old woman begged. She looked half crazed and desperate as she clung onto Xiu Xiang's leg.

Kind hero? Again? Did she really look like a man?

Her eyes widen in horror when she realized the way everyone looked at her. They all thought she was a man!

"I'm not...!" Xiu Xiang didn't get to refute the old woman as a few elderly gentleman suddenly came forward and knelt on the ground in front of her.

"Strong hero! Help bring our daughters back to us! Please help us!" the elderly gentlemen cried. The crowd was growing and the pleading got louder.

What was this? How did she, the demoness who inflicted fear become a crossing dressing heroine?
In the end, she gave in to their pleas. From them, she learned that the once kind magistrate, Lord Wu, fell sick and after a strange Taoist was invited over to check his health, he was warned that death looked over him and the only way to remove this curse was to sacrifice one hundred virgins. Since then he overtaxed the town and when no one could afford it, Lord Wu took their daughters in exchange.
"Strange Taoist? Sacrifice?" Xiu Xiang smelled something fishy.