Instantly alert, heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears from the adrenaline, Lon'qu bolted up off the ground and warily stepped outside, not knowing what to expect. The girl's scream had sounded familiar, he thought. Peering outside into the murky darkness, he could manage to make out several shapes in the waning light of the moon. One figure was standing alone, and the others surrounded it. Cold fingers of fear grasped at his heart as he realized what must have happened. He cursed her for her foolish naiveté and hoped that he would get to her in time.
Dashing towards the circle, he made out her voice, defiant as ever. "Come any closer and I'll scream again, louder this time."
An older boy's laughter, followed by a brusque reply. "You go ahead and scream, girlie. There aren't any police here in the slums. What were you expecting, coming here all by yourself in the middle of the night? Did you come to have some fun with some real men?" He snickered unpleasantly.
"Somebody will wake up and see what's happening," the girl responded confidently.
"You really think so?" Lon'qu was closer now, and he could make out the girl's face. She showed no sign of fear, and her hands were planted firmly on her hips. In the dim light, he saw a bag dangling from one of her hands. "Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart," the teenager continued. "Even if someone does hear you and wakes up and comes to see what's happening, ain't nobody's gonna raise a finger to help you. We here in the slums have enough to worry about without taking on other people's problems."
For the first time, Lon'qu saw the girl's expression waver as her eyes flickered downward for a second. Then, his approach having gone unnoticed, he shoved one of the boys in the circle to the side and pushed his way to stand next to her, assuming a defensive stance.
One of the boys standing next to the ringleader nervously elbowed the ringleader none-to-gently in the stomach. "Hey Zhuo'zi," he said uncertainly. "I'm not so sure about this anymore. We thought this girl would be easy pickings, but you know what people say about Lon'qu. Maybe we should back down."
"Are you serious?" the teenager whirled around to look disdainfully at his follower. "You're going to back off because this puny little kid got in front of us? There's seven of us, and one of him, and besides, he'll have his hands full with trying to protect the girl. Don't be a wuss, Yanjing."
"No," the boy was shaking his head and backing away. "I'd rather be a wuss and live to tell the tale. If you want to fight him, do your best, Zhuo'zi. I'm out." With that, he turned tail and fled into the night. Lon'qu nodded grimly. The odds were turning to his favor.
Zhuo'zi looked around angrily. "Anybody else? Somebody remind me to beat up that lily-livered boy tomorrow. It's been a long time in coming."
The remaining boys refused to meet his gaze. One spoke up nervously. "Yanjing was right, Zhuo'zi. You know how Lon'qu fights. He's never lost in the arena before, and he fights fully grown men. What chance do we stand against him? All we know how to do is beat up defenseless children from behind."
"Fine!" Zhuo'zi spat bitterly on the ground. "It's not like the girl looks rich, either. We'll find better targets tomorrow night. Come on. Let's go."
Shooting one last glare in Lon'qu's direction, he and his posse turned back towards the slums and retreated with a hangdog air. Lon'qu watched them carefully, uncertain if any of them would try to turn back and attack while he was distracted. Once the last would-be attacker vanished into the distance or into a broken-down house, Lon'qu turned back to the girl.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Do you have any idea how stupid you are, coming here by yourself in the middle of the night? I should have left you to fend for yourself to teach you a lesson."
"Why didn't you?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Well…" Lon'qu rocked left and right, shifting his weight back and forth as he tried to think of a good answer. "I just didn't want your screaming to wake up the entire slums," he replied abruptly. "Now I'm back to bed." He curtly strode back in the direction of his house.
"Wait!" the girl exclaimed. "The reason why I came here was to give this to you!" Turning his head back to look at her, Lon'qu saw that she held out a container of – yes, more burn salve. So it had been her. Not that Lon'qu had had any doubts before, but this only served as more proof that the girl wasn't really who she claimed she was.
"How do you have all this money to spend on burn salve?" Lon'qu asked her, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice. "And I thought you said that you were going to stop lying to me. When have you decided to begin?"
The girl sighed with what Lon'qu thought was a dejected air. "Come by Shuo'li's mansion tomorrow morning, and I'll tell you everything. I promise you."
"Fine," Lon'qu said, too tired to argue otherwise. "I'll be there."
A/N: Please nobody understand Chinese because I'm literally starting to name characters as "Table".