The sound of horse hooves echoed along the winding mountain path of Phoenix Mountain. Jax didn't urge the horse beneath him but looked leisurely at the scenery around him. His face was so relaxed that anyone who didn't know better would think he was just a young master out enjoying a scenic trip.
Jax was certainly no idle young master. He caught sight of a figure by the roadside, and after a brief pause, he turned his horse to follow.
"Miss, please wait."
Jax was chasing after a woman. When she heard the sound of hooves behind her, she turned to look and saw a horse coming her way, so she sensibly moved to the side of the road. The mountain road wound along Phoenix Mountain's steep terrain, with a mountain wall on one side and a sharp slope on the other, wide enough for just two horses to pass.
The woman was clearly cautious and pressed close to the mountain wall to avoid any mishap.
"Miss..." Jax dismounted and cupped his hands. "I'm Jax from Valor Escort Agency. May I know your name?"
The woman looked confused after hearing Jax's words. She stared at him and his white horse for a moment before finally replying, "My name is Minnie."
"Minnie," Jax said with a smile. "Did you come down from Phoenix Mountain?" Jax looked dignified and heroic, his youthful confidence showing clearly in his features.
His smile, however, was gentle and shy yet full of warmth, a kind of smile that made him instantly likable.
"Oh." Minnie answered after a moment.
"Are you perhaps from Phoenix Mountain?" Jax asked quickly.
Minnie shook her head. "No."
That answer settled Jax's mind. Before coming up the mountain, he had done his homework. Phoenix Mountain's second-in-command was said to be a tall, powerful woman, stronger than most men.
Women were rare and valued in the world, and even more so in a bandit den like Phoenix Mountain, so how could they let a woman travel alone? Still, seeing a lone woman on the mountain was suspicious enough for the experienced Jax to approach and ask.
And her outfit...
Jax found it strange. He had seen people from Yue before, but never anyone dressed like this. Phoenix Mountain lay at the border of Hua and Yue, and Jax was from Hua, so it made sense for him to wonder if this woman was from Yue.
The woman was a head shorter than Jax. Unlike the usual girls from wealthy families who wore flowing, ornate dresses, she wore a plain outfit of shirt and pants.
Even her clothing material was hard for Jax to identify. Most striking was her hair, which was cut short to her ears.
Could she have been heartbroken and cut her hair out of grief? But she didn't seem poor. Her fair, soft-looking skin suggested she hadn't done much physical work.
Then again, if she came from a good family, why would she be wandering alone on this dangerous mountain?
Girls were usually pampered at home and meant to carry on the family line. If something happened to her, it would be a tragedy.
Take Jax's own family. His sister Yiying also knew martial arts, but she had never taken part in escort missions.
"Are you heading down the mountain, Minnie?"
Minnie nodded.
Jax held out the reins in his hand. "The nearest town is still twenty li from here. Why don't you ride my horse there? The owner of Delight Inn knows me. Just leave the horse with him."
"Thank you, but I don't know how to ride." Minnie looked longingly at the beautiful white horse, but her poor coordination kept her from daring to try.
Jax was surprised. He hadn't thought of that.
"The nearest town is twenty li from here?" Minnie asked, puzzled.
Jax looked at her curiously. "Didn't you come up the mountain on your own? Or did Bandit Leader Hayes invite you up?"
That so-called "invitation" usually meant being blindfolded and dragged up without knowing the way.
That would explain why she didn't know the location of Phoenix Mountain. Jax thought Minnie didn't look like someone used to hard labor.
Maybe her family had some money and paid a ransom to get her out. But if she had been a hostage, why was she released alone, without even being blindfolded again?
Jax's mind spun quickly. He was already thinking of several possible explanations for her identity.
"Bandit Leader Hayes? I don't know him. Wasn't the innkeeper's last name Lars?"
Minnie had spent a night at the inn on Phoenix Mountain, watched the sunrise, then napped again before casually heading down.
This was her graduation trip. Normally too lazy to travel, she had planned it carefully and climbed Phoenix Mountain, which wasn't too high but had great views.
After twenty-five years of sitting still, her arms and legs finally got some exercise.
"Lars? An inn?" Jax looked at her with a bit of pity. Maybe something was wrong with her head, he thought, which would explain why she was wandering Phoenix Mountain alone.
Though he had that thought, he still replied patiently. "Phoenix Mountain is where Bandit Leader Hayes has his base. Who would dare run a business here without his permission? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Mistaken?" Minnie's eyes widened. Though her memory was famously good, she still reached into her pocket to double-check.
"No mistake. Lars Inn. The owner's name is Lars." Minnie looked at the card while speaking and handed it to him.
Lars Inn was where she had stayed. It was one of several guesthouses on Phoenix Mountain, converted from old homes along the slope.
Lars Inn was well known for its bold name, and its owner was business-savvy. Every traveler received one of his custom-printed business cards.
The card in Minnie's hand was one of them.
Jax took the strange little card, frowning slightly. Were those even words? They all looked like gibberish.
He glanced at Minnie, who was looking up at him with wide eyes, her face full of innocent curiosity.
He smiled and said, "Maybe I remembered wrong."
Minnie smiled too. "You can keep the card. You can contact Lars and even try to haggle. You might get free breakfast."
Jax understood each word she said, but when strung together, they made no sense to him. He kept a straight face and asked, "Did you see my brother-in-law on Phoenix Mountain?"
"Your brother-in-law? Who's that?"
"My brother-in-law's last name is Kai. Just one character. He's the young escort chief of Longwind Escort Agency." Jax made sure to point out Kai's identity and watched Minnie's reaction.
Minnie asked in confusion, "You mean an agency that people pay to deliver things from one place to another?"
Jax nodded.
"Really? There are still escort agencies? That's so strange." Minnie was surprised. "I read that escort agencies disappeared around the Republic era. With so many delivery companies now..."
She thought for a while, then said, "I don't remember anyone named Kai. Lars told me there are quite a lot of tourists on Phoenix Mountain. It might be hard to find someone. Don't you have his phone number? Or did something happen?"
"Something did happen," Jax nodded. "He was taken by Bandit Leader Hayes from Phoenix Mountain."
"Taken?" Minnie froze. She thought for a moment, leaned closer to Jax, and whispered, "By 'taken,' you don't mean kidnapped, right?"
"Kidnapped? No."
Minnie had just let out a sigh of relief when she heard Jax say, "It's the kind of 'taken' that involves a ransom."
Minnie's mouth fell open, her eyes widened, and all the color drained from her face. After a long while, she said, "You're not joking, are you?"
"I went up the mountain this time to ransom back my brother-in-law. How could I be joking? Miss Minnie, are you alright?"
Minnie was completely stunned. It took her a while to say, "How is that possible? Phoenix Mountain might not be a famous tourist spot, but it still gets visitors."
"If there were kidnappers, why hasn't it been reported? I looked everything up online before deciding to come."
She had spent most of her life in school, always in safe environments. Suddenly hearing that she was this close to dangerous criminals was too much for her to accept.
Jax didn't fully understand everything Minnie said, but he knew she didn't believe there were kidnappers on Phoenix Mountain. He said, "Phoenix Mountain lies on the border between Huayue and Yue. Bandit Leader Hayes and his men have occupied this place for more than ten years."
"Even the authorities can't do anything. On Phoenix Mountain, there's a place called Phoenix Village, so hard to pass it's said even a phoenix wouldn't make it. Hasn't Miss Minnie heard of any of this?"
Minnie shook her head in confusion, then quickly said, "I need to call the police, yes, the police."
She trembled as she reached into her pocket for her phone, but just then, Jax said beside her, "They're here."
"Who's here?"
"Bandit Leader Hayes's men."
Bandit Leader Hayes's men? That meant criminals. Minnie shuddered. The phone she had just taken out slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a loud smack.
She quickly crouched down to pick it up, and from the corner of her eye, she saw several blurry figures in the distance. She snatched up the phone and quickly pressed 110, her hands shaking.
Her heart pounded in panic, but the call wouldn't go through. The group drew closer and closer. Minnie clearly saw the weapons in their hands reflecting the sunlight.
The bright glare made her even more terrified. Jax saw her pale face and noticed her muttering while fiddling with something in her hands. He shook his head slightly, thinking he had overestimated her.
She must have accidentally wandered into Phoenix Mountain. The group was already too close for Minnie to escape. Jax stepped in front of her protectively and said, "Don't worry, Miss Minnie. I'll do my best to keep you safe."
Minnie stared at him, stunned. When he gave her a small smile, her panicked heart slowly began to calm down.
"Thank you," Minnie whispered, hiding behind Jax. As the group came closer, she could see them more clearly, and her expression grew more confused.
Minnie wasn't stupid. Even though her friends often called her slow, she finally realized something was wrong. Why were these people dressed so strangely?
Jax's outfit might have been odd enough, but this whole group looked the same. They weren't carrying machetes like gangsters.
Their weapons came in all shapes and sizes, none of them normal. "Tell me this isn't some kind of prank game," Minnie tugged on Jax's sleeve.
He turned around and saw her serious expression. Prank game? Jax looked at her, puzzled, then heard her ask, "Or is this some kind of group cosplay?"
Jax was even more confused. But with danger approaching, he didn't have time to ask more. He just gave her a faint apologetic smile before turning back to focus on the group.