Chapter 12: Revenge
As Lin Xiu Lan sat in a cave she heard laughter from a hot spring nearby. Noiselessly, she moved from the cave and cautiously approached the hot pool with steaming vapor rising leisurely from it. She stopped behind a big bush of azalea and peeked through its thick branches.
She saw the backs of two men talking to each other merrily. With the usual curiosity, she listened to the conversation with interest.
One man was telling the other man of his experience with thieves and such. He added, "Actually, today I have met an extraordinary girl with a very good light kung fu. But I was a little better than she was, so I managed to retrieve the stolen gold coins from her."
His companion was interested. "Really, what did you do to her then? Sent her to jail?"
The first man shook his head. "No, she seemed so young and guileless. I decided to give her a few spankings and let her go. That should be enough to scare her off this area."
His friend was amused. "Really… It seems that nowadays little girls become thieves. I met one too, but at least this one was collecting from another thief. I have this bitten finger to remember her by." He lifted his finger to show to the first man.
They both laughed at their funny experiences and changed to another subject.
Lin Xiu Lan was elated at finding both of her enemies together. She thought hard of how to get revenge on them. Just then, the men took off their clothes and decided to swim in the hot spring.
"Ah! This is heaven indeed." One man exclaimed, and the other agreed. "After a tiring day of protecting innocents, this water feels great."
Lin Xiu Lan laughed inwardly. She thought, 'If you like the place so much, you can stay in there forever.'
Stealthily, she crept toward the men's attires and then with quick hands, she snatched the clothes and ran quickly back behind the bush. The hot steam camouflaged her movement, and noises of night animals and running water covered her light footsteps.
However, both men sensed something was amiss. They hurriedly got out of the spring, but could not find their clothing.
"Yoo-hoo! Is Anybody there?" The girl called out.
With startled faces, they raced back into the pool again. With hope owner of the voice would change her mind and leave the place.
Lin Xiu Lan giggled with mirth. Her giggle soon broke into a loud laugh. She laughed till tears ran down her face. "Ha-ha. Ha-ha."
The two hapless men in the pool heard Lin Xiu Lan and they shouted angrily. "Who's there? Show your self."
Lin Xiu Lan stepped from behind the bush with their outfits in her hands. "I already have what I wanted." She said laughingly. "Do you remember me? I'm Lin Xiu Lan, and I am here to take revenge."
She pointed at one man, who immediately ducked as deep as he could under the hot stream. "You and You!" She turned to the other man. "You have some nerve! You hit me. I have never been spanked before in my life, and now it's time you get it back." She pulled out a whip and lashed out haphazardly at the two naked men in the pool.
Although the men had high kung fu, under this circumstance, what could they really do? Each man only tried to dodge from the whip, not daring to do anything rashly that could result in exposing his body.