Chapter 481

Churu was alive! She was gasping for air as she panicked and look around . For a moment, Aki’s mind malfunctioned .

How could she be alive?

Earlier, he confirmed that she was dead . He checked her pulse and even tried to revive her, but to no avail . An hour before Tora arrived, he tried checking her once again and her body had gone cold while her lips were already turned into a purple hue . Hence, with great effort, he took off his piece of clothes to use as her cover .

But now, her colors had returned to normal as if she just woke up from a temporary sleep . Impossible .

Aki was too distraught about the supposed dead child that he couldn’t think straight for a moment .

“You!” As Churu looked around, she saw Aki’s tall figure staring at her direction with shock engraved on his front . Trying to stand up, Churu wobbled back as her strength hasn’t returned . “Where’s To — Yamada-san?” Almost slipping out Tora’s real name to him, Churu corrected and asked .

“How are you alive…?” Under his breath, Aki whispered in disbelief . Slowly, he strode forward, to Churu’s direction . He could not believe his eyes even when she talked to him . Soon, he reached the small figure that was sitting on the tree .

“Impossible…” He added in a murmur as he raised his arm and reached to touch Churu . Just a slight poke on her cheek, Aki immediately retrieved his hand as if he was scalded . Yet, he felt that she wasn’t as cold just like earlier . In contrast, she seemed she was running a fever by her body temperature .

“Suzuki-sama, why are you here? Where’s Yamada-sama?” Worried, Churu asked . She held on the hem of his kimono tightly as if she was begging him not to say a piece of bad news . After all, her last memory was that she was being taken away before the man knocked her out .

Hence, she didn’t know if Tora found her as she could not see her around . Instead, Aki was there and a few women from a distance . They were gathered around the bonfire to have some heat in the night’s coldness .

“She…” Clearing his mind from the sudden mind-blowing scene before him, Aki stuttered as he cleared his throat . However, Churu mistook it that it was some kind of bad news .

“She’s dead?” On the verge of tears, Churu gasped as her heart pounded heavily .

“What? No,” Shocked at her assumption, Aki shook his head . He would think about this mystery later, before Churu cry for worrying for nothing . “Here,” he softly added as he carried Churu in his arms .

He then strode to the spot he was standing earlier where they could clearly see the wildfire . “She’s there,” he said, pointing his forefinger to the direction of the camp of the underground group earlier .

“Suzuki-sama, what do you mean she’s there? Was she caught on fire?” With a trembling lip, Churu’s voice cracked before she chewed her lower lip as tears escaped from the eyes .

“No, she set that place on fire . That was the place they held us captive and now, everything is burning . ” Aki explained as the place was no longer recognizable unlike when he first entered the place .

Everything was in a blinding color of tangerine . Even from their distance, Aki could vaguely hear the indistinct crisp sound of burning woods and the shrill of the dying people . It was akin to hell — the terrifying sight of hell .

‘Tora…’ whispered Churu inside her head .

****

At dawn, Aki hasn’t slept while the victims and Churu rested . At this time, the fire was still on and it grew wider than last night . By the looks of it, the whole forest was gone for . Yet, Tora hadn’t returned .

“My Lord, you shall rest as well . ” One of his apprentices approached him as he bowed his head . “I will scout the place and see if the young miss was safe . ” He added . Although he wasn’t worried about Tora, he thought that Aki was concerned about her wellbeing .

“Don’t . ” Without taking his eyes away from the blazing wildfire, Aki rejected . “It’s not safe . ” He added emotionlessly .

“I will —” Just as the man would argue with him, Aki interrupted him .

“Not about the fire, but that woman . ” Aki vaguely added . If his suspicion was correct, if the woman was indeed Tora, it was not safe to go down this hill for now .

After all, the rumors about the general killing her enemy with a single slash were true . Then, they should be cautious to let herself cool-off . After all, they were hearsays that after the war five years ago; the general was forced to lock herself for a period of time because of the aftereffect .

Hence, after this whole incident, the demise of a whole infamous underground group meant that it might trigger Tora . Whether or not he was right, Aki couldn’t let his men die on her hands .

“Just look after the child and her steed,” Aki instructed which the man abided before disappearing like he wasn’t there in the first place . As his subordinate disappeared, Aki stared at the fire for a while with his hands held behind .

After some time, he turned and strode away from their temporary camp . He could not let her beast consume her as there are women and a child with them . They have no proper clothes and the food supply Chiharu stole from his group wouldn’t last .

Therefore, he decided to set off to find Tora and snap her back to reality . The loss of Churu must have had a great impact on her heart . He needed to relay the news that she was alive .

Aki was confident in his strength and experience . He was only held captive because he allowed them to . He and his subordinates could break the group apart, but since he was stalling time, he entertained them a little . But now, he couldn’t let her come back in a month or so as they have other people that needed shelter and proper foods, as soon as possible .

And also, to clear what needed to be clear on her identity .