45 Is he dead ? Part 2

Eeeek. Su Lin jumped back in surprise.

There was a corpse lying on the ground in front of her....

She again squatted down and looked at the corpse... she was touched.

What a pity.. to call it a corpse was a disappointment.

His long black hair was sprawled messily over his captivating handsome face.

His sculpted chest lay bare on the ground, continuously being assaulted by the cruel winds. His hands looked rough, full of callouses.

His entire visage exuded a wild handsomeness, which was only enhanced by the dozen scars showcased by his body like trophies.

His toned and ripped abdomen was gently moving up and down, taking deep breaths in and out.

Wait.. what ? Oops not a corpse.

Su Lin backed away slowly, not wanting to disturb the handsome bum. Also she might have peed on him a bit.

She sneaked our silently and rushed back to their camp area. Snickering she joined Runyan and helped her set up the place for the night.

A few seconds after Su Lin left ...

The silent pair of eyes flung open. A burly man came out from another bush and giggled uncontrollably.

"Boss you have grown so soft !"

"Shut up monkey." The handsome bum angrily retorted.

"She was a cutie though."

"Hmm.. looks like you have too much time on your hands monkey... been a while since you took an assignment, isn't it ?"

The man addressed as monkey had long since disappeared from his place and no where to be seen.

Chuckling, the handsome bum dusted his back and stood up. Feeling something wet in his legs, he cringed. "What the hell..."

Chuckling again, he went deeper into the forest, in large strides and a casual ease, as if he had been living here his entire life.

Su Lin and Runyan also turned in for the night, tired and exhausted. Runyan stared at the already fast asleep Su Lin. What was this frail girl doing here struggling all by herself..

They were so alike in a lot of ways but so different in some. She had been weak. She didn't even have half of the strength Su Lin shouldered.

Lovingly she patted her sleeping friend and gently murmured. "Thanks for giving me a hand to stand back up again."

Both Runyan and Su Lin woke up early the next morning to a melodious chirping of birds. Bright sunlight grazed their eyes and gentle breeze tussled their hair.

They didn't have much distance to cover today but the elevation was higher and it was going to be a slippery and painful climb. Not even experienced hikers and mountain climbers dared to venture too far into the third layer.

Worried that Su Lin probably didn't understand the perils completely, Runyan again reiterated. "We should head back now. Trust me, this is a very difficult path. Nobody climbs above this level."

Hmm... Su Lin remained silent for a while. She turned towards Runyan and spoke gently, " I will explain this to you sometime in the future. But I need to do this."

Looking at the hesitation clearly written on her face, Su Lin sighed. "It's ok. I will be fine. You should go back to the monastery now. I will check back with you in a week. I promise."

"Ok. I will see you in a week then." Runyan left for her monastery worried. She saw the determination in her strange new found friend's eyes and knew that she won't be dissuaded.

She thought it was safer if at least one of them headed back and was in a position to get more help if needed.

Su Lin waved Runyan good bye and continued on her slippery slope slowly and cautiously. As every minute passed by, the number of cuts and bruises in her hands increased.

There were even a couple of cuts on her cheeks from the scratchy branches. But she was almost there, so she kept going. Just a few more minutes and everything would be different.

Further ahead, more deeper into the forests, the burly man monkey murmured to the handsome bum, "boss one of the two cuties went back down and the other one is still climbing up."

Not stopping his daily routine of pull ups, Luther replied, "Just let them be. The minute we start bothering civilians, our mercenary organization will be exposed." His gruff voice echoed in the not so empty cave.

The entire primitive looking cave was furnished adequately and looked out of place in comparison to the natural paradise outside. Luther got off the bars and fell into the couch swinging.

"Did you send the men to Italy already ? How is the mission going?"

Monkey casually replied, while munching on his food. "Ya panther is heading that mission. We should hear back from them tomorrow."

Watching his busily engaged right hand man, Luther chuckled and flipped to the next document in his pad. "What about the one in California ? "

Mumbling through the food in his mouth monkey replied, "That's a success. They should be back here in a week. Men wanted to chill in them beaches."

"He he. Fine. You guys are so spoilt nowadays aren't you !" Luther grabbed his plate and started eating as well, with news flashing in the satellite tv in front of them, about the recent case of two missing young teenagers in the Beijing area.