Deep night.
A thick mist swirled, and the rustling of grass was punctuated by hurried footsteps.
A dozen young girls in pink robes fled aimlessly through the wilderness, their loose hair disheveled, sweat plastering stray strands to their cheeks, their skirts torn by dry branches.
One delicate girl lagged behind, panting heavily, her breath forming mist flowers that mingled with the fog, her eyes filled with terror and despair.
Another girl rushed back and grabbed her. "Run, run, A Jiu! They'll catch up!"
"A Shun..." The girl called A Jiu gasped for breath, tears streaming uncontrollably. "I... I can't go on. You go ahead."
A Shun pressed her lips together and dragged her forward with all her might.
A Jiu was already at her limit, her legs weak, and with this sudden pull, she collapsed to the ground, unable to summon the strength to rise again.
"There's a house! A house!"
The other girls were no longer visible ahead, only their joyful cries echoing through the mist.
A Shun hauled A Jiu up from the ground. "Did you hear that? There's a house ahead. Just hold on a little longer."
A Jiu's tears burst forth like a dam breaking, her body limp, unable to take another step.
A Shun glimpsed flickering torchlight in the dense fog behind them—their pursuers were closing in. Gritting her teeth, she hoisted A Jiu onto her back and ran forward with all her might.
They had been brought from Yangzhou by human traffickers, deceived into believing they were being sold as maids to wealthy households. Who knew they were actually being sold to the Xiangxiang Pavilion—the most infamous brothel in Bianjing, its reputation so notorious that even young girls like them, far away in Yangzhou, had heard whispers of it.
Someone had whispered a few words of rebellion, and they had seized the chance to escape together, never stopping to think about what they would do once they fled.
A Shun had been sold to a local brothel in Yangzhou at the age of five. For seven years, she had worked menial tasks in the kitchen until the madam noticed her growing beauty and began grooming her as a refined courtesan. Thus, she had more experience—and strength—than these naive girls.
No respectable household would ever take a maid bought from a brothel. From the start, she had seen this "sale" as an opportunity to escape. But she needed a backup plan—A Jiu, despite her youth, was already stunningly beautiful. The madam would undoubtedly prize her highly. If A Shun could win A Jiu's favor, even if they were recaptured, a few pleading words from A Jiu might spare her from being discarded or beaten.
Spotting a thatched hut, A Shun mustered her last strength and dashed inside, setting A Jiu down with a long exhale.
In the dim light, she saw the other girls sprawled haphazardly across the floor. "Is there no one here?" she asked.
One of the girls replied, "No. It seems like a hunter's resting place."
Were they just going to wait here to be caught?
A Shun glanced down at A Jiu, who lay like a limp rag, her eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Turning, she spotted a bow and arrows hanging on the wall near the door and casually took them down. "I'll go see if anyone's following us."
A Jiu lay sprawled on the ground, her rapid breathing gradually steadying, but her gaze grew increasingly unfocused.
"Ah—"
A distant, agonized scream was abruptly cut short. A Shun's outstretched foot froze mid-step.
The girls huddled together like frightened animals, their faces etched with terror.
The despair, pain, and fear in that scream were too vivid—it carried the unmistakable scent of death.A Shun's face turned pale. After a moment of silence, she suddenly dashed out, followed by the other girls scrambling to their feet and fleeing.
Dozens of dark figures silently descended around the courtyard in the thick fog.
"Who is Mei Jiu?" asked a black-clad man standing before the dilapidated door.
These men exuded killing intent—definitely not guards from the incense hall. A Shun panicked and slipped back inside.
"Hand over Mei Jiu, and we'll spare your lives," came the cold, rough voice again.
One braver girl whispered hesitantly, "Mei Jiu... could she be the one they call A Jiu?"
A Jiu—no one knew her surname.
The outsiders had no patience to wait. In the misty haze, the lead black-clad man slightly lifted his chin, and the man to his right leaped into the courtyard like an eagle.
Darting into the house like an arrow, his blade gleaming coldly, he shouted at the remaining girls, "If you don't want to die by this sword, get out now!"
Though he pointed in only one direction, everyone felt personally threatened. The girls' minds went blank, leaving only screams.
Without hesitation, the swordsman killed the nearest girl. Finally, someone couldn't bear the sight and fled in terror.
With one leading, the others stumbled out in a daze.
As the room emptied, A Shun, clutching a bow and arrows, became conspicuously visible. Her grip tightened before she gritted her teeth, dropped her only weapon, and ran out.
The swordsman noticed one last girl lying on the floor, eyes wide and pupils dilated, her chest no longer rising. Out of habit, he bent to check her neck.
His fingers touched her delicate skin—cool as fine silk.
She was truly dead.
He strode outside.
In the pitch-black night, the huddled girls trembled and whimpered.
"Who is Mei Jiu!" the leader barked.
Silence.
A Shun's face whitened, lips bitten tight.
A nearby swordsman casually killed another girl.
"Who is Mei Jiu?" he repeated.
The girls exchanged terrified glances, searching for A Jiu among them to push forward.
A moment's hesitation cost two more lives.
Seeing months-long companions fall in bloodshed was unbearable—especially for these half-grown children!
They scattered like startled birds, wailing, chaos erupting.
...
"She's inside!" A Shun suddenly shouted, crouching beside a fainted girl.
She thought herself hidden, but the black-clad leader noticed. "Someone's still inside?"
The man who had entered earlier bowed slightly. "Yes, but dead."
"Drag her out," ordered the leader.
The man turned to obey.
Suddenly—
A whoosh.
He watched, stunned, as an ordinary arrow pierced clean through his chest. He hadn't even reacted.
The leader's eyes widened slightly.
A spray of blood.
Inside, A Jiu lay quietly by the window, her dark eyes calm as still water, not a trace of fear. She melted into the shadows.
Sweat trickled down her temples. A splitting headache made her frown faintly.She was a remnant of a soul, confined to a certain place since her death, unable to wander or reincarnate. As time passed, her consciousness grew increasingly faint, but the overwhelming killing intent around her now jolted her fully awake.
She didn’t know what was happening, but her instincts screamed danger. She realized she could control this body—though it was severely exhausted, barely holding on through sheer willpower.
Luckily, a bamboo bow hung on the wall of the room. The bow had once been her greatest love; before becoming a sniper, she had been a competitive archer.
Unluckily, there were only five arrows…
In such a situation, escape was impossible.
Having been confined for so long, this fleeting moment of freedom—holding the weapon she knew best before death—left her with no regrets.
With the mindset of “if I’m going to die, I’ll drag as many as I can with me,” she silently calculated the wind speed and humidity. Given the visibility and the bow’s limitations, killing two targets with one shot was unlikely. Moreover, she could only roughly estimate the bow’s speed and range. The only advantage was that the enemy didn’t know how many arrows she had.
As she pondered, her fingers released the bowstring, and the arrow struck the black-clad figure near the window with deadly precision.
The leader of the black-clad men shouted, “Come out! Or I’ll kill them!”
She recognized those girls but had no intention of yielding to threats. Yet just as she prepared to shoot again, her fingers suddenly refused to obey.
“I have to save A Shun… I have to save A Shun…”
A weak but stubborn voice abruptly echoed in her mind. Shocked, she wondered—was this not a rebirth, but a ghost possessing someone else’s body?!
That moment of surprise cost her control over the body. But unlike before, she didn’t lose consciousness—instead, she could see everything unfolding clearly.
Mei Jiu seemed to sense the strangeness within her own body, but she had no time to dwell on it. Immediately, she dropped the bow and rushed out.
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