Late at night.
Mist swirled as urgent footsteps rustled through the grass.
About a dozen young girls in pink clothing fled aimlessly across the open field. Their hair was disheveled, sweat-dampened strands clinging to their cheeks, and their skirts were tattered from thorny branches.
A frail girl lagged, gasping for air. Her breath formed misty clouds that mingled with the thick fog. Her eyes were filled with fear and despair.
Another girl ran back to grab her hand. “Hurry, An Jiu! They’ll catch up!”
“A-Shun…” the girl called An Jiu panted, tears streaming uncontrollably. “I can’t… go on. You should leave me.”
A-Shun pressed her lips together and pulled An Jiu along forcefully.
An Jiu was at her limit. Her legs were already weak, and the sudden tug caused her to stumble and fall. She no longer had the strength to get up.
“There’s a house! A house!” came excited shouts from ahead.
The other girls were no longer visible, only their joyful cries could be heard.
A-Shun struggled to pull An Jiu up. “Did you hear? There’s a house ahead. Just hold on a bit longer.”
An Jiu’s tears flowed freely as her body went limp, unable to take another step.
A-Shun saw flickering lights in the dense fog behind them, realizing their pursuers were closing in. Gritting her teeth, she hoisted An Jiu onto her back and ran forward with all her might.
They had been brought here by traffickers from Yangzhou, who had deceived them with promises of serving in wealthy households. Instead, they were being sold to the Xingxiang House!
Xingxiang House was the most famous brothel in Bianjing, so renowned that even these young girls from distant Yangzhou had heard of it.
Someone had instigated their collective escape, but they hadn’t planned what to do afterward.
A-Shun had been sold to a local brothel in Yangzhou at age five and raised there for seven years. She started with menial kitchen work, but as the madam noticed her growing beauty, she was groomed as a courtesan. This experience gave her more knowledge and strength than the other girls.
No respectable household would take a maid bought from a brothel. A-Shun had seen this transfer as an opportunity to escape from the start, but she needed a backup plan. An Jiu, despite her young age, was strikingly beautiful. The madam would surely value her highly. If A-Shun could win An Jiu’s favor, even if they were caught, An Jiu might be able to plead for leniency on her behalf.
Seeing a thatched hut, A-Shun mustered her strength to rush inside. She set An Jiu down and exhaled deeply.
In the dim light, A-Shun saw the other girls sprawled about. She asked, “Is there no one here?”
One girl replied, “No, it seems to be a hunter’s shelter.”
Should they wait here to be caught?
A-Shun glanced down at An Jiu, who lay like a puddle of mud, her gaze flickering.
She turned and noticed a bow and arrows hanging on the wall near the door. She took them down, saying, “I’ll go check if anyone’s following us.”
An Jiu lay on the ground, her heaving chest gradually steadying, but her gaze becoming increasingly unfocused.
“Ah—”
A distant, piercing scream was abruptly cut off. A-Shun’s outstretched foot retreated.
The girls huddled together like frightened animals, their faces filled with terror.
The despair, agony, and fear in that scream were palpable, reeking of death.
A-Shun’s face paled. After a moment of silence, she dashed out, followed by the other girls scrambling to flee.
In the fog, over a dozen dark figures silently surrounded the courtyard.
“Who is Mei Jiu?” asked a black-clad man standing before the dilapidated door.
These men exuded a murderous aura, clearly not guards from the Xingxiang House. A-Shun frantically slipped back inside.
“Hand over Mei Jiu, and your lives will be spared,” the cold, rough voice spoke again.
One of the bolder girls whispered hesitantly, “Mei Jiu… could they mean An Jiu?”
An Jiu – no one knew her surname.
The men outside grew impatient. Through the misty air, the lead figure slightly lowered his chin. A black-clad man to his right leaped into the courtyard like a hawk.
He darted into the hut, his blade gleaming. He threatened the remaining girls, “If you don’t want to die, get out!”
Though he pointed in only one direction, everyone felt the threat to their lives. The girls’ minds went blank, only able to wail.
The man unhesitatingly struck down the girl nearest to him. Finally, someone broke, frantically running out. Others followed in a daze.
As the hut emptied, A-Shun, holding the bow and arrows, became conspicuous. She tightened her grip, then bit her lip and tossed aside her only weapon before fleeing.
The swordsman noticed a girl still lying on the floor, eyes wide open with dilated pupils, her chest no longer moving. Out of habit, he bent to check her pulse.
His fingers touched her delicate skin, like cool silk.
She was indeed dead.
He strode out.
Outside, in the pitch-black night, the group of girls huddled together, shivering and whimpering.
“Who is Mei Jiu!” the lead black-clad man demanded.
No one answered.
A-Shun’s face was pale as she bit her lip hard.
The nearest black-clad man easily killed one girl with his sword.
“Who is Mei Jiu?” the man asked again.
The girls fearfully looked around, hoping to find An Jiu among them to push her forward.
In that moment of hesitation, two more girls fell.
Seeing the blood of their companions spilled before them, how could they remain calm? Especially as they were all just children!
They scattered like frightened birds, crying and wailing, the scene descending into chaos.
…
“She’s inside!” A-Shun shouted, crouching beside an unconscious girl.
She thought she had been discreet, but it didn’t escape these men’s notice. The black-clad leader asked, “There’s still someone inside?”
The man who had entered earlier bowed slightly and said, “Yes, but she’s dead.”
“Drag her out,” the leader ordered.
The man turned to obey.
Suddenly!
A whoosh.
He watched in shock as an ordinary arrow pierced straight through his heart. He didn’t even have time to react.
The black-clad leader at the door widened his eyes slightly.
Blood sprayed.
Inside the hut, An Jiu quietly crouched by the window, her dark eyes calm and unwavering, showing no trace of weakness. She blended perfectly into the darkness.
Sweat trickled down her temples. A splitting headache made her furrow her brow slightly.
She was a lingering soul, confined somewhere since her death, unable to wander or reincarnate. As time passed, her consciousness had grown increasingly hazy, but the intense killing intent around her now had fully awakened her.
She didn’t know what was happening, but she instinctively sensed danger. She discovered she could control this body, though it was severely exhausted, now running on willpower alone.
Fortunately, a bamboo bow hung on the wall. The bow had once been her passion; before becoming a sniper, she had been a competitive archer.
Unfortunately, there were only five arrows…
In this situation, escape was impossible!
She had been confined for too long. To have this moment of freedom, to touch something so familiar before death, was enough.
With the mindset of “if I die, I’ll take as many with me as I can,” she silently calculated the current wind speed and humidity. Given the visibility and equipment, it was unlikely she could kill two people with one arrow. Moreover, she could only roughly estimate this bow’s speed and range. The only advantage was that her opponents didn’t know how many arrows she had.
As she pondered, her fingers released the bowstring, accurately killing the black-clad man nearest the window.
The black-clad leader shouted, “Come out! Or I’ll kill them!”
She recognized those girls but had no intention of yielding to threats. As she prepared to shoot again, she suddenly found her fingers unresponsive.
“I must save A-Shun, I must save A-Shun…” A weak but stubborn voice suddenly appeared in her mind. She was shocked – had she not been reborn, but merely a ghost possessing another’s body?!
That moment of surprise caused her to completely lose control of the body. But this time, instead of losing consciousness as usual, she could see everything happening before her.
Mei Jiu also seemed to sense something unusual within her body, but she had no time to dwell on it. She immediately dropped the bow and arrows, preparing to rush out.