The sky was high and the earth vast. The layered forests were dyed in autumn colors as wild geese flew south with the wind.
For the soldiers training in the Yan country, this weather lifted their spirits. For hunters, it heralded a bountiful season. For prisoners of war from the Qiujiang battle, it offered a chance at survival and hope, even as they faced the inescapable prospect of death.
But for Meilin, this was undoubtedly a tragic day. While the Southern Yue captives were forced to serve the Yan army as training aids, she was merely a minor concubine from the prince’s palace. Why should she suffer the same fate?
Somewhat dejected, Meilin sat leaning against a branch of a lush pine tree. She plucked a pine cone and began peeling it layer by layer to get at the pine nuts inside. In her heart, she cursed Mu Ye Luomei, Murong Jing, and even the Dark Factory and its master.
It turned out that Mu Ye Luomei’s so-called game involved releasing the captives into the forest. They were only allowed to flee deeper into the woods. Two hours later, her soldiers would enter to hunt them down, rewarding themselves based on the number of heads collected. As for Meilin, according to Mu Ye Luomei, she wanted to see how a person without martial arts skills could survive in such a perilous situation. This would help her conduct targeted training for her soldiers.
Meilin pursed her lips, feeling helpless. It was all because she had emerged from the forest unscathed that one time, arousing suspicion. She recalled how before entering the forest, Mu Ye Luomei had called her aside and muttered something incomprehensible. Seeing no reaction from Meilin, she immediately flashed a strange smile and said, “You’d better start praying now that this general won’t catch you.”
Even if she hadn’t understood then, after so much time, Meilin should have realized that her inability to speak the Xi Yan language had been exposed. The sentence Mu Ye Luomei had spoken must have been in Xi Yan. Even if she didn’t understand it then, thinking back carefully now, she could guess. It seemed there was no choice but to flee for her life this time.
As for Murong Jing and…
She shook her head, pushing that person out of her mind. Her gaze fell on the sun, which had already passed its zenith and was sinking towards the west. She knew the soldiers must be closing in by now. Before entering the forest, she had carefully observed those warriors. From their vigor alone, she could tell they were no ordinary soldiers. Even with a two-hour head start, she couldn’t outpace them. So instead of desperately rushing like the other captives, she had walked while carefully erasing her tracks. But then… she suddenly thought of the sea holly that Murong Xuanlie had brought and instinctively looked up at the sky.
The sky was azure blue, with only a few wisps of clouds drifting by. There was no sign of birds, which made her sigh slightly in relief.
Cracking open a pine nut, she savored the oily kernel, its aroma spreading on her tongue.
“It’s good to be alive,” Meilin mused. Peering through the branches that obscured her view, she saw two barely clothed men supporting each other as they limped past the rocks. She remembered they had been running ahead of her. It seemed they had gotten lost and circled back. Just as she was considering whether to guide them, a sharp whistle pierced the air. A white light streaked through space with a “thud,” entering the neck of one man and piercing through the other, skewering them together.
The pine nut slipped from Meilin’s hand as she instinctively held her breath, not daring to move a muscle. Moments later, an armored man appeared in her field of vision. With a swift motion, he drew his sword and beheaded both men, tying their heads to his waist.
Meilin silently closed her eyes to avoid drawing his attention with her gaze. After a long while, she opened them again to find the man had vanished. She knew that if not for those two men distracting him, her head might now be hanging from his waist.
Having finally witnessed the prowess of Mu Ye Luomei’s soldiers, her sense of crisis skyrocketed. Now her only hope was for the sun to set quickly. No matter how formidable these men were, they would still be affected by the darkness and the hidden dangers lurking in the shadowy forest. With her current abilities, escaping the forest was impossible. She could only play cat and mouse with them until tomorrow.
Mu Ye Luomei had set the soldiers’ return time for the third watch of the following morning. If she could endure until then, she would gain temporary safety.
Tying a pouch of pine cones to her waist, Meilin checked that no one was approaching before swiftly sliding down the tree. She intended to find a new hiding spot, but just as her feet touched the ground, a light chuckle sounded behind her. She froze, slowly turning around.
Mu Ye Luomei stood on a nearby rock, crossbow aimed at her.
“Impressive indeed, to have evaded my subordinates,” she said in a casual tone, her killing intent unmistakable.
Meilin smiled bitterly, knowing resistance against this woman was impossible in her current state. She simply sat down against the tree, inwardly lamenting once more her lost martial arts skills.
“General Mei, if you want to kill me, then do it. I don’t want to run anymore.” She laughed, her voice full of mockery. “You’re a great general, a great hero. How noble of you to stoop so low as to toy with us powerless, lowly people. What a grand ability indeed.”
Her words made Mu Ye Luomei’s face flush red and white in turns, murderous intent flashing in her eyes. However, she lowered her crossbow and sneered, “For a spy, why should this general show any benevolence or courtesy… Hmph, if not for women like you, how could Jing have ended up in his current state?” She spoke the latter sentence through gritted teeth, revealing the true reason she wanted to kill Meilin.
Meilin smiled wryly, feeling the injustice of this accusation. She spread her hands helplessly, “When one wishes to condemn, any excuse will do. This slave was certainly not the most favored in Prince Jing’s palace. If the general truly cares for His Highness, why not marry him yourself? That way, you could directly restrain him. Given His Highness’s feelings for you, how could he spare a thought for other women then?” She subtly shifted the topic away from being a spy, as whether or not the other had evidence, it wasn’t good for her either way.
Mu Ye Luomei seemed distracted by her words, her piercing gaze softening slightly as if considering what Meilin had said. However, noticing Meilin’s gaze darting behind her, she raised her crossbow again, arching an eyebrow. “Don’t fantasize. Jing isn’t here. Even if he were, he couldn’t stop me from killing you.”
Meilin once again felt enveloped by a murderous aura, her back involuntarily stiffening. Yet outwardly, she maintained an air of resigned indifference. Covering her eyes with her hand, she recalled the man’s indifference to her desperate pleas. Her heart constricted slightly as she laughed self-mockingly, “This slave wouldn’t dare to hope. His Highness is solely focused on pleasing you, General. How could he interfere?”
Reminded of the scene from that morning, Mu Ye Luomei’s mood suddenly improved. She flipped her wrist, holding the crossbow vertically at her side, and said with a smile, “If you kneel and beg, this general might consider sparing you this once.”
It was blatant bullying and contempt, but Meilin didn’t seem angered. She laughed silently, lowering her hand from her eyes. “General Mei commands thousands of troops. Surely your word is as good as gold, and you wouldn’t go back on what you’ve said.” Without giving Mu Ye Luomei a chance to retract or argue, she stood up, then solemnly dropped to her knees with a “thud,” kowtowing several times in quick succession.
“General Mei, you are a heroine among women, a true champion. I beg you to spare this slave’s little life.”
Mu Ye Luomei had seen cowards fearing death before, but never someone as shameless as Meilin, who didn’t even bother to put up a pretense of dignity. However, she couldn’t take back her words. Dumbfounded, she felt a surge of frustration in her chest. Not only did she fail to experience the satisfaction of having someone under her boot, but she also felt stifled, yearning to vent her emotions.
Yet her reaction was quick. With a flick of her wrist, two arrows shot from the crossbow, piercing Meilin’s left shoulder and right leg just as she was about to stand, forcing her to collapse back to her knees.
“I only said I’d spare you once. I never said you’d escape unscathed,” Mu Ye Luomei said coolly, unable to hide her satisfaction at regaining the upper hand.
Meilin knelt on the ground, head bowed, silently waiting for the intense pain in her shoulder and leg to subside. It was unclear whether she had heard the other’s words. Only when the dizziness from the pain and exhaustion passed did she support herself against the large pine tree and struggle to her feet once more.
“This slave thanks the general for her mercy in sparing my life,” she said, raising her head to look calmly at Mu Ye Luomei before limping toward the depths of the forest.
Mu Ye Luomei stood frozen, watching Meilin’s retreating figure. The image of those deep, lifeless eyes kept replaying in her mind, and suddenly she couldn’t remember why she had targeted this unarmed woman so fiercely.
The night grew deep, starless, and moonless, foretelling bad weather for the next day.
Meilin pressed her back against the uneven mountain wall, hoping the cold stone would help reduce her body’s burning fever. She had removed the arrowheads and applied herbal medicine to the roughly treated wounds, which now throbbed with pain. Her dizzy head ached in sync with the wounds. She knew she was running a fever but dared not allow herself to fall asleep, fearing she might never wake up. So she clutched a sharp rock tightly, stabbing herself whenever she felt close to succumbing, using the pain to stay alert.
This was a cave on a slope. After escaping from Mu Ye Luomei, she had pushed herself to the limit, diving into areas thick with trees and undergrowth, not daring to stop. Though Mu Ye Luomei had spared her, it didn’t mean her subordinates would do the same. She no longer had the strength to erase her tracks, so she could only head for places where bows and arrows would be difficult to use and where lightness skills would be hindered.
Even so, blood loss and pain had dulled her usual alertness. While fleeing, she had misstepped and tumbled down a slope. Though bruised and battered, this fall had led her to discover this cave, half-hidden by long grass and tree roots on the mountainside. With no strength to continue and little chance of outrunning the soldiers skilled in wilderness combat, she had taken the risk to hide here, waiting for Mu Ye Luomei to recall her troops.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been discovered by nightfall. Unfortunately, without her inner power to protect her, her resistance was greatly diminished. This experience, which would have been insignificant before, had now given her a fever.
A parched throat, burning breath, and indescribable pain and fatigue throughout her body tormented her, eroding her will.
In her hazy state, Meilin seemed to see mountains and fields full of spring flowers again. Dense raindrops interwove, making each pure white blossom especially beautiful in its moistness. The fresh air carried February’s unique, rich floral fragrance, surrounding her. It made her want to fall asleep and never wake up.
Her fingers, gripping the stone, twitched and finally lifted. It seemed she had used all her strength, but in reality, it was a weak jab at the wound on her thigh. The pain briefly cleared her head, but the heaviness in her body returned as if something urgently wanted to break free from this prison-like shell.
“What did Mother look like?” Clinging to a thread of clarity as she struggled against the desire to give up, she suddenly thought of this question she had never allowed herself to consider before. Then she felt tormented inside and out, yearning as never before to know the answer.
Why didn’t they want her? It didn’t matter where she came from, whether she once had a family like others, or if she had siblings. She only wanted to know what her mother looked like. Just that, nothing more…
Nothing more…
In the darkness, Mei Lin’s cracked lips moved, whispering without making a sound. Perhaps even she didn’t know what she was murmuring.
Maybe she wouldn’t survive this time. Just as this thought abruptly surfaced in her barely conscious mind, she suddenly heard a dull thud, as if something had hit a tree trunk. Even the rock above her head seemed to shake. The sense of danger instantly jolted her awake, and she instinctively quieted her labored breathing.
She strained to listen, holding her breath, but heard nothing for a long time. Just as her consciousness was about to drift away again, a whimper suddenly pierced through the thickening fog in her mind, making her heart race.
The soft sobbing continued, irritating Mei Lin, who was already feeling unwell. She didn’t want to deal with it but feared the consequences of ignoring it. Reluctantly, she dragged her nearly exhausted body out, found the dark figure above, and grabbed it, pulling it down without caring which end she had hold of.
Her strength was limited, but it was enough to startle the person into a scream. From the voice, she could tell it was a boy in puberty.
“Shut up!” Mei Lin felt her head was about to split open. When she spoke, she realized her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper.
The boy was so frightened that he immediately fell silent. He wanted to ask who she was but couldn’t open his mouth. He stopped crying but couldn’t control his shivering.
“Follow me if you don’t want to die,” Mei Lin threatened in a low voice, realizing she didn’t have the strength to drag the half-grown boy.
Whether out of fear or recognizing that she meant no harm, the boy obediently followed her back into the cave below. Only after sitting against the rock wall and hearing no other sounds for a while did he realize she was trying to save him. Grateful, he stammered, “B-big brother, where are you from?” He thought, that since they were both fleeing for their lives, they might know each other. He hadn’t realized he had automatically assumed the other person was a male prisoner like himself.
Mei Lin didn’t answer. Perhaps because there was now another person, her spirits lifted slightly. She reached to her waist and tossed a few pine cones at the boy.
The boy was hit several times, though not hard. He immediately closed his mouth, thinking he had angered her. After a while, he quietly picked up one of the objects that had fallen on him, felt it, and then curiously sniffed it.
“Peel it… pine nuts…” Mei Lin hadn’t met such a foolish child before. She couldn’t help but remind him, speaking with some effort.
The boy had been fleeing for a day without eating anything and was dizzy with hunger. Hearing it was food, he began peeling, ignoring how the scales hurt his hands. He also found the pine cones that had fallen beside him and extracted every single pine nut.
“Big brother, you eat,” he said, carefully touching Mei Lin just as she was about to drift off to sleep again.
The boy had been holding back, not eating until he had peeled them all, and now offered them to her first.
Mei Lin’s eyelids were already too heavy to keep open. Feeling his touch, she only grunted, too weak to respond. The boy waited for a while, and seeing no reaction, he finally withdrew his hand and began to carefully nibble on the pine nuts himself.
In the quiet cave, the crunching sound of pine nuts being eaten could be heard one by one. Though slightly noisy, it at least prevented one from getting lost in the darkness.
After finishing all the pine nuts in his hand, the boy smacked his lips, still unsatisfied. He listened carefully to the surroundings, hearing only the heavy breathing of the person across from him and no other sounds. His frightened heart finally calmed down, so he curled up into a ball and fell asleep.
At some point, it began to rain outside. The autumn rain pattered on tree branches and grass leaves, making a rustling sound. Perhaps because the cave entrance was low and the space small, with two people inside, it wasn’t very cold. The different rhythms of their breathing rose and fell as if they had finally found something to depend on. Just as everything had settled into calm, there was a loud thud, as if something had violently hit the big tree above, shaking loose soil from the crevices in the ceiling.
The two, who had been sleeping lightly, were startled awake. Even in the darkness, they could sense each other’s shock.
The rain grew heavier, and no more sounds came from above. The boy became restless.
“Big brother, I’ll go check,” he said, worried it might be other companions. If they were injured and left in the rain, their chances of survival would be slim.
“Mm,” Mei Lin grunted, also feeling uneasy. She wondered if someone else had fallen from above. If so, this place might not be safe for long.
The boy went out and soon dragged back another person. In the pitch-black night, nothing could be seen, but Mei Lin felt a chill of rain mist brought in, making her shiver involuntarily.
“He’s not dead yet,” the boy said while trying to rub warmth into the person’s cold hands and feet. “His clothes are soaked through. I don’t know where he’s hurt.”
Mei Lin remained silent, feeling that being bothered like this made her discomfort seem less unbearable. Her body was still burning with fever, and her wounds still throbbed with pain, but now she wasn’t alone. The darkness could no longer silently engulf her.
“It’s too cold. He’ll die if we leave him like this…” the boy mumbled. Then there was a rustling sound. “I’ll take off his wet clothes. Big brother, let’s huddle together. It’ll be warmer that way.” As he spoke, he dragged the unconscious man towards Mei Lin.
Mei Lin didn’t move away. After roughly judging that the last person brought in posed no danger, she shifted her body closer, sandwiching the man between herself and the boy. At a time like this, she didn’t mind sharing her burning body heat with others.
A thin, chicken-claw-like hand reached over from the other side, wrapping around her shoulder, pulling the three of them closer together. The wound on her shoulder was gripped, sending waves of intense pain, but Mei Lin bit her lip and didn’t make a sound. Partly because the pain helped her stay alert, and partly because she couldn’t help but crave this feeling of sharing life with others.
However, this feeling was shattered when daylight pierced into the cave.
Perhaps because the person beside her had absorbed her excess body heat, Mei Lin’s fever had subsided by dawn. The hand that had been gripping her shoulder had long since slipped off as its owner fell into a deep sleep, now resting softly on the body of the person in the middle.
She hadn’t slept all night. The soft dawn light made it possible to see vaguely inside the cave. She turned her slightly stiff eyeballs and saw the person she had been cuddling with all night. Her expression instantly became extremely unpleasant.
She closed her eyes, then opened them again, proving she wasn’t dreaming. Her hand was unconsciously clenched. She took two deep breaths, then silently moved away, hiding herself in the shadows of the deeper part of the cave.
Murong Jinghe. The unconscious person with a pale face was Murong Jinghe.
What a cosmic joke!
Mei Lin lost her composure, not knowing how to handle the situation. Perhaps she should leave immediately, or take this opportunity to kill him…
Outside, the rain continued to drizzle, the pitter-patter sound beating on Mei Lin’s already fragile nerves, making her head throb again. As a death soldier, killing was nothing out of the ordinary, so she could easily kill this man who had caused her to fall into such a predicament. Just as yesterday morning, when faced with her pleas, he hadn’t shown any mercy.
As her mind raced with chaotic thoughts, her panicked emotions gradually stabilized. She crawled towards the cave entrance.
The rainwater dripping from the grass leaves fell into her parched mouth, making her feel slightly better. After breathing in a few breaths of fresh air at the edge of the cave, she sat down and turned back to coldly look at the two people inside.
The thin, sallow-faced boy was lying next to Murong Jinghe, clearly exhausted from a day of fleeing and sleeping deeply. Although his face was dirty and his clothes were in tatters, one could still see from his childish features that he was no more than fifteen years old.
Since he had survived yesterday, perhaps he could survive in the future as well…
The sound of rustling grass leaves reached her ears, interrupting Mei Lin’s contemplation. A black-brown, flat, round snake head emerged from the grass at the edge of the cave. It stared with its beady black eyes, flicked its tongue twice, and then slithered into the cave, revealing a body as thick as a child’s wrist.
Mei Lin sat there, calmly watching it, clenching her fist, her throat moving involuntarily. Just as the black snake slid onto her leg that was blocking its path, her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, suddenly reached out. One hand gripped the snake three inches behind its head, the other grabbed its body, and as the snake’s tail coiled around her arm in alarm, she bit down on the snake’s neck.
Ignoring the snake’s struggles and the increasing constriction of its tail around her arm, she tightened her jaw, biting harder and harder… until she pierced through the cold snakeskin, and warm blood flowed into her mouth.
The snake’s tail finally slowly loosened, occasionally twitching, and then went limp.
Thwack! The dead snake, nearly four or five feet long, was thrown to the ground. Mei Lin collapsed against the rock wall, almost exhausted. She closed her eyes and panted, the unhealed wound on her left shoulder bleeding again.
Having drunk a belly full of snake blood, her strength, depleted by blood loss, hunger, and high fever, was finally replenished. Her body gradually warmed up. As she recovered a bit, she opened her eyes, unexpectedly meeting a pair of clear black eyes filled with terror.
The boy had woken up, apparently having witnessed Mei Lin biting the snake, or more likely, he had been awakened by the commotion.
Mei Lin thought for a moment, then reached out to grab the snake from the ground and tossed it in front of him, saying flatly, “Eat.” Although pine nuts were good, the quantity was too small to satisfy hunger.
The boy shuddered, shrinking towards the still unconscious Murong Jinghe, stammering, “You… you are…” He could never have imagined that a woman had appeared, and such a fierce one at that.
Mei Lin lowered her eyelids. She could explain, but she had no desire to talk and didn’t want to waste energy. So she felt around her still bulging waist and tossed two more pine cones at the boy, then crawled over to drag the dead snake back. Her gaze searched the cave and finally landed on Murong Jinghe’s leg.
She crawled over and took a dagger from him, pulling it out of its ornate sheath. The thin blade gleamed like snow, looking like a fine weapon.
Sitting back in her original spot, she silently began to process the dead snake. Skinning it, cutting off its head, slicing open its belly to remove the innards…
“You… you… Big… Big brother?” While she was doing all this, the boy finally came to his senses, picking up the pine cones on his body with a look of disbelief.
Mei Lin glanced at him, still not speaking. She picked a few broad, half-yellow, half-green leaves at the cave entrance and laid them flat in front of her. She sliced the snake meat and placed it on the leaves, then dug a hole nearby to bury the snakeskin and bones to avoid attracting ants.
Perhaps cooked snake meat would taste delicious, but raw certainly wouldn’t be appetizing. The boy hesitantly looked at the white snake meat in front of him, then at Mei Lin who was silently chewing. He swallowed hard, trying to suppress the waves of nausea rising in him, forcing himself to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth. However, before he could even start chewing, the cold, slimy texture with its strong fishy smell immediately made him vomit it out with a “Bleh!”
Watching him retch repeatedly, almost bringing up bile, Mei Lin frowned. She moved over to take back the snake meat, then gave him all the pine cones she had on her.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Big… Big… Sister…” The boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve, his beautiful eyes brimming with tears, looking like he was about to cry from self-reproach.
“It’s alright,” Mei Lin finally spoke. Although her voice was better than yesterday, it was still hoarse, immediately confirming to the boy that she was indeed the person who had taken him in last night.
She wrapped the remaining snake meat tightly in leaves and tucked it into her bosom. She poked her head out to look at the still pouring rain, then looked back at Murong Jinghe, who remained unconscious for unknown reasons, before crawling towards the exit.
“Sister, where are you going?” The boy was shocked and suddenly stopped stammering.
“Escaping! Do you want to stay here forever?” Mei Lin said without looking back. After a thought, she reminded him, “You should leave here quickly too! It might be trouble if you stay longer.” By now, those soldiers should be hurrying back to report to Mu Ye Luo Mei. If they discovered Murong Jinghe was missing, they would likely search the entire mountain forest, maybe even seal it off. By then, escape would be impossible.
“But… Sister, Sister…” The boy looked at the fallen Murong Jinghe, ignoring the scattered pine cones. With agility rivaling a rat’s, he crawled up and grabbed Mei Lin’s ankle.
“What are you doing?” Mei Lin, unable to move forward, frowned and looked back.
“Sister, don’t leave me behind,” the boy said tearfully, his eyes red and face full of grievance.
Mei Lin was a bit stunned, not expecting him to want to stay with her. In the past, she had cooperated with other companions to overcome difficulties, but they usually parted ways after achieving their goals, never becoming entangled. For her, last night was such a situation. She had given him a hand, and he had helped her survive the most dangerous night. Even if she had still been weak at dawn, she wouldn’t have complained if he had left on his own. Similarly, when she decided to leave, she hadn’t thought of asking him to come along.
“Let’s go then,” Mei Lin thought for a moment. Considering his agility, traveling together wouldn’t be a bad thing, so she nodded.
Hearing this, the boy was overjoyed, his face breaking into a brilliant smile that dazzled the eye.
“Wait for me,” he said, then quickly returned to where he had been lying and busied himself.
Seeing that he was going to collect the pine cones on the ground, Mei Lin withdrew her gaze and crawled outside to sit under the big tree and wait. She didn’t spare another glance at the unconscious Murong Jinghe inside. If two days ago her thoughts had been somewhat stirred by his inexplicable infatuation, that had been thoroughly destroyed yesterday. He owed her nothing, and she hadn’t wronged him either, so his fate was no longer her concern.
The rain seemed to be falling harder. Occasionally, a few drops penetrated the still dense leaves above and fell on her, but it didn’t affect her good mood after eating her fill. She held out her hand to catch the rainwater, slowly washing off the blood stains, then looked at the mist-shrouded forest, considering escape routes.
“Sister, let’s go,” came the boy’s call from below, his voice slightly breathless.
Mei Lin looked down, and her face instantly turned green.
The boy stood below, carrying on his back Murong Jinghe, who was much larger than him. His face was red with effort, but his eyes were full of inexplicable joy.
(End of Chun Hua Yan – Chapter)