Chapter 2
“Move quickly!”
Zheng Gong, the senior guard, shouted fiercely at the lagging prisoners. The exiled people, pale-faced and exhausted, staggered as they tried to pick up their pace.
Li Zhi trudged along near the rear of the group. To conserve her energy, she gritted her teeth and forced herself onward without a word.
Sweat streamed down her flushed cheeks, soaking into her damp collar. Her back was already drenched, and the cold wind clinging to her like a wet rag pulled from a well sent a shiver through her body.
The wind, laden with snowflakes, howled through the open mountain valley. It passed through the barren branches, producing a wailing sound like the cries of ghosts.
Xie Lanxu’s carriage lagged behind the procession. A servant sat at the front, driving the cart with sharp cracks of the whip to spur the stragglers. The four ceremonial bells on the carriage jingled incessantly, swaying with every jolt.
The sound of those bells carried Li Zhi back to the previous night.
The wind rustled softly, shadows of trees swaying gently.
Under the vast sky, Xie Lanxu stood with his long, dark hair cascading down. His fair, jade-like face bore an expression of indifference. He wore a loose, purple robe embroidered with nacreous patterns, lazily draped over his shoulders, swaying gently in the fine snow. A reddish-grey sash hung loosely by his leg. In the pristine moonlight, he seemed untouched by the world, like a celestial river flowing from the summit of the heavens.
The sound of crunching dry leaves caught Xie Lanxu’s attention, he lifted his gaze from the front of the carriage.
Their eyes met. He smiled, as if it were nothing.
The sharp reprimands of the guards snapped Li Zhi back to the present. The moonlit memories faded away like a breeze. Once again, the grueling pain in her body surfaced. Compared to the torment of this long march, her gnawing hunger felt almost trivial.
The paper-thin soles of her shoes let her feel every pebble and stone beneath her feet. Hoping to ease the pain, Li Zhi reached into her belongings for her reclaimed handkerchief, intending to pad her shoes with it.
But just as she bent down, a sharp whistle shattered the silence.
“Ah!”
A short-robed guard clutched an arrow lodged in his neck. Blood gushed as his terrified eyes froze in place, and he collapsed.
More arrows hissed through the air, striking the group of exiled people. Chaos erupted immediately.
“Bandits! Run for your lives!”
Someone shouted, and the exiled people scattered, running desperately in every direction.
Li Zhi was knocked to the ground in the panic. Before she could rise, a large, grass-shod foot came crashing down toward her wrist.
Her reaction was instinctive—she grabbed her other hand, tightly clasping the shell bracelet she wore.
The prisoner’s foot slammed onto the back of her hand. Pain exploded, her face twisting, but Li Zhi clenched her teeth and made no sound.
Once the stampeding figure had passed, Li Zhi seized the moment to get back on her feet. The first thing she did was check her bracelet. Though the skin on the back of her hand had been scraped, the bracelet was thankfully unharmed.
The second thing she did was turn toward the carriage at the back of the group.
Bandits on wiry horses charged toward the exiled people, swinging gleaming machetes that flashed coldly in the gray sky. Their shouts were deafening. The lazy escort guards were utterly outmatched, both in spirit and numbers, and fled in disarray.
The abandoned carriage sat in the middle of the road. Several bandits dragged Xie Lanxu out of it, forced him onto a black horse, and disappeared into the forest.
After the bandits and Xie Lanxu vanished, the leader of the raiders blew a whistle to signal his men to retreat.
In the span of 15-20 minutes, Xie Lanxu and the bandits were gone, leaving behind only the terrified exiled people and escort guards staring blankly at one another.
****
“Move everyone to a safer place!”
The senior guard, Zhen Qiao, managed to gather his wits and shouted an order.
The group followed his instructions and marched hastily to an open space backed by a cliff. Only after stopping did the escort guards remember to count heads. They discovered that nineteen prisoners were missing.
Losing nineteen people wasn’t a major issue—except that one of them was the exiled imperial prince. That could very well cost them their heads. The guards exchanged anxious glances.
Li Zhi’s concern for Xie Lanxu surpassed theirs. She took advantage of the chaos and the distracted guards to sneak closer to where they were talking.
“These bandits have grown bold enough to attack an official convoy,” one guard muttered.
“It’s obvious they were after the deposed prince. Should we report this to our superiors?”
“Of course!” Zheng Gong snapped at the junior guard, then turned to Zhen Qiao. “Brother Zhen, you’re well-versed in such matters. What do we do now?”
Zhen Qiao hesitated, his face clouded with uncertainty. After a moment of thought, he steadied himself and spoke.
“We’re already more than halfway to our destination. Turning back now would cost us more time. Let’s send a fast rider to the county magistrate in Zhongcheng, sixty li away, to report this matter and request reinforcements.”
[ 1 Li = 500 meters i.e 60 li = 30 km]
With no better suggestion, the guards agreed to Zhen Qiao’s plan.
While Zheng Gong and two others untethered a horse from the carriage, Li Zhi frowned in thought.
Sending for reinforcements would take at least a full night. If the bandits intended to kill Xie Lanxu quickly, that was more than enough time for them to succeed.
The risks were too great. Li Zhi couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
The desolate exile road had no witnesses. Escape was almost impossible, as it would mean either falling prey to beasts or starving in the wilderness. However, the guards rarely worried about prisoners escaping; the heavy wooden collars most of them wore made such attempts futile.
Taking advantage of the lax security, Li Zhi slipped into the forest.
What might have been a stealthy getaway was interrupted by her half-sister, Li Xiang, who caught sight of her. Eyes wide with disbelief, Li Xiang blurted out: “What are you doing?!”
Countless eyes turned toward Li Zhi. Before the guards could stop her, Li Zhi bolted into the woods without looking back.
“Stop her!” Zheng Gong shouted furiously, chasing after her.
If she were caught, not only would she fail to rescue Xie Lanxu, but her life would likely be forfeit. Li Zhi pushed herself to run with all her might, losing track of time until she found herself alone in the forest.
Panting, she stopped to catch her breath and surveyed her surroundings. Using the position of the setting sun, she recalled a method she had read about in a travelogue to determine the cardinal directions.
With her bearings established, Li Zhi managed to retrace her steps. After nearly a time of incense stick, she emerged from the forest into the open space where the attack had occurred.
[stick of incense’s time is generally 5 to 30 minutes]
The abandoned battlefield was eerily silent. Corpses lay scattered, unburied, awaiting the attention of scavengers.
Resolving to follow the bandits, Li Zhi followed onward into the dense forest in the direction they had fled.
Following the tracks of the bandits was not difficult. Horses inevitably left marks, and the passage of a large group was especially evident. Li Zhi easily traced their trail to the bandits’ hideout.
The bandit basecamp was situated atop a mountain, with walls that conformed to the rugged terrain. The main gate was tightly shut, and a crude watchtower housed two sentries keeping guard.
Using the forest as cover, Li Zhi carefully observed the layout of the basecamp. The shortest section of the wall was still at least twenty feet tall, making any attempt to reach it is impossible. If she couldn’t sneak in, she would have to rely on the bandits themselves to bring her inside.
She stared at the thin layer of snow blanketing the ground and made her decision.
*****
“What? A woman wants to join our basecamp?”
The leader of the bandits, a burly man clad in wolf pelts, squinted at the subordinate reporting to him from below his high-crowned chair.
“A young woman, maybe fourteen or fifteen,” the underling explained. “She claims to be one of the prisoners being escorted and says our attack gave her the chance to escape from the convoy.”
“The gate guards didn’t know how to handle her and came to inform you.”
“What’s there to decide?” scoffed the second-in-command, a man with disheveled hair hanging loosely over his shoulders. “She’s a woman, isn’t she? Toss her in with the others we’ve captured. Can’t have too many women in the basecamp, can we?”
He exchanged a lewd glance with the leader, and both burst into raucous laughter.
“Well, if she’s worth the trouble,” the leader said, his interest piqued, “bring her in. Let us take a look ourselves.”
*****
A short while later, the subordinate returned, stepping across the threshold of the great hall.
“Come in! The chief wants to see you,” he called out toward the door.
The three bandit leaders turned their gazes toward the entrance.
Framed by the rectangular doorway, motes of dust swirled in the brilliant orange glow of the setting sun. A young girl dressed in plain clothes stepped hesitantly over the threshold, like a lost snowflake adrift in the wind.
All three leaders’ eyes locked onto her. Whatever dismissive attitude they might have held before was instantly swept away.
“Lift your head,” the leader ordered in a deep voice.
She hesitated, as if uncertain or afraid. A moment later, she slowly raised her head.
Her eyes, sparkling with brilliance, seemed to outshine the fading sunlight. Her finely arched brows resembled ink-strokes atop porcelain, gradually tapering and fading into her temples. A single snowflake had settled on her dark lashes, trembling delicately with every blink, as though it had found its way into the hearts of all three men.
The leader swallowed hard and was about to speak when—
“I want her.”
The gruff voice came from the third-in-command, who had been silent until now. His massive body sank into his chair, like a mound of greasy fat wrapped in ill-fitting clothes.
The leader cleared his throat, suppressing his own growing desire. “If my third brother wants her, then as his elder brother, I will naturally support him.” He turned to Li Zhi. “What’s your name?”
Li Zhi lowered her gaze again, speaking softly: “This humble one’s name is Li Xia.”
The leader, pleased with her submissive demeanor, nodded in satisfaction. “I want to ask you, would you be willing to become my third brother’s wife?”
Li Zhi glanced toward the bloated figure sprawled in his chair.
The leader continued, “We three brothers share the same mother. It was only because of the tyranny of the authorities that we were forced to come to the mountains. If you marry my third brother, we’ll be family. While we may not have wealth or status, you’ll eat well and live far better than wandering the wilderness.”
“…I am willing,” Li Zhi replied quietly.
“Excellent!” The leader clapped his hands, beaming. “No need to delay—tonight, I will personally arrange your wedding!”
Translator’s Note:- Hello everybody I hope you are liking this novel so far. I think this novel has a good storyline, for now I am 10 chapters into the novel and I really love it.
Dont forget to comment your thoughts<3<3
