The wolf howled and darted to a corner, obviously heavily injured.
"Come here! All of you, come here!" she shouted while she bent down and picked up two stones, hitting them together. With a spark, the hay caught fire with a roar. The child lit her rod on fire and raised the torch. She ran all over the arena, chasing away the pack of wolves that was attacking the children. While doing that, she continued shouting, "All of you, come here! All of you, come here!"
Children of all ages ran towards Jing Yue Er as they wailed, all of them injured. Some were bitten by wolves, some were shot by arrows. After the onslaught, there were barely twenty children left alive.
The pack of wolves were afraid of fire. Looking at Jing Yue Er protecting them from the middle, they tarried and dared not to inch forward. They had been hungry for too long. Seeing that their prey was now protected, they ran back to the bodies that lay in the arena, devouring all that they could.
Zhuge Huai's long and narrow eyes squinted at this sight and murmured, "Useless animals." He pulled his bow and started shooting at the wolves.
Sharp arrows flew towards the pack, attacking them unknowingly. The wolves howled in pain, collapsing onto the floor and in no time, they were all dead.
The children that survived were overjoyed. Ignoring the wounds on their body, they cheered loudly.
However, even before their cheers could be heard, another wave of arrows rained down on them, piercing through their small bodies.
The empire's aristocratic descendants shot ruthlessly with their sharp eyesight. Unsympathetically, they aimed right at the children in front of them with bloodthirsty arrows coming in for the kill.
An arrow swooshed through the air coming at a frightening speed, shooting through a child's head with a thud, entering through her left eye and coming out from the back of her head, stopping right in front of Jing Yue Er's nose. Warm blood splattered all over her face and she opened her mouth. With the burning rod being held tightly in her grip, she froze. The cries of children reverberated to the sides of her ears. It was all like a nightmare.
The arrows started to lessen as Prince Wei and Mu Yun laughed in unison. Both pulled back their bows, took aim right at the girl, and released an arrow, letting them speed through the air.
Zhao Jue frowned and steered his horse forward. Reaching for his quiver, he realized that he only had one arrow left. With a cold groan, he snapped the arrow in half and put them on his bow. With a skilled shot, he shot both arrows, shooting the arrows shot by Prince Wei and Mu Yun out of the sky.
Zhuge Huai laughed and commented, "Good shooting skills!"
Finishing his sentence, all cries stopped and the northern wind swept through the snowy arena, blowing the stench of blood along with it. The arena was covered in red and the only child surviving was Jing Yue Er. Her hair strewn all over her head, with hay stuck within it, her clothes dyed red and a pale expression. She held the wooden rod and did not move an inch. She looked over with a stunned gaze as if she was in shock.
Zhao Jue said, "The seventh brother is still the best. I have no more arrows left. I think you will be the winner today."
Prince Wei raised his brows, looked at his quiver, then Mu Yun's, and finally turned towards Zhuge Huai.
Zhuge Huai smiled smartly and said, "I was out of arrows long ago."
"Yan Shizi still has some arrows, doesn't he? The time is not up. Whose hand the deer will die under is still unknown," Mu Yun said all of a sudden.
All gazes fell on Yan Xun.
Zhao Jue looked coldly at Yan Xun and said without emotion, "Yan Shizi is known for giving everyone surprises at unsuspecting times."
The joss stick was only burnt halfway through, but everyone else had already used up their arrows. There was only one snowy white-feathered arrow lying in Yan Xun's quiver.
Yan Xun sat stately on his horse. Although he was only thirteen, his back was strong and straight, with dashing eyebrows and sparkling eyes. His nose was sharp and had a piercing gaze. The neatly pressed clothes he wore, distinguishing him from the crowd, made him seem handsome but cold. With his cold expression, he nudged his horse forward and drew his bow, aiming at the child standing right in the middle of the arena.
Gusts of wind swooshed by, blowing up the child's tattered clothes and messy hair. She was still very young, not older than six or seven years, looking malnourished and ghastly, like a hairless little wolf that had just been given birth. Her arms, neck, and calves were covered in wounds, and the wound on her shoulder was near her artery. She stood in the middle of the messy Xiu Luo Arena, with dismembered limbs strewn everywhere, fresh blood flowing from bodies, and the stench of blood filling the air. The strength of cruelty was like the spirit of hopelessness, tearing at the delicate eyes of the child.
A glistening bloodthirsty arrow slowly took aim at the child's throat. The teenager sat stately on the back of his horse. With his sharp gaze and brows furrowed, the veins on his arms bulged while he pulled back his bow.
There was nowhere she could hide. Disorganized thoughts were rushing through her mind, so many queries and mysteries vanishing under the sudden onslaught. She slowly raised her head. Her gaze extremely cold, radiating an immense amount of hate and resentment, she glared at the teenagers in front of her without the slightest fear.
That day, it was year 770, the 4th day in the first month of the Bai Cang calendar. The people of Zhen Huang had just celebrated New Year's Day. In the royal hunting arena on the outskirts of Zhen Huang City, it was the first time he and she met.
Time went through the path of history, tearing open the gates of time and space. Two souls that were never destined to meet had been placed on the same platform.
Yan Xun knitted his brows. Moving his fingers a little, he let go of the arrow.
The long arrow shot out, moving the cold air, as it soared through the air. All gazes concentrated and fell onto the child that was rooted to the spot.
With a swoosh, the line of blood lengthened as the sharp arrow grazed the neck of the child, cutting her. Her figure wobbled a little, but continued standing after staggering for a few steps.
"Ha ha! Congratulations seventh brother!" Zhao Jue laughed.
Zhao Che glanced scornfully at Yan Xun and smirked, "Yan Shizi has been spending all his time on song, dance, and poetry. Did he forget how the ancestors of the Zhao clan held a bow?"
Yan Xun put down his longbow and turned. With a bland tone, he said, "How the ancestors of the Zhao Clan held the bow, it would already be enough if their descendants remembered. I wouldn't dare to meddle in your family's affairs."
Zhuge Huai let out a huge laugh and said, "Since everyone is here, I guess the winner of this competition is his Seventh Royal Highness. I have dinner prepared for all of you at my house. Let's go and have drinks at my place."
All of them agreed and climbed up onto their horses together, as if all that had happened was just a game that could not be more ordinary.
A huge gust of wind blew past, whipping up the robes of these men, the stench of the wind filling the vast snowy plains. From afar, Yan Xun turned back, looking at the child covered in blood and filth. She had been standing in the middle of the plains after all this while, her deep gaze looking in their direction, fixated for a long while.
The sky gradually darkened. With the northern winds howling past, the piercing cold chilled them to the marrow. The wind whipped up snow on the ground while moaning like a crazed beast.
The men from the Zhuge family were clearing up the arena, shoveling up those young, tiny bodies, throwing them into a cart behind them. Not far away, there was a medium sized ditch that was dug out, with wormwood crackling in flames within the ditch, thick smoke billowing from it. It was used to bury those children, along with those bloodthirsty beasts. These lives were worthless, as if they were balls. Their rich owners would play with them only once and grow tired of them, hence throwing them out.
Jing Yue Er had a torn sack draped over her, and her head hung low in silence, sitting quietly beside the cages. She was seriously injured, but even if had she been a grown man, it would have been hard to suffer the immense pain in total silence.
The men from the Zhuge family thought that she would die soon, but even after a long while, they noticed that her chest was still rising and falling, albeit very little. They knew that she was alive due to her breathing and that an unknown source of strength was still supporting this child even though she was so close to death. Hence, they did not throw her into the mass burial ditch. Instead, they put her back into the cage when they left.
The cage that was initially packed with children suddenly seemed spacious. All the children were dead, only one had survived. As the men were amazed at the child's luck, they could not hold back the urge to turn back and survey her with caution.
Even though they could not find the words to describe it, they acutely sensed that the child, compared to when she had arrived, had changed.
The home of the Zhuges occupied a vast space. They entered through the back door and Zhu Shun placed Jing Yue Er under the care of two workers. After giving them a few instructions, they took one last cold look at her, turned their bodies and left.
With a click, a lock on one of the rooms was opened. Jing Yue Er was pushed into it. The door was locked shut before she could even pick herself up.
It was pitch black within the four walls, with a pile of firewood that was bunched together. One could still hear the rustle of rats scuttling through the room. The child did not yell in horror. She sat in the middle of the room, taking off the sack that was draped over her shoulders. Using her teeth to secure one end of the sack, she started tearing pieces of cloth off the sack, wrapping the wounds on her body with intense concentration, her techniques surprisingly well practiced.
Such a long time was enough for the qualified agent to calm her nerves, using careful thinking and a calm demeanor to tackle anything that came her way, even if the circumstances were unbelievable.
Indeed, Jing Yue Er of that time was Major Chu Qiao, assistant commander of the 11th division, who had sacrificed her life for her nation. Fate, at many times, could be as unbelievable as this. Under an abyss may not be hiding certain death, but perhaps the path to a new life.
Chu Qiao raised her arms. Using the light that was outside, she looked at her small palm. A tinge of sadness could be felt at the bottom of her heart, but she was unaware as to whether she was sad for herself or this pitiful child.
"There is no one here. I can allow myself to be sad and afraid, but I have to shorten this time as much as possible."
The child murmured to herself as tears streamed down, flowing across her filthy, skinny face. Hugging her knees, she lowered her head, nestling it between her arms. Silently, her back started to shudder.
This was the first night Chu Qiao spent in the Xia Empire, in the cold, well circulated firewood hut of the Zhuge household. It was the first time she cried helplessly because she was weak and afraid. She gave herself an hour to curse her fate, reminisce her past, worry about her future, and to adapt to her new life. After an hour, she would no longer be Chu Qiao, the super commander of the 11th division, but instead, a young and helpless female child slave with nothing, struggling to survive in this inhumane, bloodthirsty, and chaotic empire.
Fate had pushed her into the ditch, she told herself. She had to climb out.
This terrible predicament did not give her any chances to be full of remorse or to be anxious. If she did not pull herself together, she might not be able to survive the night.
She raised her blackened hands and picked up a wooden stick, slowly starting to write on the ground.
Zhuge, Wei, Mu, Jue, Che. At this word, her brows started to furrow. It started to darken outside, and the woodwind instruments playing within the palace grounds could be heard. Among the rustling, waves of laughter could also be heard. She silently recollected her thoughts for awhile and finally penned down the last word: Yan.
In the main hall of the Zhuge palace, everyone was toasting each other. Yan Xun's right eye twitched all of a sudden. He scrunched up his beautiful brows and turned slowly, gazing deep into the complete darkness.
The night was pitch black. With jackdaws soaring high in the sky, this turbid and ugly empire was rotten from the core.
The old was destined to be destroyed, with the new order coming in its place, rising from the ashes.
Even with the wounds on her body hurting terribly, Chu Qiao still forced herself to stand up and run rounds around the small firewood room, occasionally stopping to use her hands to massage her skin in case she froze to death in this dilapidated hut.
The drum signifying that it was 3 a.m. rung, and a window that was around the height of a person was being pushed open. Then, a small head popped into view. Chu Qiao was stunned. Raising her head, she saw a pair of bright eyes carefully check the surroundings of the room. After seeing Chu Qiao, a look of happiness flashed through his gaze. He held his index finger to his lips, asking her to not make a sound. He then nimbly jumped into the hut.
The boy quickly ran towards her, opening his arms, and pulled Chu Qiao into his arms. He choked a little, but comforted her with determination, "Yue Er, don't be scared, the fifth brother is here."
The boy was skinny and was not very old either. He looked like he was between eight and nine years old. He was wearing gray field clothes that did not fit him very well, making him seem skinnier than he already was. His stature was not fully grown and was merely half a head taller than Chu Qiao. However, his facial features and outlines seemed to have endured many hardships. He held the child tightly in his arms and patted her back, continuously repeating, "Don't be scared, the fifth brother is here."
Unknowingly, Chu Qiao's eyes filled with tears. Beads of tears rolled uncontrollably down her face, soaking his rough clothes. She did not know whether it was her body's natural reaction or her own true emotions, but in this strange, foreign, and cold night, this frail but warm hug was too precious.
The bright, clear moonlight shown through the slightly opened window, shining on the small bodies of the children. Within the cold four walls, the only little warmth came from the heart. The boy's small body was like a tough mountain. In this frigid night, even though he might have been shuddering in fear, he still hugged his sister firmly, holding her tightly in his arms.
"Yue Er, are you hungry?" The boy released her from his hug and carefully wiped off the tears on Chu Qiao's face with his blackened fingers. He smiled and said with glee, "Guess what brother brought you?"
The boy took out a little cloth bag from the back and sat down on the floor, neatly opening the bag. The aroma of the food drifted into the air instantly. He lifted his head to see that Chu Qiao was still standing and was puzzled. Raising his brows, he said, "Sit down."
It was a coarse porcelain bowl with the blue and white decorations on the side already discolored from rubbing, and there were a few tiny holes at the mouth of the bowl. It was filled to the brim with rice, along with vegetables piled on top of it. There was not much oil, but its aroma was just as good. The boy took a pair of chopsticks and wedged them into Chu Qiao's hands, rushing, "Quick, eat."
Chu Qiao lowered her head and shoved her mouth full of rice. All she tasted was saltiness, due to the taste of her tears. Her throat was choked but she continued munching like a robot, occasionally sobbing in tears.
The boy looked straight at Chu Qiao. Every time she opened her mouth, he would open his too, as if he was teaching her how to eat. When she swallowed her food, he would grin from ear to ear, causing his eyes to turn into slits.
As her chopsticks were fiddling in the bowl, they poked into something. Picking it up, it was actually a piece of braised pork that was still warm.
That piece of meat was the size of a thumb and was a little burnt on the side. It was half fatty and half lean, but in a dark cold night like this, it was so tempting.
A noise suddenly rumbled. Chu Qiao raised her head from the bowl, looked towards the boy, and saw that he was awkwardly rubbing his tummy. Purposely putting on a nonchalant front, he said, "I just finished dinner, I'm not hungry."
Chu Qiao passed the chopsticks over and said,"You have it."
The boy shook his head instantly. "Our dinner today was especially good. The fourth young master allowed us to add dishes. Braised fish, sweet and sour ribs, vinegar fried pork, steamed duck, there were so many dishes. I ate so much I may throw up, I don't think I can have any more food."
Chu Qiao stubbornly raised her chopsticks and said, "I don't like to eat fatty pork."
The boy remained dazed for a while, looked at Chu Qiao, then diverted his gaze onto the piece of braised pork. He unknowingly swallowed his saliva. After a while, he finally reached for the chopsticks she offered, and carefully bit off the fatty portion of the meat. He then passed the lean pork back to Chu Qiao. Laughing in glee, revealing his row of white teeth, he said, "Yue Er, now you can eat."
A pang of emotions hit her and she hurriedly lowered her head. Tears swirled in her eyes, but she managed to hold them in.
After a while, she raised her head slowly and smiled at the boy. She opened her mouth and devoured that piece of meat, munching and grinning at the same time.
"Yue Er, is it delicious?" His eyes shone as if they were stars in the galaxy.
Chu Qiao nodded furiously. She was all choked up, but she managed to say, "It's delicious. The most delicious thing I've tasted in my life is this piece of meat."
"Silly girl." The boy reached out and patted her head. With a tinge of sadness in his expression, he said,"How old are you to say things like 'in my life'? We don't need to talk about the future, just when we were young. We have savored many expensive foods, but you were still too young to remember a thing. But don't you worry. One day, the fifth brother will let you eat and dress well, and bring you delicacies from all around the world. Not only braised pork, but also ginseng, abalone, bird's nest, shark's fin, and clams. Whatever you want, you will have it. Until then, no one will think of bullying us. Yue Er, do you believe me?"
Chu Qiao nodded and continued shoving rice into her mouth. Although it was not very delicious, the warmth it gave was tremendous.
"Yue Er, don't be scared." While saying this, the boy took off his jacket and draped it onto Chu Qiao's shoulders. With a warm tone, he annotated his words very clearly and said, "Fifth brother will protect you and will be here accompanying you. Don't be afraid."
As the moonlight shone clear and bright, the light shone through the gaps into the firewood hut as dazzling white light. Like frost under the moonlight, the children's small bodies laid closely together, seemingly small, but so very warm.
The flames of light flooded the area from afar, woodwind instruments playing to their heart's content and the aroma of meat and drinks filling the air. The nightless city of Zhen Huang had finally ushered in the climax of tonight's banquet. Under the brilliant lights, no one remembered the little girl that had survived the onslaught in the arena. The cold air billowed, causing the flag with the flame insignia of the Xia Empire to whistle in the wind.
When she woke up the next day, the boy was no longer here. On the floor, he had left a message in his neat handwriting: The fifth brother will be back tonight. There are buns beneath the firewood.
Chu Qiao pulled away the dried twigs and saw two slightly yellowish buns wrapped in a piece of oil paper. She held them tightly and looked calm, but her gaze started to warm.
Like this, three days passed with no one questioning her condition. The boy continued to visit her daily, bringing along food and accompanying her, then leaving silently the next day. On the third day, the door to the hut banged open. Zhu Shun looked down at Zhu Qiao, who had remained alive after three days in the firewood hut, furrowing his brows tighter and tighter. At last, he ordered his men to release her.
When she stepped out of the hut, Chu Qiao stopped at the door. Taking one last look at this dilapidated hut, pressing her lips together, she turned with a look of determination.
As she walked forward, the hut seemed increasingly worn-out. A huge bunch of kids could be seen hiding behind the trees, sneakily watching her. When she reached the yard, with the men taking their leave, the crowd of kids rushed towards her, pulling her into their arms.
"Little sixth, you are back!"
"The sixth sister, I thought you were never coming back."
"Sister Yue Er, wuuuuuuu…"
The children started chattering all at once. Some wailed outloud, scaring Chu Qiao a little, who stood there in a daze with the children surrounding her as she tolerated the snot and tears from these little kids.
"Okay, stop crying."
A male voice was heard, turning the heads of all the children, causing them to cry out, "The fifth brother!"
A boy ran in from outside, hugging a cloth bag. In two steps, he dropped its contents onto the floor. It was a bag full of melon seeds. Upon seeing it, the children cheered and let go of Chu Qiao in unison, running to the seeds.
"Don't snatch them. This is enough for everyone," the boy said maturely. He continued, "Yue Er just escaped death and was severely wounded. Don't disturb her. Everyone has to help her complete her job for the next few days."
The children nodded. A girl with two ponytails and pale, soft features raised her head. She smiled and said, "Don't worry the fifth brother, we will definitely help the sixth sister."
The boy continued, "Xiao Qi, has your injury recovered? Why are you out of bed?"
"Fifth brother, it has recovered already." The child smiled as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing black and blue scars from a whipping. Some areas still revealed his flesh and were nowhere near recovered. Xiao Qi said gleefully, "The medicine you gave me was very useful. It was painless once I applied it. Xiao Ba was kicked in the waist by the horse while she was feeding them, I've got to help her."
"Lin Xi, come in, I have things to say to you." A young girl scuttled forward suddenly, holding the boy's hand.
He turned and looked at Chu Qiao. He said, "Yue Er, the wind is quite strong outside. Come inside too."
In the small and dilapidated house, there was a large bed-stove, with more than ten blankets folded neatly on top of it. A boy named Lin Xi chirped, "Sister Zhi Xiang, you were looking for me?"
Zhi Xiang was not much older, looking around ten years old. She crouched down and opened the bed-stove from below, revealing its pitch black interior and pulling out a small box. She said, "In five days, it will be the anniversary of our parents and relatives' deaths. The incense and joss paper you wanted us to secretly prepare are all here."
Lin Xi nodded and said with a cautious tone, "Be careful, don't let the manager know about this."
"Yes, don't worry. No one will come over to us. But for you, when you are taking care of the fourth young master, you have to be careful. The day before yesterday, I heard from Si Tao from the laundry room that the third young master has already killed two reading partners in his room. Even though the fourth young master is not like him, his weird character is unpredictable. When the master is not around, Young Master Huai does not bother with the happenings within the household. They are getting more and more ill-disciplined. The old master has already killed more than twenty young female slaves. The ones that were sold to the Du family together with us have all perished. I'm really worried that this fate would befall us as well."