Chapter 1 The Poppy

In the sixteenth year of the Qiyuan era, the emperor of Dali died suddenly, and the various states were divided, with warlords vying for power in the heart of the Nine Provinces, making the region turbulent and unstable.

The continuous fighting in Yingzhou turned the sweltering summer nights into a living hell, with wooden bolts blocking the doors and causing them to rattle and bang.

Yu Wanyin huddled in the wardrobe in the inner room, listening to the sounds of the rebels searching and fighting outside.

She felt as if she were still in a dream, everything before her eyes and in her ears seemed ethereal.

Not long after the emperor's sudden death, a new marquis was enfeoffed in the heart of Yingzhou, monopolizing the fiefdom, establishing himself as king, and touring the country.

The court officials and their families who were relied upon were all included.

As the daughter of the Imperial Censor of Yingzhou, she accompanied her father on his imperial tour to Jiangling and was listed among the family members of officials.

Her father originally only brought her stepmother and stepsister, not her.

It was only because she was engaged to the newly appointed Left Prime Minister, but not yet married, that she had to give Left Prime Minister Chu Yu face and reluctantly remembered that he had a daughter.

Yu Wanyin originally comforted herself, saying that it didn't matter whether her father valued her or not.

It's just ridiculous.

When she woke up, she found herself forgotten by her own father in the smoke-filled, sword-fighting inner quarters of the Jiangling Palace.

It's probably because she's not important.

Her life or death was of no importance to her father.

After her mother passed away, her father and stepmother started a new family.

She is the outsider.

The rebels launched their attack under cover of night, catching the enemy completely off guard.

It's not uncommon for any faction to rebel in these turbulent years.

It could be other vassal states that coveted Yingzhou and were dissatisfied with Yingzhou's independence and claiming kingship, or it could be internal power struggles within Southern Ying, where they took advantage of the chaos and turmoil to harbor rebellious intentions towards the new king.

These things brought no peace to her or the people.

There is no difference.

Yu Wanyin didn't know when her father had run away, but he didn't come to call her to go with him, and even the little maidservant who served her didn't call her.

No one remembers her, or perhaps no one in this family cares about her.

She was awakened by the screams and cries of other officials' families outside, and was already surrounded by rebels.

Everyone in this entire courtyard who hasn't escaped yet will be at the mercy of others.

She got up, her clothes thin and her hair disheveled, hastily threw on an outer garment, and hid in the wardrobe.

They prayed that perhaps the rebels would glance outside and, seeing no one, leave.

But she underestimated their wolfish ambitions.

Yu Wanyin's ears were filled with the sounds of scrambling and burning. She unconsciously hugged her knees, and her plain white sleeves brushed open as she moved, revealing her fair wrists.

The pale moonlight shone through the gaps in the cabinet, illuminating her fair and radiant skin, making her look like a white porcelain flower swaying in the wind and rain.

The door to the next room was broken open, and the loud crash shook the wardrobe where Yu Wanyin was!

Yu Wanyin trembled slightly, tilting her head back and holding her breath.

She heard them violently overturn tables and chairs, stab and stab indiscriminately with knives and swords, and only stop after sweeping through every corner of the house. "There's no one in this room either."

The man muttered under his breath, "That old censor really runs fast."

"It's a pity that we probably won't be able to catch that stunningly beautiful young lady from Yingzhou today."

"Let's go, next room!"

Yu Wanyin gently clenched her porcelain-like fingers into her dress, creating uneasy folds.

Then the heavy footsteps of those people came straight towards the house where she was!

The soldier who had previously banged on the door pointed at her door and said, "Sir, this room is locked from the inside. There's probably someone inside."

The word was cold, hard, and straightforward: "Smash."

Yu Wanyin's long, curled eyelashes trembled, realizing that she still couldn't just sit in this room and wait to die.

After a brief pause, she immediately pushed open the wooden door of the wardrobe.

Just then, the rebel kicked her door, attempting to force it open!

Yu Wanyin gasped, looked around, and hurriedly grabbed a wooden stick, warily guarding against any movement outside.

The wooden bolt on the door creaked and twisted from being repeatedly struck and crushed, and wood chips fell everywhere.

It was about to be breached.

Yu Wanyin retreated to the window and glanced at the scenery outside.

Outside the door, several rebels took turns attacking, and with what seemed like the umpteenth loud bang, the door bolt snapped!

The entire wooden door fell down and was trampled underfoot by the rebels, who then broke into the house.

The room still retained a faint scent of lily of the valley, a subtle fragrance that gently and quietly permeated the air, so delicate and tender that it made one's bones ache.

You can tell from the smell that this is a girl's house.

She's a very charming girl.

The Grand Marshal, standing at the dressing box, picked up a red silk hairpin shaped like a poppy.

He said in a deep voice, "Search."

The soldiers who broke into the house searched it thoroughly, overturning all the cabinets, beds, tables and chairs, but they couldn't find anyone.

One of the soldiers suddenly shouted, "Sima!"

Everyone looked over and saw that the window beside the soldier was wide open, and a piece of plain white gauze was scraped down from the window frame by a splinter.

Outside the window is the Jade Belt River, which leads to the outside of the palace.

The water reflected the towering flames inside the palace, creating ripples.

Yu Wanyin knows a little about swimming, but she can't swim very far.

The palace was connected to Funan Mountain in Jiangling, which was considered the royal palace garden.

Yu Wanyin swam to a secluded mountain forest where the war had ended. Exhausted, she had to stop and barely managed to get ashore by holding onto the white jade pebbles on the bank.

Even in the sweltering summer heat, the mountain forest was still chilly. The mountain wind blew, and her damp clothes clung to Yu Wanyin's body, revealing her slender and graceful figure.

She fled in haste, still wearing that thin, plain white wavy skirt, with only a single layer of clothing underneath.

Yu Wanyin hid in a lush area to tidy her clothes.

Before she could even catch her breath, she saw several dark figures rise to the surface of the water and swim toward her.

Yu Wanyin's heartstrings tightened, and she turned to look at the mountains behind her.

That dark forest was especially mysterious and eerie at night, swaying constantly in the mountain breeze, as if it were alive.

It was like a wild beast silently opening its blood-red maw, staring intently at her, luring her deeper, and then devouring her completely.

Yu Wanyin's lips tightened. Hearing the sound of her pursuers swimming behind her, she immediately got up and left the riverbank. Without looking back, she ran into the dark and hidden depths of the mountains. The mountain paths were winding and secluded, with lush foliage. Once inside, one could disappear without a trace.

The wind howled and the cranes cried out, like the satisfied sigh of a wild beast that had devoured people without spitting out the bones.

During her escape, the branches of vines in the woods brushed against her hair, catching strands of hair.

Yu Wanyin's long hair was loose, so she simply let it go.

His strength gradually dissipated as he fled.

Yu Wanyin's steps became unsteady. She had been born with a weak constitution, and the repeated ordeals had pushed her to her limit, leaving her breathless.

I don't know how long I ran, but when I stopped, the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Before she ran out of energy, Yu Wanyin saw several abandoned tents set up in the mountains.

The two outer tents appeared to have been burned and were in a state of disrepair. Things in the courtyard were lying haphazardly overturned. The inner tent was blackened by smoke and had several holes, barely holding together enough to provide temporary shelter.

In this chaotic world, many people are homeless, and it is common for them to flee to wherever they can find a simple place to live.

Yu Wanyin subconsciously assumed that this place was also a place where people had lived in exile.

Although it wasn't a place to hide for long, it was enough for her to take a short rest.

Yu Wanyin went straight in, but when she saw the scene inside the tent, she suddenly froze on the spot!

The tent was divided into two rooms, an inner and an outer one, separated by a huge map of Yingzhou. The outer room had the map facing the front, and the main seat was a chair made of wolf teeth and tiger bones, with lampposts placed on both sides.

There were two knife racks by the entrance, with all sorts of... chains and long knives hanging on them!

The sharp blade looked particularly eerie under the cold moonlight.

Almost every blade had some dark marks on it.

If she wasn't mistaken, it was blood that couldn't be washed away.

Yu Wanyin's heart skipped a beat.

This was not the refugee dwelling she had imagined at all; she dared not think about whose dwelling it was.

She turned to leave, but suddenly saw firelight through the thin curtain of the tent.

Following closely behind were countless sounds of horses reining in their horses. They trampled the dead branches and leaves on the ground without mercy, and the wind they left behind was chilling and fierce.

Yu Wanyin retreated step by step, and bumped into the tiger bone chair behind her.

She lost her balance, and just as her fingers reached up, she touched a tiger bone spur. Turning around, she bumped right into the hideous bone surface of the tiger skin!

Even this chair is made of real tiger bones and wolf teeth, exuding a rugged wildness and iron-blooded taming methods.

Yu Wanyin's hair stood on end instantly.

At the same time, a rude voice came from outside, "You bastard, get inside and wait for the leader to question you!"

"Helmsman" is a term used by bandits to refer to their leaders.

This is a gang of thugs!

It was too late to get out, so Yu Wanyin hurriedly hid in the inner room.

But inside is a bedroom... a man's bedroom.

The intense, unrestrained aroma of sun-dried greens enveloped her.

Hanging nearby were several animal hides and necklaces made of wild bones, all spoils of war from warriors with absolute dominance in the mountains and wilderness.

The inner room was not large, and Yu Wanyin had nowhere to hide. In the end, she could only spot the wooden box he had placed next to her and, with nowhere else to go, crawled inside.

She heard several people enter the tent.

The man in the lead was carrying something, which he threw directly on the ground.

It looked like a person, making some whimpering sounds as it was thrown down.

The man stomped on it, cursing incessantly, "You bastard, you've got some nerve! You're a traitor, bringing your own officials to smash our camp! I've always thought of you the best, and you've been too kind to me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rude and violent slap landed on someone's face.

Yu Wanyin was so frightened that her heart skipped a beat.

The person on the ground groaned, as if struggling.

Someone came in to report, "Brother Zong, the leader has arrived."

The man casually drew his waist knife, the sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard sharp and piercing. "Master! Today I will skin this traitor alive!"

"They stole our weapons to help those officials rebel, and even led them to burn our camp. They used the pretext of civilian bandits plotting a rebellion to attack us. All the good things were said by those corrupt officials, while we were blamed for all the dirty work. I've never suffered such humiliation before!"

Someone did indeed come in, accompanied by an unfamiliar, gruff voice saying, "No rush."

As soon as he finished speaking, the footsteps headed straight for the inner room, and the metal buckle on his sword was pulled open with a crisp sound.

It sounds like they're going to change clothes.

Yu Wanyin didn't dare to breathe loudly and hid deeper into the box.

The rustling sound suddenly stopped when the person was changing clothes.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that even her restrained breathing sounded particularly abrupt.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she could always feel a sharp gaze fixed on the wooden box where she was hiding.

It felt as if it could penetrate the wooden box and peel her whole body apart.

Just as Yu Wanyin was nervously trying to look outside, the wooden box was suddenly opened!

That tall and imposing figure was like an impenetrable net, enveloping her from top to bottom!

The man's sharp, hawk-like eyes slowly scrutinized her.

Yu Wanyin stood there, stunned, unsure of how to react.

She looked up from the man's tightly bound crocodile-skin waistband and saw his muscular, well-defined waist and abdomen, then hastily stopped her gaze.

The jingling bone whistle hanging from the man's neck tapped against his firm belly, also dangling in front of her eyes.

Yu Wanyin lowered her eyes, and all she could see was the man's large hand gripping the edge of the box.

The veins on the back of his hands rippled with his movements, winding and coiling up his strong, powerful arm, lurking with a chilling sense of strength.

It was as if they were scrutinizing and considering how to deal with this uninvited guest of unknown origin.