Chapter 2

For several days in a row, the wind and snow did not stop. Yaoding City was covered in silver. The snow on the streets was half a leg high. The people and officials shoveled the snow on their own, and there were people coming and going everywhere.

In the past few days, apart from dealing with necessary issues, Yin Qiu has hardly gotten out of bed. She spends most of her time in a coma, and is always picked up in a half-awake state to eat, drink medicine, and then fall asleep again. She doesn't feel the passage of time at all.

That afternoon, she finally woke up to the sound of shoveling snow. She propped herself up on the bed and found herself in an unfamiliar room. Looking around blankly, she saw no one but herself.

She vaguely remembered a warm and soft embrace, as if it had accompanied her for several nights, but she couldn't remember who it was. Yin Qiu's mouth was dry, and she walked barefoot to the table and gulped down a few mouthfuls of tea.

The tea was still hot, as if it had just been brewed.

Where is this?

While she was pondering, she suddenly heard a burst of laughter outside the room, which was quite noisy. Yin Qiu put down her teacup and approached the wooden door. She quietly opened a crack and saw several men and women embracing each other intimately. They were walking from the end of the corridor, flirting and saying things that made people blush.

Seeing this, Yin Qiu felt a chill in her heart.

For a moment, she forgot the pain and discomfort in her body, and ignored the coldness all around her and the icy soles of her feet. She turned around blankly and looked at the furnishings of the room.

It wasn't as glamorous as she had imagined; instead, it had some simple furnishings and didn't resemble the brothels she had once frequented. It looked more like an ordinary inn.

With a creak, the door opened.

A white figure moved gracefully forward, carrying a chilling aura, and stopped in front of her.

Yin Qiu was startled and unconsciously took two steps back, looking somewhat flustered.

"Awake?" The newcomer, dressed in a white dress and wearing a wide brocade robe, cast an appraising glance at her.

Upon seeing her face clearly, Yin Qiu recalled some fragmented images, took a step back, and stood still without saying a word, simply watching her silently.

"Why aren't you wearing shoes?" Man Jiangxue said, reaching out to pick her up and put her back on the bed, then touching her forehead. "You're alright, the fever has gone down."

Yin Qiu was still thinking about the group of men and women in the corridor earlier, and asked her anxiously, "Did you buy me?"

Man Jiangxue was opening the food box she had brought when she heard this. She smiled and said, "I suppose so." She took out the food and set it out, then waved to Yin Qiu, "If you can walk by yourself, put on your shoes and come over. It's time to eat."

Yin Qiu looked bewildered, clutching the hem of her clothes, and after a long while asked, "Then how much silver did you get from selling them?"

After finishing her work, Man Jiangxue looked up at her and asked, "What? How much silver did you get?"

Yin Qiu shrank under the covers, only her eyes showing, her voice muffled: "You spent five hundred taels to buy me that day, and now you've sold me here. Do you think you can make a profit?" She choked back a sob before continuing, "Last time I was sold to a brothel, it only cost ten taels..."

Man Jiangxue didn't understand what she meant, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "A brothel?"

She pondered for a moment, wondering what could have made the child mistake this place for a brothel, when she saw Yin Qiu suddenly throw off the covers and rush to the window like a gust of wind. She then pushed the window open forcefully and climbed up using both her hands and feet.

"What are you doing?" Man Jiangxue asked in surprise.

A gust of cold wind rushed in through the window. Yin Qiu, gripping the window frame with tears in her eyes, said, "If you sold me somewhere else, I could accept it, but if it's a brothel, I'd rather..."

The small figure was thin and frail, wearing only a single layer of clothing. In the relentless pounding of the cold wind, it looked like a helpless green willow leaf, as if it could fall at any moment.

Upon seeing her actions, Man Jiangxue was initially surprised, but quickly calmed down.

"Not as good as what?" she asked calmly.

Yin Qiu glanced down, her heart filled with fear, but her words were resolute: "I'll jump down and die."

Man Jiangxue looked at her for a while, but didn't stop her. Instead, she sat down at the table and finally spoke after a long time: "Aren't you going to jump?"

Unexpectedly, Yin Qiu was stunned by her reaction. She glanced outside again and felt dizzy, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“This is the second floor,” Man Jiangxue’s voice came again. “See how thick the snow is down there? You won’t die from a fall, at most you’ll break an arm or a leg, and if you can’t get it treated, you’ll be crippled for life. Think it through.”

·

Impulsive actions have left Yin Qiu in a dilemma, leaving her at a loss for what to do.

Hearing Man Jiangxue's calm tone and composed demeanor, Yin Qiu was certain that Man Jiangxue's meticulous care over the past few days was merely a ploy to save her and then resell her for profit, no different from the unscrupulous human traffickers she had encountered in the past. For a moment, Yin Qiu felt utterly hopeless, her chest heaving with anger.

But she was no longer young; she would be eleven years old after this winter. She had been sold to a brothel before, where she did menial tasks such as washing dishes, wiping floors, and helping the kitchen prepare vegetables. However, she was young and weak, and often made mistakes due to her clumsiness. She was always scolded and beaten, and often new injuries would appear before old ones had healed. She lived a very miserable life.

For a while, she was lucky. A popular girl in the brothel took pity on her and called her to serve her. But not long after, the girl died. She had said something wrong while entertaining a customer and was slit in the throat by a drunken man. She was wrapped in a tattered straw mat and thrown into the wilderness to be fed to wild dogs.

She had seen many similar things in the brothel and knew very well that once she reached a certain age, she would no longer be able to do those jobs in the brothel. It was not uncommon for girls to get married and have children at the age of twelve. She would definitely end up like those women who had fallen into prostitution, dressed up beautifully, serving drinks and sleeping with customers, welcoming and seeing them off. Who knows when she would lose her life and end up like that girl.

With her thoughts racing, Yin Qiu's face was pale. Seeing Man Jiangxue leisurely pouring tea and drinking it, clearly not wanting to bother with her, Yin Qiu couldn't help but steel her heart, close her eyes, and loosen her grip on the window frame.

As her body plummeted outwards, Yin Qiu imagined herself falling and bleeding profusely. At that moment, she was unusually calm and no longer afraid. She thought that dying like this would be a relief. Unexpectedly, as soon as her upper body moved, a hand suddenly appeared around her waist. That hand gently pulled her back and dragged her back.

"You're really going to jump?" Man Jiangxue's gentle voice rang out above her head.

The howling wind in her ears faded away in an instant, and Yin Qiu bumped into her warm embrace, pressed against her chest, and heard the other's steady and powerful heartbeat.

Her own heart was pounding like a drum, about to leap out of her throat.

“You have quite a fiery temper,” Man Jiangxue said with a wave of her hand, and the two windows closed immediately. “Just like your mother.”

Yin Qiu paused for a moment, then looked at the window again and began to feel a chill of fear. But when she heard Man Jiangxue's words, she perked up and quickly looked up at her: "My mother... do you know my mother?"

Man Jiangxue didn't reply. She simply put her on a stool, handed her a bowl and chopsticks, and said, "Eat."

Yin Qiu had no appetite. She pressed on, "You just mentioned my mother..."

"Eat first," Man Jiangxue interrupted her, "I won't talk until I eat."

Yin Qiu quickly picked up the bowl, hurriedly shoveled several mouthfuls of white rice into her mouth, then stuffed in a few bites of vegetables, swallowing them hastily without much chewing, and said anxiously, "I'm eating, I'm eating, can you talk to me while you eat?"

Man Jiangxue started playing with her dagger again, and first asked Yin Qiu, "What do you know about your parents?"

Yin Qiu almost choked from eating too fast, so she quickly drank a cup of tea, cleared her throat, and said, "Not much. I only know my own name, but many people have told me that they are all dead."

“Your father is indeed dead,” Man Jiangxue picked up her chopsticks and put some food on her plate. “As for your mother, she was alive a while ago, but almost ten years have passed, and she has disappeared without a trace. No one has seen her, and no one knows whether she is dead or alive now.”

Although she had always heard that her parents had died, Yin Qiu still held onto a sliver of hope. Hearing her say this now, she couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy.

My father is dead, and my mother has been missing for ten years. What difference is there between them and her being dead?

Thinking of her lonely and helpless days, Yin Qiu's eyes reddened, tears welled up, and she fell silent.

"Also, this is not a brothel," Man Jiangxue added.

Yin Qiu sat there, chopsticks in hand, looking utterly lost.

She got up and put a coat on her, then sat back down and looked at her, saying, "Don't worry, I won't sell you. Once you're better, I'll take you to Yunhua Palace, the place where your mother used to live."

Yin Qiu held back her tears and asked in a hoarse voice, "What kind of place is Yunhua Palace?"

"Martial arts sects," Man Jiangxue said, "your mother once served under the former sect leader and was the first female disciple to defeat the four elders. Her swordsmanship was superb, and she was incredibly famous. Everyone knew her name."

Hearing someone talk about her mother for the first time, Yin Qiu finally came to her senses, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "What was her name?"

“Chen Mandong”.

Where is my father?

"Yin Xuan".

Yin Qiu silently repeated the two names in her heart, feeling both unfamiliar and familiar. After realizing that this was not a brothel, she breathed a sigh of relief and her emotions calmed down a bit.

"And who are you?"

There was no bright sunlight on the snowy day. Although it was afternoon, a few candles were still lit in the room. Man Jiangxue used a dagger to hold up the wick of the candle, and her face looked very gentle in the firelight.

“Your mother and I are both disciples of Yunhua. She is a few years older than me and entered the sect before me. She is my senior sister.”

Upon learning her identity, Yin Qiu's eyes widened in surprise, and then she realized what had happened.

No wonder she spent so much money to buy herself, hired doctors to treat her, and personally fed her and gave her medicine. It turns out that this was the reason.

She thought anxiously: After that, will she no longer have to be bought and sold, and no longer have to suffer?

But would that Yunhua Palace welcome her? And if she went there, who would she be assigned to serve?

Perhaps sensing what she was thinking, Man Jiangxue shifted her gaze to her face, her voice reassuring: "Don't worry, the current head of the palace was on good terms with your mother back then. Over the years, we have been searching for your whereabouts, hoping to bring you back. Now that your senior sister is gone, it is our duty to take care of her child."

This should have been good news, and one should have been happy to hear it. However, Yin Qiu looked completely blank and showed no surprise. After a long while, she asked again, "Then how did my parents die?"

“I will tell you about these things later,” Man Jiangxue did not answer directly. “There’s no rush. Right now, the most important thing is your health. It’s not too late to talk about it after you’ve recovered.”

Yin Qiu was indeed in a state of turmoil. She had suddenly learned of her parents' deaths and their future whereabouts, and her heart was filled with complex emotions. If she were to hear any more about her parents, she feared she would find it difficult to process.

She nodded, lost her appetite, and after taking the medicine, she felt sleepy again, went to bed, and fell asleep.

·

The night was dark and the wind was strong. The snow was heavy and the road was rugged. A horse-drawn carriage was speeding along the way.

The roads were slippery due to the snow, and it was almost pitch black at night. The woman in green on horseback kept whipping the horse to urge it on, completely disregarding the family of three who were being tossed around in the carriage. She charged forward at high speed through the blurred vision.

"Miss! Miss Ji!" Unable to withstand the jolting any longer, the peasant woman risked being thrown out and clung to the doorway. "Can't you slow down? Those people have already been shaken off, and my son is sick..."

Her hands were already marked with blood from the reins, and the overflowing blood quickly froze into ice crystals. Amidst her busy work, Ji Wanshu turned around and coldly said, "Shut up!"

After being yelled at like that, the peasant woman had no choice but to reluctantly roll back into the car. The couple held onto their young child tightly, and the whole family bumped around in the car, feeling like their bones were about to fall apart.

If we run for a while longer, this road will come to an end, and then we will turn onto the official road. It will take another hour or two to reach Liaoping County. If we can get the person into the city before curfew, there will still be a glimmer of hope.

Ji Wanshu half-covered her face to protect herself from the wind and snow, but the part of her face that was visible was serious. She had to multitask, watching the road conditions, riding a horse and driving a carriage, and keeping an eye on the movements in all directions. Her mind was on edge, very focused.

With the sound of hooves and wheels clashing, the mountain road finally came to an end, which meant that Ji Wanshu could increase his speed and no longer be constrained by the road conditions.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the mountains on both sides.

Hearing the deafening noise, Ji Wanshu glanced to the side and saw countless large rocks rolling down the mountainside, a scene comparable to a thousand troops charging in, stirring up a thick cloud of dust.

Soon after, the couple's shouts rang out behind them. Ji Wanshu knew something was wrong and lashed the horse's rump with his whip. But no matter how fast the horse ran, it was no use at this moment. In an instant, the falling rocks blocked its path.

With a loud "boom," the carriage shattered into pieces, followed by several more shrill screams. Ji Wanshu leaped into the air, searching for a foothold amidst the chaos.

Huge rocks came one after another, crushing the carriage to pieces. Even the horse was not spared; it was hit by the rocks, coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground.

The sudden situation inevitably made Ji Wanshu panic, but she had no chance to save anyone. She could only grit her teeth and fly out, landing in a relatively safe place.

The boulder came quickly and went quickly, soon returning to silence. Only when Ji Wanshu heard the child's desperate cries did he have time to return. He strode back to the carriage and strained his eyes to find the child.

"Help, help me..."

Beneath the piled-up boulders, the couple used their bodies to hold back the falling rocks, creating a small space where the little boy lay on his back, his face covered in blood, crying his heart out.

Upon witnessing this scene, Ji Wanshu was deeply shaken.

"Girl... my son..." The peasant woman could no longer speak, only the man still held on to his last breath, "My son, I... I'm entrusting him to you..."

Ji Wanshu didn't dare to hesitate and immediately reached out and pulled the child out. The next moment, the couple could no longer hold on and fell to the ground. The heavy boulders collapsed and buried them in the blink of an eye.

"Father! Mother!"

Ji Wanshu quickly checked the boy's injuries and found that he was completely unharmed, with only some unavoidable scrapes and bruises, and the bloodstains on his face were not his.

Having fallen into an ambush, if they didn't leave quickly, they would only be followed by assassins. Ji Wanshu suppressed the excitement in her heart and decisively picked up the boy and flew towards the official road.

A group of dark figures stood silently ahead.

"Hand over the child."

A murderous glint flashed in Ji Wanshu's eyes. She drew her longsword, shielded the boy behind her, and said coldly, "Come and snatch it if you dare."

There were no extra words, only a sudden burst of intertwined sword light. The man in black leaped up and thrust his long sword at Ji Wanshu. Several men attacked Ji Wanshu, while others rushed straight for the boy. They had a clear division of labor and a well-defined objective.

Outnumbered and outmatched, Ji Wanshu was caught off guard and managed to gain the upper hand in the ensuing struggle. Then, one of them exclaimed in surprise, "It's a boy? Where is that sick girl?!"

Ji Wanshu sneered, swiftly killing the people around him. Then, like a ghost, he moved behind the man and chopped off the arm he was holding the boy with a single sword stroke.

The man in black screamed, but before he could escape, a long sword pierced his chest.

"Walk!"

With a flick of his wrist, Ji Wanshu shook off the bloodstains from the sword. Without pausing, he carried the boy on his back and used his lightness skill to rush into the forest, quickly disappearing into the night.