Chapter 1: The Devil's Merciless Way (Revised)

A damp, foul smell was brewing in the dim woodshed, wafting out from the gaps between the sparsely nailed door panels, blowing on the thin back of Yi Sanmei, who was on duty at the door of the woodshed, causing her to shudder.

Beyond the stench, a faint, whimpering sound drifted on the wind. It was a familiar voice to Yi Sanmei: her second brother, Yi Laoer. Her younger siblings told her that Yi Laoer had gone into the woodshed and howled for a long time, constantly demanding food and water. No one dared to go in and offer him food, and no one would leave any for him, leaving him with a difficult time to eat.

Third Sister Yi felt a bit cold and wrapped herself tightly in her ragged clothes. The faint imprint of the Third Valley could be seen under the worn and short clothes. When it got dark and the eldest brother Yi fell asleep, she could go to sleep in the haystack. It was the warmest place in the yard, which had always been occupied by the second brother Yi. She felt a little happy.

The sky gradually darkened, dark clouds gathered over the yard, and an oil lamp was lit in the kitchen, a rare sight. She heard someone sharpening a knife, the sound of a knife.

It must be Boss Yi. The only ones allowed to light the lamps in the house were Father and Boss Yi. Father wasn't home right now, having gone to Yanzhen Pavilion to listen to the outer sect adults discuss tomorrow's harvest. So Boss Yi could only be in the kitchen.

Yi Lao Da had long been unhappy with Yi Lao Er. Now, Yi Lao Da was designated as the next paternal body and allowed to live at home until he turned fifteen. After that, Yi Lao Er was not allowed to live. Rumors circulated that Yi Lao Er had his leg broken by Yi Lao Da, or that Yi Lao Er had tried to kill Yi Lao Da and become the paternal body himself, only to be beaten by the paternal body. Either way, he was doomed.

Tomorrow we're going to harvest, and the custom is to give everyone a meaty feast before boarding the ship, to keep them in good spirits. If it weren't for Yi Lao Er's sacrifice, it would have been Yi San Mei who died. She didn't want to die.

In Yi Sanmei's memory, whenever one of her siblings was tied to the woodshed, that person would never return. The next day, there would be greasy meat on Yi Laoda's table. If they were lucky, they would sometimes even find a bit of marrow from the bones Yi Laoda had left behind, a joy they would remember for a long time. As for what kind of meat that was, Yi Sanmei didn't want to think about it.

Through a thin wooden board, ten-year-old Yi Sanmei was boredly counting the branches of the bamboo broom in her hand when she suddenly heard something dragging on the ground in the woodshed and moving towards the door.

The sound stopped abruptly. A series of clanking sounds stopped Yi Lao Er. Perhaps the chain tied to his foot by Yi Lao Da wasn't long enough. But from this position, Yi San Mei could already hear what Yi Lao Er was saying. It turned out he hadn't given up yet, and kept shouting, "Water, water."

Yi Sanmei was too bored. Perhaps because Yi Laoer was her brother after all, or for some other reason, she put down the broom in her hand, turned around, and leaned on the door panel to look into the woodshed.

At first, she couldn't see a thing; it was too dark, and there were no lights in the woodshed. And even though it was a woodshed, it was drafty, with no visible holes anywhere, and even in winter, the wind blew in from all directions. Yi Sanmei endured the stench and the cold wind, and finally, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw Yi Laoer lying on the ground.

The moment she saw Yi Lao Er, Yi San Mei was startled. In her memory, Yi Lao Er was always a large figure, quick to snatch meat, always full and even with flesh still on his body, always eager to take over Yi Lao Da's position. Now, the man lying on the ground was so thin that he looked like firewood wrapped in a familiar skin, which was frightening.

Yi Sanmei had never seen a dying person. Even if she knew they were going to die, she only knew it vaguely. Now, a familiar person in front of her was about to die, or had already died. It was just a strange thing. Thinking of this, she was so scared that she whispered, "Second brother?"

The sound was quiet, but Yi Lao Er suddenly raised his head. Yi San Mei saw that his eyes were hollow and his eyelids drooped, making it look like Yi Lao Da had gouged them out. Eating eyes was considered a tonic, but Yi Lao Da probably couldn't eat them. The mother and father each had one.

Yi Sanmei was lost in thought when she saw Yi Laoer suddenly stand up and try to throw himself towards the door. His chained right leg suddenly broke, hitting the ground with a loud crash. Yi Laoer was completely oblivious and leaped forward, his hands gripping the door tightly. Before Yi Sanmei could recover from her shock, a blank eye socket pierced hers, frightening her so much that she took a step back.

"Sister, Third Sister, is it Third Sister?" Yi Lao Er laughed nervously, sometimes happy, sometimes begging, his voice hoarse, "Third Sister, Third Sister, please give me a sip of water, please give me a sip of water."

Yi Sanmei subconsciously glanced towards the kitchen and shook her head. Thinking that Yi Laoer couldn't see her movements, she could only whisper, "No."

"Just a sip of water, Third Sister, I beg you. Have you forgotten that you slept cold that night? It was I who gave you my hay that saved you from freezing to death?" He licked his lips, not much blood seeping from the dry wound to moisten his throat. "Do you still remember Thirteenth Sister who died? You didn't die thanks to me! It was me! Third Sister, please give me some water, please."

Of course, Yi Sanmei remembered, but her story was different from Yi Laoer's. She remembered that Thirteenth Sister had just learned to walk and was extremely clingy to her. She wanted Thirteenth Sister to survive, so she secretly put her behind a haystack at night to sleep, where she would stay warm, and she would lean against the haystack herself. But Yi Laoer wouldn't let them sleep together.

There were so many hay bales piled under the shed that Yi Laoer couldn't sleep in them no matter how hard he stretched. It snowed that winter, and Yi Sanmei was freezing cold. She knelt on the ground and begged him. Yi Laoer told her to finish his work so she could sleep. But after she finished her work, she turned around and saw Yi Laoer picking up Shisanmei and throwing her into the yard.

Crack. The dirt in the yard was hard, and Thirteenth Sister was still soft, so she collapsed onto the ground. Seeing Third Sister Yi coming back, Second Sister Yi waved impatiently, grabbed a handful of hay and stuffed it into Third Sister Yi's empty, worn clothes, saying "Go, go" as if she were chasing a dog.

Thirteenth Sister, lying on the ground, didn't know how to hold back the pain and cried out loudly. She was so badly injured that she would never be sent for treatment. Her father came over, cursing, picked up Thirteenth Sister, and turned back to the kitchen. Soon, Yi Sanmei's cries were gone.

She had hay that day and was not very cold, but she did not sleep well. From then on, she no longer liked her brothers and sisters because she would not sleep well and had no energy to work during the day.

Yi Sanmei's eyes returned to Yi Laoer's face, a face that had once been full of pride and looked very much like her own. She fixed her gaze firmly, turned, and ran towards the kitchen.

"Big brother," Yi Sanmei didn't dare to step into the kitchen for fear of dirtying the floor. She stood at the door and whispered, "Second brother is trying to run away! He broke his leg."

"What?!" Boss Yi rushed out from beside Third Sister Yi, his polished knife in hand. A moment later, Third Sister Yi heard a strange thumping noise behind her. She didn't need to worry about it. She was going to board the ship tomorrow anyway, heading for Zang Yao Sect. She wouldn't stand guard today. Boss Yi would just scold her and hit her a few times, at most.

Yi Sanmei jumped up with a rare burst of joy and ran back to the backyard. There was a large haystack in the backyard, but it was empty. She jumped on it, pulled some hay to cover herself, and gradually felt better.

She had a dream. In it, there was no one but herself. She could eat her fill, eat meat, and sleep in a tall, thick haystack, with no one to compete with her. The sun shone on her, warm and bright.

A smile played on her face as she welcomed the second day that would change her destiny.

I came back from the back and revised the first chapter~ I always feel that the second chapter looks more like the beginning, so I simply tried to change the first chapter into a prologue~ I don’t know if I can connect it hh