The force from his jaw was immense, carrying the rough calluses and a faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood, making Su Nian's bones ache. Helian Jue's condescending gaze was like a cold probe, seemingly trying to pierce her flesh and examine the deepest trembling and submission in her soul.
'I'm going to die! I'm going to die! This tyrant's grip is too strong! My jawbone is going to shatter!' Su Nian's mind was racing, her sweet romance novel writer's imagination almost bursting forth with rainbows under the stimulation of her survival instinct—for example, the next second this tyrant suddenly discovers that she has extraordinary bones and is a martial arts prodigy, one in a million...
But in reality, she forcefully suppressed the muffled groan in her throat and her instinctive resistance, compelling herself to relax her body, even slightly lowering her eyelashes to avoid that overly aggressive gaze. It wasn't fear, but a strategic show of weakness. In the face of absolute power, a head-on confrontation is foolish. This was a lesson she had learned through blood and tears in her previous worlds.
"Slave..." Helian Jue repeated the word with amusement, his fingertips tracing the smooth yet cool skin of her jawline, the touch like a venomous snake crawling across it. 'This guy doesn't seem to have any unusual fetishes, does he?' Su Nian's internal alarm bells were ringing. 'Calm down, Su Nian, you're a professional "beast tamer," stay calm!'
"Since you're a slave, you should know the rules of slavery." He abruptly released his grip, the force so great that Su Nian staggered and nearly fell. The rough rope marks on her wrist burned with pain. 'Damn it! Knowing the rules means you can do whatever you want with me, huh?!' she thought to herself, but outwardly remained meek and submissive.
"Take her away." He stopped looking at her, turned and walked back to the obsidian throne, his voice returning to its previous indifference, "Wash yourself clean and change your clothes. Don't offend my eyes."
Two expressionless maids in leather armor stepped forward and grabbed Su Nian's arms, one on each side. They were strong and their movements were anything but gentle; they practically dragged her away from the hall filled with bloodshed, noise, and desire.
The cold air enveloped her again, but compared to the suffocating oppression inside the hall, it allowed her to catch her breath slightly.
[Host, stage objective achieved: Successfully approached the mission target and obtained permission to 'stay by your side' (albeit as a slave). Reward: 50 points!] 088's voice was slightly excited. [A good start! Although my status is a bit low, at least I have the advantage of being close to the source! This system used the points I just earned to buy a bag of spicy strips to celebrate!]
Su Nian was dragged along the cold stone corridor, her heart completely unmoved: 'Proximity? I think it's more like getting closer to the crater. Didn't you see the look in his eyes just now? That wasn't the look of someone looking at a person; it was the look of someone looking at a toy about to be dismantled. And, share your spicy snack with me!'
【Uh… well…】088 choked for a moment, 【High risk, high reward! Host, you have to believe in your 'beast tamer' talent! Think about the previous worlds! Spicy strips… we'll get more next time we finish them!】 The system's voice grew softer and softer.
Su Nian ignored this unreliable companion. She needed to concentrate all her energy on observing, memorizing, and analyzing. This was her only means of survival in the barbaric dynasty.
She was led to a relatively secluded stone house. Compared to the grandeur of the main royal palace, it appeared much simpler, but it was cleaner than the slave camp. Inside, there was only a simple stone couch covered with some dry grass and a thin animal hide, as well as a ceramic water jug and a worn-out wooden basin.
"Wait here." One of the maids said coldly, then turned and left with another. A moment later, they brought back a bucket of cold, icy well water, a rough cloth, and a set of gray slave clothes made of coarse linen.
"Wash yourself clean." The maid put the things on the ground, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt. "Hurry up, the king may summon you at any time."
The door was closed from the outside but not locked, but Su Nian knew that in this heavily guarded royal court, without orders, she had nowhere to escape.
She looked at the bucket of ice water and took a deep breath. 'Good, the essential step for crossing over—an ice water bath—is here, though late.' Without complaint or hesitation, she quickly stripped off the tattered cloth that could barely be called clothing, dipped a cold towel in the icy well water, and swiftly wiped her body. The cold made her teeth chatter and goosebumps rise on her skin, but she gritted her teeth and moved swiftly.
She had to adapt to the environment as quickly as possible, including the harsh living conditions. Cleanliness was the first step to saving her life and reducing disease, and also the bottom line for maintaining basic dignity. 'Just consider it an extreme survival experience; maybe it'll become a hit in my next book…' Finding joy in hardship was one of her strengths.
She changed into the gray slave clothes, which, though rough, at least completely covered her body and were a little warmer than the previous ones. She wrung out the water from her hair with a towel and used her fingers to barely untangle the tangled knots, trying not to look too disheveled.
After finishing all this, she didn't sit down to rest. Instead, she walked to the only small window in the stone house and carefully observed the situation outside through the narrow crack. This was the edge of the royal court area, where she could see the figures of patrolling soldiers in the distance and hear the faint sounds of work chants and whips.
She quickly sketched out the layout of the royal court in her mind, memorizing the patrol patterns and analyzing which areas might be centers of power and which might be hubs of information. 'Hmm, that large tent in the southeast corner looks particularly heavily guarded; it might be a warehouse or a secret location? Write it down, write it down.'
After an unknown amount of time, the door of the stone house was pushed open again.
This time, it wasn't a maid who came, but a man with a sharp, wiry face, dressed in a slightly better leather jacket, a curved sword at his waist. He sized up Su Nian, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
"You, come with me." His tone was brief and left no room for argument.
Su Nian followed silently. The man led her not to the main hall, but around to a relatively open area behind the royal court. Some supplies were piled up there, and next to it was a simple shed from which painful groans could be heard.
Several wounded slaves lay or sat on the ground, their wounds carelessly bandaged with dirty rags, pus and blood seeping out and emitting a foul stench. A man dressed in a filthy fur robe, resembling a witch doctor, frowned as he sprinkled some suspicious herbal powder on the wound of a struggling slave, who let out a piercing scream.
The man who brought Su Nian pointed to a pile of blood-stained strips of cloth and a ceramic jar in the corner of the shed and ordered Su Nian, "From now on, this place is your responsibility. Clean the wounded cloths, take care of these useless people, and don't let them die too quickly and delay the work."
After saying that, he didn't look at him again and turned to leave.
Su Nian looked at the scene before her, her stomach churning again. This was clearly dumping the dirtiest, most tiring, and most germ-prone work on her. Was it a test? Or simply indifference? 'Good heavens, she'd been demoted directly from personal slave to battlefield head nurse? And without pay!'
[Host! This is your chance!] 088 suddenly became excited, even refusing to eat its virtual spicy snacks. [The time to show your value has come! Use your advanced knowledge to solve the sanitation problems here and reduce casualties. This is your first step to making a name for yourself! Think about the transmigration novels you've written! That's how the protagonists all started!]
Su Nian didn't act immediately. She carefully observed the witch doctor's methods, looking at the dirty, repeatedly used "bandages" and the murky, unidentified "medicinal liquid" in the earthenware jar. 'It's not that simple, 088,' she calmly replied internally. 'Directly proposing methods beyond their comprehension will only make me seem like a heretic or a madman. I must first integrate, then subtly change them. Haste makes waste; you'll only get burned.'
She walked to the pile of dirty rags, without disgust, and silently began to sort them. She separated the slightly cleaner ones from those that were completely soaked in pus and blood and hardened. Then, she picked up the earthenware pot, walked to a nearby water source, poured out the murky liquid inside, and rinsed it repeatedly with clean water.
Her movements were slow, but meticulous and focused. 'Just think of it as playing a super difficult simulation game; the goal is to survive and complete the game.'
After the witch doctor finished treating a wounded soldier, he glanced at her sideways, snorted, and didn't speak, but the contempt in his eyes seemed to have lessened slightly. At least, this new female slave wasn't like the previous ones, either crying and sobbing or clumsy.
Su Nian fetched clean water, found a few relatively flat stones, built a makeshift stove, and gathered some dry firewood. She gestured to the witch doctor, wanting to borrow some fire.
The witch doctor frowned, seemingly thinking she was being nosy, but still tossed her a tinderbox.
Su Nian started a small fire, placed the earthenware pot on it, and put the relatively clean strips of cloth inside to boil. She didn't touch the shaman's herbs, only performing the simplest physical disinfection. 'Build trust first, start from the basics.'
The boiling steam spread out, carrying a clean smell that was different from the surrounding foul odor.
Several slaves with minor injuries and still conscious looked at the new female slave, who worked silently, with some surprise. Her movements were methodical, and her eyes were calm, unlike anyone they had ever seen before.
For the next few days, Su Nian stayed at this simple "medical point".
She said no more, simply repeating the same tasks day after day: washing and boiling bandages, helping to restrain struggling wounded (for the witch doctor to treat), and carefully wiping away dirt around minor wounds with clean water. 'Very good, Proficiency +1, Hygiene Knowledge +1, Endurance +…'
She remained silent, but her presence brought about subtle changes in this corner filled with pain and despair.
At least, the bandages weren't so filthy anymore; at least, some minor wounds seemed to be festering more slowly because they had been kept basically clean. Although slaves continued to die, the survivors looked at Su Nian with less numbness and more of an indescribable...dependence?
The witch doctor, who initially ignored her, later occasionally asked her to help him pass things. Although he still didn't give her a friendly look, at least he no longer treated her like she was invisible.
Su Nian was also secretly observing and learning. She memorized the appearance of several common herbs, listened to the shaman's occasional vague mutterings, and combined her limited knowledge of history and herbs to slowly understand the rudimentary medical level of this era. 'Hmm, this herb seems to be for stopping bleeding, and that leaf is for reducing swelling… I'll write it down; maybe I can compile a 'Complete Guide to Wilderness Herbs' someday?'
She knew what she had done was far from enough, but this was just the beginning. She was accumulating experience, waiting for the right opportunity. 'Let the protagonist's halo kick in! Give me a chance to truly shine!'
That afternoon, a sudden burst of urgent horn sounds and commotion rang out from behind the royal court.
Soon, several soldiers carried a tall man covered in blood and unconscious into the shed. Su Nian recognized him as the burly man who had brought her there; he seemed to be a captain of Helian Jue's guard named Batu.
"Witch doctor! Quick! Lord Batu has fallen from his horse and his stomach has been cut open by a stone!" the soldier shouted anxiously.
The shaman strode forward and examined Batu's long, deep wound on his abdomen, which exposed the bone, along with the gushing blood and the faintly visible intestines. His expression immediately turned extremely grim. He shook his head and spoke rapidly in the Jie language, his tone heavy.
Although Su Nian couldn't understand everything, she could guess the meaning from his expression and gestures—the injury was too severe, he had lost too much blood, and there was no hope.
The soldiers' faces turned deathly pale instantly. Batu was highly respected in the army and was one of Helian Jue's most capable subordinates.
Just then, Su Nian, who had been silently standing in the corner, suddenly stepped forward. 'An opportunity!'
She pointed to Batu's bleeding wound, then to the earthenware pot where clean strips of cloth were boiling over the fire. She then picked up a relatively soft piece of cloth that had just been boiled, sterilized, and cooled, and, with a few broken Jie words she had secretly learned in the past few days, accompanied by gestures, struggled to express herself to the shaman:
"Wash...clean...press down...the blood..."
She meant to first carefully clean the area around the wound with boiled water, and then apply firm pressure to the wound with a clean cloth to stop the bleeding.
The witch doctor paused for a moment, looking at the clean white cloth in Su Nian's hand, which had a distinctive smell after being steamed or boiled, and then at the dirty "medicinal cloths" in his own hand, which had been wiped with countless pus and blood. His brows furrowed tightly.
The soldiers all looked at Su Nian, their eyes filled with doubt and anxiety.
"What do you know, you slave!" a soldier couldn't help but shout.
Su Nian didn't back down. She simply looked at the witch doctor, her eyes calm and resolute. She knew this was an opportunity, but also a huge risk. If she failed, Batu would die, and she would likely be executed in the process. But if she succeeded… 'I'll gamble! If I win, I'll be a model at a nightclub; if I lose, I'll be forced into prostitution… ugh, I mean, if I win, I'll reach the pinnacle of life; if I lose, I'll be reborn!'
The witch doctor stared at her for a few seconds, then at Batu, whose breath was growing weaker and weaker. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he snatched the clean cloth from Su Nian's hand, signaled the soldier to hold Batu down, and then, unusually, began to carefully wash the large patches of blood around the wound with boiled and cooled lukewarm water, following Su Nian's simple instructions...
Time passed second by second.
Only Batu's heavy breathing and the sound of running water remained in the shed.
After applying tight pressure to the wound with a clean cloth, the bleeding seemed to slow down somewhat! Although it was still serious, it was no longer gushing out like before!
The witch doctor's face showed disbelief. He looked up and gave Su Nian a deep look.
The soldiers exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions towards Su Nian becoming complicated.
Just then, a cold voice rang out at the entrance of the shed:
"What happened?"
Everyone trembled and immediately knelt down.
Helian Jue had appeared there at some point, his tall figure blocking the light from the entrance, casting a shadow. His gaze swept over the unconscious Batu on the ground, finally settling on Su Nian, the only one still standing, whose hands were still wet.
His eyes remained cold and unfathomable.
"Did you do this?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
Su Nian lowered her head, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew the moment that would decide her fate had arrived. 'It's here! The ultimate boss is here to inspect the goods!'
She answered softly, in the broken Jie language she had barely learned in the past few days:
"I am... a slave, just... helping out."
Helian Jue didn't look at Batu again, but instead walked over to Su Nian.
He reached out, not to pinch her chin, but to touch the back of her hand with his fingertip, where a drop of water had not been completely wiped away. The water carried a faint, clean scent of boiled water.
He twirled his fingertips, his gaze fixed intently on the top of her lowered head, and slowly spoke:
"It seems that my decision to keep you was not entirely a misjudgment."
He paused, his tone carrying a faint, yet chilling, interest that sent shivers down the spines of all the slaves and soldiers around him.
"Starting tomorrow, you won't be here anymore."
Su Nian's heart leaped into her throat. 'Is it a disaster? Or a promotion?'
"Stay by my side."
"I want to see how many unexpected skills you, Princess of Nanxia, have besides this face."
(End of Chapter 100)
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