Chapter 2: Hello Chang’an

  

Chapter 2: Arriving as a Stranger

The boy’s expression made her feel as if she had returned to a world filled with ghosts and demons. She thought that the moment she opened the door, she would be greeted by an overwhelming swarm of monsters.

But the boy said, "They're all... kidnappers. The entire Zhoujia Village, all of them."

"They're all in on it, protecting each other... If you try to escape, you'll be caught again." The boy's eyes revealed a fear that had been there for a long time. "No one has managed to leave here all these years. You can't escape."

The girl looked at the closed door.

It seemed that this was not a world of demons after all.

But it was even more absurd and terrifying.

A cold wind blew, clearing her mind a bit, and she gained a clearer understanding of the situation before her.

She looked at the boy. "You were kidnapped too—"

As the evening darkened, the boy nodded. His round eyes looked like those of a small dog trapped in a cage, pitiful and harmless.

"And you still dared to help me tie them up?"

The boy whispered, "I... I can't beat you."

The girl looked at the boy, who was only half a head shorter than her and clearly accustomed to hard labor.

Her current body was too weak; earlier, when she subdued the two, it had been mostly through cleverness and sheer will.

What the boy couldn't defeat wasn't her—it was his fear of fighting back.

This was an illness that needed curing.

The girl turned back to the hall.

The boy quickly followed her.

The tied-up couple had already woken up. The woman, her face covered in blood, was still groaning weakly, likely due to the lingering effects of the drug. The man was trying to free himself from the ropes but to no avail.

The method used to tie the ropes was one the man had taught the boy, as the boy had often assisted him. Now, it was used against him.

"You ungrateful dog! Untie me right now!" the man bellowed furiously upon seeing the boy. His eyes were full of rage. "I've raised you all these years, you worthless ingrate! I'm going to break your legs!"

Fear flickered in the boy's eyes. Remembering the pain and despair from the beatings, his face turned pale.

In the next moment, the stick that was often used to beat him appeared before him.

The boy instinctively took a step back.

"Break his legs," the girl commanded, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Now."

The boy looked at her in disbelief.

"Or your legs will be the ones broken." The girl handed him the stick with one hand while holding a blood-stained dagger in the other.

Her long black hair was half-loose, her skin pale, and her pupils pitch black. She looked like an emotionless, fearless jade statue.

The threat from her mouth left no room for doubt.

The boy's lips trembled as he took the stick.

"You dare!" the man roared, his long-standing authority being challenged. He struggled violently, his face and neck turning red, his vicious eyes locked onto the boy.

"Hit him," the girl said, her voice calm but commanding.

The boy took two steps forward, clenched his teeth, and swung the stick at the man with his eyes closed.

The blow landed on the man's shoulder, causing him to curse loudly.

"You missed," the girl reminded from the side.

The boy mustered the courage to open his eyes slightly and swung the stick again, this time aiming for the man's leg.

"Keep going."

Blow after blow, the man's curses grew weaker, replaced by cries of pain.

"Stop, please stop..." The woman, barely able to speak, pleaded tearfully, "That's your father! The one who raised you! You can't turn against him! You were an orphan, and we took you in out of kindness, raised you like our own. How could you be so ungrateful!"

The boy's lips moved as if he didn't know how to respond.

The girl understood enough.

These people couldn't have children of their own, so they kept the kidnapped boy as their "son."

"Don't worry, I'm sending you off," the girl said, squatting down beside them.

"What... what are you doing?" the woman stammered, trembling as the dagger came close to her face.

"I ask, you answer," the girl said, looking at her. "Where did you kidnap me from?"

The woman, confused as to why she would ask something so obvious, still answered quickly, feeling the cold blade near her eye. "The capital..."

"Who ordered it?"

Ordered? 

Who would need to order such a thing!

The tip of the dagger pressed closer to the woman’s eye, and her tongue trembled. "No one ordered it... During the Lantern Festival, I targeted a young girl who was alone!"

"No... I saved you!" the man, now with a broken leg, suddenly blurted out in panic. "That night at the festival, you fell into the river, and there was no one around. You were drowning, and I saved you!"

Out of gratitude, the girl turned the dagger toward him. "Do you know how I ended up in the water?"

Even though this body wasn’t hers originally, it was still better to understand what happened to avoid future problems.

Arriving in an unfamiliar place, she needed to understand the situation fully.

"How could I know? I just happened to save you!" the man said, starting to doubt her. How could she not know how she fell into the water?  

And thinking about how her behavior and courage had changed so suddenly from the crying, helpless beauty, the man started to feel something eerie about her.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

That chilling voice asked, "Then let's talk about something you do know—how many people have you kidnapped besides me and him over the years?"

The man and woman exchanged glances, stumbling over their words. "How could anyone count or remember something like that..."

The girl's eyes grew colder. "Bring me paper and ink."

Though it wasn't a scholarly household, they clearly had a front for selling funeral goods. There were also small items in the house used for their trade.

Before long, the boy brought the materials.

The girl turned to the couple. "When, where, and who you've kidnapped. Whether they lived or died. Where you sold them. Recall as much as you can."

The woman stared at her. "Are you going to report us to the authorities?"

The girl didn’t answer, merely saying, "Also, name the other accomplices in the village."

A flicker of contempt crossed the woman's eyes. She was about to speak when the man subtly nudged her. Both their hands were tied behind their backs, pressed together, thinking no one would notice.

The woman understood and, under the pressure of the knife, started talking in detail.

By the time the girl had filled two pages, she threw down the pen.

As she discarded the pen, she slashed the man’s arm with the dagger, cutting deep into his muscles. Blood poured out immediately.

The man screamed in agony. "We told you everything! Why did you still hurt me?"

"Make them sign with their blood," the girl said as she stood up.

The boy obediently followed her instructions.

Standing before the couple, the girl lowered her gaze and asked one last question. "Where were you planning to send me tonight?"

Afraid of the blade, the woman quickly confessed, "To the home of an official in Liuke Alley in the city."

"And this official, what’s his name?"

"I don’t know! We’ve never even seen him!" the woman cried. "We only know he’s wealthy, and for years, whenever we get a pretty girl, we send her picture to him first. If he likes her, he gives us a deposit. If not, we sell her elsewhere. His servants handle everything; we never dared to ask his name!"

The girl bent down to pick up a note near the woman's feet. Opening it, she asked, "Is this the deposit?"

The woman nodded frantically.

The note was simple, without any names. Given the nature of the business, there was no need for formalities. And clearly, the buyer wasn’t worried about these traffickers running off with the deposit—offering a hundred taels showed that this "official" was no ordinary figure.

The girl thought for a moment and pocketed the note.

Then she asked the woman, "Where’s the sixty taels of deposit?"

The woman froze—how could she demand their lives and the money!

"Bring it," the girl said, her patience thinning.

Reluctantly, the woman admitted, "It’s under the bed in a box..."

As the girl turned to leave, she said, "Knock them out. Use enough drugs so it won’t matter if they die."

Her body's original owner had likely died from too much drugging.

Soon, the couple's screams faded away.

The girl pulled the box from under the bed, finding silver notes, coins, jewelry, travel passes, and other items needed for moving between cities.

While sorting through it, the boy entered quietly. "What now?" he asked.

"Find me a set of men's clothes that will fit me. And take anything you need with you."

The boy nodded and ran off without asking further questions.

When he returned, he brought a set of clothes and a kitchen knife.

The girl accepted the clothes and asked, "That’s all you're taking?"

The boy nodded. "I only know how to cook, so I brought a kitchen knife."

Looking at the kitchen knife, the girl paused.

This child, so out of touch with reality yet so full of it at the same time.

"Did you take the money?"

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