The strange boy

On the frontier of Ancient Shu, in Yellow Bamboo Town.

When Qin Yi regained consciousness, he felt the cold packed-earth floor against his cheek and heard the muffled sounds of conversation nearby.

"...Fucking hell, I don't get why the boss insisted on taking this job. Killing one little girl, and bringing this many people! Fucking boring."

"The boss said that girl's pretty formidable."

"She's still a kid, however formidable she is. What, can she overturn heaven?"

"How would I know?"

He looked toward the voices. His blurred vision gradually cleared, revealing a man and a woman.

Firelight flickered. The two sat around a square table with a stone propping up its broken leg, playing pai gow. Numerous pieces of silver lay on the table, with two broadswords beside them.

The man was burly and scar-faced, dressed in coarse hemp clothing.

The woman had short hair and wore close-fitting clothes, the muscles beneath them faintly discernible. But her back faced the corner, hiding her features.

His gaze lingered for a moment before moving over their surroundings.

The room had no windows, only a door nailed together from rough wooden planks. Several iron rings embedded in the earthen walls held grease torches, their wavering flames dragging the room's outlines out of the darkness.

After studying the raw timber supports for several seconds, Qin Yi judged that this was probably an underground chamber.

I've been kidnapped...

The thought stirred little emotion in Qin Yi.

Ever since transmigrating, a brain disorder resembling the Alzheimer's disease of his previous life had plagued this body. He spent most of his time in unconscious confusion, only occasionally waking into clarity for a day.

After living like this long enough, he had grown used to opening his eyes and potentially dropping dead at any moment.

His gaze wandered. Apart from the two bandits, there was a girl in the chamber, probably a little older than him. Her hands were also bound behind her back, and she lay in another corner, seemingly asleep.

He did not know her,

but she was probably a kidnapped girl from a wealthy family.

Her pale yellow dress was filthy, but that could not conceal the fine quality of its fabric.

The man and woman paid neither of them any attention, playing their tiles as they talked.

The scar-faced brute was clearly impatient, his leg jiggling restlessly as he sat on his stool.

"Sanniang, are we really heading into the mountains after this job? I heard things haven't been peaceful up there lately. Boss Li and Boss Zhou took their crews in and never came back."

The short-haired woman glanced at him impatiently.

"You complain it's boring, then you're scared of danger. Why do you fuss like some damn woman?"

"Bull-fucking-shit!"

The scar-faced brute bristled at her mockery. "I'm worried about that tiger! You weren't there last time we went up. I saw it from a distance. That thing's eaten so many people it's almost become a mountain lord!"

"Heh."

The short-haired woman laughed noncommittally and unhurriedly laid out her tiles. Her fingertip tapped each one, her voice carrying a leisurely smugness.

"Supreme pair. I win again."

The flesh on the scar-faced brute's face twitched as he looked at her tiles. He slammed his palm onto the square table with a dull bang, nearly dislodging the stone beneath its leg, then pointed at her and cursed.

"Three fucking hands, two heaven gongs and one supreme pair! If you're not using a rigged set on me, I'll take your fucking surname!"

The short-haired woman chuckled without getting angry, her narrow eyes curving into two slits.

"Well, a woman always has a few lucky days each month. Pay up."

"Fuck off! You cheat and still want money? Give me my stake back!"

As he spoke, the scar-faced brute reached out with his rough, fan-sized hand and began forcibly sweeping up the silver on the table.

"Put it down."

The short-haired woman's voice abruptly chilled, low and sinister enough to rival his. The laughing creases on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by a coldness that seeped into the marrow.

The scar-faced brute looked up, ferocity flashing in his bloodshot eyes. Refusing to yield an inch, he closed his fingers around the broadsword's hilt and cursed.

"I'm fucking taking it..."

Before he finished, he saw a hand crossbow already raised in the woman's hand, its bolt pointing straight at him and gleaming coldly in the flickering firelight.

"Put it down!"

"..."

The redness instantly cleared from the scar-faced brute's eyes.

After several seconds of silence, he forced a smile.

"Ha... no... just joking. We've been brothers for years. No need... really, no need."

The short-haired woman watched him, firelight reflected in her narrow eyes, then smiled.

"Who's your brother? I'm a woman. Be a good boy and pay up, including the bonus for the supreme pair."

The scar-faced brute's face alternated between red and green. He flung a piece of silver from inside his clothes. It bounced twice on the tabletop and rolled into the pile.

He slumped heavily against his chair and muttered.

"That's all I have. I'll owe you the rest."

"Fine. We'll compound the interest like a donkey rolling downhill."

"Fuck your m-"

"Hmm?"

The short-haired woman casually lifted her hand crossbow, its bolt tracing a short arc through the air.

"Fine." The scar-faced brute squeezed the word through clenched teeth.

Seeing this, the short-haired woman slipped the crossbow back into its leather holster at her waist. Her leisurely smile returned, and she asked gently.

"Pockface, want to borrow some money to win it back?"

The scar-faced brute's cheek twitched. He leaned heavily against his chair and snapped.

"Win back my ass! Tch... ah, forget that. Wasn't there a rumor that the lord at the Immortal Guest House wanted to take this brat's sister as a concubine? How does the boss dare touch her?"

The short-haired woman picked up a piece of silver and bit it, leaving tooth marks on its surface. Satisfied with its purity, she chuckled. Rather than answer immediately, she asked at her leisure.

"You're sure you're done playing? Then I'm putting the money away."

By the rules of the underworld, the winner could not leave the table first.

The scar-faced brute stared at the scattered silver on the table, his throat seemingly clogged by something, and waved irritably.

Smiling, the short-haired woman gathered the pieces toward herself one by one and explained unhurriedly.

"That crazy girl refused. As soon as she caught wind of it, she burned her own face with fire, so that big shot apparently won't be protecting her anymore."

The scar-faced brute knitted his thick eyebrows in surprise.

"That girl's that ruthless? But why?"

The short-haired woman shrugged. "How would I know? So many people would kill to climb into his bed. I couldn't beg my way into that opportunity, and she turned it down. Heh."

Beauty was the easiest way to cross the divide between classes. Even a few resources slipping through the fingers of those above could keep lowly grunts like them fed and clothed for life.

The scar-faced brute thought for a moment, his brow relaxing before furrowing again. Suddenly, he looked back at Qin Yi, bound in the corner.

The corner was dark. The firelight revealed only the vague outline of that little figure curled into a ball.

He grinned and asked.

"Could it be because of this little brother of hers?"

"This brat looks barely ten. Besides, wouldn't both of them live better if she went with that lord?"

"Tch, true."

The scar-faced brute nodded, got up, and walked over to Qin Yi, looking down at him from above.

Lying on the icy dirt floor, Qin Yi looked up from the man's ankles, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Ah... ah..."

Most of the time, he really was an idiot. But sometimes, that identity was also his best camouflage.

Like now.

The scar-faced brute's eye twitched. He lifted his foot and kicked Qin Yi without holding back, sending his entire body curling up and crashing into the corner.

"Fuck you. Don't disgust your Uncle Ma."

"..."

The kick did nothing to dispel his irritation. As though remembering something, he grinned broadly and turned toward the other hostage in the chamber.

When he reached the girl, before he could bend down, Sanniang's chilly voice came from behind him.

"Unless you want the boss to beat you to death, Wang Ma, you'd better leave that girl alone. Her family doesn't look ordinary."

"..."

Wang Ma glanced back to see the short-haired woman watching him sidelong, her fingertip gently rubbing a piece of silver. His fist tightened slightly, and he gave a forceful snort.

Sanniang smiled faintly and pointed at Qin Yi.

"If you're really that pent up, you can vent on that brat. Nobody's protecting him. It doesn't matter whether he lives or dies."

Qin Yi: "..."

"Fuck off."

The scar-faced man looked displeased. His eyes shifted, and he exhaled a long breath before asking another question.

"Sanniang, can we keep this brat's sister alive for a while?"

The short-haired woman instantly understood and sneered.

"Not going to Willow Lane today?"

"Didn't I lose all my fucking money to you?"

At this, the scar-faced brute's already gloomy expression turned uglier. As though he had finally found an outlet for his anger, he walked back to Qin Yi and kicked him viciously again.

He cursed as he kicked.

"Fuck! If I hadn't been stuck watching you, you little shit, how would I have lost?! Huh?! Fuck your mother!"

With his hands tied behind his back, Qin Yi could only draw up his knees to protect his chest and stomach, struggling to avoid each kick that might damage his internal organs.

After a dozen or so seconds,

the scar-faced brute apparently grew bored and spat a thick glob of phlegm.

"Jinxing little shit. In a bit, I'll put on a live erotic show with your sister right in front of you. Shame you're an idiot. Otherwise, that'd be fun."

The short-haired woman collected every last piece of silver into a pouch and tightened its drawstring. Her red lips curved in satisfaction as she replied casually.

"That crazy girl's already disfigured. If we can capture her alive and you don't mind, the boss probably won't object. We'll have to kill her in the end anyway."

The scar-faced brute eyed her bulging money pouch covetously, but the thought of her hand crossbow instantly cooled his enthusiasm. He snorted and headed for the door.

The short-haired woman called after him.

"Where are you going?"

The scar-faced brute picked up the broadsword from the table and twirled it in his hand without looking back.

"It's getting dark. I'm going to find some food. Don't tell me you can't even watch an idiot!"

The short-haired woman chuckled and bounced the money pouch toward his retreating back, then tossed him a piece of silver.

"Bring me some too. I'll pay you triple."

"Your mother..."

The scar-faced brute stopped and caught the silver, veins bulging on his neck. But he held himself back. Only a bastard would turn down money. He angrily spat out one word.

"Fine!"

Bang.

The rough wooden door slammed shut, shaking the entire chamber. The rush of air made the torches sway.

The chamber instantly fell quiet,

leaving only the faint crackle of burning torches and the creak of the short-haired woman rocking her wooden chair.

Qin Yi remained motionless where he lay.

He was thinking.

Kidnappings always had a purpose, but this one apparently sought neither money nor possessions. Its aim was to kill his sister. Whether they succeeded or not, neither of these two had any reason to let him live.

In other words, he had to do something to change the situation.

Whew...

He breathed out softly.

Encountering danger, then escaping it-he had experienced this pattern many times. But in his current circumstances, should he try talking to the short-haired woman, or simply break the deadlock with violence?

After a moment's consideration, Qin Yi chose the latter.

Use violence directly.

The short-haired woman clearly loved money, but he could not quickly prove that he could bring her enough of it.

Killing her outright was less risky than trying to talk.

With his back against the cold, damp packed-earth wall, Qin Yi slowly drew a sharp piece of iron from the sole of his shoe.

To ensure he could survive while unconscious, Qin Yi had prepared several layers of insurance in advance.

The sister he had picked up was the first layer. The younger brother who had disappeared a while ago was the second. If he had awakened in the wooden hut where he currently lived, he would have had more safeguards available.

The iron shard hidden in his sole was his last layer of insurance. Given his young body, it was also the weakest and frailest, but it should barely suffice against this woman.

Judging by the strange knowledge lingering in his mind from his previous life, these bandits were thoroughly unprofessional.

No one assigned to deliver meals, no searches of the hostages, gambling while on guard, no regular checks on the hostages' condition, even daring to leave just one person to guard them...

A very freewheeling amateur outfit.

Using the iron shard, Qin Yi sawed through the hemp ropes at his wrists and ankles until they were like severed lotus roots still joined by their fibers. He began considering how to lure the short-haired woman over with her guard completely down, but the thought had barely crossed his mind when she suddenly moved from the table.

Sanniang tucked the silver-filled pouch inside her clothes and rose, walking toward Qin Yi of her own accord.

Her footsteps stopped in front of him. Clothes rustled as the short-haired woman crouched, and Qin Yi felt a hand settle on his head and seize his hair.

The painful pull at his roots forced Qin Yi to raise his head. His dull gaze naturally lifted toward the woman, meeting her eyes and finally seeing her face.

She was not pretty, even somewhat ugly, but possessed a distinctive air: cold, with a crisp, murderous decisiveness.

No wonder the scar-faced brute feared her.

As Qin Yi studied her, the short-haired woman studied him too. Her gaze slid from his brows and eyes to his lips, then from his lips to his neck. An interested smile curled her mouth, and she patted his cheek.

"I wondered at first why there was so much soot on a perfectly good face. You really are a pretty little thing. Good thing that pockmarked Wang didn't ruin you. A little discipline, and you'll make a fine breeding boar. Once I've enjoyed you enough, I'll sell you... There should be plenty of wealthy ladies in the county who'd want to buy you. Heh, perhaps some gentlemen would like you even more. But I won't be sharing that money with those grunts."

With that, she prepared to stand and find a sack to stuff the brat into, then take him out of the chamber and hide him. When Wang Ma returned, she would say she had killed him.

And just then,

"Tsk."

The faint click of a tongue stood out in the silent chamber, masking the soft snap of hemp rope breaking.

Sanniang froze at the sound, instinctively searching for its source, until her gaze finally settled on the boy before her.

Their eyes met.

No cloudiness, no dullness.

Those eyes were calm and unfathomably deep.

What... was this?

Questions flooded her mind, but Sanniang's brain had no time to process even one...

Because a cold gleam had already sent a swift ripple through the flickering firelight.

Shhk!

A slight chill brushed the side of her neck.

That chill was precise and brief, as though something soft had been sliced open. The sensation of warm liquid spraying from her neck was utterly sickening.

Without a single thought, her body's experience had already made the choice for her.

Almost the very next instant, tremendous strength erupted from her arm, and the hand gripping Qin Yi's hair flung him sideways!

Everything in his sight spun wildly!

Thud!

Qin Yi's body flew several meters, his back striking the rammed-earth wall before he crashed to the floor.

A few flakes of plaster fluttered down onto his shoulders and into his hair. Pain came from all over his body, and the tickle rising in his throat forced a few soft coughs out of him.

Ignoring the pain throughout his body, Qin Yi rolled sideways the instant he landed, cutting the hemp rope around his ankles as he did so before getting up.

After moving his somewhat stiff body a little, Qin Yi finally turned his gaze to the short-haired woman on the other side.

She had reacted quickly, counterattacking the instant she was struck and drawing the short dagger at her waist, but she had clearly made the wrong choice.

She should have drawn her hand crossbow.

Then she might still have had a chance to trade her life for his.

Qin Yi's taut body relaxed slightly, and he casually brushed the dust from his clothes.

And in that interval,

The short-haired woman had already fallen to her knees, clutching her slit throat desperately, trying to plug the gushing blood with her hands, trying to hold on to her steadily draining life, but all of it was futile.

Blood,

Still kept spurting and seeping through her fingers.

The opening in the major artery in her neck sent the blood pumping through it gushing out, flooding into her windpipe and rising into her mouth. The short-haired woman muttered things Qin Yi could not understand:

"You... urgh... kh... glk... kah..."

Qin Yi walked toward her at an unhurried pace.

With her carotid artery severed, she could remain conscious for half a minute at most. By the time Qin Yi reached her, the short dagger had already slipped from her powerless hand. Only those wide eyes remained fixed on him.

Qin Yi did not look at her.

He wiped the blood from the sharp iron shard in his hand with his clothes, slipped it back into the sole of his shoe, then bent down to pick up her fallen dagger and twirled it between his fingers.

This was not his first time killing someone.

The world outside was chaotic. If he did not kill, he would be killed.

Sanniang's bloodshot eyes widened, the venom in them gradually giving way to fear. One hand covered her neck while the other reached for Qin Yi, but she had already lost all her strength. The hammering blow she imagined, carrying the rush of a fist through the air, became a feeble scratching that left only a few bloody finger marks on Qin Yi's tattered hemp clothes.

After a moment's thought, Qin Yi reached out with his small hand and took hers. The muscles at the corners of his mouth tugged into a smile:

"Don't be scared, auntie. Once you're dead, it won't hurt anymore."

Sanniang: "..."

The little girl: "..."

With that, Qin Yi drove the short dagger into the short-haired woman's eye socket.

The immediate danger was over.

He took a deep breath, but the tickle in his throat forced another two soft coughs out of him. This time, he saw little flecks of blood on his palm.

This was why he had not wanted to take the risk.

A fierce woman who licked blood from a blade's edge was nothing like the useless adult shut-ins of his previous life's peaceful era. Even with her carotid artery punctured, she could still retaliate and leave him with internal injuries.

Still, they probably were not serious.

He casually pushed the corpse to the floor and swept his gaze around the chamber.

He had no intention of running.

Running would solve nothing.

His biggest safeguard, his older sister, might be alive or dead. If he could not execute this band of roaming bandits while he was still lucid, he would be just as dead once his brain disorder flared up.

He needed more information.

The size of the bandit gang, the identity of the mastermind, and what had driven that mastermind to kill his older sister-and for now, the only source of that information was the burly scar-faced man.

Qin Yi needed to prepare a setting in which he could torture the man for information.

Silence, and the rustling of rummaging.

This chamber was probably the bandits' base. Some sacks and wooden crates were piled in a corner. Opening them, Qin Yi found a considerable amount of smuggled spices, tobacco, and leather inside.

Huh... they had a sideline, too.

He searched out everything useful and arranged it on the floor. Most of it came from the short-haired woman's corpse.

A pouch of silver pieces.

A short dagger.

A hand crossbow.

Thirteen spare bolts in a deerskin pouch.

Qin Yi could not use that heavy saber. Its blade had been designed to be extremely thick and heavy for repeated hacking, and his frail body could hardly swing it.

If he survived, he could take it to a smithy and have it melted down to make something for the household.

Bending down to pick up the hand crossbow, Qin Yi examined it for a moment.

It was finely made, with a winding crank for cocking it. The words "Eighth Year of Jinghong" were engraved on its body.

A government-issued crossbow?

Qin Yi glanced at the woman's corpse.

He had found the reason such a slapdash outfit could survive on Compassion Mountain. They were probably "household retainers" kept by some powerful local gentleman in the town or county.

Had this attack been planned by his sister's enemies?

His thoughts wandered for a moment before Qin Yi tried working the crank. The hand crossbow had a heavy draw weight, making it somewhat strenuous with his strength, but he could turn it.

Retreating step by step to the wooden door, Qin Yi turned and aimed at the short-haired woman lying facedown on the floor.

It was not a finishing blow, but a test of accuracy.

The bowstring released, and the bolt instantly sank into flesh.

After confirming that the sight was accurate, Qin Yi casually scattered the pouch of silver pieces on the floor before the door. Then, short dagger in hand, he walked toward the short-haired woman's corpse and began arranging the setting he needed...

The little girl: "..."

Once everything was arranged, Qin Yi finally turned his gaze to the other "living thing" in the dark chamber and walked toward her through the blood covering the floor.

The little girl: "..."