In the 6th day of Spring in the Yue calendar, the whole land was basked with drizzle from the heavens. Under the scent of rainwater, the heavy, metallic smell of blood was slowly washed away, seeping into the ground. Gone and forgotten.
From out the backdoor came three to four bodies wheeled out in haste, instead of the tall, prestigious gate of the general’s official residence. They were corpses—of which were hurriedly rushed to a grave.
A man seeing this dreadful display couldn’t help but tsk disapprovingly, “Back then, there were also a number of bodies coming from the general’s residence, but why are there so many today?”
It was an insignificant, small vendor that spoke, who happens to have seen the atrocious deeds from time to time. There was a rich merchant in the next stall that heard this. He couldn’t help but to chastise his neighboor in a low voice:
“Haven’t you heard the news? Official Liu is here! It’s not like you don’t know what he’s into, right?” He searches the vendor’s face for enlightenment, upon seeing none, he continued:
“Don’t you know?! He has a fetish for young boys. In order to please his higher up, General Yu had to satisfy his sick hobby using slaves… But what can be done? The life of a slave can only promise a wretched existence!”
Upon hearing this the small vendor couldn’t help but slightly tremble, disgust and fear in his voice, “Ai… truly evil!”
Truly, the life of those at the bottom could only be considered worthless.
———
“What the fuck is this?! Are you playing with me God?!”
Ye Mu couldn’t help but curse while anxiously walking around in circles in her room.
She could remember vividly that prior to this, she had been hunting pirates at sea. By an accidental chance, she was also able to seize a copy of an ancient text which was supposedly some kind of historical relic.
Only that, it really wasn’t genuine because it was written in simplified Chinese characters.** But she had observed that this counterfeit book was extraordinarily old, the small handwritten characters on it particularly exquisite, so she had flipped through it.
**T/N: Simplified Chinese was introduced in the 1950’s.. so an ancient relic dating back to years before the 19th century should be written in Traditional chinese.
Turns out it was a biographical history book. But as far as she knew, there wasn’t a country named ‘Mo’ in history, or even in this age. At this point, it was apparent to her that the book wasn’t a historical treasure at all. At most, it could be considered some type of fictional novel. Therefore, she had decided to read it out from curiosity.
Who would have thought that one day, the impossible would happen and she would actually cross into this book?
To add to this boggling scenario, there was always a voice whispering in her ear, repeating the same phrase over and over again: If you get the city boundary map, you will be able to go back home. Moreover, you can come and go between both worlds to your heart’s content.
But Ye Mu really doesn’t want to waste her time solving mysteries or chasing treasures. Real life was more important, and there were more urgent things to do than immerse herself in a fictional world.
Where would she even start finding the city boundary map, of which she knew nothing about in a foreign world?
No thank you! She’s going back!
She halted, this time her eyes widened a fraction as a brilliant idea struck her.
If this was a “fictional” biographical book, then getting rid of the focal character of which the novel revolves around, should break this world. Therefore, if she could somehow get rid of the male protagonist, then she could possibly return home!
An ingenious plan indeed! Ye Mu’s eyes twinkled, as she racked her brains for a plausible plan. Looking towards the kneeling servant girl to her side, she asked urgently: “Speak! Where is Mo Linyuan?”
The servant girl was frightened from being addressed strongly and her whole body shook unconsciously, “Yo-young lady, please spare this servant’s life! Xiaoqiu does not know who Mo Linyuan is!”
Ye Mu vexedly slapped her forehead. How could she forget? Seeing as the body she was currently occupying was just a child, then it can only be deduced that the story is currently starting from the beginning!
In the novel, the male protagonist should have escaped to the great Yue country only to unexpectedly suffer slavery first hand. How could he use his real name at this time?
“Ah, yes. It’s that certain slave—the one who looked rather presentable and has porcelain skin. There was also a tear mole on the upper corner of his eye. That fragile looking boy… he’s the one who didn’t last long.” She remembered that before she had transmigrated into this body, the original owner had already dealt blows on the young male protagonist.
“Young lady… what you said… isn’t it Aji?” The servant’s girl’s face turned deathly pale in a flash, “He… didn’t he anger Young lady and was sent to the main hall to greet the guests? Now…”
Xiao Qiu didn’t want to say it. The words ‘Now… unfortunately, he’s being “enjoyed” by that Official Liu, who is famous for being a sick child molester!’ were stuck at her throat.
But before Xiao Qiu could finish her words, Ye Mu had already went out when she heard the male lead’s current whereabouts.
Terrified, Xiao Qiu chased after her.
“Young lady! What are you going to do? The general is currently greeting the noble guests, you must not go!”
Ye Mu thought irately—just add that to the pile of things that she doesn’t care about.
She really wants to go back to her own world, back to the modern times. Besides, she can’t just leave her important job behind, not when her job as a soldier requires her to deal with major, life-threatening events for the sake of the common people.
Not only was it something she desired, but she has no choice but to go back. For this, she could only mentally say sorry to the male protagonist she hasn’t met yet.
The general’s residence was spacious. Everywhere she went, it was beautifully decorated with expensive ornaments and majestic furnitures. It was extremely extravagant, every corrider passed served to boast of the riches of the residence.
And with every corridor in this house that Ye Mu passed through, the people would kneel down in fear, throwing themselves down to the ground at her feet.
It’s as if it wasn’t a six-year-old girl walking, but some kind of demonic entity terrorizing the halls.
However, Ye Mu knows why they fear her so. Even if she had the identity of a girl born from a concubine which should have warranted fear and insecurity, she was instead, a fearless, psychopathic lolita! At her young age, her notoriety and mercilessness had already spread far and wide, tainting her young image with a very, very bad reputation.
But none of this has anything to do with her. She thought this surreal, bizarre dream would be over if she kills the male protagonist. So she simply ran. Holding her skirt in her small palms, she ran straight to the loudest place in the residence with music, with a hasty decision in mind.
But as soon as she arrived at the anteroom where the entrance of the main hall stood, her complexion changed.
It was unmanned—an ominous-looking, tall, vermilion door simply standing there. From behind it came the raucous laughter of men, the lascivious voices of women, the sound of obscene music, and as well as, the cries of children. It suddenly made her understand what was going on inside.
From what she had understood, the aristocrats of this era are promiscuous and unrestrained. Generally, when distinguished guests come, they will send trained and beautiful entertainers to receive them. If they happen to catch some of the esteemed noblemen’s eyes and are asked by the visitor to leave with them, the host of the party would be very amiable and happy. Yet, for those women, their lives had already come to an end.
In the book, the father of her current identity had a friend with a fetish for young boys. Today… that character should be here, right?
If he truly is in there, then she really doesn’t have to go inside anymore… He could let that man do the dirty deed for her. And if he is still alive after it, only then would she move her little finger. Thus, achieving her goal of getting rid of the male protagonist and walking up from this lucid nightmare.
After Ye Mu stopped in her tracks, the panicked servant girls who were chasing after her was also able to catch their breath for a while. One of the maidservants forgot her place and went over to her, eagerly pulling her sleeve and speaking, “Young lady, you can’t go in. The general is giving Official Liu a feast and told everyone that no one should disturb. No one would escape punishment if they disobeyed this!”
Ye Mu finally calmed down, and all the surrounding servants were relieved that the beast had finally come to senses. Indeed, she couldn’t act too rashly, Ye Mu asked with a complicated expression, “That slave, Aji… is he really in there?”
Upon hearing these words, but entirely missing the restlessness in it, the servant girl nodded her head absentmindedly.
But it was just so—she couldn’t understand why the Young lady was acting like this. After all, it was clearly the Young lady who had deliberately sent people here to be ‘punished’. Why was she going back on her word now?
Ye Mu looked at the pavilion in front of her with complicated eyes. Although she came with the cruel objective of killing the male protagonist, she really didn’t expect to meet such a burdensome challenge.
The book had never been too intricate in the details regarding the male lead’s childhood. It only said that when he was young, he had been wandering among people, suffering all the hardships of the world. It was only from then that he developed a strong and resolute character. So, she really didn’t know that this moment today was a past brushed off by the book.
And now, she had the choice to ignore or learn it.
In the event that she chooses to see his past, how can she only look on meekly as a child suffers this kind of degradation? Why did the author even write such a barbaric experience for the male protagonist, ah!?
Might as well let her be the one to give a swift and merciful death!
Seeing that the Young lady had remained silent, the servant girl looked at her carefully and thought that she had given up. However, Ye Mu suddenly took a few steps forward, scaring them all to their knees!
“Young Lady! Please think twice! You can’t go in! If the general is angry there will be bloodshed!”
Ye Mu was pulled by one of the servant girls and her delicate eyebrows frowned.
But she still didn’t speak, the other party was more afraid than ever and said, “Young lady, have you forgotten? Official Liu likes young children the most… and he extremely hates people who disturb his ‘happy’ time! If you trespass, the consequences will be unimaginable!”
And the servants would also suffer—this was their hidden message. A selfish plea for their lives.
“Young lady, please think twice!”
“Please, Young lady—reconsider!”
All the servant girls bitterly dissuaded her with panicked faces. Seeing their frantic states, Ye Mu finally calmed down.
This wasn’t a society ruled by just regulations. Her father and men like Official Liu were animals in human flesh at the top of the pyramid. If she rushed in like this, with no strategic plan and power, whether she can kill someone or not, will only happen after her dead body! She can only swallow this reality bitterly; she had to fold in.
Besides, isn’t it better if someone indirectly helped her achieve her motives? After all, what she wants the most is to quickly get home. And the fastest, most convenient way is to let the male lead die, despite how cruel this choice must be.
Now someone has taken the role of helping her—it’s better than doing the deed herself.
This is just a fictional world with imaginary characters. It shouldn’t be real. Killing him would just be like erasing his name from paper.
At the thought of this, she bit her teeth, frowning at the noisy pavilion. Hesitating, she took two steps back, before resolutely turning around.
Her last thoughts were, ‘Calm down! Just think that you weren’t here.’
But… could she really remain apathetic to these things?