Chapter 16: Where to Go

The one who drew the sword was a guard following Liu Qi.

Liu Qi had been used to doing as he pleased since childhood; when one guard failed to keep close, it allowed him to scramble over those loose rocks a step ahead and reach this mountain peak's edge.

The guards quickly followed close behind, but who knew that in that split second, their young master would be pinned down in the snow by someone.

"Don't stop me." Shaowei frowned and threatened Liu Qi again; the longbow in her left hand shifted position, and she pressed the sharpest tip of the bow limb's end against the skin where his jaw met his neck.

Forced to tilt his head back, Liu Qi's eyes looked downward, staring at the hand still clamped tight over his mouth.

Shaowei knitted her brows and moved her hand away, releasing his mouth and nose that had been beaten bloody.

Liu Qi exhaled a long breath of white vapor, turned his head to look at the two guards, his breathing uneven from being pinned down: "Don't make a sound, put down your weapons, let her go."

Though his voice was panting, it still held no panic, as if that lethal bow tip weren't pressed against his vital point — though he believed she truly dared to kill, he could see and smell the bloodlust on her.

Seeing that guard move with vigilance yet obediently toss his sword blade into the snow, Shaowei instantly released her restraint on Liu Qi, without another word, without another glance, and ran toward that narrow path.

Liu Qi waved off the guard's offer of support and climbed up from the snow.

He raised a hand to wipe his nosebleed and looked over, only to see that back figure racing along the hidden winding trail, looking exactly like a young wolf, a young wolf struggling through the heavy snowfall at night, drenched in fresh blood.

"Young Master, should this subordinate give chase?"

Liu Qi watched that figure that seemed born to belong to the mountain forest: "Can't catch up, let her go."

As he spoke, he aggravated the wound at the corner of his mouth, couldn't help but grimace, and gave a light hiss.

Guard Deng Hu handed over a handkerchief; seeing the wound was clearly not light, he couldn't help asking: "Why did the Young Master not resist or strike back?"

Though both were born of the Empress, unlike the Crown Prince who bore the great task of heir apparent, the Sixth Prince had been free and unrestrained since childhood; from age seven he often followed his maternal uncle Marquis Changping to practice spear and sword — by rights he shouldn't have been pinned down and beaten by a mere girl of at most the same age.

Liu Qi wiped the bloodstains from his mouth with the handkerchief while saying: "At first I didn't expect her to be this swift and fierce..."

He had come here to check for hidden passages and such, but seeing she was only a child, he hadn't wanted to make things difficult for her; he arrogantly thought he shouldn't harm women and children, who knew the next instant he would be injured by her instead.

As for why he didn't counterattack after being pinned down —

"Her strength is strangely great, and she's very fierce."

Liu Qi glanced at the blood on the handkerchief: "I'm not a dog blocking the road, so she won't be a man-eating wolf. Since I've already had the bad luck to take a punch, why provoke her further."

Liu Qi finished speaking and looked down at his feet; the snow was stained with several patches of red, not only his nosebleed but also blood from her body.

She had injuries on her body, but they wouldn't be from the Ling Family Army. As for the bloodstains on her face, those were spatter-pattern blood drops, clearly from someone else.

And she looked like she really wanted to leave.

Liu Qi took one last look at the direction where that back figure disappeared — who knew where she alone wanted to go?

Yes, where to go?

Shaowei herself didn't know either.

For Shaowei, this single day had been through death and life and back, too many things had happened.

Her hands were stained with much blood, her heart hid much hate, yet she couldn't even say clearly who she should hate most.

The endless snow-white made one dizzy; the hidden mountain path lacked clear foot-trodden tracks, loose rocks and tangled branches everywhere; Shaowei, wrapped in her thoughts, rushed and stumbled purely by beast-like instinct, her clothing and exposed skin mostly scraped raw by tangled branches.

Although this experience was bizarre to the point of near unreality, the physical and mental pain was incomparably real; Shaowei had just had her blood drawn in the morning, then fought desperately with Qin Fu, and her injured bleeding body ran through the bitter cold — her stamina would eventually give out —

Already near the mountain foot, this last short stretch was still steep; Shaowei's foot caught on loose rocks and she suddenly lunged forward, her body accompanied by trembling accumulated snow, rolling down uncontrollably.

A river marsh flows through this mountain foot area.

Snow had fallen intermittently for several days; thin ice formed along the winding river water's edge, snow piled on the ice, looking like a lard jar in summer — only the edges congealed with a circle of snow-white, occasionally a small piece drifting to the middle, but the oil inside the jar remained flowing.

"Crack—" a series of sharp shattering sounds, the thin ice was crushed, and Shaowei fell into the flowing river water.

Shaowei knew how to swim.

In summer, the women of the stockade would occasionally go together to the riverbank to bathe in the evening.

But Shaowei's Mother had never gone; for a very long time Mother's hands and feet were even locked in iron chains. Mother didn't go, Shaowei didn't want to go either, but Mother pushed her to go, and had a woman teach her to swim; Mother whispered to her, things that can save your life and protect yourself, you must strive to learn more of them.

Shaowei was very obedient; by the time she was eight, Shaowei's strength was already great; after bathing she would carry two buckets of water running back, so Mother could also rinse and wipe with clean cool river water.

Shaowei wanted to help Mother scrub her back, but Mother entrusted her: "Qingniang, how about you guard outside for Mother?"

Shaowei ran out pattering, legs spread standing, hands on hips, making her small body take up as much space as possible, like a dignified serious guard guarding the door for Mother.

Mother bathed very slowly, the sky was about to turn pitch black; Shaowei feared the house would be too dark and Mother with her injured legs might slip, so she turned back and peered inside through the door crack —

By the last thread of twilight, Shaowei caught sight unprepared of Mother's back so thin even the spine was distinct, and that back covered in overlapping old and new scars; Mother held a soaked coarse cloth wiping her back, but her hand was trembling, her body trembling too; at that moment, even without seeing Mother's face or hearing a sound, Shaowei knew Mother was crying.

This scene was like countless fine needles, piercing into young Shaowei.

The ice-cold river water also seemed like countless cold needles, piercing into Shaowei's limbs and bone-blood.

The longbow that had never been released yet was already broken finally slipped from her hand in the water; Shaowei struggled desperately rising and sinking, strength draining rapidly.

The familiar suffocation descended again; the ceaselessly flowing river water was cold yet embracing, and the killing intent lay not in the cold but precisely in its embrace, just like Mother's hands.

Extremely weak Shaowei was in extreme pain and exhaustion; she generated many auditory and visual hallucinations; for a moment, she felt dying like this would be fine too.

The last time she died, Shaowei still had much unwillingness, a large part of that unwillingness came from Mother's death; now that unwillingness had been compensated, yet it also crushed many of Shaowei's attachments.

Let this sinful shell that shouldn't exist in this world be cast adrift with the waves; perhaps one day it will wash up on a shallow bank like a sick cat or dead dog, and after countless wind-blown sun-baked days turn into a pile of white bones.

No need for reincarnation either; she disliked this world very much; if some movement is absolutely necessary to settle this soul, she'll grow a patch of grass from that pile of bones, growing tall and lush, preferably thorny poison grass, to poison a passerby or two who disturb her leisure.

Shaowei very maliciously planned this, but before she could even start the first step of this poisoning enterprise, something snagged the wolfskin on her body.

In the chaotic darkness, Shaowei randomly reached out and grabbed, feeling something like a bamboo pole section.

She swung, but was blocked again; after several times, the bamboo pole poked her wounded painful spot; she could only clutch that bamboo pole and struggle upward with all her might, borrowing the last bit of strength to suddenly thrust her head out of the water surface.

Water droplets splashed; the clear qi of all things returned before Shaowei's eyes along with her breath.

Writing to this chapter, I'll chat a bit with everyone.

Since I started writing, every story of mine revolves around girls, this time is no exception: during Spring Festival I heard a song, and a picture suddenly appeared in my mind of a little girl running in a great snow mountain forest, a pair of extraordinarily stubborn eyes hiding sorrow, a bit like a young wolf, a bit like a young deer, clear and pure but aggressive, so also like a sharp ice flower.

Following that inspiration to extend, Shaowei was born.

The Shaowei in my heart, part of her personality is innate, more is shaped by environment; she hasn't undergone good teaching, she hasn't even seen this world completely; everything stems from primitive instinct, so the initial her cannot be a master strategist, calm and wise; when she was weak she could only be pushed by fate; she has self-respect and is strong-willed, yet also has moments of self-doubt and self-abandonment; she dares to stake everything, so her personality has a violent impulsive base; in short, the current Shaowei is a child in the complete sense, a child like a small beast; she needs to grow, and some "flaws" won't completely disappear even after she grows.

The reason I'm verbose about this is because I know many readers came for "Chang'an Hao" to this new book; Ning Ning is powerful to the point of making people look up in awe; I can very confidently tag Ning Ning as "strong female lead" and "female strength"; but Shaowei may not be; afraid of disappointing everyone, so I'm saying it here.

If everyone likes this Shaowei, then I'll write her well for everyone to read.

Before this were all prologue; next, Shaowei's growth story truly begins to unfold—I look forward to accompanying everyone.

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Chapter End