27 I will do my best to keep you safe

Not again! This doesn't look like the 21st century at all. It looks like I am in a garden. Young girls are walking around in robes with boxes in their hands. The buildings look like historical sites. I have a bad feeling about this.

"You, slave! What are you doing here?" A plump woman in plain robes scowls at me. "The kitchen needs help."

Slave. I open my mouth to say that I am not a slave. But, she pulls me by my hair and drags me to the kitchen before I can utter a word.

"You are new. So, I would let you go this time." She gives me a threatening look. "If I see you dilly-dally again, I will ask madam to sell you away."

She strides away from me in anger, leaving me shocked by this whole exchange. Am I still in the primitive era? Is my aunt here?

"You must be new." A young girl around 14 comes to my side. "What is your name?"

I don't know whether I should use my real name. "Bao Mi?"

"You sound like you are not from here." She gives me a knife to cut the vegetables. "You are lucky. They sold a slave to a prostitution house when she was caught lazing around."

What the hell! I barely escaped from a forced marriage and ended up becoming a slave at some household. Time, what do you want from me? When can I go home?

By the end of the day, I am tired. I have never worked this much in my entire life. I realize that people of the 21st century have it way easier than these people. We have the technology and they have slaves.

It gets dark. I decide to sneak out of this place. I will dress up as a man and live like my aunt. I will probably make it back to my time some days later. I have to survive until then. I crawl out of the servant quarter, making sure that I am out of the sight of the guards.

The problem is that I don't know where the exit is. I have to climb over the wall. It looks high. I don't know what to do.

"Assassins!!!" Someone screams.

Wait, I am not an assassin. I am about to yell. My eyes bulge out when I see flying dark figures like in movies. Shit! Real assassins are here.

At this rate, I am going to die here. I run in the opposite direction. I don't know where I am going. I ignore the sound of swords cutting the flesh.

"Ow!" I bump right into the plump woman. Just my luck.

"Take third young master out of this place." She shoves the young boy's hand in my hand. "I am going to find the second young master."

What! "Wait!" But, the plump lady is gone.

I look at the young kid. His face looks familiar. His cheeks are round and fluffy. I don't know what to say. He is crying. I feel bad for him. I am afraid of dying too.

"I will do my best to keep you safe." I tell him, "First, we must hide. Don't make any sound."

He gives me a stiff nod. That reminds me of Li Jun. I shrug my shoulder. The darkness is overwhelming. People are screaming and dying. I don't let go of his hand. Somewhat, I am a little less afraid because there is someone who is relying on me.

We run for a while. This place has no end. So far, we have been lucky. I am sure that the assassins would look for this boy. We hide in the stable. That's probably a bad place to hide, but it's better than running in the dark. A few minutes pass. I hear the sound of footsteps.

"Don't make a single noise," I whisper to him. "No matter what, don't come out. Promise me."

***

He promises her and covers his mouth. The maid is sweating a lot. She must be scared. He is also scared. The assassin is killing the horses one by one. At this rate, they will be caught.

Suddenly, the maid makes it for a run. The assassin in black grabs her hair and tosses her on the ground. She yelps in pain. Li Jun wants to run to her side, but she gives him a look.

"Don't kill me, please," She begs to the man. The man slaps her pale face, splitting her lips. Her body begins to become transparent. She laughs suddenly and tells him with a chilling voice, "I have come out from the depth of hell to haunt you."

The assassin is ashen to see her body disappearing. Afraid, he tries to stab her in the chest. She moves to her right. He misses his mark and stabs her shoulder instead.

The knife and the body are nowhere in sight. The assassin runs away, screaming. Li Jun is breathing hard, unable to believe what he has just seen. The blood on the ground is as real as him.