Chapter 001: Escape for Life

With a "thump", a tearing pain surged within Ji Xinhe's head. She furrowed her eyebrows, slowly opened her eyes and observed her blurry surroundings. Despite the hazy vision, she could vaguely make out the arrangement of the room she was in.

In the dilapidated house with a thatched roof and a mud wall, furniture made out of dry branches lied scattered haphazardly. The meager few belongings in the house were spread around everywhere, making the room appear destitute, poor, and cluttered.

Where was she?

Before she could ponder further, she felt a burning pain on her forehead. Touching it, she saw she had a bloodied hand.

A wound? Could it be from the mission she was just on where she was injured by a bomb? But how could a bomb so lethal only cause a cut on her head?

As Ji Xinhe was pondering, a harsh and angry voice rang out: "You shameless wench, dare to attempt suicide by knocking your head against the wall? I've already paid the money. Do you expect me to marry a corpse?!"

Ji Xinhe snapped to attention and looked up to see a brute of a man, his face obscured by flaps of fat, menacingly approaching her.

Another sharp pain coursed through Xinhe's head and countless memories flooded in. Her name was Ji Xinhe, an ordinary village girl from Yang Luo Bay who was sold by her stepmother to the notoriously short-tempered Zhang San for twenty silvers. Because his family raised and sold pigs, they had a little money. As such, he was dubbed "Pork Zhang San".

Pork Zhang San was infamous not for his money, but for having killed his three previous wives by beating them to death.

Ji Xinhe naturally resisted, but her stepmother tricked her into drinking a bowl of water mixed with aphrodisiacs, lured her here, let Zhang San in, locked the door, and left. Her stepmother effectively served her up on a silver platter, making it nearly impossible for her to escape him now.

Instead of submitting, Ji Xinhe chose to knock her head against the wall. The moment she opened her eyes again, she was a changed person.

As Ji Xinhe sat stunned, she looked around at her unfamiliar environment. So, had she... time-traveled?!

While she was still in a daze, Pork Zhang San grabbed the collar of her clothes. With a "rip", her outer garment was torn apart, revealing a somewhat yellowed inner garment underneath. "You wretched woman. I will take you today no matter what. Once you're in my home, I'll see how you like that!"

Just as Pork Zhang San was about to continue undressing her, Ji Xinhe abruptly grabbed his greasy wrist. Her once timid, fearful eyes were replaced with a hint of chilling determination. "Get lost."

Zhang San froze, a sense of fear inexplicably creeping up in him. His grip on her loosened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He shook his head, his expression once again becoming menacing. The idea that he could be scared of a weak woman was utterly ridiculous!

Zhang San attempted to tear her clothes off again while muttering obscenities: "You, audacious wench! You'll see…"

Before he could finish his vulgarities, there was a crisp cracking sound of a dislocated bone followed by Zhang San crying out in pain, clutching his now dislocated hand.

Ji Xinhe wanted to kick him away, but her frail body hardly had any strength. Her arms and legs were thin and feeble. Gritting her teeth, she aimed a kick at Zhang San's groin instead.

Zhang San howled, his face turning green as he collapsed on the ground, his layers of fat trembling.

Ji Xinhe dusted herself off and stood up. Her petite figure might be standing before Zhang San, but there was a fierce intensity that commanded fear. "Should have backed off earlier, huh? Hmph!"

She stepped over Zhang San and headed towards the door.

Zhang San ground out in pain, "You... you… There's no use in running. The drug… It'll take effect soon... You can't escape. You will belong to me sooner or later… I've paid the money… you should stay here… I'll… I'll make sure you enjoy…"

Ji Xinhe's foot landed on his face, cutting him off. This man really had no shame!

Zhang San was completely knocked out this time.

But immediately after, Ji Xinhe felt a certain warmth throughout her entire body.

Damn it! She'd been drugged!

Suddenly, she heard a shrill female voice from outside: "Ji Xinhe, where did you go?!" It sounded anxious, but there was also a touch of complacency apparent in it.

Ji Xinhe's memory told her that this woman was her stepmother, Lady Ding.

There were also voices from other people mixed in, "Xinhe? Xinhe! Where are you?!"

A sense of urgency surged in Ji Xinhe's heart. It wasn't a good place to stay. Lady Ding actually brought so many people looking for her – the "missing" Ji Xinhe. If people saw her and Zhang San in this room, alone, even without any impropriety, rumors would naturally surface. What made it worse was that she had been drugged.

But where could she go if she were to escape? The door was locked, and so many people were waiting outside.

Ji Xinhe touched her increasingly flushed face, her heartbeat becoming erratic. Looking around the small room, there was a small window. Her slender figure could probably squeeze through it, but it was sealed shut. Ji Xinhe decided to use a chair to break it.

While she was at it, she listened out for the commotion outside.

"Xinhe has been missing for a whole day. She's a young girl, where could she have gone?" Lady Ding sounded "worried", "Hey, let's search this room!"

If the scandal about Zhang San and Ji Xinhe got out, no matter if Ji Xinhe was willing or not, she would have to die in Zhang San's territory.

As these thoughts went through Lady Ding's mind, her eyes lit up and she swiftly moved toward the house.

A few men from the village who had come to help search said, "The door seems to be locked. She couldn't possibly be inside."

"Why not? I must search every house in this village. It's not your daughter who's missing, you must not be in any hurry!" snapped Lady Ding.

The men colored, standing tall, "What kind of language is that? We're all villagers here. Would we have put down our work to come help if we didn't care? This is a hunter's hut, rarely used and it's locked. We can't just waltz in."

"Why can't we get in? What if my Xinhe has been locked inside?!"

A teenager suddenly stepped forward: "Enough with the noise! I'll break open the door."

Listening to this familiar voice, Ji Xinhe's heart shivered. It was her second brother, Ji Dong. Her mother had given birth to four children. The eldest, a girl, was already married off. The second child was a boy, now just eighteen. She had a younger brother who was only seven. Her mother died when she was eight and only then did her father remarry Lady Ding.

While Lady Ding was harsh, their siblings were all kind to her. Now that she had disappeared for a whole day, her eldest brother must be very anxious too.

No sooner had the boy finished speaking than he swung an ax at the lock on the door.

Within a few strikes, the door lock fell to the ground with a "clack".

Lady Ding, leading the crowd rushed in and only saw a ragged room. Zhang San was curled up on the floor like a corpse, with no one else in sight.