Chapter 1: Turbulent World, Frightened Soul

  Dizzy and weak, even without moving, she could feel the pain spreading throughout her body. Xiao Huan Yue closed her eyes, feeling like her body was falling apart, vaguely hearing screams, curses, and blood-curdling wails...

  Xiao Huan Yue, who couldn't bear the constant noise around her, struggled to open her eyes, using all her strength to prop herself up. Her gaze was dazed as she looked around. She suddenly opened her eyes wide again, and her daze turned into shock, staring at everything in front of her with a look of astonishment.

  She was in a small alley, not far away there was a large open gate, which seemed to be the entrance of a wealthy family. What shocked her was that at the threshold of the gate, there was a body still bleeding, no, not just one, she looked around and found two more men lying motionless beside her, with blood seeping from their bodies.

  It must be a nightmare! Xiaoyue's face turned pale and she closed her eyes, deceiving herself. When she opened them again, her face was even paler than before.

  Nothing has changed, the bloodstains on the ground, the corpses stained with blood lying on the ground, the smell of blood everywhere... She was not dreaming.

  Pursing her lips, furrowing her eyebrows, she gazed at everything in front of her, unaware of the passing of time. She suddenly lowered her head and saw the time-space device on her wrist, her heart skipped a beat as she remembered that she and her good friend were supposed to travel back to the Tang Dynasty. She recalled that they had held hands tightly, so why... Yiyi, Yaoyao, where are you?

  She steadied her nerves, gritted her teeth and got up, scanning the surroundings. Revenge? Annihilation of a family? Grudges in Jianghu? It's really arrogant to annihilate an entire family in broad daylight. How did she end up in such a place? However, looking at the clothes of the dead people on the ground, they didn't seem to be from the Tang Dynasty, but rather resembled those from the Song Dynasty. Had she traveled to the Song Dynasty?

  She knew that Fang Zhe was unreliable, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, and go find Yiy and Yao. She leaned against the wall and walked out of the alley with difficulty.

  As she emerged from the alley, Xiao Huan Yue was completely stunned, staring disbelievingly at everything before her. This should have been a fairly large town, but it had become a "dead city". Everywhere were broken walls and rubble, with scars all over the place. Most of the shops and houses on either side had collapsed, with signs of burning everywhere, and several places still had sparks flying out. In the distance, at the end of the street, the city gate was almost covered in arrows, and you could still vaguely see the siege engines and war chariots standing desolately nearby. As far as the eye could see, there were countless corpses lying on the streets, old men, young children, but all were men, their faces filled with terror and despair, it was possible to imagine how much suffering they had endured before death. The occasional gentle breeze sounded like a mournful sigh, full of sorrow and desolation, and the bright red sunset made the whole city seem shrouded in blood and sadness.

  Massacre! The two words floated in her mind, Xiao Huan Yue's face had lost all color, her legs felt weak and she could hardly stand, she could only lean against the wall for support. She had seen dead people before, not a small number, but she had never seen so many dead bodies, so much blood. For a moment, she felt her stomach churning, almost vomiting.

  It's not just a family being exterminated, but an entire town is being slaughtered, becoming a dead city.

  "Ahhh~~~~~~" A shrill scream echoed, causing her to shudder involuntarily. Following the wailing and shouting voices, Xiao Huan Yue hesitated for a moment, grasped a hand grenade tightly, and cautiously moved towards the source of the sound.

  "Damn it, be gentle with her! If you kill her, I'll make you pay with your lives!"

  "Still, Old Big is wise and knew there must be some fish that slipped through the net. Didn't expect to catch a woman though."

  "This time we've made a big profit! Old Three, be gentle, how can you not understand the value of cherishing and sparing? Otherwise, I'll do it myself!"

  "My god, I don't understand! If it were you, she would probably be dead by now!"

  "Big brother, let's retreat quickly, Qing Lan team is coming soon!"

  "Not good, there are hoofbeats and a large group of people and horses, let's hurry!"

  Xiao Huan Yue, hiding in the corner of the wall, seemed to understand everything from their conversation. These people were definitely the remnants of the city-destroying troops who wanted to plunder again after the troops withdrew. From their words and the woman's scream earlier, it was not difficult to guess that a young and beautiful woman had fallen into their hands, which made them so excited.

  It seems that this town belongs to the Qinglan State, which was occupied and massacred by the enemy. After the enemy army retreated, the Qinglan army wanted to retake the city. Xiao Huan Yue, who had figured everything out, saw four big men not far away grabbing a woman and trying to leave, and hurriedly shouted "Put her down!"

  This loud shout stunned the four big men, and the woman who was covering her mouth in their arms lit up a glimmer of light in her desperate eyes, looking tearfully at the person walking out from the corner.

  Xiao Huan Yue appeared, and felt a pair of eyes full of prayers looking at her. When she looked at the woman again, she was stunned once more. She was originally calm and good at plotting, with everything under control, rarely getting emotional, but today she was repeatedly left speechless. The woman didn't look like Xiao Huan Yue had imagined - young and beautiful - but rather a middle-aged aunt in her thirties. What's going on? Is it that this era's aesthetic is problematic or do these people like women older than themselves?

  "Women, still young and beautiful women!" A burst of cheers interrupted Xiao Huan Yue's thoughts, her attention shifted from the woman to the four big men, with their lecherous and greedy eyes, making her feel a chill, accompanied by anger, she stepped forward towards them.

  "You can't escape now!" Seeing the people and horses that had arrived in time surrounding them, Xiao Huan Yue's sharp gaze, like a knife, returned to its usual warmth and calmness. The corners of her mouth rose into a smile, with a hint of schadenfreude, as she smiled at the four men who were still entranced by her beauty, staring foolishly at her.

  Infatuated with beauty and disregarding the timing, she originally wanted to personally take care of these four people who made her disgusted. She coldly smiled, now they would find it hard to die.