Xing was taking a walk with Bai Li in the thick forest surrounding the Quingze River on the way back to the capital city. The carriage ride back didn"t agree with her as she felt nauseated and just in the second day of theri journey, she was completely spent and she asked for a break."Do you think the G.o.d of Water is somehow responsible for whatever is happening with me and the Emperor?", Xing asked Bai Li who was eying a rabbit he saw on the way. His concentration was entirely on catching the rabbit and Xing"s question went over his head.
Xing left Bai Li alone to have his alone time with the rabbit and went on her way to explore the forest some more. She didn"t want him to go for human livers out of his thirst for blood.
The trees here were different from the trees she was used to in the mountains and she could hear the flow of water nearby.
That should be the Quingze river, she thought. The G.o.d kept his promise and the river immediately started flowing the moment she agrees to his terms.
She could feel someone walking towards her and she saw little girl probably eight or nine years old in plain cloths waking towards her crying.
"Big sister", she wiped her face in her sleeves, "Did you see my mother somewhere? We came here to pick up firewood but my mother.... She"s gone... I"m scared... Big sister, please help me find my mother!", she started sobbing.
Xing knew that some poor parents will leave their kids in the forests just to get rid of them if they could not sell them but this little girl was entirely suspicious.
Xing has spent a large part of her life with poor people than n.o.bles and she"d know their behaviours like the back of her hand. This child even though looked malnourished, was pale as if she hadn"t seen sunlight and her clothes were cleaner than it should be. No poor family would have their daughter kept protected inside their home and also would have such clean clothes and then dump her in the forest.
Also in her entire eighteen years of living , no one would dare to call someone nicely dressed than themselves as "big sister". That is a way of self-preservation those poor people often followed. Bowing and using respectful terms... That"s how they extend their lifespan in case the one they are addressing is a n.o.ble and found them disrespectful and send them to their deaths. This girl is old enough to differentiate people of her own cla.s.s to those who are superior to her and yet she addressed her as big sister? Her wearing glaring red clothes with phoenix hairpin... A baby would identify her as the Empress!
Xing"s conclusion... This little girl is a bait and there is an ambush waiting ahead.
With the war, combined with the previous drought, Xing won"t be surprised if some people just resort to robbing to get their life going.
"Oh, which way did you come from?", Xing asked with a smile in her face as if she took her bait and gently patted her head.
Xing wasn"t worried as she could summon her divine sword as she pleased and once she has a sword, no bandit can compare to her.
These kind of things is what she is used to, for better part of her life with Haru back in the west.... Fighting bandits and a.s.sa.s.sins. She is well versed in these kind of fights than the fights in the battlefield or the mind games with the n.o.bles and she missed those simple days even.
But what that little girl did surprised her a bit. She pulled out a little dagger and tried to stab her in the stomach.
"Just die,b.i.t.c.h!",she said.
Xing had quick reflexes and she caught her hand immediately and with such vile words coming from a little girl... She was surprised!
Xing could sense Poison in the dagger and she immediately knew this is not a robbery but an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt. She immediately used her senses to figure out if the Emperor was safe and she could sense only she was surrounded and she heard the familiar heartbeat among the others.
s.h.i.+hong wants an audience? Xing smirked. She expected him that night when that Lilai Chief tried to get her but to her dismay, he wasn"t there. So she decided to pay s.h.i.+hong a visit. This time let"s see who has the upper hand....
Xing still remembered that sneering look of s.h.i.+hong in her courtyard that day and that his Poison is what made her barren. She will never forgive him for that.
But since she knew Old Rong is manipulating everyone even the G.o.ds, she wanted to let s.h.i.+hong know about Old Rong and let him decide if he wants to continue in that self-harming path or not.
Once he gets away from Old Rong and she kills Old Rong, she will get to s.h.i.+hong. He cannot die just by a blade to his heart.
Xing wondered for a moment if she should inform everyone about her visiting s.h.i.+hong but decided against it since it will cause rumours. Bai Li is with her and even if s.h.i.+hong"s place is guarded against G.o.ds and demons, Chenglie is still there!
Ah! Who is she lying to? She doesn"t care that much about s.h.i.+hong or Old Rong now... She just wanted to see Chenglie once more...!
The girl still desperately tried to get her hands free from Xing"s grip and that"s when she saw the slave tattoo of black lotus on her arm...
But isn"t that the mark of a s.e.x slave ring?
Xing widened her eyes, "Little girl, are you really owned by the Black Lotus gang?"
The girl gasped and she struggled more to get out of Xing"s grip and tears started to stream on her face, "Let go, b.i.t.c.h..! Let me kill you...", she tried to bite Xing"s hand gripping her hand and Xing could feel her shaking out of fear.
"You don"t know... I"ll be free if I kill you... I won"t go back there... They told me.... I have to kill you to be free..."
Her flushed face were filled with tears and her entire body shook with fear as her hands were numbingly cold when Xing was holding them.
Xing held that trembling little girl close to her and her anger level rose.
This girl can be no more than ten years old and those monsters are using her as a tool to serve rich old perverts? If she is tattooed and she says there is a place, then they are running some kind of underground brothel too, right?
Xing had heard from Lady Shaoyao that there are some trafficking rings and brothels who use children, both boys and girls and Xing could not believe it before. The previous ring she and Haru came across had slightly older girls. The youngest one in that group was fourteen and she never thought that in her life would come across a little child in such place that gave her and Haru nightmares for a while.
So s.h.i.+hong is involved in such a place...? Guess he doesn"t deserve a second chance or any chance. Once I find Old Rong, both will die in my hands...!
"Little girl, you need not go back there", Xing patted her head who had now lost all her strength trying to struggle out from her grip.
"Wait here! This big sister will help you and the others trapped there, okay?", she pried the dagger from her hands and made the girl to sit beside a tree.
"No one can get them... Any one who tried to get them are killed brutally and they make us watch... So we won"t try to escape.. ", she started sobbing again hugging her knees and Xing felt her heart clench in pain.
If she and Haru were here growing up, this little girl won"t be suffering like this, she was sure. But it is not too late now. It may be late for this girl but not for their future victims.
Xing got up holding the dagger and she saw Bai Li behind the girl who now took the form of a fox and signalled him to follow her inconspicuously and not to alert the Imperial guards for now since she had to confront s.h.i.+hong first.
While Xing was slightly distracted, the girl found a sharp piece of branch that was lying on the ground and stabbed herself with it.
The branch punctured her abdomen and Xing was dumbfounded by her sudden action and she tried to attend her and pulled the branch out and Xing knew that girl cannot be saved.
Xing pressed the wound and that little girl was still murmering,
"I won"t go back there... You can"t make me..."
Xing knew only an agonising death is waiting for this girl as she cannot be saved otherwise. The wound was too jagged and it hit her intestines and there would be no doctor who could save her and she could feel a grim reaper waiting for her death as a vulture.
Xing"s throat went dry seeing the little girl who had endured a lot of suffering while living and didn"t have much luck with dying either.
"Why did you...", Xing felt bitter.. Why didn"t you trust me? I would have saved you!
" won"t....back... Help me... Die ... ",the feeble voice of that girl was heard that melted Xing"s heart.
Must I witness such things?
Xing took a deep breath and composed herself before placing her on her lap and she cut her throat with the dagger as she hugged her.
Rest well! May you have a good and happy next life, little child! Xing muttered, Guess your blood is on me as this is the only thing I could do to help you now!
Xing"s eyes were clouded and she could not see clearly and her clothes were bloodied with the little girl"s blood. She could feel the familiar footsteps approaching her from behind her and the form of Bai Li disappeared from her muddled sight and she felt an object hitting the back of her head and the world around her darkened....