The m after Shen Mu's defeat, the Silver Lotus Sect gathered in the main hall. The battle was won, but leadership had to be decided.

  Lin Wuye sat at the head, exhaustion evident but his mind sharp. The elders murmured among themselves before the most senior among them stood. "This war has made oruth clear: Lady Meilin possesses the mind of a ander. We propose she take and of the sect's martial affairs while Master Lin Wuye remains as its advisor and administrator."

  Lay, who had been taking a sip of tea, choked. "Excuse me?"

  Her father gave her a pointed look. "Meilin, you led this sect to victory. This is just a formality."

  She looked around at the serious expressions. "You do realize I didn't actually fight with Qi like the others, right? I just told everyone where to go."

  One elder nodded. "A, without you, we would not be here."

  Lay groaned, rubbiemples. "So let me get this straight—I have to handle all the war stuff, while my father buries himself in paperwork?"

  Lin Wuye coughed. "That was always the pn."

  Lay sighed before muttering, "I should have run when I had the ce."

  Immediately, one of the elders scoffed, his wrinkles deepening as he shook his head. "This is absurd! A ander must be a seasoned cultivator, not—"

  "Not what?" Bao interrupted, arms crossed, eyes sharp. "Not the person who just led us to victory? Not the person who kept us alive while others panicked?" He jabbed a fioward the elder. "With all due respect, Elder, if you'd like to lead the war, we'll be happy to take notes."

  Several disciples snorted, muffling their ughter. Another disciple, still bandaged from the battle, groaned, "If Lady Meilin hadn't been in charge, I'd be dead. I'd rather follow someoh a brain than someoh a bloated ego!"

  The elder's face darkened, but he muttered something under his breath and fell silent.

  Jiahe most seasoned disciple, lifted his head from where he had been listening, his sharp eyes narrowing. In a slow, deliberate motiouroward the elder, his expression locked in an uling smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Oh? Would you care to repeat that, Elder?" he asked, his tone polite but dripping with unspoken challenge.

  Meanwhile, Meilin's mother sat on the sidelines, hands folded in her p, watg the chaos unfold with the tired expression of a woman who had seen this nonseoo many times before. She let out a soft sigh and muttered, "This family is going to give me gray hairs before winter even es."

  Lin Wuye coughed into his fist, clearly suppressing a smile. "The decision has been made. Meilin, you are the ander. No more arguments."

  Lay sighed i, rubbing her forehead as if trying to physically push away the headache f. "Fine, fine," she muttered. "But if I'm going to be a ander, I o start pnning for winter."

  Her mind was already shifting, calg supplies, food rations, and defensive reinforts they would need before the first snowfall. The reality of her positioled in, and she realized there was n baow.

  She exhaled sharply. "Survive the winter first. Everything else wait." The aftermath of war always left a strange silen its wake.

  Lay walked through the remnants of the battlefield, the familiar metallic st of blood still lingering, though now it was overpowered by the st of fresh lumber and soil. The Silver Lotus Sect was alive—not just in the sehat they had survived but in the way they moved, rebuilt, and pressed forward.

  Workers hauled stoo reinforce the eastern wall. Disciples worked tirelessly to restore the damaged training grounds. The once-razed gardens, noled into dust, were being resown. Even the wreckage of her fallen tower was being cleared, though the foundation remained scarred. In another se of the sect, she noticed a handful of disciples tending to the few animals they had left—a small herd of mountain goats, a few chis, and a lone ox used for hauling heavy supplies. They would need more if they wao sustain themselves through the winter.

  A week. That was the time they o plete the basic repairs, but in truth, they only had a month to fully prepare before winter arrived in full force.

  As she went over their remaining supplies, a frown creased her brow. Their grain stores were dwindling, their cloth stockpiles were nearly depleted, and there were barely enough livestoaintain their food supply. If they didn't resupply soon, survival through the cold season would be miserable at best, lethal at worst. She recalled ba her past life that winter was as much a killer as any bde.

  A memory surfaced, sharp and unyielding. She had been a newly ed queen, walking through the outskirts of her capital during the first snowfall of the season, apanied by her guards and advisors. The streets had been quiet—too quiet. Then she saw him. The streets had been quiet—too quiet. Then she saw him. A child, barely ten, curled up against the cold stone wall of an alley. His lips were blue, his tiny hands frozen stiff. She had rushed to him, calling for aid, but it was too te. His eyes were already lifeless.

  She turned sharply tuards. "How did this happen? Why was no og the streets?"

  One of her advisors scoffed, barely looking up from his fur-lined sleeves. "My Queen, he was a ohe erish in the cold. It is the way of the world."

  Silence followed.

  Lay felt something cold—not the winter chill, but something deep in her chest. Slowly, deliberately, she turo face the advisor, her expression unreadable. Then, in one swift motion, she drew the dagger from her belt and slit his throat.

  Gasps erupted arouhe warm spray of blood staining the fresh snow. She watched as he gurgled, falling to the ground, clutg his throat in disbelief.

  "The me ge the way of the world," she murmured, stepping over his dying body. "From this moment forward, no one in my kingdom will freeze to death again." That night, she had made a decree—no one in her kingdom would suffer the same fate. Winter would ake another i life under her rule. She knew from her previous life that food was, the top priority—without it, all their rebuilding would be pointless. But cloth was just as essential; a cold body was a weak body, and a weak body would fall to siess. A starving army was useless, but a freezing one was just as doomed.

  Beyond that, she recalled another y that many overlooked: a and sustaier source.

  Another painful memory cwed its way to the surface. She remembered sitting ohrohe grandeur of the pace doing little to mask the weight pressing down on her shoulders. The heavy doors to the throne room burst open, and a man stumbled in—her childhood friend's father. His clothes were disheveled, his eyes wild with grief. Guards moved to restrain him, but he shoved them off, his voice hoarse with fury. A man, a loyal subject, had stood before her, grief-stri and furious. "You were supposed to protect us! " he had said, voice trembling with sorrow and rage. She had no words, fused with this rage asked "Why are you so angry? What has happened?"

  He pointed a trembling fi her, his breath ragged. "You are our Queen but you betrayed us" he roared. "My son is dead because of you! Because of this kingdom!"

  The guards moved to seize him again, but Lay raised a hand, stopping them. She met his gaze, and for the first time, she saw not just rage, but despair. The kind that festered deep, impossible to mend.

  Her lips parted, but no words came. What could she have said? That she hadn't known? That she had tried? None of it would matter. He was right. She had no words, only regret.

  It was then that she had sworn to build proper sanitation systems, no matter how absurd her advisors had found the idea. Now, standing in the Silver Lotus Sect, she knew she would have to do it again.

  Lay tapped her fingers against her forehead and her mind was rag through solutions. It was on practice for sect members to relieve themselves wherever ve—against trees, near rivers, iy courtyards. That o ge. They needed designated areas, separate from their water sources, with proper disposal methods.

  Would they resist? Absolutely. But she wasn't going to give them a choice.

  Her fiapped against her folded arms as she made a mental checklist. Food, cloth, reinforts, additional water sources, and—most importantly—a designated area for excrement disposal, far enough from their drinking water to prevent ination. It was a lesson she had learhe hard way, and she had no iion of repeating it. Lay took note of every movement, every versation around her. Some sect members still looked at her with newfound respect. Others—mostly the elders—watched with caution, as if uaiher they had raised a leader or a storm.

  "You've done well, Lady Meilin," one of the elders finally said, adjusting his robes. His eyes flickered across the restru, approvi reserved. "Had we not followed your strategies, we would not be here today."

  Another elder, however, scoffed lightly. "Survival is only the first battle. We must eability."

  Lay turo them, crossing her arms. "Then e. I already have p in pce for the winter preparations. rain ste will be secured, and the defensive formations will be pleted within days."

  The elders exged looks, perhaps surprised she had anticipated their s. One of them nodded. "Very well. And what of the main city?"

  Meilin exhaled. "I was just about t that up."

  Later that evening, Lay found herself sparring with Jiahe sect's most seasoned disciple. He had fought in tless battles before Shen Mu's attack, ae his age, his movements were precise and effit. She valued his insight—not just in bat, but in the ways of war.

  "Your footwork is tid," he muttered as he parried one of her strikes with ease. "You rely on calcuted movement, but in real battle, chaos is the only stant."

  She gritted her teeth, adjustiance before tering with a feint that, while clever iion, was still sluggish. Jiaepped back with ease, barely needing to block. She mao correct her footing in time, avoiding an embarrassing stumble, but her movements were still stiff.

  Jiang Wei sighed, rubbing his temples. "Better. At least you're not tripping over yourself anymore. But you're still tid."

  Lay scowled. "It's called strategy."

  "It's called being predictable." He flicked her forehead lightly, earning a gre. "If I read your every move, so an enemy. You're improving, but you still fight like a sch to chraph a duel instead of reag to one."

  She huffed, rolling her shoulders. "So what do you suggest?"

  Jiang Wei smirked. "Survive the five rounds without me nding a hit, and I'll tell you."

  Lay's fidence flickered for a brief sed before she rolled her shoulders. "Five rounds? Easy."

  Five rounds ter, not only had she failed to avoid a hit—she had been thhly humiliated. Each attempt ended with her ft on the ground, pinned, disarmed, or nursing a new bruise. By the third round, she had barely even lifted her sword before Jiang Wei had already tered. By the fifth, she was starting to think he had been taking it easy on her from the start.

  Lying on her back, staring at the sky, she groaned. "So, do I at least get a sotion prize?"

  Jiang Wei smirked down at her, arms crossed. "Sure. You get the honor of knowing you lost in record time. Faster thahe junior disciples, I might add."

  After their training session, she met with Bao, who was overseeing what remained of their livestock. "It's bad," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "We barely have enough to sustain the sect, let alorade."

  "We o secure more animals," Lay said. "And paper. We're running low on dotation materials."

  Bao groaned. "You just survived a war, and you're already thinking about paperwork?"

  She smirked. "Survival means nothing if we're not prepared for the future."

  As the night deepened, Daokan arrived uedly, though no one seemed to notice him—except Meilin. As she turned a er he training grounds, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of him standing there, arms folded, gaze unreadable. How did he eve in here without anyone seeing him? He tilted his head slightly, watg her rea with what could only be described as mild amusement. Then, in the most nont tone possible, he said, "If you and your sect survive the winter, find me."

  Meilin exhaled sharply, pg her hands on her hips. "Master Daokan, would it kill you to be more specific?"

  Daokan smirked—actually smirked—before turning away. Over his shoulder, he added, "You're resourceful. Figure it out."

  She scowled, muttering under her breath. "One day, I'm going to return the favor and be just as petty when you need something."

  Later that night, as she sat by the fire with her father, mother, Bao, and Jiang Wei, she brought up the enter. "Did any of you see Master Daokan earlier?"

  Lin Wuye g her over his tea. "Master Daokan? No, why?"

  Bao raised a brow. "The old man was here? When?"

  Jiang Wei frowned. "I was at the training grounds all evening. If he were around, I would've noticed."

  Her mother, ever calm, gave a small sigh. "Meilin, are you sure you weren't just tired?"

  Lay blinked, processing their collective fusion. She repeated, more dumbfouhis time, "You're telling me none of you saw him? He was standing right there talking to me."

  Silence.

  Jiang Wei gave her a skeptical look. "Are you sure you didn't get hit in the head ooo many times today?"

  She groaned, rubbing her forehead "You know what? Fet it."

  Shaking off the odd enter, she turned her attention baore pressing matter. "Anyway, we need supplies before winter sets in. Where's the best pce to get them?"

  Bao stretched his arms, crag his neck. "The main city, obviously. We've got traders there who deal in bulk. Metal, textiles, even livestock if you know the right people."

  Jiang Wei nodded in agreement. "We also need proper building materials. The sect repairs are holding for now, but if we want to reinforything before the heavy snowfalls, we'll roimber and stone."

  Lay tapped her . "Alright. Looks like a supply trip is unavoidable."

  Her mother, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke. "If yoing to the main city, there's something you should know."

  Lay raised a brow. "What is it mother?"

  Her mother sipped her tea before answering. "Daokan's inal sect is in the main city."

  Lay blihen she blinked again. Slowly, her expression twisted into a mix of exasperation and realization. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

  She sighed, dragging a hand down her fad have a visible vein on her forehead throbbing "So this old man gives me some vague 'find me' nonsense, and now I learn that he's been iy this whole time? I swear, one day I'm going to track him down just to punch him in the face for being so dramatic."

  The Jouro the Main City

  The jourook several days, the winding mountain paths eventually giving way to well-trodden trade roads. Meilin sat in the carriage, watg as the dense forests of the sect's territory faded into sprawling farmnds, where borers toiled in preparation for the ing winter. Occasionally, they passed small vilges—some barely more than clusters of huts, e enough to boast bustling marketpces.

  Seated across from her parents in a simple carriage, Lay listeo the rhythmic ctter of hooves against the dirt road. She couldn't help but recall how different things had once been. In her previous life, she had traveled in a gilded carriage, lined with the fi silks and cushioned seats befitting a queen. Servants would have teo her every need, ensuring the journey was as effortless as possible. Now, the worn wooden frame beh her creaked with every bump, and the chilled air seeped through the cracks. The further they traveled, the more the air ged—crisp mountain air fading into the thick, smoky st of industry. Lin Wuye, notig her quiet observation, spoke up. "Our sect is led deep in the mountains, away from the political strife of the empire. The main city, however, is its beati, chaotic but full of opportunity. It lies nearly a week's journey from our home."

  Bao, sittihe carriage driver, leaned back against the wooden frame. "It's overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. The city isn't just one massive cluster—it's divided into districts, each with its own purpose." The city loomed ahead, its t stone walls standing as a reminder of the world beyo disputes.

  As they passed through the final stretch before the city gates, the trast became even more apparent. The roads were wider, fnked by mert caravans, nobles iravagant carriages, and farmers leading carts filled with produce. The walls of the main city loomed ahead, carved from dark stone and standing tall like an unyieldiinel.

  Lay inhaled deeply as they entered, immediately notig the stark differen air quality—deh the sts of burning coal, roasted meats, and perfumed oils. She frowned slightly. Perfumed oils? Had that always been a thing, or was this something new? For a moment, she wondered if her iion from her past life that somehow carried into this world, or if it had always existed here. The chatter of merts calling out their wares blended with the sounds of distant hammering and the king of s exging hands. The sound of hammerial, merts advertising their wares, and the st of roasted chestnuts mixed with the crisp air.

  She turo her father. "The perfumed oils—have they always been around, or is that somethi?"

  Lin Wuye stroked his before answering. "Perfumed oils have existed long before the current emperor. However, their quality and purpose differ greatly depending on who uses them. The on folk use them for masking unpleasant odors, while the nobles have refined versions infused with rare herbs and flowers from distant nds."

  Lay exhaled, nodding slightly, but a nagging thought crept into her mind. Perfumed oils existed long before the current emperor, but had they always been this widely used?

  She had introduced the cept of perfumes in her past life—distilling sted oils, refining them into something more than just a cover for foul odors. Even as far as to advance revolutiohe sted industry but if that was the case, then why did Jinhai hadn't further advance upon her creation? Was this somethiirely separate? Had he ig, or had the world simply evolved in ways she could no longer predict?

  How much time had truly passed since her first death? Hours? Days? Months? Years?

  Her breath quied. She hadn't noticed it at first, but the thought burrowed into her mind like a parasite, g at her sense of reality. Her fingers ched around the fabric of her sleeves as her heart pounded against her ribs.

  Or even decades? Was this even the same world? It had to be since Jinhai himself was here.

  But what if it wasn't? What if everything she had built, everything she had sacrificed, had simply beeten? Her iions, once groundbreaking, were now afterthoughts, diluted into the background of an empire that had long since moved past her tributions. Jinhai was different—because this world was different.

  Her breaths grew more erratic, her chest tightening as the realization struck her like a crushi. The city around her blurred, voices melding into an inprehensible hum. She wasn't here. She was somewhere else—adrift in a world that should have been hers, but wasn't.

  She and Jinhai had been the closest thing t a unioween two great kingdoms. He had known of her sanitation cepts, her push for fair treatment of women and children, her revolutionizing of the perfume industry—ideas that had once shaped an empire. But here? Here, none of it had e to pass. It made her sick to her stomach. If these things had never been introduced, then was this truly her world? Or just a ed refle of it?

  A hand touched her shoulder—warm, grounding. "Meilin," her mother's voice was gentle, but firm. "Breathe."

  She gasped, as if surfag from deep waters, only now realizing how tightly she had wound herself. Her mrip remaieady, her expression unreadable, but flickered in her eyes. "You're trembling. What's wrong?"Lay exhaled shakily, f herself to swallow the rising paniothing," she lied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just… thinking."

  Her mother didn't believe her, that much was clear, but she didn't press. Instead, she squeezed her shoulder once before releasing her. "Oep at a time, Meilin. Whatever it is, you're not fag it alone."

  She nodded, inhaling deeply, willing herself to believe it.

  She force herself to suppressed the thought for now, refog on the bustling city around her.

  Jiang Wei sitting beside Bao, stretg his arms after the long journey, poioward the various ses of the city. "You've got the noble distriear the pace—high walls, vish estates, and enough politiake your head spin. Then there's the oners' district, where most merts and borers live. The poor quarter is... well, exactly what it sounds like. You don't want to lihere."

  Bao smirked. "Then there's the infamous red-light district, home to brothels and gambling dens. Emperor's district is off-limits unless you have high-standing es."

  The carriage came to a slow halt, the driver announg their arrival. Lay exhaled and stepped out, paying the driver as Jiang Wei and Bao fnked her in a protective staheir eyes sing the bustling streets for potential threats. Her father and mother walked side by side, their expressions unreadable but firm.

  The market was alive with activity, remi of the vibrant night markets from turies past. Lanterns hung from wooden stalls, casting a warm glow over vendors shouting out their wares—spices from the east, silks from distant nds, bundles of herbs promising miraculous cures. The st of roasti and fried dough wafted through the air, mingling with the more unpleasant stench of unwashed bodies and livestock pens.

  "Fresh fish! Straight from the river this m!" a mert bellowed.

  "Jewelry fit for a noblewoman! Handcrafted with the fi jade!" another called out, shaking a neckphasis.

  Further ahead, a different kind of transa took pce. A group of shackled individuals stood on a wooden ptform, their gazes vat, their bodies frail. A well-dressed man waved his hands toward the highest bidder. "Strong backs, willing hands! A lifetime of service for the right price!" He ughed, ting a stack of s as a hooded buyer stepped forward to ihe goods.

  Lay's stomach twisted. Svery. She had abolished it in her past life, ensuring that no man, woman, or child would be bound in s under her rule. But here, it thrived, just another aspect of how this world funed.

  Her mother, sensing her unease, pced a steadying hand on her arm. "This is how the big city works, Meilin," she said quietly. "We may not like it, but we 't ge it."

  Her father sighed, his voice carrying the weight of experiehe empire is built on trade, power, and trol. Money flows through every transa, and those without it are left behind. This is reality."

  Lay ched her fists but said nothing. She had ged a kingdom before—perhaps, in time, she could ge this ooo.

  A sudden shift in the aueer's voice caught her attention. "And now, for the jewel of tonight's sale!" His voice dripped with exaggerated enthusiasm as he gestured toward a fragile, young girl being dragged onto the ptform. Her delicate frame was ed in tattered silk, her wide, hollow eyes devoid of hope.

  "A rare beauty! Gentle, obedient, untouched! A treasure fit for any dising master!" the seller decred, his grin wide and siing. The urmured in i, a few men stepping forward, their gazes sharp with predatory hunger.

  Lay felt her stomach . Every muscle in her body tensed, her vision narrowing as rage pulsed through her veins. Her intelligence, her carefully calcuted mind—none of it mattered in that moment. Her body moved before she could think, her feet carrying her forward as she shoved her way through the crowd.

  "Meilin!" her father's voiapped behind her, but she barely heard it.

  Jiang Wei caught her arm, his grip firm. "You 't do this! We'll ha another way."

  "No," she snarled, wreng herself free. "Not this time."

  She surged forward, ign the hands trying to restrain her, ign the stares turning in her dire. The aueer barely had time to react before Meilin was there, standing before the girl, pg herself between her and the leering buyers. The world had wrohis child, just as it had wronged so many before.

  But not today. Not if Lay had anything to say about it.

  The Mert

  Ats adjusted the weight of a wooden crate beside him, shifting some of his goods into pce. The st of dried herbs and freshly cut wood filled the air around his small shop, a modest stall led between a bcksmith and a tea vendor. He wiped his hands on a cloth and turo his panion, Meyu, who was carefully tallying their iory.

  "You know, we're running low on ironwood. That sells fast during winter," she murmured, her dark eyes flig over the part in her hands.

  Ats grinned. "We're running low on a lot of things. But if we haggle well, we'll restock by the week's end."

  Meyu scoffed, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Haggling? You mean swindling."

  "It's only swindling if they realize," he shot back with a smirk.

  She shook her head, a faint smile toug her lips. "Sometimes I wonder why I stick around."

  Ats g her, his expression briefly serious. "Because I bought you fair and square, remember? And then, out of the kindness of my heart, I freed you. You're here because you want to be."

  Meyu rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, my noble saviour. You're still not getting a dist on your own merdise."

  Before Ats could respond, movemehe square caught his attention.

  At first, he thought nothing of it. Just another passerby, a young girl who couldn't look older than 16—if he were to be ho—looked rather fair. But then his sharp eyes caught sight of the two promi figures chasing closely behihat was unusual. Nobles rarely mixed with arkets, and those who did never walked unguarded. The presence of these figures piqued his curiosity.

  "Ats?" Meyu's voice pulled him back, but he barely heard her. His gaze had already shifted toward the otion ahead. The sve au.

  He had passed by it tless times before, never paying much mind. He wasn't a saint, he bought Meyu as a sve and the city's rules weren't his to ge. But this time, something made his stomach turn. A child, barely ging to life, being paraded on the au block. This was too much even for him.

  Meyu followed his line of sight and sighed. "You're thinking about doing something stupid again, aren't you?" Depends on your definition of stupid," Ats muttered, already reag for his pouch.

  Her voice was softer this time, g its usual teasing edge. She crossed her arms, her fingers g at her sleeves as she followed his gaze. "Svery is cruel, Ats. I know that better than anyone. But this... this is more than just cruelty. This is depravity." Her voice shook slightly, her usually steady demeanour crag. "When I was a sve, I saw what they did to children like her. The punishments, the ditioning, the so-called training—it's not about making them obedient. It's about breaking them pletely. Turning them into somethihan human. She exhaled sharply, her fists g. "And the ones who resist? They don't st long. They disappear. Or worse... they bee examples." She bees more somber and visible pain be seen on her face, ''All the children I met died and the fact she survived is..."

  Ats turo her, the sharpness in his usual wit dulled. He had known Meyu's past in fragments—never spoken ht, never eborated upon. But he had seen the scars, the moments where her fidence flickered, the way she always sed a crowd for potential threats. Now, those pieces came together with siing crity.

  "Meyu..." he started, but she shook her head, eyes burning with somethiween anger and sorrow. "Don't. Just do what you have to do. But if you walk into that crowd, you'd better make damn sure you win."

  His fingers grazed the weight of his s.

  He wasn't sure why he was doing this.

  Ats took a slow, measured step forward, weaving through the throng of merts and spectators. The sve au had already reached an armi—one gold . A fortune for most, the equivalent of a year's hard-earned wages. His brows furrowed. Ats had money, far more than the average mert, yet he lived a deliberately modest life to avoid drawing the attention of the higher-ups. Wealth meant influence, and influence meant trouble.

  The aueer's voied over the restless crowd. "One gold ! Do I hear one and five silvers?"

  Ats grimaced. He had at most thirty gold s to his name. He could afford to bid, but if the price soared too high, even he would struggle.

  Just as he reparing to raise his hand, a sudden scream cut through the market's noise.

  "You sick bastards!" A female voice, raw with fury and grief.

  Ats turned sharply, his gaze log onto a young woman—no older than sixteen—her face flushed with rage, tears brimming in her eyes. She struggled violently, thrashing against the grip of two men trying to restrain her. One, an older man with an air of quiet authority. The other, a sharp-eyed warrior who radiated the presence of a trained fighter.

  "Let me go!" the girl—Meilin, if Ats caught it right from the murmurs naming her from a searled. "How you just stand there while this happens?!"

  Her urmured hurried apologies, their expressions tense as they tried to subdue her without drawing too much attention.

  Ats tilted his head. He had assumed she was a noble, given the way she carried herself, but now… something didn't add up. urned a blio these things. They didn't throw themselves into the fray like a oner with nothing to lose.

  Intrigued, Ats stepped closer, keeping his gaze oage while his ears tuned in to the unfolding chaos behind him. If he was going to make his move, it had to be soon.

  He raised his hand. "Two gold s."

  A hush fell over the crowd. The aueer's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Two gold s! Now that's a serious bid! Do I hear two and five silvers?"

  Before anyone could ter, a furious voice rang out. "You sick, depraved bastard!"

  Ats barely had time to react before Lay's rage-filled gre locked onto him. Her entire body trembled with fury, her tear-streaked face twisted in disgust. "You're just as bad as the rest of them! Buying and selling people like cattle!"

  Jiang Wei moved swiftly, c her mouth before she could draw even more attention. She thrashed in his grip, muffled curses still esg as he lifted her with ease. Her father stepped forward, approag Ats with a stiff, posed expression. "I apologize for the outburst," he said, though the words felt hollow. His gaze lingered on Ats with something close to disdain, as if he found the eera distasteful. "She does not uand how things work here."

  Ats met his stare evenly, suppressing the urge to scoff. This man, whoever he was, had the air of someone who saw himself above others. The apology was nothing more than a polite formality, devoid of siy.

  Still, Ats said nothing. He simply nodded, his focus returning to the au. If she thought she had seen the worst of life, she was mistaken. Because unlike her, he had no illusions about how the world worked.

  The aueer smmed his gavel down. "Sold! To the gentleman for two gold s!" The urmured, some disappointed, others approving of the hefty price paid.

  Ats stepped forward as the child ushed towards him. She was small—far too small for her age, her body frail and thin like brittle twigs. Hollow eyes stared out from a gaunt face, her skin marred by hidden bruises peeking from beh the tattered silk draped over her shoulders. The sight of her made Ats's stomach , and for a brief moment, he felt bile rise in his throat. He swallowed it back.

  The girl, however, did not resist. Instead, a sihought echoed in her hollow mind: Whatever this master is going to do to me, it 't be worse than what I've already endured.

  Ats took her by the wrist gently, guiding her away from the stage as the crowd resumed their business. Eyes followed him, judging, whispering. He could feel their disgust, their curiosity, but he ighem. He khe truth—he wasn't like them. He wasn't taking her as property; he was saving her, just like he had saved Meyu.

  He led her through the winding streets back to his shop. As they arrived, Meyu looked up from her work, her sharp gaze softening the moment she saw the child. Pity flickered across her face, but she forced a smile, croug down to meet the girl's empty eyes. "Hey there, little one. You're safe now."

  The child stared at Meyu, her thoughts dull but observant. She was... beautiful. Her skin smooth, her hair long and well-kept, her starong. She was tall too—so much taller than herself. An envious whisper formed in her mind, but she was too exhausted to hold onto it.

  Ats exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Meyu, I need you to help me find that girl—the one who lost her mind back at the au."

  Meyu arched a brow. "The noble-looking one? I remember her face. Shouldn't be too hard to track down."

  And she was right. It wasn't long before they found Lay again. The tall authority figure was trying to calm her down and Ats slowly walked in their dire with Meyu and the child.

  When Ats approached, Lay turned, her expression twisting into something venomous the moment she id eyes on him. Hatred burned so intensely in her gaze that it sent a rare shiver down his spine.

  The child, standing quietly by his side, felt nothing at all. Lay took a step forward, her voice dripping with pure malice. "What do you want now? e to gloat about your purchase?" Her eyes burned with disgust, pierg through Ats as if he were the lowest form of existence.

  Ats sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. His mind worked in rapid succession, analyzing every word, every movement, every possible rea. Lay was sharp—just as sharp as he was. If he gave her a weak argument, she'd tear through it in an instant. He o be precise, logical, and, above all, undeniable.

  "I didn't buy her to keep her. I bought her to free her," he said, carefully trolling his tone, making sure it was her defensive nor pleading. Just fact.

  Lay scoffed, folding her arms. "Right. And I'm supposed to believe that? Just like that?" Her voice rose, ced with venom. "You're er than the rest of them! A man who sees people as odities and pretends to have a sce when it suits him! If you're such a do-gooder, why didn't you free everyone? Surely you , but no—you choose to aly when it suits you. You pretend like you're some kind of hero, but iy, you're just a fug coward!"

  Ats didn't flinch. Instead, he absorbed her words, twisting them over in his mind like a puzzle. Lay's distrust wasn't baseless—it was built on experience, on the knowledge that men like him existed in droves. If he wao vince her, he had to give her something solid.

  Meyu, who had been standing beside Ats, stepped forward, her expression calm yet firm. "Ats isn't like them," she said, lifting her arm to reveal the faded but still visible sve mark on her wrist. "I was a sve too. He bought me. And then he freed me."

  Lay's eyes so Meyu, and a new kind of fury overtook her features. "Then why are you still ag like one?!" she shouted, her voice trembling. "Why are you standing by his side, defending him?!"

  Meyu held her gaze, unfling, but this time, her voice softehere was no anger in it—just a quiet uanding. "Because even when I was a sve, he reated me as one," she said, her tone almost motherly. "He treated me as a friend. He never raised a hand against me, never locked me away. He burned my tract the day he bought me. He destroyed my s with his own hands. The only reason I stayed was because I wao."

  Ats took note of Lay's slight hesitation. There. Doubt. It was a small cra her otherwise ironcd stance, but it was enough. Now, he had to widen it.

  "You roof? Fine. You'll have it." His voice was smooth, deliberate. "I won't ask for your trust, Lay. But winter is ing, and if I am what you say I am, then you'll see it soon enough. Watch me. Watch everything I do. If by the end of winter, you still believe I'm a mohen say it to my face."

  Lay's jaw tightened, her mind warring with itself. Finally, she exhaled sharply. "Fine. I'll be watg. But don't expect me to trust a single word either of you say."

  Ats merely nodded, his mind already w on his move. "I wouldn't expeything less."

  Before he could react further, a sudden impact struck the back of his head. Darkness swallowed his vision as he crumpled to the ground. Jiang stood over him, shaking out his hand as if knog Ats out had been nothing more than a chore.

  Meyu gasped, stepping forward in arm. "What are you doing!? He's a good man!"

  Jiang swiftly restrained her, gripping her arms as she struggled. "We're taking him back," he said ftly.

  Lay exhaled sharply, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she looked down at Ats's unscious form. "He wanted me to see what kind of man he is," she murmured, her voice eerily calm. "Then I'll see for myself—at the sect."

  Nearby, the child stood frozen, her gaze dartiween the arguing adults. Their raised voices, the tension in the air—it was all too familiar. The way they s each other, the way one moment was quiet and the erupted into chaos, it sent her spiraling into memories she wished had stayed buried.

  Her parents had fought like this. Shouting, bming, and in the end, selling her off as if she were nothing. The sound of their voices blended with the present, overpping in her mind, dist reality. Her breathing became shallow, her small hands trembling as her vision blurred.

  A sudden wave of dizziness overtook her. The voices, the sounds, the memories crashed into her all at once, suffog her. She swayed on her feet, her body uo hahe surge of fear and exhaustion, and before she could utter a word, the world around her went dark.

  Lin Wuye was the first to react, his sharp eyes catg the child just as she colpsed. Without hesitatioepped forward and scooped her into his arms. "We don't have time for this. I'm takio Master Daokan's sect."

  Lay's gaze drifted to the frail body in her father's arms. The child's thin frame, the bruises barely hiddeh tattered fabric, the way her limbs seemed too light, too weak—it sent a wave of nausea rolling through her. She had suffered too. She knew what it meant to be powerless, to be at the mercy of others who only saw her as something to be used. For a moment, her hands trembled at her sides, her breath uhe weight of old memories pressed against her chest.

  She said nothing, only nodded in silent agreement. A gentle haled on her head—her mother's quiet reassurance. Lay barely reacted, still staring at the unscious child as her father adjusted his grip and turned away.

  Meanwhile, Meyu k beside Ats, pressing two fio his temple. With a precise flow of Qi, she worked to stir him awake, muttering under her breath. "e on, Ats... you o get up."