Chapter 2: Silver Hook Piercing the Body

“Ding-ling-ling...” The wind chimes on the eaves of the sedan swayed left and right. As the wind rose, accompanied by the rustling of leaves, a beautiful melody formed within the forest.

A blood-red sedan slowly emerged from the depths of the forest, looking as if freshly spilled blood had dyed its eaves red. Its appearance in this eerie, ghost-filled place made it even more daunting.

In particular, the swaying of the hanging wind chimes added a touch of terror. The bearers were four youths dressed in black; their pale complexions paired with expressionless faces created an interplay of black and red. The young girl suddenly felt that these people were even more strange and terrifying than the python before her.

The four of them carried the sedan, yet their movements were graceful and light, no different from ordinary people, revealing their extraordinary martial arts. However, since the newcomers were human, she felt somewhat relieved; no matter what, they were of the same kind, so they should surely step in to save her.

But she did not dare to speak at this moment, for she clearly felt the python's body beginning to grow restless, as if it were displeased that its hard-earned meal was about to fly away.

As the newcomers drew closer, the girl's eyes constantly darted toward them, hoping they would discover her presence. The sedan stopped not far away, and one person lifted the curtain to whisper something into the ear of the person inside.

Yes, they must be reporting the situation ahead. She could finally stop maintaining her current posture; her body had long since gone stiff. But just as she thought this,

The bright yellow sedan had already come to a halt, and the four bearers stood motionless beside it, their eyes occasionally glancing her way. After a long while, the people opposite her showed no intention of stepping in to save her.

The python seemed to realize that those people would not intervene, as its impatient mood gradually subsided and its pupils began to darken. Its body started moving toward the girl. Before she could cry out for help, she had already leaped to the side.

Looking back and seeing that the group had not moved an inch, she realized instantly: in this world, the only person one can rely on is oneself.

A cold sneer curled at the corner of her mouth. As she was now, even if she had no martial arts, no family, and nothing at all, she was, after all, still alive.

She lunged forward, leaping onto the giant python's body, digging her fingers tightly into its scales. Even as the scales pierced into her flesh, she did not let go, desperately striking at its vital spot. Suddenly, her sharp eyes spotted a small red dot hidden beneath a patch of scales—that was it, the equivalent of the snake's heart.

Joy flashed in the girl's eyes. Clenching her hand into a fist, she struck down violently at that spot. The giant python let out a violent wail. In the chaos, her body was slammed against a tree by the python, yet she refused to let go, frantically striking its fatal point.

Enduring the intense pain, she knew she could not let go at this critical moment. After a period of struggle, the giant python finally collapsed to the ground in a last death throe, its body still twitching uncontrollably. The girl slid off the python, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead only to find that both her hands were injured, already drenched in blood. The four people who had been standing aside now walked over, skillfully slicing open the snake's body, preparing to extract its gallbladder.

*These beasts in human skin,* the girl thought. Catching her breath, she grabbed a wooden stick from the ground, stood up abruptly, and marched toward the bright yellow sedan. She had to see what kind of person possessed such a heart of stone. The sedan curtain was caught by the wind, blowing open a small gap.

She brandished the wooden stick in her hand. Before she could even touch the person, the stick was snapped in two by an invisible current of air. A bright silver flash appeared before her eyes; when she saw it clearly, she realized it was a silver hook.

The silver hook pierced through the girl's thin shoulder without deviation. The sound of flesh and blood being torn was muffled and enough to make one's scalp tingle. Intense pain spread from her shoulder throughout her entire body.

Before she could even scream, the silver hook was yanked out, taking skin and flesh with it. Blood splattered all over her. She couldn't help but let out a bitter smile; she had just been lamenting that this body was intact, only to be injured so quickly.

This was not the first time she had been injured, but this level of excruciating pain was something this body had clearly never endured. The pain stimulated every nerve in her body, and large beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She bit her lip hard, refusing to let out a sound...

Lifting her blood-stained fingers, she tremblingly pushed aside the bright yellow sedan curtain adorned with gold.

The curtain opened to reveal a dim interior. The man's figure was shrouded in shadow. He was draped in blood-colored long robes, reclining lazily in the sedan. His hair was not tied up; strands of ink-black hair were scattered across his robes.

His clothes hung loosely on his body, revealing a large expanse of jade-like skin on his chest. One finger supported his cheek, while a silver chain hook was wrapped around another finger.

His face was as beautiful as fine jade, flawless and pale, with a bewitching countenance that matched his slightly upturned peach-blossom eyes, radiating a heavy sense of enchantment.

His expression seemed to carry the languidness of someone who had just woken up, yet blood was still dripping, drop by drop, from the bright silver hook. The corners of his exquisitely beautiful mouth curled slightly upward, revealing a half-smile.

If one looked closely, that smile did not reach his eyes, sending a chill through one's entire body, as if one had thorns in their back—the illusion of being watched by a predator.

She looked up, meeting a pair of pitch-black eyes. With just one glance, she felt as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

Her frail body swayed slightly before she fell to one knee with a thud. She hung her head, her hands propped in the filthy mud, her body trembling uncontrollably, her eyes misting over.

*Splash.* A tear welled from her eye, falling quickly into the mud and vanishing. She was afraid—terrified beyond belief.

Yet she did not understand; she had clearly met this person for the first time, yet that feeling of dread had already been deeply branded into every inch of her body.

She scrambled up, her reaction even more fearful than when she had seen the snake. Enduring the intense pain, she turned and bolted.

She had clearly never seen this person before, yet her body had instinctively produced a powerful fear at that moment, as if the heavens were falling and the earth were collapsing. She fled recklessly, as if that person were a monstrous flood or a ferocious beast.

As the girl left, she was carried by the wind, and a thick, fishy scent drifted through the air. Within that scent, a faint trace of fragrance was hidden. It was because of this fragrance that the person in the sedan suddenly widened his eyes.

"Pursue." With just that single word, everyone immediately gathered around his sedan, lifting it as if walking on level ground and running at high speed.

The girl felt as if she had seen a ghost, fleeing for her life with only one thought in her mind: she must not be caught by him. Although she did not know why she was running, in her panic, she tumbled down a hillside. Her body was already at its limit, but she managed to roll onto level ground with what little clarity she had left.

The sound of galloping hooves reached her ears. Ignoring the pain in her body, she scrambled up, grabbed a stone from the ground, and hurled it toward a galloping horse.

The horse neighed, and a man fell from the saddle. Before he could react, he saw a girl leap onto the horse.

"Hey! My horse!" the youth cried out anxiously.

"Sorry, I'm borrowing your steed; I shall return it another day!" With that, the girl whipped the horse and galloped away. On her shoulder sat a red cinnabar butterfly—the mark of the Bai family. Without a second thought, she raced toward the Bai residence.

The blood-colored soft sedan came to a halt. "Master, shall we continue the pursuit?"

"No need." The person in the sedan merely half-closed his eyes, his fingers tightening.