Chapter 1: Counterattack from Despair, Escaping from Death

Pain! Her whole body ached!

Pain radiating from her body assaulted her consciousness. The wailing and miserable shrieks by her ears forced her eyes open. When the scene before her leaped into her vision, her palm-sized little face instantly widened in shock, staring blankly ahead.

Just what kind of godforsaken place was this? Why were those men dressed like that?

Tang Xin couldn't help but wonder, watching the inhumane scene before her: four menacing men were tormenting several young children. Those children had been stripped naked and tied to tree stumps, their bodies crisscrossed with horrifying whip marks. Nearby, several iron cages held a dozen or so five- or six-year-olds, all dressed in rags, watching the scene ahead with faces full of fear.

Hadn't she been shot dead by that group? How did she end up here? What on earth was going on?

She reached for her chest, but froze in shock when her hand touched her body, jerking her head down to look.

She—she had turned into a five- or six-year-old child?

Clad in tattered clothes, her body bore several whip scars. The already-scabbed wounds still carried a bone-deep pain. Seeing these injuries on her, her anger flared up instantly.

She, the venerable Divine Doctor, had been schemed against and killed—that was fine. But to be reborn into this child's body, only to be covered in wounds from head to toe!

These **bastards were truly despicable!

Fists clenched, murderous intent burning in her eyes as she stared at the four **men. Her gaze fell on the lock outside the iron cage, brows furrowing slightly as she silently calculated.

How could she get out of this cage?

She looked at the children locked in the cage with her, sizing them up one by one. Most were huddled together crying and trembling. Some shrank in corners, watching the scene outside with vigilance, biting their lips hard to suppress the fear in their hearts.

Seeing the children dragged out tortured to the brink of death by those **men, her lowered gaze turned cold.

As long as she could get out, she would make these people pay dearly!

"Hahaha! Boss, this batch of brats isn't bad, right? After we've all had our fun, we'll sell them off and go have a feast at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion!" A wretched man hitched up his trousers, kicking a barely breathing little boy onto the grass nearby. The boy didn't even groan before he breathed his last. Witnessing this, she slowly stood up from inside the cage.

This was a forest, trees on all sides. Aside from occasional birdsong, only the rustle of wind through leaves could be heard. No matter how loud the children screamed, no one would hear, and no one would come to save them.

"Wahhh... I'm scared, I'm scared... Daddy, Mommy, where are you? Come save Baby..."

A little girl locked in the same cage as Tang Xin, seeing this, shrank into a corner sobbing quietly. Tang Xin walked over, patted her head, and said softly, "Close your eyes, cover your ears, and you won't be scared."

The girl looked at her with tear-filled eyes. Listening to her, she covered her ears and buried her head in her knees, not daring to look up, though her sobs gradually quieted.

"Today Grandpa's happy. Second, go grab a few more to play with!" The leading wretched man turned around, his eyes full of *lust scanning the dozen children in the cage, finally landing on the two little girls huddled together in the corner.

"Those two little girls. Bring them over!"

"Right away! Hehehe..." The man called Second walked to the cage, fished a key from his waist, unlocked it, pushed aside the children in front, and with a large hand, grabbed both girls and dragged them out.

"Let us go! Let us go!"

The two little girls screamed, punching and kicking, but being small and weak, their fists landing on the man were like tickling him. Instead, it made the men laugh excitedly.

"Hahaha, these two little girls are quite feisty." Another man grabbed the chins of the two girls, lifting their faces. "Boss, they're actually twins, looking exactly alike. Quite pretty too. If sold to the Myriad Flowers Tower, they'd fetch a good price."

"Ah... damn girl, you dare bite me!"

The man cried out in pain, swinging his arm and flinging the two girls away. Looking at his two bleeding arms, he flew into a rage, about to step forward and teach them a harsh lesson.

Tang Xin in the cage caught sight of a sharp glint revealed at the collar of one of the two girls. She thought: if she guessed right, that should be some animal bone ground into a sharp point. With her current body and strength, she couldn't take down those four burly men. Even knowing the human acupoints and structure, she lacked the force. But with an external tool, it would be much more convenient.

At that thought, her eyes turned, and a brilliant smile bloomed on her dirty face. She stepped forward, banging on the cage and shouting: "Uncles, uncles, I want to go out and play too! Take me with you! I want to go out and play!"

The moment she spoke, the children in the other cages looked at her like she was a ghost. Even the little girl who had covered her ears and lowered her head at her words earlier looked up in shock. The four men, after a brief stunned moment, burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, good. Second, bring that interesting little girl out too."

"Hey, truly an interesting little girl. First time I've seen one like this." The man originally striding toward the two sisters turned and walked toward Tang Xin. He opened the cage door and beckoned to her: "Come out!"

The two sisters on the ground helped each other up, looking with unconcealed shock at Tang Xin smiling brightly inside the cage. They glanced at each other. One of them, taking advantage of the four men's attention being on Tang Xin, unobtrusively hid the bone in her sleeve, gripping it tight.

Tang Xin walked out of the cage, blinking her eyes, looking innocently at the man in front. She asked crisply: "Uncle, are they really exactly alike? Can I go closer to look? I've never seen people who look exactly the same!"

The men were pleased by her calling them "uncle" repeatedly. Seeing her innocent look and that she was only a five- or six-year-old child, they waved their hands generously: "Go ahead! Since you're so obedient, we'll give you this chance."

"Thank you, Uncle." Tang Xin smiled delightedly and walked quickly toward the two girls.

"Wow! They really are exactly the same! So weird, how do you tell who's who?" She tilted her head, leaning close to them, lowering her voice: "Give me that bone. I can deal with them."

The two girls froze, staring blankly. They hadn't expected the girl who was smiling brightly a moment ago to turn cold the instant she approached.

"Hurry! This is our only chance to escape!"

One of the girls paused, gritted her teeth, glanced at her, and used her body to half-block the view, stuffing the bone hidden in her sleeve into Tang Xin's hand.

Tang Xin's fingertip grazed the sharp tip, and a smile bloomed again on her dirty face: "You're good." In this environment, still managing to grind out this sharp bone without those men noticing—these two girls were indeed no ordinary people.

Hearing Tang Xin's words, the two girls froze again. They had thought she had a screw loose—otherwise why would she voluntarily ask to come out of the cage? Who knew she actually wanted to get close to them, to get this bone that barely counted as a weapon...

But... could she really do it?

"Alright, alright, little girl, come here, go to my big brother." That man walked over, grabbing Tang Xin to lead her forward. Who knew Tang Xin would spin around, the sharp bone hidden in her sleeve taking advantage of his inattention to stab toward his waist acupoint.