A Quiet Homecoming

Chen Yao was jolted awake by the hard, rough texture beneath her.

The moment her consciousness returned, a foul mixture of mildew, earth, and rotting straw assaulted her nostrils.

Even before she opened her eyes, the young woman instinctively furrowed her brow, then wrinkled her small nose in disgust.

Her pupils shifted beneath her lids before she forced her heavy eyes open. What greeted her was indeed a completely unfamiliar place.

It was a dilapidated shack—peeling plaster, uneven dirt floor, and cobwebs clinging to every corner.

The roof tiles were shattered in several places, and thin beams of sunlight filtered down through the holes, illuminating the dust that danced in the air.

She found herself slumped against a pile of filthy, dry straw. The instant she realized where she was, Chen Yao nearly leapt to her feet.

But the next second, she discovered that both her hands and feet were bound tightly with coarse hemp rope.

She struggled reflexively, only to find the rope wouldn't budge—instead, it bit deeper into her skin, sending sharp pain through her limbs.

Chen Yao racked her memory for what had happened before she lost consciousness. She'd been sitting in the carriage when she'd heard a dull thud from outside, like someone collapsing.

She'd been about to snap a reprimand when a faint, cloying sweetness wafted past her nose. Dizziness washed over her, her vision blurred, and then everything went black.

When she woke up, she was here.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?!" With no sign of the kidnappers, Chen Yao lost her patience and shouted at the empty room. "I'm the daughter of the Zhen Guogong's household! When my father and mother find out, they'll throw every one of you in prison and torture you!"

The young woman, her pretty face tight with fury, sat on the straw pile and railed at the empty air for a long while.

Her vocabulary ran dry quickly—she cycled through announcing her identity and threatening dire consequences, her clear voice echoing back and forth in the cramped space.

But no response came, no matter how long she waited.

Chen Yao's throat grew tired from all the shouting. She knit her brows and, in a huff, clamped her mouth shut.

Soon, the room fell silent once more, save for the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat ringing clearly in her ears.

It was only then that a belated flicker of fear crept over her.

What if those wretched kidnappers had simply dumped her out in the middle of nowhere? What if no one was even watching her...

No—she wasn't afraid of those petty scoundrels!

Chen Yao forced the unease down, gritting her teeth, and began to shift her body.

Her ankles were bound together with the same coarse rope, but thankfully not as tightly as her wrists. That sparked a glimmer of hope.

Pressing her lips together, she used the wall beside her for support, inching her way up until she finally stood steady—then let out a small breath of relief.

After a moment's rest, she began hopping toward the door, clumsy as a small rabbit, her goal clear.

She was wearing a pair of soft-soled embroidered shoes with lotus blossoms today, and the floor was littered with scattered straw and sharp pebbles.

Every hop sent her lurching dangerously, nearly toppling her over more than once, while the pebbles bit into the soles of her feet, sending dull aches up through her arches.

When she finally made it to the door, she was already panting.

Holding her breath, Chen Yao imagined tearing the kidnappers limb from limb, but forced herself to calm her breathing. She pressed her ear against the old, weathered door.

She listened carefully for a long time, but heard nothing outside save the wind—no voices, no footsteps of guards patrolling.

"Hey! Is anyone out there?!" She straightened up and called out again, a hint of panic creeping into her voice. "What do you want? If it's money, I can have my parents give you anything—whatever amount you ask!"

But beyond the door, the silence was as dead as before.

Chen Yao's heart sank. In a fit of frustration, she hurled herself against the door.

"Bam!" The rickety old door groaned under the impact, as if it might collapse at any moment. The girl's eyes lit up with hope.

She gathered her strength and slammed into it again and again, but the door, though it looked ready to give, stubbornly held firm—as if mocking her. Instead, her shoulder throbbed with a growing numbness.

Finally, she gave up, her cheeks puffed in irritation.

She was exhausted, panting in short gasps, with a fine sheen of sweat beading on her fair forehead.

Chen Yao turned around to look at the dirty, moldy pile of straw in the corner she'd started from, and grimaced with distaste.

But compared to the cold, hard, equally filthy ground, she hesitated for a moment—biting her lip—then reluctantly made her way back.

Feeling the bone-deep fatigue creeping over her and the sting in her soles, she pouted in grievance and plopped back down onto the straw.

Just wait! The moment she was rescued, she'd have every one of these kidnappers beaten with boards until they were begging and crying for their mothers, wishing they'd never been born!

Chen Yao fumed silently.

Still, she curled up, keeping one wary ear on the outside for any sound, while silently praying that the Zhen Guogong's household would soon notice her disappearance and send someone to rescue her...

*

After a long while.

Chen Yao's ears twitched. She could just make out the sound of footsteps approaching from somewhere outside, growing closer.

Soon, a distinct click of a lock being unlocked came from beyond the door.

With a grating, teeth-setting "creak," the closed door was shoved open from outside, sending a gust of air swirling in.

Chen Yao narrowed her eyes and lifted her head at once.

Two large, burly men stood in the doorway, dressed in patched homespun clothing, with cleavers tucked into their belts. Thick beards obscured their faces, but the vicious glint in their eyes was unmistakable.

Mountain bandits, plain and simple.

Chen Yao stared at the two men. Even with her hands and feet bound, she straightened her back as much as she could, her voice ringing with anger. "Do you know who I am?!"

At that, one of the bandits gave a coarse snort. "Who doesn't know of Miss Lan's identity? A pity, though—your father arrested our boss last year, so now you're going to be our bargaining chip."

His gaze slid over the young woman before him—so soft and fair-skinned. At the sight of her youthful, exquisitely beautiful face, naked lust flickered in his eyes, but the other bandit quickly kicked him in the shin.

Chen Yao felt as if something had exploded inside her skull.

Miss Lan? These two fools meant to kidnap Lan Yiqing?

Anger and panic surged through her. Were they blind? That cunning, scheming, snake-bellied Lan Yiqing—how was she even remotely similar to her?

Chen Yao frowned and instinctively opened her mouth to correct them. "I'm not—"

But the bandit cut her off with a brutal snarl, continuing his threats. "Anyway, the letter's already been sent to your Lan residence. Whether your father, the Minister of War, thinks you're worth it—that's up to him. All you have to do is behave, and we'll let our boss go. Then we won't touch a single hair on your head. But if he's not smart about this... well, then you..."

He deliberately let the sentence trail off, then bared his teeth in a leering grin, crude malice practically oozing from his tone.

The other bandit never spoke. He just stood at the door, watching her with a gloomy, appraising stare that made her skin crawl—like he was sizing up a corpse.

They finished their piece, ignored Chen Yao entirely, and slammed the door shut with a bang. The lock clicked back into place from outside.

The footsteps faded into the distance, confirming that the two bandits had come only to intimidate her.

Chen Yao pressed her lips into a thin line. Fury surged through her, boiling up her veins and straight into her head.

But she was under their roof now, and no matter how angry she got, all she could do was flush scarlet, chest heaving, helpless and furious.

Argh! This was infuriating! They'd grabbed the wrong girl, and they still dared to humiliate and threaten her?

Chen Yao's eyes reddened, tears of grievance and indignation welling up in them. She wished she could tear free of her bonds right then and beat these two idiot bandits black and blue.

*

A little while later.

Just as the room sank back into silence, a soft, muffled chuckle drifted down from the rafters above.

Startled, Chen Yao snapped her head up, craning her neck to look.

There, on the seemingly empty beam above, sat a young man, leaning at an idle angle. He wore dark, close-fitting martial robes, his ink-black hair bound high at the back of his head, and a black-and-gold headband wrapped across his smooth forehead. A few loose strands fell loose around his face, accentuating his strikingly handsome, roguish features.

He couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen, with a hint of lazy arrogance playing about his brows and eyes. A pair of phoenix eyes curved as he watched her with obvious amusement.

Clearly, that chuckle just now had come from him.