The Villainess Begins in the Imperial Prison - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dawn broke in the east, and sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of obstacles to fall upon us.

Qin Yao had not felt even this faint warmth of day in who knew how many years. His clothes were still dripping blood in a steady patter.

I was in an even worse state. I was barely conscious most of the time. Taking the waterways had been too much for this body of mine.

By noon, I woke from my haze.

My cold, damp clothes clung tightly to my skin, and the pain from my wounds made me grit my teeth.

Seeing the cold sweat beading on Qin Yao’s forehead, I forced open my hoarse, aching throat and asked, “Where are we going?”

“You’re awake?”

Qin Yao did not stop. Carrying me on his back, he continued moving through the forest.

“Mm.”

Once he was certain I was truly conscious and not talking nonsense, Qin Yao said, “Past this mountain, there’s a small village. We’ll stop there for a while.”

“Thank you.”

Other than those two words, I had nothing else to say. Qin Yao was stopping because of me.

And my condition truly was terrible. It was not just the wounds on my body. After soaking in water for most of the night, this delicate body was already nearing its limit.

Qin Yao fell silent. He had wandered the jianghu for years, with no fixed home and no one to rely on. Aside from his master and a few close friends, he rarely interacted with others.

No one had ever taught him how to get along with a young woman-especially one who was exceptionally beautiful, intelligent, and cautious.

So saying nothing was best. It would neither burden the other person too heavily nor lead them to probe each other and give rise to more suspicion.

Qin Yao carried me over the rough path, stopping now and then to rest for a moment.

At times I was awake; at times I slipped into unconsciousness.

But I could feel that Qin Yao’s pace had slowed a great deal compared to before. His condition was not much better than mine.

Yet we did not dare take the official roads, for we could not outrun fast horses. We did not dare go anywhere with government offices, for we could not contend with the secret orders from the imperial city.

We could only travel through the mountains and seek out small villages cut off from roads and news.

As night fell once more, I knew Lin Yingxue must be searching for me everywhere.

Changchun Palace was ablaze with lamplight. Those below did not dare make the slightest sound, afraid that in the next instant their heads would fall and they would become wronged ghosts in the imperial city.

“Tens of thousands of Imperial Guard sealed the city and searched for a full day and night, yet you didn’t even see a shadow of them?”

Everyone in Changchun Palace prostrated themselves on the ground. “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty.”

Calm her anger?

Lin Yingxue laughed from sheer fury.

She had thought that even if the two of them could escape the Imperial Prison and the palace, they would never be able to leave Capital Jing.

Now it seemed the two of them had left Capital Jing long ago, while this pack of fools made a grand show of searching for them.

Since her rebirth, when had Lin Yingxue ever tasted humiliation like this?

“Pass on my secret order. Even if Lin Qingyao has only one breath left, she must be brought back alive to see me.”

Qin Yao’s martial arts were beyond ordinary men. Lin Yingxue’s brows furrowed slightly. “As for the other one, dead or alive makes no difference.”

As if thinking of something, her expression gradually softened, and there was a hint of reminiscence in her voice.

“Send people to watch the roads into Divine Physician Valley. Do not disturb anyone in the valley.”

“We obey Her Majesty’s decree.”

The Imperial Prison was as it had always been, filled with ceaseless, inhuman screams.

On the sinister man’s black robe, dark stains bloomed like flowers.

The woman on the torture rack was covered in blood and begged bitterly, “Let me go. Please, let me go.”

The man’s pale, cold fingertips lifted her head. The woman’s eyes were filled with terror and pleading.

As if he had lost interest, he said, “Not like her.”

Then he turned and left.

Immediately afterward, other executioners in black official uniforms entered. Shrill, miserable screams rang out from the cell behind him.

“Bo Li, I curse you to die a wretched death! May you forever remain here as a rat that cannot bear the light, a filthy dog under Xiao Yu!”

He turned a deaf ear to it. He did not stop. He did not look back.

Heh… Bo Li. Bo Li. A life thinner than paper, abandoned by all.

Wasn’t this the name his master had given him?

Where was his master?

Oh. He remembered now.

Hadn’t he watched with his own eyes as his master’s bones were smashed one by one, as every tendon in his body was picked out, as the greasy fat was stripped away and fed to the dogs?

Even his skin was still lying whole and flawless in the hidden compartment of that room.

What about you?

Where are you?

My heart clenched, and I woke from that bizarre, dazzling dream.

The village not far away reminded me that I had transmigrated.

Qin Yao stopped and turned his head slightly to ask me, “We’re here. How are you holding up?”

He was a little out of breath, his eyes exhausted beyond measure. I really wanted to comfort him and say I was fine.

But instead, I said, “The whip wounds on my body have split open. The tendons in my feet that were tampered with hurt terribly. I soaked in water all night, and now my head feels like it’s about to crack. I’m feverish enough to see stars.”

So, Qin Yao, do you regret blurting out “Then follow me” in a moment of impulse? Right now, every inch of me is practically stamped with the word trouble.

Didn’t your mother ever tell you women can’t be trusted, and beautiful women are even better at lying?

Qin Yao found a haystack outside the village and set me down, then handed me the dagger from his arms.

“Wait here for me.”

I nodded obediently. “Mm.”

He turned and disappeared into the night. At this point, I wasn’t worried at all that he would abandon me.

In the book, Qin Yao was a man of his word. He should have been a free and unfettered swordsman wandering the jianghu.

Unfortunately, he had been saddled with the identity of a surviving member of the previous dynasty’s imperial clan, causing the first half of his life to be spent wandering in exile and the second half imprisoned in a deep dungeon.

So I saved him, and he saved me. That was fair.

When he said he would only be gone for a short while, it really was only a short while.

Qin Yao moved quickly. He returned wearing a coarse cloth outfit covered in patches, with a bundle slung over his back.

He handed me another set of clothes, his tone somewhat unnatural. “I’ll keep watch for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately turned his back and retreated more than ten paces away.

I was not some sheltered young lady bound by rigid propriety. I knew how to judge the situation, and without the slightest coyness, I changed into the coarse cloth clothes.

I bundled up the still-damp clothes together with the gold leaves I had pried off the jewelry from Changchun Palace, then walked over and lightly patted him.

Qin Yao’s back stiffened before he turned around.

“I’m done. We need to find a place to rest.”

Whether it was me or Qin Yao, the wounds on our bodies that had started bleeding again needed to be dealt with first.

We plunged back into the deep mountains and old forests.

Mountain folk lived by hunting, and once they entered the mountains, they could be gone for ten days or more. Because of that, there was always some kind of resting place in the mountains.

Relying on his sharp instincts, Qin Yao soon brought me to a cave.

I had to admire the wisdom of the ancient working people. Not only was there a small pool here, but the place had also been carved out in an extremely hidden spot.

If not for Qin Yao, I never would have been able to tell from the outside that there was a cave here.

Aside from a battered clay jar and a fire pit that had gone cold long ago, there was nothing inside. That was for the best.

If there had been supplies, it would mean the hunter was nearby. Our tracks might be discovered, and then things would become difficult.

Qin Yao took a fire striker from the bundle on his back and rekindled the fire pit.

I took the clay jar, carefully washed it, scooped up a jar of water, and set it over the fire. Then I took out the wet clothes and began drying them.

Firelight flickered. I sat beside it with my knees hugged to my chest, resting. “You’re badly hurt.”

At my words, Qin Yao glanced over, not hiding anything. “Yes.”

His pipa bones had been pierced, the vital points all over his body severely damaged. The bit of internal energy he had sealed in his meridians had long since scattered after we had walked for an entire day and night.

“So am I.”

I looked up and shifted over to sit beside him. “Bring me the bundle. I’ll help you treat your wounds.”

The rule that men and women should not touch could not compare to the need to adapt in an emergency while fleeing for our lives.

Qin Yao seemed about to say something, but when he saw my expression, he swallowed it back down and handed me the bundle from behind him.

I used strong liquor to clean the two bloody holes in his shoulders, then cut up the dress I had changed out of with the dagger and bandaged him properly. Only then did I feel at ease enough to sit back down.

With the slightest movement, my head spun. I had no choice but to go from sitting to lying beside the fire.

I soaked a scrap of cloth in cold water and pressed it to my forehead. Before I could even tend to the wounds on my feet, I began sinking into a daze again.

In my muddled state, someone fed me thick, warm water, then took hold of my foot.

My mind jolted, and I wanted to struggle free, but no matter what, I couldn’t open my eyes. My consciousness sank into boundless darkness.