Chapter – 01 Demoted to the Vassal Territory On the day of the Beginning of Autumn in the seventeenth year of the Xuanhe era, a grand autumn palace banquet was…

Chapter – 10 The Inn Qin Hu and Qin Chuan did not delay. After replenishing their water supplies, the two of them silently turned toward a crude blacksmith’s shop at…

Chapter : 09 Entering the City  Over the next two days, the small group traveled in silence through increasingly desolate wilderness. More and more refugees huddled by the roadside. Their…

Chapter – 08 Tenderness The convoy slowly rolled away from that hollow reeking of blood, under countless terrified, fearful gazes. Inside the carriage, Zhao Wan’s complexion had already regained its…

Chapter : 07 Killing The convoy had been traveling through the narrow valley for nearly two hours, wheels grinding over exposed rock layers, sending up dull, jarring thuds. The cliffs…

Chapter : 06 Han Zhen Near midday, the carriage arrived at a mountain pass. On the open ground beside the pass, a flatbed cart harnessed to a sturdy blue mule…

Chapter : 05 Old Ties The rustling was very faint—like dry leaves being carefully brushed by something, or a small nocturnal animal stepping on crumbled soil. Qin Hu’s body remained…

Chapter : 04 The Poplar Grove. The carriage lurched forward again, wheels groaning over the cracked earth. The brief midday confrontation, along with the receding backs of that family of…

Chapter : 03 Departure Dawn had not yet broken, but figures were already moving in the Qin family’s small yard. Zhao Wan was not truly awake. The exhaustion from her…

Chapter : 02 The Wedding. The night was thick as ink, pressing heavily down on Qinjia Village. Qin Hu strode out of the Zhao family’s small courtyard, his pace quickening….