Chapter 1: The Life of a Slave is of Little Value (1)
Chapter 1: The Life of a Slave is of Little Value (1)
In the 6th day of Spring in the Yue calendar, the whole land was basked with drizzle from the heavens. Under the scent of rainwater, the heavy, metallic smell of blood was slowly washed away, seeping into the ground. Gone and forgotten.
From out the backdoor came three to four bodies wheeled out in haste, instead of the tall, prestigious gate of the general's official residence. They were corpses—of which were hurriedly rushed to a grave.
A man seeing this dreadful display couldn't help but tsk disapprovingly, "Back then, there were also a number of bodies coming from the general's residence, but why are there so many today?"
It was an insignificant, small vendor that spoke, who happens to have seen the atrocious deeds from time to time. There was a rich merchant in the next stall that heard this. He couldn't help but to chastise his neighboor in a low voice:
"Haven't you heard the news? Official Liu is here! It's not like you don't know what he's into, right?" He searches the vendor's face for enlightenment, upon seeing none, he continued:
"Don't you know?! He has a fetish for young boys. In order to please his higher up, General Yu had to satisfy his sick hobby using slaves... But what can be done? The life of a slave can only promise a wretched existence!"
Upon hearing this the small vendor couldn't help but slightly tremble, disgust and fear in his voice, "Ai... truly evil!"
Truly, the life of those at the bottom could only be considered worthless.
———
"What the fuck is this?! Are you playing with me God?!"
Ye Mu couldn't help but curse while anxiously walking around in circles in her room.
She could remember vividly that prior to this, she had been hunting pirates at sea. By an accidental chance, she was also able to seize a copy of an ancient text which was supposedly some kind of historical relic.
Only that, it really wasn't genuine because it was written in simplified Chinese characters.** But she had observed that this counterfeit book was extraordinarily old, the small handwritten characters on it particularly exquisite, so she had flipped through it.
**T/N: Simplified Chinese was introduced in the 1950's.. so an ancient relic dating back to years before the 19th century should be written in Traditional chinese.
Turns out it was a biographical history book. But as far as she knew, there wasn't a country named 'Mo' in history, or even in this age. At this point, it was apparent to her that the book wasn't a historical treasure at all. At most, it could be considered some type of fictional novel. Therefore, she had decided to read it out from curiosity.
Who would have thought that one day, the impossible would happen and she would actually cross into this book?
To add to this boggling scenario, there was always a voice whispering in her ear, repeating the same phrase over and over again: If you get the city boundary map, you will be able to go back home. Moreover, you can come and go between both worlds to your heart's content.
But Ye Mu really doesn't want to waste her time solving mysteries or chasing treasures. Real life was more important, and there were more urgent things to do than immerse herself in a fictional world.
Where would she even start finding the city boundary map, of which she knew nothing about in a foreign world?
No thank you! She's going back!
She halted, this time her eyes widened a fraction as a brilliant idea struck her.
If this was a "fictional" biographical book, then getting rid of the focal character of which the novel revolves around, should break this world. Therefore, if she could somehow get rid of the male protagonist, then she could possibly return home!
An ingenious plan indeed! Ye Mu's eyes twinkled, as she racked her brains for a plausible plan. Looking towards the kneeling servant girl to her side, she asked urgently: "Speak! Where is Mo Linyuan?"
The servant girl was frightened from being addressed strongly and her whole body shook unconsciously, "Yo-young lady, please spare this servant's life! Xiaoqiu does not know who Mo Linyuan is!"