Chapter 1 Part I

    In the still of the night in the capital of the Dacheng Region, the sound of a watchman tapping his wooden clapper had just faded. A hundred men clad in black converged on the Bai manor. They leapt over the towering walls, and soon after, a tumultuous noise erupted. The manor guards, skilled protectors of the Bai family, were slaughtered like leaves falling from branches.

    That night, Master Bai was not in the manor. He had taken most of the family's skilled fighters on a secret mission to a distant city, leaving behind only a few capable soldiers and some ordinary guards.

    The screams and the stench of blood mingled with the smoke of fire roused the manor's inhabitants from sleep. Yet, some who wished to awaken, found it impossible.

    Fengxian was startled by the cacophony coming from the front of the main house. Perhaps the matriarch had discovered her sneaking out to grind medicine late at night and had come to punish her. In a panic, the young woman extinguished the light, hid the mortar under the bed, and slipped out of the kitchen to hide behind a bush near the wall. If she stayed in the kitchen, the matriarch would have her searched and found. Punishment would be inevitable, potentially leaving her bedridden for months, as had happened before.

    However, hiding behind the bush, she felt uneasy. This bush was near the back wall of the manor, which had a small cat-flap she often used to sneak out. Should she escape the manor now and return once the matriarch had left? She weighed her options carefully; if not found, the matriarch's anger might result in a severe beating, but being caught would definitely mean punishment. Fengxian considered for a moment before deciding to pass through the hole in the wall.

    Alright, better get out now while the matriarch was in a foul mood; she might beat her to death otherwise. She could return when the matriarch’s calmer to face the consequences.

    Silently, the young woman slipped out of the Bai Manor before disappearing into the darkness of night. This area, just behind General Bai's compound, had several abandoned houses providing temporary refuge for her. Unbeknownst to her, Fengxian entered one small, abandoned house, narrowly escaping a deadly fate.

    Sitting on a wooden stool outside an abandoned house, the young woman lamented. Why does the matriarch torment her so? Is it just because she is not her own child, or because she is not the esteemed third or fifth young miss?

    Life in the Bai household was far from comfortable for Fengxian. She lived as a young miss holding a status lower than that of a servant, woke early for chores, and received a meager allowance that could not even afford a piece of silk or a medicinal pellet. Although she yearned to learn writing like other noble daughters, she could only teach herself in secret. Often, she dreamed of escaping, but without sufficient funds—her allowance being even less than that of the lowest servants—such a flight would likely end in death on the streets or, worse, being captured and sold to a brothel.

    What she could do was to earn enough money to sustain her life. Once, Fengxian had discovered a small servant-made cat-flap in the wall behind the kitchen. That was the first time she successfully sneaked out of the manor. Indeed, the world outside the manor was far more fascinating than she had imagined, yet the matriarch confined her within the manor as if she were merely a pet. Since then, her sole desire was to escape from the Bai family manor, a family with which she felt no attachment, not even by her father, the great general, who probably didn't even acknowledge her existence as his servant-born daughter.

    Since that realization, Fengxian had been sneaking out of the manor to grind herbal medicines for Shopkeeper Liang's shop, earning a small sum of money. This not only helped her financially but also allowed her to learn about herbs without paying for tuition. Over time, she had saved enough to make her dream of escaping the Bai family manor a tangible possibility.

    The young woman's rough, small hands clenched in determination, her resolve undiminished as she gazed back at the Bai family manor, a cage that had imprisoned her.

    But her eyes widened in shock when she saw flames engulfing the manor.

    “Has the matriarch set the manor on fire in her anger?” She murmured in horror.

    Was she to be beaten to death now? She stood up and ran back towards the Bai family manor, better to observe the situation first.

    Fengxian crawled back through the same cat-flap.

    This time, she was almost paralyzed with fear when she saw the entire manor ablaze.

    This was no ordinary event! The matriarch would never burn down the whole manor just because she was mad at her.

    What had happened?!

    Fengxian moved cautiously, only to trip over something and fall face down—upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the body of a servant.

    A corpse!

    She gasped for air, her hands clamping over her mouth to stifle a scream, her body trembling with fear. Her eyes scanned the area, seeing bodies strewn everywhere.

    Why were the Bai family members massacred like this?

    Fengxian froze, unsure of what to do next, her mind unable to function.

    “Everyone here is dead,” a voice suddenly declared. Fengxian turned pale; the killers were still around!

    Using her familiarity with the manor, she hurried back to the cat-flap, but on her way, she stumbled upon several familiar bodies, including that of the matriarch and her personal maid. Beside the maid’s body was a small pouch with a few gold pieces scattered near its opening. It seemed the matriarch had tried to escape through the manor's back door but unfortunately, the killers had caught up with her.

    Fengxian paused, catching her breath and picked up the pouch before disappearing back through the cat-flap.

    She rushed back to the same abandoned house, slumping against the wall as she covered her mouth and shivered, the cold dampness seeping through her hand as she found herself crying out of fear.

    Fengxian tried to suppress her sobs as the killers might still be nearby. She was afraid that if she made a sound, they would come and kill her.

    The sound of hooves stopped outside the abandoned house for a moment before moving on.

    Confusion and darkness gnawed at her heart silently. The Bai family, which she had loathed and fled from all her life, was now obliterated. Fengxian could not know who was behind the extermination of the Bai family, but finding out was not her priority. Clutching the bag of gold tightly, her immediate concern was survival!

    “Sister Lin! Sister Lin!” a child's urgent shout came from outside the house, causing her to stop grinding the herbs and step out to see.

    “What is it, Xiaoxin?”

    She looked at the four-year-old boy clad in a worn, patched homespun cloth, washed to the point of fading. His eyes were red and swollen, his little hands clenched tightly together, trembling with urgency. The boy looked up at her, desperate, hesitating for a moment because he did not have a single brass coin to offer. Would the beautiful elder sister agree to help his grandfather without payment for medical expenses?

    "It's... it's Grandfather, Grandfather..." the little boy stuttered.

    "What's happened to Old Man Xi?"

    "It's... it's Grandfather, he's... he's been bitten by a tiger," said the boy, tears streaming down his smooth cheeks.

    "Just wait here a moment, I will grab her medicine pouch," the young woman said as she disappeared briefly into the small house before returning with a large medicine bag.

    "Let’s go."

    Xuyao hurriedly walked and ran to the small hut of Old Man Xi. Old Man Xi was a respected elder in Shuishan Village because he was the only one in the village trained in martial arts. However, he was merely a first-level martial artist, a beginner on the path of martial training. In the Bai family, a first-level martial artist was considered insignificant, merely an ant, whereas even the offspring of the family’s lowest servants, tasked with washing chamber pot, could achieve such a level. Yet, when a first-level martial artist appeared in Shuishan, it meant something entirely different.

    This made Xuyao realize just how different the high-ranking families in the capital and the rural villagers were. Reflecting on this made her feel incredibly naïve. Although life in the Bai family manor was harsh, it was nothing compared to the hardships these villagers faced.

    Yet, this was exactly what she had longed for. She could roam wherever she wished, grind herbs, and sort them as she liked, without worrying about the matriarch discovering and punishing her.

    Xuyao had been living in Shuishan Village for almost a year since she successfully fled from the Bai family manor. She hid in an abandoned house until the next morning when the town began to stir with rumors of the incident at the Bai manor. Blending in with the townspeople for a while, she learned that General Bai, who had been on a mission, had been killed. Although she was shocked, she felt no sorrow; she had no real attachment to the father whose face she could barely remember.

    The news spread throughout the capital; indeed, everyone in the Bai family had been murdered. Over five hundred members of the Bai family were lost in one night. Such a feat could only have been carried out by someone immensely powerful. Yet, Xuyao had no deep connections with the Bai family members; that place had been nothing but a cage to her.

    Traveling with a caravan of traders, she used the small bag of gold she had taken from the body of the matriarch’s servant to cover her expenses and bribe local officials along the way, asking them to forge records to erase Bai Fengxian from her life. She became Lin Xuyao, taking the identity of a young woman who had died of illness. But the gold was nearly spent by then, and she used what was left to exchange for a small house and a plot of land in Shuishan Village.

    "Sister, we're here."

    Little Xiaoxin led her into a small hut, where the stench of blood permeated the air. Old Man Xi laid inside, submerged in a pool of blood, one of his legs and arms gruesomely severed, his torso opens with gaping wounds exposing some of his internal organs. The scent of death overwhelmed the vitality of life. Standing outside with the hopeful eyes of the little boy upon her, she hesitated as a few villagers sat inside, despondent.

    "Sister, there lies Grandfather. Please, help him."

    "Xiaoxin, you didn’t need to bring Doctor Lin here," a middle-aged woman, a neighbor of Old Man Xi, spoke up, her voice quivering. Unfortunately, his injuries are too severe. Not even a divine doctor could save the old man now.

    Old Man Xi had already passed away.

    Xiaoxin stood trembling, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks, eliciting deep sympathy from anyone who saw him. He was Old Man Xi's grandson, and with his grandfather gone, he was now just a little orphan with an uncertain future. The villagers were already impoverished; they could hardly sustain another life, barely managing to feed their own families.

    How pitiful.

    "Grandfather." The four-year-old child suddenly understood. He just stood and cried silently. Anyone who saw it could only feel pity in their hearts.

    Xuyao sighed heavily. Life was such; since her arrival nearly a year ago, she had seen countless deaths, but this touched her heart more profoundly.

    Living simply, Xuyao grew herbs and treated minor ailments, earning just enough to buy food. She didn’t claim to be a doctor, only possessing some knowledge of herbs and minor treatments. For serious illnesses beyond her ability, she advised villagers to seek doctors in town.

    Each day she busied herself with cultivating and preparing herbs, occasionally selling them in town for a small income. Though her life was modest, she harbored bigger dreams of earning a medical seal to treat people properly, as her current status was that of an unlicensed doctor.

    Old Man Xi's body was buried simply with the villagers' help, who quickly dispersed, fearing the responsibility of caring for his remaining grandson. A child at his young age was eating a lot and incapable of contributing labor. It wouldn't be good for them if they had to bear such a burden. After the burial, only the four-year-old boy remained in the hut, bearing the weight of sorrow in his tiny heart.

    Seeing this, Xuyao's heart softened. What could she do next? Leaving the boy alone in the old hut like this, wouldn’t it be like leaving him to starve to death? Could she walk away like the others, with her heart hardened?

    "Xiaoxin"

    "Si... Sister Lin," the boy looked up with tearful, red eyes.

    "Thank you for helping bury Grandfather, Sister Lin."

    Looking at him, being at this age but his understanding beyond his years, how could she not endear him? A child this small, at this age, looked so pitiful. Leaving him alone, if the cold didn’t get him, hunger would. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to turn away like the other villagers.

    "Xiaoxin, there's food at my house. Are you hungry?"

    Upon hearing that, the little child, who had been sitting with bowed head, looked up with his tiny hands raised, eagerly meeting her gaze.

    "Would you like to come home with me and be my little brother from now on?"

    The boy raised his eyebrows curiously, his sorrowful eyes, filled with confusion and desolation, suddenly lit up with gratitude—everyone else had shunned him, unwilling to care for him. The little child could only wonder what he would do next, feeling adrift in a vast sea, confused, sad, weary, and desolate. But Sister Lin brought a ray of light into his dark world.

    "Sob! Wailing," the boy rushed into Xuyao's arms, seeking refuge.

    "No need to cry anymore, good boy. Let’s go, gather your things, and come live with your sister."

    From that day, Xuyao gained a little brother. Xiaoxin was remarkably sensible; he rose early to help her grind herbs and took care of the herb garden consistently. He worked hard at everything she did, learning about herbs from her as well. Xuyao never asked him to work, but the boy was always eager to help, fearing she might abandon him at his old home if he were lazy.

    "Xiaoxin, come have breakfast quickly. Today, I will take you into town."

    "Yes," the little boy run excitedly. He had never been to the city, nor had he ever seen what it was like. Since birth, he had grown up in Shuishan Village, so this trip was particularly thrilling for him. He hurriedly scooped up his rice, his cheeks puffing with each bite.

    Xuyao couldn't help but laugh affectionately. Oh, child.

    Today was Xuyao’s seventeenth birthday. At seventeen, if she had been in the Bai family or any other noble family in the capital, she would have been considered of marriageable age. High-class families or nobility typically arranged for their daughters to marry at fifteen or sixteen. However, she lacked a mother to manage such affairs and, despite being a noble’s descendant, she wasn’t given the proper arrangements to marry into another family like her siblings. In this regard, she felt fortunate; she had no desire to be a political pawn in a marriage arranged by the Bai family. To her, life without marriage was not at all detrimental.

    Today being her birthday, Xuyao had planned to use the little money she had saved over the year to buy herself a birthday gift.

    In the late afternoon, the siblings set out for their journey. Although Shuishan Village was nestled next to a mountain, it wasn’t far from Fufen City, a town in a small district. Although not a large city, Fufen was a bustling marketplace due to its location on a route leading to several major cities.

    It took just over two ke to walk from Shuishan Village to Fufen City. Xuyao packed more than a dozen packets of finely ground herbal medicines into a small bag before slinging it over her back and setting off.

    Selling fresh herbs or dried herbs would fetch lower prices than those which had been processed and ground. Whenever selling herbs, Xuyao would always separate the parts and grind them into fine powder, which increased their value. However, local herb growers didn’t do this because processing and grinding herbs required more advanced skills. It was something only an apothecary’s assistant could accomplish, as each type of herb contained parts that were medicinal and parts that were toxic. Incorrect separation or grinding could render the herbs useless. Hence, most villagers preferred to sell fresh herbs, which were cheaper. However, Xuyao, having apprenticed at Shopkeeper Liang’s renowned pharmacy in the capital and taken jobs grinding medicinal herbs, had acquired substantial knowledge. This allowed her to increase the value of her herbs significantly. Ever since living in Shuishan Village, she had also purchased many herbal manuals, enhancing her understanding and expertise.

    Xuyao didn’t need to carry large bundles of fresh herbs into the city. A few packets of her processed herbs were worth far more than a large bundle on a villager’s back.