After suffering the ordeal of listening to an enthusiastic lecture on her new need of consuming deadly poisons, An Fei staggered out of the forest and towards the cottage where He Xin busily prepared the evening dinner. The young maiden quickly ladled the steaming porridge into wooden bowls, and glared at Xu Lingxin’s innocent countenance with annoyance. “Venerable Mei didn’t …

Xu Lingxin only allowed An Fei to rest until she had barely caught her breath, and forced the latter onto her feet once her breathing had stabilized. The young girl could only stagger along with shaky limbs and feet as the celestial maiden dove deeper into the forest. The rays emitted from the sun diminished in strength and frequency as …

The world around her had certainly changed. The trees, and grass still retained the artistic vibrance of life and chaotic vitality, but there seemed to be a factor that was lacking from her vision. The horizon that once appeared just below her fingertips now seemed locked away in a gloom of mist and fog, unassailable by the human eye. The …

“He Xin, the broth is still hot. Make sure not to drop it when bringing it to that person, alright?” The deafening clatter of pots and pans blasted the maiden’s ears as an elderly woman pressed a hickory basket into her hands. He Xin eagerly bobbed her head as she repeatedly promised the smiling elder, and departed from the kitchen …

Where…? An Fei stamped her feet and shivered as the bitter cold bypassed whatever fragile resistance her clothes provided and brutally ravaged her body. She quivered uncontrollably as her vision nearly fell into a bluish haze from the overpowering cold, and fervently began searching her surroundings. She sought for anything that could provide her with a hint of warmth, but …

“Please, stop!” Her silhouette performing a dazzling dance of shadows, a young girl crawled backwards on her hands and feet. She stumbled away from the lethal and spectacular edge of a jewel-encrusted sword, and her heart clenched in fear at the deranged expression on the fair countenance. Her assailant gently chuckled and lurched forwards with great leisure, the tip of …

Two days, and two nights. The hardworking laborers had expended all of their effort and suffered uncountable trauma to construct a shelter capable of protecting eighty people from the accursed winter rain, and the stone roof was placed onto the tall walls at the brink of daybreak. With the overhead structure in place, the men quickly sought to finish the …

“Young Master, please have mercy! We truly cannot spare any food nor wine – not now!” “Young Master, Young Miss, please just wait a few days – just a few more!” The voices that struck An Fei’s ears when she stepped close to the nearly finished shelter were filled with agony and helplessness. A few women had stepped before a …

As the sun began to settle, An Fei slowly trudged back towards the abandoned jewelry shop she had sheltered the night before. The young girl’s heart was stone-laden with a mixture of cold wonder and anxiety, and her mind preoccupied itself with the events of a few hours prior. She ignored the elderly man’s smiling greeting as she sat down, …

By noon of the second day, the people of the city had finished the construction of the shelter’s walls. Tall, three-meter high stone barriers scrawled across the ruined street to form a rectangular enclosure fifty square meters in area. From the young girl’s vantage point, the entire building seemed to resemble a rectangular prison yard, with the walls of barbed …