"Stay back, both of you," she uttered.
The young maiden startled, her hands trembling as she clutched a seemingly harmless golden hairpin toward the two figures. Perhaps she too realized its insignificance, as she shifted the pin to her chin. Its tip polished, it left only a faint red mark on the skin.
Whether for intimidation or self-harm, it served no purpose.
Shen Tang declared, "I will not approach. You come out."
The young maiden, with a pallid face, shook her head adamantly, "No!"
Tears of fear brimmed in her eyes, trickling down like glistening pearls.
She blinked, trying to clear her tear-blurred vision, but the tears only fell more densely. Those pearls rolled from her rounded cheek to her chin, gathering before dropping one by one. Undeniably, tears from a beauty softened one's heart.
Zhai Le stood aside, mocking, "Brother Shen, you've been rejected."
A damsel in distress requires gentle comfort.
Speaking sternly will only frighten people.
Shen Tang pondered for a moment, then swiftly reached out, seizing the young maiden by her collar and pulling her out of the box. Though the young maiden was stubborn, even in her extreme fear, she did not give up struggling, her fingers trembling as she clung tightly to the golden hairpin.
Zhai Le approached, a playful glint in his eyes, "Fair maiden, both I and Brother Shen mean well."
The young maiden gritted her teeth, refusing to believe such words.
Zhai Le inquired again, "Is the fair maiden surnamed Lin?"
The young maiden shrank back, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the corpses lying on the ground. Her naturally round eyes widened in shock. She even forgot that Shen Tang and the others were present as she clutched the hairpin, almost crawling and rolling forward.
Staring fixedly at the warm and soft corpse.
Her once clear eyes now harbored a trace of something called "hatred." Ignoring the dirtied bloodstains, she wiped away the blood from the corpse's face with her bare hands, then used her sleeve to wipe for easier recognition. Confirming without a doubt, she ruthlessly inserted the hairpin into the corpse's eye sockets.
Zhai Le gasped, covering his eyes.
Fuelled by intense hatred akin to a raging fire, she relentlessly stabbed the corpse's eye sockets hundreds of times until they turned into pulp, blood oozing out like foam, before finally collapsing backward, exhausted.
The two thugs waiting to move the bodies nearby: "..."
They almost wanted to hug each other, trembling with fear.
After a long while, the young maiden came back to her senses.
She clenched her teeth tightly, suppressing the fear that bore a hole in her heart, stood up to straighten her clothes and sleeves, coldly presenting her round and smooth face—clearly youthful, yet deliberately squeezing out a hint of maturity and steadiness—stepping forward, she clasped her hands in front of Shen Tang, deeply bowing twice.
"Many thanks to the benefactor for avenging the Lin family's twenty-four members."
Zhai Le raised an eyebrow on one side.
He chuckled, "Fair maiden, how brave you are."
The young maiden, already pale-faced, grew even paler.
Shen Tang lifted his foot to kick Zhai Le.
"Why do you scare people for no reason?"
Zhai Le jumped aside, "How is it scaring? Clearly, it's praise."
Though unclear of the circumstances, one could guess to some extent. A child of eight or nine, witnessing their family slaughtered by household guards, their bodies thrown into the deep mountains, surviving by chance only to encounter a group of people of unknown intentions—it was no easy feat to handle such a situation.
At least, courage is commendable.
Shen Tang kicked the lid of the wooden box away, using it as a stool.
"Who are you? What happened before? Do you have other relatives? Why were you hiding in the wooden box?"
Zhai Le reminded, "Ask more tactfully."
Shen Tang shot him a glance like a dagger. He had a momentary illusion of being glared at by his elder brother Zhai Huan, and instinctively chose to remain silent.
Zhai Le: "..."
Wait, wasn't he the elder brother?
Seeing that Shen Tang currently harbored no ill intent, the young maiden slightly relaxed her tense nerves. Clutching the hairpin, her fingernails almost embedded in the flesh of her palms, she forced herself to answer, "This humble maiden's surname is Lin, native to Lingzhou. Along with my grandparents, parents, stepmother, younger uncle, siblings, and several maids and servants, we were traveling south to relatives. Little did we know, one of our household guards harbored treacherous intentions, killing for wealth..."
Including her, there were twenty-five people in total.
"So many women traveling outside, with only one male accompanying? This is truly..." Zhai Le frowned upon hearing this, the world was so chaotic, one must guard against external enemies as well as internal thieves, only sending an elder uncle as escort, plus an unknown age "brother," was too reckless.
The young maiden bit her lip, lowered her head, the corners of her eyes turning red.
Who would have thought that the guards who had been with them for seven or eight years would suddenly turn against them? The leader of the guards was still highly trusted, having saved the family head's life before.
"...Because of being naughty, I played with my sisters, hiding in the wooden box to escape trouble." She often played and frolicked with her sisters at home, occasionally hiding in a wooden box to evade search. Concerned, the elders made two holes in her two wooden boxes for ventilation. Upon waking up in the wooden box, she was still puzzled as to why no one had found her.
Through that hole, she stealthily peered outside, only to witness the household guards raising their blades at her loved ones. The elderly, the weak, women, and children had no strength to fight back. Along with her severely injured younger uncle, they all perished.
All she could do was cover her mouth, suppressing her cries.
But she knew she would surely be discovered.
Her despair deepened.
Who could have predicted such a turn of events?
"Others are all... only this young maiden remains... sob..." She wiped away her tears, trying to sniffle and prevent the mucus from flowing down, staining her nose with a crimson hue.
Puckering her lips, she attempted to swallow back her emotions, but the more she held it in, the more bitter it became. Eventually, she couldn't help it, and tears streamed down like pearls off a broken necklace, pitiful indeed.
Shen Tang lowered his gaze, contemplating for a moment.
"Besides the relatives you were heading south to seek refuge with, do you have any other relatives you can rely on? It's best if they're closer..."
The young maiden stood in place, shaking her head with a bewildered expression. Now she truly didn't know what to do; everything she could rely on was gone.
Zhai Le sighed, "How pitiful. How about taking her in as well?"
Shen Tang felt the urge to poke him with a sword.
"Take her in? She's so young."
Zhai Le: "???"
He suddenly jumped, his voice rising by several octaves, "I meant you should take her in as a maid to serve. At least it's a means of survival. If there's a chance in the future, she can search for relatives again. Brother Shen, where's your mind wandering? You didn't think of that 'take in,' did you?"
Shen Tang: "..."
She couldn't help but cover her face.
Alright, her thoughts were unhealthy.
Shen Tang adjusted her emotions, coughing lightly to ease the embarrassment.
"Did you hear that too? Do you want to come home with me for now? When the situation stabilizes, we can contact your other family members or head south to seek relatives? You're too young to survive on your own."
The young maiden pondered for a long, long time with tears streaming down her face.
Finally, she nodded vigorously.
"Many thanks, benefactor."
However, she seemed hesitant to speak further, as if struggling with something.
Shen Tang guessed what she wanted to say and said, "Wait until dawn! It's too dangerous to search in the dark. Pray that the wild beasts haven't gone mad with hunger or that they leave intact corpses behind."
Even children of eight or nine were considered adults in this era. Facing the tragic death of loved ones, they knew to bury the bodies for peace.
"Thank you, benefactor."
The young maiden bowed deeply once more, overflowing with gratitude.
She added, "My humble name is Anan."
"No given name?"
The young maiden remained silent.
Shen Tang suggested, "Then may I presumptuously suggest one? It's inconvenient to call you by your given name. Since your surname is Lin, how about the name 'Feng'? Lin Feng."
Zhai Le remarked, "Lin Feng? That sounds too masculine."
Shen Tang rolled her eyes.
"Do you understand what 'Feng under the Lin' means?"
Feng under the Lin: Referring to a remarkable woman with talent, elegance, poetic charm, and demeanor, who is as capable as a man.