Chapter 1: Another One With Guts

Rain hit the eaves, and in the unfamiliar space lingered the sour stench of waterlogged decay that had festered for days.

Chu Chaoyun was awakened painfully.

It was that kind of pain where the thumb and forefinger simultaneously pinch the flesh, pulling back and forth with force, twisting sharply—a quick pinch so painful it made one’s nerves twitch and eyes well up with heat.

Forced awake, Chu Chaoyun hadn’t yet grasped her situation when a pungent moldy smell stabbed down her throat as she opened her mouth.

She coughed repeatedly, while an old woman pinching her thigh recoiled with disgust and slipped aside, rubbing her hands on a silky, tasselled handkerchief, sneering sharply. With the venomous, snake-like glare, she went off to find her next “victim”.

Just as the pain subsided, Chu Chaoyun felt a cramping twist in her lower abdomen—obviously she had gone hungry for days.

“Sister…”

“Morningcloud little sister…”

Two faint calls sounded simultaneously, both voices weak, more out of breath than in.

As the old woman left, she kicked the door shut, and the dimness returned; aside from a faint, lukewarm white light filtering through the window panes, the room had no other light source.

Chu Chaoyun turned her head toward the source of the voices, the motion painful as if a muscle in her neck was being stretched tight from staying in one position too long.

Under the faint white light, she barely made out the two who were calling her.

It was shocking when she looked around: men and women of her age slumped all over the room, their faces pale and gaunt from hunger; some of the men’s clothes were stained with blood—marks from harsh whip lashes.

Having absorbed some of the original owner’s memories, Chu Chaoyun understood why she was here.

The original owner was the eldest daughter of the second branch of the Chu family, and had a ten-year-old younger brother, Chu Yu.

The Chu family’s main branch, second branch, and third branch lived together, traditionally farming to make a living. The eldest daughter of the main branch, Chu Xilan, was 17, one year older than the original owner.

Originally, the families got along well, but since the death of the youngest child in the third branch, a rift grew between the first and second branches and the third branch.

When the youngest child fell seriously ill and the village doctor was helpless, the heads of the first and second branches immediately loaded the child onto an ox cart and rushed him to the city. Unfortunately, the journey was too long and the child did not survive before they could reach the city gates.

The third branch’s aunt wailed loudly, cursing the first and second branches for “not caring for a child that’s not their own”. For three months, she did not interact with them at all.

Then one day, the third branch’s aunt suddenly changed her cold demeanor, smiling brightly as she invited Chu Xilan to go buy fabric in the city to make clothes. Chu Xilan thought this might be a chance to mend the rift, so she prepared one or two family representatives, including the original owner and Chu Yu, to go with her.

Chu Chaoyun sat quietly for a moment, mentally piecing together the events despite her hunger and weakness. She knew their current predicament had something to do with the third branch’s aunt.

Could this be some form of revenge?

But what kind of place was this?

Chu Chaoyun blankly stared at the woman far away, who called “Morningcloud little sister” once again with difficulty, then clumsily dragged Chu Yu over as he staggered.

The three huddled together in the dim light, backs against the wall. The wall felt damp, covered in layers upon layers of moss. As they shivered and curled up, their clothes occasionally brushed against the wet moss, but no one cared anymore.

Chu Yu had wounds on his forearm and abdomen; when he squeezed in next to them, he gritted his teeth and wheezed in pain—he had clearly not escaped the whipping either.

Chu Xilan choked out a few sobs, biting her lip as she raised her cold hands to feel the foreheads of Chu Chaoyun and Chu Yu, and seeing no fever, wept softly, “Luckily no harm done… Xun’er had a fever before, but soon…”

Chu Xilan trailed off, unable to continue.

Chu Chaoyun knew that the Xun’er Chu Xilan mentioned was the youngest son of the third branch, Chu Xun.

Perhaps thinking of sad matters and with the unidentified old woman gone, Chu Xilan pressed her hands over her mouth and shuddered as she suppressed her grief.

Outside, a few crows flew by, their hoarse shrill calls penetrating the silence.

Inside, the weary group exchanged glances, then all fixed their eyes on Chu Xilan before breaking into louder and louder mournful cries.

Chu Chaoyun closed her eyes helplessly and forced herself to call out: “Everyone, stop crying—save your strength.”

They also needed to be careful not to cry too loudly lest they draw the old woman’s attention and face another round of cruel beatings.

The group had been holding back their sobs, only breaking down because they truly couldn’t endure any longer.

Chu Chaoyun pressed her back against the wall and tried to stand, but her legs felt weak and powerless. Now she understood why Chu Xilan and Chu Yu had to crawl over like that.

She had few other memories—only recalling that after the Third Aunt took them into the city, she used the excuse of being thirsty to stop for tea, and then everything after that was a haze, like someone who had blacked out after drinking; her mind was blank.

Thinking this, Chu Chaoyun painfully pressed her fingers against the earthen wall to help herself up, but was too weak to support her weight and collapsed again, tearing her nails and cutting her fingers, the pain making her hiss sharply.

Chu Yu rushed over to help her, but Chu Chaoyun brushed off his aid and leaned back down.

A nearby woman, unable to bear watching anymore, finally spoke, “Little sister, don’t waste your strength. The drug hasn’t worn off yet; even if you try to run, you won’t get away.”

“Does big sister know more about this?” Chu Chaoyun looked hopefully at her, grateful to find someone who seemed to understand.

The woman nodded lightly and whispered, “Not much. My hometown was struck by disaster; my parents died. I was staying with my uncle’s family, but they were poor and sold me here for some grain. I tried to escape on the road but was drugged by these bandits…”

Chu Chaoyun was stunned. After asking a few more people, she realized each had their own story for how they ended up here.

Most knew why they were brought here. Only the three siblings—Chu Chaoyun, Chu Xilan, and Chu Yu—had been abducted without understanding.

Several hours later, a burly man wrapped in a turban came in with a wooden bucket of food. He tossed some moldy, sour hard bread onto the muddy floor one by one, then rolled it about in the dirt before picking up the empty bucket and leaving.

Chu Chaoyun picked up a piece of bread that rolled near her and felt a sharp pain in her throat.

A top student who had graduated, worked years in a major company and finally saved up a down payment for a house, who unfortunately had a car accident on the way to pay fees—the first meal she opened her eyes to was a moldy, sour bread!

What had she done to deserve this?

Lost in thought, the bread was suddenly snatched away from her hand.

Chu Xilan stripped off the hard crusts of three pieces of bread and gave the soft parts back to Chu Chaoyun and Chu Yu.

Chu Xilan chewed silently on the crusts, tears falling soundlessly, “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on going to the city, we wouldn’t have fallen into Third Aunt’s trap… it’s all my fault…”

Chu Chaoyun glanced over with a complex mix of feelings.

The original owner was frail and probably passed away before the ordeal, so she had taken over this body.

Chu Chaoyun was not the original owner, so she refused to judge whether the original would blame Chu Xilan. She stuffed a piece of bread back, lowered her head, and ate quietly.

—

The next morning, when the burly man came early with food, the old woman who had appeared yesterday came along as well.

A man who had regained some strength tried to escape, but the big man dropped the food bucket and whipped him viciously with a belt.

A woman near the door tried to run while the big man was distracted, but he caught her and threw her to the old woman for punishment.

Chu Chaoyun noticed that the whip was never aimed directly at the woman; the old woman only pinched the woman’s upper thigh several times as punishment.

The old woman kicked the woman disdainfully, then stood up and looked down on them all.

Her sharp, high-pitched voice made it clear where they were:

“I, Old Lady Li, am only in charge of collecting and training people. I don’t care where you all came from. Once you board the ship, do your work properly. That makes things easier for me, and you’ll live somewhat comfortably. If anyone misbehaves and dies on the way, I’ll just consider it bad luck and the money lost.”

“Last warning: threats and bribes won’t work on me. You’d better not do anything stupid!”

After she spoke, the room fell silent.

Chu Chaoyun clutched her dirty skirt and tentatively asked, “Board a ship? To where?”

Old Lady Li sneered and glanced at her, “The drug’s almost worn off. After you eat, the girls will follow me, the men will follow Big Zhao to the docks. Any other questions can be answered when we get there.”

Outside the half-open wooden door stood several big men wearing turbans dressed identically to Big Zhao—clearly tasked with guarding them.

Chu Chaoyun gave up on running, planning to think of another way.

Old Lady Li led them out of the hospital, down a few turns, and into a tightly enclosed yard.

Chu Chaoyun had observed along the way: the place was surrounded on three sides by water, resembling a small misty town in the south.

Late summer to early autumn—it was raining today, thick, hot, suffocating weather mixed with water vapors clinging to their clothing, making them even more uncomfortable.

A few boats docked by the wharf—none looked like fishing or cargo vessels, but more like the elegant “Flower Boats,” with flower wreaths hanging from the eaves, red silk curtains draping down, fragrant breezes blowing—the luxurious appearance contrasted with the simple, closed yard.

Soon, Chu Chaoyun learned what work awaited them.

A profession she had never heard of before—boatwoman.

Old Lady Li closely inspected their small, pale faces one by one. When she reached Chu Chaoyun, she frowned harshly and clicked her tongue.

Chu Chaoyun was thin and gaunt but fairly tall for women of this era; however, her face was far from attractive. Old Lady Li clearly looked down on her.

The woman who had her thigh pinched earlier looked terrified and glared at the old woman, dodging her outreached hand and trembling as she said, “You—you better tell me exactly what a boatwoman does! If it’s some filthy business, I’d rather die than do it!”

Old Lady Li chuckled a few times, seemingly to tame her fiery spirit: “Once you get to Ruizhou, far from the mountain and emperor’s reach, you don’t get to choose whether to do it or not.”

“So it really is some filthy business?!!”

Hearing this, the woman’s face turned from panic to horror, then filled with despair. Before Old Lady Li could say more, she pushed her away and crashed into the rough earthen wall, fainting on the spot.

Though she did not lose her life, the rough wall scratched her face bloody.

Old Lady Li dodged, dropping the teacup in her hand, shattering it with tea spilled on the floor.

Chu Chaoyun sharply inhaled, terrified, and saw Old Lady Li’s shocked and unwilling expression. Seizing the moment, she picked up two shards of broken porcelain.

She quickly stuffed one into Chu Xilan’s shaking hand, whispering, “I have a plan. Sister Xilan, just follow me.”

Chu Xilan, confused, clutched the sharp shard pierced into her palm, trembling constantly.

The fainted woman was carried away, and Chu Chaoyun summoned all her courage to quietly call, “If it’s that kind of work, I can’t do it either…”

Her voice was low, trembling with fear.

Truth be told, Chu Chaoyun was scared.

After all, the joy and excitement of buying a house had not yet faded, and here she was, trapped in this hopeless place with no way out. Such a blow was overwhelming for a working-class person used to a simple, stable life.

Why should she have to suffer all this?

Anger and resentment weren’t going to help.

With these thoughts, Chu Chaoyun pushed the shard against her forearm and pressed hard into her flesh. With Chu Xilan’s startled cry, she sliced deeply, avoiding the veins on the back of her hand and cutting toward her fingertips.

She guessed that the big men didn’t dare whip the escaping woman because they feared leaving scars.

She bet Old Lady Li had spent money buying them and wouldn’t want any of them to die so easily.

Enduring the pain, meeting Old Lady Li’s gaze, she put on a determined look, not willing to back down.

After a long while, the old woman laughed.

Old Lady Li ground her teeth in anger and said harshly, “Fine, just fine! Here comes another one with guts. Drag her out with the others!”