bigabreads Chapter 1: A Hellish Start? Seven fierce-looking, rough men, like bandits, come to steal the bride!
Chapter 1: A Hellish Start? Seven fierce-looking, rough men, like bandits, come to steal the bride!
In the twenty-third year of the Great Wei Dynasty, in winter.
On the official roads of the northwest frontier, the cold can even crack the bones of a person.
“Pah!”
With a sharp crack, the whip lashed against the wooden bars of the prison cart, shaking off a layer of snow.
"You all better be damn smarter! Once we get to Wolf Fang Village, we'll clear out this 'goods,' and then we brothers can go back to the inn for drinks and meat!"
The raspy voice of the escorting officials sounded particularly jarring in the howling north wind.
In the corner of the prison van, Su Wan struggled to open her eyes. All she saw was a stark white world, and the cold wind cut like knives into her skin exposed beneath the tattered cotton quilt.
Su Wan's consciousness was still somewhat hazy.
She was clearly working through the night in the lab on agricultural breeding experiments, so how did she end up as the daughter of a disgraced official being sold off during her exile?
The original owner's memories, mixed with a chill, surged up—the delicate young lady, unable to withstand the torment along the way, had just passed away.
"We're here! Everyone, get down!"
The prison van door was roughly opened. Before Su Wan could recover, she was pulled off like a chick by a rough, large hand, and stumbled and fell onto the snow.
Her knees slammed into the hard, frozen ground, causing her to gasp in pain and her eyes to instantly well up with tears.
This body... is too delicate.
A group of villagers had gathered around to watch the spectacle, all dressed in sheepskin coats, their hands tucked in, their eyes revealing a blatant scrutiny, as if they were choosing livestock.
"Sir, how much for this young lady?"
An old man with yellow teeth and a hunched back squeezed forward, his cloudy eyes fixed on Su Wan's face, which was pale from the cold. He even stretched out his withered fingers, trying to touch the hem of Su Wan's skirt, and made a nauseating inhalation. "This delicate skin, even if she's about to die, it would be good to take her back to warm her feet for a few days."
Su Wan instinctively shrank back, her stomach churning.
The constable glanced at the old man and sneered, "Old Zhang, do you have enough money for your coffin? This is a young lady from an official family in the capital. Even if she's fallen on hard times, she's still got some money! One price, twenty taels!"
"Twenty taels?!"
A gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.
In this remote and impoverished place, twenty taels of silver would be enough for a family to live on for five years!
Old Zhang's wrinkles twitched, and he gritted his teeth as he reached for the cloth bundle in his arms, his eyes gleaming with lewdness: "Five taels! Sir, this woman looks like she's on her last breath, even five taels is too much for me..."
"Get out of here if you don't have money!" The officer snapped his whip impatiently. "Anyone else bidding? If no one buys, I'll just throw him into the mountains to feed the wolves!"
Su Wan's heart jumped into her throat.
Is this what a hellish start is like? Either I get bought and tortured by a perverted old man, or I get thrown to be fed to wolves?
She bit her pale lips and tried to get up from the snow, but her frozen hands and feet wouldn't obey her commands.
Just then—
"Get out of my way! All of you, get the hell out of my way!"
A sudden commotion arose on the outskirts of the crowd. The villagers who had been watching the commotion panicked and retreated to both sides as if they had seen some kind of ferocious beast, fearing that they would be in trouble if they were a step too slow.
"They're from the Qin family..."
"Why are those seven evil spirits here?"
"Shh! Don't talk, or Qin Da will cut your tongue out!"
Su Wan followed the horrified gazes of the crowd.
Seven tall figures walked through the snow in the wind and snow.
The man walking at the front was as tall as an iron tower, at least 1.9 meters tall.
He wore a worn-out black cotton armor, which, though tattered, was clean and neatly washed. His face had sharp, chiseled features, with an old scar on his left eyebrow that slanted into his temple. This scar, far from diminishing his heroic bearing, added a touch of menacing ferocity that made him intimidating.
The six men following behind him were all burly and menacing, each carrying either a hunting knife or a hammer.
These aren't villagers! They're clearly a bunch of bandits who came down from the mountain!
The official, who had been so arrogant, instantly lost his composure upon seeing these people, his grip on the whip tightening: "Qin...Qin Dalang? What are you doing here...?"
Qin Lie, who was in the lead, did not speak.
He walked straight up to Su Wan, his tall figure instantly casting a shadow that shielded her from the biting cold wind.
Su Wan looked up and met the man's deep, wolf-like eyes.
His gaze was so aggressive, as if it could penetrate her thin clothes and see into her bones.
Su Wan was so frightened that her breath caught in her throat. She instinctively wanted to run away, but found that her legs were too weak to move.
"We want this woman."
Qin Lie spoke, his voice low and hoarse, as if it had been ground on gravel, carrying an undeniable domineering air.
Old Zhang, unwilling to let the easy money slip away, mustered his courage and shouted, "Brother Qin, there's a first-come, first-served rule. I'm still negotiating the price..."
Qin Lie didn't even glance at him, only slightly turning his head.
Standing behind him was Qin Meng, the third brother—a man as strong as a black bear. He stepped forward and slammed the machete, which was still dripping with blood (perhaps the blood of his prey), onto the ground.
"Bang!"
The ground, frozen solid like iron, was smashed into a crater.
Old Zhang screamed in fright and fell hard onto the snow, his crotch instantly getting wet. He scrambled into the crowd and didn't dare make a sound.
Qin Lie then looked away and took out a heavy money bag from his pocket.
Instead of handing it to the officer, he slammed it onto the wooden table in front of the officer with a "thud," as if throwing away trash.
The table shook from being hit.
"Here is twenty taels."
Qin Lie's tone was icy, his gaze sweeping over the remaining villagers, his eyes like knives. "She belongs to the Qin family. From now on, anyone who dares to lay a finger on her..."
He paused, placed his large hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and with a flick of his thumb, the blade emerged half an inch from its sheath, gleaming coldly.
"...Ask the knife in my hand."
The howling wind stopped for a moment.
That's the murderous aura of someone who has truly seen blood.
The official swallowed hard, not daring to utter another word. He grabbed the money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and immediately put on a fawning smile: "Since it's something Qin Dalang has taken a liking to, then naturally... naturally it's yours! Here, take this contract of indenture!"
Qin Lie took the thin piece of paper, glanced at it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
He turned around and looked down at Su Wan, who was still slumped in the snow, shivering.
Su Wan was already so cold that she was barely conscious. Her long eyelashes were covered with frost, and she looked like a broken porcelain doll, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.
Looking at the fierce-looking man in front of her, she had only one thought in her mind: she had just escaped one danger only to fall into another.
"Can you get up?" Qin Lie frowned, looking at her little hand that was frozen purple.
Su Wan reached out her hand tremblingly, trying to use it to stand up, but she had only gotten halfway up when everything went black and she fell uncontrollably to one side.
The expected pain did not come; instead, a large, hot, rough hand firmly gripped her waist.
His hand was huge, almost snapping her slender waist in two. Through the thin fabric, the burning heat of the man's palm made Su Wan tremble all over.
The next second, she was lifted into the air.
Qin Lie simply scooped her up with one arm, as easily as holding a child.
Su Wan gasped instinctively and grabbed the man's shirt in a panic.
Her nose bumped against his hard chest muscles, and a strong scent, a mixture of wind, snow, and male hormones, instantly enveloped her.
This flavor... is too aggressive.
"trouble."
An impatient whisper came from above.
Su Wan stiffened. Just as she was about to struggle, she felt the large hand gripping her waist tighten even more, as if afraid she would fall and die.
"You spoiled brat," Qin Lie muttered under his breath, but then wrapped his warm sheepskin coat around her, protecting her tightly in his arms.
"go home."
He tossed two words to his brothers behind him, took long strides, and, carrying the "wife" he had just snatched, strode into the swirling snow.
Su Wan nestled in that warm embrace, listening to the steady, powerful heartbeat from the man's chest—
*Thump, thump, thump.*
Each strike was powerful and resonant, making her eardrums tingle.
Is this her future...husband?
Before her consciousness completely faded into darkness, Su Wan had only one thought left in her mind: This isn't buying a wife, this is clearly bandits robbing their chieftain's wife!