Clouds and Moon Shadow

A deafening roar followed, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder, as torrential rain poured down.

Gu Qingyue held her breath and stumbled as she ran toward the dilapidated temple in the distance, where the faint light of a distant fire was her only hope.

In the darkness, a violent bolt of lightning cleaved the night sky, like the Grim Reaper's blade, and struck down towards Gu Qingyue's head. Gu Qingyue stumbled and fell into the mud.

The torrential rain made it almost impossible for Gu Qingyue to open her eyes, and the mud and water covering her head and face made her look even more disheveled.

"Hey, there are still some tough guys in this Great Chu! They dare to run away! They dare to interfere with our sleeping with women, they deserve to die!" Behind her, several men brandished broadswords and slashed at Gu Qingyue.

Gu Qingyue was already in a daze. With her last bit of strength, she rolled to the side and narrowly avoided the blade.

The next instant, she immediately rolled over and sat up, gritted her teeth, and the blood on the tip of her tongue spread in her mouth, giving off a slightly sweet and metallic taste, which brought a sliver of clarity to her dazed mind.

Unfortunately, she had been running for almost half an hour with her sick, weak, and hungry body, and now even the last bit of strength had been drained.

She could hear the three men behind her, and she could even feel the chilling blade gleaming in the air as it approached her neck.

My life is over!

Gu Qingyue couldn't help but smile bitterly.

She's only been in this world for a day, and she's already going to die?

Swish!

A long line of blood spurted out.

A sharp, excruciating pain shot through her back, causing Gu Qingyue's already swaying body to collapse heavily to the ground, splashing up a large amount of mud and water.

Large raindrops pounded on her back with a 'bang, bang, bang' sound. Blood flowed rapidly down her back, merging into the muddy water beneath her. A flash of lightning revealed a patch of crimson, a horrifying sight!

"Hahaha, nothing but ants! I love breaking the bones of the Great Chu! Let's go!"

The arrogant laughter of the men gradually faded into the distance until it was completely drowned out by the sound of the rain.

Gu Qingyue's last shred of consciousness vanished with the sharp pain; her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.

The wind howled, and a few faint sobs reached Gu Qingyue's ears.

She huddled up, leaning against the dilapidated, drafty wall. The thatch above her head had been mostly blown away by the gale, and raindrops kept pouring down on her arms.

The torrential rain and howling winds of June did not bring Gu Qingyue any relief from the heat.

She moved her body slightly, and waves of scalding heat swept over her entire body. The high fever gave her a splitting headache, making her unable to move at all.

In her dazed state, she seemed to see a little girl—it was the original owner of this body!

She ran desperately through the crowded throng, her terrified face drawing ever closer in Gu Qingyue's eyes.

She tried to struggle to wake up, to tell the little girl to run away, but she couldn't do it no matter what.

The surroundings were filled with deafening cries, roars, and the neighing of horses. Behind the little girl, the sound of hooves echoed, dust billowed, and people kept falling into pools of blood.

The Nanzhao people massacred the city! This thought flashed through Gu Qingyue's mind.

Suddenly, a blood-red haze filled her vision, and Gu Qingyue jolted awake.

The screams faded into the distance, the little girl's face became blurry, and everything fell silent.

She paused for a moment, then struggled to open her heavy eyelids and finally saw the scene before her. Ragged men, women, and children were crammed together with her in the dilapidated temple. In the distance, a small fire flickered in the wind.

Behind him, a dilapidated Buddha statue sat alone.

Although damaged by the erosion of time, one can still see the compassion on the face of the Buddha statue, quietly watching over everyone in the dilapidated temple.

Everyone stayed quietly, regardless of the howling wind and torrential rain outside.

Inside the temple, raindrops pattered softly, interspersed with the occasional low sobs of children. Some lay down, some sat, and the only thing they all had in common was their pale faces, their expressions either pained or numb, and no one spoke.

Has she already arrived at the dilapidated temple? Was she rescued? Who rescued her?

She looked around warily. Where were the men who had been chasing her?

"Cough cough-----", her throat was sore and she couldn't help but cough lightly. She moved her body slightly, trying to move to the side and get away from the raindrops as much as possible, but her body was burning hot and her head was throbbing so badly that she wanted to bang her head against the wall.

She lost her balance and her back slammed against the wall, making her wince in pain.

Ouch! My back hurts so much!

In an instant, intense pain caused her to fall sideways onto the haystack behind her, plunging her into darkness and causing her to faint again.

Suddenly, a deafening sound of horses' hooves came from outside the dilapidated temple.

"Don't move! Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot!" A group of men dressed in black and wearing straw hats rushed into the dilapidated temple.

A young man in black rushed in first, looked around, and saw that everyone was either sitting or lying down, and no one was resisting. There was also no trace of those people. He lowered his head and bowed slightly, "Master, you can rest here for now."

The dilapidated temple was instantly so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The people, who had just been numb, barely dared to breathe loudly, their eyes fixed on the man in black, who was being helped in.

His black clothes, already soaked through, clung tightly to his tall, muscular frame. One arm hung limply in front of him, and blood dripped down his arm, forming a striking dark patch on the ground.

Behind him stood about twenty men in black, dressed the same as him, their presence chilling and bloodthirsty.

But what everyone noticed was not that; rather, it was the man's face revealed under the torchlight after he removed his straw hat.

What an incomparably handsome face this is!

With arched eyebrows that reached his temples, deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and a light wheat-colored complexion, he was tall and imposing, yet his beautiful face possessed a cold and aloof air, like a snow lotus in the mountains.

Even though he was injured, there was not a trace of pain or paleness in his eyes. His deep eyes looked around the dilapidated temple but found nothing unusual.

The man in black beside him asked in a low voice, "Master, may I stay the night?"

"No need. Take a short rest and be sure to wipe out that roaming southern barbarians as soon as possible," the man's voice was clear but cold, devoid of any warmth.

"Yes, Master. There's a haystack here. Please rest here and let me bandage your wound." After looking around for a while, the man in black finally found a relatively dry haystack in the corner. He took off his coat, spread it on the haystack, and asked the man to sit down.

The injured man glanced at his wet clothes, his lips twitched slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, he sat down with an air of nonchalance.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

He had just sat down when Gu Qingyue, who was sitting on the haystack next to him, began to groan and moan. She was in excruciating pain, and the image of the original owner of the body kept replaying in her mind.

She couldn't help but wave her hands, trying to grab something, but accidentally grabbed the injured man's sleeve with such force that she almost tore it off.

The injured man was bandaging his cut arm. He glanced at her, his brows furrowing slightly. He gently pulled his sleeve out of Gu Qingyue's hand.

"Leave him some medicine." Seeing the bloodstains on Gu Qingyue's clothes and her cracked lips, although her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face, making it impossible to see her features, it was still clear that her face was flushed and she was obviously running a high fever.

"Yes, Master," the man in black who was bandaging him replied, taking out two packets of medicinal powder from his pocket and placing them beside Gu Qingyue.

The injured man glanced at Gu Qingyue, who was still muttering to herself, then untied the water pouch from his waist and placed it beside her. He sighed, raised his head, and said coldly, "Go."