Bai Xi had no time to think, and woke up in a void.
She frowned unconsciously, her eyes filled with extreme vigilance, because her nose picked up a heavy scent of blood.
She opened her eyes and found herself imprisoned in a dungeon, bound by eight chains. Every movement she made, the chains embedded in her bones would tug, tearing at her flesh and bone. Even breathing was painful.
The gentle young man in white, who was as refined as jade, stood there, smiling at her. "Little Xi, why must you do this? If you sincerely marry me, you can legitimately become the second young mistress of the Han family, instead of being a prisoner as you are now."
As he spoke, his fingers gently brushed past a display stand not far away.
On the stand were four severed heads.
She recognized these heads; they had been alive and well before.
They were her father and her three brothers.
She looked at the man before her, this man whose smile was like dawn, but whose words were like a venomous snake. "Han Luo, why, why did you do this!"
Bai Xi felt a tearing pain in her heart. Countless fragments flashed through her mind – moments spent with her family, like butterflies dancing in the air, impossible to grasp, only fleeting images caught.
The young man in white stood before the four heads, his smile as gentle as ever. "Little Xi, if you could truly love me, none of this would have happened."
Bai Xi paused. "You destroyed my entire Bai family for this? You ungrateful beast, you white-eyed wolf, you brute! Kill me if you dare, kill me!"
With that, she struggled fiercely, the iron chains piercing her body, causing copious amounts of blood to flow.
Han Luo's smile faded slightly. He said calmly, "Kill you? I will, but for now... you are bait, bait to lure a big fish."
Bai Xi struggled even more violently, wanting to break free from this control, not wanting to be a tool used by others.
Her vision blurred again, shifting.
Until a man in black appeared before her. "Xi'er, Xi'er, don't be afraid, I've come to save you."
Bai Xi opened her eyes and looked at the man before her. She couldn't see his face clearly, and at the same time, a strange feeling washed over her. Yes, this was the man she loved, the man who had embraced another woman in the rain.
He didn't love her, yet he came to save her. How ironic.
If he hadn't been with someone else, why would she have married another?
If he hadn't disturbed her heart, making it impossible for her to forget, why would the Bai family have faced retribution?
Therefore, this man before her deserved to die!
The hatred of her entire family, the scars of her hatred, she should hate him, wish for his death!
But... what of it? Her love was real.
The most profound love wasn't about coercion, but about letting go and fulfillment, especially when it was one-sided.
It was her own choices that led to the Bai family's current situation. She had misjudged people, been deceived. It had nothing to do with this man she had once loved. Only she was to blame.
Bai Xi looked at the man's indistinct face and suddenly shouted, "...I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Get out, get out!"
She wanted him to leave because there was an ambush here, because Han Luo was present, and he wanted her dead.
But she was knocked unconscious by the man before her. When she woke up again, she saw Han Luo's sword piercing deeply into the man.
This time, she didn't hesitate. She shielded the man.
The man held her and cried out, "Xi'er, Xi'er, don't die, don't die..."
Han Luo lay there, his eyes filled with an indescribable despair.
Bai Xi looked at the man before her, sinking into despair, and whispered, "Actually, dying might be for the best."
Yes, she deserved to die.
She was neither human nor ghost, covered in wounds, and had caused the death of her beloved family. What right did she have to live?
A deep, seductive voice echoed in her mind, "Yes, you deserve to die. Only through death can there be liberation."
"Yes, you deserve to die. Only through death can there be liberation."
"Yes, you deserve to die. Only through death can there be liberation."
"..."
Yes, she deserved to die.
Bai Xi lay there quietly, trying to slowly stop breathing. At that moment, a tear fell onto her cheek from the person before her. She strained to lift her head, wanting to see the man's face clearly.
After all, she had truly loved someone. After all, she had died taking a sword for him. What did he look like?
Struggling, forcing her eyelids open, she saw the person before her.
Shallow eyes, like a raging sea, a high nose bridge, thin lips, currently looking at her in despair, tears falling uncontrollably.
Why did this face seem so familiar? Yes, he was the one she loved, but... suddenly, the clothes on the person before her inexplicably changed, turning into a white lab coat, then back to their original appearance.
One moment it was ancient black attire, the next a white doctor's coat.
But the two faces were identical.
Bai Xi murmured, "Han Mo... Doctor Han?"
That's right, she was Bai Xi, the daughter of the Bai family in M City. Her mother was still alive. She wasn't an ancient person, nor did she have a loving father and three brothers. That wasn't hers.
Why should she die? Why would she die?
Her life, which she had fought so hard to keep, why should she so easily abandon it!
With this thought, she closed her eyes forcefully, then opened them again. Everything before her disappeared, leaving only endless darkness.
Bai Xi struggled to sit up, suddenly sitting upright. She could see nothing in the pitch-black space, only the gentle sound of water reached her ears.
The chaotic memories from before made her head feel heavy.
Yes, she was Bai Xi. This time, she had come to help Han Rui pass the so-called Han family trial, and had descended into the tomb. Because she had touched the eyes of an amber doll with her hand, the second level of the tomb had opened, and she had fallen into this place.
Were those scenes just now a dream or an illusion? And the woman bound by eight chains, she seemed to have seen her before when she panicked.
And... Han Mo.
Why did the man in black, the beloved of the woman in red in the dream, eventually turn into Han Mo's appearance?
Was it her own subjective assumption, or was it simply...
Before she could ponder further, a strong scent of blood wafted into her nose. In such absolute darkness, even with her eyes adjusted, she couldn't see anything.
Bai Xi took out the flashlight from her backpack and illuminated her surroundings.
The source of the bloody smell was less than a hundred meters ahead of her.
It was a giant tree, its trunk deeply rooted in the crevices of the rock, incredibly thick. This tree was very strange; it had no leaves, only a trunk and branches. The long branches were not the common coffee color of tree trunks, but a grayish-black, like the rock walls in a cave. The branches spread out in all directions, like sharp claws, ready to ambush prey at any moment.
The reason she smelled blood was precisely because of this strange tree!