“Get in there!”
The moment Qiu Yang opened her eyes, a kick landed on her body.
“Stay put. Don’t even think about escaping.”
The prison guard slammed the cell door shut without the slightest hesitation.
A sharp pain spread through Qiu Yang’s abdomen.
She curled up instinctively, clutching her stomach as wave after wave of agony tore through her.
Only after a long while did she manage to push herself up, leaning against the cold stone wall as she struggled to breathe.
She looked around the unfamiliar yet painfully familiar surroundings.
And finally, she confirmed the truth.
She had been reborn.
In her previous life, she had been locked inside this exact prison cell.
For seven days, she had existed in a daze, trapped between fear and despair.
Until one day…
“Fire! The prison is on fire! Someone put it out!”
That was when Qiu Yang finally realized she had to run.
But it was already too late.
The flames had already wrapped tightly around her ankles.
There was nowhere left to escape.
Qiu Yang closed her eyes.
Those memories were unbearable.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from remembering.
The reason she had been imprisoned was simple.
Her father.
One of Great Zhao’s few princes with a different surname—the Prince of Zhenbei, Qiu Chengye—had betrayed the country.
He had secretly allied himself with foreign enemies, intending to hand over the entire four northern provinces to another nation.
After the enemy forces entered the city, they advanced triumphantly.
Qiu Chengye fled overnight.
The Emperor of Great Zhao was furious.
That very night, he issued an imperial decree ordering troops to reclaim the northern lands and commanded that Qiu Chengye and all of his relatives be executed without mercy.
Five days later, Qiu Chengye was killed by an unknown soldier beside an unnamed river.
Seven days later, the hiding place of the Qiu family’s relatives was discovered.
Blood flowed like a river.
The entire family was slaughtered.
Qiu Yang survived only because she was an illegitimate daughter.
Her mother had no official status and made a living traveling throughout Great Zhao by performing opera.
Very few people knew of their connection to Qiu Chengye.
And because of that, she escaped the first wave of killing.
But secrets never remained hidden forever.
Somehow, the Emperor learned that Qiu Chengye still had a surviving bloodline.
A royal decree was issued throughout the kingdom:
A great reward would be given to anyone who found the remaining members of the Qiu family.
No matter what it took, the imperial court would eliminate every last trace of the traitor’s bloodline.
And that was how Qiu Yang was handed over.
The man who sent her away was her mother’s lover.
While Qiu Yang was lost in thought, footsteps suddenly approached.
She lifted her head.
Two prison guards stood outside her cell.
“Come out. The official wants to interrogate you.”
Qiu Yang instinctively shrank back.
“I…I haven’t committed any crime.”
The two guards exchanged indifferent looks.
“Whether you are guilty or not is not for you to decide. The official decides.”
Before she could react, they grabbed her arms.
With a violent pull, they dragged her up—
then threw her onto the ground.
Qiu Yang nearly coughed up blood.
Her body was already weak.
After being dragged and thrown around like this, she had almost no strength left.
The guards simply grabbed her and pulled her through the long corridor.
She was pushed into a small room.
The room was extremely plain.
There was only a table and two chairs.
Behind the table sat a man wearing official robes.
He appeared to be around thirty years old.
In his hands was a stack of documents.
He was likely the interrogator.
The official glanced at Qiu Yang before flipping through the records.
“Your father committed treason. Did you know?”
Qiu Yang lowered her head.
“No.”
“Are you truly unaware, or are you pretending?”
The official frowned.
After all, Qiu Chengye’s betrayal was known throughout Great Zhao.
Even children who had barely learned to speak knew about it.
How could Qiu Yang possibly not know?
“I really didn’t know.”
Qiu Yang’s voice remained calm.
“I did not live in the Prince’s residence.”
Because her mother had never been acknowledged, Qiu Yang truly had never met Qiu Chengye.
The official found nothing useful from her answers.
His patience began to wear thin.
“Did Qiu Chengye leave anything behind for you?”
Qiu Yang shook her head.
“No. Nothing.”
The official put down the documents and stood.
He walked toward her.
Qiu Yang kept her head lowered, not daring to look at him.
The official still refused to give up.
“Your father betrayed the country, lost the four northern provinces, and caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people.”
“Do you truly have nothing to say?”
Qiu Yang’s voice was barely audible.
“If Qiu Chengye’s crime is already confirmed…”
“Then whatever I say is meaningless.”
“I only ask that you let me die quickly.”
The official rubbed his forehead in frustration.
He returned to the table and sat down.
Closing the file, he sighed.
“Take her away.”
Then, as if remembering something, he added:
“Oh, and a reminder.”
“Outside, the entire nation is celebrating the death of the traitor Qiu Chengye.”
“They are calling for the destruction of every remaining member of the Qiu family.”
“So stay quietly in this prison.”
“At least here, you won’t be beaten to death.”
“Take her away.”
The two guards dragged Qiu Yang back.
Bang!
The iron door closed.
Qiu Yang slowly slid down the wall and sat on the ground.
Her limbs felt impossibly weak.
Yet strangely, her mind was clearer than ever.
She sat there silently, replaying her memories again and again.
Only then did she realize something terrifying.
She knew almost nothing.
After leaving this prison, she would barely be better than someone who could not read a single word.
But she was unwilling to accept this fate.
She had lived this long without even knowing what Qiu Chengye looked like.
His treason had nothing to do with her.
Why should she pay the price for his crimes?
The people outside hated her.
But what had she done?
“Why?”
Without realizing it, Qiu Yang grabbed the corner of her clothes.
Her fingers twisted the fabric tighter and tighter.
Just as anger threatened to consume her completely, a voice suddenly appeared in her mind.
“Forget all that for now!”
“Seven days later this prison burns down and you die!”
“What’s the point of being angry after you’re underground?”
“Do you really want to repeat your previous life again?!”
Qiu Yang froze.
The words instantly brought her back to reality.
That was right.
If she died, she would lose everything.
Slowly, reason suppressed her rage.
She took a deep breath.
Her fingers loosened from the twisted cloth.
“I need to survive first.”
Qiu Yang struggled to move closer to the wooden bars.
She pressed her face near them, trying to search for anything useful.
A water source.
An escape route.
Anything that could help her survive the fire.
But before she could see much—
A prison guard struck the bars with his baton.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“Pull your head back. Stop looking around.”
Qiu Yang immediately withdrew.
“Fine, fine. I won’t look.”
The moment the guard left, she pressed herself against the bars again.
The prisoner opposite her watched in disbelief.
“She’s really stubborn…”
“What a fearless woman.”
Qiu Yang spent the entire night observing.
But she found nothing.
Exhausted, she returned to the pile of straw and lay down.
Tomorrow.
She would search again.
And heaven rewarded persistence.
After five days of careful observation, Qiu Yang finally discovered a possible hiding place.
Between two weapon storage rooms near the entrance of the prison.
The gap was extremely narrow.
But it connected to the weapon rooms.
If she could hide there during the fire, she might be able to escape.
On the morning of the seventh day, the fire arrived exactly as she remembered.
“Fire!”
“Someone save us!”
“Don’t panic! Water is coming!”
The flames tore through the wooden bars of Qiu Yang’s cell.
The dry straw beneath her caught fire.
Using the chaos, Qiu Yang slipped into the narrow gap.
She entered the weapon storage room and waited.
When the guards rushed away carrying buckets of water, she quickly moved.
One step.
Two steps.
She was almost out of the prison.
But the moment she turned around—
she crashed directly into a guard.
Damn.
She had calculated everything.
Except this.
The guard realized she was attempting to escape.
His baton swung down immediately.
Qiu Yang reacted quickly and dropped to the ground, barely avoiding the strike.
The guard raised his arm again.
This time, Qiu Yang grabbed his leg.
Then she bit down hard.
Blood filled her mouth.
The guard screamed in shock.
The baton slipped from his hand.
Taking advantage of his pain, Qiu Yang rolled forward and escaped through the prison gates.
She was free.
But she had no time to celebrate.
Her body was still weak.
Her feet were bare.
She forced herself forward with every ounce of strength she had.
Step by step.
Until, only a few feet away from a nearby restaurant—
her strength finally failed.
Qiu Yang collapsed onto the ground.