A torrential downpour lashed against the earth, accompanied by the deafening roar of thunder. Fierce winds battered the dilapidated windows, setting them askew with loud, rhythmic clatters. In a small side chamber of a crumbling temple, three young women huddled together. Their crimson wedding garments blazed like ominous fire against the bleak, decaying shadows of the temple, imbuing the scene with a sinister, otherworldly aura.
There were no lamps within; only the sporadic flare of lightning illuminated the ruin. Each blinding flash pierced the darkness like a sword, and every thunderclap split the air with an earth-shaking boom, causing the youngest of the three to shrink back in terror. Clutching the eldest sister's arm tightly, Qing Mo sobbed in a hushed voice, "Big Sister, what do we do now? I'm so scared…"
Another bolt of lightning revealed their faces at last. They were all in the flower of youth, each uniquely beautiful. The left side of their faces bore a beauty so striking it could stir envy in women and longing in men. But the right side—marred by two deep, vicious scars—rendered them almost unrecognizable, ghastly under the storm's cruel illumination.
Gently patting her younger sister's shoulder, Qing Ling, her face ashen and expression hollow, whispered bleakly, "Once we cross this mountain, we'll be beyond the borders of Haoyue. Is there truly no way for us to escape the fate of being offered like gifts?"
"I refuse to accept this!" Qing Feng's defiant gaze fixed upon the tempest outside the shattered door. Her teeth dug into her lip so deeply it nearly bled.
Raising her head slowly, leaning against Qing Feng's shoulder, Qing Mo tried to soothe her second sister in a small, sensible voice. "Second Sister, don't be afraid. They say the man you're to marry, Chancellor Lou, is a rare gentleman—refined, noble, and unrivaled in both civil and military prowess. He won't mistreat you…"
But the one truly to be pitied was their eldest sister—destined for the palace of King Qiongyue, a man whispered to be mercurial, cruel, and bloodthirsty. How could their gentle, soft-spoken sister possibly survive such a fate?
Qing Feng scoffed bitterly. "Who would want him?" She turned, gripping the hands of her two sisters, and growled through clenched teeth, "I hate this! Why should one word from Qiongyue's king let him do as he pleases? Why must our Qing family bear the burden of the emperor's incompetence? Why did he slaughter our parents, and still demand we be sent as tribute to please the one who bathed his hands in their blood? Why?!"
Caressing Qing Feng's twisted, hatred-contorted face, Qing Ling sighed with despair. "Because Qiongyue is the hegemon among the six kingdoms, and all must bow to him. Because our emperor, for all his titles, decrees death upon his subjects with impunity. Because we… we are merely powerless girls, unarmed and unloved."
Their fates had never been theirs to control.
Qing Feng flung Qing Ling's hand away and rose abruptly, turning her back on them, voice trembling with fury. "So what if I'm a girl? I refuse to go to Qiongyue!"
Looking at her sister's stubborn back and then at the eldest's worried face, Qing Mo murmured timidly, "Even after destroying our once-admired faces, they're still sending us to Qiongyue. Second Sister, we truly have no power to change anything… do we?"
Touching the aching scars on her cheek, Qing Feng inhaled sharply, then replied through gritted teeth, "Even if it costs me my life, I, Qing Feng, will never be anyone's pawn. Especially not that tyrant who drenched his hands in our parents' blood!"
Startled, Qing Ling cried out, "Feng'er, what are you thinking?!"
Turning back slowly, fists clenched, Qing Feng declared, "Sister, I will stay in Haoyue. I will remain by Father and Mother's side… even if what remains is but my corpse."
Almost in response, a bolt of white lightning cleaved the sky, casting Qing Feng's resolute face into stark relief. Qing Ling saw it then—the unshakable determination in her eyes.
So be it. Clasping Qing Feng's hand tightly, Qing Ling suddenly felt a strange sense of peace. She smiled faintly. "Very well. I'll stay with you. Life means nothing to me anymore."
Perhaps not thinking of tomorrow was its own kind of freedom.
Qing Mo, still crouched on the ground, leapt up and grabbed their hands. "Wherever my sisters go, I'll follow. No matter what, I won't leave you!"
Qing Ling hesitated. Her heart ached as she looked at Qing Mo's innocent face. She didn't yet understand the true meaning of death—she was only fifteen.
Meeting her little sister's pure, trusting gaze, Qing Feng's heart twisted painfully. But then she remembered the man her sister was promised to—an infamous butcher on the battlefield. A shiver ran down her spine. "Big Sister, someone as kind and pure as Mo'er would only suffer in this world alone. Let us stay together… tonight, this ruined temple shall witness our reunion."
Looking down at their intertwined hands, Qing Ling suddenly felt warmth return to her chest. As if convincing herself, she nodded firmly. "Yes… a family should be reunited."
The three looked up at the temple's rotting rafters and exchanged a knowing smile—this was the first time they had smiled since their parents' death. Because after tonight, they would never be apart again.
With swift, practiced movements, Qing Feng pulled the crimson sash from her waist, stripping off the ornate wedding robes to reveal plain, white underclothes. She flung the sash over the beam. Standing atop the broken table, the three girls slipped the fabric around their necks without hesitation.
Qing Ling looked at her sisters, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Feng'er, Mo'er… in our next life, let us be sisters again."
"Mm." Qing Feng and Qing Mo nodded firmly, hands tightly joined.
They kicked the table.
The red silk snapped taut.
Three vibrant lives quietly faded into darkness.
Meanwhile, soldiers tasked with escorting the Qing sisters to Qiongyue were resting in the temple's main hall. The rain, which had been slowing, suddenly returned with wild intensity. Thunder and lightning raged like divine wrath, threatening to tear the broken temple asunder.
A young soldier shrank back. "It's spring, and I've never seen rain like this…"
He cast a casual glance toward the side hall and froze in terror. In the flickering flashes of lightning, three shadows swayed eerily in the air, robes fluttering like specters. With a terrified scream, he stumbled and crawled to Li Xu, shrieking, "Ghosts! There are ghosts!"
"What?!" Li Xu paled. Following the soldier's gaze, he too saw the ghostly figures—and felt a cold sweat break out over his body.
The Qing sisters had hanged themselves?!
He rushed forward and kicked open the side door. Crimson garments lay scattered across the floor, three pairs of embroidered shoes swinging above. Stumbling back in horror, he barked out, "Quick—cut them down!"
Chaos ensued. Soldiers scrambled to untie the nooses and lower the girls. All three had blackened faces and closed eyes.
Li Xu crouched near Qing Mo and barked, "How is she?!"
A soldier checked for breath, swallowed hard, and whispered, "She… she's gone."
Li Xu's trembling finger pointed at Qing Feng. "And this one?"
The soldier checked, then looked away, fear paling his face. He merely shook his head.
All dead?!
Li Xu broke into a cold sweat. These girls had been handpicked by the King of Qiongyue. If they died en route, how could he survive the consequences? The Kingdom of Haoyue might not survive this!
Just as despair consumed him, another soldier cried out, "Sir! The eldest Miss Qing… she still has a pulse!"
Though faint, she was alive.
"Truly?! Thank heavens! Get her in the carriage—fetch a physician!"
One was still breathing.
The soldiers clumsily dressed Qing Ling in her wedding robes, sparing no thought for the other two lifeless bodies at their feet.
Another thunderclap split the sky. The corpses on the floor appeared colder, lonelier. A soldier, heart filled with dread and pity, gently covered them with the discarded red garments.
Just as he turned to leave, a flash of red—unlike any lightning—swept the room.
And the two bodies… stirred.