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The Blade and The Brush.

Emarleetah
14
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The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 14 chs / week.
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Synopsis
After dying with countless sins on her soul, Ruan Yue thought she'd finally pay for her blood-soaked past. But when she first opened her eyes again she was in a cage, and the second time she found herself in a quiet, mountain village. in a totally different world than the one she knew, she was bounded to be sold. Pei Lin, a gentle scholar out of his kindness, or say fate emptied his savings to save her and took her home. Pei Lin to her was a man with grace, a kind man who would give his all for everyone. She was the dark stain in his pure scholar life, while he was the bleach slowly cleaning her of her bloody past. [Time Travel + Pocket Dimension + Strong Female Lead + Happy Ending]
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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

"Buy brushes here! New books, quality papers are here!"

The man's shouts, accompanied by the shouts of many other merchants, echoed through the street. People in the marketplace flocked around in groups, making the area bustling with excitement.

At the far end of the corner, there was arge crowd looking like they were spectating for something. There was a man beating the gong, an Instructor from the magistrate's office. He was shouting at the top of lungs, almost afraid people wont hear him, "New goods have arrived," that meant that someone was being sold.

The crowd peered beside him and, sure enough, saw a large cage with a woman inside. The woman was dressed in thin, tattered clothes covered in blood stains. Her head hung low, long hair tangled and disheveled, hiding her face. Her hands were tied up and bound to opposite sides of the cage. She remained motionless, appearing lifeless.

"Anyone want to buy? Ten silver taels!" The magistrate's Instructor called out loudly, seeing the crowd gather.

"Ten taels? Are you robbing us? Why so expensive?" someone in the crowd grumbled, drawing murmurs of agreement. In this Small Town, five silver taels was enough to support an average family for a year.

Who would dare buy a slave for such an enormous amount of money, it wasn't like they were those noble families with money to squander. Even a wife's dowry didn't cost that much.

The magistrate's Instructor didn't like hearing this and immediately retorted, "This is a young girl, innocent and no more than sixteen years. Ten silver taels is just right!"

"Young girls aren't rare. They're everywhere. How can she be worth ten silver taels? Unless she's as beautiful as a celestial maiden," the earlier critic spoke up again.

Someone who had been staring intently at the cage noticed the woman hadn't moved at all and shouted, "This Instructor, why isn't this girl moving? She's not dead, is she?"

Another person quickly chimed in, "Oh my, she looks like she's been badly beaten up. What if she really is dead? Instructor, you're trying to sell us a corpse for ten silver taels? That's not right at all!"

"Nonsense!" The Instructor's eyes bulged at these words, making the troublemakers shrink back.

"I, Luo Qiang, never do such despicable things. Watch closely."

With that, the Instructor picked up a wooden stick from the ground, walked to the cage, and poked the woman inside. The woman's body moved slightly, but her head remained drooped.

"No response. Could she really be dead?" The crowd started to buzz with chatter.

Hearing the discussions, the magistrate's Instructor grew anxious. If the woman was dead, wouldn't he suffer a huge loss? He had bought her medicine which cost him a great deal amount of money. Gritting his teeth, he jabbed the stick hard at a wound on the woman's shoulder. Finally, she regained consciousness from the pain, slowly lifting her head.

"See? She's alive. Stop the nonsense," the Instructor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As the woman raised her head, revealing her face, the crowd gasped in shock. Both of her cheeks bore dark red slave mark scars the size of a palm, looking as if they had been branded with a hot iron. The wounds hadn't fully scabbed over, with dried blood mixing with fresh blood, the flesh raw and exposed, it was a truly horrifying sight.

"Her face is mangled, and you still dare to ask for ten silver taels?" someone shouted after seeing the woman's face.

The Instructor felt a bit uneasy. He knew the woman wasn't worth that much, so he changed his offer, "Alright, five silver taels. Who wants to buy her for five silver taels?"

No one responded. An experienced older man who had been observing for a while spoke up, "I reckon there's something wrong with this girl's hands and feet too."

Following his words, the crowd looked closer and indeed noticed something odd about the woman's limbs. They turned to the Instructor, their gazes clearly demanding for an explanation.

Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, The Instructor admitted, "Her hands and feet have indeed been broken, but they might heal with some care and good medicine."

The crowd just laughed, "Haha... Who would spend five silver taels on a woman with a ruined face and broken limbs?"

No one noticed that the caged woman had raised her head, her eyes scanning the surroundings as warily as a wolf's.

Where was this place?

Hadn't she died?

Why did everyone's clothing look so strange?

Questions kept arising in her mind.

However, right now, the most important thing was that she realized, she was actually in the market and the product was actually herself. She was being sold as merchandise. She was injured, every part of her body aching. She hadn't eaten in a long time, her throat was parched, and she had no strength left in her body. Even her consciousness was hazy. How could she escape?

Seeing that no one was buying, Qiang the Instructor lowered the price again, "Three silver taels, just three silver taels. This woman looks like she can bear sons. Buy her, and you'll have two children in three years, guaranteed."

He couldn't go any lower; if he did, he wouldn't be able to repay his gambling debts. The Instructor looked at the crowd expectantly, hoping for some desperate bachelor to buy her.

"Oh my, this Instructor, looks like you're bound to lose money this time!"

"Hehe, I want to see which fool would buy this half-dead woman."

"I think she's about to die. This Instructor, why don't you come buy a straw mat from me? When she dies, you can wrap her up and bury her. It'll save you trouble!"

As the mocking comments kept coming, the Instructor's face darkened with anger.

At this moment, the woman in the cage began to struggle, moving her wrists as if trying to break free from her bindings.

Since she wasn't dead, she had to fight with all her might to survive!

The Instructor, already in a foul mood, saw her moving and felt his anger surge. He took the stick and deliberately jabbed at her wounds, "What are you squirming for? You money-losing wretch, stay still!"

Blood seeped from the wound, and a wave of pain washed over her. She felt dizzy and lightheaded. Based on her past experiences, it was probably due to an infected wound, coupled with low blood sugar from not eating.

What could she do? Having cheated and escaped death, was she going to perish in this strange place?

"This Instructor, stop hitting her. I'll buy her."

A clear, pleasant male voice came from the crowd. Everyone turned to see who the fool was.

Hearing that someone wanted to buy, the Instructor immediately put down the stick and turned around. A young man with refined features stepped out from the crowd.

Some recognized him as Pei Lin, the scholar who sold calligraphy and paintings by the bridge.

Pei Lin took out the only silver from his pocket, exactly three taels that he has saved up so tirelessly, "This Instructor, I'll buy her."

A woman's voice called out from behind, "Oh dear, Lan, don't waste your money on that dying thing!"

Pei Lin turned around to see it was Aunt Su, who often tasked him to write and deliver at governments office letters for her.

Aunt Su tried to persuade him earnestly, "Lin, you're such a fine young man. It would be easy for you to find a wife. Why buy a woman with a ruined face and broken limbs?for all we know she might die in no time"

Seeing this the Instructor was anxious to get rid of this hot potato. So seeing Aunt Su potentially ruining his deal, he strode over in two quick steps, snatched the silver into his palm, and warned the old woman sternly, "Old woman, mind your own business!"

He then turned to Pei Lin with a beaming smile, "Young master, this woman is yours now."

The Instructor opened the cage, untied the woman's hands, and dragged her out.

The young woman's body went limp, and as she was about to collapse to the ground. Pei Lin quickly stepped forward to catch her, supporting her body with his and letting her lean against him for support.

"Miss, can you hear me?" Pei Lin asked softly.

The person in his arms looked up at him. Her piercing eyes were like arrows, sending a chill down Pei Lin's spine. However, in the next moment, she fainted and lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Aunt Su shook her head and sighed, "Oh my, you've really wasted those silver taels on nothing."

Pei Lin smiled good-naturedly but didn't respond.