JUN LAN

Yujin and Kai who were busily arguing stilled at the sound of faint rustling. Dropping their heated debate, they glanced at the petite figure in black, who was now observing them with startled eyes.

Squinting his eyes, Yujin observed the weak girl lying on the ground with interest. He was looking forward to her reactions- will she cry, scream or faint?

Her large almond eyes were observing their actions, searching for any threat. As if suddenly realising the reason behind their stares, she looked down her body and sighed in relief.

Did she think of them as molesters?, Yujin wondered, bemused.

She then traced her hands on her fair and unblemished cheeks, her eyes showing a trace of panic as she caressed her scar less face.

Large almond grey eyes, tiny nose, vermilion lips- the girl was truly a definition of beauty that could overturn the cities and bring down nations. When Yujin first saw the portrait, he wondered if there could be a girl so beautiful. But now, on seeing her in flesh, he understood what beauty is.

The portrait did no justice to the girl before him...

He truly did not want to torture and kill the beauty ah!

As much as he wanted to let go of the little girl, who could pass off as his younger sister, he could not do so. He was under the orders of his master where there was no room for defiance. As a slave, he was bound to act according to his master's wishes.

"Little girl, if you answer my questions, I will let you go." Yujin tried to coax her, totally forgetting the fact that this little beauty was the one who rendered the prince useless.

Listening to his words, a cold glint flashed in Jun Lan's eyes. Parting her parched lips, she asked "Will you really let me go if I tell you everything?"

"Yes, I promise..."

"Yujin, cease your nonsense!" Kai interrupted the fool who was ogling over the beauty, who in his eyes resembled a thorny rose.

"Did you forget that she was the one who made the prince bedridden?" he chided making Yujin widen his eyes in shock.As the realization dawned upon him, a blush graced his ears, feeling embarrassed he lowered his head while Kai regarded the former with a bone chilling gaze.

Turning towards Jun Lan who was observing the play with amusement, Kai spoke "You are not as harmless as you seem. Else, you wouldn't have been able to hurt the prince to that degree."

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the smiling girl "How did you do it? You must have some hidden card, what is it?"

All this time, Jun Lan was not paying any attention to their conversation. She was instead focused on observing Kai, to be precise, his eyes.

Yes, eyes!

Back in the trading house when he stared at her with those deep and empty eyes, her heart trembled in fear. It felt as if she was being cursed and trapped inside them. Jun Lan had felt something off with the young kid before her, who seemed to of the same age as her.

It was only now that she understood the reason behind her heart's reaction- the kid's eyes seemed lifeless without a soul. Before she had trembled under his gaze, but strangely, now she did not panic under his piercing stare.

Maybe because she was caught or may be because of the knowledge that she can't escape, Jun Lan felt her heart become peaceful.

Even if she wanted to fight against them, she can't because of her null cultivation.

Did she regret not putting her effort into cultivation earlier?

May be a little, but not to the extent of feeling remorse. Even if she cultivated like a monk devoid of any worldly pleasures, she was not a once in century genius who could achieve abnormal success in a short period of time. So, she was not feeling that bad.

The only thing that she regretted is over-estimating herself. She had been reborn, but that did not mean that she knew everything. That was her miscalculation and her present situation is a consequence of her own actions.

Own wrong move in the game of chess, you lose your life.

But, even the pawn fights for it's life.

She was a queen, so how could she surrender?

She was not the one to welcome defeat and embrace death. She would never do such thing, not without a fight.

"You want to know where my strength comes from?" Jun Lan smiled radiantly as she spoke, shocking the two men before her.

Before they could discern the hidden meaning behind the blinding smile, Jun Lan spoke in a soft voice "Secrets are called secrets for a reason."

Her strength was her spirit beast, the nine tailed fox, Fluffy.

Wanting to lay their hands on her Fluffy?!

Hah!

Dream on!

Her answer made Kai's face darken and even the embarrassed Yujin now had a stoic look on his face.

"You are playing with fire." Yujin frowned.

"I am not afraid of getting burnt." she calmly replied.

Is she foolish or that confident of herself?

It must be the former, thought Yujin.

"Is that so?" Kai chuckled, his laugh sending an ominous shiver down Yujin's spine. Jun Lan still had a nonchalant look on her face- a look which anyone would mistake for surrender, though her proud eyes said otherwise.

"Let's see if you can still smile after this!" Kai mumbled, the threat in his voice not gone unnoticed by Yujin.

"Kai, don't act reckless. We still need her alive!" Yujin exclaimed hastily.

"I don't find the need to." As soon as he finished speaking, Kai disappeared from his position in an instant, only to stand before Jun Lan.

Lowering his head, he stared at the unruffled girl. Lifting his hand, he warned "This is your last chance. Speak or Die!"

"Why should I answer you?" Jun Lan scoffed, raising her stubborn head, she taunted "I would never answer Wang Xiu's men. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will be the same!"

Kai was a merciless person to begin with and the mocking look in her eyes, truly made his last thread of patience snap. He was not like Yujin, who pities the weaker sex, and, women were not weak in his eyes. In his eyes, they were the epitome of all sins in the world. So, he did not feel even an ounce of pity for Jun Lan.

"Fine!"

As soon as his words ended, Jun Lan felt a searing pain near her heart.

She felt something ripping her chest apart, the pain clouding her mind and blurring her eyes.

Blinking her eyes, she lowered her head to find Kai's hand pierce through her body, just above her heart.

"Now do you mind telling the truth?" Kai said, and as he spoke, he withdrew his hand from her body in an agonizingly slow pace making Jun Lan's face contort in discomfort.

He could tell that she was in pain, her labored breaths and the deep frown on her face being the testament of his thoughts. This time Kai was sure that the girl would surrender and spill the truth.

Jun Lan didn't pay attention to his words, her eyes were trained on her wound or to be precise, on the hole in her body.

Blood oozed from her chest, staining her clothes. If only her clothes were in a pristine white instead of Black, Jun Lan was sure that the stain would paint a garish image.

She could feel the stinging in her upper body spread down to every nook and corner of her body, turning her body into a mush. Soon, a metallic taste rushed from her throat to her mouth.

Cough!

Blood tricked down her chin, tracing a byzantine path towards her throat.

Jun Lan brought a hand to her mouth to wipe away the blood, while her other hand covered the large wound on her chest, trying to stop the unceasing flow of her blood with her slender fingers.

The wound was painful, bone-wrenching to be exact.

But, it was nothing compared to the pain when her limbs were chopped off and it was nothing before the pain in her heart when she witnessed her brother being decapitated.

Did they think that this tiny prickle of pain will make her speak?

If so, they are wrong!

"Heh!" Jun Lan chuckled, her faint voice going almost inaudible. Kai who was near to her, clearly heard her low-toned voice and for some reason, it made him uncomfortable.

"I don't have any secrets inside me." Staring straight into Kai's soulless eyes, Jun Lan declared.

"If you do not believe me, you can do as you please." she continued with a faint smile on her face.

It was a smile which meant 'Kill me if you dare!'

Yes, he purposefully missed her heart as he was ordered not to kill her without extracting her secrets. Her smile clearly told him that she saw through his plans.

She knew that he would not kill her, and, the frightening thing is that she was not afraid of the pain, the only weakness of the humans.

She did not care about her body!

A person who ruthlessly murders others is not considered scary. It is the person who is ruthless to himself, is the scariest and one that everyone should be wary of.

As he stared at her smile which was directed at him, Kai felt restless for the first time in his life.

It was not a comforting smile, rather it was a smile which would haunt him for the rest of his life, and Kai was sure of that.