Yue Zilan crouched beside the unconscious bodies, her gaze calm and calculating. She rifled through their clothing with practiced efficiency, pulling out two crude blades, a few worn trinkets, and—when she reached into a hidden pocket—five taels of silver.
"Only this much? …These poor shits." She sighed, tucking the coins into her pouch.
With swift hands, she bound both men tightly in rope, their arms wrenched behind their backs. From her pouch, she took a small vial and pried open their mouths one by one, forcing a few drops of her anaesthetic liquid down their throats. The bitter taste made them twitch even in their sleep.
A long, quiet sigh escaped her lips. The night's hunt had gone differently than planned, but there was no rush. She leaned back against the cave wall, eyes drifting shut, and let sleep take her.
—
The muffled sound of frantic grunts pulled her from her dreams at dawn. Her lashes lifted slowly, but instead of grogginess, a sharp irritation stirred in her chest. The sound persisted—a pitiful, gagged noise coming from the corner.
That irritation deepened… and transformed into a cold, suffocating killing intent that spread through the cave like frost.
The two men froze. Even with their mouths gagged, they immediately stopped struggling. Their wide eyes locked onto her as she rose to her feet, her silhouette outlined by the dim morning light at the cave's entrance.
Her gaze was icy, unblinking. Then, like frost melting in the sun, that coldness softened. Her lips curved upward into a warm, almost adorable smile.
"Uncles… you're awake," she said sweetly.
The way her voice lilted sent an instinctive shiver down their spines. She stepped closer, her every movement unhurried.
From her sleeve, she drew a dagger—its edge glinting faintly—and began wiping the blade clean with a cloth. She lowered herself to sit right in front of them, close enough for the scarred man to see his own reflection in the steel.
The muffled noises started again, faster this time, panic dripping from every sound.
Zilan tilted her head, the dagger's tip now brushing near the scarred man's eye. "My good uncles… Why are you crackling like little birds in the early morning?" Her voice was light, conversational—almost kind.
She tapped the flat of the blade against his cheek. "No, no, uncles… what would happen if I dug one eye out of each of you?"
A thin layer of cold sweat rolled down their foreheads. In that instant, both men understood—the thing in front of them wasn't just a girl. It was a smiling devil, and they had been stupid enough to provoke her.
Zilan sighed lightly, as though disappointed in herself. "That would be too cruel, wouldn't it? I am, after all, a merciful person."
Her words barely finished before her wrist flicked—clean, fast. A spray of warmth hit the air as one of the scarred man's ears fell to the ground. His muffled scream echoed in the cave.
Before the tall man could even blink, the blade slashed again, severing one of his ears in a mirrored cut.
"I'm fair," she said cheerfully. "One ear for each. Okay? Okay."
The cave filled with their choked cries, their bodies trembling violently against the ropes.
"Shh… shh… uncles, stop making noise. You're scaring me," she whispered, her tone laced with mockery.
Once more, the dagger rose slowly into the air. The two men went utterly still, their gazes locking on each other.
In that silent exchange, the same thought burned in both their minds.
This wasn't a treasure chest they had stumbled upon.
It was a death trap.
—
The dagger's sharp tip slid under one of the scarred man's fingernails, pressing just enough to send a jolt of pain through him. Zilan didn't push further—only let the cold steel rest there, a quiet promise of worse to come.
Her other hand reached forward, fingers deftly untying the gag cloth from their mouths. She leaned in, her smile still soft, almost innocent.
"Uncles… where are you from?" she asked in a honeyed tone. "Introduce yourselves to me."
The tall man swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "I… my name is Lu Hong," he stammered. His eyes flickered toward his partner. "And… he's Wang Shun."
Scar-face avoided her gaze, jaw tight.
"And?" Zilan prompted gently, the blade still resting under his fingernail.
Wang Shun's lips twitched. "…We're from one of the bandit groups in the mountains. The Black Fang gang."
Her smile didn't waver. "And what brings the mighty Black Fang to my little cave?"
Lu Hong hesitated, but the dagger tilted ever so slightly, and his words tumbled out. "We were… scouting. Looking for villages… for our next raid."
Zilan's smile brightened, but her eyes turned colder than the morning frost. "Ah… so you came hunting." She tilted her head. "How unfortunate… that you became the prey."