"Kick it aside — I want the body gone!"
"Easy. Don’t smudge the hem." A silk skirt scraped the leaf litter.
"Perfect," Ruan Jiaojiao said, voice small and sharp. "No pendant, no witnesses. The general will never miss one useless child."
"She squealed too much," one of the other girls said. "Good riddance."
"Good riddance," another echoed, and they laughed.
The little body lay half under a fern, mud and blood clinging to a torn robe. Someone had lashed the skin in a pattern that read cruelty at a glance. A dagger nicked the cheek. A smear of dark lacquer stained the throat where something had been forced down. A single glove touched the face, fingers tapping like a bored inspector.
"Make sure she is dead," Ruan ordered, voice acid-sweet. "If there's trouble, tell the chancellor we did what duty required."
"Done." One guard lifted a boot. "Shall I bury her deeper, miss?"
"No need. Wolves, snakes, the ground — enough," Ruan said. "This clearing swallows problems. Leave."
They turned away, voices thin with practiced calm. The forest closed behind them. The clearing smelled of wet earth and horse sweat.
"Wait." A small sound, half a whimper, tried to split the air.
"Quiet now," Ruan said without looking back. She walked faster. "Don't—"
The body hissed. The noise sharpened into breath. A tiny hand bunched the robe, eyes opening with a single, too-bright glare.
"Good," Ruan said, and her smile was a blade.
The world slanted. Pain
