The sky gradually darkened, and unexpectedly, it started to rain.
The wind at the bottom of the cliff was fierce, and the rain, swept up by the cold gusts, made one shiver uncontrollably.
Cui Yunchu felt pain all over her body and a bone-piercing cold.
Dark clouds obscured the moon. Cui Yunchu struggled to open her eyelids, her vision a blurry grey.
She froze for a moment, then, ignoring the pain, actually broke into a wide grin.
She wasn't dead.
Her smile was so wide it almost reached her ears, looking eerily terrifying in the dead silence of the cliff bottom.
"I'm not dead, heh heh... heh..." She couldn't get the last laugh out; the pain was just too intense.
She shifted slightly, causing a rustling sound as her body sank lower. A large flock of birds suddenly took flight, letting out ear-piercing caws.
Only then did she realize that she had actually landed in a tree.
She cautiously poked her head out to look down, but immediately shrank back in fright.
It was still a bottomless abyss.
Cui Yunchu muttered softly, "Thanks to the protection of all the gods and Buddhas of Anshan Temple. When I get out of here, I will definitely donate a lot of incense money."
"Ah—" Cui Yunchu then remembered the poor soul she had dragged off the cliff with her.
She didn't dare to move, only turning her head left and right, calling out softly, "Shen Xiabai, Shen Xiabai, are you there?"
No one answered.
Cui Yunchu said, "I'll only call you three more times."
In this desolate wilderness, what if there were wolves?
Directly in front of Cui Yunchu was a steep rock face. She was timid, terrified that something might suddenly jump out from it.
She was as good as her word and did indeed call out three more times, but her voice was as faint as a mosquito's, not even as loud as the chirping of insects.
"He's probably a goner," Cui Yunchu muttered to herself.
"I didn't do it on purpose, so don't blame me. If you must blame someone, blame your own bad luck. Even though you and I, Cui Yunchu, have a grudge, I'm not the kind of despicable person who would launch a sneak attack."
The breeze, mixed with rain, beat against Cui Yunchu, making her shiver again from the cold as the fear in her heart steadily climbed.
"Even if you're dead, don't come looking for me. I don't owe you anything. At most, we're even. But an eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind. Just be a good ghost and go reincarnate. I'll burn lots of paper money for you, and even light an everlasting lamp for you."
The chirping of insects and her own muttering echoed in Cui Yunchu's ears. She hugged the tree trunk tightly, her small face pale.
It was as if she had returned to her youth, to the day her concubine mother passed away.
"Yunchu is not afraid, I'll just talk to myself."
"Mother, if your spirit is really here, you must protect me. Don't let Shen Xiabai harm me. Do it for your title of nobility, for the gold and jewels."
"Cui... Yunchu, you're... shame... less." A voice, as faint as a mosquito and lacking strength, echoed off the bottom of the cliff, giving it a rather drawn-out, eerie tone.
"Ah... ah ah ah..."
Cui Yunchu burst into loud sobs, her heart-wrenching wails echoing throughout the entire cliff bottom.
She clung to the tree trunk for dear life, almost pitching headfirst down from it.
"Are you a human or a ghost?"
"I'm telling you, if you're a ghost, you'd better leave quickly. My concubine mother has been dead for over ten years; she's an old ghost. A newly dead ghost like you definitely can't beat her."
The wind blew through the leaves, rustling them. Shadows shifted, and on the rock face ahead, a tall, slender figure swayed unsteadily, only to collapse headfirst again after Cui Yunchu finished speaking.
"..."
Cui Yunchu swallowed hard, her body shrinking back.
She stared fixedly at that shadow.
Time ticked by second by second. During this time, countless strange noises scared Cui Yunchu so much her heart trembled.
As the first light of dawn broke through the sky, Cui Yunchu's eyelids grew increasingly heavy until she slowly closed them and fell into a deep sleep.
Only, worried that she might sleep too deeply and fall, she untied her sash and tied her wrist securely to the tree trunk.
Her body ached terribly, so much so that she felt somewhat numb.
"Grandmother and Yunfeng are still waiting for me. I definitely, definitely can make it back alive."
"I definitely can." She slowly closed her eyes. "Concubine mother, you must absolutely protect me."
The scorching sun was high in the sky, somewhat glaring. Cui Yunchu was starving. She reached out to grab a sweet date from the table, but a hand suddenly reached out and slapped the back of her hand hard.
The small hand immediately turned red.
The little Cui Yunchu felt wronged but didn't dare to cry. She looked up and stammered, "Concubine mother."
"That thing is more expensive than gold. Is it for eating? It's for display."
Cui Yunchu didn't understand why food couldn't be eaten but was meant to be looked at.
Concubine Zhou wore an angry expression. "Didn't you see the disdainful looks those people in the manor gave me?"
"I just have to show them that I, Zhou Mei'er, am no worse than those noble ladies."
Acting was what she was best at.
Little Cui Yunchu would often curl up on a small stool, watching her concubine mother pace back and forth in the room,
practicing her posture, her steps, the elegance of holding tea, and reciting stiff, clumsy tongue-twisting poems.
Occasionally, when mocked by the servants for being a poor imitation, she would fly into a great rage.
She couldn't understand why, even though she had become someone of higher status, she still couldn't escape the judgment of others and her lowly origins.
Later, she suddenly stopped fussing and began asking daily, "Has the Master returned?"
Cui Yunchu couldn't remember how many times she had asked before she suddenly shifted her target again.
She hugged her, gritting her teeth as she said, "Yunchu, don't think that just because those servants call you 'Miss', they truly respect you and treat you as their master. In their hearts, they completely look down on the two of us."
"Including your heartless father. You must never forget the eye-rolls and the cold treatment we've suffered. Your mother only has so much capability in this life. You must make something of yourself in the future and marry into a prestigious family."
"Show those snobbish little beasts. If you can earn a noble title for your mother, then my life will truly be vindicated, and I will be able to stand tall and proud in front of others."
"Yunchu, Mother will teach you all my skills."
"Yunchu," before she passed away, she lay emaciated on the bed, her eyes filled with unwillingness. "Whether Mother can escape the lowly status of a prostitute depends entirely on you."
As she breathed her last, she was still resentful, "Why is my fate so bitter?"
She had wandered destitute her whole life, thinking she had finally found a place to settle, only to find it harder to endure than the brothel.
At least in the brothel, they were all people of the same path, able to lean on and warm each other.
Little did she know that the den of wealth and honor she once yearned for was actually the coldest place of all.
When Cui Yunchu woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Her first reaction was to look at the rock face opposite her, which she could now see clearly.
Shen Xiabai's body lay on the ground, motionless, his fate unknown.
"Not a ghost." Cui Yunchu breathed a sigh of relief and slowly untied the sash bound to her wrist.
"But I dreamed of a ghost." Her concubine mother was, to her, no different from an evil spirit.
She shook her numb arm, and once it felt a bit better, she haphazardly wiped her face, the pain making her gasp in cold air.
Was her proud face going to be disfigured?
"Shen Xiabai, Shen Xiabai," she called out a few times, but there was no movement.
Although the rain had stopped, the sky was still full of gloom. The cold wind blew continuously, making Cui Yunchu shiver, chilled to the bone.
Her head throbbed slightly, and her body felt weak.
Cui Yunchu was very familiar with this feeling.
She had a fever.
She had no idea when the Cui family would come looking for her, or if they would simply assume she was dead and abandon the search altogether.
Cui Yunchu feared that, having survived the fall, she might end up dying of illness in this desolate place.
She looked around. There was nothing here but branches, leaves, and bare rocks. Finally, her gaze landed on the outer robe Shen Xiabai was wearing.
Warmth. Yes, as long as she could stay warm, her fever wouldn't worsen, and she might just be able to hold on a little longer.
Gripping the tree trunk with both hands, she braced herself and inched forward bit by bit, slowly crawling toward the rock wall on the opposite side.
