Chapter 117: The price of silence

TW⚠️#SA

Night settled heavily over the caravan, the last fire of the firelight dimming into embers as the traders’ laughter faded into scattered murmurs. Eventually there was silence.

Inside the covered wagon, the air was warm and close, carrying the faint of the dinner they had. The space was narrow, lined with folded blankets where the woman lay resting side by side.

Ru Yi laid among them, her eyes open despite the stillness around her. None of the women had spoken to her despite her several attempts at conversation. It was almost certain she wasn’t going to get any real information from them.

She turned again, facing the room of the wagon. She’d rather be sleeping in Yexue’s arms, but sacrifices had to be made.

Sleep refused to come as her mind raced.

Her thoughts lingered too long on everything that had happened—the strange tension between the traders that she had picked up, the unsettling quiet of the veiled women, and the distant mountain that seemed to watch them even from afar.

Beneath it all was that whisper that seemed to go everywhere with her.

We’re waiting.

What could possibly be waiting for her at Ashen Fortress? She didn’t even know the place, and had never been there. But that dark slippery voice had been certain, floating through her consciousness.

Maybe Amberfall would have the answers to her questions. There had to be someone well versed in magic that could tell her what was wrong.

Beside her, the women breathed softly, their breathing slow and measured, almost unnaturally uneven.

It was the kind of rest that did not fully surrender, as if they had long ago learned how to sleep without letting their guard down. Ru Yi tried to follow that rhythm, closing her eyes and forcing her body to relax.

At first, she thought the shift she felt was nothing more than the wagon settling under its own weight. A faint creak of wood. The rustle of fabric. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then she felt it again.

A hand.

It was light at first, tentative, as if testing whether she would react.

Ru Yi’s eyes opened immediately but she did not move. She kept her breathing steady, her body still, as though she remained asleep.

The darkness inside the wagon made it difficult to see clearly, but she could make out a figure crouched near her. The others had not stirred, they remained as they were.

The hand moved again, slower this time. More certain.

Ru Yi’s body tensed instinctively, but she forced herself not to react. Her first impulse was to pull away, her second was to call out for help—but both died before she could form any actual word.

Panic shot through her, so much that it made her thoughts freeze. Her fingers tightened into the blanket.

The touch grew rougher, no longer cautious.

In that moment she could feel the callousness of their palm as it spread through her shoulder, digging into neck. Repulse coiled around her spine as she bit down on her bottom lip.

If she made a sound, if she resisted, Yexue would come without hesitation. Lieyin would not hold back. Qingyue would try to contain it, but by then it would already be too late.

They were outnumbered, surrounded by armed men who already tested boundaries too easily. If only she could bear it...

The fabric at her shoulder shifted sharply, the sound of her robe tearing followed shortly after.

Ru Yi’s vision blurred as tears gathered despite her attempt to remain composed. The tears slipped silently down her temples and into her hair as she stared into the darkness, unmoving.

The women beside her did not stir. Not one of them moved to intervene or even acknowledge what was happening.

It felt familiar, practiced...and worst of all, accepted. That realization hurt more than anything else. Was this what the women constantly went through at the hands of these men?

The pressure against her grew heavier, a large hand covering her bare chest and squeezing painfully.

Ru Yi had never felt so helpless like she did at that moment. Bear it...bear it...it’ll be over soon. But how could she?

A sob slipped past her lips at the same time a sudden violent sound tore through the wagon. There was a wet slicing noise, followed instantly by a scream that shattered the night.

The weight on her vanished, the dark figure jerking violently away.

Ru Yi watched him stumble backward. Something struck the wooden floor with a sickening, solid thud.

She turned her head.

Even in the dim light, she saw it clearly.

A severed hand laid on the floor of the wagon, blood already spreading beneath it. The man’s scream turned ragged and desperate as he staggered out of the wagon clutching his ruined arm.

His voice tore through the camp, drawing shouts and movement from outside as chaos erupted.

Ru Yi remained frozen where she laid, her breath shallow and eyes fixed on the blood pooling across the wood.

The world outside the wagon erupted into noise, but inside every felt distant and muted, as though she’d been pulled out of it.

A shadow fell across the entrance. Someone stood there. Still and silent.

Ru Yi’s gaze lifted slowly toward the figure, her heart beginning to pound again—not with fear this time.

Lieyin’s chest heaved as she stood there, eyes taking in the ruin in front of her. Her eyes were a bloody red at the edges.

The women were awake now, huddled in one corner of the wagon. They didn’t dare make a sound.

"Why?" Lieyin asked, her voice broken like she might break into a sob. "Why did you lie there and take it?"

Ru Yi blinked severally, unable to form a response.

"Why didn’t you call out to us? Why didn’t you shout? Why didn’t you communicate through our bond? Why—" she broke off, angry tears spilling out from the corner of her eyes.

Ru Yi had never seen Lieyin look so angry and wounded.

"What if I hadn’t gotten here on time? Huh! What if that filthy man—" she broke off again, but not from all the pent up anger and frustration coursing through her veins.

"Lieyin..." Ru Yi finally spoke, her voice breaking. "I’m sorry."

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" Lieyin asked, "it was not your fault."

Ru Yi couldn’t stop the tears now. It felt like the sword had sliced through her emotions too. "I’m sorry."

That was Lieyin’s breaking point. She threw the sword in her hand down and pulled Ru Yi to her chest.

"You did nothing wrong," she whispered into Ru Yi’s hair. "You did nothing wrong," she said over and over again.

Then—

"I’m sorry."