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Half a lifetime of music and makeup

Author: Yi Ye Ru Lai

He always saw another woman through her gaze, so she turned and left casually, indifferent and resolute.

She carries a heavy and complex secret about her past; the imperial court wants to hunt her down, the One Leaf Alliance wants to protect her, and the underworld wants to spy on her...

Susu was, in the end, just an ordinary woman who fell into the mortal world, amidst the myriad figures and complexities, making them search and yearn for her.

But then she encountered Qingchen, who had once been a powerful and influential figure, and lived a life of hedonism; she encountered Shenjian, who was taciturn and silently bore the burden; she encountered Liusu, who was gentle and kind, and was caught in a vortex of identity and stance...

This world is complex, and perhaps it doesn't belong to her. When love spans two generations, and passion encounters chaos, what will become of everything?

Whether one ends up wielding immense power and influence, living a life of quiet contentment, or retiring to the mountains with a wife and children—that's all another story.

Now, she wanders and struggles amidst the chaos of the world, all in an effort to escape the lingering, predetermined fate.

Prologue: The Sound of the Harp and the Sheng

Anyone who has read the history of the Chu Kingdom knows of the existence of the One Leaf Alliance.

Anyone who has ever traveled the martial arts world would not doubt the power of the One Leaf Alliance.

However, the "Sage's Scroll" in the "One Leaf Notes" that has been passed down within the One Leaf Alliance contains the following record:

"In the thirty-sixth year of the Chu dynasty, there was a woman named Su. She was gentle and quiet, with an ethereal beauty like that of a fairy maiden. She remained calm amidst the chaos of the world and eventually disappeared without a trace."

What kind of place is the One Leaf Alliance? Even the imperial court is wary of it. Countless people want to see their names in the One Leaf Alliance's register, the "One Leaf Register," but they don't know how.

However, thousands of years later, someone searched through the entire "One Leaf Directory" but still could not find any record of that woman named Su.

Why would a woman whose name was not recorded in the "One Leaf Directory" appear in the "One Leaf Notes"? Although it was only a few strokes, it has become a mystery for thousands of years.

The story begins here.

A single passage can evoke a thousand thoughts; let us now recount the twists and turns of this woman's life. Dear readers, please read on...

Chapter One: Falling into a Slave's House Overnight (Part 1)

That year, Zhuang Su was seven years old.

It was already getting dark outside, but the carriage was still rumbling along. The children around had all fallen asleep, huddled together in small groups for warmth in the cold night. A few of the children who had been shouting earlier had fallen silent after being slapped hard by the men, and for a moment, only silence remained.

Zhuang Su's eyelids were starting to feel heavy, but she held them firmly, staring motionlessly at the moon through the carriage curtain.

The moon is so round and bright tonight.

Just the day before, she was holding Aunt Liu's hand, smiling as she admired the lanterns, but today she was trapped in a pitch-black cage.

Zhuang Su knew she had encountered human traffickers. That dark day, they stuffed her into a sack and brought her here.

She missed Aunt Liu's hibiscus and jasmine soup; it had a subtle, unique flavor that was very comforting. She had no memory of her mother since she could remember; Aunt Liu had always taken care of her. Now that she was gone, she wondered how worried Aunt Liu would be. Zhuang Su subconsciously tugged at the rope binding her, her brow furrowing instantly. She felt she should escape, but couldn't think of a way.

"You can't break free like this." Hearing someone speak in the dim light, Zhuang Su looked up and saw a young man looking at her with a detached expression. There were no lights around, and she could only make out his features with the faint moonlight. But from that first glance, she only felt that he was excessively pale, so pale that he seemed to lack human color.

Zhuang Su pursed her lips in dissatisfaction: "If we can't break it like this, then what do you suggest we do?"

"If you try to escape and get caught, they will break your legs."

Judging from his tone, she sensed he was mocking her. Zhuang Su gritted her teeth, suppressing the urge to spit at him: "What business is it of yours if I break my leg?" Her hands remained behind her back, relentlessly rubbing, seemingly until the skin was gradually broken, and she could slowly feel the burning pain.

At this moment, all she wanted was to leave. Whether or not her leg was broken was a matter for later.

Zhuang Su suddenly felt a warmth in his hand, and his movements stopped abruptly.

The boy had moved closer to her without her noticing, his back to her, and gripped her hand tightly. "If this continues, the rope won't break, but your hand will," he said. There was a hint of helplessness in his voice, a touch of premature maturity in his voice. But those words amplified her pain; Zhuang Su felt a burning, stinging pain in her wrist. The pain finally brought tears to her eyes.

She hasn't cried since she was arrested.

The boy, with his back to her, gently rubbed her wrist, seemingly easing her pain slightly. Zhuang Su was surprised to find that this pale-faced man actually had a pair of warm, gentle hands. She quietly hid her tears, still feeling somewhat awkward about his earlier attitude, but asked in a strange tone, "My name is Zhuang Su. What's yours?"

"Simple and concise." The boy's tone remained unchanged.

"Oh," Zhuang Su responded softly. "You seem to know quite a lot. Do you know where we're being taken?"

"I don't know. It's the same wherever I go."

"How can you be so calm?" Zhuang Su couldn't help but complain, turning to look at him. "Don't you want to leave?"

"In no mood."

"Why?" Zhuang Su asked in surprise. "Aren't you afraid your family will worry?"

“I have no family, so no one will worry about me,” Shen Jian said.

Zhuang Su felt her heart skip a beat for a moment, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. Shen Jian also didn't speak, and the surroundings fell into silence again.

Zhuang Su gritted her teeth and grabbed Shen Jian's hand in return. She felt Shen Jian's body stiffen inexplicably, as if he wanted to pull away, but she held on even tighter. Her face felt slightly hot. Her hands were much colder than Shen Jian's, and she was actually trying to warm them for him... Zhuang Su was cursing inwardly when she suddenly felt the carriage stop with a "whoosh," and a commotion broke out outside.

The noise outside woke the children in the car. They huddled together, staring at the car door with some fear, wondering what was happening outside. Zhuang Su subconsciously leaned closer to Shen Jian, feeling him frown slightly but say nothing. She couldn't help but purse her lips and secretly smile.

At this moment, very few people could actually laugh. Zhuang Su's smile quickly disappeared, and her dark eyes were fixed on the car door, keeping an eye on the movements outside.

“Sir, we are legitimate merchants, and we are in a hurry to go back and report.” Someone outside said this.

The officers and soldiers were somewhat smug: "There's nothing we can do. It's an order from above. They've been cracking down hard lately. We'll just take a quick look. Don't make things difficult for us."

They'd actually encountered government troops? The children in the carriage's eyes lit up, and some of them started shouting. The curtain was lifted, and the firelight outside shone in, turning everyone's faces red and almost blinding. Everyone stared at the official, as if grasping at a last straw.

"What is this...?" The constable's voice was drawn out in an odd tone.

"These are the children of some of our relatives in the countryside. They've never seen the world before, so we're taking them out to gain some experience." One of the men approached with a grin, secretly pulling a package from his pocket and stuffing it into the other's hand. "Sir, as you know, the higher-ups are pressing us hard, so we can only ask our relatives for some help..."

The constable took the things, grinned, and said, "Of course, of course." Then he pulled back the curtain, as if he hadn't seen anything.

The carriage was plunged into darkness again, and someone began to sob softly.

It was a feeling of falling from the sky into hell; sobbing sounds immediately filled the carriage, a sense of despair and desolation.

Zhuang Su felt a sense of loss, an emptiness, as if something was missing. But she didn't cry. When she looked up and saw Shen Jian's still calm and composed expression, she couldn't help but shrink back, hiding in the corner without saying a word.

The noise outside gradually subsided, leaving only the whisper of the wind. People moved back and forth, seemingly tidying up the remains of the looted wreckage left by the soldiers, leaving only the creaking sound of footsteps on the dry branches.

It was unusually quiet for a moment.

The carriage continued forward for a while, when suddenly the curtain was lifted and several men dragged and pulled the people out of the carriage one by one. Zhuang Su staggered a few steps after being dragged out and only then did he realize that he had entered a courtyard when he looked up and saw the words "Humble Abode".

They had barely stood still when a tall, burly man emerged from the inner hall. He carried a thick, long whip, and his expression was unmistakably fierce. He glared at the group of children and uttered a few words: "Who shouted that when the officials came just now?"

After those words were spoken, the surrounding area fell silent.

The eerie silence was somewhat chilling.

The burly man slammed his whip on the ground, making a tearing sound, and a deep welt appeared on the ground: "If no one admits it, then everyone will get a beating." His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

The children trembled, but none dared to step forward and confess. Their eyes were fixed on the whip, thicker than their wrists, filled with terror.

At the burly man's signal, several gatekeepers grabbed a few children and dragged them out, throwing them onto the open ground in the center of the courtyard. The burly man's lips curled into a sneer: "Looks like everyone needs a beating like this to learn their lesson?" With a deft flick of his wrist, he cracked the whip in mid-air with a sharp "snap," the deep, elongated scar on his face making him look quite ferocious.

"No...it wasn't me!" The child, who had been dragged out, was huddled up in a ball, sobbing uncontrollably in fear.

A single lash like that would probably take half her life. Zhuang Su bit her lip tightly, her fingers digging deep into her palms. She instinctively took a step forward, but was held back by someone. Turning around, she saw Shen Jian frowning at her.

"Are you crazy?" he said in a very soft voice, just enough for her to hear.

Zhuang Su felt a sharp pain in her palms from being dug into by Chen Jian's fingers, and her brow furrowed slightly as she secretly pulled her hand away. She wasn't crazy; only she knew she wasn't. Such a thick whip—it was better to let one person suffer it than to have everyone get a beating from it.

She felt her body trembling, and it was extremely difficult for her to walk forward.

Suddenly, someone pulled her from behind, and Zhuang Su stumbled backward. Before she could regain her balance, she saw someone step forward. "It was me who called." Hearing those words in that tone, Zhuang Su felt a distinct silence around her, and her pupils widened involuntarily.

Shen Jian stepped forward, his expression indifferent, as if it were none of his concern. The burly man stood before him, a thick whip in his hand, his eyes narrowing menacingly. The gatekeeper released the children, and the children, now free, immediately darted back into the crowd, looking visibly shaken.

Shen Jian had no reason to admit it; it wasn't him who called out. Zhuang Su felt a tightness in her chest and was about to step forward when she inadvertently noticed a gaze. Shen Jian had just glanced at her, cold, indifferent, and icy enough to make her swallow her words. She always felt that this young man's coldness emanated from his heart, so even a slight raise of his eyebrows was enough to make one's heart tremble.

After that one glance, it seemed that Shen Jian no longer paid any attention to her.

A gust of wind blew by, and suddenly there was a rustling sound. Chen Jian's back looked somewhat desolate.

"Did you shout that?" The burly man narrowed his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips, his voice still forced out through clenched teeth. The sound had barely faded when the whip, as if possessed, lashed out with a sharp "crack."

"Ah—" the children couldn't help but shout. Some of the more timid ones were already trembling with fear, and faint cries could be heard.

"If you cry again, I'll drag all of you out!" the burly man roared, and the surroundings immediately fell silent again. He turned to look at Chen Jian, who was kneeling on one knee. His leg was covered in bloodstains, which seeped through the torn cloth, making the red ground look somewhat solemn.

"You're not going to beg for mercy?" The burly man suddenly touched his scar, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

Shen Jian kept her head down, her face still pale to the point of being almost transparent, yet she remained exceptionally quiet. She neither cried nor made a fuss.

Chapter One: Falling into a Slave's House Overnight (Part Two)

This inevitably humiliated the burly man. His face darkened abruptly, and he raised his hand sharply: "Trying to be a hero, huh? I'll teach you to be! I'll teach you to be a hero! You damn brat!" Whip marks, like painted flowers, instantly spread across his plain clothes, a strange, eerie red that spread like ink. The red was exceptionally glaring, yet it spread wildly in all directions, carrying the heat of the red with it, instantly carrying a faint scent of blood.

Zhuang Su felt as if each blow was slapping her heart. If she hadn't been so impulsive, Shen Jian wouldn't have gone out in her place... She bit her lip tightly. She always managed to finish things properly before, but this time, she regretted her actions.

She felt her vocal cords trembling: "Stop..." Her voice was a little hoarse, and it seemed particularly difficult to say "Stop."

The sight of Shen Jian's back was overwhelming, a sea of red. Yet, at first glance, his back still seemed remarkably straight, giving him an air of exceptional frailty.

"Stop!" Someone rushed out of the house.

The whipping finally stopped, and Zhuang Su felt a weight lift from his heart, a sudden emptiness washing over him. The man whispered something in the burly man's ear, and the man's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at Chen Jian, then turned and went into the inner hall. The newcomer was a manager, dressed in fine, expensive clothes, his long hair tied back, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness. He waved his hand, and several gatekeepers obediently stepped aside.