The Fuel of Hate

“Stop! Damn witch!”

“Break her legs! See how she can run!”

A skinny figure suddenly stumbled out of the alley, falling heavily into the cold, muddy water.

Mud splattered across her face, but she paid no mind to wipe away the grime, shakily rising to her feet, intent on continuing her escape.

She cried out, collapsing to the ground once more.

As the pursuers behind her drew ever closer, her vivid red eyes filled with terror.

Mingqian observed the young girl; her lips and body trembled with fear, her panicked gaze darted around, finally meeting Mingqian’s, who stood a moderate distance away.

Her body first uncontrollably shivered, then she began to inch towards the shadows at her side.

Caught between a wolf in front and a tiger behind—such was the girl’s current predicament.

He looked at the sparsely clothed girl. Though autumn had only just begun, the weather was already piercingly cold.

The girl’s tattered clothes consisted of ragged sleeves for her upper body, while her lower half was covered by a dirty scrap of cloth.

It could hardly be called clothing at all.

Her hair was dusty and dull, faintly revealing a hint of what was once proud golden strands, and her body was covered in wounds too gruesome to behold.

Those blood-red eyes stared directly at him, a pair of irises whose brilliance no amount of grime could ever completely obscure.

She wanted to live.

He looked at the girl, who tightly clutched a dagger hidden within her sleeve.

However, that toy-like object would likely serve only to comfort herself.

Mingqian remained silent, simply moving closer to her. The girl’s hands trembled, and her terrified eyes fixated on him.

Her emaciated body, covered in shocking wounds, came into his view.

He sighed softly, then raised his hand.

“Eek!”

The girl, however, squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to shield her body with her arms.

‘What a pitiful child.’

[Women who can use magic are feared by the Empire.]

[Such individuals are called witches.]

[The world curses witches, persecutes them, and even incited witch trials.]

[You discover that the girl before you is a witch.]

[And you suddenly recall that not long ago, you personally judged a woman who had lost her self-will due to excessive use of magic.]

The girl had clearly fled all the way here, her trembling body betraying her profound fear.

Left unattended, she would likely die very soon.

A guttural roar tore from her throat:

“Get lost!!”

Her voice was hoarse and broken, filled with astonishing hatred, her blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at Mingqian.

“Don’t even think about dragging me back!!!”

Believing herself to be beyond escape, she pressed something hidden in her embrace against her neck.

It was then that Mingqian realized what she thought was a dagger was merely a beast’s tooth.

She didn’t even possess a proper self-defense weapon.

Mingqian halted his steps. He could even sense the sudden tension in someone’s nerves behind him. Yet, he raised his hand, signaling for calm.

At that moment, the pursuers behind them were already closing in with sneering grins.

“Oh, found a helper, have we?”

“Too bad he’s just a pretty face! Take them both down!”

Mingqian didn’t even turn his head, merely making a subtle gesture. The shadow-like figure behind him moved instantly. After a few thuds and screams, the pursuers fell to the ground like broken rag dolls.

Her blood-red pupils sharply contracted, watching the scene before her in disbelief.

The ambush she had expected never materialized.

‘That man… his subordinate… killed the pursuers? Why? An internal conflict? A gang fight? A more cruel form of torment?’ Countless malicious conjectures instantly flooded her chaotic mind.

“You… what do you want? Don’t think for a second I’ll trust you!”

The girl curled into herself, but the hand clutching her makeshift weapon did not loosen.

She knew these men captured her solely to covet her body, but she was still young; they preferred older women.

Mingqian remained silent.

He slowly, exceedingly slowly, knelt down, his gaze calmly meeting her eyes, which were brimming with hatred.

He did not attempt to approach, nor did he offer any explanation.

His gaze fell upon her bleeding neck and twisted leg, then returned to her eyes.

Mingqian finally spoke, his voice steady and utterly devoid of ripple, yet it struck her confused heart like a hammer:

“Hate is a potent fuel for survival.”

He himself harbored resentment, a desire to grow stronger, to break free from Feng Wanting’s control, to reclaim the girlfriend who loved him.

But he hadn’t yet achieved it. In this girl, he saw a hatred even purer than his own.

He paused, his gaze sharp and piercing.

“If you die here, your hate will become nothing but a joke, and your blood will be worth less than the mud on this ground.”

The girl bit her lip, a myriad of thoughts flashing through her mind.

The broken bone she had desperately pressed against her neck finally slipped from her grasp, her hand falling limp. Her entire body seemed to have lost all its bones, collapsing softly into the mud.

Covered in grime, she looked up at Mingqian, who was observing her from above.

‘He surely won’t help me up,’ she thought, ‘after all, I’m so filthy.’

A series of broken whimpers and sobs emerged.

She no longer looked at Mingqian, her voice filled with tearing pain and unwilling defiance:

“…I don’t… want to die like that… I can’t… let them laugh… Save me… please… I must… live… I want, revenge!”

Each word was like blood and tears squeezed from the depths of her soul. She cried, as if to release all the suffering of these past days.

Mingqian watched her complete breakdown, silent for a moment.

He had personally killed the girl’s mother; at the very least, he should atone himself.

He stepped forward, carefully avoiding her wounds, wrapped her in his coat, and then lifted her into his arms.

The girl felt a wave of warmth, though she couldn’t yet comprehend what it was.

She simply felt a dazzling aura from this man; he had picked her up, disregarding her body, unwashed for months, covered in scars and filth.

Her mind merely thought she was dreaming, and that upon waking, everything would revert to its former state.

She didn’t struggle, nor did she react much. She simply instinctively buried her face into his coat, which carried his cool, crisp scent, her body trembling subtly.

It was as if she had finally found a corner where she could temporarily shut out the world and collapse completely.

“Mommy…”

A tear traced down her eye.

“I’m sorry, Mommy…”

“I will… avenge you.”

Clutching this last hope, she cried out to him:

“Please save me… please save me.”

“Your request, I accept.”

Even in this lightless world, he could still do some things he wished to do.

In this dark world, devoid of even a sliver of light, Mingqian extended his hand to a girl covered in grime.