Ashes to Crown

Chapter 155: Chapter 109: The Night

He was just a child, so the people he’d met and knew were few.

He had never heard of Chu Ling or Chu Zhao before, so their names would have meant nothing to him.

But just a short while ago, that name had been seared into his heart, branded by the trauma of a life-and-death parting.

He watched her from beneath a pile of firewood in the dark, completely still.

A rustling sound came from beside him as someone stood up. ”Miss Chu?” the person asked softly.

Chu Zhao was overjoyed. She saw a figure stand up from beside the firewood and hurried forward. The lantern in her hand revealed an elderly man.

The old man’s hair was disheveled. He was fair-faced and clean-shaven, and wore a servant’s uniform that was clearly not his size.

”I’m Chu Zhao. I overheard my uncle talking to someone,” Chu Zhao said, not waiting for the old man to ask any questions. ”Is His Little Highness here?”

The old man’s expression flickered. He understood the implications of the girl’s words: *overheard* and *someone else*.

’Chu Lan told someone else!’

He looked at the girl and, without a moment’s hesitation, reached out to move the firewood aside.

”His Little Highness is here,” he said.

Chu Zhao saw him then, curled into a small ball beneath the firewood. In the flickering lamplight, the child’s large eyes were fixed on her, perfectly still.

For some reason, Chu Zhao’s eyes stung at the sight. She held out her hand.

”Come,” she said softly. ”Come with me.”

The old man started to speak, but stopped when he saw the child, who had been motionless, rise and take Chu Zhao’s hand.

Chu Zhao pulled him close and was about to pick him up.

She might have been thirteen, but she was still a child herself. Trying to carry the six-year-old was like a kitten trying to carry a mouse—

”Let me, let me,” the old man said hurriedly, quickly lifting the child into his arms.

Chu Zhao didn’t argue. She turned to lead the way out, and just as she expected, the old man followed without a single question.

The backyard was pitch-black. Chu Zhao held up her small, dim lantern to light the path. Hearing only their own quiet footsteps, they soon reached a courtyard gate.

”Miss,” Ah Le’s voice came from the side as the gate swung open.

Chu Zhao led the old man and child through. Ah Le shut the gate behind them, threw several bolts, and then jammed a wooden plank against it for good measure.

”Miss.” She finally glanced at the old man and the child, but asked no questions. Instead, she opened a bundle on the floor. ”Everything’s ready.”

Chu Zhao said to the old man: ”We need to get out. There are people watching outside. You two need to disguise yourselves.”

...

...

The sounds of crying and fighting in the night streets seemed to have subsided, but inside Chu Garden, a sudden clamor erupted.

Chu Tang, hiding in a crevice of the rockery, jumped in fright.

”What in the world are they doing?” she hissed.

The maidservant huddled beside her nodded in agreement. ”I know! What time do they think it is? It’s already dangerous enough that Miss Ah Zhao let them hide in here, and now they’re making a scene.”

Despite their words, the mistress and maid didn’t move an inch. Neither was willing to go and stop the commotion.

”What’s going on!”

The servants guarding the gate looked on in panic as an old person and a child shoved Miss Chu Zhao aside.

In the dimness, an old woman in a floral-print blouse was holding a little girl. She looked bulky and ungainly, but she was surprisingly strong, knocking both Chu Zhao and Ah Le aside.

”We have to go home! My son is still at home!” the old woman cried out, her voice muffled, tearful, and strangely distorted.

”It’s still too dangerous outside!” Chu Zhao said urgently. ”You can’t go out there!”

Ah Le said angrily, ”Miss, leave them be! If they want to get themselves killed, let them! Their shouting is going to be the death of us all.”

Hearing this, the servants at the gate grew even more panicked. ’That’s right,’ they thought, ’this commotion will bring trouble right to our doorstep—’

They took a step back, making no move to stop her, and let the old woman carrying the child unbolt the gate and run out.

Chu Zhao stomped her foot. ”It’s too dangerous! I have to go get them back.”

Then she ran out after them.

”Miss, don’t worry about them—” Ah Le tried to stop her, but ended up chasing after her as well.

The servants stood inside the gate, at a complete loss. They didn’t dare to give chase, but they didn’t quite dare to stay put either.

”Miss! Miss—” they called out in hushed tones, peering through the gate. ”Come back! Leave them be!”

The commotion was quite conspicuous in An Ye, attracting the attention of hidden eyes all around.

’What’s going on?’

”Someone ran out.”

”They’re civilians.”

”A lot of people came to Chu Garden to take shelter.”

Low voices murmured in discussion and gazes were exchanged, but the night remained still.

Chu Zhao had already caught up with the old woman holding the child. ”It’s really too dangerous outside. Wait until dawn to go home.”

”You’re worried about your son, but think how devastated he’ll be if something happens to you!” Ah Le added, complaining with exasperation.

The old woman let out a long, drawn-out wail. ”Even if I die, I want to die with my son—”

The little girl in her arms suddenly burst into tears as well.

Chu Zhao reached out to comfort them. ”Please, don’t cry, don’t cry—”

Ah Le hissed, ”Keep your voices down! Keep it down—”

The four of them, a tangled mess of pushing and pulling, made their way down the alley. They were about to exit the lane and vanish into the night—

The unmoving gazes hidden in the night suddenly stirred.

”We can’t let them.”

”Not one person, not one dog can be let out.”

...

...

’Faster.’

’But slower, too.’

Chu Zhao told herself.

The mouth of the alley was just ahead.

”Which way do we go?” Ah Le asked in a low voice.

Chu Zhao stared into the darkness ahead, where the sounds of fighting and crying were incessant.

A beast with gaping jaws lay behind them, but was the path ahead any different?

”I don’t know either,” she said in a low voice.

’Staying home meant certain death. Fleeing... maybe there’s a chance—’

They had escaped, but with nowhere to go. The hopelessness of it all was enough to make anyone doubt their decision. Yet the old woman carrying the child didn’t ask a single question, her footsteps never faltering as she followed the girl closely.

The child in her arms also stopped crying.

It was as if she could lead them into the deepest circle of hell, and they would follow her step for step.

Besides, weren’t they already in a living hell?

”Miss—”

A shout suddenly came from behind.

”Miss, come back! It’s an order from the master—”

Ah Le glanced back and saw two dark shapes emerge from the direction of the residence, solidifying into two figures that gave chase.

’They sound like worried servants, but look at them move. Servants sure can run fast.’

Ah Le clenched her fists. ’So this wasn’t enough to shake them off—’

Chu Zhao stopped in her tracks. ”You’re just in time.”

She turned to face the approaching figures, positioning herself in the middle of the path to block them from reaching the old woman.

”Quick, help me persuade them— or escort them, it’s too dangerous—”

Seeing Chu Zhao’s stance, the approaching ”servants” lowered their hands, concealing something within the folds of their clothes as they slowed their pace.

”Alright,” they said. ’It would be best if we can take them back quietly,’ they thought.

It wasn’t that they feared killing. Rather, they wanted to avoid tipping their hand, so they could kill everyone else later.

They lowered their heads, pretending to be docile servants, and walked past Chu Zhao.

But in the exact moment they passed her, two daggers slid from the girl’s sleeves. She pounced like a wildcat, striking left and right.

The two ”servants” had their throats pierced. They writhed, pulling knives from their robes, but it was too late. All they could do was turn to stare at the girl.

The blood gushing from their necks splattered all over the girl’s face and body. In An Ye, her pale face and the crimson blood flashed with an eerie light.

CLANG. The knives fell from their hands as the two men collapsed to the ground.

....

....

In the darkness, a shadow on a nearby wall stirred. He let out a silent whistle.

”Whoa,” he murmured, his small eyes wide. ”Sister Ah Zhao really is a hell of a fighter.”