3 Chapter 03. Qin Kingdom

"Too bad, I don't believe any promises, Miss," said the man smiling.

"As long as a person is still alive, during that time she can break her promise," he added.

Ara groaned at the man's words. "You not only broke the agreement but also treated me like this. IS THIS REAL FACE OF THE DEAR MAYOR?"

The man chuckled. "What do you want from me?" Ara asked breathlessly.

"Your life, Miss."

Immediately Ara froze on the spot, but only for a few seconds, a soft laugh could be heard from between her lips.

"Kill her," said the mayor to the man next to Ara.

The next second, gunshots echoed through the entire building.

Ara slumped, blood dripping from the gunshot wound to her head. The girl didn't even have time to respond and her life was already lost.

Whereas only a few hours ago she had taken someone's life and had now suffered a similar, no, but even more tragic fate. The girl became a victim of betrayal as well as murder.

*

In a very large field, filled only with weeds and dry trees. A group of people seemed to be walking, splitting the desert in the scorching sun.

Five carriages covered by worn-out cloth, no, but more like a cage made of wood, visible running lengthwise like a train.

On each side of the left and right several royal soldiers wear the same clothes.

"FAST!"

"DON'T BE LAZY, FAST!"

"CTARR!"

The sound of screaming accompanied by lashes was heard filling the whole way.

"Mom, I'm scared," said a child to the middle-aged woman next to her. They are one of the slave girls in the carriage.

"Close your ears, honey. I will always be by your side."

A faint sound of the commotion was heard, making a girl who had been unconscious since yesterday slowly blink her eyes.

A typical wake-up groan escaped her lips. Her head felt heavy, her throat was so dry.

"Are you awake?"

Feeling that someone was talking to her, the girl turned her head to the side, and her initially blurry slowly becomes clear.

"Where is this?" the first words that left her lips.

"You eat this first," said the girl, judging by her face, she seemed to be in her late teens year.

"Who are you?"

"Eat first and restore your energy," said the child.

The girl looked at a bread wrapped in an old cloth that was handed to her. Her forehead wrinkled. Does that bread deserve to be called food?

"I'm thirsty," said the girl.

Immediately the child took a small bottle which she hid from under her clothes and then gave it to the girl who had just woken up in front of her.

"Thank You."

"Rania, what are you doing? Take care of yourself," said a middle-aged woman.

"Eldest sister, I only gave her a little help, since yesterday she never wakes up and eats," said Rania.

"Help her? Huh, who are you? We don't even know if we'll still live until night comes," said the middle-aged woman.

While on the other hand, the girl who had just regained consciousness was now leaning on the carriage. Breathe deeply, while closing her eyes, trying to relax her feelings. Her memory is still very vivid when she was chained in an old building, surrounded by several men, including the mayor.

Yes, she is Ara.

Suddenly her body stiffened, felt the nape of the neck and all parts of her head. Looking for gunshot wounds the bullet might still be lodged there, it's just that her efforts were in vain. She didn't find wounds on her head, but instead, she found a red whip wound,

Looks like it's on the arm. Even the clothes she was currently wearing were very strange.

'What happened?'

'What is this place?' thought Ara, as far as her eyes could see all she could see were women, of all ages, from children to the very old though. All sitting with their heads down, as if they had no zest for life at all.

Feeling the carriage she was occupying continued to move, Ara's brow furrowed. Her hands then stretched out, seems to be trying to open the old cloth that is blocking her view from the world outside.

"What are you doing?" suddenly a woman held her hand. Make Ara flinch startled.

"Don't do things that can harm us all little girls," she said again.

"Just being able to live until now is good. You better shut up and don't do anything."

Heard the woman next to her, fig's brow furrowed. Honestly, she doesn't understand anything at all about what happened to her. How could she who was previously confined to an old building end up in this place, not to mention gathering together with the many women who all of them have the appearance of beggars?

However, the confusion didn't last long, and an unfamiliar memory hit her head made her vision spin, followed by a feeling of nausea that made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" Rania asked when she saw Ara's face turned pale.

The girl didn't answer and sank deeper into the memory of a girl stranger.

Until several tens of minutes passed, Ara just regained her focus, the girl stunned, trying to digest everything that was happening inside her.

So, her name was Xiao Ara, a third-rate maid in the residence of one of the wealthy merchants in the Qin kingdom.

An era where women did not have the slightest freedom, a period where women were always treated as they pleased. A time when women are always looked down upon and underestimated, a time when women have no voice, a time when a woman's life is not worth the slightest bit. Being a sex slave and then being killed was a common occurrence in this kingdom. Except for women of noble blood. And again, one's life depended on who was the strongest.

'Does that mean, after that betrayal, my soul has penetrated time and space to reach this place?'

'But why do I even occupy the body of a servant?' Ara thought while sighing roughly.

Out of the many humans in this kingdom, why would she instead occupy the body of a weak female slave? This frustrates her. However, she is still grateful to have been given another chance to live.

"Are you okay?" The voice of the little girl sitting next to her broke Ara's focus. She looked up and nodded faintly as she smiled.

"Thanks for the water," said Ara to the little girl who she knew her name was Rania.

Right after she finished her sentence, the carriage they were in suddenly stopped. A soldier removed the cloth and opened the carriage door. Asked all the women to get down quickly while holding the whip.

Ara stared, looking confused. It turned out to be not just one carriage, but five carriages and all of them filled with women of all ages. They were all dropped off right in the middle of a hunting ground, but that's not what surprised her. But ten large cages filled with wolves that seemed ready to prey on them at any moment.