Lian grew up as an orphan in the slums of a small city after her parents succumbed to a pandemic. Life in the slums was brutal for an orphan; she often had to beg or scavenge through trash for food. Survival often meant fighting over meager scraps. Whenever Lian was fortunate enough to find some food or collect a few coins from begging, older orphans wouldn't hesitate to beat her and snatch away her hard-earned findings. From a young age, Lian understood the ruthless law of the jungle: the strong prey on the weak. This harsh reality was deeply ingrained in her very being.
As she grew older, Lian was kidnapped by the city's thugs and sold to a brothel, a low-quality brothel. The establishment catered to the city's unsavory characters — criminals, mercenaries, and other rough, ill-mannered individuals. There, Lian endured abuse and was forced to cater to the twisted desires of these patrons. Lian often found herself wondering: Why was the world so unkind to her? What had she done to deserve such a cruel fate? Could she ever lead a happy life?
Fed up and overwhelmed by her circumstances, there came a day when, after serving a particularly tired customer who had fallen asleep, Lian grabbed a knife meant for peeling fruit and stabbed his neck. The customer jolted awake, horrified to find his neck bleeding from the knife wound. Blood gushed, he choked on his own blood, the gurgling sound can be heard, and he died not long after that.
To Lian's surprise, upon inspecting the customer's belongings, she found scrolls, several ceramic bottles filled with various medicines, money, and a few spiritual stones, among other items. Unbeknownst to Lian, the customer was actually an itinerant cultivator at the 2nd stage of the Qi condensation realm who had decided to enjoy himself upon arriving in town. Little did he know it would lead to his own death.
After killing the customer, Lian's initial thought was to kill herself. However, upon discovering his belongings—a large sum of money, the very valuable spirit stones, bottles of medicine, scrolls, and other items—she changed her mind. She hastily grabbed the customer's wealth and, relying on her childhood knowledge of the slums and the city's sewage system, made her escape through the brothel's sewage exit. Those sent by the brothel to apprehend her were left frustrated and furious, unable to trace her path within the intricate maze of the city's sewage system.
After years of surviving in the wilderness, Lian, through much trial and error, began to grasp the cultivation techniques described in the scrolls she'd acquired. She also daringly experimented with the pills she had, risking potential side effects to determine their purposes. Through her persistent efforts, she eventually reached the 1st stage of the Qi condensation realm.
As fate would have it, Lian eventually encountered Hu's band of bandits. Seeing potential in her, Hu extended an invitation for her to join. Life with the bandits was a vast improvement for Lian. Now, she was no longer the prey but the predator, abusing and taking advantage of others.
In the bandit group, Lian was required to serve Hu during the nights, and given her past, she is quite experienced in that field. Hu was satisfied with Lian and promoted her to the position of vice leader. Occasionally, he would give pointers and correct her self-taught cultivation techniques, ensuring she became a genuine 1st stage Qi condensation realm cultivator.
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Lian believed that her life had finally taken a turn for the better. However, that illusion shattered the day a man clad in full body armor unexpectedly arrived at their camp. When Hu and his bandits attempted to deceive and rob the armored man, he retaliated, killing every bandit in the camp, including Hu. Lian, the sole survivor, was left petrified and overwhelmed with fear.
"Please... please spare me. Don't kill me," Lian pleaded as Orion steadily advanced towards her.
"Please forgive me. I... I was forced by them. I never wanted to be a bandit. Please just let me go... I beg you..." Orion remained silent, continuing to close the distance between them. Hu's blood still dripped from Orion's severed left hand, while its right hand gripped Hu's blade. Lian felt that her death was imminent.
"Please..., please spare my life. I'll follow you, obey every command. You can do whatever you want with my body. Just please, let me live," Lian pleaded through her tears, shuffling backward while still seated on the ground, trying to keep her distance.
Lian hurriedly opened her upper dress, revealing a pair of gentle white slope, "please, I'll do anything, just spare my life."
Orion processed what Lian was attempting to convey and roughly understand her intentions. I am sorry, but I am programmed to uphold principles of gender equality. I won't spare you solely based on your gender, Orion thought internally.
With a swift motion, Orion slashed towards Lian's neck. "Nooooo...." Lian screamed in horror. Lian's head flew and fell to the ground; she could see her decapitated body, blood flowed nonstop, her vision darkened, her consciousness waned, and then everything went black.
When Lian opened her eyes, she found herself in an illusory white space. Ethereal figures of her parents as they were when alive appeared before her. To her astonishment, she was a child again. Her parents waved at her with warm smiles, and tears welled up in Lian's eyes. After all the hardships she'd endured, she finally got to see them again, she wanted to tell them about everything that happened to her. With a surge of emotions, she ran to them, burying herself in her mother's comforting embrace. Her tears flowed freely, staining her mother's dress.
"It's okay now, we're here for you," her mother whispered gently, stroking Lian's hair.
"Hu... hu...hu.... Mother," Lian sobbed, overjoyed to be in her mother's warm embrace once more. At that moment, she felt pure happiness.
***
Swiiiiishhhhh. An arrow whistled through the air toward Orion, who narrowly evaded it just in time. The assailant was the last bandit, a scout who had hidden himself high up in a tree. Without hesitation, Orion charged toward the source of the attack.
Swish... swishhh.... swiiiiishhhhh...
The scout unleashed a flurry of arrows at Orion. Two of them managed to penetrate Orion's outer casing, but they failed to harm the crucial components protected by the inner casing. Terror gripped the bandit as Orion continued to close in rapidly. In desperation, he discarded his bow and quiver, leaping across branches until he reached the lowest branch. Sliding down the trunk, he suffered bruises and minor cuts. Without looking back, he sprinted away, tripping and stumbling in his haste to escape.
Orion quickly caught up to the fleeing bandit. Without hesitation, Orion hurled the blade. It soared through the air, piercing the bandit from behind and he fell to the ground, dead.
"Finally, it's over," Orion thought as it surveyed the bloody scene in the camp nearby, with bandit bodies scattered everywhere.