Xiao Lansi stared at the crumpled ball of paper for a long while. In the dim moonlight, the line of words on it was perfectly clear.
She was quiet for a long time, as if she had stopped breathing altogether.
Finally, when the sound of guards on patrol passed by outside again, she snapped back to her senses.
A faint, mocking smile touched her slightly chapped lips.
Then, she shoved the wad of paper into her mouth, chewed it forcefully, and swallowed it down.
Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, which were faintly bloodshot.
But her eyes, with their slight blue tint, revealed a grim, bitter hatred.
Her pale, slender fingers clenched silently, the knuckles turning white.
Suddenly, an indescribable pain surged from the depths of her body. It was a dense, crawling sensation, like a swarm of ants, enough to drive a person to collapse.
Xiao Lansi squatted down, then slowly lay on the floor, her body curled up and trembling.
