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The tide crashed against the rocks, and the salty sea breeze, carrying fine sand, lashed against the wounded body of the wild goose.

A twelve-year-old girl sat on the beach with her knees drawn up to her chest, her thin clothes revealing crisscrossing whip marks.

The latest cut runs diagonally from the right shoulder to the left waist, and is still oozing blood.

"Does it hurt?" A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Han Yan turned around suddenly in fright, the sea breeze ruffling her dry, yellow hair.

Under the moonlight stood a man dressed in a long black robe, the hem of which was embroidered with dark red flame patterns.

The most amazing thing is that the other person is standing right in front of you, but it feels like the other person doesn't exist in this world.

"Who...who are you?" Han Yan instinctively shrank back, the movement of her wound causing her to gasp.

The man chuckled softly, his voice like sandpaper scraping: "I am the one who can change your destiny."

"what?"

However, the stranger squatted down to look Han Yan in the eye. "Barefoot Ghost? What a ridiculous name."

They didn't know that true demons always wear the finest boots.

Han Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

Barefoot Ghost – this was the nickname given to her by the Zhuang family, because her grandfather died suddenly on the day she was born, and she was regarded as an ominous sign.

For three years, she was abandoned in this remote fishing village and suffered all kinds of abuse from her uncle and aunt.

She was either beaten or starved every day. Her aunt's fingernails, her uncle's rattan cane, and the stones thrown by her cousins ​​had left her covered in bruises.

"How can you change this?" Han Yan's voice was hoarse, yet carried a calmness beyond her years.

She had long since learned not to show weakness in front of anyone, even when the pain from her wound made her vision go black.

The man extended his pale finger and gently touched the bruise on Han Yan's forehead with his fingertip.

In an instant, a warm current surged into his limbs and bones, and the pain from the wound receded like a tide.

Soon, Zhuang Hanyan's wounds and bruises miraculously healed on their own, as if it were all just a nightmare.

"Power." The man withdrew his hand. "Endless power. Enough for your dear uncles and aunts..."

His lips twisted into a grotesque arc. "Blood for blood."

Han Yan looked down at her suddenly healed wound, her heart pounding like a drum.

She had never felt such a wonderful sensation before, as if the blood in her whole body was singing with joy.

But soon, she raised her head, her eyes flashing with a sharpness beyond her years.

"What's the price?"

The man narrowed his eyes approvingly: "You're indeed a clever girl! I want your soul, and..."

He suddenly leaned closer, his icy breath brushing against Han Yan's ear, "Your loyalty."

"..."

Just then, her aunt's sharp shouts came from afar, vaguely mixed with the words "Where has that brat run off to again?"

That devilish voice made Zhuang Hanyan's nails dig deep into her palms.

Three days ago, she overheard her uncle and aunt discussing selling her to a passing human trafficker in exchange for two bags of brown rice.

"Okay! I promise you." Han Yan nodded without hesitation after she had figured it out.

"Haha, good! Very good."

The man burst into laughter, his laughter sounding as if a thousand voices were roaring at the same time.

With a gentle tap, a scroll of bamboo slips gleaming with a faint light appeared before Han Yan.

"This is a contract, bound by blood and soul." The man's voice became solemn. "I, the demon Suning, grant you the power to tear apart all falsehood."

As Han Yan bit her thumb decisively, and the moment the blood dripped onto the bamboo slip, she felt something deep within her soul being torn apart.

The bamboo slip immediately burst into black flames, and the ashes formed a strange rune in the air, which was branded onto the inside of Han Yan's left wrist.

"Jiang seems to be my messenger, and will always follow you and assist you." Su Ning's figure began to become transparent. "Han Yan, enjoy your...new life."

As the last wisp of black mist dissipated, Han Yan noticed a girl in green standing not far away.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a face so exquisite it seemed unreal, and a slender longsword hung at her waist.

"My name is Jiang Si, and I am the master's eyes," the girl named Jiang Si said calmly, her voice like shattered ice colliding. "Remember! Never disappoint the master."

"..."

Just as Han Yan was about to speak, a scream suddenly came from the direction of the village.

Immediately afterwards, flames shot into the sky.

When the two rushed back to the village, chaos had already engulfed the entire fishing village.

A dozen or so small pirate boats with black sails docked, and dozens of pirates brandished gleaming weapons.

Han Yan saw her neighbor, Uncle Li, being slashed down with a knife, his blood splattered on the earthen wall, looking just like the paper-cut window decorations that are pasted up during the Chinese New Year.

She should have felt fear, but the runes on her wrist were slightly warm, conveying a strange sense of calm.

This force not only relieved her initial fear, but also made her feel particularly excited and thrilled.

“Perfect timing.” Jiang Si observed coldly. “It saves us the trouble of doing it ourselves! We can just wipe out this wicked Danzhou.”

The wild goose remained frozen in place.

She had never seen so much blood. Countless voices seemed to whisper in her ears: Kill him…kill them…

"Yan Yatou!" Auntie's scream came from the direction of the thatched hut.

Han Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw her uncle drunkenly dragging her aunt by the hair into the house, muttering, "Since we're going to sell it anyway, we might as well use it first."

An unprecedented rage surged from the depths of his heart.

Han Yan felt the blood in her veins boiling, and a strange red light appeared at the edge of her vision.

She took a step forward, but someone grabbed her arm.

"What's the rush?" Jiang Si had drawn her curved sword without anyone noticing. "The real show has only just begun."

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of silver light appeared.

The uncle's arm was severed at the elbow, and blood splattered all over the aunt's face.

A girl with a red headscarf stood before them, her twin swords dripping blood.

"Pah! Scumbag." The girl spat, then turned and saw Han Yan. Her eyes lit up. "Oh! There's a pretty young lady here too."

Han Yan then realized that her body had changed. Her originally dry and yellow hair had become jet black and shiny, her thin body had grown a bit longer, and even her tattered clothes had turned into a dark red outfit.

"I'm not some young lady," Han Yan said, her voice low and unfamiliar. "I'm here to collect a debt."

The pirate girl raised an eyebrow: "Chai Jing, the second-in-command of the Black Shark."

Then she kicked the groaning man on the ground, "Who is this beast to you?"

"Uncle," Han Yan walked up to her aunt, who was so frightened she had lost control of her bladder, and bent down to pick up the wood-chopping knife from the ground, "if he can still be considered a human being."

Just then, her aunt suddenly rushed forward and hugged Han Yan's legs: "Yan'er! Aunt was wrong! It was all your uncle's fault! Please..."

Han Yan raised the wood-chopping knife in her hand, but hesitated to bring it down.

Despite the power of the devil, a twelve-year-old's mind is ultimately unable to cross the threshold of murder in an instant.

"Useless." Jiang Si sneered from behind.

Chai Jing laughed: "First time?"

She handed me a dagger. "Use this, quickly."

Han Yan took the dagger, and suddenly felt a burning pain on the rune on her wrist.

Countless images flooded my mind: being doused with cold water in the dead of winter, being beaten for stealing a steamed bun when I was starving, and my cousins ​​throwing dog poop at me while shouting "Barefoot devil"...

When the dagger pierced her aunt's heart, Han Yan felt a strange sense of calm.

The taste of revenge is so sweet, like the first drop of rain after a long drought.

"Great!" Chai Jing clapped. "Want to be a pirate with me? I guarantee it'll be much more fun than being in this wretched village."

Jiang Si suddenly stepped between the two: "She already has an owner."

Chai Jing narrowed his eyes: "Oh? Which blind fool dares to steal people from the Black Shark?"

At this moment, Han Yan stopped Jiang Si, who was about to draw his sword, and explained, "Jiang Si, I need to go back to the estate."

"Do as you please! Your master doesn't care about your personal behavior."

"The bookmaker?" Chai Jing, the pirate girl beside her, whistled. "That bookmaker from the capital? What a coincidence! I was just thinking of going to the capital to see for myself."

She leaned closer to Han Yan, her body reeking of sea salt and blood. "I'll send you on your way, but the price is... let me see what you're really capable of."

"Thank you."

That night, the Black Shark set sail.

Han Yan stood at the stern, watching the burning Danzhou gradually turn into a small red dot on the horizon.

Jiang stood like a shadow three feet behind her, while Chai Jing leaned against the mast, staring intently at them.

The appearance of these pirates was naturally arranged by Su Ning; otherwise, where would ordinary pirates get such a murderous aura?

Seven days later, at dawn, the capital was still shrouded in morning mist.

A small boat on the Bian River quietly docked, and three figures stepped onto the stone steps of the pier.

"Is this the place?" Chai Jing looked at the mansion surrounded by high walls in the distance. "It looks quite grand."

Han Yan did not answer.

For the first time in twelve years, the dealer's gate was within arm's reach.

She was barefoot, just as she was at birth, but this time she was not abandoned; she returned with the flames of revenge.

Jiang Si suddenly grabbed her shoulder: "Remember! The master wants more than just a few lives."

Han Yan stroked the runes on her wrist, revealing her first smile since boarding the ship: "I know. I will make the entire Zhuang family pay for their crimes in blood."

Then Jiang Si magically disappeared from the entrance of the dealer's house, and the pirate girl also flew away.

Han Yan, however, once again became a beggar covered in wounds and tattered clothes.

The gate slowly opened, and the night watchman rubbed his eyes. When he saw who it was, he let out a scream as if he had seen a ghost: "Third...Third Miss?!"

Han Yan struggled to lift her head, then collapsed miserably at the entrance of the Zhuang family's house.

But in his heart he thought to himself, "The dealer, your barefoot devil... is back."

...(End of chapter)