Chapter 1: Prologue

In 1912, the collapse of autocratic rule saw the issuance of decrees banning the binding of women’s feet, and men too adopted the trend of cutting their hair. Feudal customs began to fade from the coastal metropolises, yet society’s essence remained unchanged. The corrosive legacy of the corrupt Qing dynasty lingered, as people privately held rituals to honor deities, with particular fervor for the worship of local mountain gods.

“Help me...”

“Mmm...”

“Save me...”

A woman in a cheongsam was violently dragged into a dilapidated basement by Li Sheng. The bloodstained floor, dimly illuminated, only heightened her terror.

Li Sheng gazed at her with irritation. The fiery red cheongsam could not conceal her graceful figure. Despite the scrapes and bruises, it was clear she was a strikingly beautiful woman. Now, however, she cowered in the corner, whimpering.

He calmly put on rubber gloves and picked up a prepared syringe, gently pressing it so that a bit of unclear liquid spurted from the fine needle.

“She’ll love this,” Li Sheng murmured, looking up at her. His greedy eyes fixed on the woman, though his lips unwittingly curved into a blissful smile.

“Governor, what are you going to do?” The woman’s heart raced, her hands flailing helplessly as her mind clouded with panic. She seized an old newspaper nearby and hurled it at Li Sheng, then staggered up and banged desperately on the basement door. “Is anyone there? Help me... help!”

Li Sheng swiftly stepped forward, restraining her hands and pinning her against the door. The light in his eyes was a mingling of cruelty and excitement. His already pale cheeks, chilled by the cold, were drained of even the faintest trace of blood.

He suddenly pressed his hand to her throat, yanked her hair sharply from behind, forcing her head back. Her lips were met by a breath as soft and moist as silk.

She was forced to look at him.

“Governor, do you have gold leaf?” she stammered, lips trembling with fear, yet her eyes still held an enchanting allure.

The scent of osmanthus intoxicated Li Sheng. That faint, proud smile glistened in the woman’s eyes. He paused, burying his face in the nape of her neck.

That winter night was the most unforgettable of Li Sheng’s life.

He was only fifteen then, an aide to the commander-in-chief. During a battle, he fled, lost his footing, and fell off a cliff. Snow piled thickly over him as he lay there, weak and helpless. In the distance, he heard the faint crunching of footsteps pressing through the snow.

He struggled to open his eyes, and before him appeared a pair of tiny feet clad in red embroidered shoes.

A girl knelt down, gazing curiously at him.

She had eyes like ripe purple grapes, her long lashes curling upwards, yet within her gaze was a rare hint of wicked beauty. She reached out and gently stroked his face. “Do you have gold leaf? I’m hungry.”

Li Sheng looked at her. The wind whispered through swirling snowflakes, drifting down like wisps of cotton, like fragments of silver from the heavens, settling in her long hair. He murmured, “Yes, I do... I do...”

Dusk and snow blurred the air, so even the shrubs on the lawn vanished into the haze. The cold was bone-deep; everything seemed frozen, even the air threatening to turn to ice. Yet only the girl’s smile was warm. “That’s good. By the way, my name is Wei Li.”

After that, Li Sheng could recall little.

He vaguely remembered bringing her home. Orphaned, he had inherited a grand mansion and a generous fortune.

From then on, Wei Li lived a life of reckless extravagance. But within a year, the wealth was gone.

She left, vanishing without a word.

The woman, thinking herself triumphant, suddenly felt the icy stab of the needle in her neck, its chill dousing her like a bucket of cold water, freezing her heart. Her vision grew dimmer, darker...

Li Sheng dragged her by one leg to the massive freezer that occupied half the basement. He opened it; a wave of cold air surged out. Inside, seven or eight frozen bodies of women lay side by side—each beautiful and voluptuous.

He coldly arranged the woman’s corpse with meticulous care, murmuring, “Come back soon... You’ll love this...”