Volume One: A Beauty’s Bane Chapter 7: Child Bride

“Finally over!”

With those words, Jiang Hao collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving violently. His entire body was already soaked in blood, clearly at the point of utter exhaustion.

Around him lay more than a dozen corpses, scattered haphazardly. It was unimaginable that all these lives had been ended by a single eighteen-year-old youth.

“Big brother, are you alright?” A young girl came running over, kneeling beside Jiang Hao and asking softly.

“Huh? I’m fine, just a bit tired,” Jiang Hao replied. He had been so engrossed in the battle that he had completely forgotten the girl nearby.

This was the first time Jiang Hao took a close and careful look at her.

Before his eyes was a girl with skin as pure as snow, smooth as mutton-fat jade, like a pristine white lotus untouched by worldly dust.

She wore a light gauzy dress, her delicate features like a blooming bud in spring. Her bright, lively eyes sparkled like stars, revealing intelligence and curiosity.

Her eyebrows curved gently like willow leaves, soft and elegant, framing her innocent smile. Her small nose was slightly upturned, adding a touch of playful charm to her face.

Her figure was graceful and slender, a youthful beauty exuding an alluring floral fragrance. Her every glance radiated a pure childlike innocence that stirred deep affection.

“Unexpectedly, such a young girl, only twelve or thirteen, possesses such breathtaking beauty. When she grows up, she will surely be a woman to captivate kingdoms,” Jiang Hao mused silently, momentarily lost in thought.

“Big brother, what’s wrong with you?” The girl’s large, watery eyes fixed on him in confusion.

“Oh, nothing!” Jiang Hao snapped back to reality and quickly showed concern. “By the way, little sister, didn’t you think big brother was a bit too ruthless just now?” His words alluded to the dozen or so corpses around them.

“No!” The girl’s expression hardened resolutely as she clenched her small fists and shook her head firmly. “Those bad men deserved to die! Big brother killed them to protect the people!”

“Surprisingly, this little one is mature beyond her years,” Jiang Hao sighed softly.

“If it weren’t for big brother saving me today, Caiyun would have suffered a terrible fate!” The girl’s face darkened with sorrow once more.

Seeing this, Jiang Hao quickly sat up and gently patted her shoulder to comfort her. “Little sister, don’t be so sad. Where is your home? Big brother will take you back.”

“Home?” The girl paused, then spoke softly, “Big brother, Caiyun has no home. Caiyun is an orphan. If it weren’t for Uncle Tang, Caiyun would have been eaten by monsters long ago…”

Thus, the innocent girl began to pour out her past to Jiang Hao, revealing her heart without reserve before her savior.

From Fan Caiyun’s words, Jiang Hao learned she had just turned thirteen. Since childhood, she had followed her parents into the mountains to gather herbs, living as a family of three.

At nine years old, while picking herbs with her parents, they were attacked by monsters. Her parents were tragI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.