As the idiom said, there's a dagger behind a smile. Southern Han's offer is just exactly the same.

Being as cautious as Qing Empire is, for the sake of the country and it's people, they accepted it with wide arms as a facade while beginning to prepare countermeasures for any possible danger. 

War obviously had stopped, only on the 'outside'.

*******

On the outskirts of city, deep in the forest, far from city's settlement.

"...huff, finally..." [?]

An exhausted figure slowly appeared from the thick lush forest, approaching the small river in front. Morning sunlight radiates the whole person, revealing a stunningly beautiful young girl in her teens carrying a big empty jar.

Calling her a forest fairy isn't an exaggeration. Smooth and white as snow skin, long silky black hair fell to her waist like a waterfall as she untied her bun. She has a pair of cerulean eyes could captivate a person just by looking at it while the slender eyebrows giving her a mature and elegant atmosphere. Her small nose, long thick eyelashes, and a small luscious red lips paired with her rosy cheeks due to exhaustion is enough to make any men's imagination goes wild. Wearing a plain light green clothes without any make up only accentuate her beauty. Topped with her tired appearance, her current figure is that of an alluring beauty.

Putting the empty jar besides her feet, she rolls up her long sleeves and skirt, revealing her delicate white arms and legs. She then took off her shoes aside and sat on the ground, slowly dipping her feet in the clear water.

"Mmh, this is heaven..."

Enjoying the cool temperature on her feet, she starts to hum cheerfully.

Another boring yet peaceful day..

Not that i want to complain though, yeah definitely not.

No pollution, no vehicle, no all-nighter work, no noisy neighbors, no school, no annoying people, no burden and no scum-ex,  who can be unhappy? Though i do feel sad that there's no internet here, I miss my smartphone boohoo-

Who would've thought that i can experience this kind of life that i've been dreaming for, this is basically just a meat pies falling from the sky~

Living in a deep forest alone, green surrounding, light blue sky, fresh air, pretty bird's chirping, clear blue river, fertile soil, no life-threatening beasts around, I'll call it heaven on earth.

Still...How many years has it been...?

She continued her train of thoughts as she fell into a daze until she sensed something grazed her feet.

"Ah!"

Surprised, she immediately took both of her feet out of the water almost jumping. With right hand over her chest to calm her panic heart, she look over inside the water only to find a few of small fish swimming around. 

"Sigh, I'm wasting my time, better get this done fast and go back home while the weather is still clear," standing up, she wore her shoes back, filled the big jar with water and then went back to her house.

*******

On a certain night.

In the dark, a man figure ran past through the trees with an abnormal speed for a normal human. Pretty far behind, a couple of grey wolves with several black clothed people on a chase with killing intent.

Gh... just a little more...

The chased person, with a huge gash on his back and wounds all over his body, knew that he wouldn't last long. 

While making a sharp turn to the right, he spotted a small river on the corner of his eyes.

An idea flashes on his mind as a small smirk formed on his pale lips before it turned to a thin line on the next second, knowing that this is his last chance so he absolutely couldn't mess it up.

Determinedly, he threw a fist-sized powder bomb to the trunk of the tree in front of him which forming a dense fog-like instantly. He ran into the scattered powder smoke and jump forward with all of his remaining strength towards the river, diving in fast and completely submerged in the water. All that without making a big splash nor any noise.

Not long after, the grey wolves and black clothed people suddenly halted near the tree which he threw the bomb to.

"Tsk, damn it! He erased the smell again!" [Black clothed man 1]

"He's wounded badly and lost a lot of blood already. In this huge forest with nothing but beast in it, he may not live long." [Black clothed man 2]

"Should we keep giving him a chase? We've entered pretty deep into this forest already." [Black clothed man 1]

"...no, let's just go back and report to the base. His survival chance is zero here." [Black clothed man 3]

They turned around and soon left that place.

After making sure they're really gone, the wounded man immediately rose to the surface. Gasping and coughing, he dragged his body sluggishly to the big boulder on the riverside. 

Out from the river, he lean on the boulder and lay himself on it.

Damn... I can't die here.

On top of his gashing wound on his back which made him lose a lot of blood, his whole body is now shivering from staying in the cold water and exposed to the cold night air. 

His face is white pale as a paper. His figure is that those people who's bordering between death and live. Even though his life is on the line, his eyes is full of anger, determination, and unwillingness. He's unwilling to die just like this.

Those damned people.

That cursed person.

He'll absolutely come back and pay them back tenfold.

He'll make the living hell out of them.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists hard, he swore in his heart. Slowly, his consciousness fade away.

Ah shit... I can't hold on anymore...

Am i really going to die just like this...

I know it's ridiculous... in the middle of this forest...

But, please... somebody

... anyone...