When she opened her eyes, she always felt this dazed for a moment or two. Her body refused to obey, leaving her unable to lift her head. Her neck lolled sideways, eyelids drooping heavily.

“Mm…”

A soft sound escaped her lips—the barest effort to confirm she’d woken up.

“This is…”

Blurry images flooded her mind, scattering her thoughts. Her head throbbed painfully. Her body felt crushed under several elephants, the weight stealing her breath.

*Rope?*

The silver-haired, blue-eyed girl had awakened. She blinked open her eyes, sensing the rough texture binding her limbs through her tender skin. Once she recognized it, her gaze never dropped below her shoulders again.

She straightened her back and lifted her chin—even trussed up like this, she had to. *Blood circulation.*

Usually, this eased the pain. But staying frozen too long would ache anyway, ropes or not.

“I was cooking at home… then everything went black.”

Her memories ended there. How she’d been tied up and brought here? She had no memory of it.

Losing memories was the worst. The more she dwelled on it, the more she obsessed over what she might have done.

Still, for a girl in her situation, she stayed remarkably calm. No screams for help. No sobbing. Just silence as she pieced together her thoughts.

Bai Ruoshui knew exactly what to do—and what not to do. Since she couldn’t recall making enemies, this had to be a random kidnapping.

*Unless…*

She preferred drawing parallels. Something like this had happened before, when she was younger. The details were hazy now.

But one person stood clear in her mind.

*Brother must’ve saved someone again…*

She didn’t think *“What trouble did my brother cause?”* Instead, she reframed it as good news—*“He saved someone. That’s why we’re in trouble.”* This optimism was her anchor. Only this mindset kept her steady now.

*Only one guard?*

Her vision sharpened. She flicked her eyes sideways. Beyond the bars, a man in a white shirt slumped in a chair, hat pulled low over his face. A rifle rested against his chest, barrel pointing skyward. Its dull, worn metal gleamed faintly in the dim light—a clear sign of his trade.

The way he held it proved his skill. Without that hat, she might’ve seen the weathered lines on his face.

*This is no ordinary place.* To figure out who Bai Ming had tangled with, she’d need time to observe…

Just as she shifted to push herself up—

The ground trembled.