The scene shifted. The air filled with the stench of blood. She saw herself—broken and helpless—hearing the news of her clan's annihilation.
She saw the moment she drove a blade into Xiang Long Wei's chest, only to be dragged into endless torment. She saw herself writhing, screaming, her body consumed by flames under Xian Guifei's cruel hands.
The horrors whirled together until a blinding white light split the vision apart. Mei Liang squeezed her eyes shut, but the brilliance pierced even her lids.
When she opened them again, the world was hazy and unclear. Shapes blurred, shadows swam, but faint voices drifted around her—people speaking, moving. She tried to lift her body, but it would not obey.
Xiang Long Wei, who had nearly strangled Chief Imperial Physician Shen to death, suddenly froze when the sound of horrified gasps rippled through the crowd. Soldiers, general, and concubines stumbled back, their eyes widening as though they had seen a ghost.
