The midsummer night was stifling, heavy enough to make one gasp for breath.
Inside the firewood shed at the back of the Duke's Estate, Fu Jing'an curled up in a corner. Sweat trickled down her gaunt cheeks, soaking into her filthy collar and leaving dark stains. The shed was narrow and cramped, cluttered with debris and reeking of rot and mildew that turned the stomach. Thick cobwebs clung to the corners, and a fat spider crawled lazily past her feet.
Fu Jing'an stared blankly at it all; over these past days, she seemed to have grown accustomed to sharing space with such creatures.
Chapter 111