Night was halfway through.
A crescent moon hung high like a hook on the ink-blue firmament, casting a very faint glow, as a slender figure approached the firewood room. Glancing around to ensure no one was in sight, she took out the key hidden in her sleeve and unlocked the copper lock on the door.
The door to the firewood room creaked open.
This room was actually several large interconnected chambers, filled with stacks of dry firewood that were piled up almost to the beams. You Lan curled up in a corner, her slim body shivering slightly in the coolness of the early summer night, and hunger from a whole day left her utterly weak.
So hungry... You Lan's head swam dizzyingly, she felt as if she were floating on soft, billowy clouds, yet the hard branches behind her dug into her shoulders and back.