alive?

|Centuries Later|The snowflakes slowly fluttered down from the sky. Winter had clawed its way across the mountains, turning rivers to glass and forests into brittle skeletons. Even the wind seemed to bleed cold, howling through the valley like a starving wolf.General Bai Zhenhai rode through the ruins of a nameless village, his black stallion's hooves crunching over snow-stained crimson. Behind him, a dozen soldiers followed in silence, their breaths curling in the air. The war between the two empires had ended but this village like many others which had been caught in the crossfire had turned into a graveyard. Bodies lay half-buried in the snow, limbs twisted like broken dolls. Some clutched rusted spears; others held nothing but clumps of frozen earth.The general's gaze swept over the carnage, cold and unflinching. He had seen this scene before.But his son had not.Bai Yi Xuan, who had just turned twelve, trailed behind his father on a chestnut mare. The boy's hands trembled on the reins, his knuckles white. His breath came in shallow, visible bursts. He had begged to ride to war. To prove he was no longer a child. Now, his throat burned with the urge to scream, to weep, to vomit but he swallowed it all."Remember son, this is the price of a war," Bai Zhenhai told Bai Yi Xuan. Bai Zhenhai dismounted, boots sinking into crimson slush. The metallic tang of blood clung to the air. His men fanned out, scavenging weapons, checking pulses. A subtle movement caught the general's trained eye. He raised his hand, and his entire company halted instantly. As he approached the source of movement, he saw an elderly couple, their backs split open by blade strokes. Their arms curled inward as if cradling something.Bai Zhenhai knelt and pried the dead couple apart. Their frozen limbs cracked like deadwood.Beneath them lay a girl. She could not have been older than ten, her face as pale as the snow around her. Blood crusted her tattered robes, some of it hers, most of it not. A jagged cut ran from her collarbone to her ribs, shallow but angry. Her breathing was shallow, barely visible, but present."Father, this..." Bai Yi Xuan's voice faltered, the words catching in his throat. He took a step back, boots sinking into the snow. The general said nothing. His jaw tightened as he scooped the girl into his arms, her slight frame dwarfed by his armored chest. Her head lolled against his shoulder, her lips blue with cold. A whimper escaped her."General!" One of his men, a hulking brute named Luo Feng, dismounted nearby. The man stood a head taller than the others, his shoulders broad enough to block the wind."Search the village. Thoroughly. There may be others." Luo Feng bowed, his face unreadable. "As you command."Cradling the girl against his armor, Bai Zhenhai mounted his horse. Bai Yi Xuan scrambled onto his mare"We should take her back to the camp," Bai Zhenhai said and cradled the girl in his arms. A whimper escaped the girl's lips but she did not show any other reaction. He got on the horse and looked at the older man near him. He was tall and muscular, twice the size of a normal man. "Stay here and look for any other survive," Bai Zhenhai told Bai Zhenhai and without waiting for his reply, he was already going in the direction of the camp. ******Pain. That was the only thing Qin Xue Ran felt. Her consciousness drifted in and out, as if she were suspended between life and death. For a fleeting moment, she thought she was dead. But if this was death, why did it hurt so much?Slowly, her senses began to return. The smell of herbs filled her nostrils. The sound of low groans and muffled voices reached her ears. The feel of rough fabric against her skin.Then, her eyes fluttered open. The world was blurry at first, shapes and colors blending together in a chaotic swirl. She blinked, her vision gradually sharpening. She was in some kind of tent. Her gaze drifted over rows of makeshift beds, where bodies lay, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. Some moaned in pain. Others lay still, their faces pale and lifeless.She tried to move. The simple act of lifting her head sent waves of pain rippling through her frame but it was nothing compared to what she had endured before. With trembling arms, she forced herself into a sitting position. She looked down at her body, bandages wrapped around her torso and clothed in a cheap, coarse robe. But that wasn't what made her frown. It was the realization that this body belonged to a child. [What is this?]She looked around, taking in the scene. The tent was a makeshift infirmary, filled with the wounded and the dying. Men with missing limbs, men with burns, men with hollow eyes that stared at nothing. The air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat, mingling with the sharp tang of medicinal herbs.A man nearby noticed her movement. He was middle-aged, his face lined with exhaustion, his arm wrapped in bandages."You're awake," he said, his voice hoarse.Qin Xue Ran turned to look at him. The moment their eyes met, he flinched. She didn't respond. Instead, she swung her legs over the side of the cot and stood. Her legs wobbled, threatening to give out, but she steadied herself. She began to walk, her steps slow. Near the entrance of the tent, a table was cluttered with medicinal herbs, porcelain bottles, and bowls of water. Qin Xue Ran's eyes fell on a basin filled with murky liquid. She stopped, her breath catching in her throat.She leaned closer, her hands gripping the edge of the basin. The face staring back at her was unfamiliar. It was the face of a child. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, with shadows under her eyes that made her look haunted. Her hair, once a cascade of silver, was now inky black, falling in tangled strands around her thin face. Her eyes were dark and empty, like two voids that swallowed the light.Qin Xue Ran raised a hand, touching her cheek. The reflection mimicked her movement.This... isn't me.A sharp pain lanced through her skull, and she staggered back, clutching her head. Images flashed before her eyes. Memories that did not belong to her, flashes of a life she couldn't recall living. She saw faces she'd never met, heard voices she didn't know. The memories flooded her mind, drowning her in a sea of emotions so intense that she couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred. Her body trembled. And then, as the world spun violently around her, she gave in.Darkness swallowed her whole.