I Promise You a Next Life, No Regrets

A few timid elders had already taken shelter inside the ancestral hall. When Dorothy and I entered, they merely flinched, saying nothing.

Thick planks boarded up the doors and windows, leaving only a few narrow peepholes. I moved to one and peered cautiously outside. The village lay deserted, every door tightly shut. A deathly silence hung in the air—so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Suddenly, a massive explosion boomed from the village entrance, shaking the entire hall.

***BOOM!***

Explosives. They were blowing the gate!

A collective gasp rose from the elders. Dorothy’s face instantly drained of color. “Joan, the stone gate… they’re going to blow it open!” Her voice trembled.

I gripped her hand tightly, keeping my own voice low. “Don’t be afraid.” But my palms were slick with cold sweat.

I knew the plot. I knew the bandits would break in. Yet when it actually happened, that soul-deep terror was impossible to suppress.

Explosions came one after another, growing more frequent. Each blast hammered against my chest.

Finally, after an ear-splitting detonation, triumphant jeers echoed from the village entrance.

The gate was breached.

“Joan, I… I have to find my brother!” Dorothy shot to her feet, determination etched on her face.

“Are you insane?” I yanked her back. “Going out there is suicide!”

“But if I don’t go now, it’ll be too late!” Tears streamed down her frantic face. “My brother and the others don’t know what’s happening! I have to warn them! I’m fast—I’ll go out the back. They won’t catch me!”

Looking into her stubborn eyes, my heart ached. In my past life, Dorothy had been slashed across the arm protecting the village doctor, nearly crippled for life. This foolish girl was nothing like her clueless brother.

“No!” I held onto her fiercely. “You can’t go!”

“Joan, let me go!” She struggled against my grip. “I can’t just watch everyone die!”

“Dorothy!” I snapped. “You going won’t change anything! Your brother, he—”

Before I could finish, the back door of the hall crashed open.

Several bandits swaggered in, machetes in hand, cruel grins on their faces. The elders screamed. Dorothy and I froze.

How? The back door had been barred from the inside.

*Run!*

The word screamed in my mind. I grabbed Dorothy and bolted for the front door.

But it was too late.

A bandit caught up in a few strides and seized Dorothy by her braid. “Hey, little miss. Where you off to in such a hurry?”

“Let me go!” Dorothy thrashed wildly.

“Dorothy!”

Blind rage tore through me. Without thinking, I snatched a heavy bronze incense burner from the nearby altar and, with all my strength, smashed it against the bandit’s head.

***THUD!***

The man grunted, released his grip, and crumpled to the floor. I grabbed Dorothy and ran, not looking back.

“Get them!” The furious shouts of the bandits chased us.

The village was chaos. Flames lit the sky. Cries, screams, and the crack of gunfire mingled into a living hell.

Dragging Dorothy through the chaotic alleyways, one thought consumed me: *Escape. Get to the Town Police Station and raise the alarm.* It was our only hope.

But just as we reached the mouth of an alley on the west side, several bandits blocked our path. Their leader was a one-eyed man. He licked his lips, his gaze crawling over us with brazen hunger.

“Two little beauties. Lucky find.”

Dorothy and I stumbled back in terror, our backs hitting a cold, unyielding wall. No escape. Despair washed over me. Was I really going to die here again, even in this second life?

Just then, a furious roar erupted from the alley entrance.

“Stop right there!”

My head snapped up. A familiar figure stood there—Bradley, the militia captain from neighboring Hillside Village. Behind him were seven or eight militiamen armed with hoes and clubs.

“Captain Bradley!” I cried, clutching at this lifeline. “Quick! Go get the police! The bandits are Joshua’s gang!” Joshua was the most vicious bandit leader in the area, a man with multiple murders to his name.

But Bradley frowned, looking at me with deep suspicion, not moving forward. “Joan? What are you doing here? Where’s Roger?”

“He—” I started to explain, but the one-eyed bandit suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Well, well! The militia captain’s little wife! Saves us the trouble of looking for her!” He shouted at Bradley, “Bradley! Our boss says today’s business has nothing to do with Hillside Village. If you’re smart, you’ll clear out! Now! Unless you want trouble!”

Bradley’s face instantly darkened. He tightened his grip on his hoe and demanded harshly, “Joan, what the hell is going on? Did Roger send you to lead the bandits here?”