March 23rd, 10:21 PM
Gu Tianhao's Compound, Main House
John Wang POV
——
I woke up on something softer than a stone floor. For a second, I thought maybe I was dead. But then the aches came back in slow, spreading, dull aches. My ribs pulsed. My knuckles stung. The familiar aftertaste of blood and victory clung to the inside of my mouth.
I cracked one eye open.
Someone had laid a thick blanket over me, patchy but clean. Lamplight glowed from a few battery lanterns set around the main room. The floor was still dirty, streaked with muddy footprints and scuffed from boots, but no gunshots, no shouting.
Tang Wei knelt by the far wall, helping a couple of older men out of broken cuffs. The room hummed with low voices, villagers, refugees, a handful of girls huddled by the hearth, all looking hollow-eyed but safe.
