Chapter 1

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Rumble—

Boom—

The continuous roar echoed in Gu Yan Fei’s ears. Her eardrums buzzed, and the ground beneath her shook violently. A piercing pain spread through her entire body, as if a series of carriages had run over her.

Gu Yan Fei struggled to open her eyes. Blood veiled her left eye like a gauzy mist, blurring her vision. Gray dust filled the air. The surroundings were in disarray; the narrow, dilapidated carriage she was in swayed precariously.

“Second Miss…”

A faint, weak moan reached Gu Yan Fei’s ears. The voice was familiar, yet distant.

Gu Yan Fei’s pupils contracted, and her body trembled slightly. She slowly turned her head. On her right side lay a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in a green skirt, her hair in disarray. One arm was protectively wrapped around Gu Yan Fei’s waist. The girl’s face was pressed down, making it hard to see, but from her figure alone, Gu Yan Fei was certain.

It was Juan Bi, her former maid.

The pain in her body reminded her that everything before her was neither an illusion nor a dream. She had actually returned, from the Yaoling Realm back to the Dajing Dynasty, back to her past life. Back then, she had lived only a short decade. It wasn’t until after her death that she realized she was merely a disposable side character in the novel The Flourishing Phoenix Path. Her short life was nothing but a joke.

She was supposed to be the cherished daughter of the Dingyuan Marquis’ household, the apple of her parents’ eye. Yet, at birth, she was secretly swapped and grew up in poverty. It wasn’t until she turned fourteen that the marquis’ household uncovered the truth about the switched daughters and sent a stewardess to Huai Bei to bring her back. At that time, she was filled with hopeful anticipation for her blood relatives and traveled thousands of miles to the capital, unaware that the marquis’ household had no place for her. The false daughter, Gu Yun Rong, who had grown up in the marquis’ household, was the beloved of the Gu family and the heroine of the novel.

As the heroine, Gu Yun Rong not only had great fortune but was also intelligent, self-respecting, and renowned in the capital. She attracted the admiration of many young talents, and the male lead, Prince Kang, was especially devoted to her. After many twists and turns, they eventually became a couple. In contrast, Gu Yan Fei grew up in the countryside, ignorant and unsophisticated. Apart from her bloodline, she had nothing. Her existence seemed solely to highlight the heroine’s exceptional qualities.

Memories from long ago flashed quickly through Gu Yan Fei’s mind…

In her past life, she was short-lived, manipulated, betrayed, and trampled upon, merely a stepping stone for Gu Yun Rong’s rise to the top. In the end, she met a tragic fate, dying with countless arrows piercing her heart. After her death, her soul wandered the earth, witnessing the downfall of the Gu family, seeing Gu Yun Rong assist Prince Kang in seizing the throne, and eventually watching Prince Kang become emperor and Gu Yun Rong crowned as empress, ruling over the world. Gu Yan Fei was just a wandering soul, able to do nothing but watch…

Later, she was finally reincarnated, carrying the memories of her past life into the Yaoling Realm. The Realm was completely different from the world of her first life. It was a place filled with spiritual energy and cultivators who relied on this energy for their practices. Gu Yan Fei became one of these cultivators, a healer.

In the blink of an eye, two hundred years passed. She had painstakingly cultivated to the peak of the Golden Core stage, but during her attempt to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, she was struck by inner demons and the ninth heavenly lightning bolt, sending her back to her first life. She never imagined she could return, back to the “today” when she was fourteen!

She still remembered what happened “today.” How could she forget?

At this time, she had left Huai Bei but had not yet reached the capital. The stewardess had left her in Danyang City, claiming she needed to learn proper etiquette first. She stayed in Danyang City for a full three months. During this period, Juan Bi was the maid attending to her. She vividly remembered that on the afternoon of “today,” the carriage she was riding in fell off a cliff hundreds of feet high due to a landslide, destroying the carriage and horses. She was the only one who miraculously survived.

Back then, she thought it was just a tragic accident, unaware that it was a meticulously planned scheme by the Duke of Ying’s heir, Fang Ming Feng, to take her life. This was because he loved the fake daughter, Gu Yun Rong, but had to be engaged to Gu Yan Fei due to family interests.

Unable to defy his family, he chose to take out his frustrations on the weakest target.

“Soft target,” Gu Yan Fei murmured, pressing her lips together as she endured the discomfort and sat up. A surge of blood rushed to her heart, causing intense pain.

After reincarnating into the Yaoling Realm, she could never let go of her unresolved regrets from this life, which gradually became her inner demons. Even though many memories had faded and become insignificant over the long years, her “inner demons” still lingered in her heart. Perhaps this was why she couldn’t break through to the Nascent Soul stage…

Perhaps this was why the Heavenly Dao brought her back to this life. Since she was here, she would make the best of it.

Gu Yan Fei quickly regulated her breathing and soon calmed down, her eyes deep and profound.

“Juan Bi!” she called out, swiftly turning Juan Bi’s petite body over to lay her flat on the woolen carpet. Juan Bi’s round face, slightly naive-looking, was as pale as paper. Her full lips had a faint grayish-purple tint, and strands of blood and dust-stained hair lay scattered across her face. Her breathing was extremely weak, with barely noticeable movements of her nostrils. Blood trickled from her lips, flowing down her chin and neck, as if she were about to die at any moment.

Gu Yan Fei placed three fingers steadily on Juan Bi’s wrist, focusing on the weak and slow pulse she felt. Juan Bi had not only external injuries but also multiple fractures and internal bleeding in her spleen. She was on the brink of death; even a miracle doctor would be helpless.

In her past life, Juan Bi died. Gu Yan Fei couldn’t save her then and could only watch her take her last breath, crying uncontrollably. But tears couldn’t save anyone.

Gu Yan Fei pressed her lips together, quickly tore a strip from a nearby book, bit her finger to draw blood, and swiftly drew a series of strange worm-like symbols on the paper in one fluid motion. Then, she gently placed the talisman on Juan Bi’s Baihui acupoint and calmly uttered four words: “Juan Bi, wake up.”

In the narrow space, her voice sounded ethereal and divine, like a heavenly melody. As soon as she finished speaking, one corner of the blood-written talisman ignited with a bright orange flame, burning to ashes in the blink of an eye. Juan Bi’s closed eyelids trembled, her eyelashes fluttered, and a low moan escaped her lips.

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