Chapter 2: Awakening

In the Kingdom of Tianyao, under a beautiful sunny day, the sky suddenly turned gray and heavy. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed as violent winds rose. A crack suddenly appeared in the sky, and a beam of red light shot straight out, aiming directly for the backyard of the Left Chancellor's estate...

The backyard of the Left Chancellor's estate.

Inside a dilapidated room, there was only a bed made of piled straw. Lying upon the bed was a young woman of no more than fifteen or sixteen. She was beautiful, her tranquil sleeping face resembling a fairy who had fallen into the mortal realm...

She must be dead, right?

Death might be for the best. To many people, her existence was a threat—such as her lover... such as the friend who had been unfaithful with her lover... and perhaps, the foster father she had regarded as an elder since childhood...

Heh, perhaps death truly would be a form of liberation. But could one still feel pain after death? Holy crap, if she was blown to smithereens, how much would that hurt...

"Miss, Miss, please don't scare this servant! Miss, please wake up! You just kicked your legs once and closed your eyes and died like that? What am I supposed to do, leaving me all alone and helpless? Waaa... Miss..."

Suddenly, her body felt as if it were being pressed down by someone, and she was being shaken violently. Yu Mei felt a wave of nausea. She wanted to reach out and push the person off her, but she found her hands were completely unable to lift. The slightest exertion caused a pain that made her gasp.

Yu Mei was stunned. Wasn't she dead? Why was the temperature of the person on top of her so scorching? Damn, could it be she wasn't dead yet? Had someone rescued her? Yu Mei shuddered. She had been blown to smithereens; even if someone had rescued her, she would likely be mangled or broken in some way. Even worse, most likely, she would be disfigured...

Oh no! If that were the case, she would rather die and be done with it. Yu Mei would rather die a magnificent death in the explosion than live the rest of her life like an ant, barely scraping by!

But wait, that wasn't right... She heard the person calling themselves "this servant" and addressing her as "Miss"... No, no, the more Yu Mei thought about it, the more something felt off. Suddenly, she realized something, and her eyes snapped open...

Those eyes were as clear as a river in spring, as if they could see through a person's heart, yet at this moment, they were like a sharp blade, meticulously scanning everything in the room...

The room was antique in style. Although simple, with the only piece of furniture being an old round wooden table—looking no different from the layout of an ordinary household—Yu Mei's heart grew heavier the more she looked...

Because no matter which angle she viewed it from, this room did not look like a place a modern person should live!

But she had definitely been blown to smithereens! Could it be... could it be that she had traveled through time? Or rather, been reborn? No way, could she actually stumble into such a cliché plot? Heavens, Yu Mei had done nothing but evil and had blood on her hands; how could such a wicked person like her be allowed to be reborn?

"Miss!!"

The person did not notice Yu Mei's open eyes and continued to hold her waist tightly. Seeming to have fallen into despair, she began to wail loudly.

Yu Mei's brow furrowed. She found it difficult to accept everything she was seeing, and her mind was already in a state of chaos. This girl was actually hugging her and crying like she was at a funeral. Since Yu Mei couldn't move her hands, she could only bark sternly, "Shut up!"

The girl was startled by her harsh voice and finally stopped crying, but she remained frozen, hugging her without daring to move. Yu Mei could feel that this little girl was afraid, because her small body was trembling.

Yu Mei couldn't help but find it funny. "What are you afraid of?"

"Ah!! Miss, Miss, are you lonely down there, so you came up to take Yu'er with you? Miss, wuuu, wuuu, only Miss is good to Yu'er, even in death you didn't forget Yu'er and specially came up to take Yu'er along... wuuu..."

A hint of a smile touched Yu Mei's seductive eyes. She looked with a wicked grin at the girl calling herself Yu'er, who was huddled at the foot of the bed, crying to herself. *Sigh, when did I ever say I was dead? This girl is too cute; she actually thinks I'm a ghost coming to take her away?*

"Yu'er, I'm not dead. I'm very thirsty. Go pour me a cup of water, okay?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Yu Mei froze. When had she ever spoken to a stranger with such gentleness?

"Re... really?" The little girl sobbed twice, then slowly raised her head and reached out a hand, fearfully touching Yu Mei's hand...

"Ah! Miss, you really aren't dead! That's great, that's great! Miss, please wait a moment, Yu'er will go get water for you right now!" As if sensing the warmth of her hand, the little girl's tears turned into a smile. She jumped up excitedly, preparing to go out and find water.

"Yu'er!" Seeing her about to exit the room, Yu Mei called out urgently. Because she couldn't lift her hands, she could only tilt her head desperately to look at Yu'er. "Find me a doctor. Do not let anyone know!"

Seeing her solemn expression, Yu'er was smart enough not to ask questions. She simply gave an acknowledgment and hurried out of the room...