"Plop—"

Surrounded by river water—cold, bone-chilling.

Li Sheng suddenly opened her eyes and found herself sinking, suffocating, her chest about to explode.

What’s going on? Didn’t she already die? Why is she in water?

With no time to think, Li Sheng struggled to swim upward.

Luckily, the water wasn’t as deep as she imagined, and soon she broke through the surface.

On the riverbank, dozens of eyes stared at her in shock.

“How did she come up? Doesn’t she not know how to swim?”

“Damn it, push her down again and teach her a lesson!”

A group of well-dressed men and women reached out, trying to shove Li Sheng back into the water.

Li Sheng’s eyes turned icy. She leaped out of the river and swept her long leg in a clean arc, kicking the closest few people straight into the water.

Splash!

Water burst everywhere.

The group who had wanted to punish her froze in disbelief.

This country bumpkin… how did she suddenly become a different person?

Li Sheng’s cold, sharp gaze swept over them. Her voice was low and dangerous.

“Who are you?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt something was wrong.

This wasn’t her voice.

And she remembered clearly—she had died.

As the first female War God, she had been ambushed during a top-secret mission. Someone had leaked her plans. She didn’t even know who the traitor was—not even at the moment of death.

But now… she was alive?

A wave of confusion flashed through her eyes. In the cold wind, her weak body swayed. The pain of drowning surged again. Her vision darkened—

Li Sheng fainted

……

The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the special ward.

In her coma, Li Sheng trembled.

Scenes long buried deep in her memory surged back.

Half the sky was stained red with fire. A woman’s desperate voice echoed, every word trembling with tears—

“A Li, always remember, you are the only surviving bloodline of the ancient Li family!

Our Li family has been loyal for generations—unyielding, straight-spined, never ashamed before the heavens, never bowing to anyone.

We have always kept a clear conscience!”

“A Li, you must live on. Clear our family’s name. Clear your father’s name.

Seek justice for the heroic souls who died unjustly!”

“A Li, run… run fast…”

Li Sheng jolted awake and sat up.

No flames. No collapsing sky.

Only a clean, bright hospital ward.

On the TV opposite the bed, the news looped endlessly—the downfall of the ancient Li family, her supposed defection, and her “heinous betrayal.”

It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

Li Sheng let out a sudden laugh, her frail shoulders trembling. As she laughed, blood-red tears welled in her eyes, but she forced them back.

Don’t cry.

Those who bullied me, humiliated me, destroyed me—listen clearly.

Even if I must crawl back from hell, I will seek justice for the Li family’s blood-soaked debts.

A terrifying killing intent burst out, filling the entire ward.

The two nurses shivered when they saw the hatred burning in her blood-red eyes. Then, in an instant, she retracted her aura. Her gaze cleared, her face calm.

The door creaked open.

A girl in a wheelchair was pushed inside, accompanied by two men. The nurses immediately bowed respectfully—completely unlike their earlier cold attitude toward Li Sheng.

“Miss, you’re here.”

The girl nodded. When she saw Li Sheng awake, surprise flickered in her eyes, but she quickly masked it with concern.

“Ah Li, are you okay?”

At the sight of the girl, a stabbing pain seared through Li Sheng’s head. A flood of foreign memories poured into her mind—all the grievances, all the helplessness of the original Li Sheng.

She understood.

She had been reborn in a girl with the same name.

This Li Sheng was the youngest, most pampered daughter of the Li family in Yaozhou City. But the pain began when she was ten.

Her father brought home another girl—Jiang Chuchu, the orphan of a friend who had died saving him. Out of guilt, he treated Jiang Chuchu like his own daughter.

That was when the tragedy began.

Since childhood, Jiang Chuchu used her innocent appearance and her pitiful background to slowly steal everything that belonged to Li Sheng.

Her bedroom.

Her clothes.

Her jewelry.

Even her fiancé treasured Jiang Chuchu more than her.

Whenever she resisted, she was scolded for being ungrateful to the “orphan” who saved her father’s life.

Her brothers and father sided with Jiang Chuchu again and again.

The worst incident was in school—Jiang Chuchu falsely accused her of stealing. Without listening to any explanation, Father beat her so badly she could not get out of bed for a month.

Her heart turned cold.

She stopped talking. Stopped smiling. Her grades dropped. People called her a mute and a fool.

Until last night—her 19th birthday banquet.

She saw her fiancé and Jiang Chuchu embracing and kissing.

She lost control and confronted them, and in the argument, Jiang Chuchu “accidentally” fell down the stairs.

Everyone rushed to save Jiang Chuchu.

No one knew that the real Li Sheng was taken to the river… held down… and murdered on her birthday.

After sorting through everything, Li Sheng exhaled softly.

She placed a hand over her chest and whispered,

“Rest assured. Since I’ve borrowed your body, I will repay every grievance you suffered.”

Jiang Chuchu finally rolled her wheelchair closer, her eyes misty with guilt.

“Ah Li, are you still blaming me? I explained to Dad and the others that you didn’t push me, but they just wouldn’t believe me…”

Her tone was soft, pitiful, innocent.

But when she looked up—

She met Li Sheng’s cold sneer.

“Whether I pushed you or not, the surveillance footage will tell the truth.

Don’t you think so?”

Before her eyes, Li Sheng's bright and clear gaze shone with intelligence—black and white distinct, ethereal and pure. She smiled lightly, carefree and relaxed. The aura she exuded was no longer the same as before, no longer silent and weak. Instead, she was like a small beast licking its wounds in a corner—quiet, not fighting or arguing, yet still radiating a pride and nobility that was sharp and unyielding, impossible for anyone to ignore.

Jiang Chuchu widened her eyes, feeling a wave of unease. Was it her imagination? The Li Sheng in front of her seemed completely different! She actually resisted now, and her aura was strong—no longer the easy-to-manipulate girl she once was.

Jiang Chuchu quickly suppressed her doubts and pouted coquettishly at the two men beside her.

“Third Brother, Brother Qi Yu, look, Ah Li is really angry with me. You promised me you would apologize to her. Hurry up and say it, or I’ll get angry.”

After speaking, she gave Li Sheng a provocative glance, silently declaring:

“Look carefully—your own blood brother and your childhood sweetheart who has loved you for years, they’re both on my side.”

Li Sheng smiled lightly. Jiang Chuchu’s words not only exposed her guilt, but also reminded her that even if these two men apologized, it was only for Jiang Chuchu’s sake. Every seemingly kind sentence was meant to provoke.

If she were still the pitiful, ignored girl from before, she would have felt cold and hopeless again.

But now?

Li Sheng was the young lady of the Li family in the ancient capital. She was the female war god who had stood on the battlefield, unfazed before enemies.

These petty tricks no longer concerned her.

At this moment, Li Jinyang reluctantly stepped forward and looked down at Li Sheng.

“Xiao Wu, I’m apologizing to you for Chuchu’s sake, but don’t be too proud. Chuchu is the victim, she—”

Before he could finish, Li Sheng calmly interrupted him.

“Third brother.”

Her voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear.

The single call made Li Jinyang pause. The previous Li Sheng had been silent, like a mute shadow. Hearing her call him now surprised him.

Li Sheng looked at him and said slowly, “Last night, after you rushed to send Jiang Chuchu to the hospital, the people at the banquet pushed me into the river. They held my head down and didn’t let me surface.”

“And then?” Li Jinyang frowned. “You pushed Chuchu down the stairs first. Otherwise, how could her friends do that to you?”

Hearing such an indifferent statement made the dull pain in her chest resurface. The terror of drowning flashed vividly in her memory.

Li Sheng asked quietly, “So you think I deserved it? That I deserved to suffer?”

Li Jinyang raised his chin, ready to answer—until he saw Li Sheng’s bitter smile.

“But I can’t swim.”

Seven simple words struck him like lightning.

Li Sheng couldn’t swim. Those people pushed her into the water and held her down. How was that different from murder?

Li Jinyang’s pupils shrank, his expression freezing.

Just as the atmosphere thickened, Jiang Chuchu spoke softly, breaking the silence.

“Ah Li, it’s my fault. If I hadn’t fainted and made Third Brother rush me to the hospital, none of this would have happened. Luckily you’re fine, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

Li Jinyang visibly relaxed and added confidently, “Exactly. Since you’re fine now, it shows that Chuchu’s friends knew how to hold back. They only taught you a small lesson, they didn’t really hurt you…”

Didn’t really hurt her?

Li Sheng sneered.

When the little girl was drowning, she had opened her frightened eyes and seen distorted faces smiling from above the water’s surface—faces like demons reflected in a broken mirror.

Hell was empty; the demons walked the world.

Did anyone know what she was thinking when she finally stopped struggling, sinking into the cold depths?

She was thinking that the world was beautiful…

But she would never return to it again.

Which one of those executioners was innocent when a young life was nearly extinguished?

Suppressing the icy sharpness in her eyes, Li Sheng said clearly, “An eye for an eye. Even if I’m fine now, they’re still guilty of attempted murder.”

A charge that could put them behind bars for ten years or more.

Jiang Chuchu grabbed Li Sheng’s hand and pleaded, “Ah Li, we’re all friends. If you’re angry, take it out on me. They only hurt you because they thought you pushed me. It was impulsive. But you’re safe now—so forgive them, okay? Even if you want to blame someone… just blame me.”

Li Sheng felt the familiar sting and numbness on the back of her hand. Last night, when she caught Jiang Chuchu and her fiancé together, Jiang Chuchu had cried pitifully while pinching her hand so hard she had to jerk away.

In doing so, Jiang Chuchu fell down the stairs—and everyone “saw” Li Sheng push her.

Li Sheng stared at Jiang Chuchu for two quiet seconds, then smiled faintly. She slowly raised her other hand.

Jiang Chuchu instinctively flinched, thinking Li Sheng would hit her. A triumphant glint flashed in her eyes—until Li Sheng simply placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently.

“How could I blame you? You’re such an innocent little flower.”

But with that light touch, a sharp pain shot through Jiang Chuchu’s shoulder. Her body went numb—as if someone had struck an acupoint and pricked her with needles.

“Ah!”

Jiang Chuchu recoiled, furious, slapping Li Sheng’s hand away.

“What did you do to me?!”

Li Jinyang and Qi Yu rushed forward immediately, accusing Li Sheng without hesitation.

“How can you be so vicious? Chuchu has been defending you even after you pushed her, and this is how you repay her?”

“Li Sheng, do you have no shame?”

One was her elder brother.

The other was her childhood sweetheart and fiancé.

Neither believed her.

No one believed her.

Li Sheng raised her hand, revealing a bright red handprint on her fair, jade-like skin.

Then she looked up at them, her voice clear and ringing—

“She hit me. And I am the vicious one?”

“Are all of you blind?”

The hospital room was quiet, deathly silent. Li Jinyang and Qi Yu said nothing as they glanced at Li Sheng’s disappointed expression. The image of Jiang Chuchu suddenly screaming and collapsing replayed in their minds. Li Sheng had clearly done nothing…

Did they wrongly accuse her?

"It hurts so much." Jiang Chuchu cried out. "Third Brother, Brother Qi Yu, it hurts so much, wuwuwu."

This time, her crying seemed genuine. She didn’t know what Li Sheng had done, but her whole body was numb, as if thousands of needles pierced her. The pain was unbearable.

As Jiang Chuchu wailed, Li Sheng looked at her arm, where a bright red palm print still burned on her skin. Then she raised her hand and slapped Jiang Chuchu hard across the face.

“Smack!”

Jiang Chuchu staggered and fell again.

Li Sheng smiled, calm and casual. “Here, I’ll give it back to you.”

Everyone in the capital knew—Li Sheng never let anyone off if they crossed her.

Qi Yu reacted first, exploding with anger. “Li Sheng, you’ve gone too far!”

“Brother Qi Yu…” Jiang Chuchu sobbed, tears streaming. “It hurts so much… wuwuwu…”

“Don’t be afraid, Chuchu. I’ll take you to the doctor.”

Qi Yu carried Jiang Chuchu gently. Before leaving, he shot a fierce glare at Li Sheng.

“Since you saw everything yesterday, I’ll make it clear now: the person I love is Chuchu. As for our engagement, break it off—or I will.”

The ward door slammed shut.

Li Jinyang also left, but before he walked out, he couldn’t resist adding, “Qi Yu and Chuchu are meant to be together. If you keep holding on, you’ll only bring shame upon yourself.”

Bring shame upon herself?

Li Sheng sat on the bed and chuckled lightly. But the original owner’s emotions surged—sorrow, humiliation, self-pity.

The engagement had been witnessed by both families’ elders; the marriage certificate hand-written by the Qi family patriarch. She still remembered the words:

【Two families united in marriage, a contract of life and death, a promise with you.】

Now?

A joke.

Li Sheng gently touched her chest and sighed. “This kind of man isn’t worth your heartache. And… there’s more to life than love.”

She had hatred to settle and debts to collect. If she wanted to survive in the ancient capital’s tangled power webs, she needed her own strength.

Li Sheng took a deep breath, lifted the blanket, and got off the bed.

In the corner, two nurses who had watched her “outburst” didn’t dare approach, yet their attitude carried no respect—only disdain.

To them, she was someone anyone could step on.

People always have those who lift them up and those who drag them down.

But one day, she would stand at the top again.

Li Sheng didn’t look back and left the ward.

Walking through the corridor, she passed a high-end room and stopped instinctively. Inside were familiar faces—her father Li Youchang, her brother Li Jinyang, and her fiancé Qi Yu—all surrounding Jiang Chuchu’s bed. They fussed over her, comforting, coaxing, showing their concern in every way.

Sure enough…

the crying child gets the candy.

Li Sheng’s lips curled slightly, and she continued walking.

At the hospital entrance, she stood by the roadside to hail a taxi—only to realize a problem. She was still wearing a hospital gown. Drivers probably thought she couldn’t pay, because none of them stopped.

She couldn’t go back, could she?

Li Sheng frowned.

Under a nearby tree, a black luxury car was parked. Inside, a man casually glanced out the window and froze at the sight of her.

The girl’s figure was slender; the oversized hospital gown hung loosely, revealing her collarbone and snow-white skin. Her long neck was delicate and elegant. Her face, clean and flawless, glowed under the light. Her dark hair flowed to her waist, fluttering in the wind like a fairy who had wandered into the mortal world.

Most striking were her eyes—bright like glass, filled with cold pride, arrogance, and a quiet defiance.

She looked like a startled swan.

The man’s fingers paused. A strange light flickered in his deep, sharp eyes.

Too similar.

Far too similar.

Ji Kaicheng, in the driver’s seat, noticed his master’s abnormal stare and instinctively followed it. He saw Li Sheng.

He sucked in a breath.

“Young Master… you—you’re not looking at that mute girl, right? That’s Li Youchang’s youngest daughter, Li Sheng. Everyone in Yaozhou knows she has a bad temper, vicious personality, always bullying her adopted sister Jiang Chuchu.”

“Li Sheng?” Shen Xiuci repeated softly, his deep voice carrying an unreadable meaning.

Ji Kaicheng was about to continue when Shen Xiuci said calmly:

“Drive over.”

…Drive over?

Knowing she had that kind of reputation, why approach her?

Ki Kaicheng was confused, but he dared not disobey.

The luxury car rolled forward and stopped right in front of Li Sheng.

Li Sheng was momentarily stunned as the door opened automatically. In the back seat sat a tall, elegant man.

From the side, he was like a noble pine—straight, proud, untouchably refined. His every movement radiated natural authority.

Like a god descended to earth—admired from afar, never touched.

Li Sheng watched him as he slowly turned his head.

The face revealed was breathtaking.

His features were perfect, sharp yet gentle, and his peach-blossom eyes held a seductive charm that made one’s heart tremble. But beneath that softness was a deep, dangerous abyss.

Li Sheng was momentarily stunned by his beauty. She had met countless faces before, but none had ever made her feel this way.

This man was flawless.

Unreal.

But she frowned.

The man’s gaze was fixed on her, deep, probing, almost aggressive.

Li Sheng’s expression chilled. She met his eyes without fear.

“Have you stared enough?” she asked.

Ji Kaicheng nearly died on the spot.

This mute girl—this troublesome girl—dared talk to the Fifth Young Master like that?!

But the most shocking thing was…

His Fifth Young Master wasn’t angry.

At all.

Shen Xiuci smiled and gestured gently.

“Get in the car. I’ll take you.”