Pain, omnipresent pain, embraced by an infinite chill.
Long after, Nangong Li awoke from her pain, feeling as if her body had been run over by a cart and even a slight movement would cause a sharp intake of pain.
Eyes opened, she realized she was lying on a simple wooden bed in a shabby surrounding. Spiderwebs hung heavily from the dilapidated roof of the tiny room that had no other furniture except this bed and some scattered piles of broken wood.
Where was she and how did she end up here?
Nangong Li stared blankly at her surroundings, too overwhelmed to react. Wasn't she picking herbs on the mountain? Right, there had been a landslide, and she was hit by the rolling rocks from the mountain. Everything had turned black, and waking up, she found herself in this setting.
Suddenly, sharp pain pierced through her head, and images flashed by. The flood of foreign memories overwhelmed her, like a breached river, instantly submerging her.
Nangong Li, thirteen years old, the adopted daughter of the Nangong family. Born useless, weak, and sickly, she had been timid and self-abased since childhood, suffering from continuous bullying.
Having talked back to the prodigious young master of the Nangong family, she suffered a brutal beating which cost her life, resulting in Nangong Li's soul occupying her body.
Heh, Nangong Li smirked at herself. Had she encountered the legendary transmigration?
Moreover, it was a soul transmigration, reducing her age from twenty-four to thirteen years. Worse, the taken over body coincidentally shared the same name - Nangong Li.
Great, she was just about to pass the final test of the pharmacist exam, about to embrace the spring of her career as a medicine maker. But now fate had dumped her in the back of beyond. Nangong Li was on the brink of tears. After years of struggle, she hadn't died earlier, hadn't died later, but at the brink of her imminent success.
This must be the doing of an envious divinity.
"Hurry up, let's get this over with, we need to report back to the young lady." While Nangong Li was wallowing in self-pity, a harsh voice sounded, followed by the sound of footsteps.
"Hah, didn't expect the young lady to hate the second young lady this much. Not only did she beat her to this state, but she won't even allow her food. Moreover, she wants us to end her life." Another voice echoed in response.
"What do you know, the young lady is just cutting off all loose ends. Besides, that bastard isn't truly the second young lady of the Nangong mansion. The Nangong family has nurtured her all these years, that's already the ultimate benevolence."
The sound of footsteps gradually drew closer. Nangong Li, who was lying on the bed, suddenly shot a strikingly cold glimmer from his autumnal eyes. His previous timid demeanor was replaced by bravery that surprisingly suited his slim face. The next moment, Nangong Li closed his eyes, pretending to be fast asleep.
Two men, dressed like servants, casually strolled right in without any consideration for Nangong Li. In their eyes, this second young miss was so feeble that even an ant could easily kill her, making her hardly a threat.
“Pssh, still asleep at this late hour, how utterly stupid," the servant with the gruff voice sneered, glancing at Nangong Li, who was pretending to be sound asleep on the bed, contempt evident on his face.
“Hmm, he does look appealingly vulnerable though. Despite being a second young miss, how about…” The other man smirked lewdly as he looked at Nangong Li who, although in an ensnared state, retained a delicate beauty, and started to suggest a vile act.
Agreeing immediately, the two men began to hurriedly undress while approaching Nangong Li fast. Their blatant stares made the pretending-to-be-asleep Nangong Li furrow his brows, his right fist clenched by his side. He hated Nangongaosnow, the instigator of this situation, with all his heart.
But now is not the time to be distracted. The most important thing is how to get rid of these two.
The agony was so intense that even a slight movement caused a violent twitch, not to mention exerting any force.
“This second young lady really is a tempting little one, though utterly clueless.” The gruff-voiced man got closer to Nangong Li, one hand reaching for his clothes, intending to strip him clean.
However, when the man's hand loomed over Nangong Li, the latter abruptly opened his eyes. His piercing eyes glinting with killer intent, he resisted the extreme pain, made a leap, grabbed a broken piece of wood at his side, and thrust its sharp edge into the man's exposed neck.
There was a soft sound as the blood splashed out; the man's eyes widened in surprise, obviously never expecting Nangong Li to fight back like this. Blood gushed from his neck, the intense pain contorted his face horribly, and after a few spasms, he toppled over, dead.
“You wretch, I'll kill you!” The other man, scared out of his wits, came back to his senses and wasted no more time. Swinging a knife he had prepared in his hand, he lunged at Nangong Li.
Nangong Li’s pupils narrowed, he mustered strength trying to dodge sideways, but the man was too fast. He had already plunged his dagger down, and Nangong Li’s left hand reflexively shot up in an attempt to block the weapon.
With a swift slash, the dagger cut across his palm. Nangong Li grimaced in pain, suspecting that his palm must've been split. Blood gushed from it, and dripping down his raised arm, it fell onto the little black turret strung around his wrist by a red thread.
Suddenly, a blinding beam of silver light emerged, gradually expanding and giving off a burning sensation. By the time Nangong Li became aware of it, he was already surrounded by a blanket of dazzling silver light.
His body was sucked in by a great force, into a pitch-black space where the air stood still and quiet - a deadly silence.