Western Region of the Weiyu Realm
In the rear courtyard of the Wei family estate in Kunyu City, a delicately furnished bedroom lay quiet. On the wide canopy bed, a little girl around five years old suddenly opened her eyes.
She blinked, still dazed, staring up at the pale pink bed curtains for a long while. Just as she was beginning to piece together her surroundings, voices drifted in from nearby. Unsure what was happening, the girl quickly shut her eyes and pretended to sleep.
"Sister Chunyu, what do you think will happen to our young miss now? The madam has just passed, and the master is already rushing to elevate the concubine to the main wife's position. Will we have to move out of Zhuohua Courtyard?"
"Xia Mo, shut your mouth! These matters aren't for us servants to discuss!"
Xia Mo seemed frightened and paused for a long moment before timidly replying,
"Sister Chunyu, I don't mean any harm, but this affects our future…"
A heavy silence followed before Chunyu finally spoke again.
"Our fate depends on whether the young miss has spiritual roots. If she can cultivate, even if the master dislikes her, he won't dare openly mistreat her. Besides, her maternal uncle's family still exists. My only fear is that she's too young and might blindly obey the master, suffering in silence."
Xia Mo sighed in agreement.
"The madam sheltered her too much."
"We'll have to wait and see. Qiu Tao and Dong Mei have already gone to inform the madam's brother. If her uncle's family intervenes, at least the young miss won't suffer outright."
"That's all we can do for now. The young miss cried herself to sleep, and after we carried her back, the master didn't even come to check on her. It's heartbreaking!"
"Hush! No matter how pitiful, she's still our mistress."
But the girl lying on the bed could no longer listen. Her thoughts were spinning wildly.
"Isn't this the beginning of the second chapter of that xianxia romance novel I gave a scathing 500-character review to, "Rising Clouds"?! No wonder all these names and lines sound so familiar!"
The door creaked open gently. Wei Yunxi hadn't figured out how to react yet, so she continued to fake sleep. She felt someone touch her forehead, gently tuck in her blanket, then quietly retreat and close the door.
Once she was sure no one else would come in, Wei Yunxi opened her eyes again. Lying still, she began to recall the plot and characters from the story. The more she remembered, the colder her heart felt.
"I transmigrated into this novel... just to be sacrificed?"
Before the accident, she'd been reading this serialized webnovel. She had just caught up to the chapter where the character with her exact same name, Wei Yunxi, had her spiritual root forcibly extracted and her golden core dug out by the female lead Wei Yunqing and the male lead Sheng Yuhong—then promptly exited the story.
The novel was set in the Weiyu Realm and billed itself as a tale of love and vengeance in the cultivation world. It claimed to be about a powerful female cultivator, but in truth, it was just another story where the heroine leveled up thanks to endless resources and the male lead's protection, until the two soared hand-in-hand into immortality.
As for the Wei Yunxi of the story? She was the first major cannon fodder.
Half-sister to the female lead, Wei Yunxi was born with a rare lightning spiritual root—an even more outstanding talent than Wei Yunqing's dual water-wood root. Both girls were sent to the prestigious Haoran Sect for cultivation.
Once there, they met the Haoran Sect's admired eldest disciple, Sheng Yuhong. Talented, handsome, and well-liked, he quickly became the object of many disciples' affection.
Wei Yunxi, due to her innate talent, was accepted directly by the sect leader and became Sheng Yuhong's junior sister. Naturally, she fell for him.
Unfortunately, the male lead belonged to the female lead. Wei Yunqing joined the sect's Pill Hall and, thanks to her ability to refine high-level pills despite her cultivation level, soon earned widespread fame—and Sheng Yuhong's interest.
Wei Yunqing used her sister to get closer to him. When Wei Yunxi refused to play along, the heroine began subtly poisoning Sheng Yuhong's view of her, while secretly sabotaging her.
One trap after another. Wei Yunxi's attempts to defend herself only served to elevate Wei Yunqing.
Eventually, during a sect trial in a secret realm, the female lead hinted to her followers to "handle" Wei Yunxi. Forced into a deadly fight with her own sectmates, Wei Yunxi lashed out, wounding Wei Yunqing's spiritual root and golden core.
That was when Sheng Yuhong appeared. He saved his beloved and captured Wei Yunxi. To "heal" Wei Yunqing, he chose to extract Wei Yunxi's spiritual root and dig out her golden core. And that was the last chapter she read—right before her stove exploded and she died.
Thinking about all this, Wei Yunxi suddenly sat up in bed and slapped her hand against the mattress.
"Screw this!" she muttered. "I'm not playing along. No way I'm dying for the heroine. Time to get out of here."
She tossed off her blanket and was about to climb down from the bed—only to freeze. Her little feet couldn't even touch the floor.
With her chubby limbs and child-sized frame, there was nowhere she could go. She probably wouldn't even make it past the gates of the Wei residence.
Hearing movement inside, Chunyu and Xia Mo quietly pushed the door open and froze at the sight of their young miss awkwardly perched on the bed's edge.
"Young miss, do you need to relieve yourself? Chunyu will carry you."
She then turned to Xia Mo. "Fetch the chamber pot."
Wei Yunxi—now with an adult's mind—quickly adjusted her expression, forcing out a pitiful whimper.
"Chunyu, I want Mother! Take me to her!"
The maids exchanged glances before softening their voices. "Young miss… the madam has already passed."
Summoning every tragic memory she could think of, Wei Yunxi squeezed out two tears. "You're lying! I don't believe you! Take me to Mother's room—I'll wait for her there!"
"Young miss…"
"I don't care! Take me now! I will see Mother!"
She threw a full-blown tantrum, leveraging the privileges of childhood stubbornness. Unable to refuse, the maids wrapped her in a thin blanket and carried her toward the main wife's courtyard.
But just as they stepped out, they ran into Wei Lingyue, the Wei family patriarch.
Dressed in fine embroidered robes and a white jade crown, Wei Lingyue had an unremarkable face but carried himself with the dignified air of a cultivator. When he saw them, displeasure flickered in his eyes.
"Why have you brought the young miss here?"
Chunyu and Xia Mo bowed hastily. "Master, the young miss refused to sleep and insisted on waiting for the madam…"
Wei Yunxi, though mentally an adult, played her role perfectly—stretching out her tiny arms pitifully.
"Father! Up!"
Wei Lingyue's gaze darkened, but he didn't reach for her.
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Author's Note:
Darlings, this is the start of Feng Ling's second female-led xianxia novel! This time, the heroine's cultivation journey will be completely different from the first book, but the story will still be thrilling. The series will span four realms: Cultivation Realm, Immortal Realm, God Realm, and Sacred (Saint) Realm. Stay tuned, and please add to your library! (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
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This is the second book from this author that I translated (currently ongoing) as for their 1st book it was True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress. You can check it by visit my profile.