Great Xia Dynasty, Jingnan Kingdom, Lingxi County, Bai Mansion
The small courtyard in the dead of night was so quiet you could hear the insects chirping.
Beneath the corridor pillars, two maids on night duty huddled with their necks tucked in, rubbing their hands.
Their voices weren’t loud, but they pierced the silence like needles.
“Tomorrow, the Second Miss is getting married, right?”
“That’s right. If I had to serve her for two more months, I’d end up just as stupid as she is.”
The cold-faced maid pursed her lips, not bothering to lower her voice.
“Good riddance—let her marry off and stop being an eyesore in the mansion! Every time I run into the other maids, I feel looked down on!”
“Keep your voice down!”
The gentler maid tugged at her sleeve.
“She’s still the Second Miss…”
“Second Miss?”
The cold-faced maid let out a sarcastic laugh, her voice rising sharply.
“A fool who can’t even string two words together deserves to be called Miss? Tomorrow she’s marrying the County Magistrate’s youngest son as a concubine—not even a single dowry maid to go with her. She could die over there and no one would know!”
The gentle maid opened her mouth, then finally lowered her head and sighed.
Yeah, who would care whether a fool lived or died?
Inside the room
Moonlight flowed across the edge of the bed like water, falling on the girl’s peaceful sleeping face.
She was curled up like a frightened kitten, long lashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyelids, a silly smile still lingering at the corners of her lips.
No one knew what kind of soul resided in this body.
“Cough… cough, cough!”
Bai Shuangshuang suddenly sat bolt upright on the bed, gasping for air like a fish thrown onto the shore.
Cold sweat instantly soaked her nightgown, and the fine hairs at her forehead clung damply to her skin, icy cold.
She instinctively reached for the sword at her waist, but grasped nothing.
Then, belatedly, she realized—her hands… were smaller?
Slender, fair, with a hint of pink at the fingertips, even the calluses from gripping a sword had vanished completely.
“…”
Bai Shuangshuang froze.
She remembered the sea of red-gold flames that bridged heaven and earth, the air itself burning.
She remembered her Master, pierced through the collarbone by a Soul-Pinning Nail, laughing bitterly as he shouted “Run!” at her.
She remembered pouring her last shred of spiritual power into that life-saving Ground-Spanning Talisman and pressing it into Senior Sister Luo Zhiwei’s arms.
She remembered being devoured by countless golden flames, the agonizing pain as her bones were incinerated inch by inch.
That was the Red-Gold Flame that could burn even a soul to nothing.
Of the entire Qingyun Sword Sect’s thousand-plus disciples, not one escaped except Senior Sister Luo Zhiwei.
She should have been soul-scattered, not even qualified for reincarnation—so how was she alive?
“This is… where?”
The voice that came out should have been hoarse, but instead it was soft, sweet, and sticky, like an oriole leaving its valley, like a clear spring bubbling.
“?”
Bai Shuangshuang was stunned again.
This was… her own voice?!
Just then, the maids’ conversation outside came through loud and clear.
Fool?
Marrying tomorrow?
The County Magistrate’s youngest son?
Becoming a concubine?
Every word struck her heart like a hammer.
The next second, a tidal wave of memories flooded in.
Bai Shuangshuang, a concubine’s daughter of a branch family of the Bai Family in Lingxi County, Jingnan Kingdom, Great Xia Dynasty.
The year she was born, she fell severely ill, which damaged her brain, and from then on she was known throughout Lingxi County as the Foolish Maiden.
Her only advantage was her looks.
So much so that the County Magistrate’s dissolute little son lost his head the moment he saw her, and sent someone to propose the very next day.
The Bai family was overjoyed—finally they could get rid of this disgraceful burden, and curry favor with the County Magistrate at the same time.
It was a godsend.
So without even asking her opinion, the family head set the wedding date.
Well, who would care about a fool’s opinion?
After digesting the memories, Bai Shuangshuang sat on the bed, silent for a full quarter of an hour.
Then she let out a deafening roar in her heart.
‘I—the dignified Senior Brother of the Qingyun Sword Sect, the youngest Peak Lord among the Thirty-Two Peaks of Qingyun, the sole orthodox heir to the Heavenly Firmament Sword Style, the three-time consecutive champion of the Sword Tournament, the direct disciple of the Patriarch across generations, the once-in-a-century Sword Bone Prodigy of Sword-Hiding Peak, the white moonlight in the hearts of countless female cultivators of the Great Yan Dynasty——have now become a defenseless fool of a girl, and tomorrow I have to marry a playboy as his concubine?!’
“What the hell?!”
Bai Shuangshuang couldn’t help shouting aloud, then choked on her own voice—so soft it could melt anyone.
She stumbled off the bed, rushed to the dressing table, and snatched up the bronze mirror.
Under the dim yellow light of the oil lamp, the mirror reflected a face of stunning beauty.
Hair like a waterfall, skin white as snow, a pair of almond eyes glistening, still hazy with the moisture of just waking up.
Her cherry lips parted slightly, revealing a tiny, sharp canine tooth—innocent yet seductive, enough to steal anyone’s heart.
Because of her hasty movement, the collar of her white nightgown had slipped open widely, exposing her delicate collarbone and the elegant curve of her shoulders.
Bai Shuangshuang slapped the bronze mirror facedown on the table, her ears turning bright red as if they might bleed.
Damn it, this is too embarrassing!!
In her past life, she’d blush just from holding hands with Senior Sister Luo Zhiwei, let alone look at a girl’s body.
Now she’d actually turned into a girl—and such a pretty one at that.
What kind of nonsense was this?!
She turned her back to the mirror, planted her hands on the table, took a deep breath, and then another.
‘Calm down, Bai Shuang. You need to calm down.’
Just then, a clatter of footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by the steward’s gruff shouting.
“Get on your toes! Tomorrow is Miss Shuangshuang’s big day. If anyone messes up, watch your own hide!”
Bai Shuangshuang lowered her hands and looked up.
In those once-glistening almond eyes, there was no trace of confusion or shyness anymore—only a chill like thousand-year-old ice.
As the Senior Brother of the Qingyun Sword Sect, she had enough execution ability for this, and she clearly understood priorities.
After thinking it over, Bai Shuangshuang made a decision.
‘The dignified Young Hero Bai—when faced with this situation, the only option is to… run!’
‘Otherwise, with this weak-chicken body, who can I fight?’
‘If I’m really caught and forced to mate with that fat pig, I’m screwed. I’d be standing up and getting trampled, turned into some kind of slave.’
‘Bai Shuangshuang is a fool, but I, Bai Shuang, am not.’
So she quietly opened the door…
The atmosphere in the courtyard held an unspoken subtlety.
The maids in the distance were busy as bees, but around Bai Shuangshuang’s small yard, a ring of empty space had automatically formed.
After all, she still bore the title of Second Miss.
No one dared to mistreat her outright, so they let her sleep in peace.
Bai Shuangshuang pressed her fingertips against the door crack, carefully pushed it open a sliver, and stuck half her head out.
The night wind came with the damp chill of dew, whooshing straight down her collar.
Young Hero Bai immediately shuddered.
“Ah-choo!”
A loud sneeze tore through the night air.
All sounds in the courtyard stopped instantly.
Dozens of eyes turned in unison, nailing themselves to Bai Shuangshuang stuck in the doorway.
A buzz filled Bai Shuangshuang’s mind.
‘It’s over. I’m dead for sure.’