In the deep winter, Taihu Lake was vast and misty, seemingly shimmering with silver light in the night. A thin layer of mist, slightly crystallized due to the low temperature, floated on the lake's surface. With a gust of wind, it felt as chilling as rain.
When Ling Qingyu fell from the small boat into the lake, the icy water jolted her awake from her hangover. She tried to stretch, but found her body already frozen stiff. Not only was it unresponsive, but her limbs began to cramp as the lake water chilled them.
Her body continuously sank. In the painful suffocation, fragments of memories began to flash before her eyes.
Over thirty years of her past rapidly replayed, finally settling on the thank-you banquet after her father's funeral: the beautiful woman leaning into her husband's arms, giggling softly, and her own husband's surprised yet relieved expression.
Having just completed all the divorce procedures and celebrating her newfound freedom alone, was her life to end like this?
Just let herself sink into oblivion, Ling Qingyu thought, but then a surge of unwillingness and reluctance suddenly welled up in her heart.
"Yu Yu~ Yu'er~~"
"Mother! What will happen to my mother without me!"
Ling Qingyu began to struggle, but the stiffness of her body only hastened her descent.
"No! Mother!"
A cry came from afar, yet also seemed to be right beside her.
Her vision flickered, and her body detached from the icy lake water. Ling Qingyu found herself in a vast, white space. So, she had died after all. Was this heaven or hell after death?
Mother... The faint call came again. Ling Qingyu followed the sound, fumbling her way forward, and saw a young girl crying on the ground.
"Is that you?" The girl looked up, her plump face, with a pair of swollen, tear-filled eyes, suddenly radiated light.
"It's me," Ling Qingyu replied unconsciously, then felt a bit annoyed. What kind of conversation was this? But why did this little girl's face look so familiar? This figure, this round face like a flatbread, her perky bottom, and a chest that was already developing. This was the middle school student who had suddenly appeared in her near-death memories, fighting at the late-night snack stall.
Damn! This is me!
But why was she wearing an ancient long dress, looking so delicate and frail?
"I was harmed by a villain and died by falling into Taihu Lake," the girl stood up and said, "My father and brother have also been killed by villains. I am powerless to seek revenge. I only ask that, since we are the same person, you take good care of Mother and avenge us."
As soon as she finished speaking, she lunged forward.
Ling Qingyu was knocked over by her. The ground suddenly vanished. With a "whoosh!", Ling Qingyu felt herself falling into a container, and then a cacophony of shouts erupted in her ears...