The world was filled with spiritual energy, and I was its conductor for the first time in this new life. I sat in a lotus position in the center of my family's Tranquil Bamboo Grove, where the wood-elemental Qi was so thick that it felt like breathing in liquid life. In my last life, achieving this harmony took me years of lonely practice driven by grief and a burning need for revenge.
The Azure Dragon's Genesis Scripture flowed through me like a river returning to its path. The memories of my mastery in the Nascent Soul realm guided the weaker but still powerful energy of my Late Stage Foundation Establishment body. The air hummed around me, the bamboo stalks swaying in a rhythm that echoed my own breath. I could sense the life force in every leaf, root, and blade of grass. This was the Dao of life, water, and unyielding growth.
I was refining a particularly stubborn meridian when the tranquil harmony shattered with frantic footsteps. I opened my eyes, irritation flickering through me. I had made it clear not to be disturbed.
My personal maid rushed into the clearing, her face pale and breathless. She skidded to a halt before me, bowing so low her forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Young Miss!" she gasped, trembling. "Forgive this intrusion, but there is terrible news from the Chen Estate!"
My blood ran cold. So soon? My mind raced with the worst possibilities. Had Jin Hao arrived early? Had Su Lian already begun her schemes? A wave of killing intent spilled out from me. My personal maid flinched, her face growing even paler.
I forced myself to calm down, pulling back the killing intent. "What is it, Lan? Speak," I commanded.
"It's Young Master Chen Wei, the Third Elder's son," she stammered. "He was found dead in his room this morning!"
I stared at her, my mind blank for a few seconds.
Chen Wei?
Of all the names and tragedies haunting my reborn soul, this was not one of them. In my past life, Chen Wei was a coward. He had been the first of the main family to betray the Chens after Arya's death, a pathetic man who traded his honor for a false promise of safety from Jin Hao. He had quietly faced execution years later when his weaknesses showed. He wasn't meant to die now.
This was a significant change, and it had nothing to do with me.
My carefully planned strategies felt like ice with a crack running through it. The world was not following the script I recalled. A tight knot of uncertainty formed in my stomach.
"They are saying it was a cultivation deviation, Young Miss," Lan continued in a hushed voice. "But the rumors… they say the room was a scene of utter horror. Some are even mentioning a curse."
A curse. A cultivation deviation. It didn't make sense. Chen Wei was a weakling. He didn't have enough skill for a deviation of that scale. Something was wrong, deeply wrong.
Yet my first thought wasn't about solving the mystery of his death. It was about Arya.
How is he handling this? The thought came instinctively, a reflex from a soul that had orbited him for a lifetime. A tragedy in his family, a mysterious death under his roof, the pressure on him as the heir would be enormous. Everyone would look at him. He would have to be the pillar, the steady rock, while his family was in chaos.
I stood up, my cultivation session forgotten. "Prepare a carriage," I said sharply. "I am going to the Chen Estate."
"But Young Miss," Lan protested weakly. "It is a time of mourning for their family. Perhaps it is not appropriate to…"
"I am going to see Arya," I replied, my tone leaving no room for argument. I was his future wife, and it was my duty to stand by his side.
The journey to the Chen Estate was filled with anxious thoughts. The crack in my knowledge of the future had widened into a chasm of uncertainty. If Chen Wei could die now, what else might change? Was Arya's fate still the same? Was Jin Hao's arrival still unavoidable? I felt as if I were walking along a path I believed I knew, only to find the landscape shifting with each step.
When I arrived, the estate was draped in a heavy atmosphere that starkly contrasted with its usual vibrancy. The guards at the gate appeared tense and grim. The servants moved in fearful silence, their eyes darting around nervously. Whispers echoed around me like ghosts as I made my way to the main hall, my presence as the eldest daughter of the Su Family announced ahead of me.
I found them in the central courtyard, the same spot where I had talked to Arya just the day before. The mood was completely different. A crowd of junior family members and elders gathered, their faces displaying grief, fear, and confusion. I spotted the Third Elder, Chen Feng, looking like a man who had aged twenty years overnight, supported by his sobbing wife.
And in the center of it all, I saw him.
Arya.
He stood strong amid the chaos. He moved through the crowd with a steady grace, his expression somber but his eyes clear and firm. He spoke to a group of frightened junior disciples, soothing their trembling. He then approached his uncle, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and whispering words that made the grieving man stand a bit taller, if only for a moment.
I watched him, my heart filled with a familiar mix of love and pride. This was the man I remembered, he was always meant to be. In my previous life, I had only witnessed this strength emerge after tragedy had broken him. To see it now, to watch him rise to the occasion and support his family, was both heartbreaking and stunning.
He bore the weight of his family's fear and sorrow. And I knew that he should not have to endure it alone.
I walked toward him, my steps silent on the stone path. He was so focused on comforting a distraught elder that he didn't notice me until I stood beside him.
"Arya," I said softly.
He turned, and our eyes met. For a moment, I saw the immense strain behind his composed mask, the weariness and the weight of many burdens. My heart went out to him. Without thinking, my hand reached out instinctively, a need to offer some comfort.