Wei Lian woke up choking on dust.
Her throat burned as she coughed, eyes snapping open in panic. Cold air rushed into her lungs, carrying the heavy smell of mold, damp mud, and neglect.
Cobwebs.
That was the first thing she saw.
Thick, gray cobwebs stretched across the low ceiling like rotting veins. The walls were cracked, darkened with age and smoke. The room was dim, dirty, and unfamiliar.
This wasn't the street.
This wasn't the rain.
This wasn't the modern world.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs.
She tried to sit up—
Pain shot through her body.
Her limbs felt weak, thin, as if all the strength had been drained from her. She lowered her head slowly and froze.
Three figures lay beside her.
Three girls.
Their hair was tied into messy pigtails. Their faces were smeared with dirt, lips pale, bodies thin to the point of bone. They slept curled together on a broken mat, breathing shallowly.
For a terrifying moment, Wei Lian's mind went blank.
Who are they?
Then—
A woman's shrill voice pierced through the air outside.
"Useless thing! Jinx! You bring nothing but bad luck to this family!"
The sound hit her like a hammer.
Her head throbbed violently.
Memories—memories that did not belong to her—came rushing in like a flood breaking through a dam.
Wei Lian grabbed her head as images crashed together.
This body's name…
was also Wei Lian.
This face—
the same face she had in the modern world.
And the man—
The husband of this body…
He looked the same too.
Tall. Handsome. Cold eyes.
A man who never loved her.
---
The Life of the Original Wei Lian
This Wei Lian had been the most beautiful woman in the nearby towns.
So beautiful that people whispered about her everywhere she went.
Her husband's mother—
that woman shouting outside—
had liked her beauty.
Liked it too much.
The old woman had arranged a gathering, poured wine, smiled kindly… and spiked the drinks.
One night.
One mistake.
By morning, she was no longer clean.
She was forced into marriage.
Her husband never loved her.
He had a lover.
He never even hid it.
Three months after marriage, she discovered she was pregnant.
Triplets.
Girls.
And before the children were even born—
Her husband went out and never returned.
Only one piece of news came back.
He died.
From that day on, hell began.
Her mother-in-law blamed her for everything.
Called her a jinx.
A curse.
A woman who killed her son.
The old woman showered love and money on her two step-sons—children from the second wife—while treating Wei Lian like a servant.
Then came that night.
One of the girls developed a high fever.
Wei Lian begged for money.
She begged on her knees.
Her mother-in-law refused.
"No point saving useless girls."
The fever passed—
But the children never became normal again.
They stopped responding.
Stopped speaking clearly.
Stopped understanding the world.
From that night on, the village called them retarded.
The abuse worsened.
Beatings.
Insults.
Starvation.
Wei Lian worked herself to exhaustion, laboring day and night just to feed her daughters. She swallowed every insult, every slap, every humiliation—never daring to speak.
Today, she had tried to take her daughters out… to sell something… to protect them—
She was blocked.
Cornered.
Pushed.
Her body couldn't take it anymore.
And she died.
---
The Truth Revealed
Wei Lian's chest rose and fell sharply as the memories settled.
She lifted her head slowly and looked at the three girls again.
Something was wrong.
They were thin. Dirty.
But their faces—
Their features—
They weren't dull.
Their eyes weren't empty.
At that moment, one of the girls stirred.
"M… Mama?"
Wei Lian froze.
The voice was soft. Clear.
Another pair of eyes opened.
"Mama… where are we?" the girl asked, confusion filling her gaze.
The third one sat up suddenly, rubbing her eyes.
"Why is it dark? Why does this place look weird?"
Wei Lian's breath caught painfully in her throat.
These voices—
These words—
She knew them.
Her modern daughters.
Her heart shattered and reformed all at once.
She lunged forward and pulled them into her arms.
"You're here," she whispered, trembling. "You're really here."
The girls looked at each other.
"Mama… this isn't our home," one said softly.
Wei Lian pulled back slightly and looked at them closely.
Their bodies were small, weak—but their eyes were bright. Intelligent. Awake.
Not retarded.
Not broken.
They had come with her.
Her daughters had transmigrated with her.
Tears slid down Wei Lian's cheeks.
This world had taken everything from the original Wei Lian.
But it had given her one thing in return.
Her daughters.
Alive.
Aware.
Together.
Outside, the woman's shouting continued.
Inside, Wei Lian's eyes hardened.
She hugged her daughters tighter.
"This time," she said quietly, voice steady and cold,
"Mama will protect you."
No matter who stood in her way.