Xu Ziwei looked up at her unfamiliar surroundings, her brow furrowed.
If she was going to survive this melodrama, she had to be prepared. She had promised herself she would never revisit the "original" Ziwei's dark memories, but survival demanded she break that vow immediately.
She delved back into the mental flood of the previous owner's past. A corner of her mouth twitched.
Today was the day her "father," Xu Xiao, brought Zirong home. It was also shortly after the death of the original Ziwei's mother. The girl had blamed the illegitimate newcomer for her mother's demise—and frankly, Ziwei could understand the logic.
To a twelve-year-old girl, a surprise brother appearing out of nowhere was a slap in the face to her mother's memory.
This Xu Xiao had kept his "true love" hidden for years, continuing their trysts even after marriage until her grandfather found out and banished the woman. Ziwei's mother had died in a fit of rage and madness upon discovering the affair, her soul consumed by the dark cultivation she practiced.
The original Ziwei came to this grove to vent, she thought, looking at the splintered trees around her. Scorched bark and shattered branches littered the ground—the destructive work of the Lightning Heavenly Spiritual Vein.
Even at twelve, this body was a powerhouse, already at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.
"Nearly thirty years old, and I have to act like a bratty teenager," Ziwei muttered, staring at her delicate, pale hands. "This is going to be a long life."
Remembering her "system," she looked at the mysterious invisible box floating beside her. She tested it by placing the jade pendant from her waist inside. It vanished into the void.
Ziwei felt a sudden urge to laugh. In a world where even high-level storage rings could be stolen or broken, this invisible box was a perfect "golden finger."
No immortal in the heavens could steal from a pocket dimension they couldn't even see.
She thought wryly. Apologies to the universe,this high-end mystical artifact is about to become a box for my random scraps.
Now for the next phase of her preparation: she sat in a lotus position and closed her eyes. She wasn't a cultivator by trade, but the muscle memory of this body was really good. She quickly knew how cultivation work through the memories of this child. Now, she spent two hours circulating energy through her meridians, memorizing the spells and habits of the former owner easily.
Since the original Ziwei was only twelve, her personality was easy to replicate; Ziwei realized she could slowly "evolve" her behavior without raising any red flags.
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2 Hours Later...
After examining the girl's memories, habits, and cold personality, Ziwei sighed. After that, she knelt and kowtowed firmly toward the earth.
"Dad, Mom... I don't know how I got here, but I can't come home. I'll have to leave you in Ziyu's hands." She sighed, thinking of her gay younger brother back on Earth. "Ziyu, the family line is on you now. Consider my absence a contribution to the global overpopulation crisis."
Standing up, she found a nearby creek to check her reflection. The face staring back was a breathtakingly beautiful, "mini" version of her adult self. They really look alike together so is with their name. Xu Ziwei.
She raised an eyebrow; the reflection mimicked the elegant, slightly arrogant motion perfectly. She looked like a high-born young lady. Ethereal yet cold. To her mature eyes, the "ice queen" look was a bit dramatic, but it would have to do.
Checking her lilac robes and smoothing her long hair, she began the walk back to the Xu family's main house.
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...
"Eldest Miss! Eldest Miss!"
A teenage servant in a crisp uniform—Ruo Zhu—came sprinting toward her as she neared the rear court gates.
Ziwei pulled a sour, haughty expression to match her role. "Ruo Zhu? Why are you shouting?"
"Eldest Miss, the... that person... Master has brought him back. He's waiting for you in the front hall," Ruo Zhu panted, looking terrified of Ziwei's potential explosion.
Ziwei's heart skipped.
In the original timeline, the Eldest Miss stayed in the woods until the next morning. When she finally encountered Zirong, she had slapped the boy and cursed him so violently that even her father had to scold her.
But the woman in this body was a thirty years old professional. She wasn't going to strike an eight-year-old child to satisfy a grudge that wasn't even hers.
"I understand," Ziwei said, waving the servant away with a flick of her sleeve. She continued to walk leisurely toward the front hall. She wasn't in a rush to start a fight, but she was curious to see the child who would one day become the Blood Devil.
As Ziwei approached the hall, she could hear the murmurs of the twenty-odd side branches of the family. They had all gathered like vultures to see the "illegitimate" newcomer and to watch the Eldest Miss's reaction.
The moment she stepped through the doors, the hall fell deathly silent.
All eyes were on her.
As a Lightning Heavenly Spiritual Vein genius, Xu Ziwei was the clan's greatest asset—a girl destined for the elites, far above family politics. Even the elders vying for power were careful not to offend her.
They were all waiting for the explosion. They expected the prideful Eldest Miss to tear into the "bastard" brother who had dared to appear so soon after her mother's death.
Ziwei ignored the crowd, her lilac skirts whispering against the floor. Her gaze swept the room until it landed on a small, pathetic figure hiding behind her father's robes.
So, Ziwei thought, her expression unreadable as she looked at the trembling boy. That's the future Blood Devil. He looks more like a kitten than a world-ender. Hah.