The cold wind howled, and a simple wooden hut stood amidst the towering, cloud-piercing forest.
A woman of exquisite beauty leaned against a bed, her delicate hand caressing her swollen belly. The tenderness in her eyes momentarily turned to agony as she clutched the quilt, letting out a low groan of pain.
The child... was coming!
*Bang!*
The door of the hut was suddenly kicked open, and the whistling cold wind swept inside.
A line of black-clad figures stood outside. The woman leading them, dressed in vibrant, immaculate finery, had a small, delicate face and sharp eyes that swept over the hut, settling on Feng Ninghe, who was about to give birth.
Feng Ninghe's eyes brightened as she recognized the newcomer. "Qingcheng, has the matter of me being framed for illicit relations with a servant that night been cleared up? Are you here to take me back?"
"Eldest Miss Feng, for disgracing the family, today I shall remove this cancerous tumor for the Feng family!"
Feng Qingcheng moved her red lips, her clear, icy voice echoing softly.
Feng Ninghe's eyes widened in disbelief, and she stared at Feng Qingcheng in panic. "I am betrothed to the First Prince, and this child was conceived before he left for Chu City. After returning home that night, you told me the First Prince's whereabouts were unknown and advised me to flee to avoid a scandal, promising that once the child was born, my innocence would be proven. Although I have violated ancestral teachings, I have not disgraced the family!"
"Oh?"
Feng Qingcheng smirked, as if amused by a trivial matter, and said dismissively, "The medicine on you that night, and the servant you were with, were all arranged by me. This child clearly belongs to that filthy servant! Oh, and Big Sister, you probably don't know that the First Prince and Third Sister are currently enjoying themselves in Chu City. Even if you find them, do you really think the First Prince will testify for you and acknowledge a child conceived with a servant?"
Her words struck Feng Ninghe like a bolt from the blue. She stood frozen.
Chu City was on the border, a dangerous place. Carrying a child, she could not endure the arduous journey. Yet, the child she had protected for so long was not the First Prince's!
Her water had broken, and Feng Ninghe's anger surged, intensifying her abdominal pain. She cradled her belly with both hands, her forehead beaded with sweat. The pain rendered her speechless.
Feng Qingcheng looked down at her, her smile blooming like a flower. "If the First Prince hadn't intervened, how could you have fallen for it? My meticulously planned scheme was perfect, wasn't it? From this day forward, there will be no Feng Ninghe of the Zhenguo Duke's mansion in this world, only Feng Qingcheng, the legitimate daughter of the Feng family. Rest assured, Big Sister, the Zhenguo Duke's mansion will be taken over by my father, the inner court managed by my mother, and as for your fiancé, the First Prince, my little sister will fulfill the duties of a wife for you."
Feng Ninghe stared at her second cousin, who used to call her 'Big Sister' so tenderly, and now appeared so unfamiliar, sending a chill down her spine. This was all a conspiracy. Her most respected uncle and aunt, her beloved fiancé, and her dear sisters had conspired to push her into a corner, to usurp her position!
In a flash, she remembered the words of her own brother, Feng Linyuan, before he left the capital to go to war. He had warned her to be wary and not to associate too closely with her uncle's family. But she had not listened. Instead, at Feng Qingcheng's instigation, she had developed a rift with her own brother. By the time Feng Linyuan left the capital for the last time before his death on the battlefield, she had not even seen him off or bid him farewell.
Seeing Feng Ninghe tremble and weep with anger, Feng Qingcheng felt a playful urge. She held a dagger in her slender hand, gesturing towards Feng Ninghe's belly, as if contemplating where to start. "Giving birth is so difficult for you, why don't I help you a bit."
The eldest Miss Feng was an ordinary mortal with no cultivation base. The wooden hut was cramped, and she had nowhere to escape.
Feng Qingcheng's eyes hardened, and she plunged the dagger fiercely into Feng Ninghe's abdomen!
"Ah!"
Screams tore through the air, pitiful and heart-wrenching. Feng Qingcheng found the noise irritating and arrogantly rubbed her ears.
Finally, the cries stopped, and the dense forest fell silent.
"Second Miss, that waste has bled to death. What should we do with the child?" a maidservant asked, carrying a blood-covered infant to Feng Qingcheng.
"This child is a bastard anyway, throw it to the wolves." As Feng Qingcheng turned, her gaze was caught by a faint flower-shaped mark on the infant's forehead. She quickly snatched the child. This mark was unique to only one person in the entire Xiyou Continent. Could it be that this child was not the servant's? Could it be... his?
A fervent smile surged within her. Feng Qingcheng's red lips curved upwards involuntarily. With this child, she would surely live a life of honor!
Feng Qingcheng hugged the child tightly, her eyes shimmering with hidden ambition. "I will handle the child myself. This is a desolate wilderness, infested with wolves. Even the living would fear it. If she still has a breath left, she won't survive in these conditions. Find a place and dispose of the body."
The black-clad figures quickly carried the still-breathing Feng Ninghe out of the hut and casually threw her off a cliff.
That night.
The cold wind in the forest was biting. A dazzling red light descended from the sky, striking the lifeless woman lying in the undergrowth.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes snapped open. The pain in her limbs and the overwhelming memories flooding her mind receded, replaced by a look of shock. She, the Empress of Lin Kingdom, had been schemed against, her spirit bone dug out, and her soul had left her body. Now, she had been reborn into a woman with a similar fate, whose name was only one character different from her own.
Feng Linghe's pale lips curved into a mocking smile. It seemed she was fated not to die, and even heaven could not bear to see their suffering.
A cool sensation wrapped around her wrist. She instinctively looked down and saw a silver bell jade bracelet on her slender, delicate wrist. Surprise flickered in her eyes. Her spatial spirit bracelet had been reborn with her!
Suddenly, an almost imperceptible stench wafted into Feng Linghe's nostrils, triggering a sense of danger. In an instant, she gathered her will and summoned a magical artifact from her spatial spirit bracelet, holding it in her hand. She propped up her battered body and, guided by her senses, threw it towards the southwest.
A sharp whistling sound was followed by a shrill, strange cry. When Feng Linghe turned back, she saw a nearly six-foot-long snake covered in black scales, its monstrous maw agape, thirty feet away. Five cold, dark nails were driven into the tree, pinning its brow, eyes, seven inches, and tail. It was undeniably dead.
Looking at the contorted snake, Feng Linghe's eyes glinted. If she had been even two breaths slower, her head would have been devoured by this serpent. Recalling the memory of being thrown off the cliff, her eyes flashed with coldness. She vowed to herself that from this day forward, she was Feng Ninghe, and when the time was right, she would avenge the original owner and kill the Feng family!
Not long after she left, two figures hurried to the spot where the ink snake had died. The man in front, clad in black, wore a silver chain around his waist. A red mole beneath his eye added a touch of wicked charm. His narrow phoenix eyes, now filled with frost, fixed on the ink snake nailed to the tree.
The man's chilling aura struck Axi beside him. Axi felt a shiver crawl up his spine. "Someone dared to lay a hand on your pet, Master. I will investigate thoroughly and capture this person!"
The man known as the Underworld King lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes failing to conceal the icy darkness in his eyes. He moved his thin lips. "And that audacious woman from that night, find her as well!" He was the notorious Underworld King of Xiyou Continent, feared by all, yet that daring woman had taken advantage of him when he was weak and violated him! He wanted to see if that woman could hide in the small territory of Li Kingdom!