Nine Vault Forest
The night was pitch-black inside the Nine Vault Forest, a place feared even by the bravest warriors. Shadows twisted between the ancient trees, whispering with the cold wind.
A girl stumbled through the darkness—
long black hair scattered like the night itself, blood-red eyes glowing faintly, and a delicate face far too beautiful for such a cruel world.
She was drenched in blood.
Her blood.
Her breaths came out broken and shallow as she ran, desperate, injured, trembling. Behind her, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the forest—
assassins. Hundreds of them.
Sent to kill her.
Her legs could barely support her anymore. She staggered over a rock—
Thud!
She crashed to the ground. Her head struck another stone, and darkness swallowed her as blood pooled beneath her.
Time passed.
A faint hum of voices pulled her back from unconsciousness. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if glued shut from the pain, but she forced them open.
Dark silhouettes approached.
Men dressed in black, daggers glinting in their hands.
She didn't need anyone to tell her—they had come to finish her.
Where am I?
What is this place?
And... whose body is this?
Thoughts raced chaotically through her mind.
The assassins drew closer.
Assassin 1: leans down, smirking wickedly
"Ohhh... the little princess is awake."
Assassin 2: "Stop wasting time. Finish her quickly. If someone comes—"
Assassin 3: scoffs
"In this forest? At this hour? The beasts here kill anything that breathes. No one will come."
Assassin 2: eyes trailing over her
"Look at her... so beautiful. Ever tasted a princess before? Heh. First time for everything."
Assassin 1: chuckles darkly
"Let's have our fun before we kill her. Come here, little—"
A cold voice cut him off.
???: "Come to you? Who do you think you are?"
The princess—no, the girl in the princess's body—smirked. A smirk sharp enough to cut.
Girl: "Tsk... what bad luck for you. My mood was terrible already. Turning this black night into a bloody one... might actually cheer me up."
Her eyes—those eerie blood-red eyes—gleamed in the darkness like they were hungry for blood.
Assassin 1: irritated
"What are you idiots waiting for? Grab her!"
One assassin lunged forward, dagger ready.
He never reached her.
She caught him by the neck with a single hand—
and twisted.
A loud crack ripped through the forest.
She let the body fall and slowly looked at the others.
Girl: "Who's next?"
Her smirk widened, wicked and cold.
The remaining assassins froze, shocked by the sudden shift in her behavior.
Then fear turned to rage—they attacked all at once.
But she had already moved.
In the blink of an eye, they fell. One by one. Bodies dropped soundlessly into the dirt, as if sliced by an invisible blade.
She barely had time to breathe before—
Swish!
An attack came from behind.
She spun, eyes narrowing.
A man stood there, dressed like an ancient-era soldier. Behind him stood fourteen more, swords raised, ready to kill.
Girl: "Haah... you've got to be kidding me."
She rolled her eyes with pure irritation.
She snatched a dagger from one of the corpses and vanished—
her speed like lightning.
A heartbeat later—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heads separated from bodies, falling to the ground one after another.
The forest stilled again.
She exhaled softly, brushing a blood-soaked strand of hair from her face.
Girl: "Not my fault. Your luck was just too bad."
A satisfied smile tugged at her lips.
Something shiny caught her eye.
She reached into the pocket of one of the fallen soldiers and pulled out a golden token, its surface engraved with intricate markings.
A name was carved onto it:
Prince Kong-Minsheng.
She looked around in confusion.
"Where... am I?"
Her gaze dropped to her small hands, then to her tiny body.
"Wait—why am I in a child's body?"
Panic surged through her. The last thing she remembered was being in the forest with Hell and Shy.
Ah... don't tell me...
"Did I get transported to some strange world? Or maybe I'm— Aaaaahhh!"
"— seriously?!"
She grabbed her head in disbelief.
"So I've been transported into the body of some random girl. Okay, okay... calm down. I need to remember who this girl is."
She closed her eyes and focused. Slowly, memories that weren't hers began flooding her mind.
"So... this girl's name is Ning Bai Xue. Thirteen years old. Daughter of a royal pure-blood princess."
Her eyes widened.
"Wow! That means I'm a princess now!"
Her excitement faded instantly as more memories surfaced.
"And... she's weak, useless... the Ning family's trash?"
She swallowed hard.
Bai Xue's mother had died seven years ago. After that, her life became worse than hell.
Her father and grandmother ignored her.
Her three half-blood sisters tormented her.
Servants treated her worse than dirt.
Despite being a pure-blood princess, Ning Bai Xue lived a life lower than a servant.
Then came that night—
The night her elder sisters came to her.
The night she had... the "accident."
The dilapidated room was cold.
A thin, malnourished girl kneeled on the cracked floor, her fragile body trembling from four days without food.
The door creaked open.
A girl stepped in—
Long luminous brown hair, sparkling brown eyes, silk dress flowing like water.
In her hand, an elegant bamboo fan.
Ning Ya-Ting.
Her first elder sister.
Behind her stood a girl with navy-blue hair and glowing blue eyes, a small mole beneath her right eye. Her peach-colored dress swayed gently as she walked.
Ning Hai-Rang.
Her second elder sister.
Hai-Rang smiled sweetly—too sweet.
"Oh, little sister Bai-Xue... You haven't eaten in four days, right?"
She held a food box in her hand... then tossed its contents onto the dirty floor.
Starving Bai-Xue crawled forward to gather the scattered food—
—only for Ya-Ting to crush it under her embroidered shoe.
Ya-Ting opened her folding fan, covering half her smirking face.
"You don't deserve to eat this. You're being punished."
Her voice was cold as ice.
"You deliberately broke my mother's precious brooch."
Bai-Xue shook her head weakly.
"I... didn't mean to... It fell when I tripped over Second Sister Hai-Rang's foot..."
CLICK—
Ya-Ting snapped her fan shut sharply.
"So now you talk back to me?"
Hai-Rang giggled softly.
"Big sister, don't be so harsh."
She bent down, picked up the dirty food, and presented it gently to Bai-Xue.
"Here, little third sister. You must be starving."
Without hesitation—too hungry to think—Bai-Xue ate it.
A heartbeat later—
Blood spilled from her lips.
Her sisters burst into cruel, unrestrained laughter.
They had mixed glass powder into her food.
Tears streamed down Bai-Xue's cheeks.
"Why... why are you doing this? What did I do wrong...?"
Her small voice cracked with despair.
Ya-Ting's face twisted with hatred.
"Third Prince Wang Min-Sheng does NOT deserve a filthy, useless girl like you! This year he turns eighteen, and you'll be declared his official fiancée."
She pointed proudly at herself.
"I am a third-level Summoner. Third Prince Min-Sheng is a seventh-level Summoner. We are a perfect match—not a worthless creature like you!"
"You can't cultivate. You are a disgrace. You DO NOT deserve the Third Prince!"
Bai-Xue's vision blurred...
Her heart broke...
And the memory ended in darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...