Chapter 002 Sister

The rapid descent of her body instinctively triggered Liang Ning's reflexes.

Realizing she was in the perilous situation of being pushed off a cliff, she decisively stretched out her limbs and grabbed onto a tree in her rapid descent.

In the very instant she made contact, she used the force of the branch to propel herself upwards like a Hawk, soaring high into the air, and then aimed at a rocky ledge by the cliff, kicking off it to glide back onto the edge of the precipice!

"What kind of creature dares to harm me!"

In her fury, even before landing, her right hand had already accurately seized the neck of the assailant!

Then her left hand clamped down on the opponent's right shoulder like a pair of iron pincers—although the effects of the Soft Muscle Powder might not have fully worn off yet, causing her landing to be less stable than usual, and her grip less powerful than before, it was more than enough to subdue the person in front of her!

The assailant was merely a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.

From the moment Liang Ning leapt up from the tree, the girl's eyes widened, her face full of malice and hatred turning into sheer bewilderment.

But so what?

Liang Ning showed no mercy, and in the blink of an eye, the assailant was already limp on the ground, too shocked to even remember to call for help!

Who could have thought that someone who was so easily pushed off a cliff could suddenly become so agile and formidable?

"Beast! What are you doing?"

At this moment, a furious voice echoed from a distance ahead, followed rapidly by a series of footsteps arriving at her side.

Liang Ning had been adored by everyone since birth; even her nickname, Taiping, was personally bestowed by the Empress. As the honored miss of the General Mansion, her status was higher than most. What did it matter how others talked behind her back? Who wouldn't treat her with utmost respect to her face?

Yet now someone dared use such vulgar language towards her. She turned her head in anger, seeing a middle-aged man rudely gripping her arm, his voice of anger and judgment ringing in her ears: "Have you gone mad? How dare you do this to your sister!"

The man was dressed in brocade, with the demeanor of a scholar, his attire meticulously chosen. Yet at this moment, he indiscriminately condemned Liang Ning, speaking nonsense, claiming that the attacker under her hand was Liang Ning's sister!

Liang Ning was so enraged she laughed.

She released her grip, and also freed herself from this wretched man who was keen on claiming familial ties, standing tall and glaring angrily at him.

She wanted to see what other nonsense this person had to say?

Meanwhile, the girl who regained her freedom took the chance to crawl away, screaming as she lunged towards the man, her tears falling like scattered beads, crying as pitifully as a pear blossom in the rain: "Father, save me! Sister wants to kill me! She wants to kill me!"

Originally, there was no one by the cliffside. Now, the shrill sound drew onlookers closer, curiously surveying the scene.

Seeing the surrounding scene, Liang Ning gradually frowned.

Everything she saw was very real and very familiar. Before the incident, in order to organize her two brothers' prayer ceremony, she often shuttle back and forth at Baihe Temple. This place was the cliff of the rear mountain of Baihe Temple, how could she not recognize it?

She suddenly looked down at herself, only to see her skin that she had watched burned by raging flames now unscathed, even the old scars left from fights and battles had completely vanished!

She quickly raised a hand to touch her right cheek—it was perfectly smooth, although a bit thin, yet unimaginably delicate!

Could it be she wasn't dead?

That dog Xu Yin didn't achieve his goal?

Or was that fire merely a nightmare?

Looking down at the ancient temple in the mountain, she briskly walked to the path leading down the mountain.

From here going down led to the temple, partway a path to the left was where she used to live in the Zen temple, she could just go see it to know!

"Where do you think you're going?!"

As she was about to step down the mountain, someone clamped onto her arm again.

She turned to look, it was still that man.

She frowned and said, "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" The man's face turned livid with rage, "You're trying to kill your sister, yet you ask what I want?!"

Liang Ning was truly furious.

This bastard of a man, who slanders her without question! Even if he saw her make a move, wouldn't he at least ask why?

Enough!

Not worth paying attention to!

At this moment all she wanted was to go down the mountain!

But she couldn't move forward, as this man blocked her path. Moreover, he continued to berate her arrogantly: "Turns out what Rou and your concubine said was true, you and your mother always make life difficult for them behind others' backs! Now that I've caught you, you want to just walk away? Where were you planning to go?!"

Rou, concubine...

These words suddenly pounded her head like a drumstick.

Pain.

She couldn't help but hold her forehead.

"Father, Father!"

The assailant cried, lunging at the man, "You can't let her go, you need to stand up for your daughter!"

The man looked at her, then at Liang Ning who seemed to pay them no mind at all, gritting his teeth he asked, "How come you both ended up here?!"

Although it was said to be a mountainside, because Baihe Temple was already high, below the cliff was a rocky ravine, with an ordinary person falling off resulting in at least half a life lost.

How did they end up admiring flowers here, it wouldn't happen.

The man, after all, in official circles had some sense of logic.

The assailant, sobbing and sniffling, said, "Daughter just saw sister abandoned and headed to meditation by Madam, thinking how she was often ill and withdrawn as a child, pitiful without a companion. So I brought her up the mountain to admire flowers.

"Who knew that when we reached the top, she suddenly walked to the edge of the cliff, saying there was something visible below. Rou Er didn't think much of it and went forward, then she suddenly changed her face, relentlessly scolding me and mother.

"She even said some unbearable things about my mother and father. Rou Er couldn't bear her insulting you and started to argue a bit, but who knew she would charge forward and choke me..."

Liang Ning was momentarily shocked by this wicked girl's ability to lie.

Even if everything she said was true, what about the part where she pushed her off the cliff?

Did it not exist?

Awakening from this unexpected transformation, Liang Ning's mind was still in chaos, though she pieced together the details.

This pair in front of her were father and daughter, but why did she become the sister in the mouth of this wicked girl?

She was clearly burned to death in the temple by the fire, why was she here by the cliff?

Liang Ning was annoyed by the girl's crying, so she grabbed her by the collar again: "What are you crying for at a funeral? Granny is still alive here!"

The girl was so frightened she immediately stopped crying.

Liang Ning wanted to question her further, but looking at her face annoyed her.

Distantly, the sound of women's laughter came under the shaded trees. Only then did she notice that today the mountain had many visitors, and the lush plants and blooming flowers were entirely different from the bleak, chill autumn when she died.

Her heart suddenly trembled, she asked the girl again: "What day is it today?"

The girl full of hatred, but dared not answer: "Is my sister stupid? Today is Baihe Temple's Abbot's Great Blessing Ceremony, praying for blessings, so important officials and nobles from the capital have all come, hasn't Madam also specially brought you up the mountain?"

Even though there seemed to be some other sardonic meaning in the girl's language, Liang Ning had no time to delve into it!

—And who is Madam?!

She then asked, "Did the Liang Family's Great General come today? And Xu—"

Saying this, she didn't even know how to call Xu Yin?

Clearly still the world she lived in before her death, yet it seemed so many things were different, was Xu Yin still the same Xu Yin?

"Why are you asking about the Liang Family?"

The girl looked at her in confusion, then with some sarcasm: "Do you think you can reach the Liang Family with your own merit?"

Liang Ning merely gave her a cold glance, then bypassed them, stepping through the grass toward the mountain path below.

Having survived a great calamity, finally seeing the light of day again, she only wanted to return to the Liang Family, to her family, to untangle all the mysteries!