Chapter 2: The Mark and the Awakening

By the time she regained consciousness, the overwhelming sensations had vanished—so had the black light and the cauldron. In their place was only a faint, fingernail-sized mark on her right hand—a small but undeniable sign that everything had truly happened.

Though things still didn't make complete sense, her mind was riddled with questions, none of which she had answers for. Stranger still, whenever she tried to recall why everything had seemed so clear earlier, a sharp pain would shoot through her head, as if something was actively blocking her from remembering.

Despite her confusion, an invisible force urged her to move forward. After weighing her choices, she decided to return to her residence. Slowly, she would piece everything together. She believed that reclaiming her true self must have been a rare gift—something granted by the heavens.

What she didn't know was that, in this world, there are no coincidences—only intention and careful design. Fortune and misfortune, cause and effect—everything follows the cycle of karma.

After stepping out of the ancestral hall, Ling Yue let her instincts guide her steps toward the courtyard at the back.

The northern manor of the Ye family consisted of just the ancestral hall and a rear courtyard—that was her entire home.

Ye Ling Yue lived there with her mother and an elderly woman who had served them for many years. The three of them relied on a small monthly allowance from the family to scrape by, barely managing to survive until now.

As she walked, a few small buildings soon came into view ahead. Judging from their appearance, they were no more than storage sheds, hastily converted into living spaces.

Approaching one particularly plain cabin, she was greeted by the sight of a few chickens pecking at the dirt and a small vegetable garden. Beyond that, there was nothing else. This humble shack—crude and worn—was her home.

"Young Miss, you've returned."

An old woman with a face full of wrinkles emerged from the cabin, coughing as she spoke. But when she saw the girl's face, her sickly expression softened into a warm smile.

This was Granny Liu, her mother's loyal servant.

Through all the hardships, it had always been Granny Liu who cared for Ye Ling Yue and her mother.

"Granny Liu, you haven't fully recovered yet—why did you get up so soon?"

Ye Ling Yue remembered that cleaning the ancestral hall was usually Granny Liu's responsibility. But recently, the old woman had fallen ill. The former "foolish Ling Yue" hadn't wanted the old woman to strain herself, so she had insisted on going in her place. That was why she'd encountered Wang Gui and the others—and why she had died.

Her question was casual, but when Granny Liu heard the fluent, coherent words from her young lady, it struck her like lightning. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Young Miss, you've recovered?"

Granny Liu clutched the girl's hands, inspecting her carefully. The clarity in Ye Ling Yue's eyes was unmistakable—completely unlike the dull gaze she had before.

Overcome with joy, tears welled up in Granny Liu's eyes until they spilled freely down her face.

"Granny, please don't cry. The wind is strong—let's go inside."

Ling Yue's heart ached. Being seen as a simpleton had its advantages—no one questioned strange behavior. If she needed to, she could always blame memory loss.

Once they were inside, Granny Liu immediately noticed the dirt on the girl's clothes. Without delay, she fetched hot water and insisted the young lady bathe and change. Then, she hurried off to prepare some food.

While she was alone, Ling Yue took the chance to study her surroundings.

The cabin was tiny and sparsely furnished. There was a dining table, a few benches, and a mirror resting beside the table.

She walked over and looked into the mirror—her first clear glimpse of her own appearance.

The face that stared back was youthful and innocent. Though thin and a little sickly, her eyes shone like crescent moons in the night sky. Her lashes were long and curled, and her delicate features were striking. She was, without a doubt, a natural beauty.

As she set down the mirror, her eyes landed on two battered books propping up a leg of the table. Curious, she picked them up. The covers read: Records of Daxia and Introduction to Martialists.

Dust had settled thickly on both books, clearly untouched for a long time.

Unbothered, she flipped through them to get a basic understanding of the world she now lived in.

Ling Yue now resided in the kingdom of Daxia. The realm was vast, divided into many administrative regions and shaped by complex terrain. The Ye family lived in a place called Autumn Maple Town, tucked in the kingdom's northernmost corner. The region was mountainous and wild, home to countless fierce beasts, making travel dangerous and lonely.

In Daxia, nearly everyone—commoners and nobles alike—learned martial arts out of necessity. Martialists were ranked by cultivation levels. The foundational stage had nine ranks, followed by the Lower Celestial and Upper Celestial Realms.

The key difference between an ordinary person and a martialist was the presence of a dantian—a core within the body where inner energy could be gathered. This inner power was called Yuan energy.

Yuan energy?

Ling Yue paused. She could sense a faint current of power flowing gently through her own dantian.

Could it be? Was her former self also a martialist? Just as the book described—having Yuan energy in the dantian was proof of entering the first level of martial cultivation.

"Young Miss, why did you take the wobble-stoppers from under the table?"

Granny Liu's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Granny, have I ever trained in martial arts before?" she asked, setting the book down.

She was sure of it now. The faint power within her was indeed Yuan energy, just as described in Introduction to Martialists.

"When you were little, your mother did teach you a few techniques," Granny Liu replied as she set down a bowl and chopsticks.

Just a few techniques… and she'd already begun cultivating Yuan energy? Could she be a martial arts prodigy?

Still puzzled, she looked down at the simple meal in front of her—a bowl of brown rice and a side of dry vegetables.

"This is what we usually eat?" No wonder her body was so frail and undernourished.

"Young Miss, we're out of money. Housekeeper Wang and his son took even more of our monthly allowance this time," Granny Liu said with a weary sigh, the wrinkles on her forehead deepening.

Housekeeper Wang—Wang Gui's father—was responsible for managing affairs in the northern manor. Because Ling Yue and her mother had fallen out of favor, they suffered frequent bullying from him.

"Mother never intervenes about the monthly allowance?" Ling Yue asked in surprise. Her mother was the third daughter of the Ye family's current patriarch. How had she fallen into such a pitiful state?

BANG—!

The door burst open just then, and a young man strutted in, followed by a group of servants.

"So what if she tried? A fool is a fool. You still think your mother is the genius everyone once admired? She's just a useless waste now. Who would care about her well-being?"

The young man in ornate clothes looked down his nose with blatant arrogance.

This rude youth was Ye Qing, Ling Yue's older cousin.

After Wang Gui and the others had beaten her, they panicked and ran to Ye Qing, hoping he'd clean up the mess.

He had searched the ancestral hall for her body and found nothing—proof that she wasn't dead. Guessing she had returned home, he'd come straight to the rear courtyard. Sure enough, he overheard her conversation with Granny Liu.

Never in his wildest dreams did Ye Qing imagine she'd survive—and even recover her senses.

"Young Master Qing, how can you say such things about the Third Miss? She's your aunt by blood," Granny Liu said angrily.

"Aunt? You think someone like her is fit to be my aunt? She was thrown out by her husband and sent home in disgrace. She brought nothing but shame to the Ye family," Ye Qing sneered.

"What did you say? Say it again if you dare!"

Ling Yue's eyes turned sharp as steel. Inside her body, her Yuan energy surged in anger.

"I'll say it a hundred times if I want to. Your mother got dumped for another woman, and she was even seriously injured. She's a useless disgrace who brought shame to the Ye family. Both of you are parasites, leeching off us for free!"

Ye Qing and his gang of servants erupted into laughter.

These were the same words they used every time they tormented her. And every time, the old Ling Yue would cower and sob for forgiveness.

But not today.

Today, everything changed.

A deep, burning hatred that had been buried for thirteen years exploded like a volcano. Pushing Granny Liu aside, Ling Yue stamped her foot and launched herself at Ye Qing.