Her eyes snapped open to a world drenched in crimson.
Blinding red draped the windows, scarlet sheets cloaked the bridal bed, and twin candles burned like bloody stars. The glaring 囍 characters plastered on doors screamed wedding. Gu Qingxi frowned, her gaze dropping to the phoenix coronet weighing her head and the embroidered robes swallowing her frame.
A bridal chamber?
Wedding night rituals?
Hadn't she died? Why was she reborn in this nightmare—dressed as sacrificial lamb?
"Enjoying the view?" A venomous voice hissed. "The groom may be ancient, but he'll make you scream before sucking you dry. Anticipating ecstasy?" Icy metal bit into Gu Qingxi's cheek. A sneering girl pressed a dagger against her face, eyes sparkling with cruel delight. Gu Wenlian.
Paralyzed. Not drugged—bound by elementary magic. Before she could strategize, agony split her skull. Foreign memories flooded her mind.
The truth crystallized:
She'd died protecting comrades in the apocalypse, reborn as her namesake—a persecuted heiress.
Gu Wenlian, her "sister," stole her status after their mother's mysterious death.
Today's "wedding" was a trap: Gu Wenlian should've been sacrificed as a cultivation cauldron to an elder seeking power.
Instead, the coward shoved Gu Qingxi—the "worthless daughter"—into the pyre.
Hypocrites, Gu Qingxi seethed. The elder draped rape in wedding finery; her "father" traded daughters for influence.
"Die, you trash!" Gu Wenlian spat, dagger trembling with hatred. "I'm the true heiress!" That title festered in her soul—a crown stolen from Gu Qingxi's rightful lineage.
Calmly, Gu Qingxi assessed:
This world pulsed with spiritual energy—thicker than her apocalyptic era's wispy remnants.
Her restraints would shatter with one surge of power...
"Awake at last, child." A gravelly voice echoed in her mind. Ancient. Unseen.
"Who speaks? Where are you?"
"Your jade bracelet. Focus! Break free or perish."
The bracelet! Her family's ancestral treasure, blood-bound in her past life—a spatial artifact now housing a mysterious ally. As Gu Wenlian ranted about "wedding night agonies," warmth blazed from the bracelet.
Power exploded through her veins.
The binding spell vaporized.
"You know..." Gu Qingxi's whisper cut Gu Wenlian's tirade.
"Know what?" the girl snapped.
A soundless smile bloomed on Gu Qingxi's face—beautiful and deadly as a blood blossom.