When Luna regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was that it felt unbearably stuffy and hot. There was a thick smell of sandalwood all around that made it slightly hard to breathe. It did not help that the breaths she took were already shallow and weak.

Luna tried opening her eyes and found that it took significant effort before her eyelids finally lifted sluggishly. It took awhile for her to register that she was now looking at what seemed to be the top of a traditional chinese bed frame with deep yellow draperies.

What in the world… What happened? What’s happening? Am I dying? Where am I?

As if in response to her questions, she experienced a migraine attack that was so painful it made her nauseous. At the same time, memories and knowledge that were not hers flashed before her eyes.

Everything she saw was from the eyes of a girl named Chen Xinyi.

Xinyi was the only child of the second concubine to a high-ranking court official. As early as she could remember, her father has always had three concubines in addition to the main wife.

It seems that her father had the habit to find someone new to add into his harem when the first child turns one. However, this stopped after he met the third concubine whom he still claims to be his true love.

As recompense, he impregnated his main wife with another child for her to love and who would love her back. As for the other two concubines, he would not bother paying any attention to them if they did not come asking for it.

This knowledge was, of course, gathered over the years. After all, with her weak and sickly constitution that disallowed her to do much and earned her the reputation of being a waste, she could only study, drink tea, and listen to the gossips in the wind.

She never interacted much with anyone besides her mother. As a result, even though her mother was very strict and cold towards her behind closed doors yet kind and loving whenever they were not alone, her mother was still the only source of comfort she could get.

She moved into her own courtyard the moment she turned 12 years old. Not only was this meant to give growing children some due privacy, it was a form of practice for managing their own living space before they would get married which could happen as young as they were 16 years old.

Unfortunately, her health deteriorated not too long after she moved into her courtyard, causing her to become almost bedridden. As such, the responsibility of managing her courtyard and health fell onto her mother.

She heard from the gossips how her mother had accepted the burden graciously and lovingly and could not help but wonder from time to time why her mother does not treat her as kindly whenever it was between them. Each time she did so, she would berate herself for being an ingrate and let go of the doubts she held towards her mother.

She comforted herself with the fact that her mother never stopped inviting different physicians over in a bid to improve her health. It was her own fault for being so weak that she still could not get better despite the help of all the herbs and tonics prescribed to her.

At present, she was already 15 years old and has been wholly reliant on her mother for three years. No maid or servant was assigned to look after a girl who spent most of her day and night sleeping.

The memories stopped flashing before her eyes as if it reached the end of a playback, then she heard the same childish voice speak. 

Your mission in this world is to survive. Because this is our first world, I’m allowed to reveal major developments that you should avoid or change to ensure a successful clearance. The first tip is to keep your immune system from being permanently damaged. All the best!

As her head was still hurting from the migraine that has yet subsided, her response was delayed.

Before she could search for the source of the voice or ask any questions, she heard the door to her room open.

She turned her head towards the sound with much effort and felt the cool and refreshing breeze that entered the room together with a pretty woman who looked elaborately dressed. The breeze carried the scent of her strong perfume to Luna’s nose.

Luna immediately and easily recognised her as the mother of the girl called Xinyi.

“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good. It’s time for medicine.”

Medicine? After taking a while to process her current condition and situation, it eventually clicked in Luna’s mind that she was the girl called Xinyi in the memories she just saw.

As if for confirmation’s sake, she was then addressed by that very name. “Xinyi, what are you still dilly dallying for? Get up.”

The woman’s voice sounded quite sweet to listen to but Luna knew better than to let that fool her impression of the woman. Not to mention what she saw in the memories, this woman was currently standing by her bed with the small bowl in her hands without showing a single intention to help her sit up.

Just sitting up felt incredibly laborious yet as soon as she leaned against the bed frame, she found a small porcelain bowl being chucked into her face. “Quick, drink.”

Luna pretended to not be able to manage beyond a few sips before weakly pushing the bowl away.

Xinyi’s mother looked into the bowl before saying, “At least you drank a bit. That’s fine. You can rest now.”

Luna watched as she left the room without a single glance back. She waited for a while after the door closed before she spat out the tonic that she was holding in her mouth onto the floor.

Luna wanted to be careful before she properly found out what she was dealing with in this world. She had watched and read enough Chinese dramas and novels in her original world to know the kind of politics and scheming that occurs not only outside of the family but within it too.

Damn it… Luna could no longer hold herself back from cursing any longer. She felt like every part of her, inside and out, mentally and physically, was put through a wringer.

Knowing full well the reason for the mental part of her suffering, she could only suspect the cause for the physical part of it. There must be some poison involved. Can a naturally weak constitution really become this bad?

Luna sighed inwardly. I really pity Xinyi. She was too isolated and broken to dare to doubt her own mother and only caregiver.

Luna has pegged Xinyi’s mother as the most suspicious person. It would be very easy for her to poison Xinyi and Luna could come up with a motive that would drive Xinyi’s mother to do something so horrible to her child. Her suspicions only increased upon noticing the little bulge at Xinyi’s mother’s lower abdomen earlier.

Anyway… What does that system think I can do about this? The mission is to survive? To do so I have to change or prevent certain events from happening? Those are the very things I failed to do when I was still alive. Why else am I here? How smart…

Before she could continue in her ramblings, the childish voice spoke up. 

Of course!

Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. She scanned the entire room for the source of the voice but found that no one else was here. All she saw was an empty room that was decorated sparsely with Chinese paintings and pretty white and blue porcelain vases.

Meanwhile, the voice in her head continued to speak. 

I didn't choose my soul willy nilly, mind you. I’ve gone through your memories and seen the way you look at the world around you. I believe that the skill you have should prove to be useful in your journey through the different worlds. See? You probably already identified the culprit behind your long standing condition.

… You can hear me?

Yes. The moment I bound with your soul, I am able to hear each and every thought.

All the time?

Each and every thought.

I see… ... ... You do realise that my comment about you being smart was me being sarcastic, right? Also, what use is this skill you speak of when I can’t do anything to change what is bound to happen?

Sarcastic? After a short pause, the system mumbled. So that’s sarcasm…

Hearing the system sound a little down made Luna feel bad. She had not meant for her pessimistic rumination to hurt anyone. Not to mention that normally no one would be privy to her thoughts, she had momentarily lost control of it due to her current circumstances. 

Sorry.

Ah? What for?

I wasn’t being very nice and I guess you were just… Doing your job? I made you unhappy, didn't I?

Unhappy? Me? Impossible, systems don't feel.

… Is that so? My mistake then. I thought you sounded a little down.

I sounded down? That's not good. Emotions are bad. Feeling is bad.

Who told you that?

However, she no longer got a reply from the system. ... Forget it.

There was still so much that Luna wanted to find out about her situation and the entity that pulled her into this. Everything that was happening to her now felt even more unreal than how her life had felt like a crappy story.

Now that her mind was no longer occupied with interacting with the system, the stuffiness of the room and smell got to her once again. The dryness of her throat also became apparent to her.

Although her entire body felt so weak and numb that every move she made felt like pins and needles were poking her skin, she very slowly but surely made her way to the wooden table that was not too far away from the bed.

She heaved a small sigh of relief upon reaching the table only to be disappointed to find the water jug empty and cup dusty.

She then got up once more to walk to the nearest window and pushed it wide open. Feeling completely drained, she slumped over the window sill and laid there like that with half of her body hanging out. 

She was not afraid that she would be spotted by her mother. Based on the memories she received, that visit was the last visit for the day that her mother would pay her.

She kept her eyes closed and focused on the soothing feeling of the cold breeze against her skin.

After she felt a little better, she opened her eyes slightly to peek at the sky. The sun was only beginning to set yet it was already so cold. It was not surprising given that winter just ended a few days ago.

She lazed on the window sill, adjusting herself a little whenever she started hurting, until the full moon hung high up in the sky. Finally feeling well enough to move, she left her room in search of food.

Luna only got as far as the small white stone table in the middle of her courtyard before she needed a short rest. After resting for around a minute, she got back up and went to the entrance of her courtyard.

Just as she extended her head beyond the wall to check for people, the system spoke. The coast is clear. You can go.

Luna’s heart jumped in fright and her weak legs gave way, causing her to slide down against the wall. She was definitely still not used to having a system yet. How did you know?

When the system still refused to respond to her, she simply let it be then got up and left her courtyard to go on a prowl for food.

She very quickly realised that the system did have the intention of assisting her. During the entire trip to the kitchen, it provided her with information such as the positions of guards and people patrolling the grounds. Everyone else were already in their rooms preparing to retire for the night. 

Thanks to the coupling of the system's surveillance and the weak presence of Luna's character that could practically pass off as some invisibility ability, everything progressed smoothly.

She cooked a simple but nourishing meal for herself, washed everything, then snuck into the estate’s library without attracting a single person’s attention.

Hey, system? It's alright if you don't like speaking but could you at least tell me what you can do? Perhaps I can work it into my plans and increase my chances of successfully clearing this world, as you put it.

She waited patiently in the darkness for it to respond. Just as she thought that it would not respond, it relented. 

I can see a certain area around you.

How far?

If you stood in the middle of your courtyard, I can see slightly beyond it.

Luna recalled the look of her small courtyard. That’s not very wide.

The range will extend when your astral energy strengthens… It sounded a little huffy to her now.

Astral energy? How do I strengthen it?

Astral energy is also known as spiritual energy in this world. The terms are interchangeable.

I’ll work on it then. Is there anything else that you can do?

Suddenly, a small white being that looked human-like and faintly glowed appeared in front of Luna’s eyes. She speechlessly looked into the two huge very dark purple sparkly eyes that were staring right back at her.

“This physical body of mine can go to places for you within the same range that I’m able to see. Just so you know, although I’m small, my body’s very strong and durable.”

Luna stared harder and longer at the being that was only slightly larger than her hand. She now noticed how its body looked like sparkles heavily compressed together.

She tried to speak but her throat still hurt a little, so she continued with speaking telepathically instead. So you’re a boy.

The system cocked his head before looking down at his body. When he did, his eyes rounded as wide as saucers and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Excuse me.”

A silver silk-like robe with very fine colourful lines running through the fabric immediately appeared and covered him appropriately.

“This is my first time creating a physical form for myself outside of my plane so I forgot about the clothes. About my gender, I could appear as a girl or be genderless, but I instinctively chose this form.”

Although he tried to act calm, Luna noticed how his pitch was a little higher than usual. Deciding to cut him some slack, she changed the subject.

Is there anything else that you can do?

“… Anything else is classified.”

For the sake of communication, do you have a name? Unless you'd like to be referred to as system all the time?

“I'm called BaoBao.”

I’m in your care then, BaoBao.

While Luna got busy browsing the shelves after lighting up a candle that was on the study table, BaoBao stayed floating where he was and blankly watched her. 

Unbeknownst to Luna, her words made BaoBao feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside. He did not understand that the sensations he experienced in his little body all the time were the very emotions that he seemed so scared of. 

He only knew that he felt like approaching this person more than the administrator who took care of him for the week after he was created.

"How about you?"

Luna froze for a second then turned to look back at him. What about me?

"Do I call you by Luna? Or would you like to be referred to as host?"

Luna thought for a while. Call me Xinyi. 

She wanted to use that as a reminder that her old life was gone and that she has a new life to lead now.