
"How troublesome."
Feng Zhi Hao's words sent a cold sweat down Su Jing's spine.
Su Jing kept her breath, afraid to be noticed. But as she stood hidden, she couldn't help but take notice of the black fog that was quickly spreading around. It got towards the place where Feng Zhi Hao killed the man, increasing in density as it circled Feng Zhi Hao.
That surely did not announce good news. Although Feng Zhi Hao appeared unaffected by it, Su Jing couldn't ignore what this strange mist did to the other previous persons. Every time that fog showed up, it coincided with someone losing their mind entirely! If Feng Zhi Hao fell into one of those deep dream states and went bonkers, too, Su Jing knew she'd be in big trouble.
Her heart raced as she debated whether to warn Feng Zhi Hao and get her out. But would it even work? That fog looked seriously tough to handle - Feng Zhi Hao herself was a difficult person!
As if to confirm her guesses, Feng Zhi Hao placed a hand on her forehead, knitting her eyebrows. She bit her lip as she tried to resist the force taking over her. Her eyes glinted with intense hatred toward whatever haunted her thoughts.
A cold shiver ran down Su Jing's back, seeing this. She never saw such intense emotions.
While the fog gradually enveloped Feng Zhi Hao's body, and her memories hazed her, Su Jing tried to move and tiptoed back down the stairs. Her slight hopes of saving Feng Zhi Hao were long gone—now she wasn't sure about her well-being!
But even her futile wish to run away seemed unreachable. She attempted again to lift her legs, but they remained unmoving.
Feng Zhi Hao also seemed strangely silent. Su Jing glanced at her and saw how the mist almost swallowed her whole, showing her awful memories. This was by far the most enormous black cloud she had seen on this mountain—and supposedly the one at fault for not allowing her to move!
Su Jing struggled, the panic slowly getting through her body. The edge of the cloud had reached her, feeling ominous and with Feng Zhi Hao's full emotions of resentfulness.
As it slowly crept over her body, Su Jing felt a cold pressure surrounding her. Her vision darkened, and despite trying to keep her eyes shut to avoid any hallucinations, something still appeared before her, demanding her attention.
Because of that, once Su Jing opened her eyes, she saw a different landscape—a beautiful garden with sunny rays. Su Jing still stood on the ground, but someone else was with her.
To be more exact, she was kneeling beside an older woman, her head carefully massaged in her lap. Su Jing had the urge to get up and slap the fingers that were touching her, but her body continued to be still, sometimes acting on its own.
"Her" palm reached over her mouth as "she" took the air in boredom. The old lady smiled gently as she was treading Su Jing's hair, and the multiple bracelets from her wrist hit Su Jing's forehead with a cold touch.
Everything seemed so alive, yet when Su Jing looked closely into the grandmother's eyes, she couldn't quite discern what emotion she was hiding. This lady was so distant—so unreal and obvious, at least from Su Jing's perspective—that she was merely an illusion.
"Grandmother, I think my elder sister has already understood what she did wrong. She shouldn't stay further like that."
Coquettish words started coming from Su Jing's mouth, and her voice was far different from her real one or Feng Zhi Hao's. Su Jing would have frowned and cringed, but even her facial expressions were not in her control.
The old lady shook her head disapprovingly, her smile dropping into a cold one.
"Huabao, you are too kindhearted. Your sister's fault shouldn't be so easily dismissed. If we did that, she wouldn't learn how to repent."
Su Jing lifted her head as the grandma patted her. Heavy pins adorned her hai, which the grandmother adjusted carefully.
Su Jing nodded timidly, hugging her grandmother.
"Hua'er understands, grandmother. Hopefully, elder sister will not take too long to correct her behaviour."
The woman no longer replied, just sighing. The girl's mouth curved slightly upwards, and as she turned her head behind, Su Jing was surprised to see someone kneeling not too far away, with their head down.
That was Feng Zhi Hao.
Although her attire was more expensive and her youthful traits, Feng Zhi Hao couldn't hide her haggard state. Her hair was messy, and her hands were trembling as they were red, visibly from being spanked. Just watching her, Su Jing knew her knees must have felt numb.
Perhaps sensing her staring, Feng Zhi Hao lifted her head, her hair cascading over her face. Her fierce eyes pierced through the strands, leaving Su Jing momentarily breathless.
"She has to, " the old woman replied, continuing to give in and pet Huohua, "That child surely is as wild as her damn mother."
The lady didn't even bother to look at Feng Zhi Hao while saying this.
Since "she" was her younger sister, did that mean Su Jing was portraying Feng Huo Hua right now? The one that people kept complimenting for reaching the immortal realm. Feng Zhi Hao also mentioned her when killing that man - not in a good tone.
However, Feng Huo Hua continued to stare at Feng Zhi Hao, taking in every second of how Feng Zhi Hao's hate intensified.
Of course, Su Jing wasn't too dumb not to realise what Feng Huo Hua was doing. "She" was mocking Feng Zhi Hao.
The hand on top of her head touched her lighter and lighter until Su Jing noticed that the grandma's persona had disappeared, leaving only Feng Huo Hua. Her body got up, and as she exited the beautiful pavilion, Su Jing reached in front of Feng Zhi Hao.
Feng Huo Hua's dress was gorgeous, with pinkish tones and golden embroidery details. She crossed her delicate arms, having an oppressive and superior stance over Feng Zhi Hao.
"Isn't dear older sister content? Grandma had visited you as you wished. Why the long face?"
Her voice had changed, and it was far from timid. She looked down at the kneeling Feng Zhi Hao, hitting her knee slightly with the tip of her shoe.
"What now? Can't you hear me?"
Feng Zhi Hao still didn't respond, clenching her hands. Although she was silent, Su Jing could still sense that she was in a very conflicted mental state.
Feng Huo Hua continued, her voice dripping with disdain.
"You haven't changed at all. Always so defiant, always thinking you're better than everyone else. Even grandfather's death did not seem to have changed something."
One of Feng Huo Hua's feet reached Feng Zhi Hao's shoulder. She pressed on it, forcefully raising Feng Zhi Hao's head. The mention of her grandfather had clearly struck a nerve, as Feng Zhi Hao's jaw clenched tighter.
"Don't you dare mention him!"
She shoved Feng Huo Hua's leg away, causing her to stumble backwards. That seemed to enrage Feng Huo Hua greatly since her smile instantly disappeared, painfully biting her lips while glaring towards Feng Zhi Hao.
"Ha, you still think you are the grand and favoured miss of the Feng Clan? Stop daydreaming!" She took a whip from her belt, which glistened with sparkles and small lightning bolts. "You should accept your pathetic fate, you trash!"
Su Jing felt she was an unwelcome third party during all this fighting. She tried to look around for a way out, but this dream seemed only possible to exit with proper powers.
And the owner of this memory, Feng Zhi Hao, didn't look like waking up too soon. She was more forward in fighting Feng Huo Hua.
Feng Zhi Hao moved her hands, and a sword materialised out of thin air. The blade glinted menacingly, far more formidable than any standard sword she had seen. Su Jing couldn't fathom how this was possible, but considering this was Feng Zhi Hao's dream domain, it made sense that she had more potent abilities here.
She lunged forward, aiming to strike down Feng Huo Hua and Su Jing! Su Jing panicked more than ever since she didn't know what Feng Huo Hua would do or how good she was at fighting.
But thankfully, Feng Huo Hua's mood seemed opposite to Su Jing's, hardly being intimidated at all. Her whip quickly launched towards the sword, intending to smack it from Feng Zhi Hao's hands.
Unfortunately, the whip could not stop Feng Zhi Hao's fury. She caught the whip and wrapped it around her palm, pulling it and launching Feng Huo Hua to the ground.
Being in her body, Su Jing felt the hard floor scratch her skin—almost feeling too real. Her shoulder hurt, her chest went rapidly up and down, and her throat ached.
Even the beautiful dress from before felt now a bit impractical. Because of that, before Feng Huo Hua could get back up, Feng Zhi Hao launched herself with a clear intention to stab her sister to death. Su Jing quivered in fear.
Feng Huo Hua quickly raised her arms to block the attack, catching the weapon in her palms, millimetres away from her body.
"It was you who killed Grandpa!" Feng Zhihao shouted madly.
Su Jing couldn't help but hiss inwardly as Feng Zhi Hao pressed the blade harder against her hands. Although this was just a memory, the pain felt alarmingly authentic, and something told her that dying here could represent a big problem for her body outside.
That's why Su Jing focused on Feng Huo Hua's hands, as "she" was more preoccupied with insulting Feng Zhihao and making her angrier. A tingling sensation passed through her head, making her arms tremble and fingers feel even hotter. Unsure whether it was her sensation or Feng Huo Hua's, Su Jing kept still, desperate to hold the sword away from her,
But Feng Zhi Hao seemed determined and powerful enough to break Feng Huo Hua's forces. The blade began to slip from her grasp, even though both Feng Huo Hua and Su Jings were holding onto it. Feng Huo Hua didn't look like she was worrying about the situation as she continued smirking, further provoking Feng Zhi Hao.
"And in the end, grandfather still chose me, not you. Nothing can change that."
The craziness overtook Feng Zhi Hao and the black mist around her body. The blade went closer to her flesh, and just as it was about to pierce her, a sudden, sharp crack echoed through the air.
Su Jing held her breath, her fingers feeling hot. Her gaze was locked on the blade as she watched cracks rapidly spread across its surface.
In mere moments, the sword burst into a dazzling display of light, shattered into fragments. The bits flew everywhere, disappearing around the two of them.
Feng Zhi Hao's eyes widened in shock at such a scene. Her actions seemed to pause, as if confused and still not processing that her sword was gone. Only after Feng Zhi Hao started to tremble did she get away from Feng Huo Hua's body, coughing violently and clutching her stomach.
Unconsciously, Su Jing wanted to reach after Feng Zhihao. Her hands moved, making Su Jing stop as she realised Feng Huohua's presence had faded. Her fingers efficiently responded to her commands.
Su Jing looked around, her heart racing as the dreamscape began to dissolve. The enchanting fairy garden and elegant courtyard melted away, their vibrant colours changing into the harsh and cold mountain view.
With a gasp, Feng Zhi Hao was forcefully pulled back to reality. She vomited blood, trembling from the rough awakening. Su Jing felt herself being pulled back into her own body. The disorientation was brief as she rapidly sought cover, not wanting to be seen by Feng Zhi Hao.
The fog continued to cling around Feng Zhi Hao, thickening and swirling in a last-ditch effort to suffocate her. Gasping for breath, her trembling hands fumbled for the necklace around her neck.
She clutched it tightly, and the jewel quickly emitted a brilliant, golden light of the calibre she used to kill the previous cultivator. The intense glow cut through the fog, causing it to dissolve rapidly into nothingness.
Amazingly, her condition improved almost immediately, shocking Su Jing. She wanted to continue to watch Feng Zhi Hao, but the show of light seemed to blind her, and her vision became blurry. Pained, Su Jing put her palms over her face, but her head continued pounding, and nothing she did made it better.
She wondered whether the fog was causing this, but it was already fading. Her head felt like it was splitting open. As she struggled to keep herself conscious, different kinds of images flooded in, each distinct and unfamiliar. There were no angry villagers or a Village Head this time, nor Feng Huo Hua or Feng Zhi Hao—just an ongoing mess hard for her to decipher.
Su Jing did not know how much time passed or if something happened in her surroundings.
When she finally regained consciousness, Su Jing could hear nothing, and she needed a few seconds to realise where she was. Her body felt numb as if lying down for a long time.
Feng Zhi Hao was gone, and a scary silence enveloped the whole place.
She needed a few minutes to understand what was happening in her head. With each moment, her expression petrified more and more, and there was a slight moment when she did not even know if what she was living was a dream or reality.
This world was a story.
Su Jing breathed in and out at this affirmation, as she still needed some time to completely believe that—however, all the happenings from before told her what she knew now weren't lies.
No wonder she felt a weird vibe around Feng Zhi Hao and the two immortals, Bai Xiu Ying and Zhu Tai Chang.
They were one of the main characters in this world story!
Especially Feng Zhi Hao, the young lady Su Jing encountered, was the illustrious and lucky female protagonist!
She was everything that the genre cliches had to offer - reborn with a powerful secret bloodline, heavenly medical knowledge, and farming space. She had many love interests, but Feng Zhi Hao remained utterly oblivious to their affections, consumed by her dedication to the dao and getting revenge on the ones who betrayed her.
This transmigration was totally out of her scope. If you want someone to change the flow of the story, why don't you take one of these usual military, spy, killer women? Su Jing read a lot of crossover stories, but neither of the transmigrators was as pitiful as her.
What worried Su Jing even more was that she didn't remember a character named after herself. She might have remembered her past life, but her current one was still unclear!
There is a high possibility of her forgetting. However, Su Jing is sure she wouldn't easily overlook a character with the same name.
Upon deeper reflection, Su Jing realised she might be one of those one-sentence characters. After all, why would she be announced right before the mighty female lead?
When she read about this story in her modern past, she did not seem to do anything grandiose apart from living an everyday, monotonous life. Su Jing had no clear view of those memories either. They were running like sand from her fingers.
Su Jing preferred to avoid becoming collateral damage in Feng Zhihao's epic adventures, either way.
As Su Jing suspected, Feng Zhi Hao was dangerous if not handled well. The person Su Jing saw dying wasn't the first person Feng Zhi Hao had killed, but one of the many victims she had finished to make them pay for her suffering in her first life.
The story has already passed a few arcs. Right now, it was somewhere in the middle, where Feng Zhi Hao escaped the mortal realm after finishing getting revenge on her family, other clan nobles, and academic schoolmates.
First, Feng Zhi Hao was a noble concubine daughter of a famous family in Qin Country. At first, she was elated as a talented and proud miss. Still, once it was discovered that she did not have talent in cultivation, after an accident that also made her dumb, people began to ignore her since the motto of this story is "only the powerful rule."
Although quite true, Su Jing would want to add that "the majority of people are also dense" since they ignored, again and again, the signs of superpower Feng Zhi Hao had shown.
In her last life, Feng Zhi Hao died because of being poisoned by her stepmother, half-sister and fiance. While the sister and her taken lover went to the immortal realm, Feng Zhi Hao died slowly in loneliness, ignored by everyone.
Thus, Heaven gave Feng Zhi Hao a chance to be reborn in the accident that made her dumb right after her sister and fiancee left for the immortal realm. With the knowledge of her past life, Feng Zhi Hao played the role of a mindless girl, wearing a weak and docile mask, while plotting how to ruin everyone.
But first, she needed to cure her poisoned body to gain power. Feng Zhi Hao had no cultivation abilities, and neither did regular mortal medicine seem to work.
Thankfully, she got lucky and discovered that the necklace her mother left her wasn't a normal one but a spiritual heirloom. This powerful tool contained a farming space and many other treasures, such as cultivation and medicinal books, spiritual springs, and weapons.
Through this, she could cure herself, unlock her meridians, and start cultivating and being a doctor while still hiding her new robust constitution with an elixir.
The next time someone started bullying her, she either created an unfavourable situation for them or simply killed them in secret, making everyone pay.
She began by killing her noisy grandma who only favoured her step-sister, slapped the stepmother till she got exiled to a distant residence, and also made her bully cousins a laughing stock in the nobility - all this while pretending to be innocent and too stupid to think of such scheming things.
And that wasn't all. From the moment Feng Zhi Hao succeeded in gaining her ignorant father's approval to go to the Qin Country Academy, she continued creating a riot there, too!
Talking about an ambitious and vengeful female lead, Su Jing was sure no one could pass over Feng Zhi Hao!
Was this all finished?
Of course not. Through her mother's notes, Feng Zhi Hao found that she could still be alive, somehow hidden in the immortal realm.
Although desired by many, this realm was challenging for mortals to enter without a master cultivator accompanying them, like in Feng Huo Hua and Prince Jin's case. This implies that numerous dangerous areas must be passed by to reach the disciple selection area for all countries. This selection happens once a decade.
So how did the ridiculed Feng Zhi Hao reach the immortal root selection?
The imperial order ordered Feng Zhi Hao's cousin to come to this root selection, but the Feng Clan feared losing her because of the dangerous path there and because she was engaged to the crown prince. Her Aunt, the remaining members, and the exiled stepmother decided to throw Feng Zhi Hao instead.
It might have looked unfavourable and a dead end, but for Feng Zhi Hao, it was the best situation ever!
Together with some other wealthy noble heirs, she experienced perilous small-scale events. The arrogant heirs were either killed by the monsters or by Feng Zhi Hao herself.
During one of those situations, she encountered Zhu Tai Chang, embarrassing him in a duelling contest with her medical tricks, even though he was more powerful. He grew furious and wanted to attack her outside the arena. However, thanks to Bai Xiu Ying, they left without doing anything to Feng Zhi Hao.
As an apology, Bai Xiu Ying gave Feng Zhi Hao a map showing the route to Mountain Shun, where the root selection was supposed to occur.
Easy peasy then, and Feng Zhi Hao successfully reached the root selection. The only problem was that she had not expected the sect to reject her only because of the quality of the roots.
Although she cultivated, her roots were not good enough to impress an immortal. But that wasn't enough to stop her—since she decided to go on her own towards the eternal realm.
She killed numerous beasts along the way, gaining more strength and abilities. When she saw people she knew who ridiculed her, she killed them without words to spar. The man Su Jing saw was such a victim.
It was interesting to learn that this mountain had a special spell that made you fight your inner demons. As Feng Zhi Hao stood immobile, she remembered some painful events from her past. Because the man decided to mock her at the wrong moment, she threw her frustration at him and killed him.
Then, she entered the next stage of inner demon fighting. This part worried Su Jing since the story dictated something else.
According to Feng Zhihao's memories, although Su Jing mostly followed Feng Huohua's will, the dream state didn't end that fast since Feng Zhihao killed the false Feng Huohua! After that, the memory regressed to a part where she was scolded by a false grandpa, who told her she was not worthy of the Feng family name.
The end was when Feng Zhihao realised she was, in fact, in a fake dream when the grandpa accidentally said something out of character. She slashed him with her sword, thus clearing her inner demon. This made her pass over her bottleneck, reaching the Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement.
Well, that clearly didn't happen anymore. Feng Zhihao missed the chance to increase her cultivation. Although Feng Zhihao might have entered again while Su Jing was unconscious, she still suffered a significant impact when the sword broke. Su Jing didn't know then, but that sword was made from her inner Qi, and breaking it meant having serious inner wounds.
Was it because of Su Jing? Two people in the same inner demon weren't something that ever happened with other characters.
Not that Su Jing was a normal one, either.
Su Jing was an external soul with amnesia, and the fog's illusion power was probably not working on her. So what if she had some evil villagers wanting her dead? If Su Jing hadn't attributed those memories to herself, it would have hardly an emotional effect on her mind.
The fog put her in someone else's demon dream, the mechanism pursuing her to test her mental cultivation in some way. It is too bad that this affected Feng Zhihao's testing and made her fail. Maybe her sword wasn't meant to handle anything besides the fake memories, so it broke when fighting with something external like Su Jing.
Inner demons were, after all, very sensible.
Su Jing hit her head, wondering if this minor mishap would now doom Feng Zhihao's entire journey. Feng Zhi Hao still needed to explore a forest and train when reaching the immortal realm, so maybe she would succeed in passing her bottleneck then. Her farming space was full of meds and overflowing spiritual Qi, anyway.
But what about her life memories? Su Jing had a hunch that she had transmigrated long ago, but her memories were only unlocked now since she had the fog as a stimulus.
Recalling how she found herself confused at the root selection, Su Jing was sure that was when she first arrived in this world - since then, she appeared in this story! That was when Feng Zhi Hao saw her, in other words.
Feng Zhi Hao has no business with Su Jing's life, so, understandably, the story doesn't discuss her past, actual life, or future.
She was a simple extra, a poor mortal girl who most probably went back to live everyday mortal life in another village, away from those who wanted to kill her. Even if she still pursued going to the immortal realm like Su Jing, it was hardly probable that she passed her inner demons. Being made an enemy with an entire community wouldn't be easy for a young girl.
Su Jing did not want to risk it and return there. Who knows what would they do if they accidentally saw her?
Su Jing trembled as she didn't have enough big balls to scheme revenge on them. She had no talent, no cheat, no relatives, no home. In what way could Su Jing do something? Even cultivation power was out of the list since she was so weak the sect rejected her!
She needs to survive first. And for that to happen, she had to find a place for herself in the immortal realm.
Run. Secrets will be known once she had the qualification to learn it.