Outside, the night was quiet. Mo Tian and his servant headed toward the carriage. Suddenly, Zhao Lingxi appeared from the shadows, her sword pressed against Mo Tian's throat.
"Back off," she warned. "Or I'll slash your master's throat!"
The servant raised his sword, but Mo Tian shook his head.
"How can I help you, young miss?" Mo Tian asked calmly.
Zhao Lingxi's eyes widened slightly. "…Give me the Nine-Reversal Phoenix Restoration Pill!"
Mo Tian smiled coldly. "I'm afraid I can't."
In a flash, he twisted his wrist, knocking the sword away. The two clashed, blades flashing under the moonlight, movements sharp and precise. Zhao Lingxi struck fiercely, but Mo Tian countered effortlessly, disarming her with a swift kick.
Lan Yue sat on a nearby roof, munching another cookie. They were moving so fast she could barely see a thing. During the fight, a small jade box slipped from Mo Tian's robes and rolled across the ground.
Mo Tian had Zhao Lingxi pinned, one hand pressed beside her head, his dark robes flowing with quiet power. With a swift motion, he pulled down her veil.
A sharp breath escaped him.
Her face was pale, refined, beautiful in an icy, untouchable way.
He tilted his head, lips curling into a slow smirk. "A beauty, hm?"
But before she could respond...
Flash.
A gust of wind swept through.
From seemingly nowhere, a figure in plain, unremarkable clothes shot between them. Quick. Silent. Precise.
And when they were gone… So was the pill. Both Mo Tian and Zhao Lingxi froze. Zhao Lingxi bolted upright. "Where's the box?!"
Mo Tian's expression turned to stone, his eyes narrowing. In the same instant, both of them turned and ran after the figure. Far ahead, Lan Yue was sprinting like her life depended on it. Her lungs burned, arms locked around the jade box as if her soul was inside it.
"WHY is the protagonist chase scene THIS intense?!" she cried, tears half from panic, half from pure regret.
Behind her, two terrifying auras closed in. Yeah that was a stupid move. She was screwed. A sharp zap of red light suddenly struck Lan Yue right on her backside.
"Oww!!" She yelped, leaping into the air like a startled cat. Her feet barely touched the ground before she was running again, faster than before.
That was rude! Who even attacks someone's butt?! But she didn't need to guess. Only one person had that kind of precision and shamelessness. Mo Tian. Her chest burned, her legs ached, and panic was starting to fray the edges of her thoughts. She ducked behind a crumbling stone wall, clutching the jade box to her chest.
"One chance," she whispered, eyes squeezing shut. She focused, trying to enter her private space. Her only refuge for the moment. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes.
Nothing.
Her heart skipped. She tried again, harder this time, forcing her mind to steady. Still nothing.It was like the space… was rejecting her.
"What?! Why now?!" she hissed, trembling.
Back in her original world, she had reached Level 55. She could physically enter her space with ease! But now… not even her consciousness could slip in. It felt like the door had been slammed shut and locked from the inside. What the fuck was going on?!
A deafening boom cut her thoughts short.
Blue lightning crashed into the wall just inches from her, tearing it apart. Lan Yue screamed, dirt and debris flying everywhere. No time to think. No time to breathe.
She bolted again.
"I'm so dead! If they catch me, I'm going to be stir-fried, deep-fried, spiritually purified..."
If the male lead and the female lead really caught her, she was a goner. In the end, with her heart pounding and eyes full of panic, Lan Yue did the unthinkable.
She spotted a drunkard stumbling across the street, reeking of wine, muttering nonsense, barely aware of the world and shoved the jade box into his arms.
"Here! A gift from the heavens!" she whispered in a rush, before sprinting off into the shadows with tears streaming down her cheeks. Mama, I wanna go home. This world is way too scary!
Moments later, Zhao Lingxi and Mo Tian arrived like two storms converging. Their eyes swept the area and landed on the drunkard swaying in place, cradling the jade box like a newborn.
The man blinked at the jade box in his hands. "Eh? This looks expensive... maybe I can sell it and finally buy myself a proper drink!"
Zhao Lingxi's expression darkened. "Hand over the box."
The drunkard hugged it tighter, hiccuping. "No! It's mine now. It fell from the sky... It's fate! The heavens gifted it to me!"
Her eyebrow twitched.
Without another word, she snatched the box and kicked the man with a sharp, fluid motion. He let out a yelp as he was sent flying across the street like a sack of potatoes.
"Oh my," Mo Tian said with a lazy smirk, appearing beside her and plucking the box right out of her hands. "Such a fiery little miss. But I'm afraid this treasure doesn't belong to you either."
Zhao Lingxi stared at him coldly, looking like she was about to murder him any moment. He held the box up casually. "Tsk. For someone with such low cultivation, you sure know how to make a scene."
"Please," Zhao Lingxi said, her tone cold but urgent. "Sell me the pill. I'll pay any price you name."
Mo Tian tilted his head, stepping closer until their shadows nearly overlapped. His voice lowered, smooth and dangerous. "Money?"
He chuckled softly. "I have more gold than I know what to do with."
His eyes glinted with something unreadable. "What I want… is something else."
Zhao Lingxi tensed.
Mo Tian's smile deepened. "Attend the Spring Lantern Banquet at the imperial palace next week. Be there, and I'll give you this pill you're so desperate for."
Before she could respond, a figure rushed over. It was Mo Tian's personal servant, slightly out of breath. He gave a deep bow.
"Your Majesty."
Zhao Lingxi's eyes narrowed.
Mo Tian turned to leave, his dark robes fluttering behind him. "If you'll excuse me," he said without looking back, "I have more pressing matters to handle."
The moment he disappeared, Zhao Lingxi's cold mask cracked.
She spun and punched the nearby wall, hard enough to crack the stone. Her knuckles bled, but her expression didn't change.
"Your Majesty?" she muttered under her breath. "He's a prince…?"
That changed everything. Getting the pill just became ten times harder.
She turned her gaze to the drunkard still lying on the ground like a sack of wine-soaked laundry.
Her eyes sharpened.
No matter how she looked at it, something felt off. That man couldn't have been the real thief. His spiritual energy was weak, his body slouched, and he reeked of cheap wine. Someone must have planted the box on him after they got away.
Which meant the real culprit was still out there—watching. Or running. Or both.
Zhao Lingxi stood there for a moment, staring in the direction Mo Tian had gone. Then, without another word, she turned and left the alleyway, her footsteps quiet but purposeful.
Her brows were slightly furrowed.
That figure from earlier… it felt familiar.
She couldn't shake the feeling she had seen them before—just a glimpse, a shadow from her memory. But no matter how hard she tried to place it, the face wouldn't come.
And something else bothered her.
She hadn't sensed even a flicker of spiritual energy from the thief.
Either they were hiding their cultivation perfectly… or they were on a level far above her own.
Zhao Lingxi's eyes darkened slightly, her fingers curling into fists at her sides.
No, this life would be different.
In her first life, she had been trampled, used, and cast aside like she was nothing. But not again.
She took a slow breath, steadying the fire rising in her chest.
I will become strong.
Strong enough to break free from her clan's control. Strong enough to silence every voice that had looked down on her. Strong enough to take this entire nation in her palm if she wished.
No more weakness. No more fear.
She would carve out her own path with her own hands.
Even if it meant walking through blood to get there.