Her bones cracked constantly.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
They broke, reset, broke again, and repaired themselves over and over, accompanied by a grinding sensation that felt like someone was taking her skeleton apart piece by piece, then snapping it back together without asking for consent.
Can you imagine that kind of pain?
Gu Mian could.
Vividly.
Which was exactly why there was no way in hell she was letting anyone use diluted spring water for their cleansing.
Pain was meant to be shared.
What kind of leader would she be if she suffered alone?
Absolutely not.
By the time the pain became bearable—bearable being a very generous word—the water in the bathtub had completely changed.
Calling it "dirty" would have been an insult to dirt.
It had turned into a thick, brown, sticky sludge, viscous like slime and faintly bubbling, clinging to the sides of the tub like it had developed sentience and malicious intent.
Gu Mian stared at it.
"…Wow."
She waited until her bones finished resetting, then carefully stepped out of the tub. Without hesitation, she poured the entire contents onto the soil inside her space.
Then she refilled the bathtub with fresh spring water.
And climbed right back in.
Throw it away?
Are you kidding her?
Even that disgusting, muddy goo was still made of spring water. Sure, it was impurities—but impurities soaked in spiritual energy were basically high-grade fertilizer.
Anything touched by spring water could not be wasted.
This cleansing went on for another full day.
By the end, the water was only light brown.
Progress, she thought optimistically.
It had been three days since she started.
She dragged herself out, grabbed fruit from her space, ate mechanically, took a proper bath, and finally stepped out.
Standing in front of the mirror, Gu Mian paused.
Her skin was… terrifyingly good.
Whiter. Smoother. Almost translucent.
Better than her past life. Much better.
She quickly understood why.
When she was reborn, her space had already been level five.
Although her mental power hadn't caught up yet, the amount of jade she had poured into it over time had made the spiritual qi density terrifying.
This meant something wonderful.
She could cleanse herself again.
And again.
And again.
Second time. Third time. Fifth time.
Each time, stronger than the last.
She laughed softly.
"It's a good thing I was reborn."
She still had over three hundred crates of jadeite—more than enough to push herself to level five completely and unlock unrestricted teleportation.
Thinking about potency, Gu Mian's lips curved upward.
An evil, satisfied curve.
She dumped ten crates of high-quality jadeite directly into the spring.
Then paused.
"…That's not fair."
If everyone went through exactly what she went through, where was the fun?
She wanted them to suffer more.
She dumped another twenty crates.
The moment the jadeite touched the spring, spiritual power surged violently toward her, slamming into her body like a tidal wave.
It was too much.
She collapsed into sleep.
She woke up the next afternoon starving.
Four days.
She hadn't eaten for four days.
She shoved fruit into her mouth, chewing desperately, and then froze.
Her mental power surged.
"…Level three?"
She laughed.
"Hehehe…"
The spring's potency had increased again.
Her blood ability finally awakened too.
Perfect.
She skipped downstairs cheerfully.
It was time.
All the boys were already in the living room.
Luo Yuhua was curled comfortably in Qing Ruofu's arms. Someone had turned on a movie. Li Qiao was typing at ghost speed on his laptop. Others were gaming loudly, arguing over who cheated.
In short—
They were having fun.
Gu Mian smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"Hehehe… hehehehehe…"
Everyone shuddered.
When the sound of slippers echoed down the stairs, they all turned—
And froze.
Their jaws literally dropped.
Gu Mian walked down calmly, glowing.
Not metaphorically.
She looked like she'd stepped out of a fantasy novel.
Qin Yao swallowed. "Gu Mian… did you go drink morning dew and come back?"
"Yes," she nodded solemnly. "I spent two thousand years there."
Mu Xia scoffed. "It's been four days."
Qin Yao waved dismissively. "Time difference, sister. Time difference."
Laughter erupted.
Gu Mian laughed sweetly. "Don't worry. I saved some dew for you too."
Her smile twitched.
"There's plenty."
Bai Ying narrowed his eyes. "Boss… why do I feel unsettled?"
"We'll begin after lunch," Gu Mian said cheerfully. "Baixu, you'll be first."
Ming Baixu paled. "Big sister… you're scaring me."
"No backing out," she said warmly. "Every family needs a… taste tester."
The room exploded in laughter.
After lunch, they filed into the fourth-floor bathroom.
Ming Baixu stood trembling.
Gu Mian ordered him to strip down to his underwear and began filling the bathtub using buckets of water from her space. The water appeared and disappeared in midair.
Ming Baixu's soul almost left his body.
"Big sister… Fairy sister… please… do I really have to?"
"Yes."
"Bai Ying," Gu Mian said calmly. "Hold him down if he tries to escape."
"Leave it to me."
The moment Ming Baixu touched the water—
He screamed.
Jumped.
Was pressed back down immediately.
Only his nose remained above water.
Pig howls echoed through the villa.
Everyone's scalps tingled.
Gu Mian calmly instructed them not to throw away the dirty water.
They watched skin tear, black blood ooze, bones break and mend.
Gu Mian laughed.
They developed goosebumps.
---
And so it went.
For almost a week and a half, screams echoed endlessly.
Seasoned veterans or not—
That pain was inhuman.
Everyone eventually realized one thing:
Their boss was taking revenge on society.
No dilution.
None.
They sighed collectively.
Gu Mian called her family regularly.
Introduced her teammates.
To outsiders, they looked like pampered young masters and mistresses.
But the muscles didn't lie.
Two weeks passed quickly.
The Gu family entered full seclusion.
Gu Yunchen stepped into the tub next.
Gu Ruisheng watched silently.
Gu Mian told him to wait.
She wanted to watch him cleanse later.
When apocalypse began.
When the spring was stronger.
She wanted to see his iceberg face crack.
Just imagining it made her giddy.
And Gu Ruisheng… agreed helplessly.
Three days later, Gu Yunchen emerged—handsomer than ever.
His assistant, Mu Qian, went next.
Gu Ruisheng insisted.
The scarred man deserved confidence.
Gu Yunchen's ability mutated again.
Mind-affecting.
Potential mind control.
He was thrilled.
Everyone trained harder.
Three weeks later—
Abilities awakened.
One by one.
And Gu Mian smiled.
The storm was coming.
And they were ready.
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