Chapter 1: Return Through Rebirth

“I won’t let you off!”

A torrent of resentment seemed to break free from the depths of hell, swirling restlessly within the cramped wood shed.

A frail little girl suddenly sat up, gasping for air like a fish out of water.

Within mere moments, a dense layer of sweat had formed on her forehead.

A sharp pain in her chest caused her expression to falter.

Wasn’t she dead?

“Bang!”

The door to the wood shed was kicked open from outside. The fierce old Mrs. Lu stood there, her slanted eyes gleaming with a chilling light as she glared at Lu Shijiu inside.

“You worthless fool! The sun’s already high in the sky, and you’re still hiding inside pretending to be dead! Get out here and work!”

Her voice was so forceful that dust fell from the pile of firewood.

“Don’t think you can just lie down and play dead because your father kicked you yesterday. Girls in our village aren’t that precious! If you don’t work, don’t even think about eating today!”

Lu Shijiu frowned as she looked at the menacing figure of Mrs. Lu outside the door.

Hadn’t this happened when she was ten years old?

She had accidentally uncovered Mrs. Lu’s ‘little secret’ and was kicked squarely in the chest by her father, nearly dying on the spot.

Though she survived, she was left with chronic coughing and angina that never eased until her death.

So this...

She lowered her gaze to her hands, eyes filled with disbelief.

Could it be that Heaven had heard her desperate plea and granted her a chance to start anew?

Almost instantly, Lu Shijiu pieced together the whole story. Suppressing the overwhelming hatred in her eyes, she lowered her brows and spoke in a cold voice, “I can’t get out of bed. If you don’t believe me, have Grandpa Liu take a look.”

“What! You little jinx! I had to pay the doctor myself after you got kicked one by one! A plague on you, and you actually dare to think that!”

Hearing Lu Shijiu mention calling a doctor, Mrs. Lu immediately slapped her.

Lu Shijiu rolled with the motion and narrowly avoided the blow.

Missing its mark, Mrs. Lu staggered slightly.

Dare to dodge?

Her anger flared even more fiercely.

Steadying herself, she swung her palm at Lu Shijiu again.

“I told you to fake being sick!”

Lu Shijiu trembled once, then lay utterly still.

Seeing her as motionless as a corpse, Mrs. Lu’s fury only grew, and she paced angrily by the bedside three times.

“You can’t do the others, but you can at least cut pig grass, right? Bring back a basket every day, or don’t even think about one meal a day!”

“I can’t get out of bed. I can’t stand.” Lu Shijiu gritted her teeth through the pounding in her head and insisted.

Mrs. Lu snatched a stick from the firewood pile and slammed it hard against the bed frame.

“Even if you have to crawl, you’ll crawl for me!”

The jolt made Lu Shijiu’s chest pain flare up even worse.

Words were useless. She shut her eyes and gathered strength to heal.

“Did you hear me, you cursed thing!”

Mrs. Lu spat contemptuously at her, then turned and left without waiting for a reply.

When the wood shed grew quiet again, Lu Shijiu opened her eyes and thought carefully about her path forward.

As long as she had breath in her body, the Lu family would never allow her to lie down and rest.

For now, everyone else had gone out, leaving only Mrs. Lu to torment her.

She could not surrender!

Since Heaven had granted her a second chance, she vowed to send every villain in this family straight to hell!

The surge of emotion made her breath heavy and her chest pain intensify.

She could not die—not yet. She had not even begun her revenge!

Revenge!

Yes.

Where to start?

Perhaps Mrs. Lu’s ‘little secret’ was the opportunity she needed.

But she had to act fast; otherwise, such a chance might never come again soon.

Resolute, Lu Shijiu endured the pain and climbed out of bed.

Just stepping out of the wood shed, her whole body felt like it had been dragged out of water, veins bulging on her forehead.

She could not give up!

Her eyes fell on the scattered firewood outside. Gritting her teeth, she leaned on the doorframe and slowly knelt down.

Crawling over to the pile, she picked out a branch about two fingers thick, stripped the leaves with the firewood knife from the ground.

Having done this, she broke into a sweat from the pain but refused to relent.

Given a second chance at life, she would never again die a miserable death in this den of ruthless villains.

Wiping her sweat away, she fought the dizziness threatening to black out her vision, clutching the makeshift crutch tightly.

She stood!

Moving toward the earthen brick wall where the farming tools hung, she took down her back basket, slung it on her back, and with the crutch shakily in hand, she headed out of the courtyard.

She knew someone was following her from behind.

“Xiaoniu! Where are you?”

“Xiaoniu!”

Voices calling for a child echoed throughout the village.

Lu Shijiu kept her head down, walking toward the road out of the village as usual.

“Xiaoniu!” A thirteen-year-old boy searched and called out in the fields.

A flicker of light appeared in Lu Shijiu’s eyes as she continued on her way.

“Bang!”

“Hey! Are you okay? I didn’t mean it.”

Lu Shijiu fought off fainting and looked at the annoyed boy. “Xiaoniu is in my family’s cellar.”

“What?” The boy’s anger flared immediately as he prepared to stand.

Lu Shijiu grabbed him. “Take me to the doctor… tell your mother to… cause a ruckus, distract my family… ask the village head to search…”

After saying this, she could no longer hold on and fainted.

Seeing Lu Shijiu’s pale face, Shi Tou’s heart raced. From afar, he saw Mrs. Lu approaching. Remembering Lu Shijiu’s words, he gritted his teeth, lifted her up, and ran toward Dr. Liu’s house on the village edge.

On the way, he met his cousin Dazhuang and quickly instructed him, “Dazhuang, hurry! Tell my mother I accidentally ran into the Lu family’s jinx. She needs to rush to Dr. Liu’s. If she’s late, the Lu family will beat me to death!”

The Lu family’s cruelty and irrational temper were notorious nearby.

Dazhuang, hearing this, didn’t even look for his brother and dashed off into the village.

“All right, cousin, I’m going to find aunt now.”

Lu Shijiu was awakening from unconsciousness.

“Awake?”

A wrinkled, square-faced old man suddenly appeared above her.

“Grandpa Liu?” Lu Shijiu asked uncertainly.

“Yes. This is my home. You have two broken ribs and internal injuries. Rest well once you get back, and you should recover.”

Liu Jinyi tidied up the bowls in his hands and continued, “But your injuries don’t look like from a fall. Judging by the large bruises and where your ribs are broken, it seems someone kicked you. I’ll prepare herbal medicine for you for half a month. Drink it daily. It will reduce bruising and pain and help you heal faster, suffering less.”

A sarcastic smile curled at Lu Shijiu’s lips. With the Lu family’s tendency to take everything for themselves, there was no way they’d buy medicine for her.

But...

Had Shi Tou truly understood her meaning and acted accordingly?

That family was cunning and treacherous; without catching them off guard, it would be hard to seize any leverage.

In her past life, he was the only one in the village destined for great things—surely he had some sense.