(The entire story is set in a fictional world. All settings and events are unrelated to reality and are entirely made up by the author. Please do not draw comparisons with real people or events.)
In 1966, at the military compound in Taohua County.
“You think you’re so damn impressive, huh? You got into a fight over a man and cracked someone’s skull open! You rebellious little brat! If I don’t break your legs today, then I’m no longer your father!”
A furious roar rang out.
Song Qiuyue, who was perched on a roof beam, shuddered and abruptly opened her eyes.
She turned to look out the window.
In the distance, lush phoenix trees swayed in the breeze, while the chorus of frogs and cicadas filled the air.
Hadn’t she been fighting rebels just moments ago? Their leader had stabbed her with a knife, and after the blade went in and out of her body, she had somehow ended up in this place?
“I’m talking to you! Are you admiring the scenery instead of listening to me? I swear to God, if you don’t get down here and drag your sorry self to the Chen family’s house to apologize, I’ll smash your damn head in!”
The man below bellowed again, finally snapping Song Qiuyue out of her bewilderment and thoroughly pissing her off.
“Hey, you old geezer! What the hell are you blabbering about? I’ve killed countless people, and chopping off heads is as easy as cutting vegetables! Who exactly am I supposed to apologize to?”
She glared at the man, whose anger was practically boiling over. When she saw him standing there with his mouth hanging open in utter disbelief, she continued her tirade.
“What are you staring at? You look decent enough, and you’ve even got a commanding presence. So why do you keep saying ‘I’m your father’ this and ‘I’m your father’ that? I’m your father too, you know! Who the hell do you think you are, acting like you’re some big shot?”
Song Qiuyue had never been known for her pleasant temper.
Ever since the all-out nuclear war erupted in 2096, the planet she once knew—with its lush green trees and towering skyscrapers—had ceased to exist.
What followed were massive geological upheavals that shook the very foundations of the Earth’s crust.
All nonrenewable resources were completely depleted. Human civilization plunged into darkness, and the age of cold weapons returned.
Then came the long, grueling era of reconstruction and territorial warfare.
Having experienced rebirth once before and possessing an innate photographic memory, she had needed only two years to rise through the ranks and become a female general commanding her own forces.
After years of risking her life on the battlefield, she had witnessed countless deaths, ruthless schemes, and endless betrayals. Whatever basic sense of morality she might once have possessed had long since disappeared.
And now, some old geezer dared to point at her face and curse her out?
The fact that she hadn’t killed him on the spot was already an act of extraordinary mercy.
Just then, Jiang Xiu’e walked in carrying a washbasin. The moment she heard her daughter’s outrageous words, her fingers went slack.
Clang!
The enamel basin hit the floor, sending water splashing everywhere.
“Qiuyue! What on earth are you saying? Did you hit your head so hard that you’ve gone stupid?”
Jiang Xiu’e’s face had turned deathly pale with fright.
What was all this nonsense about killing countless people and chopping off heads like vegetables?
How could anyone say such things out loud?
If someone else heard her, they would certainly use her words against the family.
The outside world was already in complete chaos. Why did this wretched girl have to pour oil on the fire?
Song Weiguo was so furious that his lips turned purple, and his entire body trembled like a leaf.
“You little rebel! You’ve truly gone too far! You want to be my father now? If I don’t shoot you dead today, I’ll take your surname instead!”
With that, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and aimed its dark muzzle straight at Song Qiuyue’s head.
At that moment, Song Qiuyue’s eyes widened.
Oh, my God!
Wasn’t that a Type 64 pistol, the kind listed in those antique weapons catalogs at underground auctions, where bidding started at no less than five billion yuan?
She had never actually held one, but she could recognize it at a glance.
There was absolutely no doubt that this was the real thing.
Oh, crap.
Could she have somehow ended up in another era again?
Suddenly, a splitting headache struck her. Countless unfamiliar images flooded her mind.
They swept through her brain like a violent storm, threatening to tear her mind apart as information that didn’t belong to her was forcibly crammed into her consciousness.
Song Qiuyue clenched her teeth and tried to fight back against the overwhelming force.
But it was simply too powerful.
Even this battle-hardened, ruthless “Female Yama”—a woman who had survived countless wars and mastered every kind of underhanded trick—couldn’t hold out for even ten seconds.
Soon, her entire body began convulsing, and white foam spilled from her mouth.
Standing below, Song Weiguo watched his rebellious daughter perform one bizarre stunt after another and felt that his family had truly been cursed with misfortune.
If only she would put that clever little brain of hers to good use! Then he, a deputy regimental commander, wouldn’t have to endure people mocking him behind his back.
Ah…!
It wasn’t the lack of talent in one’s descendants that was frightening. It was having an untalented descendant who was far too clever for her own good.
Just look at her! Every bit of knowledge she had learned was being used for crooked schemes. When it came to avoiding a beating, she would stop at absolutely nothing.
He just wondered what disgusting thing she was going to spit out this time.
Could it be that she’d been hiding a mouthful of soapy water?
While Song Weiguo racked his brains trying to figure out what his daughter was up to, Song Qiuyue’s convulsions finally stopped.
Her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp as she began falling straight off the beam.
Song Weiguo reacted quickly. He tossed the pistol to Jiang Xiu’e, stretched out his arms, and caught Song Qiuyue securely.
His daughter lay motionless in his arms, her eyes still tightly shut. This time, it didn’t look as though she was pretending.
Frowning, he held his index finger beneath her nose to check her breathing.
The moment he realized something was wrong, his face filled with horror.
“Quick! Get her to the hospital!”
Song Weiguo hoisted Song Qiuyue onto his shoulder and rushed out the door.
By then, three middle-aged women had gathered outside the courtyard, craning their necks to peer inside. The moment they saw someone coming out, they hurriedly stepped aside to make way.
One of them was Sister-in-law Zhou, who got along well with Jiang Xiu’e and had a particular fondness for gossip.
Seeing the couple in such a panic, she couldn’t resist asking, “Sister-in-law Xiu’e, what’s happened to Qiuyue?”
Jiang Xiu’e genuinely didn’t have time to entertain her. However, to keep the matter from escalating while making sure this little “gossip loudspeaker” spread the right version of events, she answered with a perfectly serious expression.
“The two of them angered her so badly that she suffered an internal injury from the rage. Her heart meridians are damaged, and we don’t even know if she’ll survive!”
The three women sucked in sharp breaths.
They watched as the couple hoisted Song Qiuyue onto the rear seat of a bicycle and hurriedly pushed it away.
“Oh, dear! The Chen family is in for a terrible time now!”
Sister-in-law Zhou shook her head.
“If you ask me, that Chen girl really does have a problem. Why else would she keep hanging around the Shen boy? Doesn’t she know that our ‘Little Demon Queen’ is famous for being possessive?”
“Look at the mess she’s gotten herself into! If anything happens to Song Qiuyue, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tears the roof off the Chen family’s house!”
With Sister-in-law Zhou’s enthusiastic assistance, news of Song Qiuyue’s impending death quickly reached the Chen family.
Yang Guizhen was scared out of her wits. After pacing around the room twice, she grabbed the cloth shopping bag she usually used for buying groceries and began stuffing clothes into it.
Then she went to the cupboard, picked out the largest bowl she could find, and hurried toward her daughter’s room with quick, clattering footsteps.
At that moment, Chen Qingqing was examining the injury on her forehead in front of a mirror.
When she saw her mother enter carrying a bowl, she assumed it contained some nourishing food or medicine for her recovery. She immediately stood up to greet her.
“Mom!”
But instead of handing her the bowl, Yang Guizhen raised it high and brought it crashing down.
BANG!
She smashed it directly against the spot where Chen Qingqing had injured her forehead.
Chen Qingqing clutched her head, staring at her mother in complete confusion.
“Mom, why did you hit me? I was already injured there!”
She turned toward the mirror to examine herself.
The wound hadn’t been particularly serious before, but after her mother struck her again, blood began streaming through the gaps between her fingers.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! How can you still be fussing over your looks at a time like this? Lie down! I’m taking you to the clinic right now. Hurry, hurry!”
Author’s note: In this story, “yizi” refers to an old-fashioned type of soap made from ingredients such as pig pancreas, plant ash, and grease. It was typically shaped into a long, yellow bar and dates back to the Western Jin dynasty. Any ladies planning to travel back in time, take notes!