Ah Hua jolted upright from the bed with a thud. Everything before her eyes felt both familiar and strange. Her head spun dizzily, and she collapsed back onto the bed, pulling the rough quilt over her head in a futile attempt to sleep a little longer.
Could it be that she caught a chill yesterday while washing clothes by the river because she was dressed too lightly?
No, did I even wash clothes yesterday? Wasn’t I…
What was I doing?
Ah Hua’s headache grew worse. She clutched her head and rolled around on the bed a few times, but still couldn’t remember whether she had washed clothes or done something else yesterday.
The quilt was suddenly yanked away, and a sharp woman’s voice startled her into trembling: “Why are you still lying in bed? Where’s the water I told you to fetch? Huh? I’m asking you, where’s the water? Where is it?”
The burly woman spoke while casually grabbing a hemp rope by the bedside and mercilessly whipped the girl on the bed.
The girl screamed, immediately scrambled to her feet, and pitifully grabbed the woman’s sleeve, instinctively pleading: “Mother, I’m sorry, Mother, I’ll go right now.”
Only then did the woman toss the rope aside, snorting coldly: “You’re about to be married off, and you’re still reluctant to do a little work. You worthless thing, what’s the use of having given birth to you? You’re not even one ten-thousandth as good as your brother.”
The woman stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Ah Hua sat dazedly on the floor, tears welling up in her eyes from the physical pain. She licked her dry lips, the saltiness of her tears finally bringing her back to her senses.
Her name was Ah Hua, the most ordinary girl in Yanjian Village. Like other families, she had a younger brother at home. The family was very poor, but fortunately, she was quite beautiful and was soon to be married off to the son of a wealthy merchant in the village. Though called a marriage, it was practically no different from being sold. After all, she had seen her parents sitting in the room, gleefully counting the money in their hands—a thin stack, but for this small village, it was already an exceptionally high bride price.
Her parents were overjoyed, counting the money over and over again.
She heard her mother say to her father: “I never thought Yang Ah Hua, that worthless thing, would be worth so much money. It seems having her was somewhat useful after all. At least we won’t have to worry about Ah Qiang’s marriage expenses anymore.”
Yang Ah Hua crouched outside the room. It was the first time she had heard her mother praise her, and she couldn’t help but grin foolishly. She counted on her fingers, trying to figure out exactly how much she was worth, but realized that as someone who couldn’t read, she couldn’t make sense of it no matter how hard she tried.
Her younger brother, Ah Qiang, was leisurely returning from outside, carrying a birdcage. He hummed a tune carelessly. The bird inside the cage was brightly colored and sang beautifully—today, it had earned him many envious glances at school.
Seeing Ah Qiang, Ah Hua quickly approached with a smile and took the birdcage from his hands.
She asked ingratiatingly, “Ah Qiang, do you know how much my bride price is? I can’t figure it out no matter how hard I try.”
Ah Qiang narrowed his small eyes and glanced at her dismissively: “Why do you care so much? It’s not like the money is yours anyway.”
Ah Hua scratched her head: “I’m just happy that I can bring so much money to the family!”
And now, with only one day left until the wedding date her parents had agreed upon, Ah Hua slumped to the floor, unusually worried about herself. Why did her head hurt so much when she woke up this morning? Was she sick? If others looked down on her for being sick and still marrying into their family, would it cause trouble for her parents?
Ah Hua rushed anxiously into the courtyard. “Mother, I think I’m sick. Should I go see a doctor? Otherwise, tomorrow…”
The woman spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground, cutting her off. “Stop pretending! You just don’t want to work, do you? I raised you all these years—don’t I know you’re as strong as an ox? Want to see a doctor? Who do you think you are? A princess?”
Ah Hua fell silent, wisely saying no more, and began doing the household chores as instructed.
At lunchtime, Ah Hua’s family enjoyed an unusually good meal. Unlike the usual bland fare, there was a dish of stir-fried meat on the table. Ah Hua hadn’t seen such richness in a long time and couldn’t help but reach for it with her chopsticks.
“My son worked hard at school today. This meat is specially for you,” the woman said with a smile, picking up a large piece of meat and placing it in Ah Qiang’s bowl. Seeing Ah Hua also reaching for it, she immediately struck the back of the girl’s hand with her chopsticks. “How dare you eat the meat? Did I say you could?”
Two distinct blue marks swelled on the back of the girl’s hand, but she didn’t dare say anything, simply burying her head in her bowl of rice.
“Mother, give me some money. I want to buy a birdcage. I saw one at the east market—you wouldn’t believe how beautiful it is, a perfect match for my bird!” Ah Qiang waved his chopsticks, enthusiastically describing the cage, spittle flying into every dish on the table. Ah Hua quietly wiped a few drops of saliva from the back of her hand, long accustomed to her brother’s exuberant nature.
“Of course! My good son, I’ll buy you anything you want! Go to my room later and take the money from the bedside drawer yourself!”
Ah Hua’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. That money was likely the betrothal gifts sent by the other family. But she said nothing—it was only natural for the money she earned to be spent on her family.
Ah Hua’s day was no different from usual, despite her impending marriage the next day. She continued to work diligently on household chores and packed the belongings she would take to her husband’s home.
The only difference was that late at night, lying in bed, she found it hard to fall asleep. Strange memories seemed to linger in her mind, but exhaustion eventually overcame her, and she drifted into a deep sleep, filled with confusion and worry.
Before dawn the next day, Ah Hua was groggily pulled out of bed to wash, dress, and prepare. Fortunately, she often fetched water at this hour and quickly adjusted to the early start.
Ah Hua put on the rough, red wedding dress and sat like a doll as the wedding attendant applied cheap rouge to her delicate face. Step by step, she was lifted into the wedding sedan.
The sedan jolted up and down along the road. Covered by the red veil, Ah Hua could only hear the shouts of vendors outside and the clamor of drums and gongs. Her heart was calm. Years ago, the older sister next door had told her that marriage was something every girl had to go through.
The eldest sister married her childhood sweetheart. She was overjoyed on her wedding day. Knowing that Ah Hua, like herself, rarely got to eat anything good, she secretly slipped Ah Hua a packet of candy. Ah Hua was delighted. Hugging the candy, she followed behind the eldest sister’s wedding sedan, stuffing one piece after another into her mouth until her cheeks were bulging. Only by doing so could she finish all the candy before returning home, so her younger brother wouldn’t cry and demand she give the candy to him.
The eldest sister’s husband was a good man. Both of them were orphans, but he had always taken care of her. Even though they were so poor they had nothing, he still borrowed money to give her a simple yet sincere wedding banquet, just like any ordinary woman would have.
Ah Hua’s thoughts drifted aimlessly until the wedding sedan landed. A hand lifted the curtain and reached out to her. Ah Hua placed her hand in his and obediently followed through all the rituals.
She sat on the bed, waiting for this stranger she had never met before. The wedding veil still covered her head, and the unfamiliar surroundings made her heart flutter with unease.
“You may all leave now,” a pleasant male voice said. Ah Hua nervously twisted her hands together.
The man did not come over to lift the veil. Instead, Ah Hua heard him pull out a chair and table, unsure of what he was doing.
Not long after, the man stood up and flung a talisman toward Ah Hua. She only felt a sudden gust of wind brush past her face before something stuck to her forehead.
Jinshu tore off the wedding veil from her head, took a deep breath, and asked irritably, “What is this? What happened to me?”
The young man deftly caught the veil, his eyes filled with amusement. “We’re in an illusion realm. You replaced the original Ah Hua in the illusion, so you temporarily lost your consciousness and memories.”
The bright red wedding dress she wore was dazzling, but Jinshu found it utterly detestable. Muttering to herself, she removed the few ornaments from her head and began to take off the outer robe.
Chen Fuzhou quickly turned around, coughing heavily twice as a reminder. “Little Martial Sister, I’m still in the room, you know?”
Jinshu swiftly tossed the outer robe aside, still wearing a thick inner garment underneath. “I know.”
His body stiffened, unsure of what to say, so he kept his back turned to her.
Seeing that he wouldn’t turn around, Jinshu grew puzzled and stepped forward.
As her footsteps drew closer, Chen Fuzhou felt his ears grow hot and hurriedly called out, “Little Martial Sister, don’t come over.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Chen Fuzhou struggled to find the right words, feeling too embarrassed to speak. Just as he was tangled in his thoughts, a red veil covered his eyes.
He lifted the red wedding veil that had fallen over his head, and a smiling face appeared before him. Those cat-like eyes were only two fingers’ distance away, so close that even the fine lashes at the corners of her eyes were clearly visible.
“Why do you have consciousness and memories, but I don’t?”
Seeing him lift the veil, Jinshu straightened up and asked.
Chen Fuzhou blinked, noticing that she was now at a distance from him. Though she had removed the bright red outer robe, her clothing was still neat. He let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, lifted his eyelids, and said casually, “This demon has high Spiritual Power, but lacks a bit of talent in the art of illusion realms. While this illusion realm might not be much for me, you and the other martial sisters don’t specialize in this path, so it’s not surprising you fell into it.”
“Then why are you still here? Why not go ahead and leave first?”
“Her demonic power is too strong. I can’t defeat her alone.”
Jinshu’s eyes lit up as she patted him and said, “It’s fine, your senior sister will protect you. But how did you know I was Yang Ah Hua?”
Chen Fuzhou toyed with the wedding veil in his hand. “I sneaked into the bride’s house in the middle of the night and saw that Yang Ah Hua’s face was exactly the same as yours, so naturally I knew it was you.”
He stood up, placed the wedding veil aside, and walked toward the wooden dressing table. Picking up a bronze mirror, he carefully examined Jinshu’s reflection in it. “The demon’s Spiritual Power isn’t enough to sustain the entire illusion realm to accommodate so many people. So, those originally in this illusion realm returned to their own bodies, while outsiders naturally replaced the original ones.”
Jinshu suddenly understood. “So, we just need to find people who look the same as everyone else.”
Chen Fuzhou reminded her, “Senior sister probably hasn’t realized yet—this illusion realm is Yanjian Village from a few years ago. Everything that happened here is real.”
Jinshu was momentarily stunned, but she wasn’t foolish. Through Yang Ah Hua’s memories, she quickly pieced everything together. The older sister next door and her childhood sweetheart husband were none other than Yang Gui and A Cui’s family. At this time, they had been married for about three years, and Yang Zhen was just around two years old.
Jinshu tentatively asked, “Then who in the village are Yang Ah Hua and the body you’re inhabiting?”
Chen Fuzhou furrowed his brows. “It wasn’t just the two of us who went to investigate the village back then, so I’m not familiar with the village’s situation. I can only roughly deduce that these two people must have some connection to the ancestral hall and that demon.”
Although Jinshu had crammed some knowledge at the Sect before, she hadn’t learned much about illusion realms. She asked somewhat sheepishly, “Then how do we get out of this illusion realm?”
Chen Fuzhou didn’t mock her lack of knowledge but patiently explained, “Generally, there are only two ways to escape an illusion realm: either find the realm eye and destroy it, or have the master of the illusion realm willingly dispel it. Of course, if the cultivation level of the illusion realm’s master is far below that of the people it has trapped, it won’t be able to hold them for long.”
“Given our situation, we obviously have to rely on the first method. The realm eye of an illusion realm is a very peculiar thing—it could be an object, a person, or even a phrase or an idea.”
As the situation became clearer, Jinshu relaxed a bit more. She clapped her hands and said, “Then tomorrow, let’s first go to the village to find the others and see what Yanjian Village is really up to!”
Chen Fuzhou walked to the bedside and handed her the bronze mirror. The young man’s eyes reflected the girl in red robes, his dimples deep and filled with a smile. His half-smiling gaze made Jinshu somewhat puzzled, and she touched her face.
“Little senior sister, wash your face before sleeping.”
Jinshu grabbed the bronze mirror and saw that the originally bright and lovely girl in the reflection had two crude, dark lines drawn as eyebrows, two bright red patches on her cheeks, and her lips painted a vivid red—she looked like a performer in an opera.
It was all because that cheap “mother” was too stingy to spend money—look at what she had done to Ah Hua!
Jinshu’s face flushed red, making it almost impossible to tell where the rouge ended and her natural skin began.