“Host Shen Xia has been bound. The mission to kill the villain will begin shortly.”
The moment Shen Xia opened her eyes, those words echoed in her ears.
Not far away, in the courtyard, a maid stood with a whip in hand, her face full of arrogance as she lashed at a boy lying on the ground.
The boy wore tattered clothes. His body was covered in wounds, blood staining him from head to toe. All he could do was hunch over and curl himself into a ball like a miserable little beast.
“You were told to serve the Third Sister, yet you couldn’t even handle such a trivial task. Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death.”
“Host, that’s Li Xiao, the villain! This world’s future became unstable because he descended into darkness and stole the Male Lead’s fortune!”
“Hurry over there and help that maid torture him. The more miserable the villain is, the stronger the Male Lead’s fortune becomes. That way, he won’t be able to cause any trouble in the future.”
The system screamed inside Shen Xia’s mind.
When it saw that she remained unmoved, it grew furious.
“What are you still standing around for? Our Transmigration Bureau brought you here from the twenty-first century and trained you for half a year precisely so you could eliminate the villain!”
“Move! I said move! Don’t you want to complete the mission? Don’t you want to return to the twenty-first century?”
“If you refuse to act, we have the authority to erase you!”
“I know,” Shen Xia replied with difficulty, clutching her chest as she coughed.
Dragging her frail body to her feet, she slowly walked toward them.
Hearing movement, the maid glanced over and sneered.
“Seventh Sister, so you’re awake after all. Your body really is fragile. Third Sister only made you kneel for four hours, and you fainted.”
Only four hours?
A surge of bitterness clogged Shen Xia’s chest. It was the despair left behind by the original owner, still crying out from within her.
Earlier, this maid had stolen something belonging to the main wife, yet she had framed the original owner for it.
As punishment, the original owner had been forced to soak in freezing water for a long time and had spent half a month bedridden. Today, she had been ordered to kneel under the blazing sun for another four hours.
That punishment had cost her life.
“Since you’re awake, hurry up and teach this worthless wretch a lesson. If you do well enough, Third Sister might even consider your mistakes forgiven.”
The system immediately chimed in.
“That’s right, that’s right! Third Miss Shen will become one of the Female Lead’s closest friends in the future. Befriend her, and it’ll be much easier to help the Male Lead and Female Lead seize the world.”
“Help the Male Lead and Female Lead seize the world?”
Shen Xia lowered her head and quietly repeated those words. The resentment in her heart threatened to burst free.
If the Male Lead and Female Lead wanted to conquer the world, why should everyone else be sacrificed for their sake?
She suddenly raised her head.
Then, using every ounce of strength she possessed, she snatched the whip from the maid and wrapped it around her neck.
While the maid struggled, Shen Xia yanked the wooden hairpin from her own hair and stabbed it down viciously.
Blood splattered everywhere, staining half her face crimson and making her look like a ghostly apparition.
The maid’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even in death, she could not understand why the usually timid Shen family concubine-born daughter had dared to kill her.
“Ah! Shen Xia, have you lost your mind? You’ve gone completely insane! How dare you kill someone at random! Other than the villain, you have no right to take anyone’s life! I’m reporting this to headquarters. You’ll be judged unqualified!”
The system’s shrill warning rang out.
Half kneeling on the ground, Shen Xia was so weak she could barely remain conscious, yet she still quickly pressed her fingers against her temples and muttered something under her breath.
Soon, a glowing sphere was forced out from her mind.
Clenching her hand tightly, she thrust it straight through the system’s body and crushed its core chip.
A miserable scream echoed through the air.
The system that had been so arrogant moments ago vanished without a trace.
Report her to headquarters?
It would never get the chance.
For six months, she had endured humiliation and pretended to obey. At last, on her very first day in this world, she had completely destroyed the thing that had controlled her.
Back in the twenty-first century, she had loving parents, a sensible younger brother, and a career she enjoyed. Yet the so-called Transmigration Bureau had stolen her soul away with nothing more than the excuse that “the world inside the novel needed stability.”
They had even tried to brainwash her, intending to turn her into nothing more than a puppet that completed missions for them.
She had feigned submission while secretly waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Suddenly, a painful groan came from behind her.
Shen Xia turned around and met Li Xiao’s hateful gaze.
He was barely conscious, yet he still resembled a starving wolf, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to drink her blood and devour her flesh.
Before arriving in this world, she had already received all the information contained within the novel.
Li Xiao, the Tenth Prince of the Jin Kingdom, was twelve years old.
His mother, Consort Jin, had been the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family.
Back when the Emperor had fought for the throne, the Jiang family had contributed greatly to his success. Yet after ascending the throne, he had discarded them once their usefulness ended. The entire Jiang family had been executed, while Consort Jin had been burned alive in the palace.
At the time, Li Xiao was only eight years old.
Even then, the Emperor had not been reassured. He had ordered poison forced down Li Xiao’s throat before exiling him to Nanli Island, the southernmost region of the Jin Kingdom.
The Prefect of Nanli Island, Murong Ke, belonged to the same clan as the current Empress.
With him keeping watch, Li Xiao was never expected to become a threat.
The Shen family, meanwhile, were natives of Nanli Island.
Shen Duancheng, the family patriarch, had once been a pirate before eventually submitting to the Jin Kingdom. Though he had managed to obtain an official position, the blood of barbarians still flowed through his veins.
The Shen family treated tormenting Li Xiao as a form of entertainment. Over the years, his status in the household had been lower than that of a dog.
Today, all because he had accidentally broken Third Miss Shen’s teacup, he had been sentenced to a whipping with a saltwater-soaked lash.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that Li Xiao hated every member of the Shen family, even though the original owner had never harmed him.
Shen Xia crawled over and helped support his body.
He was the villain of this world and the key to her returning home.
He absolutely could not die now.
Following the memories she had inherited, Shen Xia searched around her waist and finally found a medicinal pill.
The original owner had spent all her savings to buy it, intending to keep it for herself.
But right now, Li Xiao clearly needed it more.
“Get… lost…” Li Xiao forced the words out through gritted teeth.
Because he was so furious, he began coughing violently and even spat out blood.
He assumed she was just like the rest of the Shen family and intended to harm him.
Shen Xia no longer had the strength to explain herself.
She shoved the pill into his throat and patted his back.
Li Xiao was even more seriously injured than she was and had no ability to resist.
Feeling the medicine slide into his stomach, he closed his eyes in despair.
Was he really going to die today?
Would this woman poison him to death?
Once she confirmed that he had swallowed the medicine, Shen Xia collapsed onto the ground.
Her entire body was drenched in sweat, and she was still gasping for breath.
According to the novel, this injury had nearly cost Li Xiao his life, leaving him half crippled and delaying his efforts to contact the Jiang family’s surviving followers.
He had been forced to wait ten full years before finally escaping the island, building his own power, and raising arms against the imperial court.
Ten years was far too long.
She could not wait that long. She wanted to go home as soon as possible, so she had to save him.
After a long while, Shen Xia finally recovered enough strength to move.
She found some tools, dragged the maid’s corpse to the peach blossom grove beloved by Third Sister Shen Ying, dug a pit, and buried it.
At some point, Li Xiao had lost consciousness again, but now he woke up once more.
Lying there, he watched her busy figure in silence.
He touched his abdomen.
The medicine had not been poisoned. It had genuinely treated his internal injuries.
And she had even bandaged all of his wounds.
Why had she saved him?
Completely focused on her work, Shen Xia failed to notice that Li Xiao was slowly making his way toward her.
The look in his eyes was frighteningly sinister.
In his hand was the bloodstained hairpin she had dropped.
No matter what her reason for saving him might be, perhaps it would be best to kill her anyway.
After all, every member of the Shen family deserved to die.
Kill her.
Just as he had secretly disposed of those beasts who bullied him on countless nights.
One strike! A fatal blow.
Drive the hairpin down, and she would never even have the chance to struggle…
A voice inside Li Xiao’s mind screamed those words over and over.