Shangxi Village, dawn.
It was the season of Lixia—the beginning of summer. The weather was gradually turning hot, and the fields echoed with the constant chirping of insects hidden among the grass.
Outside a low mud-and-tile cottage, two old women were locked in a fierce argument.
“Why, you old hag Zhang! I’m only asking eight taels of silver for four children, and you still think that’s too much? They’re all right here. Not a single copper less!”
“Bah! Gu Zhao-shi, have you no shame at all?”
Old Madam Zhang spat viciously onto the ground and planted her hands on her hips.
“Your eldest granddaughter smashed her head into a wall and died. Now you’re trying to force a corpse onto me and charge me the price of a living person? You’re clearly trying to cheat me out of my silver!”
Seeing that the price negotiation was failing, Gu Zhao-shi immediately began throwing a tantrum.
“My eldest girl only smashed her head because she was frightened after seeing you! You think you can wash your hands of this and walk away? Dream on!”
She grabbed Old Madam Zhang’s arm and refused to let go.
The grip hurt badly, and Old Madam Zhang lost whatever courtesy she had left.
“There are four children altogether. The oldest is only ten. Even if I buy them, they can’t do much work. One of them is still a nursing baby. Five taels—that’s my final offer! If you won’t accept it, then the deal is off!”
While the bargaining continued outside, Gu Jiu had already been awake for some time.
Her head felt as though it were splitting apart, and her entire body was weak and powerless.
In her previous life, Gu Jiu had been the leader of the Nine Heavens Gang, commanding hundreds of elite assassins. Decisive in battle and ruthless toward enemies, she was known throughout the underground world as a living legend.
At the age of ten, she had entered an orphanage and nearly become a plaything for evil people. After risking her life to escape, she wandered the streets begging for food. At fourteen, she finally founded the Nine Heavens Gang.
Officially, the gang accepted assassination contracts.
Secretly, however, most of their efforts were devoted to helping orphans and people with disabilities.
This time, the gang had once again attracted the attention of powerful enemies. After safely evacuating all her people, those enemies deployed a Tsar Bomba from a helicopter. Unable to escape in time, Gu Jiu had been blown to pieces.
She thought she understood death.
Yet Heaven had given her another chance at life.
Her new identity was the eldest daughter of the Gu family’s third branch.
Coincidentally, her name was also Gu Jiu.
She had two younger sisters and a baby brother who was still nursing.
The Gu family’s grandparents had always favored the first and second branches. After the original Gu Jiu’s mother, Madam Li, gave birth to two daughters in succession, their dislike for the third branch only grew stronger.
Last year, the prefecture conducted a labor conscription.
Even though Madam Li had been heavily pregnant, the grandparents deliberately submitted Gu Third’s name.
Less than a month later, news reached the village that he had died on the battlefield.
Madam Li was devastated by her husband’s death.
During childbirth, she suffered a difficult labor. After giving birth to a tiny, chick-like baby boy, she passed away as well, leaving the four children of the third branch to fend for themselves.
For the past year, the children had survived largely thanks to the charity of Granny Zhou next door. They also worked hard gathering wild vegetables and digging up roots in the mountains, barely managing to stay alive.
Next month, the eldest son of the first branch was getting married.
The Gu family could no longer resist temptation.
They planned to sell all four children of the third branch, using the money as a bride price and conveniently freeing up space in the house for the incoming granddaughter-in-law.
Whether they were sold to brothels or into servitude, the original Gu Jiu refused to accept such a fate.
So she chose to smash her head against a wall, preserving her dignity through death.
After sorting through these memories, someone entered the woodshed.
It was Gu Rong, her eight-year-old second sister, barefoot and carrying a bowl of water.
The moment she saw Gu Jiu awake, she was so shocked that the bowl slipped from her hands and shattered.
“Big Sister, you’re awake! Grandmother is going to sell all of us!”
Gu Jiu glanced at her tearful sister and immediately covered her mouth to keep her from alerting the others.
“Stop crying for now. Where are Third Sister and Little Brother?”
She had no intention of staying with the Gu family.
Naturally, she would take her younger siblings with her.
“Third Sister is in our room, helping Little Brother sleep. Big Sister, does your head still hurt?”
After a few sobs, Gu Rong forced herself to calm down and asked quietly.
Gu Jiu shook her head.
After a brief moment of thought, she instructed her sister:
“Second Sister, sneak out through the kitchen’s back door. Run as fast as you can and bring the village head here.”
Surprise flashed across Gu Rong’s face.
Then she seemed to realize that her sister might have a plan.
Without another word, she turned and sprinted toward the back door.
Gu Jiu understood that if she wanted to survive in this ancient world, she would have to follow its rules.
If she wanted to establish an independent household with her siblings, she needed the village head to witness and uphold justice.
As she pushed herself upright, she nearly collapsed.
This body’s condition was terrible.
She had to resolve the situation quickly before further complications arose.
After dusting off her rough linen clothes and pulling several pieces of straw from the patches sewn into them, she quietly made her way toward the third branch’s room.
Inside, her third sister and baby brother were sleeping soundly on a bed made from a few wooden planks.
“Third Sister, wake up. Come with me.”
Gu Jiu gently shook her awake while pulling a bedsheet free and wrapping it around the baby.
Four-year-old Gu Xiaoman rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up.
“Big Sister, you’re awake. That’s wonderful…”
Gu Jiu didn’t waste time.
“Third Sister, when we go outside, take Little Brother and go straight to Granny Zhou’s house. Remember?”
Gu Xiaoman nodded vaguely.
Barefoot and limping slightly, she followed her sister.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, the two old women had finally reached an agreement.
“I’ll buy the three younger ones for five taels of silver. I’ll even throw in ten copper coins out of the kindness of my heart so your eldest granddaughter can be buried properly.”
Old Madam Zhang brushed loose strands of hair from her forehead.
She clearly had no intention of yielding further.
Gu Zhao-shi still wanted more.
“Ten copper coins is too little. She’s a grown girl after all. Add a little more.”
“What use is a dead person, no matter how big she is? Even if you gave her to me for free, I’d think she was bad luck!”
Gu Zhao-shi inwardly cursed.
That worthless girl could have died sooner or later, but she had to choose this exact moment to smash her head against a wall.
She was clearly doing it out of spite.
Her yellowed eyes rolled as a new idea occurred to her.
“Old Madam Zhang, you can take the girl and sell her for a ghost marriage to some wealthy family. Add a little more silver and you definitely won’t lose money!”
At this suggestion, Old Madam Zhang’s expression softened.
She began seriously considering it.
Just then, Gu Jiu approached and overheard their vicious scheme.
Her voice turned ice-cold.
“Zhao Zhaodi! Your third son and daughter-in-law haven’t even been buried yet, and you’re already selling their children. Aren’t you afraid they’ll become vengeful ghosts and come claim your life every night?”
Both old women looked up simultaneously.
Seeing Gu Jiu standing there, they were so startled they forgot how to speak.
Having been married into the Gu family for decades, Gu Zhao-shi had long forgotten her birth name.
Being called it so suddenly left her stunned.
“You little wretch! Didn’t you die? So you’ve been pretending! Just wait until I break your legs—”
Cursing loudly, she reached for a broom leaning against the wall.
Gu Jiu motioned for Gu Xiaoman to leave with the baby.
Then she rushed into the kitchen and dragged out a butcher’s knife.
The sight frightened Old Madam Zhang so badly that she immediately ran away.
When Gu Zhao-shi saw the children escaping, she tried to chase them.
Gu Jiu stepped directly into her path.
“Get out of my way, you little slut!”
Furious, Gu Zhao-shi swung the broom at her.
Gu Jiu stood her ground.
A cold flash of steel sliced through the air.
Crack! Crack!
The broom broke into two pieces.
Several strands of silver hair were cut from either side of Gu Zhao-shi’s face.
The blade had missed her throat by mere millimeters.
“You unfilial little bitch! How dare you raise a knife against me? Even after death, people will curse your name—”
Seeing the murderous aura radiating from Gu Jiu, and now lacking any weapon herself, Gu Zhao-shi’s legs weakened.
She staggered backward in terror.
“Zhao Zhaodi, do you see my parents?”
Gu Jiu’s voice was chilling.
“They’re standing right behind you, watching. My father asked me to ask you something. Was he truly your biological son? He spent thirty years working like an ox and horse for this family and even gave his life for it. Yet you’re still trying to destroy his children. Have you truly no motherly affection left?”
Bloodstained bandages were still wrapped around Gu Jiu’s head.
Her face was pale as paper.
A cold, ghostly aura seemed to radiate from her entire body.
Thinking about how Gu Jiu had supposedly died and then come back to life—and how strangely she was behaving now—Gu Zhao-shi felt a chill crawl down her spine.
She whipped around.
There was nothing there.
Her lips trembled.
“Y-you little wretch! What nonsense are you talking about? I’m sending your branch off to live good lives! You should be thanking me!”
Gu Jiu sneered.
“If it’s such a good life, why don’t you send your eldest and second sons’ families too?”
Gu Zhao-shi was instantly enraged.
“You little bitch! How can those families be compared to yours?”
Gu Jiu hated people pointing fingers at her.
Her eyes darkened.
In a flash, she moved behind the old woman, locked her in place, and pressed the sharp tip of the butcher’s knife against her throat.
The knife had been freshly sharpened that morning.
The moment it touched skin, a thin red line appeared.
Gu Zhao-shi shrieked in terror, too frightened to move.
The commotion in the courtyard was so loud that Gu Eldest hurried out of the house to investigate.
“Gu Jiu! What are you doing with that knife? Are you trying to attack your grandmother? Put it down immediately!”
Tall and broad-shouldered, Gu Eldest had once trained at a martial arts school in the county and possessed some fighting skills.
Now he lifted a hoe and strode toward her menacingly.
Gu Jiu’s body had gone three days without food.
She had also lost a great deal of blood from her head injury.
Simply remaining standing until now had already pushed her to the limit.
Immediately, dizziness overwhelmed her.
The figure of Gu Eldest blurred before her eyes and split into several overlapping images…