Chapter 1: Rebirth in the Snowfield

Chapter 1: Rebirth in the Snowfield

In the depths of winter, howling winds swept across the land.

A transnational train en route to Country Hua dashed through a snowy landscape at breakneck speed.

Upon a snow-capped peak, a group of black-clad figures stood with hesitant expressions.

"The young lady has jumped!"

"The avalanche is imminent. If we don't leave now, none of us will make it back! Let's go!"

Amidst the biting wind, a petite figure, like a fluttering butterfly, plummeted into the endless snowfield.

Blindingly white and bitterly cold, the chill seemed to penetrate her very bones, freezing her organs and making each breath a struggle.

The brink of death's despair jolted Yun Mu awake.

An overwhelming blanket of snow swallowed her, and dressed only in a thin silk gown, she was already numb with cold. Her endless dizziness made it hard to distinguish between illusion and reality.

What's happening?

How did she end up in the snow?

She was Yun Shuiyao, the eldest daughter of the Yun family, a prestigious and wealthy ancient martial arts clan in the Southern Ocean Continent. Betrayed during her ascension ceremony to become the family head, she had been shot multiple times and tossed into the sea!

She was clearly dead!

Suddenly, numerous chaotic memories that didn't belong to her flooded her mind.

Yun Mu, also the eldest daughter of the top-tier Yun family in Country Hua, was only 20 years old. Due to an accident, her intellectual capacity was stuck at the age of 8. After causing a major incident at 15, she was sent to a private mental institution in Ningguo, which was, in reality, a biological laboratory. For the past five years, Yun Mu had endured inhumane torture, living a wretched existence!

The Yun family had shown no concern for her all this time.

Until half a month ago, the Yun family suddenly sent someone to fetch her back to Country Hua. The purpose? To replace Yun Shuiyao, the Yun family's adopted daughter, and marry her off to Huo Tingcheng, the illegitimate son of Country Hua's wealthiest man, the Huo family.

Rumors had it that Huo Tingcheng was violent and unpredictable, feared by all as a living devil in the capital city. Before the age of 16, he had been receiving psychiatric treatment in an island sanatorium, with doctors predicting he wouldn't live past 26.

This time, the patriarch of the Huo family sought a wedding to bring good fortune to Huo Tingcheng. Two decades ago, the Yun and Huo families had arranged a childhood marriage between their offspring. Now, the patriarch specifically requested for Yun Shuiyao.

It is well-known that Yun Shuiyao, the adopted daughter of the Yun family, is the Empire's esteemed first lady, a genius maiden showered with boundless affection. However, she is mutually smitten with Jinzhou, the crown prince of the Huo family, and together they are recognized as the perfect match, a couple of golden boy and jade girl.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, the old man had ultimately decided to marry Yun Shuiyao off to the living grim reaper, Huo Tingcheng!

The Yun family, unwilling to offend the Huo clan and loath to part with their cherished adopted daughter Yun Shuiyao, naturally turned their thoughts towards their biological daughter, Yun Mu.

Upon learning the truth, Yun Mu, a female by name, was devastated and despairing. Escaping during her journey back home, she was apprehended and eventually ended up leaping off a snow-capped mountain.

Upon opening her eyes again, she found herself transformed into someone hailing from another world!

Amidst the chaos of her jumbled memories, the signs of an impending avalanche grew increasingly evident. Yun Mu's intense will to survive caused her beautiful eyes to narrow, shimmering with a cold radiance.

In an instant, she sprang up and dashed down the mountain with reckless abandon.

Upon catching sight of the speeding train ahead, a glimmer of hope ignited in her exquisite eyes.

Like a fluttering butterfly, she leaped upward, swiftly landing on the train's window!

Feeling the warmth inside the carriage, she finally began to breathe heavily. This body, long tormented, had exhausted all its energy. Each labored breath was a struggle, pushing against the limits of her endurance.

Struggling to rise, she stumbled and fell, losing consciousness altogether with a thud.

The patrolling bodyguard spotted her and was startled. "Young Master, a woman has boarded the train without authorization."

Their young master has an extreme aversion to cleanliness, particularly towards women. This woman will surely meet her demise today!

In the VIP carriage, within a luxurious compartment.

The young man seated in the wheelchair was dressed in a black shirt, draped with a fox fur coat. His chiseled features were striking, but his complexion held an unnaturally pale and sickly hue.

Impressing a sense of overwhelming power, as if everything could be trampled beneath his feet. He was elegant, dazzling, yet strangely morbid and gloomy.

The man's fingers held a cigarette between them; his pupils devoid of warmth, he commanded, "Throw her out..."

His voice was colder than the snow outside the car.

"Yes."

However, before the bodyguard could act, the girl on the ground lifted her gaze, filled with menace. The shattered look in her eyes was breathtakingly poignant.

Amidst the biting winter, a young girl clad only in a sheer dress was covered in blood and bruises.

Years of combat had taught her that the man before her was perilous, yet he was her sole lifeline.

She bit down fiercely on her tongue to stay conscious, reaching out weakly, "Please, don't leave me behind..."

She couldn't be abandoned; otherwise, death would be inevitable!

Struggling with her battered body, she crawled forward, her blurred vision guiding bloody fingertips to grip the hem of the man's pants, "Save me... I'll repay you..."

Her eyes pleaded, the white dress now stained with blood, yet there was a haunting beauty in her shattered state. Her hair, like seaweed, sprawled about, making her resemble a wounded butterfly with broken wings, a sight that was both heartbreaking and stunning...

Any who witnessed this would feel an instinctive compassion.

However, the man looked down at the woman with an icy gaze, as if regarding an ant beneath his feet!

The onlookers were terrified out of their wits!

It was over. This woman had soiled the Young Master's trousers; she was doomed!

Yet at that moment, the man's gaze fell upon an intricately patterned pendant hanging from the girl's chest.

With a swift and icy touch, he pulled the pendant down, his tone chilling as he demanded, "Who are you? How did you get this pendant?"

Yun Mu couldn't make out the man's words. Lost in confusion, she clung desperately to his clothes, drawing closer only to seek more warmth.

"Please don't leave me... I'll do anything...," her voice trailed off, her breath frosting in the air.

She was unbearably cold.

A destructive desire flickered instantly in the man's dark eyes.

Seizing the young girl's chin, he pulled her tender body into his embrace. "Are you not afraid of death, begging me like this?"

Unaware of the peril she was in, Yun Mu only sought to draw closer to the warmth of the chest before her, as if she had found a sanctuary from the storm.

"So warm..."

Amidst the chilly breeze, the scent of the girl's body wafted through the air.

With the young maiden's soft whisper, the man felt as if struck by a tingling electric current.

The girl in his arms instantly awakened the most primitive desire that lay hidden deep within his heart.

His dark eyes were as deep as water, and with an impish curl of his lips, he lifted the girl straight from the wheelchair to his feet.

Underneath the fox fur, her legs were long and toned!

His strides were steady and powerful.

Seeing him carry Yun Mu directly into the carriage, the bodyguards behind him stepped forward.

"Master, this woman's origin is unclear..."

"Then we can't let her go," Hao Tingcheng placed Yun Mu on the bed, his cold, slender fingers tracing the pendant in his hand. "Investigate her identity, and no one is allowed in!"

Feng Shuo was aghast. "Master, be cautious! She might have ulterior motives!"

One must always be wary of others' intentions!

"Be gone!"

The man's deep voice was laced with the biting chill of an icy winter, penetrating to the very marrow.

No one dared to defy him anymore, and Feng Shuo, accompanied by his bodyguards, withdrew from the room.

Inside, the opulent carriage was bathed in a sultry glow.

A gentle glow softly illuminated the scarred skin of the young maiden, imbuing it with an extraordinary and stirring allure!

As the man's scorching fingertips brushed against the maiden's cheek, she instantly clung to him like a drowning person grasping at a lifeline.

Enchanting and alluring, she captivated his soul.

Huo Tingcheng's towering figure was pushed into leaning half-supported on the bed. His profound, cold eyes took on a hint of wicked allure, "Woman, you're the one who provoked me first. Don't regret it!"

With those words, his thin lips left a mark on the girl's fair collarbone.