Chapter 1 At Last, It’s My Turn to Make You Suffer

“Kneel!”
A sharp kick landed on the back of her calf, forcing her to fall to her knees.

Coughing violently, Si Nan Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood, curling up on the ground. Her body felt as if it had been torn apart.

“Si Nan Sheng, you’re truly vicious! Not only did you trespass into the forbidden grounds, but you also injured your kind-hearted junior sister who tried to stop you. You’re utterly heartless!”

The voice, thick with contempt, resounded above her. Someone gripped her chin roughly, forcing her to look up. Through her blurred vision, a familiar figure gradually came into focus.

It was her second senior brother, Shen Jingyuan.

The same Shen Jingyuan who always brought her curious trinkets upon returning from his travels, making her giggle with delight.

When had everything changed? She could no longer remember.

Was it when he first scolded her harshly for Liu Xuewei’s sake, or when he raised his hand against her because of Liu Xuewei?

“Si Nan Sheng, I’m warning you. Once we’re in the main hall, you’d better behave and confess your crime of trespassing. And you’d better admit that Junior Sister Xuewei only went to the forbidden grounds to stop you, and that you viciously injured her, leaving her gravely wounded!”

Shen Jingyuan’s words left Si Nan Sheng’s mind blank— the forbidden grounds, Junior Sister Xuewei?

Wasn’t this the scene from when she was twelve, tricked by her junior sister Liu Xuewei into searching for spirit herbs in the forbidden grounds, only for the formation to injure her?

With a thud, Shen Jingyuan kicked her again, his voice cold and sinister:

“Si Nan Sheng, listen closely. This time, Junior Sister Xuewei has been seriously hurt and you can’t escape responsibility. You’d better obediently dig out your spiritual root to save her. If you don’t, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”

After speaking, Shen Jingyuan kicked her several more times. Su Heng, who had been watching from the side, grew alarmed—he feared that if she died, her spiritual root would dissipate, so he quickly intervened.

“Second Brother, don’t kill her. If she dies, her spiritual root will vanish.”

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I know my limits. She won’t die so easily. Even if she’s to die, it’ll only be after she’s handed over that superior water spiritual root to Xuewei!”

Shen Jingyuan’s gaze toward Si Nan Sheng was filled with undisguised disgust.

“Enough, stop hitting her. Everyone’s waiting to deal with her. Junior Sister is still unconscious from her injuries and needs her spiritual root to be saved.”

Su Heng looked at Si Nan Sheng’s bloodless face. Though he stopped Shen Jingyuan from beating her further, a flash of disdain crossed his features.

He shoved a cheap healing pill into her mouth and performed a cleansing technique, making her look a little less disheveled.

Si Nan Sheng felt someone grab her collar and drag her upright. Her mind was buzzing.

A sudden clap of thunder crashed, making her pupils contract sharply as countless memories surged into her consciousness, overwhelming her fragile nerves and leaving her breathless.

Gradually, her mind cleared, her spirit settling into crystal clarity.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Si Nan Sheng’s lips: I’ve lived again.

In her previous life, Si Nan Sheng had inexplicably transmigrated into a cultivation novel, becoming the ill-fated antagonist whose luck was always abysmal.

Her memories from before transmigrating had been sealed, leaving her no choice but to follow the book’s script. Once the most beloved junior sister, she’d been stripped of all value and finally perished, devoured by a demonic beast.

She hadn’t expected that, given a second chance, all her memories would return.

Si Nan Sheng thought: Since you have no affection or loyalty for me, I need not long for you any longer. You tormented me before; now, it’s finally my turn.

“Master, I’ve brought Si Nan Sheng.” Shen Jingyuan tossed her unceremoniously onto the floor.

The grand hall glittered with gold and jade. At the head of the hall sat Feng Zeyan, dressed in moon-white robes, ethereal as an immortal.

On either side of the hall sat the heads of several great sects. They had come to discuss the opening of the secret realm three months hence, but before the talks began, the Sacred Heaven Sect had provided them with quite a spectacle.

“Si Nan Sheng, do you admit your guilt?” Feng Zeyan looked down coldly at the girl thrown to the floor, his expression dark.

Today was supposed to be a day for Sacred Heaven Sect to shine before the other sects, hosting the secret realm’s entry arrangements. Instead, his wayward disciple had brought him such shame—and worse, she had injured his beloved disciple, Liu Xuewei.

“Nan Sheng does not know her guilt.” Si Nan Sheng gritted her teeth, fighting back the pain, her eyes rimmed red as she gazed tearfully yet resolutely at the man on his lofty seat.

Seven years ago, she’d been a street orphan. This man had appeared and said they were fated as master and disciple, bringing her to Sacred Heaven Sect.

For the first two years, he had been good to her—guiding her cultivation, providing her with rare treasures, teaching her things she’d never known.

But when she reached the Foundation Establishment stage at eight, he began to distance himself, no longer instructing her, hardly even seeing her.

At the time, her senior brothers comforted her, saying that as the sect leader, their master was too busy and she should understand.

Not until Liu Xuewei arrived did she realize, seeing Feng Zeyan’s attentive care and guidance of her, that he wasn’t too busy—she simply wasn’t his special one.

“Si Nan Sheng, you trespassed in the forbidden grounds, harmed your fellow disciple, and destroyed your junior sister’s spiritual root. For the sake of our bond as master and disciple, if you sincerely repent today and heal your junior sister’s injuries, I will spare your life.”

Feng Zeyan’s gaze was icy as he finished speaking, fixing Si Nan Sheng with a cold stare.

“This child doesn’t look old—how could she do such a thing to her fellow disciples?”

“Indeed, could there be some mistake? She’s only a child, how could she harbor such malice?”

“You may not know, but this wayward disciple has always been scheming. She bullied others, and even though her junior sister was close to her, she ended up harming her, damaging her spiritual root. Best not to mention it.”

Feng Zeyan spoke with a look of profound disappointment, putting on an air of benevolence and sorrow.

“She’s truly wicked at heart.”

“Yes, a damaged spiritual root could destroy her path to immortality!”

The leaders from the various sects looked upon Si Nan Sheng with scorn and disdain, pointing at her as if she were trash.

This feeling was all too familiar to Si Nan Sheng.

In her previous life, she had been ruined by this performance, orchestrated by Liu Xuewei, Su Heng, Shen Jingyuan, and her own “dear master.” Not only was her spiritual root stolen, but she was also branded as malicious and cruel.

But now, though she was weak, she possessed the memories of two lifetimes. She would not fall into their trap again.

Since they all adored Liu Xuewei’s soft, pitiful act, she would add a little more “tea” to the performance.

“Master, what must I do to heal her injuries? Should I bring her tea and water, keep her company as she recovers, or search out rare elixirs for her treatment? Whatever is required, I will do my best.”

Si Nan Sheng hid the mockery in her eyes, looking up tearfully at Feng Zeyan, her voice full of innocent resolve.