Chapter 1

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Yu Youyou awoke abruptly from her dream once again. The entire side hall was silent and empty.

The dark-colored side hall, characteristic of the demon clan, was not very large but permeated with a faint demonic aura.

Her small bed was placed right in the center of the side hall. A tiny window let in a sliver of sunlight, but it was not particularly bright.

She lowered her head, staring at her little fists clenched tightly in her sleep, then slowly unclenched them. Sitting on the bed, clutching her thin quilt, she gazed blankly ahead.

She always had nightmares.

In her dreams, everything seemed to be collapsing, accompanied by a tremendous roar from the heavens above, countless lights and shadows descending from the sky... These nightmares always became blurry upon waking.

Just like now, Yu Youyou could barely recall what had happened in her dream; the fear she felt upon waking was merely a faint remnant of emotions left over from the blurred nightmare.

But forgetting a dream seemed hardly a big deal for a mere three-year-old child.

She had grown accustomed to it.

She only felt weak all over, her mouth dry and parched, and hungry.

Every time she woke from a dream, her head would feel dizzy and heavy.

She still remembered the high fever that first struck her.

A terrifying fever, as if it were burning away her soul and flesh, one that even cultivators could not cure. Not only did she begin having nightmares, but she also found a long segment of memories added to her mind.

Unlike the vague nightmares, these memories were extraordinarily clear. She remembered them vividly.

“Ah,” the little one uttered a faint sound from her lips, freshly recovering from her illness. She glanced down at her damp clothes, soaked with sweat.

For a long while, no one responded in the side hall, and no one came to check on her.

The skinny little one lowered her head, already used to it.

Since falling ill, those around her had begun to see her as foolish. Now, they despised her even more—how could the descendant of a mighty cultivator be so weak and fragile, even falling ill like an ordinary mortal? So no one bothered to stay by her side to care for her.

They deemed her worthless.

For a real three-year-old child, such disdain would have been a great wound.

But Yu Youyou was no longer that child. She lowered her small head again, twisting her thin clothes as she tried to think. Although she could not recall her exact age, she was sure she was older than three.

She had no choice but to fend for herself to get through each day.

There was no time to dwell on the sorrow of neglect. Seeing no one paying attention to her, she struggled weakly and slowly climbed down from her small bed.

Waking up, she only felt a dry, uncomfortable throat. She glanced slowly around the empty side hall inner chamber. Seeing no tea set, she swayed unsteadily and walked out of the inner chamber toward the front hall.

The side hall was vast, yet no one passed by. Yu Youyou had grown accustomed to this treatment recently and walked straight to the more spacious and brighter front hall.

The front hall, shrouded in demonic aura, was empty. The little one immediately noticed a tea set arranged on the table in the center.

Tired from walking down the long corridor, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath before trembling as she approached the table.

The table was high, much taller than the frail little child.

She held onto the table leg and, with practiced but slow steps, tiptoed to touch the teapot on top.

Her fingertips had just grazed the cold surface of the teapot when suddenly her small ears twitched. She looked toward the wide-open hall doors.

At that moment, the abundant demonic aura enveloping the side hall began to stir and dissipate. A clear, crisp spiritual energy appeared, like sunlight breaking through a dark, gloomy night.

The conflict between the spiritual energy and the demonic aura was not fierce, but Yu Youyou noticed it clearly.

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The little child never expected such clear and vibrant spiritual energy to exist within the demonic city, where the demon clan’s aura was thick and all-encompassing. She certainly did not anticipate that this spiritual energy’s destination was here.

Her small body stiffened instantly. Her ears twitched as she stared blankly toward the hall doors.

The air carried a response from the spiritual energy; the surrounding breeze whispered to her ears that only one person was approaching.

A moment ago, this person seemed very far away, and only the wind and the turbulent demonic aura vaguely indicated someone was coming this way.

But the spiritual light was swift.

In the blink of an eye, a tall, unfamiliar figure walked calmly out of the sunlight at the doorway.

The figure paused slightly at the entrance and spoke gently, “I am Chu Xingyun of the Ancient Sect. By order of my master, I have come to fetch junior sister Youyou for a meeting. May I ask if this is convenient for the esteemed disciples present?”

It was the voice of a young man, pleasing to the ear, elegant and crisp, like the sound of striking metal. Under normal circumstances, this would have elicited a warm response.

But the side hall was empty.

The little one, realizing he had come for her, initially wanted to respond with a small “ah,” but upon hearing him introduce himself, her tiny body stiffened, her hair standing on end.

Though unfamiliar with this voice and never having heard the name Chu Xingyun in this life, she had heard it before—inside the long story that had appeared in her mind during her illness, this Chu Xingyun was a character in that story.

And so was she.

The Yu Youyou in the book was arrogant and overbearing, the only daughter of the head of the Ancient Sect—a grand sect of cultivators.

She was born into privilege. Her biological father was the sect leader, but her mother had severed ties with him years ago and remarried. Her stepfather was a powerful demon lord ruling over a demonic city.

With such a background and backing, the book’s Yu Youyou acted recklessly in the cultivation world without regard for others.

She was spoiled from childhood, caring only for her own happiness and disregarding the feelings and safety of those around her. Later, because she fell in love with a man, she devoted herself utterly to him, nearly ruining the entire Ancient Sect and driving her father into madness. She even framed several outstanding disciples of her father, whom she greatly envied.

Chu Xingyun was one of those victims.

He was the sect leader’s first disciple and a prodigy, but his only downfall was caused by Yu Youyou; he was nearly destroyed and lost his Dao.

And the reason she framed him was simply because he was a genius she disliked, fearing his strength and talent would threaten her beloved’s plan to dominate the cultivation world.

Yet the little child could distinguish between the book and reality.

She would never do the evil things that the book’s Yu Youyou did.

That Yu Youyou and she were completely different people; there was no connection between them.

Still, although she had come to this realization during her illness, the little one could not help but freeze like a statue.

She stood motionless for a long moment before letting out a small “ah!”

Chu Xingyun stepped into the side hall at that sound.

He frowned slightly, knowing it was improper to intrude into an empty side hall. Yet, recalling his master’s orders and that this hall supposedly housed the sect leader’s daughter Youyou, he thought it improper that no one responded—surely the child should not be left unattended.

Clearly, this showed a lack of care for the child.

Because his master was deeply concerned for this child, fearing she might be neglected, he felt a slight displeasure, thinking the demon city people were neglecting her. His expression grew serious as he stepped fully inside.

This was the first time Chu Xingyun truly saw the sect leader’s daughter, his junior sister Youyou, under such circumstances.

The cold, empty hall held a frail little child no taller than the table, clutching the table leg and gazing blankly at the newcomer.

Her sparse, soft hair stood on end from fright, and her whole body stiffened, frozen in place.

After a long moment, she looked at the newcomer and called out again in a daze.

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She looked sickly, thin and small, pitiably frail.

Her dry little face was dominated by a pair of large, round eyes staring wide open.

Chu Xingyun was taken aback, his gaze resting on this child who should have been pampered and adored. After a moment of silence, he softly asked, “Little... Youyou?”

How could such a pitiful, emaciated child possibly be his junior sister Yu Youyou?

His junior sister was the daughter of the Ancient Sect’s leader.

Even though she no longer lived at the Ancient Sect and instead followed her biological mother and stepfather, a demon lord, she should still be living a good life, given the power of the Ancient Sect backing her.

The lonely, miserable child before him was almost unbelievable.

However, Yu Youyou responded to the call, trembling slightly as she looked at the handsome young man who had once suffered greatly because of her in the book.

She nodded quickly.

“Mm!”

Although she was not responsible for those misdeeds and there was no karmic connection in this life, the child still instinctively felt nervous.

But no matter how nervous, she had to admit amidst her busyness that her senior brother was indeed very handsome.

That striking, imposing face radiated dignity and a heroic aura. His exquisite and elegant robes seemed to brighten the entire side hall.

She gave a quiet affirmative.

Seeing she was the one he sought, Chu Xingyun’s heart stirred with a hint of anger.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned sharp and tense.

This lonely little child, who struggled just to climb onto the table for a sip of water, was indeed the junior sister both he and their master had believed to be living comfortably and cherished in the demon city.

He lowered his gaze slightly.

But the little one shivered.

She was frightened, timid in the face of a stranger.

Fearing his spiritual pressure might harm her fragile frame, Chu Xingyun suppressed his anger and softened his expression into a gentle smile. He slowly approached the child clutching the table leg and looking up at him with wide eyes.

His slender hand rested on the teapot. The cold touch made him pause. He did not pick up the teapot but instead took some spiritual water from his storage ring.

Warming it with his spiritual energy, he poured the water into a finely crafted jade cup. Squatting down to meet the child’s gaze, he smiled and said, “Drink.”

His eyes met Yu Youyou’s on equal footing.

Not condescending.

The child studied this stranger for a while.

Perhaps because she was too thirsty, she hesitated briefly but then took the jade cup with both hands.

The cup was warm to the touch, and the spiritual water inside was also warm. Today was lucky—she met her senior brother for the first time and did not have to drink cold water.

In that instant, a thousand feelings surged within Yu Youyou’s heart.

She looked at the handsome young man smiling at her, wanting to say so much, but her throat would not cooperate. After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to squeeze out a single word while clutching the jade cup.

“...Thank you!”

The handsome young man’s smile faltered slightly. Seeing the child who had struggled so hard just to say one word, he soon returned with an even warmer smile.