Chapter 1: The little snail encounters a catastrophe

March, 1988.

Inside the old Shen family house, the adopted daughter Shen Rongrong sat disheveled against the mud wall. Her clothes were in disarray, her hair a mess, and her fair arms were covered in bruises from a man’s rough grip, flushed an abnormal red.

A thin line of blood trickled slowly down from her forehead.

A local thug jumped over the wall to escape, cursing as he left: “You people paid me to sleep with her! Now she went and tried to kill herself by smashing into the wall! If you dare pin this on me, your whole family’s finished!”

The Shen family froze in shock. The eldest daughter, Shen Yueying, stomped her foot and rushed inside, only to see her sister limp on the floor. She bent down, held her finger beneath her sister’s nose, and realized there was no breath.

Two months ago, when a matchmaker had come to discuss Shen Yueying’s marriage, she mentioned that a wealthy businessman in the city was looking for a bride for his son to “ward off misfortune.” Because of the strict requirements, the betrothal gifts had risen from 3,000 to 6,600 yuan, yet no one was willing.

At the time, Shen Yueying had her eyes set on a soldier: 1.88 meters tall, entered the military academy in 1982, graduated in 1985 and was directly assigned as a platoon leader in a special forces unit. The next year, during a border conflict, he earned third-class merit and was promoted to company commander. His family had three generations of solid military background, spotless political standing, and most importantly, he was handsome and steady. She was utterly smitten and refused to look at any other prospects.

So, her parents set their sights on Shen Rongrong, the adopted daughter old Grandpa Shen had picked up. Though Shen Rongrong was unwilling, after Grandpa Shen’s death she lost her protector. A few beatings later, she was forced to submit. Thus, the two sisters became engaged at the same time.

Not long after, however, the elder sister suddenly woke up as if she were a different person refusing to marry the soldier no matter what, insisting on swapping fiancés with her sister.

Their parents didn’t object, but they worried the groom’s side might not agree.

So they schemed: hiring a thug to disgrace the younger sister on the very day the new son-in-law came to visit. If the soldier saw his fiancée being “improper,” it would be natural to break the engagement and swap brides.

Now, seeing her sister lifeless, Shen Yueying angrily slapped her a few times: “You think killing yourself will help? I’ll still make him see it! Cheap wench!”

Just then, a small sedan drove into the yard. A well-dressed man in a sharp suit stepped out, carrying several gift bags.

The Shen parents hurried to greet him. From inside the house came cries: “Wuuu, it’s all my fault as the elder sister! You liked my fiancé but didn’t want to marry into the Gu family, you could have just said so! I would have let you! How could you do something so shameful…”

The house was shabby and broken, windows leaking, but the cries from inside carried clearly out to the courtyard.

“Xiao Gu,” Shen Father sighed in embarrassment, “our second girl has brought disgrace to the family.”

Shen Mother quickly followed, “She was abandoned since childhood, her life is ill-fated. But our eldest daughter’s birth date has been calculated she’s blessed. Originally, she should have been the one to become a glorious officer’s wife. If we switch and let her marry you instead, you won’t be at a loss. What do you think?”

Gu Yifeng’s face darkened, the corner of his mouth twitching in irritation.
“Whatever. Just marry on the set date.”

With that, he dropped the gift bags on the ground, didn’t even step into the house, and left with a look of disgust.

The parents plastered on smiles to see him off. When they returned, Shen Yueying was already rummaging through the Gu family’s gifts, admiring a plaid dress in Hong Kong style.

“This dress just look, definitely imported from Hong Kong, high-class! I must have been blind before, not to choose this path to wealth. Instead I wanted that useless man, can’t even father children, a laughingstock…”

“Enough laughing,” the parents fretted. “Think about how much hush money we’ll have to give that thug!”

“What hush money?” Shen Yueying chuckled. “I already said she tried to steal my marriage, went crazy and smashed into the wall. Then she ran off wearing the pretty dress Gu Yifeng gave me.”

“Where could she run?”

“Well…” Shen Yueying thought for a moment, then smirked. “The Chen family has an old grandmother, sick and dying, refuses to move to the city, still living in Xiushan Village not far from here. Since she’s obsessed with my man, she must have run off to his grandma’s place. If she dies there under suspicious circumstances, the scandal will blow up, and instead of returning the betrothal gifts, we’ll even demand compensation from them!”

Shen Father and Shen Mother exchanged glances.

Soon after, they washed Shen Rongrong’s face, combed her hair, dressed her in the fine dress, and dragged her onto a broken tricycle headed for Xiushan Village.

At that very moment.

Grandma Chen had just finished feeding her chickens. Turning around, she suddenly noticed a small girl collapsed at her gate.

Seeing her motionless, blood on her head, the old woman dared not touch her. She quickly called neighbors to fetch a doctor.

The village doctor, a thin old man, felt the girl’s pulse, then hurriedly pulled out a packet of silver needles, pricking a few acupoints on her forehead.

Very soon, the girl gasped deeply and woke.

“Concussion,” the doctor muttered in relief. “Also malnourished, weak constitution. Any later and she’d be gone.” He held up three fingers. “Girl, how many is this?”

The young girl’s pale face was colorless, her eyes struggling to focus. After nearly a minute, she finally opened her mouth, eyes blurry with tears then gagged and retched.

“Dizziness and nausea are normal,” the doctor explained, withdrawing the needles. “Go home and rest in bed. Apply a hot towel to reduce swelling. If she can get up to eat, she’ll recover. If not, take her to the city hospital for further checks.”

Grandma Chen noticed the glaring handprints on the girl’s cheeks. She gently patted her back, asking, “Child, whose family are you from? How did you end up like this?”

Shen Rongrong wanted to speak, but the stabbing pain at her temples prevented her from opening her mouth.

She had once been a snail spirit in the cultivation world.

Snails were born with short lives and sluggish bodies, unfit for cultivation. In the celestial realm, there were monkeys, roosters, dogs, pigs all kinds of beasts that could ascend. But no one had ever heard of a snail becoming immortal. Not even worthy of being a mount.

By chance, she had been enlightened by a sect’s founding ancestor in her youth. Her talent was unlike ordinary snails. The elders believed she was destined for greatness. They rallied the entire snail clan to find an ancient book, using a special method to bind her soul into it. If she could live through one lifetime inside the book, she could absorb its spirit and ascend with ease bringing glory to the snail clan.

Before she left, the elders warned her repeatedly: Never alter the story’s plot too much, or the ending will change, and you may never return.

She had read this 1980s tragedy, The Disaster-Dispelling Bride, countless times, memorizing every detail. She knew she would become the pitiful heroine sold by her greedy adoptive parents as a sacrificial bride to a rich family, destined for a life of abuse.

But she never expected to transmigrate straight into the story already bloodied and broken, lying on a kang bed, unable to move!

She had worried about how to endure the heroine’s endless suffering in the story.

Who knew the so-called “vicious elder sister” who in the book was supposed to marry a military officer and remain childless her whole life suddenly deviated from the plot! She schemed to swap engagements, then dumped the “dead” heroine at the male lead’s family home!

Now, because the original owner had attempted suicide by smashing her head, her skull throbbed as if split apart. Her vision spun, and she couldn’t think anymore.

Summoning all her remaining strength, she slowly raised her hand, grasped one of Grandma Chen’s fingers with desperate eyes… before fainting again.

“It looks like she’s Shen Dalin’s daughter!” an old villager recognized her. “I’ve seen her when collecting goods from their village. Her father still owes me money!”

“Shen Dalin?” a nearby aunt turned to Grandma Chen, slapping her thigh. “Isn’t that your son’s in-law family? That girl is your grandson’s fiancée! What happened here? Could something have happened on her way to your place?”