Chapter 1 – Rebirth

1966, Basement of a Three-Story Western-Style House in Yangcheng Overseas Chinese Village

“She still refuses to talk?”

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit looked visibly impatient, rage bubbling just beneath the surface.

A young man who closely resembled him strode over and kicked the woman on the ground—her body was beaten to a bloody pulp, covered in bruises and wounds.

After a moment, the young man’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “Dad! Sang Feiyu… she’s… she’s dead!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in shock as he looked over. His heart shot to his throat, and it felt like a bucket of cold water had extinguished the fury inside him.

His expression collapsed, and he slumped to the ground in despair, muttering, “How could she just die like this?”

“We haven’t even found the second brother’s inheritance yet!”

The young man grew uneasy. “Without Second Uncle’s massive fortune, are we… are we not going to make it to the Beautiful Country?”

The middle-aged man hung his head. “Forget the Beautiful Country—we won’t even be able to afford boat tickets to Hong Kong.”

Their original plan was to go to Hong Kong first, then from there to the Beautiful Country.

After all, with all the gangs in Hong Kong, it would be hard for them to make a name for themselves. One wrong move, and they might end up losing both their lives and their fortune.

Now, the only person who knew where the inheritance was had died, and so too had their American dream.

No one knew how long had passed before the young man finally spoke again. “Dad… what if we use her to get the old couple’s fortune?”

“You mean her grandparents?”

“Yeah.”

“They only have her as a descendant. Even if they know it’s a trap, they’ll still come from a thousand miles away.”

A flicker of hope reignited in the middle-aged man’s eyes. “Alright, I’ll leave the arrangements to you.”

…

Pain.

A searing pain tore through her body—Sang Feiyu felt like someone was slicing off her flesh with a sharp blade. It hurt so much she could barely breathe.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed in her ears. “She’s been pampered since childhood. I bet it won’t take long before she breaks and tells us where the inheritance is.”

“We’ll starve her for a day and a night. Check again tomorrow morning.”

It was her uncle, Tao Jiaxing, speaking.

Sang Feiyu took her mother’s surname, so the Tao family had always treated her as an outsider.

The pain helped her realize something deeply unsettling—how could she still feel pain if she was dead?

Wait…

Wasn’t that something Tao Jiaxing said the day before she died?

Could it be…?

She was reborn?

When the door clicked shut, Sang Feiyu slowly lifted her eyelids. In the dim light of the basement, the familiar ropes bound tightly around her limbs—there was no mistaking it. She had returned to the day before her brutal death.

According to what happened last time, by tomorrow she would be beaten to death by her uncle and cousin.

They were desperate to pry open her mouth and find the hidden inheritance to flee to the Beautiful Country. The more she refused to speak, the harder they hit.

Her cousin’s random kick had broken three of her ribs. She knew clearly: even if she gave them the inheritance, they wouldn’t let her live.

So she had chosen death over betrayal. Without her parents’ massive fortune, they couldn’t afford the tickets to escape.

But—

Sang Feiyu never imagined that even after her death, they still wouldn’t let her go.

As a spirit floating above, she had watched helplessly as they used her body as bait, luring her grandparents from faraway Shanghai and forcing them to hand over all their wealth.

Her grandparents gave up everything, only to be repaid with her battered and broken corpse.

Veterans who had fought the Japanese and seen mountains of corpses and oceans of blood, her grandparents nearly passed out on the spot!

But they didn’t shed a single tear. Holding onto their last breath, they personally crafted explosives and perished together with the Tao family.

Thinking of all this, Sang Feiyu couldn’t stay down any longer. Time was running out. She had to survive by walking through death itself.

Just then, a string of hurried footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Someone inserted a key into the lock, and the door creaked open.

Sang Feiyu looked up and met the gaze of the person who entered—and an idea struck.

Her cousin, Tao Ronggui, bent slightly as he stared at her, his voice cold and sinister: “Sang Feiyu, I advise you to be smart and tell us where the inheritance is. At least I can promise you a quick death.”

Sang Feiyu’s lips curved faintly, a half-smile appearing. Though clearly weakened, her expression inexplicably sent a chill through Tao Ronggui.

“You’re even more foolish than I thought.”

Just one sentence plunged him into endless suspicion. “What do you mean?”

Sang Feiyu knew time was short and had no plans to play coy.

With a mocking tone like a sharp blade, she pierced the fear in his heart. “Even if I told you where my parents’ inheritance is hidden, it has nothing to do with you.”

“Your brother is the one who’ll inherit it.”

“You’ll get nothing but scraps.”

This was exactly what Tao Ronggui feared. He had just graduated from high school, and with the nationwide suspension of college entrance exams, there was no telling when it would resume. His older brother had already graduated and was learning the ropes from their father. Their father was clearly grooming his older brother as the heir.

Especially once they reached the Beautiful Country, the whole family would rely on his brother—he was the only one who spoke fluent English.

The thought of spending the rest of his life under someone else’s thumb made Tao Ronggui sick.

And his brother had always looked down on him. There was no way he’d willingly share the inheritance.

Sang Feiyu slowly continued, “I have a way to let you take the entire fortune for yourself.”

“I can even use my father’s connections to help you escape to the Beautiful Country with the money.”

Tao Ronggui rubbed his ears, unsure if he’d heard right.

The next second, he heard her say, “But—I have one condition.”

He quickly responded, “Say it.”

“You help me escape, and I’ll tell you where the inheritance is hidden.”

“I’ll even get you the boat ticket.”

Hearing her weak voice, Tao Ronggui thought: even if you gave her ten thousand guts, she wouldn’t dare play him.

And if she did? He could snap her frail neck with one hand.

His top priority was to get the inheritance. If Sang Feiyu broke under torture and confessed everything on her own, then what?

His father would never hand the money to him.

His brother wouldn’t share it.

He had to claim the inheritance for himself!

Once the money was in his hands, the entire family would have to obey him.

Thinking of this, a smirk tugged at his lips.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it—his parents would be home soon. He needed to move fast.

Tao Ronggui quickly untied her and helped her up. They had just taken two steps out of the basement when the overhead light suddenly lit up—