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Gu Yi’s consciousness returned in a sudden rush, and with it came a sharp, searing pain in her chest.
Her brain, deprived of oxygen, screamed for air. She opened her nose and mouth in desperation, only to have salty seawater flood into her windpipe.
The choking made her want to cough, but that only drove her breathing into greater panic.
Her primal will to survive took over—her legs kicked furiously, straining to propel her upward, fighting to hold her breath.
Yet, no matter how she struggled, water kept pouring into her lungs, burning, suffocating…
From childhood, Gu Yi had been able to breathe underwater, almost like a fish.
Countless people had drowned at sea, yet she had never once thought she would become one of them.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
“Cough! Cough!”
Suddenly, her protective breathing shield reactivated—she could breathe underwater again!
The shield encasing her head was transparent and invisible, yet it supplied her with abundant oxygen.
She inhaled deeply, her face ghastly pale, looking like a vengeful water ghost as she clawed her way toward the surface and swam desperately for shore.
Breaking through the waves, she froze for a moment in stunned disbelief.
Even in the midst of her frantic escape, she could not ignore the sight before her.
The sea was an impossibly vivid blue, the rippling surface gleaming with light, a thousand times more beautiful than anything she remembered.
Lifting her gaze, she found the sky above was a shade of azure she had never seen before.
That kind of blue was fatally alluring, impossible to look away from.
Her mind reeled with a sudden explosion of realization—
She had transmigrated?!
A blessing amidst misfortune—though her ability had come a little late, at least it had come with her.
“Come quickly! Madam Gu! Your eldest girl has thrown herself into the sea!”
“Help! Someone save her!”
From the shore, she could hear women’s shrill cries for help.
Halfway through her swim, exhaustion overtook her, and she began to sink again.
Gu Yi’s heart turned cold. Could it be that just as she had regained her life, she was about to lose it once more?
All of a sudden, strong arms seized her from both sides.
Two sturdy fishermen dragged her along, hauling her back toward shore.
On the beach, a crowd had gathered, watching the commotion with strange, speculative expressions.
When they saw her pulled ashore, lying on the sand like a corpse with only the faint rise and fall of her chest proving she still lived, whispers rippled through the onlookers.
The woman who had first called for help exclaimed, “Oh, child, how could you be so foolish? Don’t you know your family will be heartbroken?”
Gu Yi’s face was ashen, and she said nothing.
The seawater she had swallowed still burned in her chest, and her head throbbed painfully.
Seeing her shocked, dazed expression, the woman’s tone softened. Thinking of how young the girl was, she spoke more gently:
“If something weighs on your heart, speak to your Mother. She seems like such a kind, gracious woman—how could she ever drive you to the sea like this?”
“Yi’er!”
Gu Yi lifted her head.
A disheveled yet still beautiful woman came running, calling out as tears streamed down her face.
By the time she reached Gu Yi’s side, her entire face was wet with grief.
Even thin and disheveled, she still carried an air of captivating grace.
The woman’s name was Wang Yulan, the original body’s Mother.
“You foolish child! How dare you throw yourself into the sea? How could you have such nerve?!”
In her fury, Wang Yulan raised her hand, intending to strike, yet no matter how she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her lifted hand fell back weakly as she covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I know your heart is bitter. It’s Mother who has wronged you. At such a young age, you’ve already had to suffer the punishment of exile.
I should have been firm and kept you by my side… I never should have let your grandmother raise you…”
Gu Yi stared at her, when suddenly a thunderclap seemed to explode in her mind. Countless fragments of memory flashed past, rushing through her like a galloping horse.
They were the memories of the body’s original owner.
Her Father, Gu He, had once been a mighty War God, winning countless victories on behalf of the imperial court.
Yet in his final campaign, he suffered a crushing defeat, losing a city, and it was said that he died on the battlefield.
The Emperor, enraged, ordered the entire Gu Family to be exiled.
Thus, the original owner—once the treasured daughter of a War God Marquis—was cast down overnight into a despised criminal, scorned by all.
The original owner’s most trusted and relied-upon grandmother had once insisted on raising her personally, so much so that the girl had come to treat her as even closer than her own Mother.
Yet when exile came, that very grandmother despised her as a burden, cast her aside, and sent her back to her Mother’s care.
After arriving in this desolate land, the family was further split off, left to survive on their own.
Of course, this was only one of the reasons that had driven the original owner to collapse.
Gu Yi looked around at the fishermen and fisherwomen. All of them had bare calves and naked feet, dressed in thin, rough trousers. There was no separation of men and women, no etiquette, no decorum.
The original owner had been raised as a well-bred young lady of a noble household, steeped in propriety and manners since childhood. Never before had she seen such crude and unrefined sights.
On the road to exile, she could still comfort herself that it was only temporary. But here, in the land of banishment, she could no longer deceive herself. She could not accept it—could not imagine living like these people, struggling for survival in ways she deemed shameless.
Watching men thrash about half-naked in the sea, the original owner had nearly fainted.
That was the final straw that broke her.
Gu Yi sighed softly. One person’s poison may well be another’s honey.
The original owner could not have known that this very life was the one Gu Yi had longed for, yet could never attain.
“Mother, I’ve thought it through. I won’t seek death again. Our family can still live a good life together.”
Wang Yulan stared at her blankly. “What did you say? Say that again.”
Gu Yi pressed her lips together. “The feeling of drowning is unbearable—worse than death itself. I don’t want to experience it again. However hard life may be, it can’t compare to the pain of dying.”
Wang Yulan wept bitterly at her words.
“Big Sister!”
A boy came hobbling over—it was Dalang.
He was only ten years old, his skin rough and dark from hardship, yet his delicate and handsome features still showed through. His coarse linen clothes were torn, but even so, his bearing stood out from the crowd. At this moment, his brows were knit tightly in deep worry.
Of everyone in the family, Dalang was the strongest.
On their very first day in exile, he had tried to forage along the shore for food to fill their stomachs. But lacking experience, he had cut his ankle on the sharp reef.
“Mother…” Dalang faltered, not knowing what to say.
“Dalang, don’t be afraid,”
Wang Yulan saw that Gu Yi was soaked through and deathly pale. Supporting her gently, she said, “Let’s go home first.”
The two of them helped Gu Yi along, slowly making their way back.
But before they had gone far, someone stepped out to block their path.
“Well, well, Yi-jie’er—so you jumped into the sea but didn’t manage to die?”
At those words, Gu Yi frowned slightly and lifted her gaze toward the speaker.
It was a woman in her early thirties, her face brimming with arrogance and domineering airs. She was Lin Shi, the wife of Old Gu Family’s second son.
Old Madam Gu had borne three sons. With General Gu dead, the other two branches remained by her side. Only Wang Yulan’s branch had been abandoned.
Dalang’s fists clenched tightly at his sides.
Wang Yulan grew tense. She glanced at Gu Yi before speaking softly, “Second Sister-in-law, what are you doing here?”
Gu Yi’s whole body still ached miserably. She tugged lightly at Wang Yulan’s sleeve, signaling her not to respond to Lin Shi.
“Mother, let’s go home.”
Wang Yulan immediately nodded.
Just as they were about to leave, Lin Shi hurriedly called out, “Hey, hey, hey—stop right there.”
Her tone turned coaxing as she said, “Yi-jie’er, don’t you want to return to the old residence and live with your grandmother?”
At those words, both Wang Yulan and Dalang turned to Gu Yi, their faces filled with worry and unease.
Lin Shi cast a sly glance at Wang Yulan, smiling maliciously. “Big Sister-in-law, don’t be so heartless. Why separate Yi-jie’er from her grandmother? Just give me a little money for her keep, and I’ll persuade Old Madam to take her back.”
Everyone knew Gu Jiayi’s greatest attachment was to the Old Madam, and Wang Yulan, with her soft heart, could never refuse whenever money was demanded under this pretext.
As she spoke, Lin Shi shamelessly extended her hand.
Wang Yulan’s expression grew bitter. “I truly have no money left on me.”
In an instant, Lin Shi’s demeanor shifted, her tone turning harsh and overbearing. “Big Sister-in-law, don’t joke with me. Eldest Brother’s savings were all in your hands, and your dowry was so generous—don’t tell me you couldn’t have set aside even a little. For Yi-jie’er’s sake, hand something over!”
After being squeezed dry once by the Old Madam, surely there was still more to take.
But in truth, Wang Yulan had long been stripped clean by them—there was nothing left. Her face grew even more distressed.
Gu Yi narrowed her eyes, steadying her breath. She bent down, picked up a thin stick from the ground, and lashed it across Lin Shi’s outstretched hand.
Shameless thing.
Smack!
“Ahhh!!!”
A bright red welt instantly bloomed across Lin Shi’s palm. Her face flushed crimson as she shrieked, “Gu Jiayi! You wretched girl, how dare you strike me!”
Gu Yi’s expression turned cold. “Take this as a lesson—don’t you ever reach out to my Mother again.”
“You—you don’t want to return to the old residence?” Lin Shi was dumbfounded. Everyone in the Gu Family knew how dependent she was on the Old Madam, how heartbroken she had been to be parted from her. Why, she had even tried to drown herself over it!
But Gu Yi’s face remained expressionless as she slowly spat out five words—