Chapter 1 I was struck by lightning again?

On an early summer night, the storm raged with fierce wind and pouring rain.

“Crack!” A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, and Ji Tangtang instinctively trembled.

Damn! Is it still not over? It’s already struck her more than three thousand times—her body was charred, yet the lightning still kept coming. What kind of grudge was this?!

“So hot…”

That familiar burning sensation surged from her meridians, making Ji Tangtang even more irritable. Was Heaven sick in the head?! She was already struck dead by lightning, so why was she still suffering the torment of the Yin-Yang Hundred Union Pill?

Wait a second… hadn’t she already died during her tribulation? Why could her body still feel?

Her muddled mind gradually cleared. She suddenly opened her eyes and found herself lying in a man’s arms.

The man’s brows were sharp as blades, his lips crimson, his gaze filled with restraint, as though he was enduring something with all his strength.

Their eyes met, and the man spoke in a hoarse voice:

“Comrade Ji, I know what happened today was all a misunderstanding. You should leave quickly!”

Comrade Ji? Ji Tangtang was stunned. What kind of address was that? Had she really failed her tribulation… and reincarnated so quickly?

But… her eyes fell on her own hands. How could anyone be reborn this big already?

Just as she was thinking, her head throbbed sharply, and suddenly a flood of information poured into her mind.

She really had been struck dead by lightning. But instead of reincarnating into the cycle of life, she had transmigrated into a period novel, becoming the vicious villainess in the book.

The body’s original owner was also named Ji Tangtang, cousin of the story’s heroine Ji Tingting.

The original Ji Tangtang had always been competitive and petty, constantly comparing herself with the heroine. She even fancied the same man.

To marry Second Brother Gu—the only man in Hongxing Village who ate state-provided grain—she tried to ingratiate herself with the Gu family, though they never liked her.

Once, she overheard that the Gu family intended to send a matchmaker to her second uncle’s house to betroth Gu Second Brother to her cousin. Anxious, she emptied her savings to buy a packet of medicine from the city, planning to cook raw rice into cooked rice.

But she didn’t know it was all her cousin’s scheme. The news was deliberately leaked to her, and her every move was already under control.

When she tried to drug Gu Second Brother, Ji Tingting turned the tables and made her end up in the room of Gu Shiyu, the eldest brother—paralyzed and unable to walk.

When she woke up and realized she had mistakenly slept with the elder brother, she panicked and tried to run. But strangely, the door wouldn’t open no matter what.

She then suspected it was all Gu Shiyu’s ploy, pretending to be good while secretly trapping her, so she harshly insulted him.

In the end, under the effect of the drug, the two ended up together.

The original Ji Tangtang had no choice but to marry Gu Shiyu, but she resented him deeply. By day, she fought the heroine; by night, she abused her husband. She lived consumed by hatred, and her ending was tragic.

Ji Tangtang was speechless. Why did she have to transmigrate into such a foolish and spiteful villainess?

Still, at least she was alive. And more importantly, she was now human—she could walk without cultivating.

Joy rose in her heart, but before she could savor it, the familiar restlessness surged again.

Soon her internal organs felt as if they were being scorched by fire, her whole body burning.

This was the effect of the Yin-Yang Hundred Union Pill. But why had the drug’s effect followed her through transmigration?

She couldn’t help but lean toward Gu Shiyu. The instant she touched him, she let out a sigh of relief.

So comfortable! Like someone burning in flames suddenly embracing a block of ice.

Unbelievable. She had searched the cultivation world for so long without finding a man with a pure Yin body, yet she encountered one after transmigrating.

At this moment, Ji Tangtang couldn’t care less about why the drug hadn’t worn off. She instinctively clung to Gu Shiyu.

Gu Shiyu’s body turned rigid as steel, and he forcefully suppressed the restlessness within. Using all his strength, he pushed her away and said:

“Comrade Ji, calm down. Don’t do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

Ji Tangtang pressed down his hands and straddled him, her brows arched seductively.

“Don’t worry. I won’t regret it.”

Her soft lips met his, and Gu Shiyu instantly felt his blood boil.

“Comrade Ji…” His eyes turned crimson, and with great effort he forced out words: “You must stay clear-headed—”

Ji Tangtang silenced him with another kiss, swallowing whatever he was about to say.

Was it his imagination, or did he smell the fragrance of peaches? He couldn’t help but suck in the sweetness of that peach nectar.

And in that taste, everything spun out of control.

When he regained his senses, he had already torn off her clothes.

Staring at her snow-white skin and her soft waist filling his palm, his gaze grew dark.

He exerted all his strength to suppress his surging desire, struggling to calm himself.

But the woman straddling him refused to be obedient. She kept twisting her waist, and at some point had already pulled his pants down.

Seeing the situation clearly, Gu Shiyu’s face flushed red, as if it could drip blood.

“Are you really clear-headed right now?” He restrained his restlessness with all his might.

Ji Tangtang was exasperated. Why was this man so long-winded? Asking the same question over and over.

She didn’t want to waste more words. She once again sealed his lips with hers.

Gu Shiyu wanted to struggle, but with his legs useless, he could only let her do as she pleased.

Ji Tangtang, though transmigrated, was still a peach blossom spirit at her core. She did not possess the usual shyness of mortal women. In her eyes, Gu Shiyu was nothing more than a medicine to suppress the poison of her pill, and tonight’s goal was simply to swallow that medicine.

Gu Shiyu resisted in his heart, believing he must not disrespect a female comrade in this way. He tried to remain clear-headed. Yet the intoxicating sensations overwhelmed him. Before he was ready, he had already surrendered.

When it was all over, calm returning, his eyes were filled with guilt, frustration, and shame… He tried to explain, yet no words came.

Seeing his stricken expression, Ji Tangtang suddenly recalled gossip she had once overheard from those fox spirits back when she was still a peach tree. In an instant, she understood his inner struggle.

With good intentions, she comforted him:

“I understand. The first time… it’s normal to be short. No need to be so discouraged.”

She shouldn’t have said that. The moment she did, Gu Shiyu’s face flushed as though soaked in dye, emotions shifting across his expression one after another.

But Ji Tangtang had no time to care about his feelings. With the poison temporarily suppressed, a heavy drowsiness overcame her. Without hesitation, she simply collapsed to the side and fell asleep, just like some heartless scoundrel after the deed.

In her dreams, Ji Tangtang seemed to return to her true form in the cultivation world. The peach tree that had been charred black by lightning once again sprouted tender shoots and bloomed with peach blossoms.

In her past life, she had been an ordinary peach tree in the Western Mountain secret realm. For reasons unknown, she had one day gained sentience and awareness. She hated being rooted to one spot, unable to walk the world.

For the sake of freedom, she cultivated desperately, eventually forming a human body and leaving the secret realm to wander. Those days had been unspeakably joyful.

Now, back in the secret realm as a motionless tree, she lashed her branches in resentment, yearning to escape. With one fierce effort, she truly did break free of the tree—just like the first time she had taken human form.

Ji Tangtang couldn’t tell if it was dream or reality. She thought a moment, then reached for the treasures she had hidden at the base of the tree. When she saw the storage rings and bracelets, her face broke into a foolishly happy grin.

All the treasures she had gathered in the cultivation world were still there! She was fine, and her treasures were intact! Life was truly wonderful!

Hearing her laughter, Gu Shiyu’s expression grew complicated. Though he had only recently returned home, he already knew her heart and eyes were filled with his younger brother.

And today, after what happened with him… she didn’t cry—she laughed? It must be his imagination.

Looking down at his lifeless legs, bitterness flickered in his gaze. A man like him should never have entangled himself with her.

Though she had forced the matter, if he had truly resisted, how could a lone woman have overpowered him? In the end, it was his own loss of control.

A thought stirred in his mind, and suddenly his eyes shone with determination.

“Crack!” A thunderclap boomed outside.

Ji Tangtang flinched, and Gu Shiyu gently patted her in his arms. Comforted, her brow smoothed, and she drifted back into slumber.

But just then, noise rose outside.

“Auntie, have you seen my cousin? It’s already the middle of the night, and she still hasn’t returned home. My uncle and aunt are worried sick. My poor aunt’s eyes are bad, she can’t see at night, and my uncle’s legs are weak—they can only fret helplessly at home. I heard someone say they saw her heading this way at dusk, so I came to ask.”

Ji Tingting’s clothes were drenched through, rain streaming down her pale, delicate face, making her look like a pure white lotus standing in the storm.

The villagers who had come with her to search couldn’t help cursing Ji Tangtang in their hearts. Running about in the middle of the night—wasn’t that just making trouble for her family?

Fortunately, Ji Tingting was such a good child. Not only did she bear no grudges, she even braved the rain to search for her cousin.