Chapter 1: Reborn as an Eight-Year-Old Waif

Weakness and dizziness overwhelmed her—damn it. Xie Yihuang cursed inwardly and forced her eyes open.

The room was barely ten square meters, simple and sparse. Besides an old-fashioned desk and the bamboo bed she now lay on, there was no other furniture. The walls were papered with out-of-date newspapers. Her bed, just a meter wide, was a bamboo cot. Since it was summer, a woven bamboo mat covered the cot, its corners already frayed and wrapped with a strip of blue-and-white checked cloth.

In one corner, a small rusty iron pot sat, filled with the ashes of burned mugwort.

Xie Yihuang tried to move. No use; her body refused to obey. After a moment, she managed to lift her hand for a look. Good grief—such a small hand, barely any flesh at all. Even the unique sheen of a child’s skin was gone, leaving only skin and bone.

“Damn that White Warden. Is this the body you found for me?” Xie Yihuang felt thoroughly cheated. If she’d known, she never would have agreed so readily.

She focused her mind, and a fifty-square-meter space appeared before her. Apart from a few bottles, it was empty.

In the upper right corner, a red button glowed. When she clicked it, a “Seven-Person Chat Group” popped up. All the profile pictures were dark except for the group owner and herself—obviously, the others hadn’t arrived yet.

Right now, Xie Yihuang had no interest in when the rest would join. Her immediate priority was her own body’s condition.

Her gaze fell on the three bottles. Each was labeled and came with a description.

The first was Bone Cleansing Pill. Anyone could use it, but it was best to take it in a well-ventilated place with access to water. After ingestion, the pill would alter the body’s constitution and health, expelling bodily impurities that needed to be washed away.

The second was Strength Elixir. Again, suitable for anyone; after taking it, one would gain great physical strength. The extent of this strength depended on the user’s own constitution.

The third was Detoxifying Pill, which could neutralize any poison.

Each bottle contained just three pills.

At this moment, Xie Yihuang’s task was to take the Bone Cleansing Pill. But according to its instructions, she couldn’t do that here, not on the bed.

She checked the time—two in the afternoon. The adults would be at work. Xie Yihuang decided to find a suitable place to take the pill. Since it would expel impurities, she needed somewhere she could bathe, at least.

She managed to get out of bed, skipping slippers, and walked out into the yard.

It was the 1980s, after all, and this was the countryside. There was no bathroom; her only option was the pond behind the house.

The yard faced south, with a small pond her father had dug for household washing. Living near the sea meant water was abundant. Daily washing was done here. On hot days, the sun turned the pond into a natural hot bath. In the evenings, the family would bathe there. Outsiders couldn’t see in, so privacy was assured.

Xie Yihuang went to the pond, made sure no one was around, and swallowed the Bone Cleansing Pill. As expected, unfamiliar pain swept through her from bones to meridians, rendering her speechless. Fortunately, it didn’t last long—just half an hour. When it passed, a pungent, sour odor wafted from her body. Her first impulse was to jump straight into the water.

The pond was fed by fresh water, so she didn’t worry about contaminating it.

After washing, she dried herself, dressed, and hurried inside, heading straight for her parents’ room. There, a three-door wardrobe stood with a mirror in the center—used as a dressing mirror.

Xie Yihuang looked into it. Her complexion had improved considerably, and her skin was much fairer. Yet, she still appeared awkward—an eight-year-old bean sprout, stunted by years of frail health, now looking more like a six-year-old.

She sighed deeply. Only now did she have the chance to reflect on all that had happened lately.

Originally, Xie Yihuang had been a college graduate in the twenty-second century. Thanks to her specialized training, she’d secured a steady, if modest, job at a bank—a state-run institution.

Through careful saving, she’d planted herself in a small city. After a few years, she bought a hundred-square-meter apartment and a car—not the most expensive, perhaps, but enough for a comfortable, stable life.

In her era, a college degree held little weight. If not for her targeted field of study, she wouldn’t have found such reliable work.

Her days were simple but peaceful. And yet, she met her end while showering. Her family’s bathroom was just a basic shower; she couldn’t fathom how something as ordinary as a bath could kill her.

She watched as the coroner performed the autopsy, ruling that the heat in the bathroom had deprived her brain of oxygen, causing a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

So be it—dead was dead. If she regretted anything from her past life, it was that she’d never found a boyfriend, never built a family of her own.

But after her death, she found herself unexpectedly at the Netherworld’s Temporary Time Processing Hall, where she learned that her demise was a pure accident.

According to the records, she should have lived to ninety, but lost sixty years instead.

The reason? A Netherworld intern had accidentally dropped a batch of files into the River of Forgetfulness. When retrieved, the contents were blurred, and some people, herself among them, suffered from this “accidental disaster.”

After much arguing and negotiation, those who’d suffered were offered partial compensation—one of which was being placed into a suitable body to live again.

As further recompense, they would not only reclaim their remaining lifespan, but receive a longevity bonus. In other words, as long as Xie Yihuang didn’t court disaster, she could expect a legendary long life.

The body she now inhabited was also named Xie Yihuang, but unlike her former self, this Xie Yihuang was born in Xiezhang Village, a small fishing village in southern Jiangnan.

Her parents were both born fishermen. She had an older brother and sister—fraternal twins.

It was said her mother hadn’t intended to have another child, but unexpectedly conceived her. Unable to bear the thought of an abortion, she gave birth, and so came the present Xie Yihuang.