The bright sunlight blinded Xiang Ling as she struggled to walk out of the depths of darkness that had been consuming her for a while.
She repeatedly blinked and it took her a while to adjust to the light and focus on her surroundings. Along with the sight, her other senses also returned. Her ears registered the chirping of birds, and movement of wind as it rustled the leaves of the tall trees. Her nose picked up the smell of the forest that surrounded her, and her skin registered the warmth of sunlight as the sun shone brightly in the sky.
Her body ached a little as she struggled into a sitting position before standing up. She turned her attention toward the body she now occupied. Xiang Ling was expecting to be born as a child into the Mortal Realm. However, looking at her current body, she realized that she was now inside the body of a young lady.
"What exactly is going on?" She asked out loudly while looking up at the sky, knowing fully well that no one from above would answer her question. They all had discarded her until she completed her life tribulation in the Mortal Realm - a punishment she received the very moment she ascended to Immortality.
A deep sigh left Xiang Ling's lips as she once again focused on her surroundings. It seemed like she was in the middle of nowhere. She was wondering what to do next when her ears picked up the voices that seemed to be calling her name.
Xiang Ling started walking in the direction from where the voices were coming. It didn't take long before she found a group of people who appeared to be searching for the original owner of her body.
"My Lady!"
A girl in her late teens cried out in half surprise and half relief the moment she noticed Xiang Ling walking out from behind some tall bushes.
"My Lady, you gave all of us a scare. You have been gone since early morning. We looked all around the temple but there was no sign of yours. Since then, we have been searching the mountain. Thankfully, you are alright." A man, who looked to be in his late forties, spoke with his eyes brimming with worry.
"Who-" Xiang Ling was about to ask those people exactly who they were but then decided against it before she could have finished the question. Taking in a deep breath, she spoke - "I came out to get some fresh air but then lost my way. I even had a small accident and slipped, bumping my head in the process. Since then, I've been having severe pain in my head and my memories appear to be fuzzy."
She even went as far as to massage her temples while showing a painful look on her face to convince everyone that she was speaking the truth. And truthfully, she wasn't lying. It seemed like the original owner of the body indeed bumped her head against something because Xiang Ling's head was actually hurting. Even her body felt sore in several places and there were scratches on her arms and legs while dirt covered her dress.
"My Lady, are you alright?" The girl asked in worry and took hurried steps toward Xiang Ling before stopping in her tracks. She looked hesitant and her eyes held a little bit of panic as if she was afraid of approaching Xiang Ling, which made the latter wonder exactly what was going on.
She moved her attention toward others. There was one more woman in the group along with three men. They all were dressed in servant clothes and almost everyone carried similar expressions as they held their heads down. There was one thing common about all these people - they all seemed to be afraid... of her.
Questions filled Xiang Ling's brain but she held herself back from prying. Instead, she turned all her attention toward the servant girl and spoke - "I don't think it's too bad. Let's go back now."
The girl hurriedly nodded her head and looked at the man who had previously spoken. "Elder Su, how about we first return to the temple so that My Lady can change and get her wounds attended? Then we can head back to the manor."
The man quickly nodded his head, showing his agreement to the young girl's suggestion. Therefore, Xiang Ling soon found herself inside the guest chamber of a temple while the two female servants helped her get dressed in new clothes. The young girl even attended to the scratches that were decorating Xiang Ling's milky skin.
Once she was done changing, they all set out to return to the so-called manor. Xiang Ling mostly stayed silent and just observed everything in silence. She wanted to get as much information about the original owner of her body as she could without raising any suspicions.
She did succeed to some level as she found out that the original owner of her body was the only daughter of the County Magistrate of Nanxia County and she came to the temple two days ago to pray. The two of them even shared the same name - Xiang Ling. The young servant girl was named Fu Xiao and she was the personal maid of the original owner of the body. Elder Su was the younger brother of Steward Su and both these men were the oldest servants of the County Magistrate.
The carriage finally stopped after nearly an hour had passed and Xiang Ling climbed down with the help of Fu Xiao. Her eyes found the board above the gates that informed her she was about to enter the Chen Manor.
She walked toward the front gates and entered what looked more like an abandoned place than the house of a County Magistrate. The courtyards looked old and unkempt, and the gardens were not in a good state either. There wasn't even a single servant in sight.
Xiang Ling turned her surprised gaze toward the servants following her but they all looked normal, as if the current state of the Chen Manor was nothing new. Before she could have opened her mouth to ask anything, Elder Su spoke while addressing Fu Xiao. "You take the Young Lady to her courtyard. I will inform the Master."
Within a moment, all the servants disappeared along with Elder Su, leaving Xiang Ling behind with Fu Xiao.
"My Lady." Fu Xiao looked at Xiang Ling, waiting for the latter to take the lead. However, Xiang Ling had no idea in what direction the said courtyard was located. "You walk ahead. I will follow." She kept her expression as neutral as possible.
Though Fu Xiao looked slightly taken aback, she didn't question Xiang Ling's order and complied. It was not until several moments had passed and they were almost about to enter her courtyard, did Xiang Ling registered something really important - she was the daughter of the County Magistrate Chen, then why everyone was addressing her as the Young Lady and not as Young Miss?