In her third lifetime…
Wait, where was she again?
Nie Ling groaned, feeling her throat so parched that the croak of her voice sounded similar to that of a dying frog. At that moment, she thought that she would die anytime sooner if she wasn't given a sip to relieve herself.
Don't mistake her, the scorching agony in her chest was still there, but what's more haunting to her at the moment was the uncomfortable sensation lodging on her trachea.
Thus, despite the searing pain tearing her body apart whenever she attempted to move a limb, she forced herself to crawl against the rocky ground beneath her, biting her lips and stubbornly bearing the pain as she pulled herself closer and closer to the water source.
Fortunately, this heavily-wounded body of hers wasn't far from the stream. Once her finger dipped into the fresh cold water, she gathered her palm and carefully scooped some to her lips, drinking it with big gulps.
She repeated the movement of scooping and drinking several times before finally having the energy to study her current self and her surroundings.
This… Had she transmigrated into another body again?
Judging by her smaller branch-like hands, as well as her narrow waist that was nearly half the size of the previous one, that must be the case.
After all, no one in their right mind would let a precious panacea of the royal family end up suffering from malnutrition and extreme hunger.
Now, how did the original owner end up in this miserable state? Getting herself dumped beside the stream with glaring cuts and scrapes all over her body. And–
"Ouch!" Nie Ling winced at the excruciating pain shooting from her right ankle. For it to be this painful, she must've broken a bone or two.
When she thought of this, Nie Ling unknowingly raised her head to peer slightly above her. Catching sight of the not-so-tall cliff near the location, she seemed to have guessed the previous owner's predicament.
Nevertheless, this was no time to cry over the body's misfortune. She needed to attend to her wounds fast before they started to fester and turn worse.
With the magic pendant around her neck dim, supposedly drained out of energy after every transmigration, and no suitable resources near her, Nie Ling had no other choice but to limp her way out of the wild terrain.
Supporting herself with a wooden stick she casually found nearby, Nie Ling followed the cleared pathway and headed to the direction of the noise. Fortunately, she soon found herself arriving in the Ming Guo village.
Nie Ling heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the village's sign from afar. With anticipation drumming against her chest, she walked past the entrance and looked around with her head raised high, hoping that someone would recognize her and show her the way home.
Alas, no one reacted to her pitiful face as she had hoped. At first, their gazes would linger on her figure for a moment, probably accessing her due to curiosity, but that didn't stay for long before they turned around to mind their own business.
'This, have I entered the wrong village?'
After roaming around for what felt like an eternity, and still with no result, Nie Ling finally couldn't stand the strain on her back neck any longer. She squatted on the side of the road, thinking hard when she suddenly felt her throat running dry.
Intending to quench her thirst, she locked her gaze onto a nearby well. Due to her lacking strength, she had a hard time lifting the bucket of water from the depths of the well.
She struggled for a quarter of an hour before finally succeeding, only to be stunned on the spot by the reflection she saw on the water's surface.
A dark oval face with sunken cheeks and skin that literally outlined the skull, covered not only with multiple scars crisscrossing her skin but also thick smudges of dust and mud.
What kind of a sage would be able to distinguish her facial features from this puddle of mess? Without a thought, she splashed her face till it was squeaky clean before quenching her thirst whilst sporting a fowl frown.
No wonder no one had reacted to her appearance. Should she count on her luck and try again?
With that in mind, she was just about to head to the main road where the traffic was the highest when her arm was suddenly pulled from behind.
"Nie lass? Where have you been all day? Doctor Xie is searching for you!"
The shrill voice came from a middle-aged woman with her hair tied into a messy bun. The older woman looked worried sick when she landed her eyes on Nie Ling's miserable state.
"Goodness, what happened to you?" She pulled her closer to examine her wounds.
"I…" Though pleasantly surprised that someone had finally recognized this body of hers, for a moment, Nie Ling didn't know how to properly react.
She inherited none of the previous body's memories and thus, the middle-aged woman was undoubtedly a stranger to her. And this exact confusion of hers was written all over her face.
It was so obvious and distinguishable that the older woman paused for a while to study Nie Ling's battered figure.
"Nie Lass, can you not recognize me? I'm your neighbor Auntie Lu, ah!"
A strand of pity flashed through her eyes when she saw not much reaction from the seemingly stunned girl.
"Come here, you must've been scared silly, you poor lass." Auntie Lu sighed. She pulled Nie Ling into her arms and gently patted the girl's back,"Let's bring you back home first. You're little brother…"
Auntie Lu paused, looking at the confused Nie Ling with hesitation and also pity before she continued in a softer voice, "Little Yun… he's dying."