Yun Xue stood over her final target, blade poised to end his life. Her expression was cold, emotionless. Another mission, another life to take. This was what she had been trained for since childhood—perfection in every strike. The man was a fool, unaware of the secrets his life held. But as her blade neared his throat, something inside her shifted.
Earlier, she had discovered something—something that shattered everything she believed in. The organization she had given her life to, the one she trusted without question, had been lying to her all along. They were not righteous, not just. They were manipulators, controlling her like a puppet. The truth burned through her mind, feeding her rage.
She withdrew her blade, the man's life spared, for now. Tonight, her mission was no longer to kill for them but to bring the entire organization crashing down.
---
The explosion lit up the night sky as Yun Xue triggered the charges, watching with satisfaction as the headquarters of her former masters collapsed. But something was wrong. A blinding flash, too fast to avoid, swallowed her whole. She couldn't react in time. Darkness took her, and her world ended.
---
The sound of rain filled her ears. Cold, harsh, like needles on her skin. Yun Xue gasped, her body jolting awake. She felt heavy, disoriented. As she pushed herself up, she realized she was lying on hard rocks, the rain soaking her through. This wasn't the city. No skyscrapers, no explosions—just mountains, mist, and an eerie silence.
Her heart raced. She wasn't dead, but... where was she?
Slowly, memories not her own began to seep into her mind. Disjointed fragments, unfamiliar names, faces. She wasn't Yun Xue the assassin anymore, or at least not in the same world. No, this body, this life, belonged to a different Yun Xue—a lowly maid in an ancient palace. She had read about this in a wuxia novel, where this maid was destined to die in obscurity, used as a pawn in a power struggle.
Panic rose in her chest as the final, painful memory hit her. This maid had been killed. Not because of her actions, but because she was too beautiful, too much of a threat. The queen had ordered her face to be disfigured, and the person sent to do it had gone too far, killing her instead. Yun Xue could feel the icy touch of fear spreading through her veins. *That was how she died? And now I'm... her?*
She needed to see for herself. Ignoring the aching in her body, she stumbled to her feet, the rain still pouring as she looked around for any sign of water. Her instincts kicked in, guiding her to the faint sound of running water nearby.
---
The river flowed calmly, reflecting the dark, stormy sky above. Yun Xue knelt by the bank, her hands trembling as she leaned over to see her reflection.
A stranger stared back at her.
She was beautiful. There was no denying that. Her skin was pale and smooth, her features delicate and refined—almost too perfect. But then her eyes fell on the grotesque scar that ran from her cheek to her jawline, jagged and cruel. It marred her beauty, a reminder of the queen's jealousy and the maid's tragic fate.
Her heart sank. This was the face of a woman who had died because she was too beautiful—a face that the female lead of the novel would later use to take down the queen. And now it was her face.
Yun Xue clenched her fists, her mind racing. She wasn't a pawn. She wouldn't let herself be swept away by the cruel games of palace life. She had been an assassin, a master of survival, and now she would use every skill she had to navigate this twisted story.
But first, she had to live.