Tang Li Yue opened her eyes groggily and was met with a pristine, white ceiling. A rhythmic beeping steadily sounded out on her while a sharp, clean scent assaulted her olfactory senses. It wasn't the least bit unpleasant though. Just mildly lacking something.
It was too clean, unlike the Tang Clan's mountain estate where the air was always crisp with the fragrance of medicinal herbs and incense.
As her eyes blurred into focus, Tang Li Yue jolted upright. She was taken over by a sudden bout of dizziness but was too stunned to even bother about it.
This certainly isn't the afterlife.
The room was boxy with white walls and strange contraptions. Some of them were flashing lights, while some were making the beeping sounds that she kept hearing. The things around her made no sense to Tang Li Yue.
The bed beneath her was narrow with a firm mattress and thin white sheets. A far cry from the plush silks of her bedroom.
Tang Li Yue's brows furrowed in apprehension. Where the hell was she?
The last thing she remembered was the agonizing pain of Qi deviation and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as she breathed her last.
Looking around the room, Tang Li Yue froze as she caught her reflection what seemed like a glass window.
Huh? Who the fuck uses glass for windows? They're more spendthrift than the Namgoong bastards.
And who is that? That is not me.
Tang Li Yue stared at the woman in the reflection who was copying all her exact actions.
It was a different face than what Tang Li Yue was used to seeing.
Although, there were traces of fiery beauty. It was marred by a pale, unhealthy pallor. Her hair was dull, and her eyes were sunken as if she hadn't had a good night's sleep for days.
It was a far cry from the famed ethereal beauty of the Sichuan Tang's Saintess. A beauty that even made people overlook her infamously bad temper.
Tang Li Yue looked down at her hands. Both her wrists were wrapped tightly in bandages. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were for.
After all, Tang Li Yue could still feel painful tingles from the cuts the bandages were hiding.
As she fell into contemplation, fragments of memories flashed in her mind. Memories that were not her own.
This body was named Li Yue, the owner of a small cleaning company which was inherited from her parents.
Li Yue lived alone with her beloved cat, Sir Edmund Pawtipurr, and lived her average life happily in her own way.
That was until her future self, went back into the past.
Li Yue was a regressor. She tried her best to survive in the apocalypse but later died when the base she was staying in fell into the zombie wave.
Finding herself back in time before the apocalypse, Li Yue felt a deep weariness settle into her bones. She couldn't find the strength to hope anymore, nor the will to fight for another chance. The thought of enduring that nightmare again, the endless struggle to survive, filled her with a quiet resignation.
Li Yue was tired. She didn't need to fight fate or tempt survival. She had already been through that hell once, and once was enough.
So, the day after her unexpected return, she simply chose to leave. She left behind only a letter and a journal, hoping that whoever discovered them would find something of use, something that might make sense of the days ahead.
The more Tang Li Yue went over Li Yue's memories, the more her stomach twisted. Painfully so. In the end, Tang Li Yue forcefully removed the IV in her hand and ran towards the bathroom.
Blergh!
Blergh!
Vomiting sounds continuously sounded out for a couple of minutes before the gurgle of flowing water replaced it.
Tang Li Yue splashed water in her face and swished some on her mouth to remove the lingering bitter taste of bile.
She desperately tried to forget the images in her head. But much to her dismay, they stayed there rent-free like pesky little gu bugs.
After a Qi Deviation, I'm fucking faced with this?!
"Are the heaven's jealous of me? Dying isn't enough, it has to send me to a world that will be filled with fucking jiangshis in a month?!"
Tang Li Yue muttered with gritted teeth. The veins in her temple popping up.
She took a shaky breath as her heart pounded in her ears. Her hands itched for the familiar comforting weight of her hidden daggers. But they weren't there.
Tang Li Yue could only clench her fists, her nails biting into the flesh of her palm.
What matters is that I'm alive. Yeah. I'm here. Alive and breathing.
I'm not resting in peace yet.
I haven't fucked up whoever plotted against me. I have to go back.
She, Tang Li Yue, the Saintess of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the only daughter of the Tang Patriarch, has lived her life in the brutal world of martial arts.
She fought, killed, and reached a pinnacle that others could only dream of in a place where strength is everything.
This unfamiliar world will not be her ultimate end. Even if it means dealing with fucking jiangshis. It wasn't that the other things within Li Yue's memories are insignificant.
It's just that Tang Li Yue loathes jiangshis. At least, the jiangshis of Central Plains weren't as filthy to the point that Tang Li Yue would find it difficult to deal with them.
But what she saw in the memories made her want to hurl and curse the ancestors of whoever was the cause of such abominations.
Nonetheless, she had to stand by her resolve.
Tang Li Yue slowly walked back to the bed, almost staggering. The period of the adrenaline rush made her finally feel the protest of her muscles due to the sudden movements.
It also made her realize how weak her current body was. Internal ki was practically non-existent. Her limbs were frail, obviously untrained for combat. It was no wonder why Li Yue struggled so hard during the start of the apocalypse.
"It's one thing after another." Tang Li Yue grumbled as she roughly massaged her numbed limbs.
She had to find a way to strengthen herself somehow before the apocalypse hit. Or else she would just be another meal for the jiangshis or in Li Yue's words, zombies.
One month. That was too short of a time to even reach the Qi Condensation stage. It wasn't even enough time to temper her body.
The more Tang Li Yue thought about her bleak future, the darker her scowl was.
A soft knock cut off her train of thought. The door swung open and a plump, comely woman with a kind smile went in.
Tang Li Yue knew that it was the nurse taking care of her. It was equivalent to a medicine girl of physicians in the Central Plains.
She has assimilated most of Li Yue's memories. Hence, she was aware of how vastly different their worlds are.
In fact, she found this new world a marvel, something worth exploring. It would have been better if it wasn't facing its impending doom.
"Oh, Miss Li, you're awake! This is good. How are you feeling?" The nurse's asked her smilingly, as she fiddled with the medical machinery.
"Why did you remove your IV? Tsk. Tsk. You lost a lot of blood and is still weak. Keeping the IV is necessary for you." The nurse nagged when she saw the needle and IV line uselessly hanging by the side of the bed.
"Thank you for your concern. I'm already fine. May I ask if I could be discharged already?" Tang Li Yue asked patiently. She couldn't be rude to those who took care of this new body of hers.
"Oh my, are you sure? When your neighbor rushed you here, you were on the brink of death. It was good that you were found before it was too late. You've been sleeping for three days and just woke up. You should cherish your life more, you know. You only have one. Anyway, we'll still have to check in with the doctor if you can be allowed for discharge already."
The nurse continued on with such a caring tone that Tang Li Yue could only hold her frustration and assure the nurse once again that she was already feeling fine.
In fact, Tang Li Yue felt that Li Yue's actions were foolish. There were plenty of people begging for another shot at life. They would grovel for the chance. So, for this life that was gifted to Tang Li Yue, she would make sure to cherish it and live it the best she can. For both her and Li Yue.
Sleeping for three days meant three days less to prepare for the onset of disaster. She can't delay anymore.
Perhaps unable to oppose her insistence, Tang Li Yue was able to leave the hospital after a few more times of back and forth with both the nurse and the doctor, as well as agreeing to undergo a quick check with a psychologist.
As she walked out of the hospital, Tang Li Yue was met with a vibrant, roaring metropolis. A direct opposite of the serene mountains and low-key streets of Sichuan.
Glass skyscrapers gleamed under the sun as it towered over the streets that bustled with the movement of life. There were crowds of people hurrying to who knows where.
Students in backpacks stopping by the food stalls scattered about with the wafting scent of steaming buns and freshly brewed tea.
Bicycles passed by, and a stream of vehicles moved seamlessly on the winding city roads.
The city of Chengdu was renowned for its tech industry, a hub of innovation with its countless high-rise office buildings housing some of the world's leading corporations.
Yet it carried in its bones the remnants of a rich ancient culture which Tang Li Yue found to be different, yet oddly familiar.
This was truly another world with its own kind of beauty.
Undeniably, Tang Li Yue could still feel it.
An eerie haze was slowly blanketing this seemingly peaceful city.
It carried with it the faint scent of death.