The rain poured relentlessly, the sky above heavy and gray, like a suffocating blanket pressing down on the world. But it was not the sky she saw when she opened her eyes.
"Oh…"
"What… what is this pain?"
"Why does my head hurt…?"
Mo Xuan blinked slowly. A dull, intermittent ache throbbed in her skull.
"Oh… what is this? Where am I?" she murmured softly, no one around to hear her.
Her hand rose hesitantly, trembling, brushing against her own body.
"Small… so small…"
she whispered, pure shock laced with fear and awe.
She felt her fragile arms, her tiny chest, her thin legs… everything was unfamiliar, delicate, weak.
"Why… why is my body like this? Am I dreaming? No… I can't be dreaming…"
her voice trembled, every part of her mind struggling against the truth.
She remembered the feeling of her previous body, her strength, seventeen years of experience, calculations, control… all suddenly lost within this untested, fragile form.
She tried to stand, but her knees wobbled, as if they had never been trained to move in this new body.
A light dizziness swirled in her head, her pain sharpening.
"Where am I… what happened?"
she muttered, rubbing her forehead.
She looked around the room slowly.
The wooden ceiling was worn, smelling faintly of dried herbs.
A thin shaft of light flowed from a small window, dust motes dancing slowly within it.
Books lay scattered across the floor, pages torn.
A half-open wardrobe revealed some dark, mysterious objects… everything seemed familiar yet strangely unnerving at the same time.
"Did… did I really escape reality?"
she whispered to herself, her voice caught between fear and curiosity.
Then she added quickly, as if challenging herself:
"But escape to what? To a world I don't know? A body… a small body? Doesn't matter. I'll figure this out."
Her lips trembled, her heartbeat accelerating.
She closed her eyes briefly, trying to gather her strength.
"Oh… my senses… everything is so small… weak… even my hands… my body… I can't control it…"
She stood slowly, her first steps faltering on the worn carpet.
She felt the lightness of her body, its fragility; every movement was like learning all over again.
The creak of the stairs beneath her small feet echoed through the silent room.
At the bottom, a woman waited, her eyes unreadable, her body still as a statue.
"Mo Xuan… you've finally awakened," the woman said softly.
Mo Xuan stopped, her mind racing.
Awakened? The word echoed in her head, but it was meaningless compared to the exhausting sensation of being trapped in such a fragile body.
"And my name… my name is Mo Xuan?"
she whispered, a fine thread connecting her past identity to the present.
The name felt strange, yet familiar. She had chosen it for herself, a substitute for the name she had abandoned in her previous life, yet it had become a shadow she could not escape.
She gave a faint, almost sarcastic smile.
"Looking at this form… I haven't changed much."
Her reflection in the small mirror beside the door told a different story:
a little girl of eight, fragile, her eyes like drops of amber trapped in darkness, short dark brown hair, and a pale face devoid of any sign of life.
The door opened further, and a man entered.
"Su Yi, I've brought you what you asked for," he said calmly.
Su Yi smiled. "Dong Fang, my dear… welcome back."
Mo Xuan's gaze swept over them. Perhaps they were her parents? But she felt nothing.
Her mind insisted: "They aren't your parents.
Probably the uncle and his wife."
"Mo Xuan, go outside for a while… you spend all your time locked in your room," Su Yi added.
Muttering to herself, she said, "Isn't it raining?"
Mo Xuan nodded lightly, opening the door to step out.
The rain was still falling outside, droplets striking the ground, the wet earth reflecting the gray light.
The scent of damp soil and rain filled her nostrils.
Her body had not yet touched the water; she had not experienced it yet because the door had been closed during her sleep.
She stepped slowly along the wet path, every movement immersing her senses.
A small courtyard lay before her, wet trees, tiny wooden rooms, wet leaves covering the ground, smelling faintly of moss.
The faces of the clan members looked real, some bearing small wrinkles on their foreheads, their eyes moving cautiously.
From small stoves came the smell of burning wood mixed with the scent of wet earth, while drenched birds sought shelter.
At some point, Mo Xuan began to laugh softly, which escalated into hysterical laughter.
There was nothing funny—it was mockery of herself, her situation, her new body.
Before returning, she turned back on her steps, surveying the world around her with curious eyes.
The world was new, full of details and secrets, and every step revealed a little more about the clan and the life that awaited her in this place.