Chapter 1: Past and Present Lives

Tong Xiqiu struggled to break through the ice layer and gathered the last bit of wild vegetables into the basket. She stood up, took a deep breath of the refreshing cold air, and absentmindedly touched the swollen lump on the back of her head. Sighing, she slung the basket over her shoulder and made her way back towards the foot of the mountain.

The dilapidated thatched house where she currently lived was only fifty or sixty meters away from the mountain. Despite it not being the time for the sun to rise, the north wind was already making it difficult to keep her eyes open, and the sky was darkening.

Pushing open the almost falling door of the main room, she heard a violent cough coming from behind the grass curtain in the inner room. As she opened the door, the curtain was quickly lifted.

A sixteen-year-old boy, with a thin face, looked at her with a worried expression. "Second sister, you're back. Third sister is coughing badly!"

Upon hearing this, Tong Xiqiu placed the basket on the common kitchen stove in the main room and then entered the inner room.

She saw a thin eight-year-old girl sitting against the wall on the kang, coughing incessantly. When she saw Tong Xiqiu enter, she looked at her with teary eyes. "Second sister!"

The hoarse voice made one's heart ache. Tong Xiqiu frowned and asked, "She was fine when I left. Why is she coughing so badly now?"

Tong Yanqing, with tears in her eyes, reported while digging at the edge of the kang, "Just now, Aunt scolded third sister fiercely and said she would sell her. I don't want third sister to be sold!"

"Aunt said that?"

"Yeah!"

Tong Xiqiu listened and then comforted her calmly, "Why are you crying? If she wants you to be sold, can she really make it happen? We are family, and she's just making a request!"

After saying this, she saw the girl staring at her in a daze, and her tears stopped. Tong Yanqing also widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Second sister, did you curse at someone?"

She even cursed at Aunt, risking her life, didn't she?

"Yes, I did!"

After saying this lightly, she quickly lifted the curtain and left the inner room, saying, "Stay on the kang, I'll go cook."

Tong Xiqiu and Tong Yanqing looked at each other. When did their second sister become so assertive?

After swallowing the wild vegetable soup without any seasoning, she brought hot water for the two to wash up and lie down. Then, Tong Xiqiu went to the stove and lit a bunch of dry twigs. Finally, she lay down on the kang, looking at the various cracks, feeling a deep sigh in her heart, and covered herself with the straw mat, feeling as if everything was from a distant world.

In the white and sacred church, Tong Xiqiu shouted desperately, asking why they treated her like this.

The man's face was cold, and his eyes looked at her with extreme sarcasm. "Why? Tong Xiqiu, don't you know that your hypocrisy disgusts me? You pretend to be a weak woman with no opinions, but you use the most ruthless means. What is there to like about a woman like you who is so two-faced?"

Disgusting? Hypocrisy? Two-faced?

Tong Xiqiu felt her heart turn cold and bitter. She had worked tirelessly to help him succeed in his career, using any means necessary to promote his business. She had even changed herself to fit his preferences. But he had endured it for so long, and when his career succeeded, he not only married someone else but also treated her as the most despicable person in his eyes?

Facing the grand church, numerous guests, and a beautiful bride, all of this should have been hers. She couldn't accept it and rushed forward, wanting to tear off the bride's mask to see if she was truly as genuine as he claimed.

Her hands were forcefully restrained, and her struggles only brought more embarrassment. His eyes were filled with malice, and with a strong force, she stumbled and hit her head on the corner of the altar. Blood flowed down her face, staining the white altar red.

She looked at him with a bitter smile and spoke with extreme sarcasm, expressing her unwillingness, "Even if I die, you will not receive God's blessing..."

The bright red blood, the noisy crowd, the screams of the people, and the crucifix hanging high above. The world was so quiet, and Tong Xiqiu's forehead was covered in sweat. The blood flowed into her eyes, and the large patches of red made her uneasy. Clenching her fists, she felt a restlessness in her ears...

"Second sister, second sister!"

"Ah!"

With a light shout, Tong Xiqiu quickly opened her eyes, looking at the two worried eyes above her, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of someone forcefully knocking on the door came, and Tong Xiqiu was puzzled. Just as Tong Chun was about to speak, a voice outside scolded, "You lazy girl, are you dead asleep? Open the door now, or I'll kick it down!"

With sweat on her forehead and a black line on her head, Tong Yanqing's small face was full of fear as she muttered, "It's Aunt who's here."