The deafening battle cries jolted me awake. I sat up abruptly, only to find myself lying on a couch, my forehead beaded with cold sweat.
The antique furnishings in the room suggested that A Yin had transported me into a memory of my past life.
What amazed me was the vividness of this experience. It felt as if I were truly there, surrounded by tangible objects.
"A Yin! A Yin!" I called out, but there was no sign of her.
"You're awake?" A sudden voice startled me.
I trembled and turned to the source of the sound. A boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old came into view. He must have fallen asleep beside my couch. Awakened by my shouts, he slowly sat up, his eyes dull as he looked at me.
Dressed in a silver - embroidered python robe and wearing a silver crown, he exuded an air of wealth and nobility. However, his expression seemed out of place for his age. His fair and handsome face was cold and serious.
His pair of jet - black phoenix eyes fixed on me, a look that seemed to combine coldness with a hint of tenderness.
"Give me your hand." The boy's tone was commanding, leaving no room for argument.
He grabbed my hand and rolled up my sleeve.
"Ouch..." His rough movement made me instinctively try to pull back, but he held on tightly, preventing me from moving.
Only then did I notice that my arm was covered in bruises.
"If you make a mistake next time, just blame it on me. Don't take all the blame on your own."
I didn't quite understand what he meant, so I quickly asked, "What are you talking about? What just happened?"
Huh? When did my voice become so childish?
I looked past the boy to the dressing mirror behind him. In the bronze mirror, a pure and innocent face stared back at me. I looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, with some baby fat still on my face.
I made some funny faces in the mirror to confirm if this was really my face.
What the hell? Did I time - travel? As I was lost in my wild thoughts, the boy placed his fair hand on my forehead.
"You didn't even get hit on the head. Why are you acting so strange?"
The coolness of his touch felt familiar, and I blurted out, "Are you Gu Yuan?"
Hearing this, the boy lifted his drooping eyes and said, "That's a good name. From now on, you can call me Gu Yuan."
I tilted my head and examined him carefully. I was absolutely sure I hadn't misrecognized him. He was Gu Yuan.
"Am I Chi Yu?" I wanted to confirm with Gu Yuan.
"Are you really out of your mind?"
This answer was clear enough. My current identity was Chi Yu. I never expected A Yin's double - pupil power to be so powerful that it allowed me to inhabit Chi Yu's body from a past life.
"Sigh..." I sighed and slumped back on the couch, watching as Gu Yuan's well - defined fingers massaged my arm.
The wounds didn't seem to be self - inflicted. They were clearly caused by something like a stick.
Chi Yu must have done something wrong to end up like this.
"Bang!" The door was kicked open. A woman in black with a good figure stood outside.
She held a long whip in her hand, and her face exuded a queenly aura. Seeing me, she whipped out her long whip.
I was so scared that I quickly backed away. Just as the whip was about to hit me, Gu Yuan threw himself on top of me.
"Slap..." Gu Yuan winced in pain but managed to hold back a cry.
"Yuan'er... You..." The woman in black looked flustered. She hadn't expected to hit Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan wrapped his arms around my small body. His not - so - broad shoulders made me feel incredibly secure.
"You're injured..." I whispered in his arms.
Gu Yuan's gaze was firm. He shook his head slightly to indicate that he was okay.
"Mother, please spare her. Stealing the snake scales was my idea. Please don't blame Chi Yu..."
So this woman was Gu Yuan's mother, Xi Nu, the daughter of Bai Xu.
"You're protecting her like this. You almost exposed your identity." Xi Nu didn't expect Gu Yuan to protect me so much. Her anger grew instead of subsiding.
"Mother, you said 'almost'. That means I didn't expose it." Gu Yuan knelt on the ground, his voice respectful yet stubborn.
"Outrageous! You're even daring to defy your mother for her sake."
Xi Nu's eyes were filled with anger. She raised her long whip again, determined to whip me into ashes.
"Mother, if you want to hit her again, kill me first. I won't allow anyone to hurt her."
"She's just a wild little demon who has only recently taken human form. I brought her back just to be your plaything. I didn't expect you to develop feelings for her?"
"Your son only has brother - sister feelings for her. There's no overstepping."
Gu Yuan's gaze was cold, and his words were firm. At this moment, he probably hadn't developed romantic feelings for Chi Yu yet.
Xi Nu and Gu Yuan were at a stalemate. I curled up on the couch, not knowing what to do.
None of us wanted to break the deadlock until an old maid walked in.
"Chi Yu failed in her duties and almost exposed the true form of the Lord. The Holy Lord has ordered that the flogging is just a minor punishment. Since the Lord has taken the blame for you, why don't you express your gratitude?"
The old maid's hazy eyes looked at me. I quickly pretended to be scared and knelt on the couch, bowing my head to express my gratitude.
"Your Holiness, the punishment has been given, and the lesson has been learned. The Lord is still young. Please forgive his childish behavior."
From their conversation, I seemed to understand that Chi Yu must have done something that almost exposed Gu Yuan's true form. Since Gu Yuan's true form was a silver dragon, it couldn't be easily revealed. If it was, he might be in mortal danger.
Xi Nu loved her son dearly, so she punished Chi Yu. However, Gu Yuan protected Chi Yu, which led to this situation.
Xi Nu looked at her kneeling son and had no choice but to give up. She glared at me fiercely, threw down her whip, and turned away.
Gu Yuan's gaze was fixed on the door. Even after Xi Nu and the old maid were completely out of sight, he didn't turn to look at me. He just asked in a low voice:
"Why did you steal the snake scales?"
I knelt behind him, looking at the lacerated wounds on his back.
My heart ached.
"I don't know. Do you believe me if I say I'm not the Chi Yu you know?"
To be honest, I was completely confused myself.
I moved on my knees and got closer to him. I gently reached out my hand and stroked the wounds on Gu Yuan's back.
His body trembled slightly and stiffened in place. He seemed surprised that I would touch him voluntarily.
As my arm slid across his back, a faint golden halo spread along the scars.
Miraculously, his wounds began to heal.
Even I was shocked. Before, Jun He had asked me, "Can you heal wounds?"
Now I asked myself the same question: "How can I heal wounds? And why did I steal the snake scales?"