In the deepest forest on the western border of the Scarlet Dragon Empire, a woman lay motionless on the cold ground.
Blood and dirt smeared her face, obscuring what little beauty remained. One of her eyes had swollen shut, the skin around it dark and bruised. Her breathing was shallow, uneven, as if each breath might be her last. From a single glance, it was impossible to tell how she had received her injuries—only that they were not from a single opponent. Whoever she was, she had fought desperately to escape.
And failed.
Liu Lanzhi woke to a familiar pain.
For a moment, she thought she was still dying.
Her body felt heavy, unresponsive, as if it no longer belonged to her. Pain throbbed through her limbs in dull, relentless waves. She struggled to draw in a breath, her chest rising with effort. The scent of damp earth filled her senses, followed by the metallic taste of blood on her tongue.
Why… again?
Her consciousness flickered. Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision, tempting her to surrender. She had endured this pain once before—endured far worse. She did not understand why she was being forced to feel it again.
She fought to stay awake.
With what little strength she had, Liu Lanzhi forced her remaining eye open.
At first, all she could see was a blur of shadow and light. Then the image sharpened, and her heart lurched violently in her chest.
A man was kneeling beside her.
He was looking down at her as if she were a wounded animal—pitiful, cornered, already at death's door. His gaze was calm, cold, and unhurried. Eyes like that had haunted her nightmares for years.
She knew those eyes.
Her body stiffened instinctively, fear seeping into her bones before her mind could fully catch up.
No…
Those cold eyes held her in place, sending a familiar shiver down her spine. Even now, even after everything, she could not escape the pressure of his gaze.
What had she done to deserve this misfortune?
The answer surfaced immediately, cruel and clear.
You know exactly why.
Liu Lanzhi wondered if she was hallucinating. She should have been dead by now. She had died by his own hands. She remembered the pain, the blood, the way her life had slipped away while he watched.
So why—
Why was she here?
Why did she end up in the arms of the man she hated most?
A bitter laugh nearly escaped her cracked lips.
Ah… so even death wasn't enough.
Why did she have to relive this lifetime again?
When this man had killed her, Liu Lanzhi had accepted her fate. She had believed that she would never know happiness, never find peace—but at least she would be free. Free from him. Free from the cage he called love.
And yet, here she was, dragged back into the very hell she had spent her last years trying to escape.
Why?
Why had she returned to five years in the past?
Why must she endure all of it again?
Her throat tightened, emotion welling up despite herself. Blood stained the once-white satin of her clothes as she forced the words out.
"Why?" she choked. "Why can't you just let me go?"
The man did not answer immediately.
Instead, he moved.
He knelt closer and slid one arm beneath her body, lifting her effortlessly from the ground. She was held as if she were something fragile, something that might shatter if he used too much strength—despite the fact that his grip was firm, unyielding.
Her head came to rest against his chest.
The sound of his heartbeat filled her ears—steady, powerful, alive.
It made her sick.
"You cannot leave me," he whispered, his breath brushing against her hair.
The words sent a chill through her entire body.
Liu Lanzhi's remaining strength gave out. Exhaustion claimed her, dragging her consciousness into darkness. She no longer had the energy to resist, to curse him, or to scream. Perhaps this was only a dream—a cruel illusion born from dying regrets.
If it is a dream… please let me wake up.
When she regained consciousness again, faint light filtered through the forest canopy. The darkness of night was slowly giving way to dawn.
Her first thought was simple.
This is wrong.
She was still in his arms.
That alone confirmed it.
This had never been about love.
For her, it had once been longing. Affection. A foolish hope born from shared years and quiet moments stolen between enemies. But for him, she had always been something else entirely.
A possession.
A prize claimed at the end of a long, bloody conquest.
That longing had led not only to her own destruction, but to the downfall of her people. To a man like him, she was nothing more than another woman who had fallen into his grasp.
He was a prince of the Scarlet Dragon Empire—the crown prince, to be precise.
She was the third princess of the Northern Lands, a kingdom he had infiltrated, conquered, and destroyed.
Before fate twisted their paths together, they had been nothing but enemies. Yet the world was cruel in that way. After years of war, hostility gave way to reluctant familiarity. Familiarity turned into something far more dangerous.
And then, bound by a curse she had never fully understood, she fell in love with an immortal prince.
Five years ago, Liu Lanzhi had questioned everything.
Was it worth fighting for? Was it right or wrong? To his people, their relationship was an abomination. She was a mere mortal, unworthy of standing at his side. To her own people, it was a betrayal—one they would never forgive.
They had never accepted her.
And in the end, neither had he.
"Fear is unbecoming of a princess like you."
His voice was calm, almost amused.
The arm wrapped around her waist tightened, pulling her closer. There was no escape from his hold. Liu Lanzhi's body shuddered slightly at his words as she stared upward, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
Fear?
Of course she was afraid.
Waking up in the arms of her murderer was not what she had expected when she opened her eyes. After years of trying to flee—after countless failed attempts—she had still ended up here.
Back where it all began.
"This princess fears nothing," she said quietly. "And regrets nothing."
A lie.
He knew it.
"You are nothing but a liar, Third Princess of the Northern Lands," he replied, shifting her body closer to his. The intimacy of the gesture made her skin crawl.
She clenched her fists.
It was true. He knew her better than anyone else. Better than she knew herself. She could not lie to him—not when he had seen every weakness, every moment of hesitation.
She was no longer the same woman he had taken from the fallen kingdom.
And he knew that too.
When the Northern Lands were invaded by the Scarlet Dragon Empire, war had been inevitable. As city after city fell, the name of the empire's crown prince spread fear wherever it was spoken.
Yun Qingyu.
When the Northern Lands finally collapsed under his command, Liu Lanzhi—the third princess—was selected to be sent to him as a concubine.
She had agreed.
But agreeing had never meant obedience.
She resisted him at every turn, refusing to bow her head even as her world crumbled around her. She had sworn she would never belong to him.
Yet fate had twisted cruelly.
Somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with him.
And in the end, she had died by his hands.
Before her rebirth, Liu Lanzhi had been desperate to escape Yun Qingyu. She had hated him with everything she had after enduring his control, his cruelty, and his affection that felt no different from a cage.
Now, waking once more in his arms—five years before her death—Liu Lanzhi closed her eyes.
This time, she would not make the same mistakes.
This time, she would change her destiny.
No matter the cost.