On the very night the order came from the clan head himself, Feng Ruyan and her infant son, Lin, were moved to the Palace of Concubines. Grateful to Granny Wu, who had assisted her during childbirth, Ruyan brought her along—elevating her from a maid's physician to the child's official nanny.
When reaching the palace, she finally understood the difference between the scale of her clan and Cao clan. The single palace she was given was bigger than the palace of the clan head at her own clan, and there were an absurd quantity of similar size, if a little smaller, palaces all around the area.
The palace of concubines was not a single palace, but a whole village, with palaces in place of huts. When she went inside the palace given to her, she was even more impressed. Lavish paintings adorned the walls—each one worth more than a noble's manor in the capital of the Eternal Fang Dynasty.
In the hall, there was a team of maids waiting to welcome her.
"Welcome to the palace, Mistress. I am the head maid of this palace. It is our honor to serve you." A middle-aged lady came forward from the group, a subtle pressure going around her body. From the qi radiating around her, it was easy to tell that she was around mid Organ Tempering level in Body Tempering Realm.
Not too high, but still enough to handle every maid present in the area alone.
"Nice to meet you. I am Feng Ruyan. From now on, I and my son will be in your care," Ruyan also stepped forward, still holding her son. She also radiated a little of her qi to show her cultivation level.
Since everyone in the room was a level lower than her, they couldn't tell her actual level, just that she was in Essence Core Creation Realm, a whole realm above the strongest maid present there.
It was not a way to intimidate the head maid, just to show that she deserved the respect her position had provided, as in this world only the strong had the right to be respected.
"I assume there will be some guards in the palace as well. Can I meet them?" Ruyan asked.
The head maid looked toward the wall in the corner, and from there three people emerged. All three of them were in the same realm as Ruyan, but unlike her, they were at the top of the realm, just on the verge of going to the next realm.
Considering people of this level are normally elders in some of the minor sects, the security level was fine... for now.
Ruyan looked toward the three of them and smiled.
"We will be in your care from now," she said, bowing a little. Normally, someone of her position would not bow to them even if it was just a half bow meant as a greeting, but Ruyan knew one thing:
'Kindness and respect is sometimes much better than money,' a lesson which was ground into her bones by her father.
"Yes, my lady. We will put our lives on the line for your safety," said the leader of the guards, and from the tone of his voice, not much older than 20.
"Thank you," Ruyan smiled and then turned back to the head maid.
"Can you give me a quick tour of the palace, please?" she asked.
"Of course, my lady." Listening to that, Lan, the head maid, gave a look to the group of maids behind her, which was enough to tell all the maids both to disperse and what their next tasks were.
The guards also went back to their posts, hiding in shadow to protect the family. With only four of them remaining in the hall, Lan started giving them a tour of the palace.
And that was shocking to say the least. The palace had so much that one may get lost inside—more than 20 rooms to choose from for the lady of the house, while separate quarters for maids and guards.
Study rooms were also more than necessary, and it had a personal library. They passed through a moon-gate into an inner courtyard, where immortal herbs and spirit plants bloomed under soft lantern light. A miniature waterfall flowed into a koi pond, the water unnaturally clear, as if purified by formation arrays. The air smelled faintly of sandalwood and spirit grass.
But the most absurd thing was the array that was covering the entire hall. As a sole heir of the sect focusing on such things, she knew how absurdly costly this would have been, but here one of the many palaces of concubines—not even the main wife—had such luxury. Truly, major clans were on a different level.
They completed their tour at the meditation room in the house, which was filled with enough arrays to make qi thick enough for even mortals to feel it.
A small glint appeared in Ruyan's eyes as she took in the palace's grandeur. Her clan might now serve under the Cao banner, but perhaps... it wasn't entirely a curse.
But luxury was never safety.
'Lin has stepped into the storm of succession. If I remain idle, he will be no more than a pawn... or worse, killed to remove a threat, with his level of talent…'
She had seen it all before. Favor turned in a night. Promises broken at the whisper of profit. And in a clan this vast, even "accidents" came cloaked in silk.
No.
She would not let her son fall prey to unseen knives. If he were to thrive—if he were to live—then she would need power. Influence. Allies.
…
While his mother played the silent game of survival, Cao Lin's world was a blur of shifting lights, muffled sounds, and fleeting warmth.
He didn't have thoughts—not like adults did. His mind couldn't shape words or reason yet, but he could feel—deeply and instinctively.
There was warmth in his mother's arms, the scent of her skin, the way her hands trembled slightly when she held him close. It felt safe, even if he didn't know what that meant.
Time passed. Slowly, his mind started to grow—from reacting only to hunger and discomfort to sensing emotions, textures, and patterns. Thoughts began to form, vague and dreamlike, like mist gathering before a storm.
His mind and body developed faster than usual, thanks to the dense qi his mother filled the room with. But on the night he turned six months old, he suddenly had a strong fever. It felt like his brain was trying to process something it wasn't ready for.
Granny Wu, always careful, checked his condition but found nothing wrong. Just to be safe, she used a basic healing spell.
The soft green light washed over his small body—
—and something snapped.
A chain. A seal. A fog.
And then, as if a switch had been flipped, a clear thought echoed in his head:
'What the fk, where the hell am I?!'**
All he saw was an old lady holding her glowing green hand over his head.
He was awake.
…
Six months after Lin was born, their palace had started to feel like home. Ruyan often held tea parties with other concubines, using small talk and smiles to understand the power balance of the clan.
She sent rare pills from her clan to the elders of the Cao Clan—carefully chosen ones that helped with minor breakthroughs. She never asked for anything in return, just looked like a polite lady trying to build connections. Quietly, she was building her own faction. While she focused on that, Lin was mostly taken care of by Granny Wu.
One day, Lin suddenly had a strong fever. It was strange—an illness shouldn't have been possible in such a qi-rich environment. Granny Wu checked him, but again, found nothing wrong. Before raising alarm, she simply used a basic healing spell.
It worked—his fever dropped quickly. But then something even stranger happened.
The young master started showing emotions that shouldn't have been possible for someone his age.
He looked shocked. Then panicked. He tried with all his strength to sit up, glanced at his own hands and feet, and then… sighed?
Granny Wu stared at him, confused. Something wasn't right. She decided to call Ruyan. Luckily, Ruyan came in just then to feed her son.
But the moment Lin saw her, he lit up like always—smiling happily.
"Oh thank God you're here, Lady Feng. The young master was acting… a bit strange just now. I was about to call you, but seeing him so cheerful again, I guess it might've just been my imagination," Granny Wu said.
"Hah… you almost scared me, Granny Wu," Ruyan replied. Still, she checked her son's body carefully using her qi.
"Then I'll take my leave, madam," Granny Wu said, and left the mother and child alone.
…
'I'm… a baby, huh?' Lin sighed.
He knew something wasn't right. He had memories of a past life—a world where people didn't shoot light from their hands. A life he wasn't proud of. A life that ended before he could make things right.
He started sinking into those memories, but then someone else entered the room.
And like a switch being flipped, his baby instincts took over. He forgot his worries and reached for the woman who had just entered.
The moment she picked him up, he felt calm.
'Is she my mother? What are they even saying?' he wondered. The language they spoke was totally different from the one he remembered.
'First I need to… oh, I'm hungry.'
And just like that, he went back to being a baby. His mind, still undeveloped, couldn't hold onto thoughts for long. For now.