Standing near a mountain cliff, a young girl dressed in old but decent brown clothes paused on her ascent up the mountain path to gaze at the vast forest stretching out beyond the distant mountain range.
The wind at this height was naturally strong, with a breeze occasionally caressing her slightly tanned but healthy skin, even blowing several strands of her black silky hair, which she had tied up in a bun with a delicately carved wooden hairpin.
"Eight years..." she muttered under her breath.
The language she spoke was not the one from her past life, but the common language of this world—the Phoenix script.
Once known as the Thorn Empress, Seizer of the Throne, Tairyn von Mortist, she had awakened eight years ago to find that her story was not yet finished.
A brand new arc had begun and awaited her.
With a fresh start in a completely new world—and even a new name—could she finally achieve the perfect life she realized she had never truly possessed?
"Xuelian!" A voice snapped her back to reality.
She turned her gaze toward the source of the voice and found a tan-skinned boy, whose complexion suggested he had spent too much time under the sun, bordering between black and tan, with three distinct hollowed front teeth.
"What are you doing? Come on, it's getting late! The aunties must be waiting for us!" the boy shouted.
The girl, now known as Mao Xuelian, looked up at the sun, which was directly overhead, and at the basket of twigs on her back as well as the one on the boy's back.
Mao Xuelian put on a wide, cheerfully innocent smile—reminiscent of how Isabella used to smile back then. It was a cute, girlish smile without any trace of the calculating and cold personality she had previously possessed.
"It's my first time going out of the village, so I can't help but stare at everything!" she said with a pleasant giggle.
Lao You, the boy, stared at Mao Xuelian's smiling face for a bit longer than necessary before turning away with a huff.
"It's nothing once you get used to it!" he said, slightly annoyed.
He then turned and continued up the path towards the top of the short mountain, where their village was located—Li Village.
"Ah, wait!" Mao Xuelian jogged slightly to catch up with Lao You, who was quickening his pace to hide his flushed face.
However, as mere children going out of the village for the first time, their stamina was limited. It wasn't long before they both slumped down near a large stone close to the cliff, which marked the halfway point to their village.
"I've always wondered... don't you think that building a village at the mountain summit is a bit too... inconvenient?" Mao Xuelian complained, catching her breath.
Lao You was in no better shape. He leaned against the large stone to escape the scorching sun while fanning himself with his palm to chase away the heat.
"What's 'inconvenient'? Don't use these difficult words, please. I don't understand," he frowned at Mao Xuelian's unfamiliar vocabulary.
Mao Xuelian sighed and gave him a sidelong glance, pouting slightly before continuing, "That's why I said you should listen more to my mom's teachings, you idiot Youyou!"
Lao You was accustomed to Mao Xuelian's occasional remarks, so he kept his mouth tightly shut—no comments from him.
Nonetheless, she'd explain it anyway.
"Inconvenient is meaning... um... when you have a forest right behind your village, but you choose to gather twigs in the valley instead. It's like having a closer place but must go to a far-off one instead. Got it?"
As expected, Mao Xuelian ended up explaining the meaning of the word herself, but only after she had cooled down a bit from the heat.
"I think I got it..." Lao You replied, scratching the back of his head.
"No, you don't," Mao Xuelian retorted flatly, having seen through his puzzled expression.
...
After a brief rest, the two continued to ascend the mountain path.
It was when the sun had moved slightly toward the west that they finally arrived at the village gate.
The uncles who guarded the gate congratulated the two on their success in gathering twigs for the first time.
Li Village was a hidden village located at the southern edge of the Copper Cloud Continent, near the Serpent Sea and beyond the White Mountain Range. Very few people came to or chose to reside there due to the extremely cold winters, making the village as peaceful as ever. The guards would not have been necessary if it weren't for the beast cave on the other side of the mountain.
The residents of this small, hidden village were few. There were only 26 houses and 34 households, ranging from elderly couples to newly married ones.
As a former Thorn Empress who had once ruled over a powerful nation in a world, Mao Xuelian could easily remember all the villagers' names as well as the village's social and currency systems.
The village was almost forsaken by the outside world, so coins held little value in the eyes of the residents. They relied on the most basic form of currency: barter. For example, if someone wanted extra twigs for winter, they would exchange them for meat. It was outdated, but a fair way of trade.
Li Village was also quite self-sufficient. They had people who could knit clothes, enough livestock such as sheep and chickens, farms, and rice fields. There were even carpenters and roof tile makers. The only thing the village lacked was a higher level of education, which had recently been addressed by the arrival of Mao Xuelian's mother.
As Mao Xuelian filled her mind with thoughts about the village, she carried the basket right behind Lao You. They only needed about 30 minutes to reach the center of the village.
There they found a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her twenties, although she was actually over thirty. Three children, ages four to six, were sitting around her on an animal skin carpet.
Mao Xuelian immediately raised her hands and waved upon seeing her mother's charming figure, her lips forming a sweet smile.
"Mom! I'm back!" she shouted cheerfully, drawing everyone's attention as she ran toward the woman.
The woman turned toward Mao Xuelian and smiled gently.
"Xue'er," she called tenderly.
This woman's name was Mao Yan. Eight years ago, she arrived in this village with Mao Xuelian sleeping in her embrace. Her origins were unknown, but she was more intelligent than any of the villagers who often got scammed by the wandering martial artists and peddlers who passed through the village.
At least that was all the villagers knew about this beautiful and kind mother.
"Sister Xue!" a little girl, around four, called out cheerfully and waved her hands.
"Sister Xuelian and Brother You are back!" a boy of five waved enthusiastically as well.
The last child, however, simply nodded at them and shifted his focus back to the question that Mao Yan posed.
Only after Mao Xuelian and Lao You reached her did Mao Yan clap her hands and say, "Well done, you two!"
Mao Xuelian silently reminded herself that her mother's name was not actually Mao Yan as she set down her basket of twigs and jumped into her mother's embrace.