Chapter 1: Transmigrated?

“Lan Yue? Lan Yue, can you hear me?”

A voice echoed faintly, tugging her back from the darkness. Bethany groaned, her eyelids heavy as if glued shut. She felt someone shaking her shoulders, and after what felt like forever, she finally managed to force her eyes open.

Her vision was hazy at first. Everything looked like shadows blending into light. She blinked a few times, squinting to bring the world into focus.

Two unfamiliar faces hovered above her, their expressions filled with concern.

“Are you alright?” One of them asked gently.

Bethany stared at them in confusion. The first thing she noticed was their clothing, flowing robes, neatly tied sashes, and embroidered patterns that looked like they belonged in a historical costume drama.

She frowned. What the heck were they wearing? Cosplay? Some kind of themed party?

Her head throbbed as she sat up with a groan. “Where am I? Who are you?” she asked, her voice raspy.

Her mind spun as fragmented memories returned.

The last thing she remembered was betrayal. The face of the man she had trusted the most, the one she had actually handed her heart to. Her right hand, her so-called best friend, standing there with cold eyes as they pushed her toward a pack of ravenous zombies.

Her comrades had turned away. People she had fought beside, bled beside… not one lifted a hand to save her. They abandoned her without hesitation.

The memory was so sharp she could almost hear the snarls, feel the bite of teeth closing in.

Bethany clutched at her chest, her breath uneven. So that’s how I died? Thrown away like trash?

It really was a world where everyone only looked out for themselves. In the face of life and death, things like trust, friendship, and loyalty meant nothing.

When survival was on the line, they didn’t even hesitate… They threw her away like she was nothing.

They sacrificed her. Just to live another day.

Bethany should have died. She clearly remembered the sharp claws, the burning pain, and the cold dread as those monsters tore into her flesh. The agony. The fear. The betrayal.

She should be dead.

So why… was she alive?

She blinked, confused, as her surroundings slowly came into focus. The two girls in strange outfits were whispering nearby.

One of them leaned closer, concern in her eyes. “Should we inform the mistress?”

The taller one nodded slightly. “Go ahead. I’ll stay with her.”

The first girl left quietly.

And the moment she was gone, the taller girl’s expression changed like flipping a switch.

The kindness vanished.

In its place was something cruel and cold. She looked down at Bethany with pure contempt.

“Why are you still alive?” she spat. “You should have died. Just die already.”

Bethany, “…”

She tilted her head slightly, keeping her tone innocent. “Excuse me… do I know you?”

That simple question made the girl’s face twist in anger. A vein popped on her forehead.

“Keep pretending! Just wait, don’t think you’ll survive for long!”

Bethany raised an eyebrow, eyes narrowing slightly. The taller servant girl in front of her was practically radiating hatred. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes, and her tone was filled with venom.

But the strange thing was… Bethany had no idea who this girl was.

She was sure of it.

Before she could ask more or figure out what was going on, the other servant returned. This time with someone else.

A girl walked in, elegant and composed, with a cold and unreadable expression on her face. Her presence immediately changed the atmosphere in the room.

“Get up and greet the mistress!” the taller servant snapped, glaring at Bethany like she’d committed a grave sin by sitting there.

Mistress?

Bethany stayed seated, confused and unwilling to move. What mistress?

The cold girl waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine,” she said, her tone emotionless. Then she turned to Bethany, eyes sharp and calculating.

“Do you remember what happened before you lost consciousness?”

Bethany blinked. Her voice was calm when she answered, “I was… eaten by zombies.”

The room fell silent.

“Zombies?” one of the servant girls echoed, puzzled. “What’s that?”

Bethany stared at her. Was she serious?

The taller servant quickly spoke up, “My lady, it seems she must have lost her memory when she hit her head. She’s speaking nonsense.”

The girl referred to as ’mistress’ looked thoughtful, then sighed. “If she can’t remember, then we won’t be able to figure out who the killer was.”

Killer?

Bethany’s head spun. Killer? Mistress? Ancient clothes? No one knows what zombies are?

What in the actual hell was happening?

Her gaze wandered around the room for the first time. The space was dim and cramped, the walls damp with age. The air smelled faintly of mold and herbal medicine. Furniture was sparse—an old wooden bed, a rough bench, a small table with a single flickering candle. No humming machines, no neon lights, no scraps of technology. Everything looked… ancient.

Bethany’s lips parted in disbelief. Don’t tell me… did I really travel through time?

Now that she thought about it more carefully, something about this scene felt oddly familiar.

Bethany squinted, her eyes landing on the girl everyone kept calling ’mistress’. There was something about her. Something she couldn’t shake.

Tall and elegant, with a waterfall of long black hair. Her eyes were cold, dark, and unreadable like deep pools of ink that had drowned countless secrets. There was calculation in the way she looked at people, every glance sharp as a blade.

Even though she wore plain robes that looked almost too simple for her supposed status, the aura around her was undeniable. That quiet, commanding presence… the kind that made people lower their heads without even realizing it.

Yes, she was beautiful, breathtakingly so but not in the soft, delicate way of pampered ladies. Hers was the kind of beauty edged with frost and danger, the kind that promised she would rise above anyone who tried to step on her.

Bethany’s heart skipped a beat. Wait a minute. She… she looks exactly like…

Her eyes widened.

Don’t tell me. I transmigrated into my favorite xianxia novel?!

The title flashed in her mind like a slap: “Crimson Blossoms Under Heaven.”

And if she remembered correctly. This girl, this cold beauty before her, could only be one person.

Zhao Lingxi.

The infamous heroine of the novel.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep