Chapter 1 It was my tenth year of being adopted by the Sterling family. The true heiress returned, riddled with injuries and illnesses. Looking at the old scars on his biological sister's wrists, my brother Arthur's gaze toward me grew increasingly cold. My adopted parents, who had originally planned to send me abroad to study, hesitated. Arthur, however, made the decision for them with a cold sneer. "Since she took Mia's place and enjoyed a life of luxury all these years, she can stay and be Mia's lifelong maid to atone for her sins." Later, Arthur forced me to marry him. For the five years of our marriage, he found every possible way to torture me, making me donate blood and act as a human guinea pig for the true heiress. Until that massive fire. Without a moment's hesitation, he scooped up the true heiress and charged out of the flames, leaving me locked inside the room to burn to death. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I was adopted at the orphanage. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, dressed in haute couture, stood before me, their eyes full of parental affection: "This child looks so bright and lively. We'll take her." A violent shudder ran through my entire body. The next second, I grabbed a fistful of mud from the ground and shoved it into my mouth, drooling and giggling idiotically at them: "Hehe, meat... yummy... so yummy..." "Hehe, meat... yummy... so yummy..." I crammed that ball of foul-smelling, black mud into my mouth, my teeth grinding audibly against the grit. Muddy water dribbled down the corners of my mouth, dripping onto the yellowed collar of my old orphanage uniform. The maternal affection on the wealthy woman's face froze instantly. It looked like she had just swallowed a dead fly. She recoiled in disgust, taking a half-step back, her designer heels clicking sharply against the concrete floor. "Director, is this child... mentally impaired?" The orphanage director, sweating profusely, reached out to wipe my face. "No, Mrs. Sterling! Nora is usually the smartest child here. I don't know what's gotten into her today..." I violently swatted the director's hand away. I wiped my mud-caked hands directly onto the wealthy woman's ridiculously expensive custom skirt. Mumbling incoherently, I cried out: "Mommy... hug... hungry..." Mrs. Sterling shrieked, frantically swatting at her skirt as if she had just been infected by a deadly virus. The teenage boy who had been standing silently to the side finally spoke up. Arthur. The brother who had personally shoved me into hell in my previous life. He looked down at me from his towering height, his eyes assessing me like a pile of unrecyclable trash. "Mom, let's go." "Bringing a filthy thing like this home will only upset Mia." "There are plenty of kids in the orphanage. Pick a clean one." Mrs. Sterling, still visibly shaken, pulled out a silk handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth. "What awful luck. She looks decent enough, but turns out she's a retard." They turned on their heels and left, without a single backward glance. I kept up my idiotic giggling. Only when that black Maybach completely disappeared from sight did I slowly drop the foolish act. "Ptui." I spat the mud out of my mouth. It was incredibly bitter. But compared to the agony of my previous life—having my blood drained and being burned to a crisp crisp—this little bit of mud was nothing. The director poked my forehead, furious at my failure to seize the opportunity. "You stupid brat! That was the Sterling family, the richest family in the city! Such an incredible opportunity, and you completely blew it!" "Do you have any idea how many people would kill for that position?!" I watched the direction the Sterling's car had gone, my eyes as cold as ice. That position? The position of being a living blood bank, a guinea pig for experimental drugs, and a punching bag for the true heiress? Whoever wants it can have it. In this life, my only goal is to send them straight to hell. From the corner, a timid-looking girl stepped out. She looked at my mud-covered mouth, a flash of mockery and greed in her eyes. It was Chloe. In my past life, she bullied me endlessly at the orphanage. Just now, when the Sterling family was leaving, their gaze had lingered on her for a few seconds. "Nora, you really are an idiot." Chloe smoothed down her ill-fitting dress, smiling smugly. "Since you don't want it, I'll just have to enjoy the Sterling family's wealth in your place." I looked at her as if looking at a dead woman. The corners of my lips curled into an eerie smile. "Be my guest." "I hope you... enjoy it... thoroughly." Chapter 2 Chloe got her wish and was taken away. On the day she left, sitting in that luxury car, she rolled down the window and flipped me the bird. Arthur sat beside her, gently handing her a piece of chocolate with a tender expression. That was a tenderness I had begged for on my knees for three days and three nights in my past life, yet never received. I wasn't jealous. I only found it hilarious. Chloe thought she was going to heaven. Little did she know, she was entering a slaughterhouse disguised as a golden palace. The Sterling family's true heiress, Mia, suffered from a rare blood disorder. She required long-term blood transfusions and constantly needed to test various experimental treatments. The Sterling family didn't adopt a daughter out of the goodness of their hearts. They adopted one to raise an on-call "spare organ." Chloe's blood type, coincidentally, was a perfect match. The motorcade drove away. The orphanage returned to its deathly silence. Because my "crazy episode" had chased away the VIPs, the director punished me by withholding dinner and sending me to the back mountain to gather firewood. As it was getting dark, near an unmarked graveyard on the back mountain, I saw a strange old man. He was wearing a tattered, old-fashioned tunic suit, staring blankly at a weed. I recognized that weed. In my previous life, trying to please Arthur, I had obsessively studied countless medical texts. It was Spanish Needles. Highly toxic, yet a miraculous medicine. The old man seemed to sense my gaze and whipped his head around. His cloudy eyes suddenly shot out a piercing gleam. "Girlie, is this weed edible?" I walked over expressionlessly and stomped a venomous snake to death right next to the weed. "The weed is edible, but you'll die if you eat it." "The snake's gallbladder is edible, and eating it will keep you alive." The old man froze for a second. Then he erupted into a booming, thunderous laugh. "Interesting." "Everyone else thinks I'm dirty, thinks I'm crazy, but you, girlie, you aren't afraid." "Since the Sterling family doesn't want you, I'll take you." The director was eager to get rid of a "retard" like me. When filling out the paperwork, she didn't even verify the old man's identity. Carrying a small, beat-up backpack, I followed the old man out of the orphanage. The old man's name was Silas Vance. Known in the underworld as the "Ghost-Handed Reaper." In my past life, he was an internationally renowned medical genius. Even the Sterling family had offered exorbitant sums just to secure a meeting with him. Unfortunately, in my past life, I was locked in a basement. I only heard his name but never saw his face. In this life. I am his only disciple. Ten years. A full ten years. Deep in the mountains, I lived among venomous insects and medicinal herbs. I tested every herb imaginable and mastered acupuncture techniques that bordered on the supernatural. I also forged a heart colder and harder than a viper's scales. Ten years later. Old Man Vance tossed a gold-foiled invitation at me. "Girlie, your apprenticeship is over." "Go. There's an auction in the city. Bring back that thousand-year snow lotus for me." I caught the invitation. My fingertips gently brushed over the small print that read "Sponsored by Sterling Group." The corners of my lips curved slightly upward. Arthur, Mia. Long time no see. Your "maid" has returned. Chapter 3 The city's most exclusive, top-tier auction. I wore a simple black qipao, the upper half of my face concealed by a silver mask. Only the lower half of my face and my cold, detached eyes were visible. Old Man Vance had given me a fake identity—the miracle doctor, "Nameless." As soon as I entered the venue, I caught a whiff of a familiar, rotting stench. Not literal rot. But the unique stench emanating from the depths of a Sterling family member's soul. In a VIP box on the second floor, Arthur held a glass of wine, looking down at the floor below with careless arrogance. Ten years had passed. He was more mature, and even more cold-blooded. His perfectly tailored suit hugged his tall frame, but it couldn't hide the violence bred into his bones. The woman sitting beside him wasn't Mia. It was a woman so emaciated she looked like a skeleton. Even from this distance, I could see the dense cluster of needle marks and scars covering her wrists. Chloe. The girl who had once strutted so haughtily, eager to enter the Sterling family. Now, she was cowering at Arthur's feet like a dog drained of its life force. She held a peeled grape in her trembling hands, offering it to Arthur's lips. Arthur didn't even look at it; he slapped it away with the back of his hand. The purple juice splattered across Chloe's face. "Disgusting." "Go wash your face. Don't ruin Mia's appetite." Chloe shuddered violently and scrambled on her hands and knees toward the restroom. The surrounding guests turned a blind eye to this. As if she were merely a pet kept by the young master of the Sterling family. I withdrew my gaze and found a seat in a corner. The auction soon began. I had no interest in the initial lots. Until the thousand-year snow lotus was brought out. Starting bid: five million. "Ten million." From the second-floor box, Arthur lazily raised his paddle. The entire hall went silent. Everyone knew the Sterling family's eldest daughter, Mia, was in poor health. This snow lotus was obviously for her. No one dared to bid against the Sterling family. The auctioneer raised his gavel: "Ten million going once, ten million going twice..." "Twenty million." A cold, clear female voice suddenly rang out from the corner. The crowd erupted in murmurs. All eyes zeroed in on me. Arthur's hand, holding his wine glass, paused, and he slowly turned his head. Through the dazzling light of the crystal chandeliers. His gaze wrapped around me like a venomous snake. "Thirty million," he stated coldly. "Fifty million," I didn't even bat an eye. "Eighty million." Arthur's voice carried a distinct edge of anger. "One hundred million." I picked up the teacup in front of me and took a slow sip. "Mr. Sterling, care to keep going?" Arthur abruptly stood up, the wine glass in his hand shattering with a loud crack. Blood mixed with red wine dripped down his hand, a startling sight. He stared at me, his eyes terrifyingly dark. It wasn't about the money. It was about my voice. Even though I deliberately lowered it, even though ten years had passed. Some things are etched into your very bones. "Who are you?" He leaned against the railing, body angled forward, like a wild beast ready to pounce. I set down my teacup, looked up, and gave him a faint smile from behind the mask. That smile. It was no different from the smile I gave ten years ago when I was eating mud at the orphanage. Only the idiocy was gone. Replaced by murderous intent. "Who I am doesn't matter." "What matters is, I'm taking this snow lotus." Chapter 4 After the auction ended, I was cornered in the parking garage. Over a dozen men in black suits surrounded me. Arthur emerged from the shadows, casually flipping a sleek butterfly knife in his hand. The blade danced between his fingers, glinting coldly. "In this town, no one dares to snatch what I have my eye on." He walked up to me, using the tip of the knife to lift a strand of my hair. "Take off the mask." "Let me see which rich heiress is so eager to die." I didn't move. I just looked at him calmly. "Is Mr. Sterling planning to rob me in broad daylight?" Arthur scoffed. "Rob? You flatter yourself." "Leave the lotus, leave a hand, and you can get the hell out of here." He waved his hand, and two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, reaching out to grab my shoulders. In that split second. I moved. It wasn't some flashy, theatrical dodge. It was a lethal, calculated strike aimed directly at a vital point. I grabbed the wrist of the bodyguard on my left and twisted it violently backward. Crack. The sharp sound of bone breaking echoed through the empty parking garage. Immediately following, a side kick sent the bodyguard on my right flying like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily onto Arthur's car. The car alarm blared. Dead silence fell over the garage. The cold smirk on Arthur's face froze. He probably never imagined that a woman who looked so delicate and fragile could strike so ruthlessly. "You..." The remaining bodyguards rushed me all at once. I ripped off the restrictive slit of my qipao, revealing long, toned legs. My body moved like a ghost, weaving through the crowd. With every strike, a man went down. Three minutes. The ground was littered with groaning men. I smoothed my slightly disheveled hair and walked toward Arthur, step by step. Arthur finally panicked. He gripped his butterfly knife tightly and yelled, "Stay back! Do you know who I am?!" "The Sterling family will never let you get away with this!" I walked right up to him and reached out my hand. Under his terrified gaze, I caught the butterfly knife between two fingers. With a slight twist. Snap. The blade, forged from hardened steel, was cleanly snapped in half by my bare hands. Arthur's pupils dilated in shock. He stumbled backward instinctively, tripped, and fell hard to the ground. Looking utterly pathetic. I crouched down, bringing my eyes level with his. I reached up and took off my mask. Revealing a face that was stunningly beautiful, yet incredibly familiar to him. That face slowly merged with the memory of the mud-covered idiot from ten years ago. "Arthur." I called out softly, my tone as gentle as a lover's whisper. "What, it's only been ten years and you don't recognize me?" Arthur looked as if he'd seen a ghost, his face instantly draining of all color. "N... Nora?!" "Weren't you retarded?!" I reached out and patted his stiff cheek, my fingertips icy cold. "Yeah." "Only a retard would let you all bully her." "Only a retard would act as your personal blood bank." "Only a retard would throw her life away for the sake of so-called 'family.'" I stood up, looking down at him from above, my eyes turning completely glacial. The subservience of my past life, the pathetic groveling of my past life. In this moment, it all vanished like smoke in the wind. I planted my foot squarely on his chest, the sharp heel of my stiletto sinking into his flesh. Listening to his muffled groans of pain, I felt an unprecedented surge of satisfaction. "Arthur." "The game has just begun."
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