“Waa—”

The deep, silent forest was broken by a sharp cry. The couple, just cast out by the Moore clan, froze in shock.

Even the baby in the woman’s arms started crying. She looked at the man beside her and said softly, “Husband, go check it out.”

It was her first time being a mother, and that pitiful wail stirred something in her heart.

The man stepped off the carriage. Digging through the grass, he found the abandoned baby girl.

Wrapped in swaddling clothes, the girl instantly stopped crying when she saw him. Instead, she laughed sweetly, reaching out her chubby hands toward him.

He examined her. The baby looked full-term, delicate like a porcelain doll. But it was the silver eyes that stopped him cold.

Those eyes shimmered like stardust from the Milky Way—hauntingly beautiful. Meeting her gaze, he felt as though this child saw straight through him.

He flinched back, heart pounding. A flicker of greenish light lit up in his pupils.

Then he saw it: a glowing golden bone inside her body.

His eyes widened. When realization hit, a wild joy overtook him.

“Destiny Divine Bone, and the Primordial Cursed Eyes… this girl’s been chosen by fate!”

He laughed aloud and scooped the baby up like he’d found a treasure.

The warmth of his arms calmed her. She blinked quietly, gazing up at him with calm curiosity.

The woman pushed aside the curtain and looked out. Her gaze landed on the child, and a flash of sorrow passed through her eyes.

“Such talent, yet thrown away. If only she were ours…”

The man looked up, eyes bloodshot with excitement. “Then our daughter can be saved!”

The woman blinked, not understanding.

He said it with a bright smile, but every word dripped with cruelty.

“Fiona’s born with nothing. That’s why we were cast out. But if we transfer this girl’s Divine Bone and Cursed Eyes into Fiona, she’ll become the blessed child! We’ll return to the clan in glory, power and status at our fingertips!”

The woman hesitated. Her face betrayed pity.

But then her eyes fell on her own daughter’s pale, fragile face. The hesitation vanished.

This baby was pitiful—but hers was too. Just born, already abandoned by her people.

She was her mother. And if there was a way to rewrite fate for her child, she would take it. No matter the price.What’s more, the child being abandoned here clearly showed no one had wanted her. Since that’s the case, death might’ve been a mercy.

Comforting herself with this thought, the woman’s eyes gradually turned resolute.

She faced the man and said, “Maybe this is Heaven taking pity on our daughter, letting us come across this child. Let’s do as you say... and then…”

She pressed her lips together, gaze falling on the baby girl. “Let’s give her a proper burial.”

Soon, the silence of the night was shattered by a baby’s shrill cry. The crying quickly grew hoarse, then faint, until it was drowned out by the steady drizzle and vanished completely.

The wagon wheels creaked over the muddy trail. The baby’s body was flung out, soaking into the puddle below, which swiftly turned red with blood.

On her small, delicate face, her eye sockets were hollow. Her eyes had been violently gouged out, leaving behind gory holes. Blood covered her entire face, and the limpness of her body told of multiple broken bones.

She lay there without breath, her mutilated form beaten down by the rain again and again—yet the rain couldn’t wash away the increasing stench of blood.

Not far from her, a massive ancient tree stirred. A weathered face materialized in the bark. The old figure slowly came closer, regarding the girl with a long sigh. “Such a pitiful little one.”

Branches reached down, gently lifting the child. The tree began to move, carrying her steadily into the depths of the forest.

“Whether you live or not... that’s up to fate now.”

–

Fifteen years later.

Main City, Guanyun Prefecture.

Tap—

As a faint sound echoed, everyone nearby turned their heads toward the girl approaching.

She wore white. Slender frame, a fall of jet-black hair, and a face like carved jade—only half of it was visible. A strip of white cloth covered her eyes, but her exposed features told enough: a straight nose, delicate lips curled faintly upward. She gripped a wooden cane, lightly tapping the ground with each step.

On her thin shoulder perched a palm-sized stone figure. Its face was oddly shaped, features clumsily carved, almost comical.

Its stubby legs swung back and forth, but when it spoke, the voice was unexpectedly sweet and clear.

“Big Sis, do you really have to go back to the White family? I heard those people sent to find you say Sophia White—the girl who stole your name and spot—has been treated like a princess for fifteen years. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“What if they want your heart for her? Or worse, marry you off in her place to some cripple? Or maybe make you take the fall next time she gets into trouble—”

Lila was getting more worked up by the second, nearly bouncing in place.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Where do you get these crazy ideas from?”“In all those storybooks, it’s always like this—Master Sister, you’re the real daughter, unloved, while everyone fawns over the fake one. You probably even have a fiancé who likes the fake daughter better. Then comes the torment, until you finally give up on love and shut everyone out. Only then do they realize your worth and try to win you back!”

Eleanor White let out a soft chuckle. “Sounds amusing. All the more reason for me to return to the White family.”

Besides, she wasn’t here just to acknowledge her bloodline. She had a more pressing reason. To achieve that, she had to reclaim the identity that was rightfully hers—the White family’s young lady.

As she thought, Eleanor stopped someone and asked, “Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the White residence?”

The youth she stopped blushed instantly. He was just about to point in the direction when he remembered she was blind and quickly replied, “Head west—”

Before he could finish, a sharp, arrogant voice cut in.

“Who’s asking about the White family?”

The boy flinched like he’d been struck, shrinking back in fear.

Eleanor turned toward the voice and saw a young man striding over—handsome, rich clothes, eyes full of arrogance. He looked her over from head to toe with a mocking sneer.

“Let me guess—you’re what, my father’s newest mistress?”

Eleanor frowned. “You’re mistaken—”

“Am I?” Victor White interrupted, his smirk deepening. “Women like you, I’ve seen plenty. Show a little skin, climb into the bed of an old man… My father really has no taste now. Even takes in a blind one. Let me tell you, if you’re hoping to get anything from him, dream on. As long as I, Victor White, am around, he won’t give you a damn thing.”

Lila couldn’t take it anymore.

She jumped out, planted her feet, hands on her hips, and shouted, “You blinkered bag of dog crap! Take a long hard look—my Master Sister is divine! Your father? Not even fit to carry her shoes! Mistress? Please. I’ll beat you till you look like one!”

Silence crashed down around them.

Then the whispers started.

“That creature… it’s a demon beast, isn’t it? Born in the Forbidden Grounds. No wonder it’s so wild.”

“To tame a demon as a spirit pet… this girl’s no ordinary lass.”

“Too bad she messed with the White family’s eldest young master. Everyone in Guan Yunzou knows the Whites rule here. Offending him on their turf? Those two are as good as dead.”

The crowd stared at Eleanor and Lila, eyes full of one common thought—

They were doomed.