The Wife of the Sect Master Who Died Ten Years Ago Is Reborn (GL) - Chapter 1

Above the Ascension Platform, lightning flashed through thick, dark clouds. The sky suddenly shifted as if foretelling the imminent arrival of the Heavenly Tribulation.

This was the scene that greeted Qi Zhi when she awoke.

Bolts of lightning, long and short, slashed across the sky like celestial blades. With a deafening thunderclap, a bolt of heavenly lightning struck the ground not far from Qi Zhi. She smelled the acrid, burning scent that lingered afterward—a foul, pungent odor.

Why am I here?

Qi Zhi gazed around in confusion, unable to recall how she had come to the Ascension Platform. What had she done before losing consciousness? Why couldn’t she remember anything?

“You’re finally awake.”

A raspy voice sounded beside her. Qi Zhi turned to see a man in a blue robe standing nearby. He appeared to be in his fifties, flanked by two disciples dressed in pale blue.

“Sect Master Mosheng…?” Qi Zhi frowned, looking at the man in bewilderment. “Where am I? Why am I on the Ascension Platform?”

Sect Master Mosheng regarded her with a cold expression. “Qi Zhi,” he said calmly, “for the past three years, you have been Gu Tingshuang’s Dao Companion. Today, you will face the Lightning Tribulation in her stead.”

Face the Lightning Tribulation…?

Qi Zhi heard every word Sect Master Mosheng spoke clearly, yet when they were put together, she couldn’t understand. Why would she have to undergo Gu Tingshuang’s Lightning Tribulation? Was Gu Tingshuang about to ascend? But why was Qi Zhi the one facing the tribulation?

Bound to the Ascension Platform, Qi Zhi felt her strength slowly returning.

Sect Master Mosheng said, “Your constitution is remarkably similar to Gu Tingshuang’s. Once you became her Dao Companion, you could bear the Heavenly Tribulation in her stead. Otherwise, why do you think Gu Tingshuang, who cultivates the Path of Severing Love and Emotion, would ever be with you? She only wanted you to undergo this tribulation for her.”

What does he mean?

Sect Master Mosheng’s words implied… that Qi Zhi had been manipulated from the very beginning, all for the sake of helping Gu Tingshuang overcome her Lightning Tribulation?!

Qi Zhi suddenly understood. She understood why Gu Tingshuang had always been so cold and distant despite their three years together, why she had heard rumors of Gu Tingshuang’s beloved, yet Qi Zhi had stubbornly believed that she would be the one spending her days with Gu Tingshuang, that Gu Tingshuang would eventually forget whoever else was in her heart.

She never imagined…

Qi Zhi never imagined that Gu Tingshuang had never intended to be with her in the first place. All those years of living together, all those nights sharing a bed—it had all been a performance, a play acted out for her benefit!

Sect Master Mosheng, seeing that Qi Zhi seemed to understand something, sneered.

“After you die,” he said to her, “I’ll have Gu Tingshuang set up a memorial tablet for you. You were her first wife, and you took the Lightning Tribulation in her place. You deserve a tablet.”

Qi Zhi shook her head. To die for a woman and receive only a flimsy memorial tablet in return?!

“I refuse!” Qi Zhi glared at Sect Master Mosheng, struggling against the runes binding her. “I won’t face this Lightning Tribulation! She doesn’t love me! Why should I take her tribulation?! Gu Tingshuang has been lying to me from the start!”

How had she fallen so low for a single smile from years ago? Qi Zhi didn’t understand. She had simply fallen in love with Gu Tingshuang. Why had it come to this?!

But Sect Master Mosheng ignored her cries and resolutely left the Ascension Platform.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, signaling the imminent arrival of the Lightning Tribulation. As Qi Zhi watched the first bolt descend toward her, she finally grasped the truth: Gu Tingshuang had never loved her.

But it was too late.

Three bolts of lightning. Qi Zhi wouldn’t survive.

In the chaos, time lost all meaning. The Lightning Tribulation served only to remind her of the agony she had endured. The pain seared through her flesh, almost reaching her soul, her body burning away in an instant.

Qi Zhi felt she had never experienced such pain in her life. Her heart ached, her body throbbed, and even her soul was in agony.

Qi Zhi’s soul wandered for a long time. One day, she suddenly opened her eyes, still writhing in pain, only to see an unfamiliar ceiling beam.

Am I… still alive?

Qi Zhi lay in bed, puzzled. That shouldn’t be possible. My magic is weak; I should have died without a doubt during the Lightning Tribulation. Besides, I sensed my soul wandering the mortal realm for ages. How did I suddenly wake up?

Hmm, maybe it was just a nightmare.

Qi Zhi closed her eyes again, deciding to rest properly. But as soon as she did, a sharp pain shot through her head, followed by memories that weren’t her own, flooding her mind. They were chaotic and agonizing.

Clutching her head, Qi Zhi finally opened her eyes again after the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

What the hell…?

Dazed, Qi Zhi sat up in bed, surveying her surroundings. The room was meticulously clean, sparsely furnished yet complete with essentials: a table and chairs, a screen, a desk, and the intricately carved bed she lay on.

She picked up the bronze mirror from the bedside and gazed at the unfamiliar woman reflected within. Finally, she understood: she was truly dead, and this body belonged to someone else.

Qi Zhi had always been terrified of ghosts. As a child, she would hear storytellers at tea stalls recount tales of spirits and the supernatural, leaving her too frightened to sleep at night. Yet now, she had awakened as a living ghost herself.

The original owner of this body had performed a forbidden technique the previous day, sacrificing her life force. By sheer chance, Qi Zhi’s soul had stumbled upon this vacant vessel and, like a cuckoo in another bird’s nest, claimed it as her own, awakening within it.

Qi Zhi studied the person in the mirror: a young face with pale skin and a slender frame. Long, jet-black hair cascaded down her back, while dark circles under her eyes hinted at exhaustion. She tested the body’s movements.

Hmm, her magical power is the same as in her previous life—virtually nonexistent.

Setting down the mirror, Qi Zhi put on her shoes and paced the room. The body responded to her commands, but the sudden transformation into a ghost still frightened her.

Knock, knock, knock.

A crisp female voice called from outside the door, “Miss, are you awake? It’s time to wash up.”

Qi Zhi paused, slightly surprised. The original owner of this body had also been named Qi Zhi—what a coincidence!

“I’m awake,” Qi Zhi called out to the person outside. “Come in.”

With a creak of the door, a young girl, around fifteen or sixteen years old, entered the room. She glanced at Qi Zhi and said anxiously, “Miss Qi Zhi, your dark circles are so pronounced! Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

If only she knew, Qi Zhi thought. It wasn’t just a bad night’s sleep—I nearly lost my life.

“I’m fine,” Qi Zhi replied, wanting to avoid trouble. She looked at the girl and the basin in her hands. “You can put that down. I’ll manage myself.”

The girl didn’t argue. After setting down the basin, she began tidying Qi Zhi’s bedding.

Once Qi Zhi had finished washing up, the girl said, “Miss Shang has emerged from seclusion today. They say she’s broken through to the Ninth-Layer Realm. Won’t you go visit her?”

Qi Zhi knew that the “Miss Shang” the girl referred to was her fiancée. The original owner of this body and the Shang family had been betrothed since childhood. Unfortunately, Qi Zhi’s family had gradually declined, and while her fiancée hadn’t broken off the engagement, she hadn’t been particularly kind to Qi Zhi either.

Qi Zhi inherited only fragmented memories from her predecessor, mostly from the past few months. She knew that the original owner had visited Miss Shang, her betrothed, a few days earlier, only to be verbally abused and sent away in disgrace. Now that Miss Shang had emerged from seclusion, Qi Zhi considered her options and decided to stay away.

Less trouble is better than more, she thought. Besides, I still don’t fully understand this body.

Qi Zhi shook her head. “No need,” she told the young maid.

The maid nodded, basin in hand. “Then I’ll go prepare Miss’s breakfast. Please get dressed quickly, or you’ll miss morning practice.”

Watching the maid leave, Qi Zhi rose and changed into the robes laid out on the bed. She styled her hair into a simple cloud-bun updo, skipped makeup, and pushed open the door.

Qi Zhi froze, her eyes widening. Before her loomed Yuezong Mountain, the towering peak of the Qianyue Sect. Scanning her surroundings, she realized she was within the sect’s territory.

Suddenly, she remembered the maid mentioning Miss Shang’s breakthrough to the Ninth-Layer Realm. Isn’t that the Nine Swords Art of the Qianyue Sect’s Inner Sect?

Qi Zhi felt her head explode with a deafening buzz. She never imagined she would circle back to the Qianyue Sect, the very place where she had met her death and annihilation.

“Gu Tingshuang…”

Clutching her chest, Qi Zhi thought of that woman. After all these years, what had she become?

The Lightning Tribulation at the Ascension Platform had cost Qi Zhi her life. Now, having barely survived by inhabiting another’s body, she dared not approach Gu Tingshuang again.

No matter how deeply she had once loved her, she had already died once. There was no need to rush to offer up a second life.

Gazing at the Qianyue Sect from afar, Qi Zhi turned decisively, resolving to find a way to leave this place first.

She followed the bluestone path, passing through scenery she had never seen before. Yuezong Mountain had always been surrounded by deep mountains and gorges, so what was this peaceful market town?

Qi Zhi remembered that the nearest town to the Qianyue Sect required a quarter-hour’s flight by sword to reach.

How many years have I been dead? Qi Zhi wondered. This town looked like it had been inhabited for quite some time—it definitely hadn’t been built in just a year or two.

She pondered the question, but couldn’t come up with an answer. Just then, she spotted a tea stall across the street. The stall owner was a storyteller, and it was said that tea stalls were the best places to gather information. This one was likely no different.

With that thought, Qi Zhi walked over, pulled a tael of silver from her waist, and took a seat.

But the moment she sat down, she heard a familiar name.

The storyteller cleared his throat and announced to the crowd.

“Gu Tingshuang, the twenty-first Sect Master of the Qianyue Sect! Her master, Sect Master Mosheng, disappeared ten years ago. To speak of this remarkable woman, one must mention her beloved wife…”

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