Mountains shrouded in darkness, yellow flames flickered and danced while devouring the mountain villa accompanied by countless screams as they echoed through the silent valley.

A 14-year-old girl, staring blankly at the sight, with a fire torch in one hand.

The ravenous flames engulfed everything leaving only the crackling sound of burnt wood.

Burned, all burned.

This evil cage has disappeared.

At last, this prison for the past 10 years has now turned into a sea of flames.

[Where are we going?]

A tender voice softly asked as the little black cat sitting on the girl’s shoulder looked at her intently with a pair of clear eyes as it licked it’s paws.

“Anywhere will do, as long as it’s out of here.” The girl gave a last look at her masterpiece, turned and walked toward the mountains, as the sound of broken chains rattled restricting her slender ankles as she walked on emotionlessly onto the rugged jungle path.

Just as she turned, a body wrapped in flames rushed out from within the chaos, with eyes filled with a hint of madness staring fixedly at the back view fading into the darkness, when an ear piercing scream rang through the air.

“Wu Xie! Come back! You can never get out of here! You belong to me!”

More than ten years of hard work engulfed into nothingness.

The girl calmly stopped in her tracks as she turned around to see the man swallowed by the flames, she coldly said: “You are dying, while I still live.”

The man was screaming in anguish . As she gave a last look at her greatest nightmare, she coldly said: “Farewell, Grandfather.”

The little black cat sitting on the girl’s shoulder gave a contemptuous ridicule and sneered. Grandfather?

For someone who was obsessed in studying medicine, a madman who locked his own granddaughter up deep within the mountains using her as a guinea pig , what right did he have to be it’s owner’s grandfather?

[Mistress, what are your plans?]

Ignoring that voice which was gradually engulfed by the flames, the little black cat asked the girl.

She looked at her slender hands and softly answered, “To test for a veterinary license.”

[Ha ha ha! That old man, if he knew that you, a peerless genius in the medical field actually want to be a vet, he would certainly not rest in peace!] Exclaimed the cat as it was laughing hysterically on the girl’s shoulder.

“He won’t rest in peace?” The girl’s eyes were downcast as her lips slightly brought back a hint of a smile almost.

A year later, she settled in City A and obtained a veterinary license, and went on the path of treating animals.

……

Life is very unpredictable. Just a moment before, she was still in the operating room performing a surgery, however there was a sudden explosion, and she fell into darkness.

Heavy rain poured down as she stirred. She found herself lying on some rocks as she gave a calm judgment of the current situation.

She was in a strange new world, replacing a dying soul and as she searched the fragments of foreign memories that flooded her mind, she came to realize that this new ‘her’ was also known as the Wu Xie, but with a surname, Jun. Jun Wu Xie.

Lin Wang’s granddaughter – notoriously known as the overly pampered Young Miss of the Lin Palace. Arrogant, haughty and unreasonable, everyone was a miniscule existence in her eyes, royalty included.

Lin Wang and the founding Emperor of the Kingdom went way back. They had a great relationship and they even swore an oath to the heavens to be sworn brothers. When the Kingdom of Qi was formed, the founding Emperor personally granted Jun Xian a grand title, ‘Lin Wang’ which rendered him power almost akin to the royalty.

In the whole kingdom, it is one of the most revered place, even the current Emperor has to be courteous to them. Lin Wang has two sons, however his extreme doting of his granddaughter Jun Wu Xie has reached a pinnacle. When she took a liking to the Second Prince, Lin Wang coerced the Emperor to have the Second Prince and his granddaughter betrothed.

However, this arrogant woman was now lying on some jagged rocks in such a sorry state, if not for Wu Xie’s soul, she would just be a dead body dumped in the wilderness.

[Both legs fractured, three broken ribs on the left side, dislocated right wrist…Falling from such a height, this body has miraculously survived.]

Another voice in the body of Jun Wu Xie sounded, it was the familiar voice of the little black cat which accompanied her for more than a decade and surprisingly it was in the same body.

“Still alive.” Jun Wu Xie muttered as she lay on the rocks without any hint of pain on her face, as if the physical pain had nothing to do with her.

[Congratulations Mistress, you’ve escaped death once again.] Black smoke seeped out from Jun Wu Xie’s chest and condensed into a little black cat, strutting at her side.

She survived a calamity however she was still hovering near death’s door.

She felt her energy slowly seeping away as she shuddered from the torrential downpour which was raining down hard on her body.

She needed to find a place to shelter from the rain quickly before her body temperature drops further! Luckily, there was a cave under the low cliffs nearby.

Relying on her two hands and the sole thought of survival, she dragged herself in the direction of the cave.

Her tattered clothes, soaked in sweat and drenched in the downpour, hung from her battered frame. Crimson blood trailed along the path from the wounds on her legs, washed away from the merciless rain hammering down upon the small crawling figure. The little black cat gave occasional nudges as encouragement as they made their way towards the cave.

Having mustered every ounce of strength she had left in her frail body, although the distance wasn’t far, it was an enduring feat.

With such an amount of injuries and over a rough terrain, even those with high endurance would have fainted numerous times.

When she finally reached the dark cave, her face was deathly pale, void of any colour.

Huddled against the walls of the cold cave, finally free from the barrage of the rain, she let out a small sigh of relief. Suddenly a ghostly voice came from within that deep dark cave.

[Wh..Who is it?]

The black cat asked in a scared voice, body arched, as it lunged itself in front of Wu Xie.

“Go take a look.” Wu Xie choked out as she knew her current predicament. Alone in such an environment without any medical equipments, she’s unable to carry out her own treatment hence she can only look for other possibilities.

Having another person around to help her would be best.

Leading the way, the little black cat inched closer towards the source of the sound. In the darkness, Wu Xie felt the presence of another person.

“You’re about to die.” A masculine voice doused with a trace of playfulness came from above her head.

Although Wu Xie was unable to see the man’s appearance in the darkness, she could clearly hear familiar sounds of the metallic clanging of chains.

This man was chained? Beneath the depths of this desolate cliff?

As soon as it heard the man’s voice, the little black cat immediately turned into a wisp of smoke and hurriedly fled into Wu Xie’s body. This man was dangerous!

“You’re chained up?” Wu Xie totally disregarded his tone of voice as her mind only echoed a single thought, this man can help her. All she needed was ……his freedom of movement.

“Ah? You mean these small things?” The man in the dark was pulling chains, a deep magnetic voice echoed in the dark caves, “I guess so.”

“I’ll free you… but you’ll have to save me.” Wu Xie stuttered as she struggled to get the words out. She was trembling from all the cold and pain. Her body temperature was falling dangerously low and her battered body which was riddled with severe injuries wouldn’t hold up if she didn’t do anything soon.

The man in the dark kept quiet, he seemed surprised that this half dead girl would say such words.

‘Silence means consent’ Wu Xie self-reasoned as she had no other alternatives so she decided to gamble on this chance.

As she groped around in the darkness, she leaned on the man and pulled out a thin pin from her hair. She was a doctor, not a thief. That fool had once performed this trick for her, she wasn’t sure if she could pull it off.

Wu Xie’s little hands tried to reach for the chains as she fumbled around in the dark. From a doctor’s perspective, she could ‘feel’ that this man’s physique was exceptional.

Using her last shred energy, Wu Xie attempted to free the man with her poor skills. She had never felt so clumsy in her life.

With all her toiling efforts, she finally unlocked one! This effort had left her breathing heavily as she struggled to keep her consciousness from fading.

“As per your wish.” The man finally spoke with an enigmatic deep smile, his deep masculine voice echoed throughout the cave.

Before she could even react, ‘click’… ‘click’… ‘click’, a series of broken metal sounded around her. He broke free from the other three shackles as she felt some warmth as he pulled her into his arms as he embraced her.

He gently lifted her up and carried her as he trudged along towards the light.

Outside, the rain continued to fall relentlessly.

Although the weather was gloomy, it was daytime and just this little light was enough to show off his exquisite face. The man’s high cheekbones, perfectly accentuated his face along with his long satin hair casually draping down. As the crystal clear rainwater ran down his neck, it was God’s most outstanding work.

The man was looking up at the sky, when felt a gaze from her, he bowed his head slightly, violet eyes slightly narrowed, his lips breaking into a smile.

Wu Xie looked on indifferently into that pair of purple eyes, without any trace of expression. The rain was falling on her pale cheeks as she calmly watched him.

He raised his eyebrow slightly. Her unusually calm demeanour was a refreshing reaction.

This is the first time someone didn’t scream and panic when they saw his eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid?” He asked in his deep husky voice.

“I’m about to die” Wu Xie reminded him matter-of-factly. Her dark eyes, looked deeply into that pair of purple eyes, without any hint of desperation or fear, but rather with a clear gaze, as though the death she was talking about wasn’t her own.