DEATH was inevitable.
Every life was destined to end. Where there was life, there was death. Without life, death itself had no meaning.
Lily had never wondered what awaited her after death.
Nor did she particularly care.
What mattered to her was not death itself—
But how she would meet it.
Every human would eventually reach the end of their life. Why, then, should one fear death?
If there was anything worth fearing...
It was dying without dignity.
Unfortunately, Lily had already failed that standard twice.
During her first life, she died because of complacency.
Her second life was somehow even worse.
She regained the memories of her first life the moment she was born. Unfortunately, while her mind remembered being an adult, her body was still that of a toddler.
Convinced she knew what she was doing, she wandered into the mountain by herself.
A, whoever, beast disagreed.
Then, she was mauled to death.
Needless to say, it was not a dignified way to die.
Now, she was seven years old once again.
It took an entire day for her to sort through the memories of three timelines and remember exactly where she was in her life.
The headache had been unbearable.
Fortunately, one familiar sight settled her confusion almost immediately.
Her Sixth Brother had fallen from a horse and fractured a bone.
Only then did she remember.
She was seven years old.
And in exactly one month...
She, her two older brothers, and her two younger brothers would undergo the Soul Core Trial.
Upon reaching the age of seven, children from every household—whether noble or common—would undergo testing at the Astraea Preparatory Academy to determine whether they possessed a Soul Core and could cultivate.
Lily had already been seven for several months. However, her two younger brothers were only a few months younger than she was. Their mother insisted that her sons take the test on the same day as Lily. The mothers of her older brothers had the same idea and waited until Lily turned seven before allowing their children to undergo the Soul Core Trial.
Her Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother were now eight and nine years old, respectively.
Lily didn't care whether she was tested now or later.
The result would still be the same.
She found those concubines rather amusing.
Were they expecting the successor of the Pei Clan to have no Soul Core at all?
Had they lost their brains from scheming too much?
Even if all of them possessed Soul Cores...
So what?
A cultivator's strength depended not only on talent but also on hard work.
If they spent all their time scheming instead of teaching their children properly, she wondered what would become of them in the future.
Lying comfortably on her bed, Lily shook her head.
Tsk. Tsk.
She was about to fall asleep again when someone knocked on her door.
"Seventh Miss, the Clan Head has requested your presence," the butler said softly from behind the door.
Lily let out a long sigh and buried her face in her pillow.
"Tell Father I'm sick," she replied in a muffled voice.
"The Clan Head said that if you continue pretending to be sick, he will send you to the nearest temple to pray for your health."
Lily immediately decided to meet her father.
She could escape from the temple.
The problem was that the saints there were far too enthusiastic about capturing her and bringing her back. She simply didn't have the energy to keep playing hide-and-seek with them.
Upon opening the door, she was greeted by an elderly butler wearing a kind smile.
"Butler Chen, your smile would be much nicer to look at if you knew how to reason with Father on my behalf," Lily said bluntly as she walked past him.
Butler Chen remained smiling as he followed behind her.
"If the Seventh Miss were the Clan Head right now, I would certainly do everything for your sake."
Lily clicked her tongue.
"I'll tell Father about your rebellious thoughts."
The current Clan Head was still alive and vigorous—quite obvious from the number of women he kept bringing into the household—yet this butler dared to say such a thing.
How bold.
Butler Chen merely smiled without commenting.
When they arrived at the Clan Head's study, Butler Chen stood quietly to one side. With a respectful bow, he announced,
"My Lord, the Seventh Miss has arrived."
Without waiting for permission, Lily pushed open the door and entered.
She rolled her eyes the moment she saw one of the concubines serving her father a bowl of soup.
"In this weather, I don't think soup would help much," Lily remarked, staring at the steam rising from the bowl.
Concubine Wei smiled awkwardly, unsure how she should respond.
Lord Pei coughed lightly.
"Don't be rude. Your Concubine Mother's soup is the best there is, "Then, as though recalling a fond memory, his expression softened, "When I first met Concubine Wei, she could prepare all kinds of dishes. But this soup is still her finest."
Concubine Wei blushed.
"As long as my lord enjoys my cooking, this concubine is happy."
Lily could almost see heart-shaped bubbles floating around the two of them.
Unable to endure it any longer, she interrupted.
Did Father call her here just to disgust her?
"Please, if you have nothing to discuss with me, I'll be leaving."
One more look at them and she might actually throw up.
Lord Pei cleared his throat.
"Concubine Wei, Lily and I have something to discuss. I'll visit you later."
Concubine Wei bowed respectfully before taking her leave.
Once the door closed, Lord Pei let out a sigh.
"Concubine Wei is one of the gentlest concubine mothers in this household. Why are you always so rude to her?"
Lily looked at him in bewilderment.
"What do you mean? Don't accuse me unfairly."
"Then why are—"
"I am rude to everyone. I treat them all the same. You can't make an exception and reprimand me just because it's Concubine Wei. Imagine how heartbroken your other concubines would be if they heard you."
"..."
Lord Pei was speechless.
Lily shook her head.
"You should learn from me, Father. I treat them all equally regardless of status or rank. You should do the same. Love them all fairly."
She sat across from her father and looked at him earnestly.
"Let's talk about something else," Lord Pei said, giving up as he waved a hand. "Your Soul Core Trial is approaching. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Suggestions about what?"
"Once the trial is over, we'll hold a banquet. You should take part in the preparations."
"What about your other four children?"
"I've already spoken with their mothers—"
"So you save the most favored and special one for last? What did I tell you about favoritism?"
"Will you let me finish?" Lord Pei could already feel a headache coming on. "Concubine Qin will represent you. If you have anything you'd like to add to the banquet, tell her."
"Oh. That's it?"
Lord Pei glared at her.
"Once the trial is over, your four brothers will enter the academy. But you'll remain under my guidance."
"Noted."
Lily didn't care who taught her.
Hearing his daughter agree without a single complaint made Lord Pei question his own decision.
Normally, even heirs entered the academy.
He had done so himself when he was younger.
But Lily had the habit of refusing to learn anything that didn't interest her. He worried that instead of studying properly, she would create chaos and leave the teachers with endless headaches.
Now...
He was beginning to regret his decision.
Lily might obey him.
But she also loved arguing.
She was already his greatest headache.
What if he handed that same headache over to the academy's teachers?
In the end, he still decided to teach her personally.
Lily watched her father's expression shift from one emotion to another with interest.
He looked as though he were suffering from constipation—worried one moment, relieved the next, then worried all over again.
Whatever he was thinking...
He looked rather amusing.
"Father, how about taking a vacation?" Lily suggested. "You look stressed."
"If you stopped stressing me out, that would be better than any vacation."
"Or perhaps taking a vacation away from me would do you some good."
Lord Pei's face immediately turned blank.
"After being sick for two days, your tongue has become even sharper."
"Well, people learn from experience."
"What experience?"
"I learned to sharpen my tongue through experience."
"Couldn't you have learned something more useful?" Lord Pei said, waving her away. "Anyway, go to Concubine Qin."
"Why?"
"Just go!"
Tsk. Tsk.
How grumpy.
Lily left the study and made her way toward Concubine Qin's courtyard.
Because Lord Pei had so many concubines, the Pei Clan's Main Estate was enormous. The thing Lily hated most was walking around inside it.
She had gotten lost once.
Ever since then, she never visited any of the concubines or her siblings—under Lord Pei's orders—with the sole exception of Concubine Qin.