8. Shi Yu's rebirth

Slowly climbing towards the north, and using her years of experience, Kim was able to quickly find a stream above the mountain forest. It was freezing cold and so clear that she could see some little fish swimming around.

She removed her denim jacket and tied it around her waist before kneeling at the edge of the shallow stream and scooped some water with her hands to wash her face.

 "Woah!"

 The water was ice cold that she felt as if her face had been paralyzed by the stabbing cold. Nevertheless, she felt more alive and her mind was more clear now. She needed to think the way forward, especially to figure out about how to leave the f*cking island. 

With no other belonging on her apart from a dagger and the clothes on her body, Kim shook her head and decided to use her hands to drink water.

 Wait!

Her extended hands froze mid air when something clicked in her mind. Damn. She had almost turned stupid! 

How had she forgotten about her amazing interspace that always came in handy?

She suddenly extended her palm and a white plastic cup appeared on her open palm.

A huge smile plastered on her face when she realized that her space had also transmigrated with her just like her superpowers. She had thought that coming to the 21st century she'd be reborn like a normal human being but discovering that her most beloved allies, her powers and the interspace were now with her, she now practically felt invinsible. No one in this world would be able to lay a hand on her and her loved ones.

She got to thank her old ancient grandfather, the former high priest.

After she had transmigrated to the ancient times, she suddenly became the only granddaughter of a high priest in the dynasty, from whom she inherited the title of the high priestess, her powers and the magical space after his retirement.

 Kimberly drank the refreshing cold water with relish. 

It was clean with no impurities and refreshing. She then conjured an already made sandwich from her space and sat down to eat. She was so hungry since the host hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday's lunch while dealing with the Lees.

 Despite being reborn in different timelines, Kim Lee still felt frightened by how cruel a human would get because of money. 

 The host's aunt second madam Lee was the one who had treated her ( host) well the most.

She was the wife of her foster dad's second brother and they had a single child together. While giving birth to the son, second madam Lee had injured her body thus became bedridden for the rest of her life. In the 20 years, she had always being tortured by different illnesses and for the last year's, her condition worsened. 

The host had sacrificed many nights trying to research about her condition and save her life. Through the host memories, Kim figured out that the aunt was poisoned. The poison was a rare type and very difficult to crack and it's only after successfully researching the antidote did she (host) return to her home country to find a special & rare herb required in the antidote prescription.

 Hah. Despite so much sacrifice and giving her heart to others, the aunt who was already at the deathbed decided to jump ship and unite hands with the other Lees and betrayed her in order to leave her stupid 25 years old son with enough wealth to fool around for the rest of his life.

 Kim Lee sighed helplessly. The host was so capable and multi talented but one thing that drew her back to the mud were her emotions. Despite being a boss of a killer organization, deep down she was still a soft hearted young girl who longed for familial love and acceptance.

 As Zhao Ning in the Zhao family, her mother loathed her with every bone in her body while her father remained indifferent towards her. 

Her eldest sister was the most doted on. Every good thing in the family was reserved for Zhao Meihui without a question.

Part of the reason why her mother hated her the most was that when she was being born, she ( madam Zhao) experienced a difficult labor destroying her womb in the process.

Being in a rich family, old master Zhao valued boys so much over girls thus being unable to give birth to an son that could compete for the family's inheritance was a huge blow for madam Zhao and her husband. Thus all her frustrations, hatred and anger were channeled to the innocent Zhao Ning who was ignored since birth.

 Later in life, the host met a guy that she loved so much and was going to get married to in the future.

He was her only sunshine, her only knight that she hoped could take her away from the hellish home called the Zhao family. She was looking forward to that marriage that would allow her to leave the Zhao home but it turned out that it was all a scam in order to snatch her company shares given by her maternal grandfather.

 Her heart fell into pieces when she also discovered that she wasn't the real second young miss Zhao.

She had not only lost her her home, was betrayed and humiliated by her lover but also found out that all the sufferings, the pain , beatings, tortures and humiliations in the Zhao family for the past 18 years were for nought. All the anger, grievances and hatred poured into her wasn't supposed to be hers, the fake daughter, in the first place. What broke her heart even even more was the fact that her treatment in the Zhao home compared to how the real daughter was treated was treated by everyone was worlds aparts.

 Her snobbish mother welcomed her wholeheartedly, her indifferent father no longer had the scorn and disgust in his eyes while looking at the real daughter. 

She realized that probably the problem had been with her all along, crushing her almost non existent self esteem.

 Thus even after being adopted in the Lees, she always longed for approval and a sense of belonging. She worked tirelessly for the family in order to be noticed & appreciated and feel a part of something in the family.

Fortunately, her adoptive parents loved her wholeheartedly.

The situation changed after they passed away. 

It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed the Lees starting to extend their greedy claws but turned a blind eye on them since they were a family that had accepted her in when she had no where to go or knew who she was.

Unfortunately, her soft & forgiving heart led her to her death giving Kim Lee a chance to reincarnate.

 Kim Lee sighed again her face expressionless. She couldn't rebuke the host for being stupid since all these were part of her destiny. What she could do right now was to avenge her and live a good life for her.

 Suddenly Kim Lee's train of thoughts was broken when she noticed something peculiar.

 A large number of footsteps were traced on the moist soil a few inches away. What caught her attention was that the barefoot footsteps seemed fresh as if they had appeared probably an hour ago or so. Kim shook her head. She was already an old antique who had travelled for hundreds of years thus she was well aware about several things.

 In such a large & dense island forest, it provided the best location for most criminal activities. It wouldn't come as a surprise to discover a number of hidden illegal activities going on here.

 As someone who lived the life of a lone wolf, Kim at first didn't intend to mind other people's businesses as long as it didn't concern her but something kept itching her to take a look.

 As a former high priestess and a top notch mercenary, she had never had a second thought concerning her intuition. 

Kim narrowed her eyes, rose on her feet and began to follow the footsteps.

 As she went further, she realized that there were dozens of landmines buried underneath the ground obviously to keep intruders at a bay.