TGCFNM – Chapter 1 Transmigrated into a Book

Midnight, twelve o’clock.

Chu Ling flicked her thumb to turn another page of the novel and finally reached the prelude to the finale of Fated Phoenix Sovereign. The self-destructive supporting female character, Chu Ling, was shot through the heart by an arrow and died beneath the trampling hooves of a chaotic army—miserable beyond measure.

“This supporting character really knew how to jump around. She’s finally dead. Just unlucky that her name sounds the same as mine,” Chu Ling muttered.

She casually flipped another page, only to find that the author hadn’t updated—just a single line: To be continued.

Rubbing her sore neck, Chu Ling placed her phone on the bedside table. Her hand slipped, and the phone fell to the floor.

Too lazy to turn on the light, she groped around in the dark. Suddenly, the room shook. A huge framed art photograph hanging above the bed crashed down with a loud bang. Her vision went black.

Late night, at the hour of Zi.

The maid Cui Xi rushed into the room in a panic, stumbling and crawling. When she saw the figure hanging from the beam, she instinctively let out a piercing scream.

“Ah—!”

The person hanging there had a frail body and a deathly pale face. The usually sly, phoenix-shaped eyes now looked as though they had been hoisted high, terrifying to behold.

The official robe on her body hung loosely, swaying like a drifting, lonely soul—ghastly and unsettling.

The constables who followed behind widened their eyes and collapsed to the floor, pointing at the hanging figure as if their souls had fled.

“Cu… Sister Cui Xi, m-my lord, m-my lord hhe…”

Suppressing the terror in her heart, Cui Xi hurriedly ordered them to take the person down. Trembling, she stepped forward and checked her breathing—

Eh? She’s still breathing!

“Quick, quick—find a doctor! Go get a doctor to see the little—my lord!” Cui Xi waved them off frantically, tears streaming down her face in fear.

At this moment, stimulated by the noisy commotion, Chu Ling slowly opened her eyes. When she lifted her head, she saw the snapped hemp rope, then her gaze shifted downward—to the overturned stool.

By the faint candlelight near the table, a woman dressed in green, clearly a maid, was crying miserably as she looked at her.

“Miss!”

Cui Xi wiped her tears at random and cried out in joy, then hurriedly shut the door and helped Chu Ling up.

“Miss, if you wanted to die, you should have taken this servant with you! If you’re gone, I won’t be able to go on living either!”

Chu Ling opened her mouth, but a sharp pain instantly shot through her neck. She carefully reached up to touch it—the pain felt like needles stabbing her throat, making her voice hoarse.

“You called me… miss?”

“Pah, pah, pah! This servant misspoke—it’s my lady, my lady! In my panic, I spoke wrongly. P-please forgive this servant, m-my lady!” Cui Xi panicked and immediately knelt to beg for mercy.

The maid’s shrill, frightened voice stabbed at Chu Ling’s head. She reached back instinctively—there was a swelling on the back of her head. The dull ache left her mind in a fog.

How did she end up here?

“My lady, although the General’s Manor has been sealed and the old general has been executed, your household registration is fine. No one has come to investigate you so far, so you should be safe for now. But if anything goes wrong, I’m afraid you’ll still be implicated… H-how about we run away?”

Cui Xi clutched the corner of Chu Ling’s official robe tightly, fear clearly showing in her eyes as she looked at her expectantly.

Chu Ling froze.

The General’s Manor sealed, the old general executed?

Why did this sound exactly like the opening of Fated Phoenix Sovereign?

“All the men of the General’s Manor were exiled, and all the women sent to the Court of Instruction?” Chu Ling asked in shock.

Cui Xi nodded repeatedly, answering through sobs. “Yes, my lady. Earlier, this servant was still worried that the First Madam would have us rescue the eldest young lady, but there’s been no word at all. I suppose the First Madam has either forgotten about us… or there’s no hope to rely on her.”

Chu Ling’s eyes widened in alarm. At last, she understood what was wrong.

She seemed to have transmigrated into a book—into the body of the villainous supporting character with the same-sounding name, Chu Ling.

This Chu Ling, in order to get close to the man she loved, used the connections of the main branch of the family, disguised herself as a man, and donated money to obtain an official post. She planned to deliberately approach her beloved during the flower festival, swear a moonlit vow, and make her dream come true. But only a month after obtaining office, the General’s Manor was suddenly accused of colluding with foreign enemies and confiscated. Adult male members were either executed or exiled, and the female lead—the eldest young lady—fell into the Court of Instruction.

But this was only a transition. Later, the female lead would leave the Court of Instruction, travel to the place of exile, gather her clansmen, establish the largest martial organization, meet and fall in love with the male lead, overthrow the old dynasty, found a new one, rescue her relatives trapped in the Court of Instruction, and achieve a perfect ending.

As for Chu Ling—this novel’s most vicious female antagonist—she was weak and loved courting death. Time and again she was spared by the female lead, yet in the end she betrayed the female lead by selling information about the weapons depot to Prince Rui and was shot through the heart by an arrow. A thoroughly detestable character who jumped around until the very end.

Thinking of this, Chu Ling’s face went pale. She really did need to pack up and run—fast.

Just then, the doctor who had been summoned arrived.

The doctor seemed displeased. He merely glanced at Chu Ling, took her pulse, and said, “The injury on his neck is only external. Take some medicine and he’ll be fine.”

With that, he left behind a prescription and departed.

Cui Xi had no choice but to send a servant to fetch the medicine and brew it.

At that moment, someone let out a soft chuckle—half mocking, half like watching a play. The voice was indifferent, tinged with coldness.

“There was a heavy blow to the back of the head. Qi and blood are congested. This is a serious injury. Without proper treatment, she won’t live past three days.”

“Then… can you treat it?” Chu Ling asked in the direction of the voice, her tone full of expectation.

“Me?”

In the corner stood a scholar in a green robe. He stroked his beard and looked at Chu Ling with great interest, brows slightly raised. He flicked his folding fan lightly, a faint smile curling at his lips—eerily unsettling.

“My lady, what are you looking at?” Cui Xi glanced toward the corner. It was completely empty.

Chu Ling pointed to a spot. “Talking to him. He said I—”

In an instant, a chill seemed to invade her limbs and bones. Chu Ling shuddered violently, as if plunged into an icy cellar. Even her mouth felt as though it were filled with ice; her tongue went numb with cold.

Cui Xi’s face drained of all color. “My lady, w-what are you talking about?”

Chu Ling felt a tightness in her chest. Her gaze slowly shifted from Cui Xi’s ghostly pale face, moving bit by bit—past the fluttering curtains—until she clearly saw the scholar in green standing there.

The scholar stood in the moonlight.

But he had no shadow.

“So the little magistrate can see me? That’s rather interesting.”

The scholar in green put away his folding fan and walked straight over, studying Chu Ling with amusement. “Since you can see me, why not retry yesterday’s case? As a parent-official, you ought to uphold justice for the common people.”

Looking at the scholar in green standing less than a foot away, a wave of icy fear surged up from Chu Ling’s heart. Her hands and feet went numb. Then her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.