It was the crack of dawn, and TaiFeng was in agony.

She wasn't too sure how she got in bed in the first place, but she was ready to curse whoever laid her down on her back.

...Although, if she knew, she'd probably just let it go.

Aching and groaning as she got up, she carefully slipped off her robes to reveal the numerous whip marks along her back, along with all the other cuts and bruises along her arms and legs. They were raw and agonizing to look at, some of the cuts were even still bleeding. It was a living hell, and she was in constant pain, but hey. It's better than being dead...I guess.

'I can't hear anyone, so it must be pretty early.' She thought, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Mustering up some strength, she got up and started looking for anything that would be useful.

Carefully rummaging around in the tent, she thanked the stars when she found some bandages.

Wetting a cloth with her bedside water, she gently dabbed at her wounds, wincing in pain every so often . But, like all the other hardships she had faced, she sucked it up like a boss and dealt with it.

Tightly wrapping the bandages around her arms and torso, she let out a shaky breath. Flopping down on her stomach, she lay sprawled across the bed, her head resting on her hand.

Feeling the callouses on her palms, she sadly sighed.

'I wonder where Juexin is.' She wondered, now lying on her side. 

'I hope it's in good condition. If anybody tries to use it, I'll make sure its sharpness is the last thing they feel.'

But honestly, did she even need it anymore? What with this whole,' Core-exploding Technique', as she was calling it.

But, regardless of whether or not she needed it, it was her sword and she wanted it back.

But getting her sword back was the last thing on her list right now. Although, she liked the idea of finishing Wen Xu off with it.

Oh, she had hundreds of ideas on how to put an end to his pathetic life.

Core explosion, boiling alive, death by a thousand cuts, being pulled apart by horses. She had even considered chopping him up and feeding him to QingShui!

It was one of the things that kept her going. But for now, she would take this one step at a time.

She splayed her slender hands over the side of the bed, like the petals of a wilting lily, looking ethereal in the early morning glow.

Beads of sweat dripped down her defined features, as her long hair flowed off the sides of the bed as a waterfall of silky raven locks.

Still feeling tired, she made the compromise to start the day as soon as she heard someone else get up.

She had been through hell and back so she felt she deserved to sleep in at the very least.

Yawning until she had tears in her eyes, she arched her back like a cat and became one with her bed.

It wasn't as comfy as her bed in YueYang or the one in her old bedroom.

But after three months of sleeping on dead leaves, twigs, and scattered corpses, it felt like pure heaven.

Lying down but still quite awake, she listened attentively to the sounds which she had taken for granted.

The sound of early morning birds, an icy running stream, the gentle footsteps of a deer foraging nearby, and the sound of leaves falling from the trees.

Her new powers weren't all that bad, to be honest.

If she used it in the right places, it was a newfound blessing.

Not being able to sleep, she let out an indignant whine and slowly got up.

Carefully eyeing the room, she came across a few bags of winter clothes.
They were lots of different layers and furs, so she just decided to wear all of them.
After all, she hated the cold.

She slipped on as many layers as she could. Not wanting people to realize how thin she was, she wore at least five layers, along with a coat.

Wrapping her hair around her neck as a makeshift scarf, she set out towards the main tent.

Not hearing anyone inside, she stepped in and took a look around.

In the centre, there was a map with different locations marked out with tiny flags.

Assessing it with great care, she realized just how desperate the whole situation was

They were being pushed back by enemy forces for weeks, and it was looking grim.

And just as she had expected, the manwhore sat by and just protected himself and his sect. Typical!

At least he wouldn't become Chief Cultivator. She would make sure of that.

Don't get her wrong, she definitely didn't want the position, AT ALL.
Waaaay too much paperwork and responsibilities.

She just had to make sure that he didn't take as much credit. He practically appointed himself to the position in the drama with no questions asked!

All she had to do was put in a good word for someone else and all the mindless sheep would most likely agree with her.

At least that's how she hoped it would pan out.

It honestly didn't matter too much to her. As long as it wasn't Jin Guangshan, she was cool with just about anyone.

But that was the endgame. Right now she had to win the war.

Which, in retrospect, didn't seem that hard now.

In the original timeline, the only reason the Sunshot Campaign was successful was solely because of Wei Ying and his demonic cultivation.

This was pretty much the same thing!

All she had to do was win the war using her unrealistically OP form of cultivation! Easy!

Hearing the sound of people outside, she decided to go and walk around.

Come to think of it, nobody else knew that she was still alive, so she should really tell them this.

Dramatically flinging open the tent with a smirk, she proudly walked around despite the pain she was in.

After all, she needed to put up a good front. Nobody would believe that she could win the war if she was acting like a frail old lady half the time.

And if anybody found out, not only would they lose faith in her, all they would do is constantly worry. And she just didn't need that.

Smiling at a few disciples, who of which looked like they had seen a ghost, she walked past with a spring in her step.

Enjoying scaring people a bit too much, she went over to the centre of the camp, where most people would gather around at this time of day.

Hearing the familiar sound of bickering, inwardly chuckled as she turned around to see Zixuan arguing with her little brothers. All the while Huaisang tried to diffuse the situation with light banter.

"Aiya, you guys are arguing already?" She dramatically sighed, arms crossed in fake annoyance.
"Oh, the pains of being the eldest, and therefore the most responsible."

"...You once tried to launch chopsticks off of the string of your zither like a bow and arrow. I don't really see how that's responsible." Jiang Cheng chuckled, while Wuxian fought a snicker.

"I'm sorry, she did what?" Zixuan and Huaisang confusedly asked.

"We don't talk about the chopstick incident." TaiFeng said bluntly.

"That's not even the best part. When she launched them, they bounced off the wall and hit her in the face" Wuxian said, dying of laughter.
"Her forehead was bruised for a whole five days!"

Meanwhile, Zixuan and Huaisang were trying to hold it in but failing miserably.

"My own brothers, selling me out like this." She huffed. "The absolute betrayal."

"Chopsticks?!" Huaisang laughed, his hands on his knees for support. "Exactly how hard did you launch those for them to ricochet off the wall and into your forehead?!"

"And more importantly, why?!" Zixuan added in stitches.

"I was trying to hit a mosquito!" She defended, but she had a big smile on her face.

She had missed moments like these.

"And besides, it's not like you guys haven't done dumb stuff as well. If we're comparing, then Wei Ying takes the crown."She scoffed.

"Hey! I haven't done that much dumb stuff!" He exclaimed.

"......."

"......."

"......."

"......"

"You guys are just mean." He sniffed, crossing his arms. "And besides. I'm not the one using their hair as a scarf right now."

"It's not dumb if it works." She replied.

"But enough of who's the dumbest. Right now, I don't think anyone else knows I'm still alive."

"Oh, right. I already sent out a communication talisman to YueYang." Huaisang said.

"Actually, I was thinking about informing Lanling instead." She replied.

"Why Lanling?"Zixuan questioned.

"Zixuan, you're my best friend, but I'm going to be honest with you." She said, hands in front of her face.

"Your entire sect is filled with gossipers. If one person in Lanling knows I'm alive, then it won't be long before the rest of the world knows about it. So there's no need to waste communication talismans."

"... I guess you have a point." Zixuan huffed, not liking the fact that TaiFeng was one hundred per cent on point.

"I'll let my father know later today."

"Thanks."

'I'm sure he was probably over the moon once he found out I was dead. After all, in the runnings for the chief cultivator, I'm one of the few that stands in his way of getting the position.'

"Oh, by the way. Do any of you know how I ended up in my tent?" She questioned." I woke up this morning with absolutely no recollection of how I got there."

"Maybe you sleepwalked? Or just forgot?" Wuxian said.

"Yeah..that's probably it." She replied with her hands resting on the back of her head like Killua.

'Weird, I don't really forget things.'

"Does anyone know when we're attacking the Wens next?"

"We were supposed to be leading a battalion today. There's a camp of about sixty Wens near here." Huaisang sighed.

"But we're heavily outnumbered, and at this point, things are looking grim."

"In what direction is it?" She curiously asked.

"Um, it's ten Li east of here, it's situated in the hills so they have an advantage." Zixuan said, not understanding why she wanted to know.

'Ten Li?' She pondered her finger on her chin in contemplation.

"Oh, by the way. What time is breakfast served?"

"We've been running low on food recently, so in about three hours we should be able to come up with something." Wuxian sighed, most likely fantasizing about spicy food.

"Three hours? Alright then, in that case, I'll just be in my tent taking a quick nap." She said, letting out a yawn.

"I might as well get as much rest as I can. See you later."

"Yeah, see you." They all said.

"Oh, have you guys seen Xichen anywhere?" She said, turning around.

'I can't hear him at all. Did he leave?'

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you." Jiang Cheng said.

"He got an emergency talisman saying they needed his help back at YueYang. He had to rush back late at night."

"Oh, I see. Well, that explains why I couldn't find him." She said walking off.

Going towards her tent, she looked up at the sun.

"East, huh?" She deviously grinned.

Walking past her tent and into the dense trees, she quickly sprinted eastwards to the Wen settlement.

After thirty minutes of brisk running, she was now in earshot of the camp.

Carefully ascending the rough hills, she caught sight of about seven to eight large tents.

Assessing the situation, they all looked like they had just woken up, as half of them were in underobes just lazily walking about.

Which TaiFeng could understand. I mean, who would be reckless and suicidal enough to attack such a strategically well-placed and heavily numbered Wen camp?

Well, they didn't account for the most reckless and suicidal person of all time to come back from the dead to kick their asses.

Commando crawling through the snowy bushes, she reached the back of a tent.

Hearing the voices of ten people inside, she took a deep breath.

Letting her eyes turn to that familiar haunting yellow, she walked inside.

Instantly the inhabitants of the tent stood up a took a defensive stance, grabbing their swords and any other weapons.

Not even flinching, TaiFeng swiftly moved in between their strikes with diverse and random punches.  Taking a sword from one of the Wens, she made quick work of them all.

Unfortunately, the whole camp was alerted to the sounds of screams and rushed in her direction.

Stepping out of the tent to face them head-on, she lunged forward at three men, swiping her hand across their abdomens. It wasn't long before agonizing cries filled the air, as the rest of them watched with horror.

As the three fell to the ground with bloodied mouths, desperately clenching their stomachs, TaiFeng didn't waste time.

With a borrowed sword in hand, she sliced and exploded her way across the battlefield. It would have been over a lot quicker if she wasn't doing her best not to get any blood on her clothes. If she was wearing black it wouldn't matter, but since the robes were lighter she did her best to fight as gracefully as possible.

Mixing Gusu's swordsmanship style with YueYangs Fleeting Dragon Steps, she looked more like she was dancing.

Gliding as she slit the necks of the last two Wens, there was only one left.

He looked rather young, probably the same age as her, if not younger. He was currently on the floor and shaking in pure terror.

With tears running down his face, he kowtowed down and pitifully asked to be spared.

"P-please, please don't kill me. M-my parents have no one else to look after them! I only joined this war so I could provide for them! Please, please, I'm begging you, have mercy!"

Crouching down to his level, she spoke.

"I won't kill you." She said, letting her eyes go back to brown. In that spilt second, the young boy seemed to calm down a little, but the tears were still running.

"But in return, go back to Qishan and deliver a message to your First Young Master Wen for me."

The boy nodded furiously.

"Tell him that his beloved First Consort Wen is coming to claim his soul." She softly smiled. "Along with everyone else in Nightless City. If you want to live through it, I suggest you desert afterwards."

Scrambling to his feet, he ran as fast as the wind, not once looking behind him.

"Well, that takes care of that." She said, dusting herself off.

"I've been here for an hour, and it took about thirty minutes to get here. So I should make it back in time for breakfast. But first."

Finding the main tent, she went inside to find a war table that was similar to theirs. On it was a map which had lots of locations marked with the sun emblem.

"Are these... Wen camps?" She said, positively beaming.

Taking a look, she could see that a lot of them were situated in areas with cliffs and hard-to-reach areas. But it wasn't impossible.

Neatly folding the map, she slipped it into her robes.

"Well, that's enough for one day. Time for food."
She said, but then remembered what Wuxian said.

"We've been running low on food recently, so in about three hours we should be able to come up with something."

Having a great idea, she ran over to the provisions tent.

Seeing that it was chock full of food, she took a sack and filled it with meat, and steamed buns.

"I'll just come back for the rest, I guess."

Setting off down the hill, this time using the path, she made her way back to the camp. Because she was carrying a pretty heavy sack, she was walking at a normal pace through the forest.

But still, she'd most likely only be about twenty minutes late, so it wasn't a big deal. She just wanted to enjoy the winter scenery for once.

She wondered what it was like over in YueYang. She knew that Yunmeng would still be pretty warm, and since Qishan was built near an active volcano it never really got cold there despite being in the north.

Letting her thoughts carry her into one of the dense parts of the forest, she froze when she heard two sets of voices.

Still deciding to just keep on walking, she listened in on their conversation. One of them seemed to be injured by the sound of their footsteps. Judging by their voices, the wound didn't seem like it was too serious.

One of them seemed to be doing most of the talking as the other only added a word here and there.

She could have sworn she had heard one of those voices before but she just couldn't figure it out.

'Come on, think. Damn this goldfish brain!'

Taking a chance, she sped up in order to meet them on the path.

Getting closer she could see two men, one in white, the other in black.

'They kinda remind me of Ying and Yang. Maybe their cultivation partners.'

Now behind some bamboo, she could see that the one in white had injured his arm a little and was clenching it.

'Well, they don't really look menacing and I can't sense any bloodlust. So here goes nothing!'

"Um, do you guys need any help?" She said, tilting her head to the side.
"I was just passing by."

The two then looked her up and down, which made her a little timid.

'God, I wish I brought a sedge hat. Ugh, this is so awkward.'

"...You speak Mandarin?" The one in black said. He seemed pretty frigid and reminded her of Wangji a little.

"Yep. Believe it or not, I was born here." She casually fibbed.

"Young Lady, don't worry. There's no need to trouble yourself, it's just a minor injury." The man in white said with a smile that was almost exactly like Wuxians.

"By chance did you fight some Wens on the way here? Judging by your swords, it looks like you guys are also cultivators." She responded.

"You're a cultivator? How come you don't have a sword?" The man in black said, a tinge of doubt in his voice. He seemed pretty on edge, and he was on guard, she could tell.

"It was taken from me by Wens. I hope to get it back once we win this war."She explained.

Nodding in understanding, the two eased up a bit.

"I could take a look at your wound if you'd like. I know a bit of medicine."

"Many thanks." The one in white kindly smiled, lifting up his sleeve to reveal a big gash on his forearm.

"There have been a lot of Wens round these parts. It would be better if you both stuck to the north." She said, examining the wound with great care.

'Well, good thing this isn't that hard for me to treat.'

Taking a deep breath in, she let out some spiritual energy. Not too much nor too little, just the right amount to heal the wound. Letting a golden light bathe his arm, they were both shocked to see that not only had the bleeding stopped but the wound was almost fully healed.

"How did you do that?" The man in white gratefully asked.

"I just gave you some of my spiritual energy. Mine works a little differently from most people's, so I can do a lot more stuff with it. I can't really explain it myself." She bashfully scratched the back of her neck.

"Thank you so much. My name is Xiao Xingchen by the way." The man smiled.

"Wait, Xiao Xingchen?!" She gasped. How could she completely forget what two of the most important characters looked like?!

"Then do you know Cangse Sanren?"

"Um, yes. She was my senior sister although she died about ten years ago." He replied.

"Then that means that your A'Ying's martial uncle!" She beamed, bouncing on her heels. "Which kind of makes you mine as well, in a way."

"Pardon?" They both said confusedly.

"Cangse Sanren's only child is my little brother." She explained, filled to the brim with joy.

"Well, adoptive little brother, obviously."

"Cangse's son is still alive?! But I thought that the entire family died on a night hunt."

"Nope! He got taken in by the Jiang Sect Leader, just like me!... Would you like to meet him? He's nearby." She asked.

"Really? In that case, I'd be glad to." He smiled.
"Thank you, Young Lady..?"

"Qian. Qian TaiFeng." She said, picking up the sack of food and beginning to walk, the two now following suit.

".... The woman who can see into the future?" Song Lan asked, walking to her left.

"The very same! Although it's really just educated guesses." She casually brushed it off.

"Yuzhao Long? But I thought you had died. At least that's what everybody was saying." Xingchen questioned.

"My death,like many things in my life, was greatly exaggerated."
She sighed.