The second Simulated Reincarnation.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
By now, Cecilia and Lu Mo were both ten years old.
Sometimes, while sitting by the lake listening to Cecilia softly singing “Scarborough Fair,” Lu Mo would find herself in a bit of a daze.
It felt as though it were only yesterday when the two of them had first escaped the Kalis Family to play at the town market.
Three years was enough time for many things to change.
Both of them had grown quite a bit taller.
Cecilia could no longer wear the round top hat from back then, a fact that had made her sad for a very long time.
The wall between the two families had been renovated and was now even higher than before.
But many things remained unchanged.
Cecilia would still climb over that wall, shouting Lu Mo’s name before lunging into an embrace.
The two would sit beneath the tree, watching the reflection of the sky in the lake, talking, laughing, sharing their secrets, and opening their worlds to one another.
Cecilia was no longer the naive, somewhat dazed girl who understood nothing.
She had learned joy, she had learned sorrow, and she had acquired many of the emotions that a normal person should possess.
Over the course of three years, the two had built a simple wooden house up in the tree.
Cecilia would always keep things there that she couldn’t take back to her family.
Items like pretty pebbles, straight little twigs, and small trinkets Lu Mo had given her.
Cecilia had learned to hide her own little secrets.
Even if… her method of hiding those secrets was still a bit clumsy.
She would carefully hide her diary at the very bottom of the pile of objects, and then, with her face flushed red, she would tell Lu Mo that there was nothing inside and that Miss Lu Mo must absolutely not peek.
It was a classic case of “the lady doth protest too much.”
The wooden house was right there in the Kalis Family’s Manor. Once Cecilia left, Lu Mo could look through it whenever she pleased.
“Don’t worry, I won’t peek, you silly Cecilia.”
Every time, Lu Mo would give Cecilia her word.
And she truly did not look.
After all, that was Cecilia’s privacy.
The white dome hat Lu Mo had given Cecilia three years ago was still preserved by the girl to this day.
Even though the hat was now old and Cecilia could no longer wear it.
“Maybe we should just throw that hat away and buy a new one.”
Lu Mo had suggested this to Cecilia many times. She still remembered a day when Cecilia had tried to put the hat on just like before, only to find it wouldn’t fit no matter what, eventually leading to a scene of her wailing loudly.
“Waaa… Miss Lu Mo, is the hat broken?”
Cecilia had clutched the hat, lying on the ground, crying until her face was a mess of tears.
‘Is it possible… that you’ve grown up and your head has gotten bigger?’
Lu Mo had been somewhat speechless. She spent a long time explaining to Cecilia that people grow up, and many things can no longer be worn once you pass a certain age.
But even if she couldn’t wear it, whenever she was asked if she wanted to throw the hat away, Cecilia would answer firmly that she absolutely would not.
In her eyes, that hat was the very first gift Lu Mo had given her after taking her to see the wider world.
She couldn’t bear to lose it.
She intended to keep it as a treasure for the rest of her life.
***
Time continued to race by.
In those three years, she learned to sing “Scarborough Fair.”
She also spent those three years traveling to even further places with Lu Mo.
They had a wonderful time.
But for some reason, Cecilia always felt like something was missing.
She never again felt that same inner fluttering she had experienced the first time she and Lu Mo leaped over the family wall to the town market, listening to Lu Mo hum “Scarborough Fair.”
The image of the girl leaping through the air to catch her drifting hat was something she could not forget, even now.
Was it because of that song?
Aside from “Scarborough Fair,” Cecilia also thought about another issue.
The matter of her becoming a Saintess in the future and the possibility of her sacrifice.
She still resisted the concept of dying.
However, she no longer burst into tears at the mere thought of dying and never seeing Miss Lu Mo again.
Lu Mo said she would be her knight and wouldn’t let her die like that.
Even if it was just a childhood game, it still gave Cecilia a great deal of peace of mind.
“Leaping over walls, stealing snacks, lying, and playing with a bad kid like me… Do you think God will grow to dislike you because of this, and you won’t be able to be the Saintess anymore?”
Sometimes, Lu Mo would tease her like this.
“…”
At such times, Cecilia would just smile.
Occasionally, she would ask herself: Did she really want to become the Saintess?
If she really was disliked by God and couldn’t be the Saintess, would she cry, or would she laugh?
Regardless, she would still secretly pray for Lu Mo at night.
She hoped Miss Lu Mo would live a long, long life.
She hoped Miss Lu Mo would always be well.
And during these three years, those boys and girls who had been beaten down by Lu Mo had also grown.
Their control over Holy Power had become stronger.
Nourished by Holy Power, their strength and cultivation realms were significantly higher than those of their peers.
Some grew faster than others, and a few had even become taller than Lu Mo.
However, when they appeared before Lu Mo again, their hearts would still skip a beat, and their legs would tremble.
Three years ago, Lu Mo had swept them all aside.
That event had left a lifelong shadow on them that lingered even now.
They knew that as the years passed, they had become stronger.
They possessed the talent for Holy Power, so they logically should have grown faster and reached a higher realm than Lu Mo.
If they met again, they should be able to defeat Lu Mo easily.
And yet, their hearts trembled, and they felt dread toward her.
‘It can’t go on like this. I must defeat Lu Mo and completely crush the demon in my heart!’
Some gathered their courage, wanting to challenge Lu Mo again.
However, the opportunity never seemed to present itself.
They had grown up and felt that starting a direct fight with Lu Mo like they used to was no different from a street brawl between thugs.
They needed to find an opportunity to defeat Lu Mo in a formal setting to prove themselves.
Such an opportunity arrived very soon—
One day, the Kalis Family and the Helovit Family suddenly announced they would jointly hold a martial competition.
The competition was divided into several groups based on the year the participants received their Divine Gift Ritual.
Each group had rankings and exceptionally rich rewards prepared.
As soon as the news broke, the youths of both families were invigorated.
Those boys and girls were extremely excited at that moment.
To them, this was not just a chance to show off, but also a chance to defeat Lu Mo and extinguish the demons in their hearts!
But after the initial euphoria, another question arose—
Would Lu Mo even dare to participate?
In three years, had she realized that she had been left far behind?
She no longer had the means to defy those of them who possessed Holy Power.
“Lu Mo, weren’t you quite the fighter before? What about now? Do you dare to sign up for this competition?”
“Lu Mo, surely you aren’t actually chickening out?”
“The bad kid of the past has turned into a little goody-two-shoes?”
“What a total small fry you are, Miss Lu Mo~”
Thus, people began to proactively appear before Lu Mo, throwing out taunting remarks.
Lu Mo said nothing, merely looking at those figures with a cold gaze.
Even though three years had passed and these people had mastered more Holy Power, in her eyes, they could still only be considered trash.
However, having this trash constantly shouting “small fry” was getting a bit annoying.
Lu Mo wondered if she should repeat what happened three years ago.
The Spirit Path Blood Disaster… no, she meant beating these people until they cried for their parents.
But Cecilia was far less composed than Lu Mo.
“How mean! These people… they are just too mean!”
In the wooden house, Cecilia’s cowlick stood straight up as she spoke in indignation.
Unfortunately, she didn’t look threatening at all. In that moment, she looked no different from an angry little kitten.
“I’m going to sign up! I’ll defeat them all and make them apologize to Miss Lu Mo!”
“Stop hissing.” Lu Mo reached out and patted Cecilia on the head.
Cecilia was stunned for a moment, and then her cowlick began to waggle happily along with the movement of Lu Mo’s hand.
“Fighting isn’t your forte,” Lu Mo said.
Hearing this, Cecilia suddenly lowered her head in shame.
It was true.
The family was grooming her to be a Saintess, so they mostly taught her support-type combat skills and secret arts; actual combat techniques were few and far between.
Cecilia’s motor skills weren’t very good either. In their previous mock battles, Lu Mo had held back significantly, yet Cecilia still ended up in a crushing defeat.
A few times, Cecilia had even tripped while just trying to run.
“So, leave it to me this time.”
Lu Mo spoke again, “I haven’t made a move in three years. It’s time to let them experience the terror of once being dominated by a certain someone again.”
And… the humiliation of being beaten until they kneel.