Shu Yue looked at the broad hands, rubbing them against each other.
The texture was rough and thick.
Even though she could still move them freely, it felt like wearing gloves—something was off.
For the first time, she so vividly felt the difference between men and women.
Women had much smaller frames than men, especially noticeable in the hands and feet.
Even at the same height, the size difference could be more than a third.
She pressed her hands to her waist and squeezed.
The originally slender waist had become thicker, her shoulders broader, and her line of sight had risen by almost a head’s height.
Since the transformation happened almost instantly, Shu Yue hadn’t adapted yet.
Zi walked behind her and pushed her in front of the mirror.
Shu Yue turned to glance at Zi, then looked back at the mirror and couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s exactly like the real thing!”
Shu Yue had seen Liya before—including when he died.
Now the person in the mirror was ninety percent similar to that Liya, with the remaining ten percent being a difference in temperament due to the inner self.
Probably no one could spot the flaw now.
She noticed her voice had changed.
Her inner voice was still her original one, but what came out was much deeper—a proper middle-aged masculine voice that sounded more convincing than the “falsetto” Shu Yue had been using.
Looking left and right in the mirror, she was excited like she’d gotten a new toy.
Then she noticed a problem: she squeezed her legs together, but it still felt empty?
Shu Yue looked at Zi standing behind her in the mirror.
“Sister Zi, why isn’t that thing there?”
“What thing?”
“You know, that thing… According to anatomy, there should be a pouch.”
“You mean the long one?”
Zi’s smile remained gentle.
“Sister Zi can’t sculpt that~”
“Why?”
“Don’t judge by how daringly your Sister Zi dresses, I’ve lived until now without ever seeing one.”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing.”
Shu Yue somehow felt that if she insisted on adding this “plug-in,” Sister Zi would throw her out.
She trusted her instincts.
Since her intuition told her not to continue, she quickly shut her mouth to avoid Sister Zi adding any other accessories.
Zi squeezed Shu Yue’s shoulder and said, “Twist it back and you’ll change back.”
“I’ll try.”
Following Zi’s guidance, Shu Yue gave it a go.
Sure enough, as Zi said, with a rippling wave like water, she turned back into her original form—a petite, shoulder-length-haired girl.
Holding the amethyst pendant, Shu Yue asked curiously, “How does it do that?”
“Explaining that would be troublesome.”
Zi smiled and didn’t intend to answer.
Seeing that, Shu Yue didn’t press.
After all, she and Zi weren’t close; the other party had only done something for Eustia and had no obligation to explain.
“Oh, forget it then.”
Zi released her hand from Shu Yue’s shoulder and looked at the amethyst pendant in Shu Yue’s hand through the full-length mirror.
“It lasts five years. After that, it becomes invalid. It’s calculated by usage time—you consume it as you use it. If you want to keep it longer, remember to change back to a girl when you sleep at night,” Zi said meaningfully.
Shu Yue nodded.
‘So it’s calculated by usage time, not monthly, quarterly, or yearly cards. Sister Zi is so generous!’
She was afraid she’d have to sign up for a membership.
Shu Yue was very poor; Eustia might just take out a loan for her…
Zi noticed that Shu Yue hadn’t paid attention to her subtle expression, feeling like she’d cast a flirtatious glance at a blind man.
She sighed inwardly.
“This is also a life-saving treasure. If you die while it’s activated, you won’t really die. Instead, it consumes one year of usage time. Each time you consume it, it becomes murkier. When the time is completely consumed…”
“What happens?”
Hearing Zi’s mysterious tone, Shu Yue became nervous.
Zi was satisfied with Shu Yue’s nervous expression and smiled.
“Of course, it breaks and becomes unusable.”
“Ah? Oh.” Shu Yue initially thought she would break, but then realized it was the amethyst that would shatter.
Judging by Zi’s instruction manual, this item was incredibly precious.
It could prevent various assassinations and gave her a huge margin for error.
In terms of value, it was probably beyond Shu Yue’s imagination.
If this amethyst pendant were put up for auction, many important figures would fight over it.
Shu Yue hurriedly stuffed the pendant into her collar, right at the entrance of the gap between her two little bunnies.
She couldn’t let anyone see this thing—it would invite mortal danger.
She understood that well.
“Sister Zi, if this thing breaks, can I come to you to fix it?”
“The materials are already used up. I can’t fix it.”
Zi spread her hands, indicating she was helpless.
“Otherwise, how could it last five years?”
Seeing that, Shu Yue said no more.
The matter was settled; she should leave with Eustia.
Zi didn’t keep her and escorted her to the courtyard gate, returning her to Eustia.
Eustia saw Shu Yue, who looked the same as when she went in, and frowned.
“Why didn’t you transform?”
Shu Yue felt a bit speechless.
Did she need to transform right now?
But since Eustia said so, Shu Yue reluctantly took out the amethyst pendant and twisted it.
With a rippling wave, her appearance changed to a disguised form ninety percent similar to Liya White.
Eustia looked her up and down, nodded in approval.
Zi clapped her hands, drawing their attention.
She gave a charming smile and said, “Alright, you two should go back. Staying in the Gray Layer for too long isn’t good.”
Before Shu Yue could say anything, she found the space around her rapidly receding—Zi and her hut were moving away.
It happened so fast that by the time she realized it, she was already back outside the mirror, which had reverted to an ordinary full-length mirror.
Eustia put the mirror away and turned to look at Shu Yue, who was also looking at her.
Shu Yue blinked and said, “Big Monster Commander, what should we do now?”
“?”
“I think we can give ourselves codenames, so no one will know our identities. You can be Big Monster Commander, and I’ll be Little Monster Corporal.”
Shu Yue said with a serious face.
Eustia squinted at her.
Right now, Shu Yue was still in the Liya disguise created by the mirror, with Liya’s voice, speaking in a little girl’s tone—it was very strange.
“Liya is a venomous snake, sinister and ruthless, with an abnormal desire for Loran. You don’t act like him.”
“Huh, so what should I act like?”
Shu Yue pouted.
She wasn’t acting yet—she hadn’t even started.
Eustia paused for a moment, then commented, “An idiot.”
“…”
Shu Yue had completely let loose today.
Normally, she wouldn’t act like a real little girl.
After all, she had lived two lives.
When she restrained that attitude, the disguised face of Liya became dull and vacant, like a minor character easy to bully.
After thinking it over, Shu Yue voiced her idea.
“Commander, I don’t think we need to act as Liya. As long as we are Liya, right?”
“Your idea is not bad.”
Eustia nodded in agreement.
Indeed, as long as there was a youth named Liya, who he actually was or what kind of person he was, she didn’t really care.
Loran?
I wish her well.
She and Loran were friends, but that friend had been dead for hundreds of years as far as she was concerned.
“Let’s go. Use this appearance and return to Grey Pine City first.”
“Uh… and then?”
Hearing that she had to go back to Grey Pine City, Shu Yue was a bit reluctant.
After all, she had killed Beland Leicester.
Eustia completely ignored her thoughts and continued on her own.
“The wedding continues.”
“Huh?”
“When the wedding takes place, Loran will come. She’ll take you away. Just wait.”
“…”
Shu Yue’s little mouth formed an O.
A wedding snatch?
At the halfway point of the wedding ceremony, a young lady from the Isold family would rush into the venue to stop the vows, shouting that she opposed this marriage, then pull Shu Yue’s hand and run out in front of everyone.
Emily would stand there flustered, her face red, but because Loran revealed her identity as the Duke’s eldest daughter, she would have to accept this humiliation, making it a funny story in Grey Pine City.
Tsk—if you looked at it that way, if Emily had another adventure, she’d be ninety percent like a protagonist! Emily seemed to like her Dragon Maiden form.
When she later sought revenge on Loran for the wedding humiliation, she would definitely come after Shu Yue as well.
Then Shu Yue would be beaten and revert to her original form, revealing the Dragon Maiden form…
Just thinking about it made Shu Yue’s brain hurt.
“Ow!”
Shu Yue covered her head where she’d been hit.
She glared at Eustia, not understanding why she suddenly hit her.
“Don’t break the disguise! Go quickly.”
Eustia wasn’t going to waste any more words with Shu Yue.
Shu Yue gave a light huff, turned around, and headed toward Grey Pine City.
Eustia stood still, not moving until Shu Yue’s back was completely out of sight.
Then she returned to the Gray Layer.
When she saw Zi again, Zi had changed into a proper dress, still in her usual purple, and was waiting for Eustia’s arrival at a small stone table in the courtyard.
After Eustia sat down, Zi said playfully, “Sometimes seeing too much isn’t good. It makes some things that could be seen become invisible.”
Zi looked into Eustia’s deep, dark blue eyes and smiled.
“Come on, tell me. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Eustia didn’t understand and didn’t answer.
“I just thought it was interesting.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” Eustia confirmed firmly.
At first, it was indeed because it was interesting, but later she had other considerations.
She wanted to know who had made her reincarnate and what they wanted to change through her.
She didn’t want to be a pawn, but she couldn’t lift the veil without stepping onto the stage.
The next day, early morning.
Shu Yue had spent the whole night traveling and finally arrived outside Grey Pine City.
Looking from afar at the city with its towering walls, she felt a sense of daze.
It had only been a day or two since she left, but it felt like a month or two had passed.
Perhaps too much had happened, and she had grown in these two days, becoming very different from when she left.
The line to enter the city was quite long. Shu Yue frowned.
“Does Grey Pine City normally have this many people?”
Grey Pine City was a border city leading to the Outlands.
Though not a fortress, it served somewhat as a hub connecting the Northern Frontier’s interior.
A lot of supplies from the Outlands pioneer camps were transported here, then distributed to the Northern Frontier interior.
Having more people was normal.
Shu Yue was alone.
She walked forward to see what was causing the slow line.
As she moved along the line, many people looked at her.
When she walked straight toward the City Guard checkpoint, a girl in a carriage cast her gaze over.
Seeing Shu Yue going straight to negotiate with the City Guard, the girl turned to the boy sitting opposite.
“Brother, someone has gone to the City Guard.”
“Hmph, who does he think he is?”
The boy snorted dismissively.
“Just watch—he’ll be driven away soon. If he doesn’t know his place, it wouldn’t be strange if the guards beat him up.”
“Then… should we help him?”
The girl blinked with clear eyes, continuing to look at the boy who was negotiating with the City Guard.
The girl’s elder brother sneered but didn’t reply to his sister.
The girl suddenly said, “Brother, he’s being driven back by the City Guard, just like you.”
Shu Yue had negotiated with the City Guard, telling them Liya White’s noble identity.
But even when she mentioned Baron Leicester’s name, the City Guard acted like “I don’t care whose subordinate you are—get in line one by one.”
Shu Yue had no choice but to step back and think of another way.
There was another way: jump over the wall directly.
It would save time and effort, but it was a little more troublesome.
In broad daylight, her [Shadow Concealment Art] was very weak.
If she were discovered, it would be a bit of a hassle.
“Forget it, I’ll just wait. I’m not in a hurry anyway.”
Shu Yue slowly walked to the back of the line.
As she passed a well-decorated carriage, the girl inside wanted to call out to her, but the boy pulled her back.
He glared at her.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to comfort him.”
“You… remember your identity, sister. You’re a noble lady. That kind of lowborn rabble doesn’t deserve your pity. We’re here to attend the Leicester family’s eldest daughter’s wedding, to mingle with the city’s noble circles. How can you stoop to contact the commoners?”
The boy looked proud, completely forgetting the shame he felt when he was driven back by the City Guard earlier.
Shu Yue asked a passerby, “Do you know what’s happening in the city?”
“I heard a noble lady is getting married…”
The shrewd old man didn’t know the specifics, but suddenly the whole city had been locked down today.
Shu Yue was speechless.
She hadn’t even returned yet—who was Emily marrying?
Suddenly, from a few meters away, a clear female voice came: “I know what’s happened!”
Shu Yue turned around and saw half of a girl’s face poking out of the carriage window, waving at her.