When the sun shone through the window, a young lady with smooth jade-like skin and a tall stature awoke from her dreams.
She was confused for a second before her memories fully settled in.
"How can this be—" she exclaimed, before abruptly shutting her mouth, knowing that if she was too loud, she might attract the attention of the servants outside the door.
Instead, she inwardly screamed, nearly losing control of her thoughts. Why! Why did this have to happen to me?! Out of all the books I've read, why did it have to be this one?!
She nearly went mad.
In her dreams, she had been a different person, yet her name remained the same—Yu Lingshe. It was unclear whether her parents had intended to name her after something beautiful or treacherous. After all, a "Jade Spirit Snake" sounded like an elegant yet deadly creature, one that could deceive someone straight into the afterlife.
That dream version of herself had lived a normal life. Her age had been unclear, but she had likely been approaching thirty. She had worked an ordinary job and often read romance novels—mostly to escape reality. When one leads a dull life, one must find excitement elsewhere; otherwise, well… things wouldn't turn out well.
Having read so many books, she had naturally come across a fair share of 'trashy' novels—stories where the protagonist gained everything effortlessly, did nothing to deserve their good fortune, and still had the audacity to complain about the people around them.
But there was one book that had infuriated her more than any other. This book was worse than the average trashy novel one might read to pass the time. It had truly angered her. The protagonist of that book was named Shui Liuniu—a strange name. Based on her limited knowledge, Yu Lingshe had guessed that it translated to "River Cow" or perhaps "Water Cow." Names could be complicated.
But that wasn't the point—the point was that Shui Liuniu was a terrible person who had everything handed to her, both by the world itself and by those around her. Yu Lingshe had abandoned the book in frustration when her favorite character—the third female lead, who shared her name—was killed off. She hadn't wanted to read a single page more after that.
The story had taken place in a cultivation world, where Shui Liuniu was the princess of a minor clan. After an accident, she had been rescued by the second male lead, who had immediately fallen for her. In a bid to win her affection, he had showered her with resources and support.
She had been born with a strong spiritual root—a water-earth affinity. While the two elements didn't directly support each other, a dual spiritual root was still far better than having three. With the second lead's assistance, she had cultivated up to the Foundation Building stage.
At that point, the second male lead had taken her to join his sect. With her cultivation level and his family's backing, she had immediately been accepted as an inner disciple. His family had seen her potential and chosen to invest in her talent.
She had continued progressing until, in the late stage, she had met the second and third female leads, as well as the third male lead. Together with several others, they had ascended to the middle world.
They had all originally come from a lower world where cultivators were rare, and only occasionally did higher realms open passages to recruit disciples. In fact, this world—the one Yu Lingshe now found herself in—was similar to Earth. It was called Blue Star, though unlike her previous world, which had many cultures and nations, this one seemed to have only a single unified culture.
Regardless, the important thing was that this world was also highly underdeveloped, still stuck in an era of emperors, ministers, generals, scholars, and martial artists. There was only a thin presence of spiritual power, just enough to allow for some cultivation.
The other three characters had all possessed great talent. The third female lead's spiritual root had never been explicitly revealed—only hinted at as a mutation of the wood spiritual root. Some readers had speculated about it, but the novel's elemental system had been one of its only intriguing aspects amidst the drama-filled plot.
The second female lead had a special fire-wood spiritual root, making her highly suited for alchemy. Her affinities were exceptionally compatible, and she should have been even stronger than the protagonist… but she had wasted all her potential, constantly manipulated into giving away her resources. In the end, she had sacrificed herself before she could truly shine.
As for the third male lead—Yu Lingshe nearly gagged just thinking about him. He had been the worst of them all. Like the second male lead, he had fallen hopelessly in love with the protagonist, but he was nothing like the generous and doting second lead. Instead, he had been possessive, controlling, and ruthless, killing indiscriminately whenever he was displeased. Despite his fire-thunder spiritual root granting him immense power, he had eventually met his end at the hands of the male lead.
Third leads like him had only one purpose—to disgust the audience. The second leads, on the other hand, existed to help push the protagonists together before being discarded, demoted to mere attendants, or sacrificed.
Yu Lingshe's own character had been written as a jealous rival who had loved the second male lead. She had tried to win his heart, but he had remained unmoved—even when the protagonist had already found her true male lead. Strong and stubborn, she had chosen to compete head-on with the protagonist.
Unfortunately, her challenge had been rejected outright, and she had instead been tricked into assisting Shui Liuniu in gaining favor with the second lead. She had fought tooth and nail, outliving both the second female lead and the third male lead, eventually reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
At that point, she had thought she had finally won. The second lead had been in the same realm as her, while the protagonist and her male lead had already advanced to the Spirit Transformation stage, preparing to ascend. Confident in her abilities, she had confided many of her secrets to him—including the truth about her ancestral heirloom.
In truth, the world she had come from had not originally been a lower realm. It had once been an upper world, now fallen into the Dharma-Ending Stage. Most of its treasures had been plundered, but some family heritages had remained, waiting for a worthy descendant to restore their former glory.
The Yu family had been one such lineage—a clan of immortals. The immortal world was vast, with many cultivation realms, and though the Yu family had not been particularly prominent, they had still carved out a place for themselves.
But in the novel, no mention had ever been made of the immortal world. Because after learning of the heirloom, the second male lead had chosen to betray her. He had told Shui Liuniu about the treasure, and the protagonist, unwilling to let someone she had always seen as beneath her possess such a precious thing, had taken it by force and killed Yu Lingshe without hesitation.
As for the second male lead, he had been horrified, but his devotion to the protagonist had cost him his life as well. Even the male lead had approved of this betrayal.
From that moment on, Yu Lingshe had stopped reading. A protagonist like that was worse than any she had ever encountered.
And now—now, she was her. The forgotten third female lead.
Now, Yu Lingshe thought bitterly, I am the trash picker.