In that instant, the world fell silent.
They stood there speechless, unable to believe what they had just witnessed, utterly stunned by the scene.
Second Uncle Long Yiming’s expression froze slightly. His refined face, much like the expensive suit Jing Fei had tossed on the ground to use as a footstool, seemed to bear the imprint of her footsteps.
“You must be Uncle Er,” Jing Pei said, standing across from him. Without even trying to stand tall, an air of elegant composure radiated from her, and her voice remained as gentle and polite as ever. “I hate walking on wet ground, so I borrowed your coat for a moment. I hope you don’t mind, Uncle Er?”
Long Yiming’s face twitched imperceptibly, and a crocodile-like smile spread across his lips. “Of course not. But if you need one, Jin, you should have said so earlier. The servants would have prepared a doormat for you; there’s no need to do it yourself.”
Jing Pei immediately turned to the butler standing beside him, his face ashen with fear, and smiled. “Did you hear that?”
The butler paused, glanced at the Second Master, then at Jing Pei. He bowed slightly and hurried off.
They never could have imagined that while they’d intended to intimidate Jing Pei, she’d turned the tables on them in an instant. For a moment, no one dared to make a move.
Only Long Ankang, who rarely saw Long Yiming at a loss, couldn’t help but let a hint of excitement and satisfaction show on his face. He walked over with his head held high and chest puffed out, adopting a paternal tone as he began to lecture: “Ah Jin, now that you’re back, you must be mentally prepared to shoulder a heavy responsibility. But don’t worry—Daddy will help you.”
The moment he spoke, the atmosphere grew slightly tense.
Long Yiming’s lips tightened imperceptibly.
Long Ankang and Long Yiming were not full brothers, so ever since Long Ankang’s return, the open and covert rivalry between them had never ceased, with Long Ankang consistently at a disadvantage. The arrival of Long Jin, this daughter who had reverted to her ancestral traits, had become Long Ankang’s greatest asset in the competition.
In the original story, Long An Kang’s career did indeed take a significant leap forward because of Long Jin. While he didn’t exactly surpass Long Yiming, he was no longer overshadowed by him and had come to control half of the Long family’s empire.
Jing Fei turned to look at Long Ankang. At that moment, a woman dressed in a cheongsam and wearing an emerald and jade necklace beside him gave her a gentle smile: “Jin, from now on, we’re family. Let’s put the past behind us—no one holds a grudge anymore. You have another sister who isn’t here; she’s currently ‘making waves’ to bring glory to our family.”
This was the wealthy young mistress from back then. Although Jing Fei’s gesture of tossing the suit had made her realize there was a discrepancy between this girl and what they’d uncovered, she still tried to stick to her original plan. Come on—if she’d managed to steal that peasant woman’s good fortune all those years ago, how could she possibly let her child be trampled underfoot by that peasant woman’s daughter now?
However, the young girl before her calmly averted her gaze, as if she had merely seen air or heard the wind.
“You…” Long Ankang, failing to receive the respectful attitude he’d expected from his daughter, immediately turned grim.
“Second Uncle, I hear the Long family’s business is now under your management.” Jing Pei turned to Long Yiming.
Long Yiming thought to himself, Does this girl intend to seize power right now? She has no idea how high the sky is or how deep the earth is.
“That is correct.”
“Then I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on you from now on,” Jing Pei said with a radiant smile. “I’ve heard that those with ancestral traits are meant to take charge, but I have absolutely no interest in business. I’m afraid I’d just be asking for money. If you put it in my hands, who knows what a mess I might make of it.”
At these words, Long Ankang and the others looked grim. Long Yiming froze for a moment, but then the negative impact of the suit incident vanished completely, and his crocodile-like smile took on a touch of warmth.
“This is what I’m supposed to do anyway. If you wish it, I’ll naturally do my utmost.”
Just then, a burly male servant came running over, carrying a roll of red carpet. With a toss and a shake, the carpet unfurled from the doorway into the inner courtyard, carving out a dry path across the wet ground.
Long Yiming extended his hand in a gesture of invitation. Jing Fei stepped onto the red carpet and walked out from under the eaves.
A cool, slightly damp breeze brushed against her hair. Jing Pei narrowed her beautiful eyes, looking languid and carefree. Though she had clearly just arrived from the countryside and was dressed in a rather rustic manner, she seemed as though she were the young master born and raised in the Long family. Not only was she as at ease as if she were in her own home, but she also carried an air of condescension, as if this were all her own domain.
Originally, they had joined forces to attack Long Jin to prevent her from harboring resentment toward them—and seeking revenge—because she and her mother had been abandoned all those years ago.
But now, it was clear she knew the truth of what had happened back then, and no one could twist the facts. However, since she was only targeting the Long Ankang family and had no interest in business—wishing only to be a idle person who took money without working—Long Yiming’s faction naturally saw no need to partner with the Long Ankang family.
There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
“Looks like Long Ling is in for a rough time. Ah, though who knows—it’s hard to say who’ll be the one causing the trouble,” muttered the girl in pink strappy high heels from behind.
Although Long Jin is a dragon-blooded atavistic human, he missed the golden opportunity to recruit outstanding talent and forge irreplaceable bonds of camaraderie with powerful members of other clans. It is as if a person possessed a precious sword yet missed the era in which to achieve greatness—unable to accomplish great deeds or go down in history.
At this moment, however, Long Ling had almost secured all of these opportunities.
……
While most ordinary people went about their daily lives as usual, a war was on the verge of breaking out in the world of the Atavistic Ones.
The theater of war was located within “Bubble No. 3.” Such places could be described as separate spacetime dimensions, remnants of the Great Cosmic Convergence. They resembled tiny bubbles clinging to a glass sphere. Depending on where they attach, these small bubbles become the private property of various nations.
These micro-spacetime realms vary in size, but out of fear that they might suddenly separate from the main spacetime—just as they did at the end of the Great Cosmic Convergence—governments do not use them as critical military bases; instead, a few are leased out to citizens for their use.
At this moment, Bubble No. 3 had been jointly leased by the two Ancestral clans about to go to war.
This should technically be called a “clan feud,” but since the combatants are Atavists and the number of participants is so large, the scale of the conflict is practically that of a small-scale war.
According to the *Atavist Management Regulations*, as long as this war is not fought outside the bubble and does not involve the use of heat weapons, the government is required to remain in the spectator seats and may not intervene at will.
Countless tents were pitched on the scorching yellow earth; the world resembled a vast desert. As far as the eye could see, there were only mounds of earth and rocks of varying heights, with no sign of greenery or life.
The atmosphere was as tense as the surroundings.
As several SUVs rolled in, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, the people who got out looked grim. They strode into the main tent with hostile glints in their eyes, making the already tense atmosphere even more intense.
Under a parasol, a group of stylish young men and women were lounging or crouching in various poses on armchairs, wearing sunglasses and sipping ice-cold Coke.
“Looks like the negotiations failed again.”
“If we’re going to fight, just get it over with. This godforsaken place has no signal and no internet—I’m bored to death.”
“The Huang family is really pushing it a bit too far.”
“It’s not that I can’t stand the Huang family’s ways; I’m mainly here to gain experience. It’s a rare opportunity.”
“Me too. My mom made me come.”
Suddenly, someone glanced over at the girl helping the staff carry supplies.
“That’s Long Ling, right? What’s an ordinary person like her doing here?”
“Didn’t the Long family say they weren’t participating in this incident because they don’t have any Atavists?”
They called her over and asked her what she was doing there.
Long Ling frowned. “I think the Huang family has gone too far this time, so I wanted to do my part.”
“Pfft. You’re just an ordinary person—what good are you? Don’t come here to get yourself killed. Go home.” They said coldly.
“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” Long Ling said calmly and confidently, then turned to go back to her work. But as she turned away, her expression darkened slightly. Behind her, she heard scornful remarks: “She’s overestimating her abilities,” and “Ordinary people with no connection to this shouldn’t meddle in Ancestral Returners’ affairs.”
She couldn’t help but pull out her phone, but unfortunately, there was no signal in the swamp. Still, she assumed Long Jin had already been brought back, and the family’s plan was likely proceeding smoothly.
One day, she too would become a Regressed Human—and one of the strongest at that. No one would ever look down on her again!
Inside the main tent, the members of the Bai family—one of the leading factions in this conflict—along with the representatives of the clans aligned with them, were seething with rage.
“The Huang family dares to act but not to own up to it. The hair in the box containing the child’s finger is proof. Is there a second weasel demon ancestral family in this world?!”
“No need to waste words on them! I’ve had enough of them! Xinran is already gone, and my child—she…” The man speaking wore glasses and looked refined, but now his eyes were bloodshot and brimming with tears, and his clenched fists were trembling.
Others placed comforting hands on his shoulders, their eyes equally filled with fierce resolve.
This man’s child was, in fact, the spark that ignited this war.
The Huang and Bai families have been sworn enemies for many years, a feud that dates back to the era of the Great Cosmic Convergence. At that time, the ancestor from whom the Huang family traces its current weasel demon bloodline devoured several members of the Bai family, and this hatred has persisted ever since.
Over the years, the Huang and Bai families have constantly undermined and plotted against one another in the business world, both openly and covertly. There are even rumors that accidental deaths, such as car accidents, within the two families were actually orchestrated by the opposing side.
There is no evidence to support this, but both sides seem firmly convinced that this is the case. Some even swear they witnessed the other family’s involvement firsthand.
The hatred has remained deeply ingrained in both families’ hearts, yet they are constrained by the government and the law—this is not the chaotic era of the past. Until recently, when a newborn child from the Bai family went missing, with a nurse testifying that a member of the Huang family had stolen the baby.
The Huang family denied it.
However, shortly thereafter, the Bai family began receiving packages containing the infant’s fingers, tongue, and other body parts. To their surprise, they also discovered a strand of hair inside one of the boxes. They immediately sent it to a genetic testing agency, which confirmed the presence of weasel demon DNA.
Legally speaking, a single strand of hair and a single eyewitness account were insufficient evidence. But for the Bai family, this was conclusive proof. The Huang family’s denials were futile, and the incident only served to intensify the Bai family’s hatred toward them, prompting them to rally the major ancestral clans to join the war.
The Huang family, it seemed, harbored no less hatred toward the Bai family. They accepted the challenge and began rallying their own allied ancestral clans to meet the threat.
Jing Fei lay comfortably soaking in the bathtub, reflecting on the plot.
This clan war between the Huang and Bai families raged on for two weeks. It was during these two weeks that Long Ling—who, as an ordinary person, had always struggled to fit into the circle of Ancestral Returners—captured the hearts of the school’s most prominent figures. Serving as a medic, she appeared aloof on the surface but was actually efficient and gentle as she bandaged the wounds of those once-privileged students who had looked down on her, causing quite a few of them to feel a flutter in their hearts.
These two weeks forged a unique yet deeply bonded friendship between Long Ling and them, while also erecting a barrier around Long Jin that was virtually impenetrable.
After Long Jin enrolled at the Zodiac Academy, as a Dragon, she should have naturally entered their circle. Instead, they excluded her and looked down on her, while accepting Long Ling—a mere ordinary human—into their ranks.
Consequently, the rest of the school naturally followed suit. The idea that an illegitimate daughter could leapfrog over a legitimate child to become the heir was simply too repulsive! This led to Long Jin being subjected to school-wide bullying, accelerating the onset and worsening of her depression.
The battle would begin tonight. This body had just reverted to its ancestral state, and Jing Fei couldn’t control it freely—there was no way she could rush into the pool to join the fight immediately. Besides, joining wouldn’t even help; Long Ling, the medic, could still use her nursing charm to win over the wounded.
So, this was the only option.
Jing Fei picked up her phone, a sly smile playing on her lips.
……
The Bai residence.
Several doctors and nurses bustled around the woman in the bed, some administering injections, others offering comfort. Bai Xinran lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
As a mother who had given birth less than three months ago, she had suffered a devastating blow. Every time she closed and opened her eyes, all she could think of were the body parts of her children that had been delivered by courier.
“From Paoli…” she suddenly spoke, her voice so hoarse it was barely audible.
Her personal butler hurriedly whispered from nearby, “A message has come from Paoli. It starts tonight. Those damned Huang family bastards—not a single one of them will escape. We’ll settle all our old and new scores with them once and for all.”
“The Huang family still refuses to return her to me?” Bai Xinran’s eyes welled with tears. “Why… she hasn’t regressed to her ancestral form; she’s just an ordinary child…”
Just then, the phone rang downstairs. A maid picked it up and heard a clearly altered voice on the other end: “This is the Mystery Intelligence Agency. I have all the information you’re looking for. Our prices are fair, and we never cheat anyone. “Would you like to purchase some intelligence?”
The maid knew immediately that this was a scam and was about to hang up when she heard the voice say, “For example, where your little baby is being hidden right now.”