1 A Dreadful Nigh

Bone-shattering pain !

That was all Xia Lian could feel all over her body. She was perplexed that she could still feel something. She should have been mince meat by now, that was what she thought when the bomb exploded consuming all the light and life out of her tough soldier's body.

Her last minutes at the war played in her mind like a twenty four reels movie. Her squad three under her leadership, charged into the front-lines to form a diversion to confuse the enemies.

When the diversion is successfully created, the squad two comes into the play. That was the plan anyway. But, reality proved that not all things go according to the plan. The enemy was fully prepared for their attack as if they knew what was going to happen beforehand.

Xia Lian was the head strategist and the major. Her strategies were always on the mark and there was no failure in her career, not till today. Now that things are clear she was sure that there was a mole among them and she hated herself for not being careful and for putting her teammates life in immediate danger.

But her only relief is that she ordered her squad to retreat when she noticed the bomb. They blindly followed her orders, not knowing the exact scenario. Her team would follow her in life and death, without second thoughts and she was truly grateful for that. That is the reason why she didn't want others to die and used her own life to protect theirs.

She could almost imagine the rampage her team is on at this moment after her death. She knew how her death will impact them. The only thing which made her to feel at peace is that she is an orphan and that she didn't leave anyone alone, the only exception being her team. Nothing could be done now, but the thing which confused her the most is the pain which she is feeling. Did she probably by a stroke of luck escape with a thin thread of life from that deadly explosion?

Xia Lian was sure that she died in the explosion but the almost numbing pain on her body is making it difficult to breathe. The slow and painful heaving of her chest proved the fact that she is alive.

She slowly moved her eyelids and opened her eyes only to be greeted with an endless pit of darkness. Darkness.. She could feel nothing but darkness around her. Slowly moving her upper body, she felt a weight pressing down on her.

She slowly lowered her head and she froze after realising that there is something, or someone on her body!

There was a young boy in her embrace..

' What the hell?' Xia Lian is stunned and she blinked her eyes to make sure that she is not hallucinating. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her and now the images of her surroundings became clearer than ever.

While looking at her surroundings she only founda desolate place with shrubs and bushes. Where in the world was she now?

Xia Lian's mind hummed.

Her heart was racing and she couldn't calm down.

She then examined her body only to realise that her body was entirely different from before. Her hands looked frail and thin. Her legs actually looked many inches shorter than her original body.

It was at that moment that the shocking realisation dawned on her. She was in an entirely new body and more over she was in the body of an young girl.

Well, she was given a second chance and she was going to live her life to the fullest now. The past is past and future is unknown. So, why fret now and ruin the present? With these ' always be positive and think positive' thoughts in her mind, Xia Lian felt determined to live.

'But, who is this little boy? Is he related to this body somehow?' she wondered.

He looked about three years old at the most. She found it cute that this kid fainted on top of her while holding her tightly. Xia Lian tilted her head to look at his face.

After looking at that face, Xia Lin felt a sharp pain in her head and the images and memories of their past started to flow in her mind.

Their father Xia Jiang, a government official, married their mother Hua Ming Yu for the wealth of Hua family. She and her brother Xia Ming were born. But after few years theHua family completely fell into ruins and lost all their wealth.

At that time the concubine Lin Rong schemed for the position of main wife and convinced Xia Jiang to eliminate them to obtain their wealth. After her persuasion Xia Jiang hired assassins to kill their mother. The result was the three of them fleeing for several daysbefore the mother was hit by a poisoned arrow.

But even in this hopeless situation their mother hid both of them in bushes and put Hua family pendants on their necks. She placed a wooden box beside her and lured the assassins away.

Xia Lian opened her eyes and her eyes became cold. Now she understood her situation and the truth that she was somehow stuck in the historical era.

All this sudden revelation is quite overwhelming. But the basic principle of soldiers which she herself taught to her men many times is that ' A clever soldier should adapt to the circumstances on the battlefield.'

Life is no different from a battlefield. So, she tried to accept the fact that she was in an entire new ancient era without panicking. She should live and she will as she had an additional life to protect. It will be difficult in the start, but she will slowly adapt.

She was an orphan in her previous life. She did not know anything about warmth or love.

But the mother of this body sacrificed herself to protect her children. She deeply respected this choice.

Father! Humph.. He does not deserve to be calleda father..

" Lian, take care of yourself and your little brother. Live well. Sorry, mother did not protect you well". These were the last words of this body's mother.

'Since I've occupied this body, I am Xia Lian. You are my mother from now on. I will take good care of Xia Ming.' She promised to the mother in her heart.

" Ming, your sister will protect you with her life." Xia Lian spoke slowly.

The little boy tightened his embrace as if he heard her voice. Xia Lian chuckled and carefully observed her surroundings.

After serving in the military in her past life she is sensitive to the sounds around her and can determine the position of the enemies based on sound.

This is the major skill that is necessary for military officers. One cannot have their eyes on the enemies at all times. There is simply no time to slowly locate them with eyes. In many cases, one has to determine the target and shoot them based on sound alone..

After a few years of training, Xia Lian became proficient in locating enemies only by sound.

Though this body is weak and lacking in strength at the moment, the adrenaline rush in her body increased the sensitivity of her senses.

After determining that no one is present around them, Xia Lian tried to move.

" Hiss.." Xia Lian felt a sharp pain in her body when she tried to move but she finally got up and leaned against the tree while holding the little dumpling in her arms.