Pain.
It was the first thing Wu Mei felt, sharp and biting, sinking into her like a thousand needles. Her whole body ached as though she had been run over by a truck–wait.
Hadn't she actually been run over by a truck? It was a car though.
Her eyes snapped open, expecting the blinding fluorescent lights of a hospital room. Instead, she was met with towering trees, their dark twisted branches meeting that sky that was filled with a strange, red ominous glow.
The air was thick, damp and carried the distinct metallic tang of blood.
'What the hell?'
She tried to move, but something was off. Her limbs felt…wrong. Small and weak. A gust of wind blew past, and her fur ruffled—wait, fur?!
Wu Mei's mind short-circuited. Her gaze fell to her hand and instead of a familiar pair, she saw tiny, trembling paws. White fur covered her body, and when she tried to cry out in surprise, all that came was a pitiful, high-pitched yip. Like a little girl's sharp squeal.
'Oh, fantastic. I'm a fox.'
Her breath hitched, her heart racing in panic. What kind of messed–up after life was this? Was this a coma dream? Had she suffered brain damage? Had she finally snapped after seventy-two straight hours in the operating room, treating patients like a damn machine?
Her baby fox teeth chattered against each other as fear set in.
Then it hit her. Her mind jolted, welcoming a floor of memories that was definitely not hers. Emotions that were not hers swam into her being–Pain. Desperation. A cold, hollow hunger–she whimpered.
She was not just any fox. She was the weakest cub of the demon fox clan, born as the pampered daughter of the demon fox clan but was poisoned by her step-mother, her meridians crippled and incapable of returning back to her human form.
Her so-called family had deemed her useless, and instead of exhausting resources on treating her, they tossed her into the Demonic beast forest as an offering to the demon wolves.
Right when death had claimed the original owner, Wu Mei found her soul thrust into it. They both had the same name.
'Are you kidding me?'
Of all the reincarnations possible, she got dumped into the body of a forsaken, soon-to-be-devoured baby fox?
She crossed her arms, 'You should have reincarnated me into a rich family'
A sharp rustle in the distance snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts. Wu Mei's tiny ears twitched. There was something watching her, from the bushes.
Her heart pounded, a chill creeping up her spine. The memories were right–she was deep in the demonic forest, where the weak was nothing more than a snack for the beast crawling here. It wasn't a dream at all.
A low growl vibrated through the air. Wu Mei's blood turned to Ice.
Slowly, Wu Mei turned her head and met eyes with glowing red eyes peering at her from the underbush, unblinking, locked onto her fragile defenseless form. She could feel the hunger from its eyes and she trembled.
The massive black wolf stepped forward, it's dark fur blending into the shadows, but it's bared fangs glistened under the eerie light.
If her memory didn't fail her, the wolves and the foxes are sworn enemies, and since one of the rules that governed the demon realm was that the strong feed on the weak. Wu Mei knew she was cooked.
'Oh, come on! Give a girl a moment to breathe!'
Wu mei stumbled back on wobbly legs, her tiny heart racing. She needed to escape, run away from this beast. But where? She didn't even know how to use this body!
The wolf stepped closer, its muscle tensing as if it could smell her intention.
'Okay, okay, think, Wu Mei! What would a fox do? Curl into a ball? Play dead? Wag my tail and hope it thinks I'm adorable?'
Before she could settle on a strategy, the wolf held onto the sky and then lunged. Wu Mei screeched and leaped—more like flopped—sideways. Sharp claws raked through the air where she had been mere seconds ago.
'Holy crap, I almost died!'
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she scrambled to her feet–paws, whatever—and bolted, panting on top of her breath.
The forest blurred around her as she ran the stifling air only causing her lungs to tighten, she dodged between trees, leaping over tangled roots. Her body was weak, but the will to survive kept her moving.
The sound of snapping branches behind her signaled the wolf's relentless pursuit.
'Climb a tree? Nope, no hands. Attack? With what? My adorable face?
Lost in her thought, the ground suddenly vanished beneath her paws. Wu Mei barely had time to process the sheer drop ahead before she was falling.
She hit the water below with a splash, the icy water knocking the air from her lungs. The current yanked her tiny body and pulled her downstream.
For a moment, panic swallowed her whole. Her limbs flailed uselessly against the rushing water, her vision darkening at the edges.
'No! I refuse to die again!'
She summoned every ounce of willpower left in her soul. Wu Mei forced her limbs to move, paddling against the current. The memory of her past life–the surgeries, the lives she fought to save, the patients she refused to give up on–flashed through her mind.
She was not going to let this be the end of her story. She was Wu Mei–the blessed surgeon of china, so how could this small water destroy her?
With one last desperate effort, she clawed her way to the office, gasping for breath. For one thing, she was grateful that the river carried her away, far from the snares of the demon wolf. For now.
Sitting on the dark, dirty soil, exhaustion crept in, her tiny body battered and trembling. But deep inside, her heart boiled in rage.
They had thrown her, the former owner, away like trash in her state. They thought she was weak, useless. But Wu Mei had never been the type to accept fate without a fight. If a patient was one step away from death or if the afterlife had pulled them in, she would pull them out.
'Fine. If they want a demon… I'll give them one.'
She didn't know much about this world yet, but one thing was certain–if she didn't do something fast, she was going to die for real this time. Again.
Right as her little hind legs paced about the dirt, contemplating her next move, the air around her grew eerily still. Her fox ears perked up. Did the wolf catch up to her so soon?
A low growl echoed from the darkness behind her. Wu Mei froze. Slowly, she turned her head. A massive black wolf stood a few feet away, its crimson eyes locked onto her tiny, trembling form. Its lips curled back, revealing fangs sharp enough to snap her fragile form.
Wu Mei was sure it was a different wolf. Cold sweat ran down her back in fear.
'Oh, come on! I just got here!'
The wolf took a step forward. Its claws dug into the dirt, pacing towards me slowly as if it was driving Wu Mei to a corner.
Wu Mei's mind race. What should I do?!
She had no weapons. No cultivation. Just soft fur, a wobbly baby body, and a whole lot of regrets. She was supposed to be a doctor, not a damn snack!
She wished she could talk to the wolf, but with every sound that came out of her mouth were yips. Black lines marred her face. But then the wolf lunged towards her and Wu Mei's breath caught.
Time slowed. Her tiny body wouldn't move. It felt like she was staring at death. Again.
Her mind screamed, but before she could react, the razor-sharp fangs came straight for her throat.