A:N- Naming Translations for this chapter only for Feng ni Tian Xia verse using Reading of Kanji
Shou Entei = Xiao Yuancheng
Kou Hokuzuki = Huang Beiyue
Touryou = Dongling
Setsu = Xue
Death and Rebirth
Reconciliation happened at death and he died satisfied...
So why was he reborn as a young, chronically ill princess who was a known timid coward, ignorant, fool and perpetually ill?
Poor girl was a laughingstock, disdained by all except one maid that actually cares for her, and one Concubine Setsu. The father, Prince Consort Shou Entei coldly ignores her because she wasn't useful in a household like this.
And in a world like this as he can clearly see, status and reputation matters above all. Family? What family? It's use and be used with carefully-dosed conditional love. At least despite everything, Kou Hokuzuki was genuinely loved by her mother and did her best to make her life good somehow, until she died of illness.
But actually, this girl was no fool.
She has had some education. Education that stopped when Princess Royal died so she was way behind.
She was literate, knows mathematics, manners and etiquette befitting a royal as well as privileges that brings, known medicine, and things she needs to know to survive.
However, the fact remains that she is weak-bodied and powerless that she can't even use those lessons.
Her maid Touryou genuinely cares for her too and does her best.
However, he suspected something.
Medicine.
Itachi rushed home to check on the so-called medicine Setsu brings him. Using a jutsu to be double-sure...it was just crappy grass juice with trace poison. And drinking it every day will cause physical weakness until time came that the victim will be limp and bedridden for life, if not dead!
For one like him who got ANBU Training's Poison Education and Training, it was easy for him to detect it.
First things first...
Steal.
This world's source of energy is by cultivation. By gathering ki into their Tanten until they can't anymore, but to breakthrough a level in order to gather more, one must consume precious herbs and refine pills in order to break limits to get to the next level. The highest one can go, is nine layers. But if one is a Summoner, they can go higher. As in, one must go through three levels before they breakthrough one layer as their Tanten adapts to being a Summoner instead of a typical cultivator.
Problem?
This body, when he tried, cannot cultivate!
Each time he tried, it sinks, and disappears.
He tried chakra...
It works, but somehow, some was taken by whatever's causing ki to disappear. He has to mould it better and bingo. Nothing's taken anymore.
Frowning, he performed self-hypnosis to go to where his power was going...and found a crap ton of copper pillars with symbols that absorbs ki and part of his chakra.
'...this explains it.' he deadpanned as he was able to change his mental form into his true self.
...that's intriguing...you're not my host. a pair of blood-red eyes spoke to him.
'Kou Hokuzuki or in your language, Huang Beiyue died from her so-called illness when all this time, she was poisoned by her own family until she finally died tonight...and I transmigrated into this sad girl's body.' said Itachi. 'I am Uchiha Itachi. May I know your name and how you got here?'
Beats me. I was battling the man known as King of the Night due to how powerful he was and a user of dark ki. Next thing I know I'm in this body, imprisoned. said the demon. I am Yan.
'I see...so Princess Royal doesn't know about you either?' Itachi inquired.
She doesn't, otherwise she'd know by now why her child cannot cultivate. Yan snorted. What ki she tries to get, goes to power this prison of mine. Its not my fault nor hers, that she cannot cultivate.
'That's bad in a world like this.' Itachi deadpanned. 'I suppose I'll have to use my own means of compensation, after I get this body fully-healed. What a treacherous world this world is...where I am from, Family means that your parents loves you and your siblings and will protect and nurture their children into doing good as they grow up to become good people. Here, so-called love comes in the form of conditional love. The more useful you are, the more...love...you get from your parents.' he sighed. 'And Hokuzuki who sadly cannot cultivate nor well-educated is useless and you can see the treatment she gets.' he said, feeling sad and sorry for the poor girl who died.
That's how it works here, Itachi. Yan pointed out. Power and what it represents robbed humans of their humanity when this world plunged into the warring state for over a hundred years. That power became everything here now. Survive, if you can. I got lucky with you that I survived when Beiyue died as I just found out. said Yan. At least if you're dying, have the courtesy to free me before you die. That's all I ask. Honor that deal, and I will assist you if only through information.
'Very well.' and Itachi left the sealing domain back to waking up. He became a Jinchuuriki now when he once was made to hunt them. Ironic.
In this world, there are Primal Beasts, typical animals that if they survived enough to cultivate, evolve into Spirit Beasts and transforming into a form that reflected them and their power. And the final step, the cream of the crop...Divine Beasts.
Yan was clearly Divine Beast Class. His powers are mostly Yin chakra-based. Humm...
For now, healing comes first as well as sustenance.
And now, he checked this residence, the Flowing Cloud Pavilion.
It's a rundown, decrepit residence. A courtyard style within a vast estate.
The biggest place was her living room and bedroom. The other two small buildings were Servants' Quarters, and the Kitchen, pantry, and a shed in the other building.
Problem?
Touryou can't cook. It's why they were forced to rely on the mean-spirited servants for food. Itachi can once remember that the princess was served just a bowl of rice...with a live mouse in it! When she gasped, she got slapped by a manservant for 'being such a whiner' when ANYONE has the right to complain about it!
Power matters indeed, if a mere servant can slap a princess. Why in his old world, doing that will get you beheaded. Here, if you can't do martial arts, your social status won't matter anymore it seems as even the servants can do martial arts, despite being unable to cultivate thus sees themselves above even her in status. Princess Royal was the only thing protecting this child. Yet she died of illness.
Wait...
What if, she too, was poisoned and made it look like she fell ill?
Prime suspect, Setsu.
Opps, he should use this world's language or a slip up will reveal. But he can afford to be honest to at least Tou-errr Dongling, can he?
He traveled to his former home.
Princess Royal said that there are kept gears in the mansion only Beiyue can access so if the time came, she should come and get what she needs. She was shown passages and how it's done in the past.
Perfect.
The shameless asshole of a father, Yuancheng sold off everything and left nothing for his own daughter. Luckily he never knew about the secret stashes. Asshole.
Perhaps he should go tit for tat.
He accessed the hidden caches in the walls and found many books, and pills his body desperately needed, as well as potions. He took one of everything for poison and recovery. And his mother also has some vanity pills...good, because right now, his body looks like a living corpse with sunken eyes! There's also cultivation pills clearly meant not for her but for Dongling because she could NOT cultivate.
He sighed.
Upon sealing the caches back, he began his theft.
Using a Space Ring, he robbed the markets of essentials needed in their home. Cleaning, Cooking, Laundry and Bath.
They will no longer rely on the Main House anymore.
Final step?
Assassinate his own father by using the very poison Xue uses on Beiyue.
Nice of her to supply him with a weapon, as he went to Glistening Lake Pavilion to steal Xue's poison pills. He stole one, mixed it with a small amount of water for high concentration levels, and then poured it onto perfume bottles of Yuancheng and his favorite child Yun in order to attack Xue and shook the bottles real good to mix it evenly before leaving. To be double-sure, he put poison in ALL perfume bottles they owned! He also took another pill, in order to lace up cups for soup and tea always used by her father and Xue. He would do that every night from now on.
Then the rest is up to them. Hehehe...
Then he checked the family's schedule for the day.
He found that the Duke of Anguo, aptly called Anguo-gong in this world, will come with his son to repudiate her as his fiancee and choose one of Yuancheng's daughters instead. So today the halls of her home will be cleaned and decorated!
Come to think of it, she saw luxury incense sticks and cones there...high quality at that, so she would lace the whole stock and the condiments and sauces she could poison.
For now, while he had no idea where Dongling went, he should cook breakfast after consuming Grade 9 Detoxification Pills. One for cleaning his organs of poison. One for cleaning his blood, and the third, his bones and muscles. He melted them all in water in an amount enough for a mouthful, waiting five minutes before taking the next.
He has one hour to finish EVERYTHING before he falls really ill before the side effects take place!
He had 15 minutes to spare. Phew.
He returned to the residence to find Dongling collapsed in her front door. With whipping welts, beaten and very cold!
'Dongling, where have you been?!' Itachi asked Dongling worriedly because of her state as he picked her up. Dongling was weak and clearly came back by sheer willpower alone.
'Miss, you are fine, that's great, this servant was afraid that something might have happened to you, so I went to Concubine Qin, but then...'
Easy to guess.
If you work for the most despised person in this household, the servant serving said person would be mistreated too!
'Here, take this.' Itachi took out a space ring and medicine to raise Dongling's body temperature and another to heal her wounds.
'Miss? Where did you get those...?' Dongling croaked out in disbelief as she recovered.
'In a moment of clarity, I remembered mother's lessons about the hidden stashes in her old mansion...my illness that made my memory foggy...I took all medicine and when certain medicines worked, I had no idea I was poisoned all my life.' Itachi told Dongling to her horror. 'It's Xue's so-called medicines.'
'That...that bitch?!' Dongling howled in horror, wide-eyed. 'Do you have any other suspects, miss?!' she choked out.
'Just Xue. The others don't have access to poisons.' said Itachi. 'As much as she wants to Qin cannot poison me as she is a known noblewoman. In a treacherous harem household, she would be prime suspect. If she tried this, it will be a punishment up to the third generation for sure. Xue and Fang are former maids with no ability nor access to poisons. That was Xue's sole security. Fang has no inclinations to do evil she wouldn't dare on the other hand.'
'But what do we do? She makes sure you drink it before she leaves.' Dongling frowned.
'I'll have my own way around that.' said Itachi. 'For now, let's have breakfast. The side effects of the pills I took will take effect soon I can't risk carrying trays of food over. Go get them in our kitchen. This pavilion's kitchen.'
"Trays? The kitchen here?" Dongling blinked, before going out to the ever-so-unused kitchen as they couldn't cook. But to her surprise...! There's a breakfast set on two trays!
Two trays containing a rice bowl, soup, yellow-something, and three small plates containing vegetables, meat and fruit! And in good porcelain diningware!
She carried the first tray to her lady's room. Baffled with how she got it. Then went to get her other tray to see Itachi rushing in her eating.
She'll ask later where she got it from but they look good!
The last tasty meal they have, was four years ago.
This was surely a dream, Dongling thought but the delicious food was too yummy to be a dream!
Soon, her miss fell ill and collapsed!
'Miss!'
'Ahaha, don't mind...it's just the pills taking effect.' Itachi wheezed out weakly. 'Don't touch me...soon, poison will come out of my body. Touching me as I am now will get you hurt.' he gasped out, gently swatting Dongling's hand away in her bid to reach her master. His words made her gulp nervously as she doesn't wanna get poisoned! 'I'll wait this out outside behind this building. Once I'm done, burn the poisoned clothes.' Dongling nodded quickly. 'Oh, and boil water for a bath, but you will pour the water on me from a safe distance behind this house. Nobody will see us anyway, I'll take a bath in the open just once.'
'If you say so...' Dongling croaked out as Itachi struggled to get outside.
'In the meantime, take this ring before my hands are tainted with poison.' Itachi gave her the Space Ring. 'There's food supplies in the ring. Rice, Vegetables, herbs, condiments, meat, seafood and fruit are in there and four small fire crystals and one large one. I can't touch the ring for a few hours so I'll leave it to you for now. Boil lots of water, say, three barrels to be sure.'
'Y-yes miss!'
Dongling fretted anxiously before starting to boil up water for a bath. It's harder due to the difficulties of starting a fire, but thanks to the fire crystal, it's easy as pie!
Took almost two hours to get everything done.
She put the barrels to where her miss was and she's covered in sludge! She's also currently naked now. 'Kyaa!'
'It's poison.' Itachi deadpanned. 'It's almost done, say in 15 minutes.'
xxx
After a long bath that cold spring morning, Dongling burned her tainted dress and shoes. Itachi then took back the ring to take out numerous pills, and ordered Dongling to take out small bowls, a wiping cloth, a stirring stick and water for him to use in melting several pills in. And she drank everything every five minutes.
'Princess Royal came prepared...had she known that in the future after her death, treachery will come get you?' Dongling croaked out anxiously.
'Probably. In a harem residence, there will be treachery all around.' said Itachi. 'Mother has access to some good friend willing to supply her Grade 9 pills of medicine and we have 50 of every type, all Grade 9.' he chuckled. 'In just one day I'll be well as long as I keep drinking until noontime.'
'Heee...'
Healthy body aside, she will remain skinny due to malnourishment. But at least she won't look like a living corpse anymore. Even when thin, it's clear that she was beautiful.
Itachi has never seen such beauty, until his new bodysuit and her mother.
From his ring, he took out paper and pen, writing a cookbook for Dongling to follow...starting with how to make Rice, Soup, and dishes from easy to difficult. He even wrote down difficulty level and how long it takes to get done if done by a normal person. He gave the papers to Dongling.
'I-I didn't know you can cook...'
'Mother taught me things I need to know to survive since I can't do martial arts.' said Itachi. 'But back then I can't even use what I learned due to weakness and constant bullying visitations I can't reveal I can cook.' he said wryly. 'If only I remembered sooner, but Xue's poisons are formidable.'
'That woman...after Princess Royal took her in, she bit the hand that feeds!' Dongling fumed. 'A snake!'
'Well, keep bringing me water and always wash these bowls before I make medicine again.' Itachi smiled.
He spent the whole day medicating himself. And when Dongling cooks lunch, he washes and makes, all the while starting on her body training. This body lacked physical energy while its easy to gather ki in the air as an impromptu mixer to mould chakra. He moulds and saves up what he could, for tonight's use.
Fun fact: as Yan's pillars only consume ki, it cannot consume the ki that is already moulded into chakra. This was his only way to ahem, cultivate now.
Tonight will be a social fight.
His own family along with her so-called in-law and fiancee will humiliate her.
He sighed.
He has to out-beauty his sisters tonight.
"Yan? We need to talk..."