The Sword and The Shadow - Chapter 0 – The Brewing of a Storm

# COZY # OMNIPOTENT # CHIEFASSISTANT

In her past life, Mo Ruyue was a top-notch assassin. She was as indifferent as an abyss, and had killed more people than she had fingers to count. In her new life, she became the vicious stepmother of five munchkins in a remote mountain valley, and they were terrified of her. In this life, she decided to change the way she lived. She only had four bare walls for a house? Her children starved to the point they were just skin and bones? No problem. She could kill wild boars with her bare hands, so food wasn’t an issue. She was also proficient in multiplication tables, and her kids instantly became big fans of hers. It had been a difficult journey to change from a vicious stepmother to a warm one. Then, her supposedly dead husband suddenly returned, now the first minister of the dynasty.“Let’s divorce. Give me the children, and I’ll return the money to you.” “I don’t lack anything, just you and the children.”

Hunger, poverty, and death are the inevitable fate of those who live within the mist, a territory dominated by monsters where sunlight never reaches. With only one eye and missing an arm, daily suffering was all Lily could expect. In a world where the strong rule over the weak, she faces aggression and abuse every day, learning in the harshest, most painful way that kindness doesn’t exist.However, everything changes when she encounters a sentient metamorph, a nameless monster, wounded and abandoned by its pack. Together, they discover that perhaps they don't have to face this cruel world alone. Now, with a companion willing to risk everything to protect this bond, Lily, the girl who had lost everything, finds a new reason to live and fight.

Once again, Ye Zhen Zhen had lost her memories. When she opened her eyes once more, arranged in front of her were——

1. A Maternal Grandfather, the Murdered Victim

2. A Large Inheritance

3. A Deeply in Love Fiancé

4. An Overbearing Maternal Uncle and his Wife

5. A Docile Servant

6. The Aloof, Cold, Abstinent Doctor in Charge of the Case

7. A Seemingly Difficult Police Officer

Reincarnated as a detective, Ye Zhen Zhen stared dubiously at them all. Who was the murderer? Was it her? It…?

Only one was the real murderer, but there was far more than just one culprit.

- Description from Novelupdates

I never expected my life to change so drastically. One moment, I was a woman with dreams, deeply in love with a man I thought I’d spend my life with. The next, I was betrayed and heartbroken, walking in on him cheating without a hint of remorse.That night, overwhelmed with pain and too much alcohol, I made a reckless decision, a one-night stand with a stranger who, to my shock, turned out to be my new boss.Arec, the vice president of Denco Groups, was desperate. To secure his future as CEO, he needed a wife, and in a twist of fate, he offered me a contract marriage. It sounded absurd, but his desperation mirrored my own need to escape the wreckage of my life.It was supposed to be simple: no emotions, no strings attached. A business arrangement, nothing more. I thought I could handle it, that I could keep my heart out of it.I was wrong.What started as a deal quickly spiraled into something far more complicated. As our fake marriage blurred into real feelings, the world around us began to close in. Disapproving family, old enemies, buried secrets, scheming rivals, and even an attempt on my life threatened to tear us apart.This is my story, a journey of heartbreak, unexpected love, and a fight to protect what we built together. In a world filled with lies and deceit, can a marriage born out of necessity become something real?---