The Mighty Mage
Chapter 543: Exposing

Chapter 543: Chapter 543: Exposing

Gu Jin stood tall, her eyes calm but sharp.

She looked at Miss Xia and said in a confident voice,

"Everything you have, your family, your home, your title, it all belonged to me in the first place. We were swapped at birth.

You didn’t know before, so I was ready to be generous. I was ready to forgive you and let you walk away peacefully."

Miss Xia blinked, then smiled. But it wasn’t a kind smile.

It was cold. Mocking.

"Forgive me?" she said, laughing. "Do you think I didn’t know? I’ve known since I was three years old."

Gu Jin froze. Even the soldiers hiding behind the trees gasped silently.

"What...?" Gu Jin asked, her voice low.

Miss Xia smirked, proud of her cruel words.

"Yes," she said slowly.

"I’ve known for a long time. My real mother visited me when I was a child. She told me everything.

She said there was another girl, you,and she promised that she would make sure you never reached the Xia Mansion. That you would never take my place."

Gu Jin’s hands clenched slightly.

"Then... that’s why my adoptive mother was always so kind. She never treated me badly. She wanted me to believe I truly belonged."

Miss Xia chuckled again.

"Of course. She had to treat you well. If she acted cold, you might get suspicious. But if she acted like a loving mother, you’d never question anything.

And it worked, didn’t it? You believed you were her real daughter."

Gu Jin’s face grew serious. "If you knew about the switch, why didn’t you tell the General the truth?"

Miss Xia raised her eyebrows and laughed loudly. "Tell him? Why would I do that? If I told him, I’d be sent back to the poor suburbs. I’d lose everything. The house, the name, the power."

Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed. "Then why now? Why try to kill me suddenly?"

Miss Xia’s voice turned low and dark.

"Because your adoptive parents are dead. There’s no one left to protect you. You’ve started asking questions.

If you keep digging, you’ll uncover everything. I had to stop you. That’s why I sent those men to kill you."

Gu Jin stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up again.

"So now what? You’ve answered everything. You think I’ll just disappear?"

Miss Xia grinned.

"You don’t get it, do you? I didn’t tell you all this out of kindness. I said it because I wanted to. It was my last gift to you."

Her voice turned cold again.

"Now, you die."

Before Gu Jin could move, Miss Xia’s hands glowed with energy. With a swift motion, she sent a powerful strike toward Gu Jin.

Gu Jin quickly jumped back, her heart pounding.

I can’t use my magic, she reminded herself. If I do, they’ll know I’m an outsider. And I’ll be executed.

So she dodged the next strike. And the next.

Miss Xia kept attacking, furious and wild.

"You should’ve stayed in the mountains!" she shouted. "This world doesn’t need you!"

Gu Jin didn’t answer. She only kept moving, trying to avoid every blow.

Suddenly, loud footsteps came from the bushes.

The soldiers burst out of hiding.

"Stop!" one of them shouted.

Miss Xia froze in shock. She hadn’t expected them to be there.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

The officer stepped forward, his face filled with anger and disappointment.

"We were watching everything," he said coldly. "We heard your every word. We saw your true face."

Miss Xia backed away. "No... that’s not true... I-I was just acting!"

"You weren’t acting," another soldier said. "You meant every word."

Gu Jin stood quietly, breathing hard. Her clothes were torn, and her knees were scraped, but her eyes were steady.

The general looked at Miss Xia with deep pain in his eyes.

"I always thought you were innocent," he said slowly.

"I thought the baby swap wasn’t your fault. But I was wrong. You knew. You lied. You took someone else’s life and made it yours. You even worked with your parents to keep my real daughter away."

Miss Xia stepped forward, her hands shaking.

"No! That’s not true! Maybe Lian Ruo is using forbidden magic to control me! Maybe she made me say those things!"

But no one believed her.

They had seen how her smile had turned cruel.

They had heard the way she laughed when she thought she had won.

The soldiers looked at her with cold eyes now. The same girl they once protected—they now feared.

"She’s lying," Miss Xia whispered, pointing at Gu Jin. "She’s dangerous! She’s the liar!"

But her words fell into silence.

The General turned sharply to the soldiers. _{free.webn\ove(l)(.)c(o)m}

"Capture her."

Miss Xia’s eyes widened. "No—wait! Please!"

The soldiers moved fast. She started to struggle, trying to escape their grip, but it was no use.

"Please! Dad! I’ve stayed in your mansion for twenty-two years! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"

She cried loudly, her voice full of fear. "You used to tell me bedtime stories... You used to carry me when I was sick... I called you father all my life!"

But the General didn’t look at her. His face stayed cold. He turned his back to her and walked over to Gu Jin.

"Now that the danger is over," he said softly, "will you come home with me?"

Gu Jin nodded. "Yes. I’m ready."

The soldiers dragged Miss Xia away, her cries growing faint behind them.

....................................

Soon, they reached the Xia Mansion.

The gates were tall and golden. The mansion looked like a palace. Gu Jin stared at it for a moment. So this... this was where she was supposed to grow up. This was the life that was meant to be hers.

Inside, the General called everyone together.

Two young women and a middle-aged woman came out from the hall. The middle-aged woman had gentle eyes and soft features. The two girls beside her looked curious and a bit nervous.

The General smiled gently at the middle-aged woman.

"She’s home," he said. "I found our real daughter."

The woman paused only for a second, then quickly walked over to Gu Jin with a warm smile. She hugged her tightly.

"My dear child," she whispered, "I missed you so much. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. I didn’t protect you. I didn’t notice the swap... Forgive me."

She started crying into Gu Jin’s shoulder, repeating her apology.

Gu Jin patted her back politely. The woman was kind, yes. But she wasn’t her true mother. And Gu Jin wasn’t the real daughter either, not exactly. The real daughter was hidden safely in her space. No one could know that.

The General introduced everyone. "This is your mother, Madam Xia. These two are your sisters, Xia Lan and Xia Fei."

Gu Jin nodded at each of them. "Nice to meet you."

The two sisters gave small bows in return, but their eyes stayed on Gu Jin with unreadable looks.

Then, Xia Fei asked, "Father, where is Sister Xia Wei?"

Gu Jin’s eyes flickered. So her real name is Xia Wei, she thought.

The General paused for a moment. Then he said, "She’s on vacation. She won’t be back anytime soon."

The sisters exchanged glances but didn’t ask more.

However, Madam Xia suddenly turned toward the General, her crying face now stern and serious.

"What do you mean she won’t be back?" she demanded. "Where did she go? What happened?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise. Her tone was sharp, too sharp. Even Gu Jin found it strange.

But after a moment, she reminded herself: Madam Xia raised Xia Wei for 22 years. Maybe she’s just emotional. Maybe she’s attached.

Still, Gu Jin stayed quiet no longer.

"I’ll tell you," she said softly.

And so, Gu Jin told them everything.

From the DNA test to Xia Wei’s confession in the forest, from the attacks to the truth behind the swap.

By the end of her story, Madam Xia’s face had gone pale.

But she didn’t turn to comfort Gu Jin. Instead, she turned against her.

"You’re lying!" she yelled.

She raised her hand and tried to slap Gu Jin.

But Gu Jin caught her wrist before the hand could land.

"Why are you trying to hit me?" Gu Jin asked calmly.

Madam Xia glared at her.

"You must’ve bewitched her! Xia Wei would never say such things! You used forbidden magic on her, didn’t you?!"

Gu Jin looked her straight in the eyes. "I didn’t use any magic. In fact, I don’t even have a cultivation base."

The room fell silent.

Everyone stared at her in shock.

Gu Jin continued.

"The people who raised me, they never let me learn cultivation. They never let me go to school. Never let me near the city.

They said they loved me, but their love had rules. I had to stay home. Had to stay quiet. Had to stay poor."

Xia Lan and Xia Fei lowered their heads. Their eyes were filled with pity now.

Gu Jin thought back to her talk with the real daughter, the one resting in her space. It was true, the adoptive parents had planned everything.

They didn’t want the real daughter to grow strong.