Chapter 156: Path to Present

  "Yes! Yes! I knew it! I was right!"

  Lei’s victorious shout rang out across the vibrant, sun-drenched flower field, startling a flock of desert finches into the air. She began literally jumping up and down in pure, unadulterated excitement, her midnight-blue hair bouncing wildly with every leap. The regal, untouchable noble persona she wore at the academy was completely gone, replaced by the sheer, unbridled joy of an overeager child who had just found a legendary treasure.

  "I knew it! I knew it!" Lei exclaimed, her dark eyes sparkling like polished obsidian. She began pacing rapidly, her mind racing a mile a minute. "If the Lords truly exist... then what else is real?! Fallens? Ancient, buried civilizations? The old mythologies of the First Age?! The possibilities are absolutely endless! Oh, I am so excited!"

  Zhu stood there, utterly speechless.

  This specific breed of mortal was an absolute first for her. As a demigod—a being crafted by Silas—she was used to humans reacting to her with either profound reverence or absolute, groveling terror.

  But this girl? She was treating Zhu like a fascinating new pet.

  Zhu's small wrist was still locked in Lei's grip. The twelve-year-old Lord planted her boots into the dirt and tugged hard, trying to pry herself free. But to her absolute bewilderment, Lei’s hand didn't even budge. For a noble lady, her grip was terrifyingly strong, the soft skin of her palm hiding layers of hardened, martial arts-honed callouses.

  Meanwhile, a few feet away, Harrison was losing his mind.

  "There is no way!" young Harrison shouted, pacing back and forth so aggressively he was carving a trench into the soft grass. His jaw was hanging completely loose, his eyes wide with a desperate, frantic denial. He suddenly stopped and pointed a shaking finger at the scruffy, red-haired kid.

  "Who are you trying to trick here, kid?!" Harrison yelled. "Lords?! Those are bedtime fairy tales! Stop giving this weird lady false hope!"

  He quickly pivoted, pointing his trembling finger directly at Lei's nose. "And you! Don't force your wild delusions onto this random kid! Can't you see she's terrified of you?! She only said 'yes' because she was completely intimidated by your crazy interrogation!"

  Lei stopped jumping and blinked. She looked down at the scowling kid whose wrist she was still holding.

  "Are you intimidated by me?" Lei asked genuinely, tilting her head.

  Zhu stared at Lei with a perfectly flat, deadpan expression, and slowly shook her head.

  "See?" Lei grinned triumphantly, gesturing to Zhu with her free hand. "She is not intimidated at all. It's just the truth, Harrison! I mean, think about it logically! How else are you going to explain six fully-grown, armed men suddenly combusting into ash with a single stare?! She is a Lord! A genuine, walking, breathing Lord! This is the discovery of a lifetime, you know!"

  "Core powers! Inherited artifacts! Highly concentrated elemental dust!" Harrison listed off rapidly, throwing his hands in the air, desperately clinging to the crumbling edges of his scientific worldview. "Those things exist! I will absolutely not accept that beings like Lords and demigods are real! There has to be a better explanation! A scientific one! A physical one!"

  Harrison rushed forward, dropping to one knee in the grass. He placed both of his trembling hands firmly onto Zhu's small shoulders, his brown eyes pleading.

  "Right, kid?" Harrison begged softly. "Come on, work with me here. Tell her it was a trick."

  "Unhand me!" Zhu shouted, her fiery eyes flaring.

  Smack!

  She violently swatted Harrison’s hands away, a tiny wisp of smoke curling from her fingertips as a warning. She glared at the scrawny teenager, her presence suddenly feeling impossibly heavy.

  "I am a Lord," Zhu stated, her voice echoing with that same unnatural, commanding authority that had terrified the bandits in the cave. "What part of that do you not understand, mortal?"

  Zhu then turned her head, looking up at Lei, who was still holding her wrist. "Are all mortals this incredibly annoying and dense?"

  "Nope! Just him, I'm pretty sure of it," Lei giggled, absolutely delighted by the dynamic.

  "Am I the only normal, sane person left here?!" Harrison shouted, clutching his rejected hands to his chest, thoroughly baffled by the madness unfolding around him. "How could you just randomly say you are a demigod from the storybooks?! What am I even supposed to call you if you aren't a kid?!"

  "It is not 'kid', you buffoon," Zhu sneered, crossing her free arm over her chest.

  "Then what?!" Harrison asked, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "What should I call you? Lord Lords? Because that definitely doesn't roll off the tongue! Come on, just tell us the truth! Maybe you are a once-in-a-generation elemental prodigy? A runaway experiment? Something? Anything?!"

  "Pathetic," Zhu scoffed, her lip curling in disdain as she watched him practically beg. "I do not lie to mortals. I am who I am. A Lord. The one who made me told me so."

  Lei’s bright smile softened just a fraction, a sudden, curious thought crossing her mind. She crouched down slightly to meet Zhu at eye level.

  "Do you really not have a name?" Lei asked gently.

  "I don't need one," Zhu answered bluntly, looking away toward the distant city walls. "Names are a mortal issue. Used for mundane attachments. I only need my authority."

  Lei stared at the scruffy, defiant child for a few seconds. The gentle rustle of the wind blowing through the flower field filled the quiet space between them.

  Then, Lei smiled. It wasn't the manic, excited grin from before, but a warm, resolute, and profoundly stubborn smile.

  "Then, Zhu Lihua," Lei declared, her voice clear and ringing with a strange, undeniable finality. "That will be your name from now on."

  Zhu froze.

  "Wha—" Zhu gasped, genuinely taken aback for the very first time.

  Her fiery eyes widened in absolute shock. Not once since her birth by Silas had anyone or anything dared to presume they had the right to name her. She was an extension of Silas. Yet here was this mortal woman—who was still casually holding her wrist, by the way—nonchalantly bestowing an identity upon her as if commenting on the weather.

  "How dare you," Zhu stammered, the authoritative edge completely falling away from her voice, leaving only the confused tone of a twelve-year-old girl. "You are... you are too... too... uh..."

  Zhu’s intellect completely short-circuited. She lacked the human vocabulary to describe the sheer audacity of this girl.

  "Straightforward? Stubborn? Very 'my pace'?" Lei helpfully started listing traits, ticking them off on her fingers with a bright giggle. "I get that a lot! But I have to be, otherwise nothing ever gets done!"

  Zhu was completely overwhelmed. She spun around, pointing a desperate finger at Harrison, who was still kneeling in the dirt.

  "You!" Zhu ordered him, her face flushing a deep shade of crimson. "Force her to unhand me! This woman... she makes me feel weird!"

  Harrison took one look at Zhu's panicked face, then looked at Lei's unyielding, joyful grin. He slowly, deliberately raised both of his hands high into the air in a gesture of total surrender.

  "You are entirely on your own, buddy," Harrison said, shaking his head. "This girl will not listen to anyone. Trust me on this. I've got the bruises to prove it."

  "Wha—?!" Zhu was rendered completely speechless. She dug her heels into the grass, trying even harder to rip her arm out of Lei's iron grip, but it was utterly useless.

  "Alright! Now that the introductions are confirmed, let's get out of here before the guards circle back!" Lei announced brightly.

  Without a single word of warning, Lei bent her knees, grabbed Zhu by the waist, and effortlessly hoisted the terrifying, fire-breathing demigod high above her head like a sack of potatoes.

  "Unhand me this instant!" Zhu shrieked, her legs kicking wildly in the air.

  "Let's go back to my place!" Lei cheered, completely ignoring the flailing Lord above her as she broke into a sprint across the flower field.

  Harrison, seeing the absolute chaos erupting, saw a golden window of opportunity. He slowly, quietly began to walk backward, hoping to slip away into the tall grass and return to his blessedly normal, boring life.

  But as Lei sprinted past him, her free hand shot out with terrifying precision.

  Her fingers clamped down on the back of Harrison's collar.

  "Gah!" Harrison choked as his backward momentum was violently reversed.

  "You're coming too!" Lei laughed, dragging the protesting teenager and carrying the flailing demigod toward the distant gates of Jinlun, binding the three of them together in a knot that not even time could untie.

  Soon enough, they found themselves back within the towering, opulent walls of the Amber Palace.

  The journey through the grand estate was an agonizing gauntlet of social awkwardness. Passing through the gilded corridors, they attracted the incredibly weird, highly judgmental gazes of the crimson-armored guards and the silk-clad maids.

  The Princess brought a scrawny foreign boy and a dirty street urchin into the inner palace? the servants murmured behind their hands, the rustle of their silk gowns sounding like hissing snakes. What is she up to this time?

  But Lei did not care in the slightest. She completely ignored the whispering court, dragging her two hostages from section to section until they reached a massive set of double oak doors in the westernmost wing of the estate.

  Her room.

  Lei slammed the heavy doors wide open with her foot and unceremoniously tossed Zhu and Harrison inside.

  "What is this mortal going to do to us?!" Zhu demanded, her fiery eyes darting around the shadows of the unlit room. For the very first time in her existence, she discovered a genuine feeling of panic. It wasn't born of physical threat, but brought on purely by Lei's sheer, overwhelming extrovertedness and total lack of personal boundaries.

  "The absolute worst," Harrison gulped, rubbing his neck as he stumbled into the dark.

  Lei stepped inside and kicked the doors shut behind her. The heavy click of the lock echoed ominously. With a swift, practiced motion, she clapped her hands together. Instantly, the crystal lanterns around the massive room flared to life, filling the space with a warm, golden glow.

  "Ready?" Lei asked sinisterly, leaning forward so the shadows cast long, dramatic lines across her face.

  Both Zhu and Harrison gulped loudly in unison.

  "You two will be the very first ones to see this," she declared.

  She stepped aside, gesturing grandly with both arms. "Tada!"

  Harrison and Zhu blinked, their eyes adjusting to the light. The room was not at all what one would expect from the pristine, untouchable diva of Jinlun University. It was absolute, glorious chaos.

  Massive, towering bookshelves lined the walls near her four-poster bed, completely overflowing with thick tomes and ancient scrolls. Her sprawling mahogany desk was buried under stacks of worn parchment, navigational maps, and hurriedly scribbled notes detailing ancient tales and rumors she had bought from passing sailors and rugged mercenaries.

  But most surprisingly, the room was filled with adventuring gear. There were heavy leather satchels, coils of durable climbing rope, brass compasses, and sturdy canteens. However, despite the sheer volume of equipment, it all looked suspiciously pristine. Untouched. Unused.

  "Welcome... to my lair! MUAHAHAHAHA!" Lei threw her head back and started laughing like a theatrical storybook villain, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

  "Stop."

  Harrison walked right up to her and planted a flat palm directly over her face, muffling the evil cackle.

  "Was the laugh entirely necessary?" Harrison asked, his voice dripping with absolute deadpan exhaustion.

  Lei playfully swatted his hand away. "How else am I going to make a dramatic reveal? You have to set the mood!"

  Harrison let out a long, suffering sigh. He looked over at Zhu, who was standing frozen near the door. "Look, you made the Lord—and I still cannot believe that word just came out of my mouth—completely speechless again."

  Zhu was indeed staring at Lei with dead, unblinking eyes. Her cosmic intellect was once again short-circuiting. Who is this woman? Why is she like the living embodiment of a chaotic storm? Should I melt her? Why am I here? Her mind spun in useless circles.

  "I mean, how else am I going to take proper statements and measurements?" Lei reasoned, completely oblivious to Zhu's internal crisis. She walked over to her desk, grabbing a charcoal pencil and a fresh piece of parchment. "I need the direct words and oral histories from a real, living Lord, right? And the absolute safest, most private place in Jinlun is my room. That is exactly why I brought her here."

  "Okay, fine. That logic I actually get," Harrison admitted, crossing his arms. "But what about me? Last I checked, I am 'not your friend'. So why did you drag me in here too?"

  "As a retainer, of course," Lei stated smoothly, not looking up from her parchment. "A sidekick. A witness. Still not friends, though."

  She turned her back to Harrison to adjust some papers on her desk. But as she did, a visible, faint blush crept across her cheeks—a tiny crack in her armor that Harrison couldn't see from his angle, but that Zhu's sharp, predatory eyes caught instantly.

  "I did not sign up for this," Harrison grumbled, kicking the leg of a nearby chair.

  "I never needed you to sign up for anything," Lei retorted cheerfully over her shoulder.

  "Look, Lady Lei," Harrison said, his tone softening slightly as the adrenaline of the chase wore off. He rubbed his aching wrist. "I really just wanted to ask how your body was holding up. Once you tell me you're okay, I will gladly go on my merry way. I have way too much on my plate right now after the kidnapping incident."

  Lei finally turned around, offering a bright, dismissive smile. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine! There is absolutely nothing wrong with my body. I just needed to stretch my legs and get out of that stuffy healing ward," she chuckled lightly.

  "Okay," Harrison nodded, relief visibly washing over his features. "I'm genuinely glad that you are fine. Because what happened back in that cave... with you coughing up blood... it was kinda scary."

  He looked around the chaotic room again, his eyes lingering on the pristine ropes and untouched maps. "But... adventuring, huh? That is definitely not a hobby I would ever expect a high noble lady to indulge in. It's weird."

  "It is not weird!" Lei pouted fiercely, her cheeks puffing out. She walked over and gently ran her fingers over the leather strap of a satchel. "Traveling the world has always been my absolute biggest dream since I was a little kid. Adventuring just happens to be a necessary byproduct of that dream. I want to see everything."

  "Okay, then what is stopping you?" Harrison asked, genuinely confused. He gestured around the opulent room. "You literally have the money. You have the royal resources. You have the freedom. Just buy a ticket and go out! It beats doing some martial arts assistant side-gig just to relieve stress."

  Lei's hand stopped moving over the leather. Her posture stiffened. "That's the thing, Harrison. You may look at it that way from the outside, but I am not as—"

  But Harrison, wrapped up in his own recent miseries, completely talked over her.

  "Meanwhile, I actually got caught by my parents because of that whole kidnapping mess!" Harrison interjected, his voice rising as he started to violently vent his frustrations. He began pacing the room again. "They pulled me entirely out of the university program! Now I am forced to live the rest of my boring days stuck on a boat as a naval navigator, inheriting a dying 'family business' that I want absolutely nothing to do with! I hate this!"

  Lei turned to look at him, her dark eyes softening with a flicker of empathy. "That... doesn't sound entirely bad, Harrison. Being with family—"

  "Ah, please!" Harrison threw his hands up, completely blinded by his own teenage bitterness. "I really, truly wish I could just have your life! I wish I had your infinite resources! If I were you, I would travel anywhere I wanted! Maybe I'd even chase after some fake fairy tales and ancient myths here and there! You have absolutely no real responsibilities!"

  SMACK.

  The sound of the slap echoed like a gunshot in the grand room.

  Harrison stumbled backward, his hand flying up to cover his rapidly reddening cheek. He looked at Lei in pure shock.

  "What was that for?!" Harrison asked, his voice cracking.

  Lei stood before him, her chest heaving. The bright, energetic girl from a moment ago was completely gone. Her dark eyes were blazing with a raw, agonizing fury, and her hands were clenched into tight, trembling fists.

  "How do you know I have no responsibilities?" Lei asked, her voice dropping into a deadly, quiet register that was far more terrifying than any shout. "How do you presume to know that I have freedom? You know absolutely nothing about me, Harrison Aster."

  She took a step forward, the sheer intensity of her presence backing him up against the heavy wooden door.

  "I thought you were different than the rest of the sycophants in this city," Lei said, her voice shaking with bitter disappointment. "But you are exactly the same. You just look at the title. Get out."

  "Huh?" Harrison blinked, his cheek burning. "But you were the one who literally dragged me in here—"

  "I said GET OUT!" Lei shouted, pointing a trembling finger directly at the door.

  Harrison’s own temper, fueled by embarrassment and a bruised ego, flared hot. He glared right back at her.

  "Fine!" Harrison spat, grabbing the brass door handle. He looked back at her chaotic desk and the pristine gear. "But just so you know... those books you have there? They are all just made-up tales. They are just dreams, Lei. And generally, dreams will eventually force you to wake up to reality!"

  SMACK.

  A second slap, even harder than the first, snapped Harrison's head to the side.

  "I don't mind if you mock me," Lei hissed, tears of pure, frustrated rage welling in the corners of her eyes. "But don't you dare mock my dream! You—"

  Lei’s voice suddenly hitched.

  The furious color drained from her face in an instant, replaced by a terrifying, translucent pallor. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and her knees completely buckled.

  "Lei?!"

  Harrison’s anger vanished instantly. He lunged forward, catching her limp body just before she hit the floor.

  "Lei? Lei! Wake up!" Harrison yelled, cradling her head. A jolt of terror shot up his arm—her skin wasn't just cold; it felt like he was holding a block of solid ice.

  "Move."

  Zhu, who had been standing silently in the corner observing the entire argument, reacted with lightning speed. She dropped to her knees beside them. Her fiery eyes narrowed as her cosmic senses flared.

  Without a word of warning, Zhu reached out and violently ripped the upper collar and sleeve of Lei's light blue tunic.

  "Hey! Kid, what are you doing?!" Harrison shouted, trying to swat her hands away.

  "Look," Zhu commanded flatly.

  Harrison looked down. Beneath the torn fabric, Lei's exposed skin was a horrifying sight. It was completely pale, but branching across her collarbone and down her arm were delicate, jagged lines that looked exactly like frost forming on a winter windowpane. The cracks were slowly spreading, emitting a faint, chilling mist.

  "What... what is that?" Harrison gasped, his fingers trembling as he hovered over the freezing cracks.

  "I don't know," Zhu said, her voice grim. "But this was exactly what I sensed back in that damp cave. It wasn't poison or exhaustion. Something fundamentally broken is happening inside her body."

  "That is the Frost Lotus disease."

  A new, heavily aged voice cut through the panic in the room.

  Harrison and Zhu snapped their heads toward the open doorway. Standing there, flanked by four heavily armored Royal Guards, was an elderly woman. She wore sweeping, immaculate robes of deep indigo. Her hair was a stark, silvery grey, but what caught Harrison's attention the most were her eyes. They were a piercing, immaculate silver—sharp, calculating, and entirely devoid of warmth.

  "Frost Lotus," the elderly woman repeated, stepping slowly into the room, her gaze fixed entirely on her collapsed daughter. "That is what the grand healers call it here. Her core body temperature drops to near freezing. The frost takes over her respiratory system and slowly blocks her ability to breathe. It is a one-of-a-kind, exceedingly rare disease."

  She finally tore her silver eyes away from Lei and leveled a glacial glare at Harrison. "And it has absolutely no cure."

  The heavy silence in the room was suffocating. Harrison looked down at the beautiful, stubborn girl in his arms, the reality of her 'freedom' crashing down on him with devastating clarity.

  "So, you two have seen enough, right?" the elderly woman said, her voice turning hard and authoritative. "Get out."

  She gestured to the guards, who stepped forward into the room.

  "I will not let my daughter's condition worsen by dealing with street rats and foreign runaways," the elder demanded, her tone leaving zero room for negotiation. "And you will not tell anyone else about what you have seen here today. Unless, of course, you wish to make the entire royal lineage of Ruhong your personal enemy. Do you understand?"

  "But...!" Harrison tried to argue, tightening his grip on Lei, desperate to help, to apologize, to do something.

  "Guards. Toss them," the old woman ordered coldly, turning her back on them.

  The massive armored men moved in immediately. They violently ripped Lei from Harrison's arms, then grabbed Harrison and Zhu by the scruffs of their necks.

  Before long, both Harrison and the twelve-year-old Lord were unceremoniously thrown out of the grand front gates of the Amber Palace, landing hard on the dusty cobblestones of the street.

  The heavy jade gates slammed shut behind them with a definitive, ringing boom, locking them out.

  Harrison sat there in the dirt for a long time. The physical stinging sensation on his cheeks from the two slaps was still burning hot. But it was absolutely nothing compared to the deep, agonizing pain of regret currently twisting in his chest.

  Harrison walked along the winding, lantern-lit streets of Jinlun, his head hung low, feeling utterly and completely defeated.

  The vibrant evening marketplace, filled with the aroma of roasted skewers and the loud haggling of merchants, faded into white noise. He couldn't focus on any of it. His mind was replaying the afternoon on a brutal, agonizing loop.

  He didn't know. How could he possibly have known?

  All he had seen in Lei was a fiercely headstrong, untouchable noblewoman. A girl who looked like she could command literal storms with her sheer charisma and unbreakable attitude. A girl who tackled life—and muddy streets—head-on.

  But beneath all that brilliant armor, she was incredibly, terrifyingly fragile.

  I should have seen it, Harrison berated himself, his fingernails digging into his palms.

  The clues had been staring him right in the face for weeks. The fifteen-minute hard timer during their grueling sparring sessions. The abrupt halts. The way she had collapsed in that dirty alleyway, coughing up blood, struggling desperately just to pull air into her freezing lungs.

  He should have realized she was seriously unwell. But to what extent? He still didn't fully comprehend what the 'Frost Lotus' disease entailed, only that it sounded like a slow, freezing death sentence.

  All he knew for certain right now was that he had made a colossal mistake.

  Blinded by his own petty, privileged misery—the "horror" of having to work a comfortable family business—he had violently belittled Lei's condition. He had mocked her dreams of traveling the world. Dreams she literally did not have the bodily freedom to achieve.

  He had been, by the truest definition of the word, an absolute asshole.

  And the dull, throbbing pain on both of his cheeks served as a constant, humiliating reminder of that fact.

  Harrison let out a long, shuddering sigh, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his guilt. He stopped near an intersection, the red glow of a paper lantern illuminating his miserable expression.

  He turned around.

  "So... why are you still following me?" Harrison asked flatly.

  Standing just a few paces behind him, her hands tucked into the oversized pockets of her stolen coat, was the scruffy, red-haired kid.

  "I don't know," Zhu answered, her face a perfect mask of neutrality.

  "Do you know anything?" Harrison asked, leaning back against a wooden post, too tired to even be scared of her anymore. "You are a Lord, right? An all-powerful being. Isn't knowing things kind of your job description?"

  "Actually, no," Zhu said, stepping into the light of the lantern. "Most of the time, our job is just to observe. And to prevent the total extinction of the continent. At least, that is what was told to me... forced into me by my creator. In reality, we Lords don't actually know a lot of things about this world."

  Harrison stared at her. A twelve-year-old girl talking casually about preventing continental extinction. It was still absurd.

  "Okay. Fine," Harrison sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But that still doesn't answer my question. Why are you following me through the merchant district?"

  Zhu tilted her head slightly, her fiery eyes studying his bruised, miserable face.

  "Because you two... are, let's say, interesting," Zhu stated.

  "Interesting?" Harrison repeated, scoffing bitterly. "Have you never seen two people have a screaming fight before?"

  "I have seen conflicts. Many of them. Mostly involving blades and blood," Zhu clarified, her tone entirely analytical. "But this one was different. That woman... Lei, was it? The loud, rude one."

  Zhu frowned, her cosmic intellect struggling to piece together the messy puzzle of human interaction. "She fought you. She struck you twice. But her words and her physical actions... they did not match her internal state. They did not match the 'other' thing she was projecting."

  Zhu gestured vaguely toward her own chest. "I don't know what you mortals call it. I lack the vocabulary. But she was furious at you, yet the act of striking you caused her own internal distress to spike. She was hurting herself to hurt you."

  Harrison flinched, the words twisting the knife of guilt deeper into his gut.

  "It defies logic," Zhu concluded, staring at Harrison as if he were a particularly fascinating specimen in a jar. "I feel like if I continue observing you two, I might gain something. A better understanding of these... anomalies."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Harrison looked at the emotionless child, realizing she was genuinely just trying to learn what it meant to feel. But he didn't have the energy to be her tour guide to human misery tonight.

  "I'm too tired for this," Harrison sighed, pushing himself off the wooden post. He turned his back on the bustling street and the young Lord. "Just... do whatever you need to do, kid. I'm going home."

  Zhu frowned, her fiery eyes tracking his movements. "This 'regret'. Will it go away if you meet her?"

  "Maybe," Harrison muttered, kicking a loose cobblestone. "If I actually apologize to her face... then maybe. But that doesn't concern me anymore. It's too late."

  Zhu stared at him for a long moment, processing the data.

  "Okay," Zhu declared. "Then, in order to continue my observation."

  Before Harrison could even blink, the twelve-year-old girl darted forward. She didn't grab his wrist or his collar. With strength that was mathematically impossible for her small frame, she swooped her arms under Harrison and effortlessly scooped him up into a perfect princess carry.

  "Wait! What are you doing?!" Harrison panicked, his long legs dangling awkwardly as he suddenly found himself held aloft by a child.

  "Hold on," Zhu instructed simply.

  "Hold on to whaaaaaa—!"

  Harrison's scream was torn from his throat as Zhu’s boots cracked the cobblestones. She launched herself into the air like a fired cannonball, becoming a blazing red blur as she leaped from the street, rebounding off the walls of the merchant stalls, and vaulting effortlessly across the rooftops of Jinlun, heading straight back to the Amber Palace.

  Zhu frowned, her fiery eyes tracking his movements. "This 'regret'. Will it go away if you meet her?"

  "Maybe," Harrison muttered, kicking a loose cobblestone. "If I actually apologize to her face... then maybe. But that doesn't concern me anymore. It's too late."

  Zhu stared at him for a long moment, processing the data.

  "Okay," Zhu declared. "Then, in order to continue my observation."

  Before Harrison could even blink, the twelve-year-old girl darted forward. She didn't grab his wrist or his collar. With strength that was mathematically impossible for her small frame, she swooped her arms under Harrison and effortlessly scooped him up into a perfect princess carry.

  "Wait! What are you doing?!" Harrison panicked, his long legs dangling awkwardly as he suddenly found himself held aloft by a child.

  "Hold on," Zhu instructed simply.

  "Hold on to whaaaaaa—!"

  Harrison's scream was torn from his throat as Zhu’s boots cracked the cobblestones. She launched herself into the air like a fired cannonball, becoming a blazing red blur as she leaped from the street, rebounding off the walls of the merchant stalls, and vaulting effortlessly across the rooftops of Jinlun, heading straight back to the Amber Palace.

  Back inside the opulent, heavily guarded confines of the westernmost room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly bleak.

  "We have done absolutely everything we can, Mistress Yu Hang," the head royal healer said, his voice trembling as he bowed low. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, refusing to look at the bed. "The Frost Lotus has spread to her deeper meridian lines. She really has... at most, another year."

  Standing near the ornate doors, Lei's mother, Mistress Yu Hang, closed her silver eyes. Her face was a mask of cold, unyielding stone.

  "Alright. You may go now," Yu Hang dismissed them with a sharp wave of her hand.

  "We are humbly sorry, Mistress Yu Hang," the healer bowed again before scurrying out the door with his assistants.

  Yu Hang didn't look at them as they left. She didn't walk over to the bed either.

  "It is not your fault," she muttered bitterly to the empty air, her fists clenching at her sides. "She is just weak. That is just how it is."

  She finally cast a cold, sideways glance at the four-poster bed. "Tch. Useless. Now that brat from the Vermillion Bird family will undoubtedly take the throne. The lineage is broken."

  Without another word, Yu Hang turned on her heel and walked out, slamming the heavy double doors angrily behind her.

  Inside the room, the silence returned.

  Slowly, Lei opened her dark eyes.

  She was weak. Her limbs felt like they were made of lead, and every breath sent a freezing ache through her chest, but she was awake. She had heard every single word.

  The Azure Dragon family had been the absolute ruling lineage among the four great noble clans of Ruhong for centuries. Each offspring had been meticulously groomed and tasked to become the next King or Queen of the region. But this time, in a once-in-a-generation failure, that unbroken chain had snapped.

  All because of her. All because of her weak, cursed constitution.

  Despite being a prodigy, despite possessing a mind sharp enough to master complex martial arts theories by merely observing them, her physical body simply couldn't keep up with her spirit. Thus, she was chained. Chained to this massive, opulent, suffocating room.

  All she could do in her free time was sit by the window, gazing out at the bustling city of Jinlun and the vast, endless ocean beyond. She was forced to long for a world she knew she would never truly experience. That desperate, burning hunger was what had led her to hoard books, ancient manuscripts, and pristine adventuring gear she would never use.

  Her condition had been violently hidden from the public to maintain the royal family's absolute dignity. She was paraded as the untouchable, perfect diva. But now? Since the next heir from a rival family had been practically decided due to her impending death, she was going to be quietly tossed aside. Forgotten.

  Harrison's bitter words hung in her mind, echoing cruelly in the silent room.

  I wish I could just have your life! You have all the freedom!

  "Freedom..." Lei whispered to the empty room, a weak, hollow laugh escaping her cracked lips. "What a joke. I never had that, you idiot."

  She looked up at the ceiling, the tears finally welling in her dark eyes.

  "But... I guess this is for the better," Lei said, her voice cracking. "He doesn't have to deal with a broken vase like me anymore."

  Slowly, agonizingly, Lei lifted her hands. She looked at her shaky, pale arms, the jagged, frosty blue veins pulsing beneath the surface of her skin, counting down the days she had left.

  The facade of the strong, untouchable princess finally shattered completely. She pulled her knees to her chest and wept into her hands.

  "I don't want to die..." she cried, the raw, terrified admission spilling out into the cold room. "I don't want to die..."

  "Who will die?"

  The voice was entirely flat and unbothered.

  Lei gasped, her head snapping up from her knees. She looked toward the large, open balcony window.

  Standing right there, bathed in the moonlight, were Zhu and Harrison. And to make the image even more utterly absurd, the scrawny, teenage Harrison was currently being held in a flawless princess carry by the twelve-year-old girl.

  "Kyaaaaa—!" Lei shrieked, scrambling backward on her silk sheets.

  "Shh! Shh!" Harrison panicked. He practically dove out of Zhu's arms, leaping across the room to clamp his hands firmly over Lei's mouth.

  "Idiot! Are you trying to get us killed?!" Harrison hissed, his eyes darting frantically toward the locked double doors. "If the guards hear you, they will literally toss us out again! And my cheek still hurts from the last time!"

  Lei blinked, her dark eyes wide with shock. She slowly reached up and peeled Harrison's hands away from her face.

  "How are you here?" Lei asked, her voice dropping to a harsh, confused whisper. She looked at the four-story drop outside her window. "Why are you here?!"

  "I have absolutely no idea," Harrison groaned, dragging a hand down his face. He pointed an accusing finger at the red-haired kid casually stepping into the room. "This kid just kidnapped me from the street and jumped over the palace walls!"

  "Stop saying 'this kid'," Lei scolded him, crossing her arms despite her frailty. "Her name is Zhu Lihua. I named her that."

  "I am not your pet! I didn't agree to that!" Zhu argued from the corner, pausing her inspection of a pristine spyglass on Lei's desk to glare at them.

  "But you don't have a name, right?" Lei countered, a fraction of her usual sass returning as she wiped her tears away. "And we desperately need to call you something. So, Zhu it is."

  Zhu stared at her, then simply gave up on the spot, turning her attention back to the spyglass. This mortal was entirely too much for her instruction to handle.

  Zhu then turned her fiery eyes toward Harrison. "Go on. You said you had regrets. Resolve them so I may conclude my observation."

  "Regrets?" Lei asked, thoroughly confused, looking up at the scrawny boy standing by her bed.

  Harrison sighed, a long, heavy sound. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

  "Fine, fine. Don't push me," Harrison grumbled at Zhu. He turned back to the bed, taking a deep breath and looking steadily into Lei's dark, tear-stained eyes.

  Suddenly, Harrison bowed. A deep, rigid, full ninety-degree bow.

  "I am sorry," Harrison declared, his voice ringing with formal, stiff sincerity. "I should not have mocked your dreams like that. I was not aware of your severe medical condition. For that, I am deeply and profoundly sorry."

  Lei stared at him for a long, silent moment. Then, she scrunched up her nose.

  "Too dramatic. Too stiff. Not my style at all," Lei criticized, waving her hand dismissively. "Repeat it."

  "What?!" Harrison snapped out of his bow, his face flushing red. "That was straight from the heart, you know!"

  Lei laughed—a genuine, musical sound that chased the shadows from the corners of the room. "If that was from your heart, then your heart needs some serious tweaking, Aster! That was awful! Have you never officially apologized to a girl before, or what?"

  "You...!" Harrison gritted his teeth, his hands balling into fists. He forced himself to calm down, remembering the horrific cracks on her skin.

  He pulled a wooden chair closer to the bed and sat down heavily. "So... what is this about not wanting to die? Who is going to die?"

  The laughter faded from Lei's lips, replaced by a devastating, quiet vulnerability.

  "Me," Lei said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked down at her hands. "I heard the head healer talking to my mother. The Frost Lotus... it has already spread all over my deep meridian pathways. They said I don't have long. A year, at most."

  "Darn it," Lei cursed softly. She began to repeatedly, weakly slam her fist against her mattress, her frustration boiling over. "Pathetic, aren't I? The great, untouchable... dying quietly in her room like a wilted flower."

  Tears began rolling down her cheeks again, hot and heavy.

  Harrison didn't say a word. He stood up from the chair, moved to the edge of the bed, and carefully wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her into a firm, warm hug, resting his chin on the top of her midnight-blue hair.

  "No. Never," Harrison said, his voice incredibly soft, yet ringing with an unshakable truth. "You are not pathetic. And that dream of yours... to see the world... that is not pathetic either."

  He tightened his embrace, letting her cry into his shirt.

  "I am," Harrison confessed. "I am the pathetic one. I am a coward who belittles others to make himself feel better. I was privileged enough to have a family who actually cared about me, and a perfectly healthy body... yet I had the audacity to belittle you without fully understanding anything about your life. I am so sorry, Lei."

  He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "You are strong, Lei. You are the strongest woman I have ever met."

  Lei’s composure finally, completely broke. She buried her face deep into Harrison's chest, her hands gripping his shirt as she sobbed.

  "I tried to be strong!" she cried, the words tearing from her throat. "I tried to be useful to my family! I tried to fight it! But I can't! I don't want to die, Harrison! What should I do?! I'm so scared!"

  Harrison held her, his eyes scanning the chaotic, beautiful room. He looked at the towering bookshelves, the meticulously annotated maps, the pristine compasses, and the heavy leather satchels waiting for a journey that would never come.

  "Then..." Harrison started, his voice steadying as an idea took root in his mind. "Maybe... share your dream. Share it with someone."

  "Huh?" Lei sniffled, looking up at him through her tears. "What do you mean?"

  "Let me be your legs. Let me be your eyes," Harrison proposed, his brown eyes burning with a sudden, fierce determination. "If you physically can't go out there... then let me go for you. Let me discover those ancient ruins, chart those maps, and write those tales down for you."

  Lei stared at him, wiping a tear from her cheek. Despite the heavy emotion, she let out a wet, genuine snort of disbelief.

  "Pfffttt," Lei scoffed, eyeing his incredibly thin arms. "You? Someone who looks like he will literally snap in half with a strong gust of wind? Like hell you can survive out there."

  "Then teach me," Harrison countered instantly, refusing to back down.

  There was no mockery in his gaze. There was no hesitation. For the very first time in his aimless, scrawny life, Harrison Aster had found exactly what he wanted to do. He found a purpose.

  "Idiot," Lei joked weakly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Is this some kind of new, weirdly intense style of confession?"

  But Harrison did not react to the joke. He remained perfectly serious, holding her gaze.

  "I will die in a year, you know," Lei reminded him, her voice dropping.

  "I know," Harrison nodded.

  Lei looked at him, searching for pity, but found only resolve. A small, brilliant smile finally broke across her face.

  "You really are incredibly dumb," Lei said, shaking her head. "Fine. You win. Come here secretly every single night. I will drill everything you need to know about survival, martial arts, and navigation directly into your thick skull."

  She poked him firmly in the chest. "But in return... I want the stories. In excruciating detail. Oh, and you better actually successfully find things! No coming back empty-handed!"

  "I will," Harrison promised, placing his hand over hers.

  "Uhhhh..."

  A small, entirely unbothered voice broke the profound, romantic atmosphere.

  Harrison and Lei startled, jumping apart slightly. They looked over to see Zhu standing near the desk, her hand raised high in the air like a student asking a question in class.

  "I completely forgot that you were even here," Harrison sighed, his cheeks turning red. "What's up, kid?"

  "I might not be able to cure her fully," Zhu stated flatly, lowering her hand. "But if the goal is simply to extend her lifespan... I can do that."

  "What?!" Lei gasped, practically jumping out of the bed. She rushed over and grabbed both of Zhu's small hands. "You can?!"

  Zhu nodded slowly, her fiery eyes analyzing the frost creeping up Lei's neck. "Your 'Frost Lotus' seems to originate from some kind of volatile, berserk ice-element energy deeply rooted in your core. I am the Blaze Lord. The absolute ruler of fire. I can continuously melt that frost from within you by sharing a fragment of my internal energy."

  Zhu frowned slightly, adding a caveat. "But I do not know for how long. The clash of elements takes a toll. Eventually, your frail mortal body will still..."

  "It's okay," Lei interrupted softly, squeezing the young Lord's hands tightly. "I know. But more time is better than nothing. Thank you, Zhu. Truly."

  It was a genuine, pure gratitude. It was the very first time since her creation that Zhu had ever received such an emotion from a mortal without it being laced with fear or worship.

  It was warm. To the demigod of fire, it felt warmer than her own flames.

  *****

  From that night forward, the trajectory of their lives changed completely. The unlikely trio would meet in secret, gathering under the cloak of night within the opulent confines of Lei's room in the Amber Palace.

  The months turned into years, captured in a vibrant, exhausting montage of growth and shared secrets.

  Lei became a merciless taskmaster. She taught Harrison absolutely everything about adventuring logistics. They poured over ancient texts by candlelight, decoding myths and charting treacherous mountain paths. While Lei lectured from her bed or a plush chair, Zhu would sit quietly beside her, placing a glowing, warm hand against Lei's back, steadily feeding her divine fire to keep the Frost Lotus at bay.

  To ensure she had constant access to Lei, Zhu was officially taken in by the Princess as her personal, private retainer. It was the perfect cover for a demigod to monitor her mortal charge.

  Meanwhile, Harrison transformed. He worked brutally hard at his parents' navigation business down at the Jinlun docks. He hauled massive shipping crates under the blistering sun, pulled heavy mooring ropes, and steered small boats against the crashing tide. The scrawny, awkward teenager slowly packed thick, dense muscle onto his frame. His shoulders broadened, his jaw sharpened, and the confident, rugged adventurer Yukari knew from the stories finally began to emerge.

  The three of them grew incredibly close during this hidden time.

  Lei, despite her limited mobility, practically forced Zhu to learn martial arts alongside Harrison. ("Byoo! And then Booosh! Come on, Zhu, put your hips into it!") Not that the Blaze Lord physically needed martial arts, but Lei insisted it was "good for character building."

  To the absolute shock of both Lei and Harrison, it was during these sparring sessions that Zhu finally unlocked her mature disguise. One evening, after getting particularly annoyed at Harrison's sloppy footwork, the twelve-year-old girl shimmered in a pillar of fire and stepped out as the tall, imposing, and breathtakingly fierce adult woman she would become known as. Harrison had dropped his sword in sheer terror, while Lei had simply clapped in delight.

  And amidst the sweat, the old maps, and the shared secrets, the romantic spark between Harrison and Lei grew from a tentative ember into a deep, undeniable fire. It was found in the quiet moments—the way Harrison would bring her rare, beautiful seashells from the docks, or the way Lei would gently bandage his bruised knuckles, their hands lingering just a second too long.

  Through observing them, Zhu slowly unlocked her own spectrum of human emotions. She learned how to smile at Harrison's terrible jokes. She learned the sting of annoyance when Lei bossed her around. She learned what it meant to belong to a family.

  However, despite the warmth of those golden years, reality remained a harsh anchor.

  Lei's condition did not get fundamentally better. Zhu's divine fire was able to effectively extend her lifespan well beyond the healer's one-year prognosis, but Lei's physical mobility remained severely limited. The cold always lingered in her bones, keeping her largely confined to the Amber Palace, her dreams of the outside world living solely through the maps on her desk.

  Before they knew it, five incredible years had passed.

  The golden hour light poured through the open balcony window of Lei's room, casting long, dramatic shadows.

  "Do you have absolutely everything?" Lei asked.

  She was sitting in her plush velvet chair, a thick woolen blanket draped over her lap despite the warm Jinlun afternoon. She looked older, her beauty refined by maturity, though the pale, frosted veins were more prominent on her neck now.

  Standing before her was the reborn Harrison Aster.

  He was twenty-three years old, tall, broad-shouldered, and exuding a calm, unshakeable confidence. He was clad in his full, iconic adventuring gear—the sturdy leather duster, the heavy boots, the utility belts loaded with grappling hooks and the wide-brimmed hat. He looked like a man ready to conquer the world.

  "Yeah," Harrison smiled, adjusting the heavy pack on his shoulder. "I double-checked the manifest. Three times."

  "Are you absolutely sure you are going to be alright?" Lei asked, her hands gripping the armrests tightly, her dark eyes swirling with a mix of pride and deep-seated worry. "You will be completely alone out there this time."

  "Don't worry," Harrison tipped his hat, flashing her that familiar, reckless grin. "I was personally trained by the best, most terrifying woman I know."

  Lei couldn't help but smile back, a soft blush coloring her pale cheeks.

  "Then go get 'em, Aster," Lei said softly. "And remember the rule. Only bring back successful news. No dying allowed."

  "I know," Harrison nodded. He stepped closer, dropping to one knee before her chair, taking her cold, fragile hands into his large, calloused ones.

  "And Lei..." Harrison began, his voice dropping into a serious, tender register. "Before I go... no, wait. After I return from this first grand expedition... there is something incredibly important I want to tell you."

  Lei's breath hitched slightly. "It can't be said right now?" she asked, her heart fluttering against the ice in her chest.

  "No," Harrison smiled softly, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "It has to be after. It will be my first story for you. So... please wait for me. Okay?"

  Lei looked into his warm brown eyes, seeing the unyielding promise reflected there. She nodded slowly.

  "I will wait," Lei swore.

  Harrison gave her hands one last squeeze, stood up, and turned toward the open balcony. He climbed up onto the stone railing, the wind catching his leather coat, preparing to take his first literal leap into the vast, unknown world of Calvenoor.

  From the dark corner of the room, leaning casually against a bookshelf, the adult Zhu Lihua watched him go. She didn't say goodbye. She just offered a single, respectful nod to the man who was about to become a legend, standing guard over the woman he was leaving behind.

  The evening breeze flowing through the open balcony was a stark contrast to the heavy, suffocating silence that settled over the room the moment Harrison disappeared from sight.

  Lei exhaled a long, shaky breath, allowing her rigid posture to finally slump against the plush velvet of her chair. She raised a pale hand, tracing the faint, frosty veins creeping up her neck, a bittersweet smile lingering on her lips.

  Clack. Clack. Clack.

  The sharp, rhythmic sound of a silver-tipped cane striking the polished floorboards shattered the quiet.

  "Did that man finally leave?"

  The voice was like cracked ice. It cut through the warmth of the room instantly, freezing the atmosphere.

  Lei gasped, her head snapping toward the heavy oak doors. They were wide open. Standing in the threshold, her expression a mask of calculating disappointment, was Mistress Yu Hang.

  "Mother?" Lei stammered, instinctively pulling her woolen blanket tighter around her shoulders.

  Yu Hang stepped fully into the room, her glacial silver eyes sweeping over the scattered maps and adventuring gear before finally settling on her daughter.

  "You think I don't know?" Yu Hang asked, her voice dropping into a dangerous, deadly calm. She slowly tapped her cane. "About that commoner boy secretly scaling the walls and entering the Amber Palace night after night? Do you honestly believe the Royal Guards are so incompetent they would miss a clumsy teenager?"

  Lei froze, the color draining from her face. "You... you knew?"

  "Of course I knew," Yu Hang sneered, stepping closer. "And who do you think ordered the guards to look the other way and let it happen?"

  Lei’s lips parted, her mind racing to comprehend the logic. "But... why? You threw him out before."

  "I did," Yu Hang admitted coldly, stopping just a few feet from Lei's chair. "Because five years ago, the grand healers told me you only had a single year left to live. You were a dying weed, Lei. A broken branch on our family tree. I decided it was pointless to waste royal resources disciplining a girl who would be dead by winter anyway. So, I permitted your little fantasy."

  The words struck Lei like physical blows, each one meticulously designed to inflict maximum pain.

  "But," Yu Hang's eyes narrowed, a flash of genuine, bitter confusion crossing her sharp features. "Somehow, you miraculously survived. You clung to life like a parasite."

  She sighed, a harsh, exasperated sound. "Still, it was too late. The political damage was done. The lineage sequence was shattered. That arrogant brat from the Vermillion Bird family will still take the throne, and the Azure Dragon's prestige has permanently suffered because of your frailty."

  Yu Hang glared down at her daughter, her eyes brimming with unfiltered disappointment.

  "I'm... I'm sorry," Lei whispered, her voice trembling as she looked down at her lap.

  "Sorry alone will not fix anything," Mistress Yu Hang snapped, striking her cane against the floor.

  Lei bit her trembling lip, a desperate, ingrained sense of duty fighting against her frail body. She looked back up, her dark eyes shining with tears.

  "Then... what can I do, Mother?" Lei asked. "Despite everything, we are still family, are we not? The Azure Dragon lineage still gave me food, resources, and a place to live even when I was deemed useless. So please... let me help."

  Yu Hang's expression shifted. The raw anger smoothed out into a calculating, predatory satisfaction. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.

  "Oh? You truly want to help me? You want to help the family?" Yu Hang asked, tilting her head.

  "Yes," Lei nodded.

  "Then you will get married to a man I have prepared," Yu Hang declared, the absolute finality in her voice leaving no room for argument. "He is a highly respected, exceptionally wealthy noble from a neighboring city. This marriage will solidify a crucial alliance and instantly improve our family's fading power amongst the four great noble houses."

  She stepped closer, towering over the sitting girl. "Do you agree?"

  Lei’s eyes widened in sheer, paralyzing shock. The world around her seemed to spin.

  "That..." Lei stammered, the image of Harrison's warm smile flashing violently in her mind. The promise he had just made. "I... I..."

  "I what?!" Yu Hang barked, her patience instantly evaporating. "Are you still spineless?! Tch. No matter. Your consent is a formality. This decree is absolute. You will get married."

  "But I can't! I..." Lei tried to force the words out, her chest constricting painfully.

  "You what? Love that man who just jumped out of your window?" Yu Hang scoffed, a twisted, mocking smile curling her lips. "He is a commoner, Lei. A boy who works at the docks with absolutely nothing to his name. You are a noble of the Azure Dragon. Why should I, or anyone else in this palace, consider your fleeting feelings about this?"

  "No! He is not just a commoner!" Lei shouted back, her voice suddenly finding a reserve of fierce, protective strength. She gripped the armrests of her chair, pushing herself up slightly. "He is someone who will become a great adventurer! He will chart the unknown and bring back things this family has never seen! I can guarantee it! Please, Mother, just give him time! I'm sure of it!"

  "Want to bet on that?"

  Yu Hang leaned down, her silver eyes locking onto Lei's dark ones with a terrifying intensity.

  "You speak of guarantees," Yu Hang mocked, her voice a deadly whisper. "But you have absolutely no cards to play, Lei. You have no money, no power, and a body that is practically dust. While I hold all the cards."

  "She has me."

  The voice did not come from Lei. It came from the dark corner of the room, calm, resonant, and dripping with an ancient, heavy authority.

  Mistress Yu Hang snapped her head to the side.

  Stepping out from the shadows of the bookshelves was Zhu Lihua. But she was no longer the scruffy twelve-year-old child Yu Hang remembered from five years ago. This was Zhu in her mature form—tall, imposing, her crimson hair framing a face of breathtaking, fierce beauty.

  "You?" Yu Hang scoffed, though she instinctively took a half-step back, unnerved by the sudden transformation and the sheer physical presence of the woman. "The dirty street rat she picked up from the alley? What could you possibly offer the Azure Dragon lineage?"

  Zhu didn't blink. Her fiery eyes bored directly into Yu Hang's soul.

  "If Harrison Aster fails to become a great adventurer... if he dies out there, or returns with nothing," Zhu spoke, her tone perfectly even, "then you can have me. I, the Blaze Lord, will become your absolute, personal retainer. My power will be entirely yours to command."

  Zhu took a slow, deliberate step forward, her boots completely silent on the carpet. "But... if Harrison returns successful... then he will marry her. Without interference."

  "Zhu, no!" Lei cried out, reaching a desperate hand toward her retainer. "You can't tie your life to this!"

  "Lords are a myth!" Yu Hang scoffed loudly, refusing to be intimidated by a servant in her own home. She gripped her cane tightly. "You think calling yourself a fairy tale title makes you valuable?!"

  Zhu did not raise her voice. She didn't draw a weapon. She simply narrowed her eyes and glared at the older woman.

  Instantly, the air around Yu Hang warped.

  A horrifying, suffocating sensation washed over the noblewoman. To Yu Hang, the ambient temperature of the room didn't just rise; it spiked into an unbearable, localized inferno. She gasped, a sudden, phantom stench of burning hair and searing flesh flooding her nostrils. She looked down at her own hands in absolute terror, hallucinating that her immaculate skin was bubbling and sloughing off her bones like melted wax.

  "Gah!" Yu Hang screamed, dropping her silver-tipped cane as she stumbled backward, frantically swatting at her own arms to put out flames that did not exist.

  A second later, the horrifying illusion vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The room was perfectly cool again.

  Yu Hang stood trembling against the heavy oak doors, her chest heaving, cold sweat drenching her expensive indigo robes. She looked at her pristine hands, then up at the terrifying, red-haired woman who hadn't moved an inch.

  "You... what... what did you do?" Yu Hang gasped, her silver eyes wide with genuine, primal fear.

  "Guess," Zhu scoffed softly, a faint, condescending smirk touching her lips.

  Yu Hang swallowed hard, her noble pride warring with her terrifying new reality. She scrambled to pick up her cane, her knuckles white. She looked at Zhu, realizing that whatever this woman was, she possessed a power that could indeed tip the scales of the entire continent.

  "Fine," Yu Hang hissed, her voice shaking but laced with a cruel, desperate bargain. "If that is how you want to play this foolish game. One year."

  She pointed a trembling finger at Lei. "I will give that commoner exactly one year. And then, if he fails to return as this 'great adventurer' you promise... you will marry the noble I have chosen."

  Yu Hang's finger shifted, pointing directly at Zhu. "And you will be my personal toy. My weapon. I don't care if Lords are real or not. You just disrespected me in my own home, street rat. I will enjoy breaking you."

  Without waiting for a response, Yu Hang turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the heavy double doors violently behind her.

  The oppressive silence rushed back in to fill the void.

  Lei slumped back into her chair, burying her face in her hands. "Zhu... you didn't have to do that," she sobbed, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the wager. "You bet your entire freedom on a man who just left!"

  Zhu walked over to the chair. The terrifying, imposing aura of the Blaze Lord completely melted away, replaced by a soft, genuine warmth. She reached out, gently placing a hand on Lei's trembling shoulder.

  "I had to," Zhu said, her voice quiet and fiercely protective. "She disrespected you. And I know you have been desperately waiting for that dumb blonde idiot to properly confess to you."

  Zhu looked toward the open balcony window, staring out at the same horizon Harrison had vanished into. A small, confident smile graced her lips.

  "And besides... don't worry, Lei," Zhu reassured her, the weight of five years of grueling, shared training behind her words. "We know exactly what Harrison Aster is capable of. He will succeed."

  ******

  With the crushing weight of the arranged marriage looming over the Amber Palace, the wheel of time turned mercilessly.

  Another year passed.

  The vision painted a somber, heavy atmosphere. The grand doors to Lei's personal chambers were closed, sealing her inside.

  Lei sat rigidly before a gilded vanity mirror. She was draped in a breathtaking, incredibly heavy royal gown woven from crimson silk and embroidered with pure gold thread. The traditional marital dress of the Azure Dragon lineage swallowed her frail frame entirely. The Frost Lotus had taken its toll over the past year; her skin was paler than ever, and her breathing was a constant, shallow struggle beneath the layers of suffocating fabric.

  Standing directly behind her, looking like a coiled spring ready to snap, was Zhu Lihua. She wore a pristine, formal military uniform of the Jinlun guards, her crimson hair tied back tightly.

  They both stared at the mirror. They didn't say a single word to each other. The silence was absolute, heavier than the gold on Lei's dress.

  Knock. Knock.

  "It is time, my Lady," a servant's voice muffled through the oak doors.

  Lei closed her eyes, taking one last, shuddering breath. She slowly stood up. Zhu immediately stepped forward, wordlessly offering her arm for support. Together, they walked out of the room, a slow, agonizing march toward an execution disguised as a wedding.

  The grand banquet hall of the Amber Palace was a spectacle of overwhelming wealth. Thousands of candles flickered in crystal chandeliers, casting warm light over the rows of gathered nobility.

  At the far end of the hall, standing on a raised dais, was the groom. He was a baron from a neighboring city—a stout, arrogant-looking man decorated in gaudy medals, smiling a perfectly practiced, hollow smile as Lei was escorted down the aisle.

  Standing right beside the altar, her face split into a victorious, triumphant laugh, was Mistress Yu Hang.

  Harrison failed, the unspoken words echoed in the grand hall with every click of Yu Hang's silver-tipped cane. He is dead, and I have won.

  Lei stopped at the foot of the dais. She didn't look at the baron. She looked down at the polished marble floor, the cold reality of her stolen future finally setting in.

  ...Or, at least, that was how the story would have gone, if the wheel of time hadn't already been turned by a very stubborn, young woman.

  CRASH!

  The massive, reinforced oak doors at the entrance of the banquet hall were violently kicked open, the sheer force shattering the iron latches. The heavy wood slammed against the stone walls with the sound of a cannon blast, instantly silencing the murmuring nobles and Yu Hang's triumphant laugh.

  A figure stood in the threshold, silhouetted by the evening light.

  He was absolutely battered. His iconic leather duster was torn to shreds, hanging off his broad shoulders in ribbons. He was covered in dried mud, fresh blood, and the soot of a hundred different campfires. He was panting heavily, leaning against the doorframe just to keep himself upright.

  But in his right hand, held high and proud for the entire court to see, was an ancient, towering artifact made of oxidized green metal. A torch. But not an ordinary one—a brilliant, golden flame roared from its peak, burning with an unyielding intensity that defied the logic of fuel and wind. It was the legendary relic from the First Age, the Everlasting Torch of Lady Liberiaty. A flame that, according to the myths, would never die, even in the heaviest rain or the deepest ocean.

  And in his left hand, crumpled but completely legible, he held the morning edition of the continental broadsheet. The headline blared in massive ink: THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY! HARRISON ASTER SECURES THE EVERLASTING FLAME!

  "I did it!" Harrison yelled, his voice tearing through the stunned silence of the grand hall. He flashed a wide, bloody, absolutely reckless grin. "I'm back!"

  Lei turned around, her dark eyes blowing wide open.

  "Idiot!" Lei cried out, fresh tears instantly blurring her vision.

  She completely forgot the oppressive weight of the crimson gown. She forgot the suffocating chill in her lungs. With what little, desperate strength she had left in her frail body, she lifted the heavy skirts and ran.

  She sprinted down the aisle, past the stunned baron, past the gasping nobles, and threw herself directly at Harrison.

  "You are late!" she sobbed, leaping into his arms.

  Harrison dropped the newspaper, catching her perfectly despite his own exhausted, battered state. He buried his face in her midnight-blue hair, holding her so tightly he never wanted to let go.

  "No! No, no, no!" Mistress Yu Hang screamed from the dais, her silver eyes completely unhinged as her perfectly orchestrated victory crumbled to dust. She slammed her cane against the marble. "Guards! Seize that filthy commoner! Throw him out!"

  Dozens of heavily armored Royal Guards drew their spears, rushing down the aisles to intercept the embracing couple.

  But before a single boot could cross the halfway mark of the hall, a wall of pure, suffocating heat erupted.

  Zhu Lihua stepped into the center of the aisle, placing herself squarely between the charging guards and the reunited couple. She didn't draw a weapon. She simply unleashed her authority.

  The ambient temperature of the hall spiked instantly. The silk banners hanging from the walls began to spontaneously singe at the edges.

  "Don't you dare," Zhu said, her voice dripping with an ancient, absolute authority that made the hairs on the back of every noble's neck stand up.

  The Royal Guards hit the invisible wall of heat and violently skidded to a halt. They dropped their spears, throwing their arms up to shield their faces. Later, when questioned, the seasoned veterans would swear under oath that trying to approach the red-haired commander felt exactly like trying to draw their swords against an actively erupting volcano. They were entirely paralyzed by primal fear.

  Harrison gently lowered Lei to her feet, though he kept one arm securely wrapped around her waist. He let out a wet, rattling cough, wincing as a broken rib shifted.

  He looked at her, his brown eyes filled with an overwhelming, absolute devotion. Slowly, agonizingly fighting through the pain of his injuries, the battered adventurer dropped down to one knee right there in the entrance of the grand hall.

  He reached into the only un-torn pocket of his vest and pulled out a small, velvet box. He flipped it open, revealing a simple but beautiful diamond ring.

  "Lei..." Harrison huffed, trying to catch his breath between words. "Will you... will you marry me?"

  Lei stared down at him. Tears were streaming freely down her pale cheeks, ruining her pristine royal makeup, but she had never looked more beautiful. She let out a watery, musical laugh.

  "I am the one who is dying, Aster," Lei sobbed, playfully smacking his bruised shoulder. "Not you, you idiot."

  She smiled, a brilliant, radiant expression that completely overshadowed the Everlasting Torch in his hand.

  "But... yes," she answered.

  And thus, the wheel of time inched closer to the present.

  The following month, they were married. It was not a grand, politically motivated banquet overseen by the Azure Dragon, but a small, warm ceremony surrounded only by those who truly mattered.

  The political fallout of Harrison's legendary return was absolute. Mistress Yu Hang, having lost her wager to a demigod and her prestige to a commoner, was completely stripped of her authority and quietly banished to an outer estate, never to pull the strings of the family again.

  Zhu Lihua, no longer needing the cover of a simple retainer, formally entered the Jinlun military. She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a terrifying, unyielding Commander with a single, absolute objective: protecting Lei and the family she had built.

  In the years that followed, Harrison Aster truly lived up to the promise he had made to Lei. He rode the momentum of the Everlasting Torch, charting the most dangerous, uncharted territories of Calvenoor. He brought back artifacts, mapped lost ruins, and racked up various, unparalleled accolades, eventually earning the undisputed title of the World's Greatest Adventurer.

  But to Harrison, his greatest discovery was not made in a frozen tundra or a buried temple.

  The vision shifted one final time, dissolving into a soft, quiet memory bathed in warm morning light.

  Harrison sat on the edge of the bed in the Amber Palace, his large, calloused hands gently holding a small bundle wrapped in soft linen. Lei lay resting against the pillows, her face pale and exhausted, but glowing with an absolute, profound joy. Standing at the foot of the bed, arms crossed but smiling softly, was adult Zhu.

  Harrison looked down at the bundle.

  It was a baby girl. A beautiful, half-Sacred child. She possessed her mother's vibrant midnight-blue hair, and as she slowly blinked her eyes open to look at her father, they shone with a striking, immaculate silver.

  Lin Meihua.

  The flower that bloomed between Lei and Harrison.

  "My treasure," Harrison whispered in the memory, a tear slipping down his cheek as the baby wrapped her tiny hand around his rough finger. "My greatest treasure."

  The vibrant, sprawling memories of Jinlun finally faded away completely, returning to the dappled shade of the ancient Baobab tree on the outskirts of Kah-Kamun.

  The gentle desert breeze rustled the leaves overhead.

  Yukari sat cross-legged in the fragrant grass. Her head was bowed, her hands resting tightly in her lap. Silent, heavy tears streamed continuously down her cheeks, dropping onto the fabric of her traveling pants.

  She didn't try to wipe them away. She just let them fall.

  She finally understood. She finally learned the untold story of her parents. She saw how every single shattered, confusing piece of her childhood fit together, leading perfectly to this present day.

  She knew what happened next. Lei's already fragile condition had worsened drastically after giving birth to her. The Frost Lotus, temporarily held back by Zhu's fire, flared with a vengeance. Harrison, desperate to save the love of his life, had been forced to go on longer, more dangerous expeditions to find the ultimate relic, the true cure for the Frost Lotus.

  Until that fateful day when Yukari was seven years old. He left with his grappling hook promising to return.

  And he never came back. Lost to the dark, freezing grip of the Living Mountain.

  Three years later, when Yukari was ten, Lei's body finally gave out. The cold consumed her entirely, and she passed away peacefully in her sleep, leaving Zhu Lihua to step out of her general's uniform and take up the mantle of a reluctant, fiercely protective adoptive mother.

  Yukari took a deep, shuddering breath. The decades of built-up resentment, the deep-seated abandonment issues that had fueled her cold, icy demeanor for so long... it all completely washed away, melting like snow under the morning sun.

  She slowly raised her hand, wiping the tears from her silver eyes with the back of her sleeve. She looked up, her gaze moving from the stoic, caring face of Zhu Lihua, to the gaunt, warm, and apologetic face of her father, Harrison Aster.

  She offered them a smile—a genuine, beautiful smile that perfectly mirrored her mother's.

  And all she could utter was one simple, profound word.

  "Thank you."