"Sister! Sister!" Li giggled mid-tease, then blinked with a proud grin. "Guess what I found out today?"
"What?" Qing asked, smoothing Li's wind-tousled hair absentmindedly.
"Our ninth uncle, Prince Tao! He… he's with the Demon Sect!"
Li puffed out her budding chest triumphantly. "Feng and I figured it out together. Pretty impressive, right?"
Qing's hand froze mid-stroke, as if shocked by static, then resumed as if nothing happened. "You left the palace today? With… Feng?"
"Yeah! We even hit the casino, it was so much fun… Oh, don't tell Father, please!" Li didn't notice Qing's lack of interest in Prince Tao.
She recalled moments at Golden Lotus Hall, Feng pinching her cheeks, hanging upside down in the rafters, his warm, broad embrace. A shy, cherry-blossom blush bloomed on her youthful face.
Qing watched Li's genuine joy and unfeigned smile, falling silent for a moment. When she spoke, her tone softened, like melting snow. "Next time you want to leave the palace, don't sneak out. Come to me, I'll take you."
"Really?" Li's eyes lit up. Her usually strict, father-like sister was being unusually lenient. She smirked inwardly.
*Mentioning Feng sure makes Sister gentle… She must like him…*
A pang of sadness flickered in Li's heart, but she masked it, testing further. "Can Feng come too?"
A sour twinge stirred in Qing's chest, a chaotic mix of emotions she couldn't name…
But she remained composed. "Of course. You can play as long as you like."
"Yay! You're the best, Sister!" Li leapt from Qing's arms, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
Seeing Li so happy, Qing smiled too, though how much of it was joy, only she knew…
"Where is he now?"
Qing had a plan. Perhaps it was time to ask Feng how he viewed Li… or rather, to seek an answer that would ease her heart.
"Um!" Li scratched her head, recalling where Feng had gone after they parted. "Grandpa Jun's place."
Marshal Jun… or someone else?
Qing's thoughts grew muddled. She escorted Li back to the palace, then wandered the mountain alone, hesitating. Should she go or not?
Perhaps she hadn't noticed how much more worry and sorrow she carried since descending the mountain…
But Qing wasn't one to waver endlessly.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
In the imperial city, the young man both women couldn't forget sat in a grand, secluded estate. Amid meticulously tended scenery, lush bamboo groves, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves, a small herb garden with rare plants thriving in fertile soil, and a clear stream winding from a rockery, the setting stood out as a breath of fresh air amid the city's opulence.
The handsome youth sneezed twice, slightly disrupting the serene ambiance.
"Big Brother Feng?"
A soft, ethereal voice, like a breeze through a valley, sounded beside him. Feng sniffled and grinned. "It's nothing. Probably some rat cursing me again."
"The more they curse, the better I'm doing. I'd love for them to keep it up!"
He was a storm wherever he went, friends and benefactors across the land, enemies wishing him dead in equal measure.
Feng watched the girl in green tending the precious herbs with a small hoe. Her light inner robe and pale green outer dress complemented her dark, neatly pinned hair. A stray lock framed her smooth, exquisitely carved face. Unlike Li's playful spark or Qing's icy nobility, her gentle eyes were like autumn waters, softer than the clouds above.
While Qing's beauty was untouchable, like a snow lotus atop a peak, this girl was a lily swaying on a cliffside, quietly captivating. Her figure, though less statuesque than Qing's golden proportions, had a delicate charm: a modest chest, taut and perky; a waist so slender it evoked spring willows; long legs faintly visible beneath her fitted skirt, paired with full, rounded hips.
This was Marshal Jun's beloved granddaughter, the direct disciple of the Medicine God Valley's "Holy Hand," Suya.
Their meeting traced back to a plague. A corrupt magistrate, a spy of the Demon Sect's Poison Faction, had infiltrated the new Bright Hua government, orchestrating a devastating outbreak. Had Feng and others not uncovered it early…
The plague might have ravaged far beyond a single region.
That was when Feng first met Suya…
Since then, many incidents had followed, including the battle at Sky Rift Valley. Feng had fallen into a poison abyss, and without Suya risking her life to save him, he'd have perished.
"Hehe!"
Suya giggled at Feng's cheeky words, her delicate laugh tinged with a frail beauty that outshone the elegant greenery. After a moment, she asked, "Big Brother Feng, what brings you to the Jun residence today?"
Her calm tone carried a faint, girlish hint of longing…
"Prince Tao's matter, I came to discuss it with Marshal Jun. And…" Feng paused, "to see you."
"Liar…"
Suya pouted playfully, her eyes crescent moons, though her brows furrowed as she coughed lightly, her fragile frame trembling. The hoe slipped from her hand, and she nearly fell.
"Suya!"
Feng darted to her side, catching her in his arms and patting her back gently as she coughed.
His rough palm brushed her smooth, flawless back through her clothes, her fragrance and softness stirring his heart.
With Feng's care, Suya recovered, only to blush at their closeness. Her face glowed like sunset clouds, intoxicatingly beautiful.
"Sorry! It's my fault." Seeing Suya's frailty, Feng blamed himself.
Had she not saved him, she wouldn't have absorbed so much poison. Even with her medical skill and her master's aid, the deep toxin lingered in her body.
That kindly old man from Medicine God Valley had never given Feng a warm look since.
Feng's passion for alchemy stemmed largely from Suya's condition.
Seeing the usually confident boy so guilt-ridden, Suya smiled for reasons she couldn't name. She smoothed his furrowed brow with her delicate hand. "It's not your fault. I chose this."
What could Feng say to such a woman?
The hardest debt to bear is a beauty's grace.
Unable to resist, he pulled Suya into a tight embrace. Her virgin scent enveloped him, leaving him speechless.
In the herb garden, the handsome youth and stunning girl held each other, a scene too beautiful to disturb.
Neither noticed a cold, moon-like figure watching from the rooftop beyond the courtyard. When she arrived or left, no one knew…
Only a breeze carried away her complex emotions.
Elsewhere in the Jun residence, two older men played chess in a redwood pavilion.
A half-graying man tapped the board, placing a piece. "Hey, aren't you going to do something?"
The white-haired elder, with fierce tiger-like eyes, placed a black piece. "A grown daughter can't be kept. Besides… a prince consort's no good match. That kid suits my taste."
"A son-in-law's no picnic either!" The middle-aged man countered, locking the black pieces in a trap, crumbling their formation.
"Can't you go easy on a poor old man?"
The elder held a black piece, then flipped the board in a huff.
"You're Bright Hua's Black Tortoise Army Marshal. A country bumpkin like me has to give his all to show respect."
The man smiled, unbothered, picking up the scattered pieces.
Marshal Jun had fought alongside Emperor Ming, undefeated in nine battles, a legend across the land. His Black Tortoise Army outshone the other three elite forces, striking fear into foes and traitors alike…