Shen Yueli had been many things in her life— princess, rebel, enchantress,
occasional chaos magnet— but even she didn't expect to be dodging fireballs before breakfast.
" Duck!" Di Yan shouted, flinging her behind a mossy boulder as a flaming phoenix dive- bombed from above.
" I am ducking! Who trained this overgrown chicken?!" Yueli snapped,
drawing her twin blades with a hiss of steel and storm light.
From the sky, the phoenix let out a shrill,
echoing cry— beautiful, furious, and laced with an unnatural shimmer of dark energy.
Di Yan narrowed his eyes. " It's corrupted. Someone's controlling it."
Yueli smirked, rolling her shoulders.
" Well, someone's about to get their dark magic shoved up their—"
" Language," Di Yan interrupted
smoothly. " The baby's listening."
Yueli blinked. " She telepathic now?!"
From the treetops, a familiar giggle echoed— Yueli's half- sister, now free from her magical bindings, watched with a lazy smirk and a parasol in hand.
" You two are such drama," she said,
biting into a candied plum. " Honestly,
it's like watching one of those mortal realm soap operas."
" I'll show you drama," Yueli growled,
leaping into the air. Her blades caught the sunlight, weaving a spiral of blazing red as she slashed toward the corrupted phoenix.
Di Yan was a flash of silver beside her,
summoning a wave of spiritual energy from his core. Together, they spun like a dual storm— fire and wind, chaos and clarity.
But the phoenix wasn't an ordinary beast.
It shimmered— and then split into two.
Yueli's eyes widened. " Okay, no one told me it could multiply!"
Di Yan winced. " Neither did the scrolls."
" You read the scrolls?" Yueli gasped mid-air. " Who even does that?"
Di Yan snorted. " Someone who likes staying alive."
One phoenix dove toward Yueli, claws extended. She flipped backward, slicing through one wing in a burst of flame,
then twisted mid-fall, landing with a superhero thud that sent shockwaves through the ground.
The second bird was faster.
It darted for Di Yan, talons shimmering with black magic. He barely dodged in time, silver hair flying as he countered with a wave of spirit chains. The chains wrapped around the phoenix's legs— but the bird shrieked and burst into dark fire, forcing Di Yan back.
Yueli's voice rang out. " I have an idea!"
" Does it involve not dying?" he called,
already leaping through burning branches.
She grinned. " Better. It involves us."
He raised a brow. " I'm listening."
With a snap of her fingers, Yueli flared her aura, then locked eyes with Di Yan.
" Fusion spell."
Di Yan's eyes lit up with mischief.
" We've never tested it."
" First time for everything," she said, and without waiting, she began the chant.
Their energies collided in a pulse of silver and crimson— his disciplined, controlled, divine energy meeting her wild, fire- forged chaos.
Their bodies shimmered, merged, danced between two realms of power and passion. They didn't fully fuse— but their spirits aligned like twin stars.
Time paused for a heartbeat.
Then they moved as one.
The air trembled as they spun upward,
unleashing a storm of enchanted flame laced with lightning. The phoenixes screamed— but they were no match for the newly ignited duo. In one final explosion of divine magic, both birds dissolved into ash and light, scattering like cosmic dust.
Silence followed. Then the trees
groaned and birds resumed chirping as if nothing had happened.
Yueli and Di Yan floated gently to the ground, hair windswept, cheeks flushed,
eyes locked.
" Well, she breathed. " That was hot."
Di Yan smirked. " You always say that after near- death experiences."
She leaned in. " That's because you look very good when you're saving the world with me."
He didn't answer. He just kissed her—
slowly, deeply, the kind of kiss that made the spirits in the forest politely turn away and pretend they weren't watching.
From a nearby tree, Yueli's half- sister clapped sarcastically. " Ugh, get a tent."
Yueli broke the kiss with a smug grin.
" Jealous?"
" I'm going to hex your toothbrush," her sister muttered.
But before any retaliation could happen,
the ground rumbled.
A sigil appeared beneath their feet—
ancient, glowing, and ominous.
Di Yan tensed. " That's a blood seal.
Someone's been tracking us."
Yueli's face turned serious. " The Council?"
" Or worse," he said. " The Forgotten Sect."
Suddenly, the ground split open— and from the shadows rose a cloaked figure with glowing eyes and a voice like silk over steel. " You shouldn't have awakened her."
Yueli clutched her daughter
instinctively. " Stay away from my baby."
" She is more than a child," the figure rasped. " She is prophecy. And prophecy belongs to us."
Di Yan stepped forward, sword drawn.
" You can try."
" No," Yueli growled, handing their
daughter to the spirit wolf. " We can try."
Together, side by side, they launched into battle once more— two parents, one prophecy, and a storm of fire and silver fury.
And somewhere in the chaos, the baby let out a cheerful giggle and hiccupped a puff of rainbow smoke.
Of course she did.