In the early morning, the dense fog and wind over Qin Hai drifted southward. The Sea Domain Main City maintained a cool climate year-round, often accompanied by a drizzle that left the air heavy with moisture.
When Qiu Shi stepped out, a fine rain had already begun to fall. Song Yunhe stood beneath a tree in the courtyard, his sharp brows slightly furrowed, hands clasped behind his back. A retainer held an umbrella over him, while the Flying Fish Guards stationed outside stood with bowed heads, not daring to make a sound.
The atmosphere was thick with tension.
Qiu Shi took in the scene and closed her eyes briefly, fragments of bizarre and fragmented images flooding her mind.
A moment later, she descended the steps. Ming Yue swiftly moved to shield her with an umbrella, matching her pace step for step.
Though the siblings shared a faint resemblance in their delicate features, their auras were worlds apart. Song Yunhe, having shouldered heavy responsibilities from a young age, carried himself with steady composure. In contrast, Qiu Shi brimmed with the vivacity expected of a girl her age—her eyes clear, untouched by even a trace of worldly cynicism.
Fresh from the morning court session, Song Yunhe still wore the formal robes of the Young Lord. Standing tall in the rain, his imposing presence commanded respect without a word.
"Brother," Qiu Shi called softly, stopping before him.
Song Yunhe looked down at the girl who barely reached his shoulder, then swept his gaze across the rain-drenched courtyard, his brow lifting slightly.
"Song Qiushi."
He rarely addressed her by her full name, but now he enunciated each syllable deliberately, the brewing storm in his voice overshadowing his usual mild tone.
Song Yunhe doted on her, yet his current demeanor made it clear—he was genuinely angry.
"Come with me."
With his hands still behind his back, he cast a cold glance around the courtyard before striding away.
Adjacent to Cheng Yi’s residence stood a long-vacant pavilion. Though uninhabited, maids kept it meticulously clean, leaving no trace of neglect.
Ming Yue quietly shut the door behind them while the other attendants waited outside.
Only Song Yunhe and Qiu Shi remained in the room.
By the window, Song Yunhe stood half-shrouded in shadow, backlit by the dim light. After a pause, he tapped the table with his finger. "What were you thinking?"
When Qiu Shi remained silent, he pressed further, "Do you even realize what you’ve done?"
Normally, Qiu Shi would have flared up like a lit firecracker, arguing back without hesitation.
In that hauntingly vivid dream, she had done exactly that.
Since birth, she had never known true hardship. As Song Yunhe’s only sister, he had shouldered countless misdeeds on her behalf, and their bond had always been unshakable.
This was the first time things had escalated to this point.
Coupled with her recent house arrest, this conversation was like pouring oil onto fire—Qiu Shi had exploded instantly in her dream.
But now, she wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.
"I know."
Her long lashes fluttered slightly, her voice barely above a murmur, tinged with muted defiance. "I just saved someone. Why is everyone acting like I’ve brought the sky crashing down?"
Song Yunhe fixed her with a deep stare, his voice low. "You saved a black dragon, stirred up a storm of gossip, quarreled with Mother—and you think it’s trivial?"
His eyelids lifted slightly, a frown creasing his brow as he countered.
The familiar opening, the familiar questioning—Qiu Shi had already endured this once with her mother the night before.
"Brother."
She raised a hand to stop him. "Mother already lectured me. I’ve been confined to my quarters, spent the whole night upset, barely slept, and just started feeling a little better. Don’t scold me too."
Qiu Shi was spirited and spoiled into innocence, yet she bore the delicate looks of someone raised in seclusion, perpetually frail. Without needing to exaggerate, the slight droop of her lashes alone made her eyes glisten like tearful pools. Paired with a softened voice, even the most pointed words took on the cadence of a plea.
From childhood, Song Yunhe had always been powerless against this tactic.
Like now—
He exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers to his temple as his voice gentled. "Tell me the truth. Did you take a liking to that black dragon?"
That question had also surfaced in her dream.
Back then, Qiu Shi had met his gaze head-on and admitted it outright—three questions, three unwavering affirmations, each more resolute than the last.
—Did you take a liking to that black dragon?
—Yes.
——Is it true, as the rumors say, that you intend to break off the engagement with Qin Donglin?
——Yes.
——Are you resolved to do so?
——Yes.
Yet this matter eventually became unavoidable, reaching the ears of their father, who had just emerged from seclusion. As the long-reigning patriarch of the sea-demon clan, Song Chengshu acted swiftly and decisively, ordering Cheng Yi to be secretly executed.
Qiu Shi learned of the news beforehand. Sneaking into the inner chambers, she stole the main city token, made overnight arrangements, and fled the Qin Hai Main City with Cheng Yi in tow.
The subsequent dreams became fragmented and blurry, disjointed in their sequence. But judging by her own fate in them, she never returned.
Qiu Shi pursed her lips lightly, pausing briefly before tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her fair ear. Hesitantly, she murmured, "I don’t know how to explain it."
Having watched his younger sister grow up, Song Yunhe was all too familiar with her temperament. If she didn’t care for someone, even if she saved them, she wouldn’t keep them under such close care—much less show such visible hesitation. This reaction alone meant that, if not love, Cheng Yi at least held a special place in Qiu Shi’s heart.
Song Yunhe’s gaze darkened. His long fingers tapped twice against the table before he asked again, "Is it true, as the rumors claim, that you’re considering breaking off the engagement with Qin Donglin?"
The forced ease on Qiu Shi’s face vanished in an instant.
It was all too coincidental.
From her confinement to Song Yunhe’s visit, and now these two questions—everything aligned perfectly with the scenes from her dream.
Could dreams truly foretell the future?
"What if I said yes?"
Qiu Shi met Song Yunhe’s eyes, watching his expression intently, unwilling to miss even the slightest flicker of reaction.
The siblings locked gazes, each harboring unspoken emotions. After a long moment, Song Yunhe’s lips twitched, and he spoke with grave sincerity, "Qiu Qiu, from the day we were born, we were destined to bear certain burdens. Our status dictates that we cannot act on whims."
"If you’ve considered this path, you must also have thought of its consequences."
"Let me ask you one last time—are you resolved in this decision?"
Qiu Shi’s clenched fingers, hidden in her sleeves, slowly loosened, then tightened again.
Hearing these three questions, identical to those in her dream, the final "yes" stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.
Her silence, to Song Yunhe, was as good as confirmation.
"At the end of next month, Father’s birthday will be grandly celebrated. Liugi Mountain has accepted the invitation and sent a reply—the Demon Lord and his consort will personally attend the festivities in Qin Hai Main City."
Song Yunhe gave a bitter smile. "Qiu Qiu, how do you expect me to bring this up…?"
The demon clans were numerous and split into two governing factions: the sea demons, ruled by Qin Hai Main City, and the land-dwelling demons, governed by Liugi Mountain.
The lord of Qin Hai Main City was Qiu Shi’s father, while the Demon Lord of Liugi Mountain was Qin Donglin’s father.
The two men were sworn brothers, having known each other since youth and supporting one another to their current heights. Even now, despite their busy schedules, they remained close, often meeting for gatherings.
Over time, even their wives became inseparable friends.
Qiu Shi was the only daughter between both families. Adorable and sharp-witted since childhood, she was doted upon by the elders—even more so than Qin Donglin by the Demon Lord and his consort.
Yet no amount of fondness could excuse such a blatant betrayal.
And Qin Donglin’s temper was… infamous.
Song Yunhe’s temple throbbed. Watching Qiu Shi, who stood silently staring at the ground, he made his stance clear: "That black dragon is no good."
"Father and Mother will never agree to this."
"For now, stay in Baitang Courtyard. Don’t go anywhere. Reflect on this carefully."
As he passed Qiu Shi, Song Yunhe paused briefly before calling toward the door, "Ming Yue, escort the young lady back to her chambers."
===
East Sea, seven thousand li beneath the waves—an ancient trial ground lay hidden in the abyss. A vast, oppressive aura unfurled, saturating the waters with an archaic, desolate presence. Surging currents rippled outward, as if echoing through time itself.
"Young Lord, the power of the Golden Scale Formation has suddenly intensified."
The speaker wore a peculiar robe, shrouding his entire body in black fabric—even his head and face were concealed, leaving only his eyes exposed. A crescent-moon blade gleamed in his grip as he slashed through the turbulent currents.
"By my calculations, it should be about time."
The man referred to as "Young Master" stood calmly within the ruins of a massive stone gate, idly tossing a sharp-edged pebble in his palm. Unlike his attendants, who were formally dressed, he wore simple, unadorned green robes, his long, thick black hair loosely tied back with a jade hairpin. His naturally smiling eyes and soft-spoken voice gave him the refined air of a scholar—gentle and unassuming, with no trace of aggression.
"The Golden Scale Array is an ancient formation left behind by the Sword Saint. It's said to contain an immense amount of sword energy, and even after all this time, its power remains formidable—the first line of defense within the secret realm."
Another attendant chimed in, "The Sword Saint’s lingering intent is nearly indestructible. The best way is to wait three months inside until the array weakens to its lowest point, then seize the Dragon Core and break the formation in one move—"
"Before the Young Demon Lord entered, everything was meticulously arranged. But for some reason, he suddenly changed his plans."
The problem was, everything had been perfectly planned beforehand. The Young Demon Lord only needed to cultivate inside for three months to retrieve the Dragon Core and emerge smoothly. Yet before even half that time had passed, he abruptly began forcing his way through the formation—right when it was at its strongest.
Wu Fei’s eyes curved slightly, as if amused by some particularly entertaining turn of events. "It’s about time he came out. If he doesn’t, the fires in his backyard will have burned everything to ashes by now."
"Don’t worry," he added, turning to Qin Donglin’s two attendants with reassurance. "If Qin Donglin truly intends to break the formation now, this array won’t hold him back."
It would just take more effort than waiting for the array to weaken naturally.
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the entire sea erupted. Layers of underwater hurricanes and towering waves surged toward the formation’s location, the sharp, explosive cracks echoing like the shrieks of some abyssal beast—piercing enough to send those waiting outside tumbling back several paces.
Wu Fei’s robes whipped wildly in the wind, but he stood firm as bedrock. He watched the sudden spectacle unfold, narrowing his eyes slightly at the climactic moment.
A tall, slender figure emerged from the raging waves, stepping forward against the backdrop of the collapsing ancient formation. Ahead of him stood the massive gate, inscribed with the golden characters: "Xuanyun Secret Realm."
"You’re out?" Wu Fei took a step forward. "Did you get the Dragon Core?"
Before Qiu Shi’s 130,000th birthday, she had incessantly pestered him about wanting a Dragon Core as the keystone for her magical artifact.
Dragon Cores were no ordinary treasures. Most dragons didn’t possess one—only those who had cultivated to an extraordinarily high level could produce such a core, each one a priceless rarity, nearly impossible for the average person to obtain.
So Qiu Shi turned to Qin Donglin.
Driven to exasperation, Qin Donglin emerged from seclusion and, with a face like thunder, set off for the East Sea to find her a Dragon Core.
But before he could even retrieve it—
News of his impending broken engagement had already spread like wildfire, flooding every corner of the realm through enchanted sound-transmitting pearls.
By this point, even Wu Fei—who had been dragged into gatekeeping duty against his will and was fuming about it—couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.
Contrary to his infamous temper, Qin Donglin possessed a face more striking than most women’s—his sharp brows and languid phoenix eyes exuding an overwhelming sense of dominance. Now, with his brows slightly furrowed, his entire demeanor radiated icy impatience.
Aloof. Unapproachable.
Qin Donglin tossed the softly glowing Dragon Core into his attendant’s arms as carelessly as if it were a mundane trinket, not sparing it a second glance. His voice was cold enough to freeze the air:
"To the Sea Domain Main City."
