Back when his divine body was so weak, Si Zhuo could still beat Luan Yu until he was like a dog. Now that he’d recovered quite a bit and even mastered common spells, if this idiot thought he could sneak-attack him, he’d better go back and train for a few more years.

 

“Let go of me!” Luan Yu roared in impotent rage.

 

“Go on, shout louder,” Si Zhuo sneered. “Breaking into a young woman’s chamber at night—I’m sure the entire Heavenly Realm would love to watch the spectacle.”

 

“I only came on Mother Empress’s orders to discipline you! What breaking into chambers? You and I are fam—”
Luan Yu stopped mid-sentence, realizing he’d said the wrong thing.

 

“Oh?” Si Zhuo laughed softly. “Family? Brother and sister?”

 

“You weren’t saying that a few days ago.”

 

Those ugly words still echoed in his ears. He’d tolerated this idiot for far too long.

 

The people of the Heavenly Realm were truly ridiculous—he himself didn’t even know his own origins, yet they were all so eager to jump to conclusions.

 

Thinking this, he tightened his grip on Luan Yu.

 

“Ow ow ow! That hurts! Let’s talk this out—gentlemen use words, not fists!”

 

“Sorry,” Si Zhuo said flatly. “I’m not a gentleman.”

 

He grabbed Luan Yu by the head. Before he could act, a streak of light flashed past, forcing him to release his hold.

 

Si Zhuo turned and looked toward the doorway, where Luan Qingchen had appeared.

 

“How interesting,” Si Zhuo rolled his wrist mockingly. “You didn’t interfere when he barged in, but the moment I fight back, suddenly you care.”

 

“It’s time to rest,” Luan Qingchen said calmly, his expression unchanged.

 

“I’d love to rest,” Si Zhuo replied coldly, “but could you first throw this piece of trash out?”

 

He tilted his chin toward Luan Yu, eyes full of provocation.

 

“Who—are—you—calling—trash?!”
Luan Yu exploded like a lit firecracker and charged straight at Si Zhuo.

 

“I’m talking about you,” Si Zhuo said lazily, pressing a hand to Luan Yu’s head. “With a son like you, the Empress probably cries herself to sleep every night. That’s why every time she sees a capable illegitimate child, she loses her balance and punishes Luan Ling even harder.”

 

He laughed openly. “It’s ridiculous—a useless person daring to mock others.”

 

Provoking people was one thing he’d never been afraid of.

 

Luan Qingchen looked calmly at Luan Yu. “You should leave.”

 

“I won’t! She’s gone too far!”

 

Luan Yu struggled wildly, but not a single ounce of divine power touched Si Zhuo.

 

“Luan Yu.”

 

Luan Qingchen’s tone remained even. “You should leave.”

 

“I refuse!”

 

As Luan Yu tried to attack again, Luan Qingchen’s gaze sharpened and he pulled him back. Everything seemed under control—until Luan Yu suddenly broke free through some unknown means and lunged toward Si Zhuo.

 

Luan Qingchen watched the two figures vanish, then turned around and calmly closed the door.

 

---

 

Elsewhere

 

Ah—
Is that light?

 

Luan Ling excitedly poked through the ice in front of her and suddenly saw the color of the sky.

 

…Wait. Why is it the sky? Where exactly did she dig out to?

 

Confused, she widened the opening, climbed out, and stepped onto soft sand. After steadying herself, she looked around.

 

Without a doubt, this was a beach.

 

But the spiritual energy was far too thin—this was definitely not the Penglai Archipelago.

 

Suddenly, lightning flashed in the distance. Oddly, it was very far away.

 

Luan Ling looked up. Stars glittered across the sky. That flash of light earlier must have been lightning.

 

As she stared, a raindrop struck her eye. The dagger in her hand—still burning—let out a hiss.

 

Then a second drop. A third. Rain poured down in sheets. She hurriedly lowered her head, watching helplessly as the flames on her blade struggled for a few breaths—

 

Then went out.

 

Her divine power was overdrawn; she couldn’t even form a barrier. Shielding her head, she ran beneath a nearby tree she’d never seen before.

 

Where on earth was she?

 

She glanced at her hand uneasily, an ominous feeling creeping up her spine.

 

Why did it feel like there was a kind of pressure descending from the sky?

 

The moment she looked up, a bolt of lightning struck the tree without warning. Her body went numb from the shock, and before she could react, something fell and slammed into her, knocking her flat.

 

She groaned, mouth full of sand.

 

So when the Thunder Gods make it rain, they throw in celestial garbage too?

 

Furious, Luan Ling scratched her head and turned to look—

 

What the hell?!

 

What is this ugly thing?!

 

She instantly scrambled backward, choosing to be drenched by rain rather than get close to this bizarre creature.

 

“Please… save me… I’m a prince of the Merfolk clan…”

 

The ugly thing lifted its head and spoke.

 

Yeah right—did he think she’d never seen the world? What kind of merfolk had a fish head?!

 

Shuddering in horror at the fish-headed humanoid, Luan Ling continued backing away.

 

She didn’t even know where she was. If this was a demon she couldn’t beat, she’d be laughed at by the entire divine race!

 

“I really am a prince of the Merfolk,” the creature said urgently. “I was cursed by an evil cultivator. I’ll return to normal if you just give me a kiss!”

 

Oh please—you’re copying fairy-tale tropes now? Did he think she hadn’t read future storybooks?!

 

“Sir,” she said coolly, “please stop pointing your mouth at me. Turn both your eyes forward so you can see clearly.”

 

“I’m a man!”

 

Even fairy tales had standards, okay?!

 

Was this another man with… questionable preferences?

 

Luan Ling grew wary. If this fish-head tried to force himself on Si Zhuo’s body, she’d slice him into sashimi.

 

The creature slowly rolled over, finally getting a good look at her.

 

“Boss! It’s you!”

 

That single sentence froze her.

 

She’d forgotten—Si Zhuo was the Dragon King’s grandson. If this guy really was Merfolk nobility, then of course he’d know him.

 

“Boss, I missed you so much…”
The fish-head stood up, trying to hug her, only to be sharply stopped.

 

“Stay right there!”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”
He obediently froze—just like Si Zhuo’s little followers in the Heavenly Realm.

 

“Ever since you went to the heavens, all the little sea critters have been so lonely.”

 

Little sea critters? A fan nickname?

 

Luan Ling wiped rain from her face and retreated back under the tree.

 

She’d just been struck by lightning anyway—dragon bodies were hard to kill. Might as well shelter from the rain.

 

“Forget about me for now,” she said. “Aren’t merfolk supposed to have human bodies and fish tails? How did you end up… like this?”

 

“I told you—it was that wicked woman’s doing!”

 

The fish-head seethed. “After you left for the heavens, I got bored in the sea and decided to sun myself more often. One day during a storm, a mortal ship hit a reef. I went to help and saved a human woman.”

 

…Why did this story sound familiar?

 

Luan Ling eyed him suspiciously as he continued, “After saving her, I brought her ashore. She was incredibly beautiful. Even among all the beauties of the Merfolk, none could compare—well, except me, of course.”

 

She narrowed her eyes.

 

“So,” Luan Ling tested, “you sought out a dark cultivator to turn your tail into human legs, so you could go ashore and marry her?”

 

The fish-head stared at her with dead fish eyes. “Why would I need an evil cultivator? I can transform on my own.”

 

Ah. My bad. I underestimated merfolk abilities.

 

“Go on,” she said.

 

“I planned to return to my palace first to gather jewels as a betrothal gift, then go ashore to formally propose.”

 

Merfolk fell in love fast, huh.

 

“And then?”

 

“Then I was furious!” the fish-head exploded. “I was… taken advantage of!”

 

…Given your current appearance, that’s not very convincing.

 

“I followed the mark to find her, only to hear shocking news.”

 

“She mistook someone else for you and married him?” Luan Ling guessed.

 

The fish-head looked confused. “Boss, did reading in the heavens rot your brain? How could there be so many misunderstandings?”

 

Let’s not speak too soon, she thought.

 

“She entered the palace—became the emperor’s concubine.”

 

…That really was unfortunate.

 

“And the evil cultivator?”

 

“Listen,” he sighed. “Since I was already there, I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I snuck into the palace.”

 

“She was anxious every day, unloved by the emperor, suffering terribly.”

 

“So I went to her, explained everything, and offered to take her away. She agreed. We planned to elope during the Mid-Autumn banquet.”

 

“And then…” his voice trembled. “That night, I entered the wrong palace. The evil woman clung to me the moment I walked in. I thought it was her, so I—”

 

Luan Ling nearly choked.

 

Life really was full of melodrama.

 

“That alone would’ve been my mistake,” he said miserably, like a wronged maiden. “But the next morning, I woke up like this! That evil woman even reported to the emperor that she’d eliminated a demon from the concubine’s palace!”

 

Well… from one perspective, the emperor’s dignity was preserved.

 

Luan Ling looked at him sympathetically. He was pitiful—but truly hard to look at.

 

“I tried to confront her,” he continued, “but after turning like this, my power dropped drastically. I was actually driven out of the palace by a minor dark cultivator!”

 

“I wanted to return to the sea and ask my father for help—but the Merfolk clan wouldn’t recognize me! They couldn’t detect my mark and said I was too ugly to be one of them!”

 

…This trope felt familiar too.

 

“So just now, the Merfolk guards threw me out. I even accidentally hit you, Boss.”

 

Luan Ling sighed. The people she encountered were never simple.

 

Then she remembered something. “You mentioned a kiss earlier. What did you mean?”

 

“That evil woman told me during our fight,” he said. “She said since I like using my looks to ruin innocent women, I might as well be given the chance. If someone could love me in this form and kiss me once, the curse would break.”

 

“She’s slandering me!” he added indignantly. “She’s just jealous of my good looks!”