“What did you say?”

Luan Ling was stunned. “A ballad… the Peach Banquet… are you talking about that ballad?”

Luan Yu snorted coldly. “Looks like you really did hurt your brain—don’t remember? When you were ten, you ran off alone to the edge of the Celestial Realm. It just so happened they were holding the Peach Banquet, and a surge of demonic energy seized the opportunity to invade. You were hit by one of those waves and almost died. If Mother hadn’t saved you in time with Wen Yuan, you might not have died… but you’d have been ruined.”

This memory was not only new to anyone listening, even Luan Ling herself had no recollection. Yet soon, Luan Yu began humming the ballad she had only ever heard in her dreams:

“Lady Moon casts silver light outside the window,
Little boat sways, drifting to the edge of the Milky Way,
Stars twinkle, weaving a shimmering veil,
Gentle wind sings, sings, sings an ancient ballad.”

He looked at her. “Mother never sang this to me, nor did Elder Brother. Looking back now, it seems what she cared about in choosing you wasn’t your bloodline, but rather the secret your father hid from her. Whether that’s fortunate or unfortunate for you… Mother selected you. But you don’t look very happy.”

He said no more and left, leaving Luan Ling standing alone.

This was the first time she had heard Luan Yu speak so normally, so humanly. And the words he spoke—she could never have imagined even in her dreams.

Luan Yu said the Empress had chosen her. What did that mean? Was the Empress harsh because she had expectations? No. Luan Ling didn’t want to overthink it—if she did, she would find justifications for all the things that had hurt her, and that would be unfair to her past self.

Yet Luan Yu would not speak like this without reason. She had thought him carefree, the Empress’s most favored son—but apparently, he was not as happy as he seemed.

Her mind swirled. She wanted to ask Luan Qingchen himself, but even taking two steps forward, his sheer presence immediately forced her to retreat. She couldn’t ask; the man could make her feel suffocated without even displaying anger. Ask a few more questions and risk enraging him… she would be reduced to ash.

Don’t think that because Luan Ling could spar with ordinary deities, she could handle Luan Qingchen—gods are gods, and Luan Qingchen is Luan Qingchen.

Better go back and sleep. The world is big, but sleep is bigger.

So Luan Ling meditated through the night—though sleep was impossible. Such mind-shattering revelations left her tossing and turning. Every time she closed her eyes, memories of her entire life flashed before her: Mother’s care, her own experiences, even Luan Yu’s and Luan Qingchen’s. And she realized, fearfully, that the Empress was cold to everyone, harsh to her, but also the strictest in discipline.

Previously, Luan Ling had assumed the Empress, as ruler of the Celestial Realm, merely found ways to trouble her. Now she realized… the Empress had deliberately been training her.

This revelation didn’t erase her resentment or fear, but it filled her mind with countless fragmented memories.

The attack by demonic energy—she had no memory of it. Luan Yu had said Wen Yuan saved her too. She couldn’t ask the Empress herself, but Wen Yuan might know something.

“Oh… the Peach Banquet, you mean?”

Wen Yuan smiled faintly, calm as ever. “Yes, something like that happened… seven years ago. Unfortunately, the demons invaded from all four directions, and the one that struck you was the strongest. You were just a child, and the suffering was considerable. I could only heal your body. The complete removal of the demonic energy? That came from your own willpower and the Empress’s divine purification.”

Luan Ling frowned. “Why did the Empress never mention this?”

Wen Yuan lightly tapped his hand with his fan. “It’s not exactly something to be proud of. The Peach Banquet that day exposed negligence—both internal, letting a little god like you reach the border, and external, in failing to respond in time to the demonic intrusion. The Empress was angry and punished many deities. Those who needed to know, knew; others didn’t need to be informed.”

Luan Ling suddenly understood. “But after that Peach Banquet, new celestial laws were added. All gods must report suspicious individuals. And a new spell for identifying demonic energy was developed.”

Wen Yuan smiled at her.

With the full context clarified, Luan Ling’s brain finally relaxed, and she slumped in exhaustion.

“Wen Yuan… what kind of person is the Empress really?”

Wen Yuan couldn’t help smiling again. “She is decisive, wise… as a leader, she has made no errors for the Celestial Realm.”

“As for other aspects…” He opened his fan and lightly waved it. “She is your mother. Perhaps only you truly know what she is like in private.”

“Cut the pleasantries,” Luan Ling snapped, looking sideways. “Director, you know I wasn’t born of the Empress. As for private behavior… besides Luan Qingchen, how long have we even existed? You’ve known the Empress far longer. You know she’s colder privately than when she sits on that throne. Who dares joke with her? Even someone like Luan Yu, reckless as he is, being banished to the mortal realm for ten years, never dares to make a sound.”

Wen Yuan just smiled. “Hence, I say, she is decisive, wise, and a leader.”

Luan Ling glanced up. Suddenly, she asked, “Does Si Zhuo know that you arranged the exchange between us?”

Wen Yuan raised an eyebrow, set down his fan, and picked up a teacup. “Little god, if you’re trying to trick me, you’ll need to live another five hundred years.”

“Hmph.” Luan Ling was more certain. “It was you. You sly old fox. Surely, recently you had a disagreement with the Empress, and deliberately let Si Zhuo appear to anger her.”

She couldn’t figure out why she and Si Zhuo had inexplicably swapped, but she knew every problem had an underlying reason. The most direct consequences were: first, exorcising demons in the mortal realm, and second, both mastering unfamiliar spells—and Si Zhuo, the chaos demon, seemed significantly tamer.

Both pointed to Wen Yuan. Thinking further, they had gone to him first after the swap. Everything fit neatly.

Wen Yuan simply raised a finger. Luan Ling refused: “I must tell that dragon, you let the Empress lash my back ten times…”

Then she realized something.

As a god, her healing power could make the scars vanish—but the pain of those ten lashes remained, etched into her by Si Zhuo.

“The Empress… knew too?”

She looked at Wen Yuan, uncertain.

The god simply repeated: “She is decisive, wise, and a leader.”

“Enough, we can’t hear anything here anyway.”

Luan Ling began to feel Wen Yuan wasn’t trying to antagonize the Empress—he was just a loyal servant.

She still wanted to know more about the Empress, but felt shy asking directly. So she timidly began building a miniature Qilin Hall model in front of him.

“Enough, you’re running out of space. I know what you want to ask, but now…”

Wen Yuan shook his head. “Not the right time.”

He said gently, “At this stage, you can work hard and have your own thoughts. No need to worry too much about the future.”

Luan Ling looked at him. “But if I could already see the future, would I still handle everything lightly?”

Wen Yuan calmly replied, “If the future is visible, you should let it unfold naturally. As long as you head in the right direction, you will not go astray.”

Luan Ling’s eyes brightened. Suddenly, she sprang up like a carp, and said to Wen Yuan:

“Director, you really are cunning. How could you have predicted what I was thinking?”

She gave him a hearty thumbs-up, then departed, brimming with energy.

Wen Yuan picked up his fan, shaking his head with a small smile. Youth, indeed—emotions change faster than the heavens below.

After leaving the Academy, Luan Ling resolved some things in her mind. She planned to wander the Celestial Realm, especially near the borders, hoping to recall memories of encountering demonic energy as a child.

Why had she left the Peach Banquet back then? The reporting meeting must have seemed boring to her younger self, and attention in the Celestial Realm was focused on the banquet. With divine powers in hand, she could discern where the guards were lax, and deliberately chose a route without celestial soldiers.

She didn’t know why she picked a more heavily guarded path. Being weak back then, she indeed faced an invasion, which would inevitably strengthen border defenses.

Some celestial soldiers had experienced the event and could answer her questions. The more she inquired, the more she realized… what she had forgotten was truly important.

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