“Brother! Brother! Look how high I can swing!”
Little Xiao Li, dressed in a delicate pink palace gown with her hair tied into adorable little buns, jumped off the swing and ran toward Xiao Yu with a bright, carefree smile.
The young Crown Prince stood where he was, unable to stop the gentle smile spreading across his face.
He opened his arms, ready to catch his little sister as she threw herself at him.
But just before she reached him—
She suddenly tripped over something beneath her feet.
“Ah!”
“Li’er!”
Xiao Yu’s heart clenched.
He rushed toward her in panic.
“Where did you hurt yourself? Does it hurt? Come, let Brother have a look…”
He reached out, trying to touch her trembling little shoulders.
But the little girl lying on the ground slowly lifted her head.
The instant she looked up—
Everything changed.
A bitter chill swept through the world.
The flowers around them withered in an instant.
Darkness swallowed the garden whole.
The rosy little face that had once been so lively was now smeared with dirt and covered in wounds.
From the pair of eyes that had always sparkled like stars…
streams of crimson tears flowed endlessly.
Her gaze was filled with despair.
With hatred.
When she spoke, her childish voice had become a hoarse whisper dripping with mockery and resentment.
Each word pierced Xiao Yu’s heart like a blade.
“Hurt?”
“Brother…”
“…you’re asking me…”
“…whether it hurts?”
“Heh…”
“Hahaha…”
“For six years…”
“Every single moment…”
“…has hurt a thousand…”
“…ten thousand times more than this!”
“You…”
“Father…”
“Mother…”
“And you…”
“I hate all of you.”
“I hate every single one of you!!”
Her voice grew louder and louder, carrying boundless hatred.
Xiao Yu felt as though he’d been struck by lightning.
His outstretched hand froze in midair.
He wanted to explain.
To apologize.
To pull his little sister into his arms.
But no sound came from his throat.
His body refused to move.
All he could do…
was watch helplessly as his sister stared at him with eyes overflowing with bone-deep hatred.
Her tiny body gradually became transparent…
and slowly faded into the endless darkness.
“No!”
“Don’t!”
Xiao Yu shot upright in bed.
Cold sweat drenched his forehead.
“Your Highness?!”
Shouyang hurried in from outside, worry written plainly across his face.
“I’m fine.”
Xiao Yu’s voice was hoarse.
“Bring me some water…”
Even as he accepted the cup, his hand continued to tremble.
Closing his eyes only made it worse.
His sister’s hatred-filled gaze…
Her icy words—
“I hate all of you.”
They echoed endlessly inside his mind.
“Some people have long since lost their home… and no longer wish to return…”
“If that person doesn’t wish to be found…”
The Pavilion Master’s words intertwined with A-Li’s until they became one.
Could it be…
Li’er truly doesn’t want us anymore?
She really… doesn’t want to come home?
That realization hurt him far more deeply than any political intrigue or assassination attempt ever could.
He stared blankly at the flickering candlelight dancing through the darkness.
Sleep never came again that night.
That same night…
In another room—
A-Li suddenly woke with a start.
The pained look in Xiao Yu’s eyes from her dream lingered vividly before her.
She lay awake for a long time.
Finally…
She silently changed into a set of black night clothes.
Avoiding the guards with practiced ease, she slipped out of the residence.
Outside the city.
Deep within the barren mountains.
A-Li appeared before the entrance of an extremely well-hidden cave.
Under the pale moonlight, her complexion looked almost ghostly white.
The calm, unreadable eyes she usually wore now churned with emotions she could no longer suppress.
She slowly walked into the cold, damp cavern.
Her footsteps echoed softly through the underground chamber.
A figure hung chained tightly against the icy stone wall.
Thick iron chains—each as thick as a man’s arm—bound him firmly in place.
The faint footsteps seemed to awaken him.
Slowly…
he raised his head.
Beneath the tangled hair was a face caked with grime, though traces of its former features could still be seen.
His eyes shone unnaturally brightly in the darkness.
Predatory.
Mocking.
It was none other than the former Pavilion Master—
Xue Ji.
The moment he saw the emotions A-Li had failed to completely hide, his cracked lips twisted into an ugly smile.
His voice was rough as sandpaper scraping against stone.
“Heh…”
“I wondered who would come visiting in the middle of the night…”
“So…”
“It’s my dear disciple.”
“Pavilion Master Qinglan.”
He deliberately emphasized the name Qinglan, his voice overflowing with ridicule.
A-Li remained silent.
She simply looked at him coldly.
Apparently amused, Xue Ji continued in his grating voice.
“What is it?”
“That utterly lost expression…”
“It doesn’t suit the decisive Qinglan I know.”
“Let me guess…”
“You met your dear brother?”
“Or perhaps…”
“…you’ve been thinking about that loving imperial father and mother of yours?”
He carefully watched every flicker of emotion across her face.
Though she struggled to suppress them…
it seemed as though he could see straight into her heart.
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue.
“I knew it.”
“Qinglan…”
“How many times have I told you?”
“Your heart…”
“…will never be hard enough.”
“You’re nothing but wet clay that can never hold its shape.”
“If someone shows you the tiniest bit of kindness…”
“…you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”
“And yet…”
“…you still can’t let go of the pain they carved into your soul.”
His voice gradually rose, filled with venomous disappointment.
“Take me, for example!”
“I merely pulled you out from the jaws of wild dogs.”
“I gave you a place where you could live like a human being!”
“And how did you repay me?”
“You stole my position.”
“You locked me in this lightless pit.”
“And yet…”
“You still couldn’t bring yourself to kill me!”
“Hahahaha!”
“Pathetic!”
“Absolutely pathetic!”
“Shut up!”
At last, his words pierced straight through A-Li’s defenses.
Murderous intent flashed across her eyes.
She suddenly struck out with her palm.
Bang!
“Pffft!”
Caught completely off guard, Xue Ji spat out a mouthful of blood.
His body slammed violently against the chains, causing them to rattle loudly throughout the cavern.
Yet instead of crying out in pain…
he burst into manic laughter.
“Hahaha…”
“Cough…”
“Hahahaha!”
“So…”
“I hit a nerve?”
“I guessed correctly, didn’t I?”
His blood-covered face slowly lifted.
His eyes locked onto A-Li like a venomous serpent.
“Qinglan.”
“Look at yourself.”
“Indecisive.”
“Always wavering.”
“You commit the cruelest acts imaginable…”
“…yet still long for the most impossible affection.”
“Have you forgotten how much blood stains your hands?”
“Forgotten how many corpses you climbed over to reach where you stand today?”
“You actually think…”
“…that if you return now…”
“…they’ll still see you as their innocent little princess?”
“Keep dreaming!”
“You’re Qinglan now!”
“The name that terrifies the martial world!”
“The monster who imprisoned—and nearly murdered—her own master!”
“This filthy…”
“…twisted version of yourself…”
“…will only disgust them!”
“They’ll fear you!”
“They’ll dread you!”
“And before long…”
“…they’ll abandon you all over again.”
“Perhaps…”
“…they’ll even kill you with their own hands!”
“Shut up!”
“I said shut up!!”
A-Li lunged forward and seized him by the throat.
The corners of her eyes had turned crimson.
Xue Ji’s face flushed red from suffocation.
Yet he continued grinning at her madness.
Between clenched teeth, he forced out several broken words.
“Don’t…”
“…forget…”
“They…”
“…already…”
“…have another…”
“…princess…”
“I told you to shut up!”
Seeing her own frantic reflection in his eyes—
A-Li suddenly released him.
She turned around…
and almost fled the cave.
Behind her echoed Xue Ji’s crazed, malicious laughter.
The icy night wind brushed against her face.
Yet it couldn’t cool the turmoil raging inside her heart.
His words became a curse that repeated endlessly inside her mind.
“Disgust.”
“Fear.”
“Dread.”
“A stain.”
“They’ll abandon you again.”
She leaned heavily against a tree trunk.
Slowly closed her eyes.
The grief in Xiao Yu’s dream-filled eyes intertwined with Xue Ji’s derisive laughter.
Together, they threatened to tear her apart.
After a long while…
she opened her eyes again.
Every trace of hesitation…
Every ounce of vulnerability…
had been forcibly buried.
Only deeper coldness remained.
And unwavering resolve.
She could not allow herself to be swayed.
She could not turn back.
She had…
long since run out of roads to return to.
The imperial family had no place for a stain like her.
The Emperor’s dragon throne certainly had no need for an unpredictable blade.
Perhaps the Crown Prince’s guilt was genuine.
But in the face of ruthless reality…
and political interests…
How long could that guilt possibly last?
Slowly, she straightened to her feet.
She no longer needed their love.
Nor their acceptance.
She wanted only one thing—
For them to suffer.
For them to pay the price.
And ultimately…
for that throne itself.
For the absolute power that would ensure no one could ever control her fate again.