The Cloud Terrace was situated high and wide, illuminated brightly by countless lights.
A massive Sky-Sailing Ship rested by the cliff’s edge, humming faintly, ready for departure.
The ship was seventy feet long, its main body crafted from the buoyant wood of the Empty Mulberry Tree, powered by Sky-Falling Bright Stones. Such a colossal vessel, capable of riding the winds, naturally relied on intricate mechanisms akin to wooden oxen and flowing horses.
Yun Zhao didn’t bother with the steps. Instead, she leaped from the cliff’s edge and landed on the Sky-Sailing Ship with a loud “thud!”
Everyone’s eyes twitched.
She turned around, waving enthusiastically, “Brother Yan, come down quickly!”
In public, Yan Nantian always carried himself with an air of formality.
Draped in a black crane-feather cloak, his hands lightly clasped in front of him, he descended the steps with a faint smile on his lips, his gaze slightly lowered.
In any crowd, he was always the most dignified figure.
As he passed her, he gave her a measured glance, his lips barely moving as he whispered, “Behave and follow.”
Yun Zhao secretly stuck her tongue out at the furry collar of his cloak.
Before embarking on a long journey, it was customary to pay respects to the Supreme Deity.
Yan Nantian strode steadily to the bow of the ship, where someone immediately handed him prepared incense.
He held the incense with both hands, bowed three times to the north, lit the green incense, and inserted it upright into the purple-gold incense burner. Then, he led the group in prayer.
Yun Zhao had never been one to pray seriously.
Once, during a New Year’s ceremony when she was a child, she overheard her relatives making all sorts of requests to the Supreme Deity. Feeling mischievous, she climbed onto the incense altar and playfully shouted, “Burning a few coins’ worth of incense, asking for millions in blessings—Supreme Deity, I’m going to hit someone!”
The entire family was startled.
It was the only time in her life that her father had ever spanked her.
Now, as she listened to Yan Nantian leading the group in prayers for a smooth journey, Yun Zhao’s mischievous thoughts bubbled up uncontrollably.
What had the villain said?
—“Wen’s mother has a great destiny. If she returns alive, Xiangyang Xiu (Yun Zhao’s mother) will surely die.”
Yun Zhao sneered slightly, clasped her hands in front of her lips, and for the first time, prayed earnestly to the Supreme Deity.
‘Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!’
‘Great disaster! Great disaster!’
‘A calamity of disasters!’
While the others finished their prayers, Yun Zhao remained with her eyes closed, her expression one of devout sincerity.
Yan Nantian: “…Has she changed?”
Just as he was about to signal the departure, a gasp of horror came from behind.
As his gaze swept over, a young eunuch quickly covered his mouth and lowered his head.
Yan Nantian’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked toward the incense burner.
One of the three upright incense sticks had inexplicably snapped in half.
This…
Silence fell over the surroundings.
Yun Zhao opened her eyes and saw the scene. Her lips curled into a smile she couldn’t suppress.
Yan Nantian cleared his throat, “Ahem.”
Must she be so visibly pleased?
“Ah, well,” Yun Zhao’s eyes darted around, “Brother Yan, you know I’ve never believed in gods or ghosts. I only believe in myself!”
She spoke with righteous conviction.
Yan Nantian raised an eyebrow slightly, then turned to the group and said, “I, too, believe that success lies in human effort.”
The crowd bowed, “Yes!”
Yun Zhao muttered under her breath, “Good omens never come true, but bad ones always do! Good omens never come true, but bad ones always do!”
Yan Nantian: “…”
*
The Sky-Sailing Ship finally set off.
On board were over a dozen operators and more than twenty palace guards, stationed on either side of the ship.
Yan Nantian walked toward the central pavilion on the ship.
The ship’s facilities prioritized lightness, and the pavilion had only a roof and pillars, with thin yet resilient silk curtains woven from celestial silk, adorned with wind-chasing beads.
A round-faced eunuch led Wen Nuannuan over.
Wen Nuannuan’s face was pale, dressed in a heavy, long velvet robe, her eyes slightly red, making her look even more like a delicate, pitiable flower.
She approached without a word, giving Yan Nantian a slight bow before hiding behind the eunuch.
Yun Zhao observed her coldly.
She hadn’t forgotten how this girl had slapped herself to frame her.
To be fair, if Wen Nuannuan hadn’t provoked her that day, Yun Zhao might not have resorted to violence—she had, after all, taken some of Yan Nantian’s heartfelt advice to heart.
Of course, once she did act, she felt no remorse whatsoever.
“This is Eunuch Shunde,” Yan Nantian introduced gently, “He has always been highly trusted by my father.”
Yun Zhao didn’t bother hiding her indifference, “Oh.”
The round-faced eunuch hurried over with a bow, “Your Highness flatters me too much! This humble servant is hardly worthy!”
When he smiled, his face resembled a golden ingot.
Yun Zhao spoke bluntly, “This eunuch looks so cheerful, just seeing him makes me feel happy.”
Eunuch Shunde beamed, “If seeing me brings joy to Miss Yun, then it must be a blessing I’ve cultivated over many lifetimes!”
Yun Zhao laughed.
See, people in the palace really knew how to talk.
The flying ship began to move slowly.
Yun Zhao said to Yan Nantian, “You go ahead into the pavilion. I’ll join you later!”
She didn’t insist on keeping him outside.
He always sat rigidly during flights, unmoving and silent, like a statue of a wind-stilling Buddha.
Yun Zhao was used to it by now.
As the air currents shifted, the Sky-Sailing Ship swayed slightly. Yan Nantian took his seat at the head of the pavilion. Through the silk curtains and wind-chasing beads, his face appeared colder and more stern than usual.
The ship soon rose into the sky. The Ninefold Mountains gradually shrank, and the entire capital came into view.
Yun Zhao excitedly leaned over the railing, half her body hanging out.
“Capital, I’m leaving you—”
She didn’t usually pay any attention to the Ninefold Mountains, let alone look beyond them. But today, thinking of the “ominous incense,” she secretly chuckled and stood on tiptoe, gazing toward the Supreme Deity Temple behind the imperial palace.
The Supreme Deity Temple… how to describe it?
It was a place of bustling incense, solemn and resplendent, with a kind of earnest, superstitious beauty.
For a moment, she thought she saw the entire temple shrouded in an invisible shadow cast by the imperial city.
But in an instant, the Sky-Sailing Ship had left the Ninefold Mountains behind.
It sailed into the clouds, passing by the colossal Sky-Reaching Tower.
“Hum—”
Compared to the majestic tower, the seventy-foot flying ship seemed like a slow-moving bird.
The wind passing through the tower sounded like an ancient, low song.
*
Yun Zhao entered the pavilion.
Yan Nantian sat like a statue at the head, his eyelids lowered, expressionless.
Wen Nuannuan seemed about to rise, but upon seeing Yun Zhao enter, she immediately shrank back onto the embroidered couch by the pavilion’s edge.
“Brother Yan!” Yun Zhao plopped down beside Yan Nantian, tugging at his sleeve, “Tell me about the case!”
Yan Nantian massaged his temples, exasperated.
This girl really did whatever came to mind.
“Are you here to solve the case?” His voice was hoarse.
Since his voice had been hoarse earlier that day (from choking on a pastry), Yun Zhao didn’t think much of it and replied matter-of-factly, “Yes!”
Yan Nantian’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, “…”
After a moment, he began to speak in a low, measured tone, summarizing the case briefly.
Wen Changkong, Wen Nuannuan’s stepfather, had been on a routine whale-hunting expedition when, under bizarre circumstances, a harpoon pierced his chest, leaving him impaled at the ship’s bow.
He wasn’t dead yet. The crew tried to save him, but to their horror, bloody wounds began to appear on his body one after another, seemingly out of nowhere.
Cuts, stabs, slashes, hooks…
The crew was terrified, too afraid to approach.
And so, the whale-hunting hero Wen Changkong was brutally tortured to death by an invisible “demon” in front of everyone on board.
Yan Nantian spoke slowly.
Yun Zhao listened intently, her posture unconsciously straightening, her dark eyes wide open, reflecting Yan Nantian’s pale profile.
She felt as though she were there on that stormy night.
The roaring sea was pitch black, white waves crashing against the ship’s sides, the cold wind biting into her bones.
The only color came from the blood splattering everywhere.
Blood poured from Wen Changkong’s body, instantly swept away by the waves, leaving behind only ghastly, pale wounds.
In such harsh conditions, in front of so many people, the killer had managed to openly, undetected, flay Wen Changkong alive.
By dawn, the traumatized crew discovered that Lady Wen had also vanished from the ship.
Yun Zhao suddenly asked, “Eunuch Shunde, could you do something like this?”
The eunuch, caught off guard, his chubby cheeks trembling, waved his hands, “Miss Yun, you flatter me too much! This humble servant’s meager skills could never accomplish such a feat!”
This man was one of the top martial artists in the palace.
If the killer were truly this formidable, couldn’t they easily infiltrate the palace and assassinate the emperor? No wonder the emperor was on edge.
Yun Zhao turned to Yan Nantian, “Brother Yan, what do you think?”
Brother Yan’s expression didn’t look good.
He pursed his thin lips, his cheeks as pale as cold jade, his temples slightly damp, and the veins on the back of his hand, resting flat on his knee, bulging visibly.
“Hmm?” she asked curiously, “Brother Yan, are you feeling unwell?”
He calmly looked at her, “What’s wrong?”
Their eyes met, and he gave her a faint smile.
“Oh,” he slightly raised his brow and spoke in a measured tone, “After the incident, I was ordered to go to the Whale Fall Sea to investigate the whaling ships and the area where it happened, but I found no clues. Wen Changkong’s daughter was under the protection of the authorities when she was harmed, and the culprit vanished without a trace.”
His voice grew hoarser as he casually picked up a cup of tea from the table and drank it in one gulp.
With his left hand, he lifted the teapot and poured himself two or three more cups, drinking them all.
Only then did he set the cup down, slowly placing the lid back in its usual position.
“That day, news came that Wen’s daughter remembered her mother mentioning the Loulan Sea Market,” Yan Nantian continued. “I intended to ask her more about it.”
But before he could, Wen Nuannuan was injured and publicly called out to him for help, presenting the token of Yun Zhao’s father.
What happened afterward was known to Yun Zhao.
Yun Zhao asked pointedly, “Have you finished asking now?”
From her tone, Yan Nantian immediately knew what she was thinking.
He replied, “It’s done. My father personally handled the questioning. I didn’t interfere.”
His eyes were smiling.
He silently conveyed to her with his gaze: I didn’t speak a single word to her.
Yun Zhao was satisfied and, like patting a puppy, reached out to pat the back of his hand resting on his knee.
“Hmm? Why is your hand so cold?”
“The wind is strong. It’s nothing,” he smiled faintly.
In the corner, Wen Nuannuan’s eyes were brimming with tears as she timidly looked at Yan Nantian, her expression full of worry and hesitation.
Yun Zhao had never been one to care much about others. Since he said it was nothing, she carelessly went off to play.
One moment she was spinning the compass on the Sky-Sailing Ship so fast it whirred, the next she was leaning over the railing to watch the intricate machinery at work, and then she insisted on taking the helm herself.
She was nothing short of a walking troublemaker.
Midway through her antics, Yun Zhao suddenly sensed something was off.
The windproof curtains were empty—no one was inside.
Yun Zhao: “?”
Where had Yan Nantian gone?
Suspicious, she searched around and finally spotted him at the stern of the Sky-Sailing Ship.
Not just him, but Wen Nuannuan was there too.
The two were standing quite close. Wen Nuannuan was timidly playing with her hair with one hand while extending the other toward him.
At the sudden sight of this, Yun Zhao felt as if she had been split in two. One half was seething with anger, while the other half remained eerily calm, observing the scene.
Yan Nantian raised his hand.
It was a gesture of refusal.
Wen Nuannuan seemed deeply hurt, taking half a step back. Even without seeing her face, it was clear her eyes were welling up with tears again.
“It’s sweet-and-sour jujube preserves… they’re delicious…”
Yan Nantian turned his face away, and Eunuch Shunde hurried over, reaching out to take the cup from his hand.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turned around and met Yun Zhao’s icy gaze.
“Clatter!”
The cup fell to the ground and shattered, startling Eunuch Shunde.
In that moment, Yan Nantian, the crown prince known for his gentle and steady demeanor, actually swayed slightly, instinctively wanting to hide.
The corner of his eye twitched, and with great effort, he forced himself to stand still.
“…A-Zhao.”
His voice was even hoarser now.
Yun Zhao let out three cold laughs and stormed forward, grabbing his sleeve fiercely, “Yan! Nan! Tian!”
The wind at the stern was strong, causing their sleeves to flutter and clash in the air.
Yan Nantian slightly turned his face away and spoke with difficulty, “…I can explain. Just wait a moment.”
“Miss Yun, you’ve misunderstood!” Wen Nuannuan bravely spoke up, “Brother Yan was just feeling—”
Yan Nantian cut her off, “Be quiet.”
Yun Zhao realized belatedly, “Yan Nantian, are you seasick?”
Yan Nantian stubbornly replied, “No.”
Yun Zhao: “You came here to vomit?”
Yan Nantian: “I said no!”
Yun Zhao: “And then you rinsed your mouth with tea?”
Yan Nantian struggled to speak, “…I. Said. No.”
Yun Zhao: “You’re embarrassed, so you’ve been hiding it all this time?”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore, “Pfft—hahahaha!”
Yan Nantian wished he could cover his face with his sleeve.
Unfortunately, his sleeve was firmly in Yun Zhao’s grip, and he couldn’t pull it back.
“Miss Yun!” Wen Nuannuan straightened her back, indignantly speaking up, “Brother Yan is feeling so unwell, and I don’t understand why you’re laughing? Last time, when Brother Yan saved me and brought me back on the Sky-Sailing Ship, I noticed he wasn’t feeling well—he treats you so well, how can you be so inconsiderate? Just now, you even forced him to speak so much. He was already struggling and uncomfortable, and you didn’t notice at all?”
Yun Zhao’s expression darkened.
She really hadn’t noticed he was feeling unwell.
Yan Nantian had always been like this when riding the Sky-Sailing Ship, and she had grown used to it.
Wen Nuannuan bit her lip, looking down at the sweet-and-sour preserves in her hand, “I just… wanted Brother Yan to feel a little better. I didn’t have any other intentions. Really.”
Yan Nantian, his face pale, gave her a faint glance.
Yun Zhao suddenly understood: Oh, so this is how the female protagonist defeats the villainess—by being thoughtful and caring, warming his cold heart bit by bit, moving him, making him fall for her.
“Yes!” Yun Zhao raised her brow and smiled, “Yan Nantian, I’m just like this. I can’t be considerate of you! I’ve always been this way, and I’ll always be this way! I’ll never change! If you don’t like it, you can back out now…”
He covered her mouth with his hand.
He took a few deep breaths, then glared at her resentfully.
“A-Zhao,” he finally managed to speak, annoyed, “Why would I need you to be considerate? If it’s about being attentive and caring, the eunuchs in this world would call themselves second to none.”
Yun Zhao: “…”
Yan Nantian declared firmly, “If I wanted someone to be considerate, I might as well bring more eunuchs!”
Yun Zhao: “…”
Wen Nuannuan: “…”
Eunuch Shunde: “…”
This argument left everyone speechless.
*
Yan Nantian took Yun Zhao’s hand and led her aside, dismissing the others.
Yun Zhao felt a little down.
She hadn’t noticed Yan Nantian’s seasickness all this time.
Though she could act tough, deep down, it bothered her.
He reached out to smooth the wrinkles on his sleeve where she had grabbed him, then glanced at her meaningfully, “Little Yun Zhao.”
Yun Zhao: “Hmm?”
Yan Nantian: “In front of everyone, it’s fine if you scold me, but why did you have to grab me too?”
Yun Zhao retorted, “What’s wrong with grabbing you?”
Between them, there had never been any need for formalities.
Yan Nantian: “The wind is strong up here.”
Yun Zhao: “So what if the wind is strong?”
Yan Nantian clicked his tongue silently, his gaze drifting as if he couldn’t bear to say it. He pointed a finger and lightly poked her forearm.
Yun Zhao was puzzled and looked down.
“…”
The strong wind had blown her sleeve up, revealing the cheat notes she had forgotten to wash off her wrist.
Yun Zhao: “…”
Yun Zhao: “Ahaha, ha, haha, Brother Yan, look up! The stars are so close to us!”
Yan Nantian: “…”
It wasn’t even dark yet.