Prince Nolan had never been one to waste time on useless things, let alone spend effort on what didn't matter—this time was a complete exception.
Not the slightest impatience showed on Prince Nolan's face; he kept both hands on Serena's belly, talking to the baby inside, hoping his child would give its father a little face and move just a bit.
The atmosphere was wonderful, the room cozy, and it was rare for the two to be so close. Even when Nolan's mouth went dry and his legs numb from talking, he couldn't bear to get up. To say he was coaxing the baby was less accurate than saying he was using it as an excuse to please Serena and spend more time with her, hoping she would forgive him.
But Serena had no such intentions. Glancing at the sky, she knew the usual time for the baby's movements had passed: "He won't move again today—it's already dark."
"Then he'll move again tomorrow morning, right?" Prince Nolan really didn't want to leave, remembering what William Wang had said.
"Yes."
"Then can I... stay tonight?" Prince Nolan asked, his hope barely concealed, wanting to use this as a chance to melt the invisible wall between them.
"What do you think?" Serena shot Nolan a look, pushed his hands away, slowly got up, and walked out...
Sure enough, you can't give a man even half a step—he'll always try to take more.
As expected, it's still hopeless.
Prince Nolan stood inside the room, quietly sighing. Leaving, he felt reluctant; staying, he knew it was pointless.
He knew he was in the wrong, but since what’s done is done, there’s no use dwelling on the past—better to focus on how to fix things.
"Can’t you just give me one more chance?" Prince Nolan sighed to himself, lingering alone in the room for a long while before finally leaving.
He couldn’t very well leave Serena without a place to sleep; if he stayed here, she’d rather squeeze in with Feng Jin than come back.
Serena kept her hand on her belly as she walked out. Not far from the door, she suddenly felt the baby inside kick her hard—a sharp pain that made her bend over.
It took her quite a while to recover, and she couldn’t help but smile again. Even knowing it was just coincidence, she was still secretly delighted.
This child loves her.
However, Feng Jin was upset at missing the baby’s evening movements. Serena had to coax him for ages before he finally burst out laughing.
"Wake me up early so I can touch her belly in the morning," Feng Jin kept reminding Autumn, determined to make up for what he missed today. As for Prince Nolan’s share?
Does Prince Nolan even get a share?
Once Serena had calmed Feng Jin down, she went to check on Zed. As for Prince Nolan inside the house—since Serena never mentioned him, none of the servants at Feng Manor dared bring him up either.
Although Zed had woken up before, he remained half-comatose and half-conscious, unable to speak. Anxious inside, all he could do was obey Serena and focus on healing—everything else would have to wait until he recovered.
Today, Zed was doing better; in Serena’s opinion, he could finally form clear sentences.
"Am I crippled now?" The little brat asked with a serious face, just like a miniature adult.
Zed had never shown much childish innocence, and after the Demon Sect’s destruction, he seemed even more like an adult in a child’s skin. Serena had even wondered if Zed was a transmigrant too.
"Except for not being able to practice martial arts, everything else is fine." Serena sat beside Zed, taking his temperature and changing his medicine. It wasn’t a difficult job, but with her own restlessness, she preferred to do it herself instead of leaving it to the medical maids.
"Oh." Zed answered softly, then fell silent. Just as Serena thought he was discouraged and tried to comfort him, Zed spoke again: "Thank you."
"It’s nothing—I wasn’t the one who saved you. I just helped out by chance. As for your body, don’t worry. If you can’t practice martial arts, you can learn something else." Maybe it was because she was pregnant, but Serena found herself growing softer-hearted; even knowing Zed was precocious and didn’t need comforting, she couldn’t help herself.
"Yeah. You don’t have to kill with your own hands—look at you, you don’t even know martial arts." Sure enough, Zed wasn’t discouraged by his injury. He was the kind of clear-sighted child who could survive anything, no matter how bad things got.
"What... happened to you?" Serena finally asked. No matter what, Zed was still a child—she didn’t want him to bear too much.
"My clan betrayed me. I can handle it." Zed said lightly, clearly unwilling to elaborate. Serena didn’t press him, only said, "If you ever need help, just ask. If I can do it, I won’t refuse."
"Alright." Zed didn’t refuse, his small face set with determination—he clearly had his own plans.
"Don’t push yourself too hard." Serena sighed, finished her checkup, tucked Zed in, and stood up to leave. "If you need anything, speak up—don’t suffer in silence."
"Okay." Zed’s voice was a little softer now. Serena realized that only now was this child truly accepting her kindness.
"Get some rest. Everything will work out." Serena patted Zed’s forehead and left with a smile.
Zed lay motionless, only turning his head to watch Serena’s departing figure as she reached the threshold—his dark eyes shining with tears...
Zed’s trouble really did stem from his clan’s betrayal, but the root cause was someone’s scheming. And the one stirring things up wasn’t an outsider—it was Linden Ling of Skyvault Fortress.
Linden had hastily taken over Skyvault Fortress and didn’t understand its ties with Northlyn. To secure his own future, he kept cooperating with Liancastle.
Everything had been fine, until Serena ran into trouble at Destiny Cliff. The moment Sean Xuan returned to Skyvault Palace, he unleashed his fury on both Moonvault Palace Sect and Skyvault Fortress for their roles in the incident.
Moonvault Palace Sect still had some foundation left, so under Sean’s crackdown they barely managed to survive. Skyvault Fortress, though, didn’t have that strength.
With Skyvault Fortress on the verge of being destroyed by Sean Xuan, Linden Ling had no choice but to activate the Demon Sect agents his father had planted, inciting them to seek revenge against Sean.
Everyone knew it was Sean Xuan who once led the martial world to attack the Demon Sect. If not for his campaign, the Demon Sect wouldn’t have been beaten down like stray dogs, forced to hide in the shadows.
Linden’s provocation struck a nerve—especially with Moonvault Palace Sect charging ahead, the Demon Sect members grew restless, itching to use the chaos to get back at Sean Xuan.
Only Zed saw through it all. He ordered that no one in the sect was to ally with Moonvault Palace Sect, and absolutely no one was to make a move.
Revenge was necessary, but the timing was wrong. The Demon Sect wasn’t just weakened—it had been destroyed at its roots. Right now, they had no power to strike back; until then, all they could do was endure.
Zed really was sharp and decisive, even if he was just a child. But the Demon Sect didn’t see it that way. They thought he was boosting outsiders’ morale while crushing their own, and resented him for growing even more ruthless over the last two years to hold his position. Many feared they’d be his next target.
No matter how capable Zed was, he was still just a kid, with few loyal followers. Without his father’s backing, the ambitious within the Demon Sect secretly plotted a coup. Luckily, Zed survived—protected by his handful of loyalists, he escaped into the mountains and ran into Snow Wolf digging for ginseng…
Jada Tang’s report said it was just Demon Sect infighting, but Serena knew better: this was Moonvault Palace Sect and Skyvault Fortress declaring war on Sean Xuan. The martial world was sliding into chaos…