Ivy Shen was stunned by the white creature in front of her. There were thousands of white cranes in the world, but she could never mistake this one—because it had a little tuft of pale yellow down on its neck. Back then, she’d joked about it: either call this guy Little White, or just Little Yellow Tuft!
But why is Little White here?!
Just then, the white crane standing on the lotus leaf suddenly noticed Ivy and immediately flapped its wings and flew over.
Seeing this, the guards instantly raised their swords and rushed in. The Crown Prince had ordered that she must not be harmed in the slightest, but the sudden appearance of the white crane flying straight at her made them instinctively think she was in danger.
"What are you doing?" Seeing them rush over, ready to hurt Little White, Ivy couldn't help but snap angrily.
Hearing this, the guards froze. One bold one stepped forward, stammering, "Uh... we were just worried that animal might hurt you, miss, so..."
"Get lost!" For the first time, Ivy didn't speak gently—she was absolutely furious and barked at them.
The guards looked at each other, unsure whether to retreat or advance, completely at a loss for what to do!
"All of you, step back. It's just a white crane. Don’t you know Sister Sherry loves animals?" Nina Xu saw Ivy’s sudden anger and turned to remind them.
"Oh, Noble Lady Lana, right, we were too hasty," the guards quickly apologized.
"Everyone, stand down. I'm right here—what's to be afraid of? Seriously, can a white crane even hurt anyone?" Nina Xu rolled her eyes at their overreaction.
At her words, the guards finally bowed and apologized, then retreated to stand by the wall.
'Gah—gah—' Little White landed in front of Ivy, flapping its wings happily.
Seeing this, Nina asked curiously, "Sherry, this white crane really seems to like you!"
Ivy didn’t answer her question. Instead, she reached out to stroke its feathers and asked quietly, "He’s here, isn’t he?"
'Gah—gah—' The intelligent white crane responded as if it understood her words.
"That fool," Ivy muttered helplessly, still stroking its wing. "Weren’t you supposed to be recovering in the valley? Why did you suddenly show up—did Old Man Sai leave the valley?"
'Gah—gah—' Little White answered her again.
With that, Ivy realized—when they left before, Little White was still injured and had stayed behind for Old Man Sai to care for. So, Old Man Sai must have gone out to gather herbs, and Little White followed him out. As for how it reunited with Eli Crane, only they could solve that mystery!
"You can find him, right?" Ivy said confidently. Then she took off the ribbon from her hair and tied it around Little White’s neck, declaring loudly, "This white crane is mine now—no one is allowed to hurt it!"
Ivy spoke loud enough for all the guards to hear clearly. They quickly turned and passed the word along.
After tying the ribbon around its neck, Ivy stroked the crane and whispered, "Take this to him. Tell him I’m safe, tell him not to come, I’ll be leaving the palace soon." With that, she patted its wing, and the white crane leapt into the air and flew off.
She’d always known this white crane was special—it definitely understood her words. And after so long with Eli Crane, of course he could understand the crane’s unique language. Ivy was sure the message would reach him.
"Sheng’er... you know that white crane, don’t you? It looked like it could understand you!" Nina Xu was amazed. In her mind, white cranes were sacred creatures, not the type to hang out with people—so why was this one so unique, almost magical?
"Yes, it understands me. It’s not an ordinary crane—it’s a spirit beast." Ivy watched it fly away, silently thinking, Eli, you came here too? Where are you now?!
****** Plot shift ******
Night fell quickly.
Today was the third day—the day the three of them had agreed to meet here.
This time, they worked extra hard to complete the mission Ivy had given them.
And they did a fantastic job. Even though tracking down the other three was dangerous and exhausting, they finally succeeded—they hadn’t let Xin’er down.
After the six of them regrouped, they leapt to a deserted manor that Butterfly Rogue had already scouted out—totally remote, and seriously creepy. But for these men, 'creepy'? Ha, that’s about the funniest word in the world!
Fearlessly, the six pushed open the creaky old door and walked in. As soon as they entered, everyone frowned—the place stank of mold. Last night was the fifteenth, tonight the sixteenth, and the moon was still full and bright. There were no lights in the abandoned house, but moonlight streamed in, making everything clearly visible.
So the thick white webs were obvious at a glance. No doubt about it—this must be the Cold Palace. Well, technically, the abandoned Cold Palace, since nobody lived here anymore!
Butterfly Rogue grabbed his sword and swung it a few times, clearing out all the spider webs in no time.
Inside the empty house, the floor was littered with boards, and tables and stools were toppled everywhere. Some of them sat, some stood, but after exchanging a look, they started strategizing.
"Who would've thought we'd all have the same idea and end up meeting here?" Lucian Vane spoke first, looking as devilishly handsome as ever.
"Right back at you," Ethan Chu replied.
"Enough. Since we’re all here, no need to rehash the past. But I want to apologize—starting now, I, Butterfly Rogue, won’t hide anything from you. You all need to do the same, because... we can’t let Xin’er worry."
Everyone froze at his words, but then realized—Xin’er told them not to come, yet they all showed up anyway. She must be shocked and furious, especially since she’s injured and still has to worry about them.
"Is Xin’er... okay?" The last to be found, Eli Crane, still dressed in white and calm as ever, stood quietly to the side. He sounded deeply worried—he’d tried to see her, but the Crown Prince’s palace was swarming with guards. Even with his skills, there was no way to break in.
"Hey, don’t worry—Xin’er’s fine," Lucian Vane quickly went over to reassure him.
"Yeah, you really don’t need to worry. Xin’er made me promise to find you—she’s so concerned about you," Butterfly Rogue added honestly.
"Xin’er must be missing me too. Oh, my darling, I’m so worried about you!" Butterfly Rogue swooned, looking completely lovesick and self-absorbed.
"Please, Xin’er doesn’t care about you—stop being so vain," Lucian Vane retorted mercilessly.
"What’s that supposed to mean? Xin’er wanted you to find Xiao Qi because she cares, but when you find me it’s not caring? Hmph, you’re just jealous!" Butterfly Rogue complained, clearly annoyed.
"That’s because Xin’er’s worried you’ll cause trouble, Lord Shangguan!" Lucian Vane replied, enunciating every word.
"You—you—damn demon..."
"Enough, you two. Stop fighting—this is the imperial palace. We should be thinking about how to meet up with Xin’er the day after tomorrow," Ethan Chu interjected.
"Seriously, you two are so noisy. Since I arrived late, let me handle the route and the plan. By the way, Ethan Chu, didn’t you say you had a map of the palace?" Lan Moxuan suddenly said. He hadn’t seen Xin’er yet, but his heart was with the others.
At his words, Ethan Chu quickly pulled out a map and handed it to Lan Moxuan. "My older sister gave it to me." She must have worried about his safety in the palace, so half a year ago she’d gone to great lengths to get him this map and told him never to let it out of his sight. He’d kept it sewn into his pocket ever since. Back then, he hadn’t thought much of it—but now, they’d have to rely on it!
"You guys have been running yourselves ragged these past few days searching for the three of us. You must be exhausted. Why don’t you all take a breather while I figure out the simplest and safest route to reach Ivy?" With that, Caleb Miles grabbed his abacus and started calculating.
Off to the side, Butterfly Rogue couldn't help but marvel. This guy doesn’t just calculate money—he can crunch the numbers for every little thing in daily life with an abacus. Honestly, with him around, their household was destined to keep getting better and better!
At that moment, Eli Crane didn’t say a word. He just reached out, picked up a candle, and started exploring the place. The small flame moved slowly with his steps, gently lighting the way ahead.
Eli glanced inside, then outside. The place wasn’t very big, but the layout felt strangely warm despite the current mess—even downright dilapidated. Still, judging by the way it was arranged in the past, whoever lived here must’ve loved flowers and plants; there were shattered vases everywhere, each with a handful of dried blooms inside.
Suddenly, Eli was drawn to a half-fallen portrait inside the room. He walked over. The painting was half hanging upside-down, the other half swaying from a nail, covered in cobwebs. Eli straightened the picture, brushed off the webs, and held the candle closer. But as he did, something about the image made his heart jolt, and he couldn’t help but whisper, "Xin’er..."
His voice was quiet, but to these martial artists, it was clear as day. The others hurried over. "What’s wrong, Eli? Who’s Xin’er?" Lucian Vane put down his abacus and came over, curiosity written all over his face.
"Look, isn’t this Ivy?" Eli stepped aside, letting the candlelight fall on the portrait.
"Ivy..." The group gasped in unison.
But a split second later, everyone felt something was off. How could this be? Why would Ivy be here?
"No, this isn’t her. Look closely—she resembles Ivy, but it’s definitely not her!" Eli suddenly said seriously.
At his words, everyone leaned in for a closer look. Sure enough, there were subtle differences, but the likeness was uncanny—the aura, the temperament, the playful look, the gentle smile. Could there really be someone else in the world so much like Ivy?
"Oh! I know who she is!" Butterfly Rogue suddenly exclaimed, his face full of pride.
"Who?" the five men chorused, all eyes on him.
"Seriously, you guys are hopeless! That’s got to be our mother-in-law!" Butterfly Rogue declared, all fired up. Ivy had said her mother was killed by Cao Wan’er, and her father was the emperor. So her mom must’ve been a royal consort. With a portrait this similar to Ivy, it had to be her mother!
"Mother-in-law?" the five men echoed, still a bit in disbelief.
Just then, Eli carefully took down the portrait and laid it flat on the table, bringing the candle close. At the bottom, a line of poetry confirmed Butterfly Rogue’s guess.
Who will hold my hand and end half a lifetime of loneliness; who will support my shoulder and dispel a lifetime of desolation. It is you, and only you. Dedicated to my most beloved Heartsoft.