Three days later—
Three days was enough for Lucian Vane to nurse his body back to health. During this time, the two of them kept searching for an exit at the bottom of the canyon. Since the water kept flowing downstream, it proved this wasn’t a dead end—surely, the exit couldn’t be far.
"Ivy, are you tired?" With all his usual defenses dropped, Lucian was now so gentle that the word "poison" hardly suited him.
"I'm fine!" Ivy Shen grinned wide—having someone dote on her felt unexpectedly amazing.
Seeing this, Lucian took her hand and gently led her forward. These three days had been the happiest of his life. He selfishly wished they could stay here forever—then she’d be his alone. Otherwise, once they ran into her three other husbands he hadn’t divorced yet, the pressure would be immense. And on top of that, there was still that flower-thief rival lurking around.
Honestly, if he had to say when he started liking her, it was probably the moment she talked about divorcing him. In this whole world, she was the only one who dared to try and cast off Lucian Vane.
At this moment, Ivy had no idea what Lucian was thinking. She was just happily hunting for an exit. Having brushed with death, she’d seen it all—so after getting out, she was determined to eat and drink to her heart’s content, travel wherever she pleased, and never wrong herself again!
Meanwhile, Lucian watched her alternate between frowning and smiling, and his heart grew sweeter by the minute.
"Lucian..." Suddenly, Ivy—who’d just been so cheerful—felt a dull ache in her stomach and couldn’t help but call out softly.
Seeing this, Lucian quickly supported her and took her pulse. "It’s way too damp and cold here, and your body is too weak. I’m afraid... your period’s coming early." With his medical skills, he immediately realized her pain was definitely from her period.
"Ugh, my period's coming?" Ivy Shen frowned a little. She’d totally forgotten when the last one was.
"Eh? Your aunt is coming? Where does she live?" Lucian Vane instantly asked with serious concern. If Ivy's aunt was visiting, shouldn’t he buy something for her? But wait—what did her aunt even like?
Hearing this, Ivy looked up at Lucian’s dead-serious face and suddenly got what he meant. She couldn’t help bursting out laughing—this guy, he was honestly too much!
"What are you laughing at?"
"You silly snake, when I say 'aunt,' I mean my period." Watching Lucian’s face turn awkward as soon as she said 'month letter,' Ivy felt a wave of pure joy.
"Uh, it’s about to get dark. I’ll go catch a pheasant to help you recover." With that, Lucian blushed furiously and dashed ahead. After three days here, he’d confirmed this place was totally deserted—except for some ordinary critters. So he could let her wait here safely while he went hunting.
Two hours later—
By the campfire, a makeshift spit made of two branches held a roasting pheasant, sizzling in the flames. Lucian sat nearby, his mouth stuffed with feathers, looking absolutely ridiculous as he earnestly tended the bird.
He looked all capable and cool, but honestly, he had no clue how to handle a bird—she’d always done it before. Today, since Ivy was feeling lousy, he refused to let her touch cold water, so under her bossy instructions, he tried to pluck the chicken himself. The result? Lucian was covered head to toe in feathers, a total mess.
"Xin’er, are you hungry? Hang in there, it’ll be ready soon!" Lucian blew on the flames while swiping his sleeve across his handsome face—instantly smearing it with soot and turning his devilishly pretty features pitch-black.
"Ugh..." The ache in her belly came creeping back again, making Ivy Shen squirm. What the heck? Her period hadn’t even started, and already the cramps were kicking in? This was torture!
"Xin'er..." Lucian Vane noticed something was off with her and hurried over, worry written all over his face.
"Xin'er, how are you feeling? Don’t worry, I’m right here." He spoke softly, then whipped out his silver needles and started poking her pressure points to ease the pain. "Don’t worry, once we get out of here, I’ll fix this problem for you—no matter what, I’ll search every medical scroll in the realm until your menstrual cramps are gone for good." Lucian was dead serious: period pain was tough to cure, but with long-term care, he was determined to help her.
"Much better now," Ivy said, catching his anxious look and giving him a reassuring smile.
"Just lie down and rest for a bit. I’ll boil some water for you." Lucian grabbed the battered pot off the ground and went to scoop up some water. It was old and cracked, but hey, it was the best thing they’d found out here—it could actually hold water, and in this damp valley, that meant warm drinks were a luxury.
"Xin'er... Xin'er..." Lucian watched her sweat pouring down, his heart twisting with worry. But when he checked her pulse, he nearly jumped out of his skin—wait, what the heck? Why couldn’t he feel her pulse at all? Suddenly, panic started clawing at his chest.
"It hurts, it hurts so bad..." Ivy cried out, her voice raw with pain. Then her legs started shaking uncontrollably. Lucian knew this sign—her human legs were about to be swapped out for her serpent tail...
Sure enough, in just a few seconds, her flawless, pale legs vanished, replaced by a pitch-black serpent tail.
"Lean back here for now, Xin'er. I’ll get you some water." Lucian carefully propped Ivy against a tree trunk, then tiptoed over with the pot, trying not to spill a drop.
"Ugh... it hurts! My tail hurts so much!" Ivy couldn’t help but scream. Before Lucian could even react, the black cocoon around her tail started crack-crack-cracking, just like an egg about to hatch.
With a final loud 'crack!' the cocoon that had always wrapped around her tail split open. Instantly, a blinding gold light shot straight into the night sky, lighting up the darkness like fireworks at midnight...
Ivy stared weakly at the golden tail that had suddenly appeared, totally dumbstruck. Did she just level up or something?
CLANG! Lucian dropped the pot with a loud crash, frozen in place.
"Lucian..." Ivy called his name, catching sight of his absolutely gobsmacked face.
"You... you... you’re actually a princess?!" Lucian finally blurted out, eyes wide as saucers, his voice shooting up an octave. If he had a tail, it’d be standing straight up in shock right now.
*****