"Your Highness, may we go out on patrol now?" came the voice of a Palace Sentinel from outside.
"Mm." Evan Xiao replied sullenly.
...
The next morning, after finishing his palace duties, Evan Xiao went to the tree to catch Chloe Zhu.
However, none of the three were there.
Did they leave directly?
Or were they hiding somewhere nearby?
Evan Xiao's gut feeling told him she wouldn't leave so easily.
So, he followed the Heartscale and found her.
But the scene before him left him stunned.
He saw the Celestial Empress half-reclining on the couch, while Chloe Zhu held her hand, performing acupuncture and chatting cheerfully with his mother.
"Evan, you're here!" The Celestial Empress beamed as she sat up.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Evan Xiao asked.
"I ran into Grandpa Gene's apprentice in the garden this morning. Turns out, she's an incredibly skilled Spiritual Alchemist!" The Celestial Empress looked amazed. "She figured out the root of my illness from when I gave birth to your sister and said she could cure me!"
Evan Xiao shot Chloe Zhu a sideways glance.
She focused on the acupuncture, ignoring him completely.
When the Celestial Empress gave birth to Vivian Xiao, she was in the middle of an ascension.
Countless bolts of tribulation lightning struck her, and it was only by a hair's breadth that both mother and daughter survived.
That ascension naturally ended in failure.
And ever since then, she hasn't dared approach lightning—if she gets close, it attacks her immediately.
And all these years, she still hasn't managed to ascend.
"Even five hundred years ago, not even Luke Kee could cure her! How could a mere Spiritual Practitioner who hasn't even reached immortality fix your illness?" Evan Xiao challenged.
"Actually, Luke Kee said he could cure me, but he was missing a Catalyst," the Celestial Empress replied. "The Catalyst was never found, and then... he passed away."
"Just now, I heard this girl explain her treatment plan—it's exactly the same as Luke Kee's, and she even says she has the Catalyst!"
Evan Xiao's eyes flickered and he looked at Chloe Zhu. "What's the Catalyst?"
Chloe Zhu answered, "Your Highness, the Catalyst is Princess Vivian!"
"What?" Everyone was startled by her words.
"Don't worry, Celestial Empress. It won't harm Princess Vivian," Chloe Zhu assured. "Your illness started when the tribulation lightning struck during childbirth, and a portion of your Storm Core in your Mage Core was transferred to the princess.
So, Princess Vivian will use her Mage Core to nourish the pill I refine for forty-nine days. The pill will absorb your missing Storm Core essence, and once you take it, your Mage Core will be whole again and the illness will be gone."
"If that's the case, why did Luke Kee say the Catalyst was missing back then?" the Celestial Empress asked.
"Because Princess Vivian needed to reach Archmage Level before she could safely act as the Catalyst without being harmed. I just asked Your Majesty, and you said she advanced a hundred years ago. So when the Alchemist God said there was no Catalyst, he meant the princess hadn't ascended yet, right?"
"So that's it!" The Celestial Empress nodded.
Chloe Zhu smiled. "Celestial Empress, please allow me to refine the pill for you! You'll be cured by tomorrow."
Of course, the Celestial Empress couldn't wait. She happily agreed, "Wonderful! Thank you so much!"
"But I have one request, and I hope the Celestial Empress will agree," Chloe Zhu added.
"What request?"
"This matter must be kept strictly confidential. No one besides the people present today can know about it."
"Why is that?" asked the Celestial Empress.
"It's for the princess's safety. While Princess Vivian's Storm Core is being drawn out, she'll be weakened. If someone with bad intentions finds out, they might target her. So please keep this a secret and act as normal."