The Earthshaking Secret of Sworn Sisterhood

No one slept a wink that night—too much had happened, way too suddenly. When Yvonne Li saw Ivy Shen's golden tail, the shock hit her so hard it felt like her soul was getting drop-kicked. Princess? She was a princess too?

After the shock wore off, she just started bawling. She had a little sister—turns out she really did have a little sister. And not just any sister, but a real blood sister!

Inside the room—

Ever since Ivy Shen actually showed her tail in front of everyone, she and Yvonne Li had gone back to their room. Ivy needed to sit down and explain everything properly.

The others were still out in the courtyard, sipping wine and chatting about everything under the sun.

Inside, the candles were burning low. Outside, the sky was starting to turn gray—dawn was almost here.

Yvonne Li kept holding Ivy Shen’s hand, listening to her pour out her whole story. She cried so much, it felt like she’d lived through all that pain herself—hurting even more than Ivy did.

Sure, she’d never met her father, but she’d had her mom by her side for fifteen whole years. No dad, but the deepest, most unconditional motherly love. Their life had always been stable—no assassins, no running for their lives. Plus, her father even arranged for the Black-and-White Fiend Duo’s masters to secretly protect them. When those masters grew old and passed away, the current Duo took over. That’s why they’ve always been safe.

Compared to that, she was way luckier than Ivy Shen.

"Don’t worry, little sis. Whatever they owe you, I’ll help you get it back!" Yvonne Li said, eyes flashing with determination.

Seeing this, Ivy Shen gave a little smile. "It's fine. I can handle it."

"What’s that supposed to mean—are you saying your big sister isn’t good enough?" Yvonne Li bristled, not liking Ivy’s refusal one bit.

Ivy hurried to explain, "Sis, you’ve got it all wrong! That’s not what I meant at all. I just never imagined there was another real sister out there besides Lacey—it's honestly kind of wild. I want to protect you both, to protect my family!" No matter how her father ended up with her mother, now that they shared the same blood, they were sisters. And she just wanted to protect them.

"Honestly, I feel the same way! I always thought I was alone in this world—never expected to have not one but two little sisters. I swear, I’ll do everything I can to protect you both." Yvonne Li’s voice dropped to a mysterious whisper. "Don’t worry, little sis. My martial arts are top-notch—normal people don’t stand a chance against me."

Ivy nodded. "When it’s time to storm the city, I’ll definitely ask for your help." She knew Yvonne was straightforward—once she set her mind on something, she’d always follow through. And now that she knew they were true sisters, there was no way Yvonne would just stand by and watch.

"Ivy, dawn’s almost here. For today’s Martial Conference prelims, let my people take your place, okay? You guys save your energy for the finals. Besides, you didn’t get any sleep last night, so rest up. Trust me, the big names will show up when the time’s right." After hearing Ivy’s story, Yvonne was sure that Silver Consort—the one everyone in Jianghu hated—would definitely appear.

"Don’t worry, sis—I’m fine," Ivy replied.

"Fine or not, my people are handling the prelims. Yours can wait for later. Plus, I doubt Silver Consort even knows you’re alive yet—and Lacey’s still in their hands. We can’t make any reckless moves. Our top priority is saving Lacey!" Right now, Yvonne was already treating Lacey as her own little sister—of course she’d worry about her.

Out of all of them, Lacey had suffered the most. Yvonne was determined to keep her safe, no matter what.

"Mm." Hearing Yvonne say all this, Ivy started worrying about Lacey again. Ever since she left, she had no idea how Lacey was doing, or if she was even safe.

"Sis!" Yvonne could see Ivy's face getting paler and knew she was worried.

"Yvonne..."

"Don’t worry, Lacey’s going to be fine," Yvonne reassured her.

"Mm!"

"The Martial Conference is running for several more days here in Lark City. So just stay in Li Manor for now—if anything happens outside, I’ll send someone to tell you." For Ivy’s safety, Yvonne figured it was best for her to stay put.

"You really don’t need to worry so much, Sis. I’ll be fine."

"Better safe than sorry. They’re holding a major chess piece right now!"

Hearing that, Ivy fell silent. Yeah, she could risk her own life, but her sister was still in their hands—she couldn’t gamble with that. Xiska Mon, you’d better hurry up. I’m counting on your sword to save my sister!

"Come on," Yvonne said, grabbing Ivy’s hand and leading her to the bed. Next to it was a little side table with tea—probably for late-night thirst emergencies.

Yvonne let go of her hand, crouched down, and tapped lightly under the table. Suddenly, a tiny hole appeared in the wall—and inside, a bright red bundle was impossible to miss.

"Sis, what’s this?"

Yvonne walked over, carefully took out the red bundle, and opened it. Inside was a wooden box. She handed it to Ivy. "This is a gift from your big sister."

"What is it?" Ivy stared at the fancy box, totally puzzled.

"Open it and see," Yvonne encouraged.

So Ivy gently opened the box—and instantly, a bluish glow burst out, blindingly bright. After a few seconds, the light faded.

"Wait, is this—?" Ivy gasped, picking up the thing inside the box and staring at Yvonne in disbelief. "Is this... the Storm Command Token? The one that can summon all of Jianghu?"

"Yep!" Yvonne nodded. "I got it by pure luck ages ago, and it’s just been sitting here ever since. I thought I’d never need it, but now I know it’ll be a huge help to you!"

Ivy was honestly moved. "Sis, this is super valuable!"

"Oh, come on—look at your face! No treasure's worth more than family. Besides, to me it’s just a piece of wood. I’ve got zero interest in being the martial alliance leader. I’d never have time for my boytoys!" Yvonne laughed.

That reminded Ivy of something she’d been dying to ask. She blurted, "Hey, Sis, why do you keep so many guys around? Is it because you’re poisoned or something?"

Yvonne’s face flushed. "I’m really sorry you had to see me like this, Sis. It’s not poison—I got this way from my training. My masters, the Black-and-White Fiend Duo, found a secret manual that promised to double your martial power. But it’s a yin-based art, so it’s dangerously easy to lose control. After they died, I devoted myself to mastering it, just so I could protect Li Manor—everyone thinks we’re loaded, so there are always people after us. I had to get stronger, to keep my mother’s dying wish. But I pushed too hard, and now every three days I need to... sleep with men, to use their yang energy and drive out the yin. It’s embarrassing."

"What about now? Isn’t there a cure?"

"It’s no big deal—I’m used to it," Yvonne replied, embarrassed but smiling.

"But are you sure you’re really okay? I know the Living Buddha Sage—let him take a look, I bet he could cure you!" Ivy blurted, worried.

That made Yvonne laugh even harder. "Sis! Don’t worry about me, I’m really fine. It’s just a weird quirk, but I’m perfectly healthy. And don’t let the Living Buddha Sage treat me—if I get cured, I’ll have no way to keep my boytoys in line!"

Ivy couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She got what Yvonne meant—Yvonne was just trying to reassure her, and honestly, she had a point. As long as Yvonne was healthy, that was all that mattered. Once she took down the Cao clan and that jerk Song, she could reclaim her name—and then, she could have as many boytoys as she wanted.

"What sneaky plan are you cooking up?" Yvonne asked, catching Ivy’s mischievous grin.

"I’m just thinking—once we’ve dealt with the Cao clan, you should have three palaces and six courts, with three thousand gorgeous men!"

"You brat! If you ever become Empress, you’ll be the one with three thousand men!" Yvonne reached out, embarrassed, and playfully punched Ivy.

Ivy dodged quickly. "No way! If I ask for more husbands, those seven guys will never let me live it down."