The Tattered Old Feather

Adrian Drake smiled, "Feel free to relax here—no need to stand on ceremony. If you need anything, just come find me at Serena Tang's courtyard. I'll go greet the guests now, excuse me!"

"Take care, Young Lord!" Lily Bai bowed respectfully.

Adrian nodded and turned to leave.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to ask Lily, "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like someone?"

"Do you mean Lucia Lu?" Lily asked.

Adrian nodded. "So someone has mentioned it to you before?"

"I've heard it from plenty of people," Lily replied. "But no one will ever tell me who she really was."

"She... was once the Qilin Saint Maiden—brilliant, radiant, and truly a wonderful person," Adrian said.

"Oh?" Lily was surprised. "Really?"

She had always assumed that, since everyone was so tight-lipped about Lucia Lu, she couldn't possibly have been a good person.

Even Luna Lian said her name was forbidden—a taboo no one dared mention.

Who would've thought Young Lord Adrian not only brought her up, but even said she was a truly wonderful person.

If she was really that good... why does everyone act so strange about her?

"That's right!" Adrian replied, giving her a gentle smile before walking away.

...

"Senior Sister, I think Young Lord Adrian might have a thing for you," Nine Li piped up next to her.

"And what makes you say that?" Lily shot him a sideways glance.

"He saw you from far away and couldn't take his eyes off you. He walked straight over and basically shoved me aside. You know how that made me feel? Like I was just a piece of furniture!"

Nine Li sounded rather mournful: "And honestly, don't you think he's a little too nice to you? You were spying, and he even asked if you could see clearly, then offered to take you over for a close-up look! Hah!"

"Even if he does like me, why are you so worked up?" Lily asked. "You're not a girl—are you jealous or something?"

Nine Li: "If you were treated like a piece of furniture, you'd be mad too!"

"Fine..."

Still, Lily didn't think Adrian liked her that way.

Probably just because he got along well with Lucia Lu?

...

When they returned to Lord Faustin, he was in the middle of a divination, holding his turtle shell.

He was probably checking if tomorrow's events would go smoothly.

But the moment he looked up and saw them, his expression changed dramatically. "Little Fish!" he called out.

"Huh?" Lily jumped in surprise. "What's wrong, Master?"

"Where did you just go? Who did you meet?" His tone was serious—almost panicked.

Lily was baffled. "We just went out for a stroll, snuck a peek at the Phoenix Divine Lord, and then ran into Young Lord Adrian. What's wrong, Master?"

"Ah! Senior Sister, you—you—there's a dark cloud over your head, and it's starting to look like a skull!" Nine Li was spooked by Lord Faustin's reaction, so he opened his heavenly eye to check Lily and saw something really bad.

"Huh?" Lily rubbed her head. "A skull? That's a death omen! Are you telling me just looking at the Phoenix Divine Lord is enough to kill me?"

"No, it's not about who you just met—it's something else..." Lord Faustin said.

"What is it then?"

Lord Faustin shook his head, his eyes full of grief and confusion, like he'd just lost his successor.

Lily was startled by his reaction. "Master, then... what should I do?"

Lord Faustin thought for a long while, then pulled something out of his storage pouch. "Take this," he said.

Lily hesitated. "This...?"

"Just take it!"

Lily reached out and took it, asking, "What kind of feather is this? It's so old and bald!"

Lord Faustin had handed her a feather—so tattered, old, and bald it was almost comical.