Missed Paths, a Lan Descendant Appears at Heartshadow Pavilion

Serena Feng’s luck really held—her gamble paid off. These twelve people weren’t Prince Damien’s men from Southlyn; they were disciples of Heartshadow Pavilion.

The violet robes marked them as members of Violet Hall. As women who had all been hurt by men, they felt deep sympathy for their own kind. Faced with Serena’s situation, there was no way they would stand by and do nothing.

Women’s imaginations were always vivid. Since Serena had fainted and said nothing, they filled in her story with their own assumptions.

Seeing Serena’s torn clothes and her swollen, bitten lips, they immediately assumed she’d been attacked by a brute and barely escaped being violated.

“Poor thing.”

In this situation, they had no reason to guard against Serena. One of the sturdier women even stepped up and, without the slightest hesitation, hoisted Serena onto her back.

“This young lady is seriously hurt. We need to take her to a doctor.”

“Let’s go to town. We have a property there.” An older woman nodded in agreement.

So Serena was lucky enough to get a human sedan ride—carried all the way to a hidden townhouse in town.

Serena pretended to be unconscious the whole way, hoping to pick up some information from their conversation. But the twelve women said almost nothing, just focused on the road. The few words they did exchange were all about worrying over her injuries.

Serena felt a bit embarrassed, silently apologizing to the twelve women in her heart: she really hadn’t meant to deceive them—it was just...

She’d only just escaped the wolf’s den, and she was still terrified!

With someone carrying her and no immediate danger, Serena quickly relaxed. And then... she closed her eyes and actually fell asleep.

When she woke up, someone had already cleaned her up, dressed her in fresh clothes, and bandaged her wounds.

Serena cursed herself for letting her guard down, but she also knew her injuries must be serious—otherwise, she never would’ve passed out for so long.

The moment Serena moved, her caretaker noticed: “Miss, you’re awake. Don’t move around—doctor said you’ve got internal bleeding and need strict rest.”

“Cough, cough...” Serena gave a weak cough, pressing her right hand to her chest.

Damn, that really hurt. She was definitely badly injured.

“Thank you, thank you so much. Sorry for the trouble—may I ask your name?” Even if Serena was only a little weak, she made sure to act completely frail. Not that she was faking much; her injuries were real.

“I’m Violet Hayes. Don’t worry, miss—since we found you, we’ll take care of you until you recover or your family comes to pick you up.”

“Thank you.” Serena was a bit exasperated—these women were almost too enthusiastic. She’d thought about refusing, but then remembered she was a wounded woman alone in the world. Without someone watching over her, it really was dangerous. So she kept silent.

So, under the protection of the twelve Violet Hall disciples from Heartshadow Pavilion, Serena could finally rest and heal. But while she was at ease, others were anything but.

Let’s not even talk about how guilty the Si Clan’s Eighteen Riders felt, or how worried Master Wenyuan and Yana Zhan were. The real story was Prince Nolan—after he blew up Prince Damien’s underground palace in Southlyn and found no trace of Serena, he was nearly driven mad with worry.

Half a month—Serena was missing for a full half month, and there wasn’t a single clue, not even a trace. Prince Nolan’s men searched every village and town near that low mountain, combing the area inch by inch, but still found nothing.

“My lord, there’s still no news of Miss Feng.” The dark guard bowed his head, not daring to look at Prince Nolan’s face, which grew gloomier by the day.

“Leave.” Prince Nolan didn’t take it out on the dark guard, but once the man left, he slammed his fist down on the table.

With a loud bang, the table shattered into pieces. Prince Nolan’s hand was hurt too, but he acted like he didn’t feel a thing. With a flick of his sleeve, he strode out.

Bang, bang—the door opened and closed again. The guards at the door silently wiped sweat from their brows.

How many tables was that now? At this rate, the kitchen wouldn’t need to buy any more firewood.

Prince Nolan called in his aides and gave a few brief orders. One of them wanted to say something, but when he saw Nolan’s bloodshot eyes, he swallowed his words and nodded heavily instead.

As soon as he left, the aides relayed Prince Nolan’s orders: everyone searching for Serena was to withdraw immediately. No more searching—just get ready to leave the next day.

That night, a black-clad figure slipped out of the courtyard. The dark guards and sentries all looked up at the sky, pretending they hadn’t seen a thing.

The next day, Prince Nolan’s carriage set out as usual, heading to meet up with Master Wenyuan’s group. As for Serena, nobody mentioned her again.

Serena spent most of half a month convalescing in Heartshadow Pavilion’s side courtyard. Her wounds were almost healed, and she’d figured out her rescuers were from the famous Heartshadow Pavilion—a sect that took in women who’d suffered all kinds of hardship.

Serena felt only gratitude toward Heartshadow Pavilion, not any desire to join. Just as she was thinking of how to politely excuse herself, the Pavilion disciples showed up to persuade her to join.

This was partly her own fault. When she’d woken up, Violet Hayes had asked what happened. Serena didn’t want to lie, but couldn’t tell the truth either, so she just lowered her head and stayed silent, making it clear she really didn’t want to talk.

She knew it was misleading, but misleading her saviors was still better than outright lying to them.

Seeing this, the Heartshadow women were convinced Serena must have suffered terribly. They weren’t naïve—they could tell from Serena’s figure that she wasn’t a virgin, yet she dressed like a young lady. Clearly, they thought, some man had deceived her and taken advantage.

Serena didn’t need to say a word—the twelve violet-robed disciples took turns comforting her, telling her she could live just fine without men. Once she learned martial arts, she could go hunt down those rotten men for revenge.

Half a month—she’d listened to this for half a month straight. By the time Serena realized something was off and tried to leave, she found she couldn’t. The women were convinced she’d been used and betrayed, and were dead set on making her join the Pavilion and take revenge on her faithless lover someday.

Serena Feng’s eyes were wet with tears. If Prince Nolan ever found out that the women of Heartshadow Pavilion were calling him a shameless, heartless scoundrel, would he fly into a rage? She could almost picture the look on his face—equal parts disbelief and indignation. Honestly, the whole thing was so ridiculous it almost made her want to laugh through her tears.

Serena just stared at the girls crowding around to persuade her, too tired to even bother refusing anymore. These Heartshadow disciples were relentless, just like MLM salespeople—her "no" meant nothing to them. Even when she made it crystal clear she wanted no part of their club, they just doubled down and started posting someone to watch her twelve hours a day.

Sure, they were all women, but Serena was in no shape to fight—especially not with her injuries. So she ended up under a kind of soft house arrest: if she didn’t agree to join Heartshadow Pavilion, she simply wasn’t allowed to leave. It was join up or stay trapped, no other options.

Wuwuwu... Nolan, I miss you so much. Please hurry and come save me! I don’t want to join Heartshadow Pavilion, I never planned to take revenge on you, and I absolutely refuse to spend my life hating men like these girls do.

If you ever really abandoned me, I wouldn’t turn bitter and cynical like these women. I’d just forget you and go chase my own happiness, instead of betting my whole life on one man...

But unfortunately, Nolan couldn’t hear Serena’s silent call. While she was missing him, a man dressed in black, wearing a half-silver mask—Lance Quinn, appearing as a descendant of the Lan clan—showed up at Heartshadow Pavilion...