[Combined double chapter, bonus 1000 words. This chapter: 7000+ words]
As she ventured deeper, Ivy Shen couldn't help but admire the Vane clan's obsession with medicine. Every tree and blade of grass here was a medicinal herb. Honestly, they probably never needed to leave the valley to get anything they wanted!
"This is Vane Manor!" Adrian Night tilted his head, totally confused by Ivy's sudden visit. Why hadn't she told Lucian about this? Wouldn't he know the place better? Did something happen between them or what?!
"Careful, Addie-kins, this place might be even scarier than Poison Peach Forest." Ivy's face turned super serious. She was sure her theory was right—the whole mess started with Lila Vane. The blood demon deer poison they found in Poison Peach Valley? Definitely her handiwork. But why did Lila bring that medical skill to Poison Peach Forest, and why give it to Silver Consort?!
No way all these weird coincidences are just random. Looks like the Vane clan and the imperial court are tangled up in something big!
"Who dares sneak into my manor?" A sharp voice snapped them out of their stroll. Ivy and Adrian Night both paused and looked up at the same time.
Seeing her, Ivy snapped open her fan with a sweet little smile. "You must be the mistress of Vane Manor, right?" Staring at the woman who looked so much like Lucian, Ivy totally knew who she was. Not that anyone could see the danger hiding behind her smile.
"You are...?" Lila Vane stared at Ivy in white, totally stunned. In her mind, nobody was better looking than her little brother. But this guy? He was so gorgeous she couldn't even describe it.
"You're Lila Vane?" Adrian Night called out, annoyed by how Lila was just gawking at Ivy. His voice snapped her back to reality, and when she looked at him, she froze again. Wait, what? Why was there another guy here who looked just as good as her brother?!
Right now, Lila Vane was seriously confused. Why had two ridiculously handsome guys shown up here?!
"That's right, I'm Lila Vane. And you two are...?" Lila eyed them, totally on guard.
"Who we are doesn't matter. What matters is, I'm here to have a real talk with you. I hope you can give me a good explanation—and a solid reason!" Ivy smiled as she spoke, but there was nothing friendly about that grin.
Lila just kept her cool. "Oh? About what?"
*Snap* Ivy flicked open her paper fan and gave it a lazy shake. "The question's simple: how did you sneak poison into Poison Peach Forest and hand it off to Silver Consort?" Every word hit Lila like a slap.
"Who the heck are you guys?!"
"We're the people your buyer tried to kill!"
"Ha! So you were the ones who made Silver Consort mess up?" Lila scoffed, full of mockery and disdain.
"Yep!" Ivy admitted right away, totally unfazed. But she wasn't about to reveal her other identity—not until she figured out what Lila was really up to. For now, she had to hold back and wait to ask how they'd killed her mom.
"Wanna know? Sure! But only if you have the skills to survive and ask me yourself!" With that, Lila casually brushed a hidden switch. Instantly, sharp weapons sprang out all around, and she bolted deeper into the manor.
"Watch out!" Adrian Night didn't know Ivy's real strength, so he was super tense.
"After her!" Ivy dodged the flying weapons, snapped her fan shut, and sprinted after Lila.
Lila raced through familiar territory, but Ivy's speed still left her stunned. How was this guy's lightness skill so good? Who *was* he, really?!
Adrian Night, caught off guard, threw his own robe forward, then grabbed Ivy's waist and jumped aside. The rain of needles all lodged into the robe, pinning it to the ground.
"Let's see if you can survive this!" With a creepy little laugh, Lila flicked a branch of green willow. Instantly, giant beehives started dropping with a thud, and swarms of furious poison bees burst out.
"You okay?" Adrian Night asked, eyes scanning Ivy for any sign of injury.
Night did exactly as she said, no questions asked.
"Move!" Ivy knew how deadly those bees were. She grabbed Night's hand, leapt aside, and dashed away. But these poison bees weren't about to let them go. For the Thousand-Mile Poison Bees, their hive *was* their life. Destroy the hive, and they'll chase the culprit to the end—even if it means dying together.
"What kind of bees *are* these?" Adrian Night frowned as they vaulted away, the nonstop buzzing behind them getting louder. Clearly, the bees had locked onto their scent.
"Thousand-Mile Poison Bees," Ivy answered, picking her way through the chaos.
"Thousand-Mile Poison Bees?"
"Addie-kins, you'd better be careful. Get stung and you're toast." Master Xuanluo once brought back a specimen of these bees after traveling all over. He told Ivy that they're insanely stubborn—if you destroy their hive and they see you, they'll hunt you down by scent, even if it takes a thousand miles. They're basically little maniacs!
"What do we do? These poison bees just won't quit!" Even with top-notch lightness skill, they weren't birds—they couldn't just fly forever. The bees were faster than normal, and dodging them took twice the effort.
While Adrian Night was freaking out about how to shake off the bees, Ivy suddenly stopped on a tree branch ahead.
"What the—?"
*Splash!* Before Adrian Night could finish, Ivy yanked him straight into the lake ahead.
Adrian Night plunged into the water, bubbling frantically. He wanted to surface for air, but Ivy held him down.
Bubbles kept streaming from Ivy's mouth as she pointed upward, signaling Adrian Night to look.
Adrian Night looked up and his eyes went wide. Floating above the water were tons of dead poison bees. He could just make out more bees diving into the lake, chasing after them. He was kind of in awe at how obsessed these bees were.
Ivy saw Adrian Night just staring up like a dope and frowned. What was this dummy thinking now? She grabbed his hand and dragged him to swim away.
*Pffft~~* Finally, the two of them broke the surface, gulping in fresh air.
Adrian Night kept staring at the spot where they'd just gone under, still in shock. The remaining poison bees, seeing all the corpses floating, just kept diving into the water, not hesitating for a second.
"Stop gawking. That's just how stubborn these poison bees are. When we dove underwater, our scent lingered there, so they went nuts!" Ivy swam off to the side, and after the lake washed them off, their scent was replaced by wet, watery smells. By the time they climbed ashore, the water's surface was covered with a creepy black mass.
"Lila Vane is ruthless!" Ivy scowled. Seriously, how could such a venomous woman be someone's big sister?!
"Looks like this place is just as bad as Poison Peach Forest." Adrian Night glanced around warily.
"Heartsoft!" Adrian Night grabbed the agitated Ivy and turned his back—taking the golden needle straight in his own back.
"Adrian Night!" Ivy shouted.
"With you still alive, how could we bear to die?" Ivy shot back with a snarky grin.
Lila snorted. "Didn't expect you two to have enough brains to hide underwater. But here's some advice: if you leave now, you might live. Keep pushing your luck, and you're dead meat!" She made a savage chopping gesture for emphasis.
Ivy just shrugged. "We're here for answers, so we're not leaving empty-handed. But if someone *has* to die, I don't mind sending you off to the afterlife!"
"You... have a death wish!" Lila was furious at Ivy's cocky attitude. Since growing up, only her little brother dared rile her like this—even the Crown Prince gave her some respect. But this punk? Today, she had to take care of him!
"The only one with a death wish is you!" Ivy suddenly leapt, moving so fast it was shocking.
Lila was stunned, but quickly recovered and hurled poison needles at Ivy—so many it was like a rainstorm.
Adrian Night, caught off guard, threw his own robe forward, then grabbed Ivy's waist and jumped aside. The rain of needles all lodged into the robe, pinning it to the ground.
"Addie-kins!" Ivy glanced back at Night, who looked super tense. Honestly, with her skills she could've dodged those needles, but Night didn't know that—he probably thought she was in real danger.
"You okay?" Night asked, eyes scanning Ivy for any sign of injury.
"Such a devoted brother, huh? Let's see how long your luck holds—World-Severing Thousand-Silk Needles!" Lila shouted, whipping out something from her waist. With a dramatic flourish, she sent thousands of needles flying at them. The scary part? They couldn't even see the needles.
Seeing this, Ivy shoved Night aside, ripped off her wet robe, and spun it in her hands just like Night had. But the Vane clan's legendary World-Severing Thousand-Silk Needles were so sharp they could slice through clothes like butter.
Ivy had never heard of this poison needle technique before, but the speed and force of the attack blew her mind. To block it, she poured more inner strength into her robe, making it tougher to withstand the invisible silver needles.
"Let's see how long you can last!" Lila smirked. This was the Vane clan's secret weapon—even Silver Consort, ranked second in the Jianghu, would drop dead after the first volley. Ivy might've survived the first wave, but she had zero chance against the next.
Night watched anxiously. He could hear the nonstop 'whoosh' of needles, but couldn't see a single one. Ivy kept spinning her robe, which was soon covered in hair-thin silver needles that sparkled in the sunlight.
Just imagining it, you knew how terrifying that needle technique was!
"Careful, Heartsoft!" Suddenly, Adrian Night saw Lila pumping up her inner strength—dangerous stuff. He shouted, hacked off a branch, and hurled it at her, then leapt in front of Ivy.
"Go!" Adrian Night scooped up Ivy and bolted. He was a martial arts ace, but poison arts were way out of his league. Against sneaky enemies like this, brute force was all he had—but Lila's poison skills were freakier than even Poison Silver Consort's!
He absolutely couldn't let anything happen to her!
"Damn it!" Lila screamed, furious at being interrupted, and chased after them at full speed.
Ivy took advantage of the moment, twisting free from Adrian Night's arms and spinning around. Her sudden move left Lila totally confused—she'd expected Adrian Night to run, but Ivy doubled back instead.
Why would she spin back like that?!
"Poison witch!" Ivy spat out the words coldly, then punched Lila hard. Lila crashed to the ground.
Ivy snapped open her soggy fan and floated elegantly down, looking down at the fallen Lila from above.
"Who... who are you?" Lila clutched her chest, terrified, blood trickling from her lips. How could this guy's inner strength be so strong? Just one strike and half her energy was gone—her chest was full of blood.
"You don't know who I am, yet you still want us dead?" Ivy stared her down, cold as ice.
Adrian Night frowned. When did Heartsoft's martial arts get so strong? Or was Lila just lousy at fighting—only good at poison?
Adrian Night would never have guessed—the person standing before him wasn't just a martial arts prodigy, but her master was the legendary immortal he'd been searching for!
"Hmph, anyone trying to enter Poison Peach Forest is just looking for a shortcut to greatness. You think you're so special? In the end, it's just your own greed driving you. You all hope to use this chance to get what you want." Lila pressed her hand to her chest, struggling to keep the blood down.
"Heh."
"What's so funny?"
"I'm laughing at how clueless you are. You act all high and mighty, but who's really causing all the chaos in Jianghu? I bet you know his name—Song Zhijue!" Ivy sneered.
"You..." Lila was stunned. How did they know that?
"Surprised we know? Let me tell you—there are no secrets that won't leak out. Heaven's watching everything you do!" Ivy's voice rose.
"Heh, so what? Everyone who goes in there just wants riches or glory—if they die, it's their own fault. The Crown Prince is just helping them get reincarnated sooner, so maybe next time they won't be so greedy!"
"Nice excuse. But do you know what that guy tells the world? He claims he's ruling with compassion. Ha! With that kind of cruelty, he could 'rule' the realm? If Song Zhijue ever becomes emperor, the serpent world is doomed!"
"How dare you insult the Crown Prince like that?"
"Insult? You're giving that word way too much credit. You think he even deserves my insults?" Ivy glanced at Lila, whose face was turning green with rage. "Let me ask you—was it you who gave Poison Silver Consort that blood deer formula?" That was Ivy's top concern.
"Yes!" For once, Lila admitted it outright.
"Good." Ivy nodded, satisfied. "But I bet you didn't give her the real recipe, did you? There must've been a couple key ingredients you left out!" Her sly look said she'd already seen through everything.
Lila was floored. "How... how do you know? You know medicine?" Ivy's words had truly shocked her. That recipe was a family secret—unless you really knew your stuff, you'd never spot the difference. Poison Silver Consort had used it for years and never noticed, so how could this kid figure it out?!
"Hmph, just as I thought." Ivy's voice dripped with sarcasm. She'd expected this all along.
"Tell me—how did you know?" Lila demanded, totally thrown. No way this kid could know!
"What's the Vane clan's connection to the Empress?!" Ivy finally blurted out. She had to know the truth.
That question hit Lila like a bomb. She'd never said anything about the Crown Prince, so how did Ivy jump straight to the Empress? Did he know about her family's ties to the Empress? Who *was* this guy? How did he know so much?!
"Surprised? Back when you handed over that slow-acting poison for the Empress to hurt people, did you make the same face?" Ivy clenched his fists, heart aching for his younger self—never met his dad, only had his mom, and she died so young. If it hadn't been for their poison, maybe she wouldn't have left...
"Who *are* you, really?" Lila's voice trembled. Facing this guy, she was scared. A wild thought crept into her mind. "We... we only ever hurt one 'monster.' She was... she was..." Suddenly she blurted, "Was that monster your mother?!" Lila froze, not knowing what to do, and Night was just as stunned.
Ivy crouched down and looked at her. "You're older than me. I bet you've met that woman. Didn't you notice we share a certain trait?"
Lila stared at him, then pointed with a trembling finger. "You... you look just like her..." When she was three, her parents took her to Draken City, and she saw the infamous 'monster' with the Empress.
She was just a clueless kid then, but when she saw that woman, she was stunned—she was so beautiful, like a fairy from her mom's stories. But the Empress told her that woman was the reason Zhijue lost his legs. In that moment, she believed the beautiful woman was a monster, a villain.
(Chapter not finished yet~.~ Click next page for more!)
Now, looking at this boy, his eyes were just like that 'monster's.' Could he be the lost Crown Prince of the serpent realm?!
"Looks like you've figured out who I am. So tell me—how did you and the Empress get mixed up together? My mom never hurt anyone. She only healed people. So why did you have to hurt her? Why?!" Ivy shouted, tears streaming down his face.
It was like Ivy's past pain was her own—so much hurt, so much sorrow...
Lila slowly stood, clutching her chest. "We... we were forced. The Empress said your mom was a monster, said the Crown Prince lost his legs because of you guys. So... so..."
"So you just treated her like that, without knowing the truth? You were blinded by greed and deserve to be punished!" Ivy spat out each word, icy and sharp.
Lila smiled faintly. "So... you want revenge?"
"What do you think?" Ivy was shaking with emotion, memories flooding in.
"Fine, but... let's see if you're up to it." Suddenly, fragile-looking Lila summoned all her strength, whipped out a golden needle, and stabbed at Ivy.
"Heartsoft!" Night grabbed the agitated Ivy and turned his back—taking the golden needle straight in his own back.
"Night!" Ivy shouted.
"Die, both of you!" Lila screamed, yanking hard. The ground beneath them suddenly twisted into a giant vortex, and both Ivy and Night tumbled down.
"If I'm dying, you're coming with me!" Ivy grabbed Night's limp body, ripped off his belt, and used her inner power to whip it around Lila.
"Let... let go!" Lila hadn't expected Ivy, already falling, to pull off such a trick. She sprouted her tail, wrapping it tightly around a tree root, refusing to let go.
"You're truly vicious—setting up all these sharp blades up top." Ivy saw the blades everywhere, guessing Lila had rigged them to stop anyone from grabbing onto the trees with their tails. Ruthless!
"Let... let go!" Already badly hurt, Lila's waist was being pulled so hard that her tail slowly slipped off the tree.
"Dying alone is boring—come with us!" Feeling Night's body grow heavier, Ivy yanked with all her strength, dragging Lila down too.
*** Scene Break ***
(PS: Happy weekend! Yiyi's taking a break too~~~ More excitement tomorrow, haha!)