"Ivy, sweetheart, Ivy..." In the pitch-black night, Lucian kept trying to cool her fever with icy water. But when she heard the word 'princess,' she just conked out and started burning up. Lucian, hovering nearby, was practically chewing his own sleeve with worry.
"Ivy, hang in there. I'm gonna go grab some herbs!" Lucian scooted the fire closer to her, then used his own jacket to cover up her shiny golden tail. He knew the pain from her moon letter (yep, her period) was coming from her lower belly, so keeping it toasty was top priority.
At the dimly lit bottom of the cliff, Lucian couldn't see the path at all. He had to crawl along the ground, picking herbs by touch and then tasting them in his mouth, because only that way could he be sure if they were the right medicine.
Meanwhile, by the fire, Ivy Shen's brow was scrunched up so hard it could crack walnuts. The damp cloth on her forehead? Useless. In no time, sweat drenched her, her head throbbed like a jackhammer, and it honestly felt like her skull was about to split open. Ugh, this is the worst...
Just then, some broken, blurry images suddenly flashed clearly across her mind...
"It hurts, it hurts so much..." On a bed, a woman so beautiful it was basically illegal clutched her stomach and wailed.
"Heartsoft, Heartsoft..." A handsome man at her bedside called out in worry. Though he was strikingly good-looking, his face was completely drained of color, making him look especially frightening.
"Heartsoft, hang in there—our child is about to be born." As soon as he spoke, the young man started coughing nonstop, and when he pulled his handkerchief away from his mouth, it was stained with flecks of blood.
"Jie..."
"Heartsoft... Don't worry about me, I'm really, really fine," the man quickly reassured her, then tried to encourage her again.
"Ah..." Finally, with a cry of pain, the stunning woman gave birth to two eggs—one very small, the other more normal-sized.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress is heading here from the palace!" A girl dressed as a servant rushed in, out of breath.
"That woman is insane!" the man roared, his already pale face turning even more ghastly.
"Your Majesty, hurry, hurry and have someone take the children away, or she definitely won't let them go!" Heartsoft, still weak in bed, said anxiously.
Seeing this, the man quickly told the ever-loyal Imperial Physician Liu to take both eggs away. But Heartsoft grabbed him, saying, "Imperial Physician Liu, take the smaller one and leave the bigger one here."
"Heartsoft..."
"Your Majesty, the Empress knows I've given birth. If both are taken away, she'll definitely investigate. But if she doesn't know, maybe at least the smaller one can survive." Facing the cruel Empress, Heartsoft had already guessed everything. This choice broke her heart, but if she wasn't ruthless, both children might not make it!
"Imperial Physician Liu, can you tell me—are these two boys or girls?" He was afraid that if he didn't ask now, he'd never get another chance.
"Your Majesty, they're both girls. I'm sure they'll grow up to be just as kind and beautiful as their mother," said Imperial Physician Liu, who had practiced medicine for years.
Hearing this, Song Jie was moved to tears. "Good, girls are good. Girls will all be like Heartsoft. Imperial Physician Liu, you must take good care of her. All right, go quickly!" He had no choice but to compromise—he knew just how serious things were. If that madwoman found out the child was missing, she would hunt them down like crazy!
Sure enough, when the Empress saw them, the fury in her eyes was enough to kill.
"Your Majesty, your health is getting worse every day. You should really return to the palace and rest. This rundown place isn't fit for you." The Empress, dressed in lavish finery, let a scornful glint flash in her small eyes.
"No need for the Empress to worry," Song Jie said, his face full of concern as he looked at Heartsoft, completely ignoring the Empress's words.
"You..." The Empress, always pampered and adored, shot a jealous glare at the woman on the bed, her hands clenched into fists with hatred.
"Heartsoft needs to rest. All irrelevant people, get out! Cough, cough, cough—" Song Jie couldn't finish before a fit of coughing overtook him.
"Since Your Majesty insists on staying, Waner has nothing more to say. But this child cannot remain here. After all, she's royal blood—how can she be left outside the palace?" With that, she waved her sleeve and ordered someone to snatch the egg from Heartsoft's side.
"Your Majesty, you've always known what Waner wants. I just want to remind you—Jue'er is also your son. Don't disappoint me, and don't disappoint Jue'er." With that, she swept out in anger, her sleeves billowing.
"I'm sorry, Heartsoft..." Song Jie apologized weakly. Right now, he was powerless to stop that madwoman's actions.
"Don't be like this, Your Majesty. Heartsoft knows your hands are tied. The Empress has already colluded with all the ministers—no one listens to you anymore. And your health is so weak, even if you wanted to rule again, the physicians would just interfere." Heartsoft comforted him gently.
Although she never entered the palace and lived in Draken City, she still enjoyed all the care he gave her. What nobody expected was that, because His Majesty had been frail since childhood, marrying the Empress only made his health worse. If Heartsoft hadn’t known medicine, she never would’ve discovered that the Empress was secretly slipping Bone-Weakening Powder into his food—stuff that made his weak body even weaker. As a female physician, saving lives was her calling, and how could she not save the emperor himself?
But what surprised everyone was that, during his treatment, the two grew close and eventually became a couple. No one expected the Empress to interfere so ruthlessly. For years, even pregnant concubines in the palace mysteriously miscarried. He knew she was behind it, but her clan kept growing stronger, and with her aunt the Empress Dowager backing her, she became even more arrogant.
If he hadn’t been so weak, he never would’ve let her take over the government. Now that she had a son—even though the crown prince was disabled from birth—he was still her child. Over the years, she colluded with ministers even more, just hoping her son would ascend the throne after his death.
But what pained him most was that the crown prince, even as a child, turned out just like his mother: strange, violent, and cruel. How could he hand the whole nation over to a mother-son duo like that?!
In the Soaring Phoenix Realm, there’s no rule that the emperor must be male—as long as the child is of imperial blood, boy or girl, they can inherit the throne. That’s why the Empress cares so much about her own children.
"Heartsoft, I know my body won’t last much longer. The Empress still fears me, mainly because she hasn’t found the Phoenix Imperial Seal. Even if all the ministers obey her, without the seal, the people will never accept them. To me, only someone kind and caring for the people deserves the throne. Heartsoft, you must survive. I’ve already given the seal to Imperial Physician Liu. When our daughter grows up, she must inherit the throne—she must save her sister." These were Song Jie’s final words, his last wish.
In the month that followed, thanks to the dark forces Song Jie had set up before his death, Heartsoft was safely smuggled out of Draken City.
From then on, Heartsoft vanished as if she’d evaporated from the world. No matter how many troops the Empress deployed, she couldn’t find a single clue. The Phoenix Imperial Seal disappeared, and the crown prince remained just that—a prince. Without the seal, he could never take the throne.
****
"Ivy, promise me—you must stay safe, and you must save your sister!" The beautiful woman urged the five-year-old girl. She knew it was too much to ask of a child, but she was out of time. If she didn’t say it now, she might never get another chance.
"Mom, don't say that. Drink your medicine—I'll do whatever you say." Even at such a young age, Ivy was much more mature than other kids.
Looking at her wise, grown-up daughter, Heartsoft felt endless guilt. She knew her child was destined for an extraordinary life—no ordinary childhood joys, but a hundred times more effort than other kids, all because of the sister they'd left behind in the palace.
"Ivy, Mom... Mom's afraid she's going to see your father soon. After I'm gone, you must listen to Uncle Liu and live well. Also, your golden tail was sealed by Master Xuanluo right after you were born. When you turn ten, he'll reinforce the seal again, and that'll keep you safe until you're eighteen." Ever since she mysteriously vanished from Draken City, the Empress had been so paranoid she sent people to kill every child born that year. If it hadn’t been for the secret forces protecting Ivy, she probably wouldn’t have survived either.
All these years, she knew the Empress wasn’t just searching for her, but also for the seal. The Empress was desperate—her son couldn’t become emperor, so she could never rest easy.
"Mom, I’ll definitely find my sister and bring her back!" Young Ivy’s big eyes shone with sincerity as she looked at her mother.
Hearing this, Heartsoft couldn’t help but cry again. The person she felt most guilty toward was her elder daughter. News from the shadows said the Empress had been abusing her—beating, scolding, and driving her insane. Heartsoft wanted to save her, but she couldn’t; she knew these stories were deliberately leaked to lure her out.
She couldn’t—she’d already lost her elder daughter and couldn’t lose Ivy too. And she absolutely couldn’t let the seal fall into the hands of those vicious people.
Song Jie’s kingdom couldn’t be ruined under her watch.
Before she died, Heartsoft held Ivy’s hand and told her everything—including the location of the seal.
"Promise me... you must protect your only sister... you must make her happy... Mom is so sorry!" These were Heartsoft’s last words, like a hammer falling on Ivy’s heart. In that moment, she swore to save her sister and fulfill both her parents’ wishes.
From then on, nobody knew just how much pain the young girl carried. At five, she began martial arts, training day and night; at seven, she took charge of her father's secret forces; at eight, she gained control of another powerful information network; at nine, she mastered a mysterious sect equal to the secret forces. No one knew how she managed to conquer all this.
But one thing was certain—she worked harder than anyone.
"Ivy, Master has done everything possible to keep you safe until you turn eighteen. But after your eighteenth birthday, your tail will appear at once. Also, if you sleep with a man, your tail will show up early." He patted her head. "But Master believes you can handle it, right? I'll find two people to help you—one is cold but has great potential, the other is the heir of the Poison Doctor. I'll arrange for them to meet you. I'm sure you’ll find a way to keep them around!" Master Xuanluo smiled kindly.
"Old rascal, I'm not as useless as you think! Haven't you lost to me two years in a row?" The sixteen-year-old girl stood atop a towering mountain, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she smiled.
"You brat, I'm the top martial artist in the land, a revered Daoist priest! How dare you call me an old rascal? Such disrespect!" Master Xuanluo huffed and puffed, secretly annoyed at how quickly this girl’s skills had grown.
"Hehe, don’t be mad! Sure, I’m stronger than you now, but you taught me everything. Strict teachers make great students! Wherever I go, I’m your disciple, and you rarely take students—doesn’t that make you proud?" Ivy joked, trying to placate her playful master.
Master Xuanluo nodded. "You might have a point!" Then he looked at her and said, "Ivy, you’ve been pretending to be clueless for years—when are you going to stop? I noticed that Night and Livid Snake seem to dislike you. I went to great lengths to bring you together, but you just acted lovesick and drove me crazy!"
"Master, that's just how I am. And don’t think I don’t know how you set things up. If those two guys really agree to help, their motives must be big!"
Master Xuanluo shook his head helplessly. "Fine, fine, you win. By the way, Ivy, I’m heading to the mortal realm to train, and I might not be back for a while. Be careful!"
"Don’t worry! Enjoy your time in the mortal realm. When you come back, I promise I won’t pretend to be clueless anymore. Honestly, I’m tired of it. It’s time I took back what’s mine!" Ivy declared with unusual resolve.
"Mm!" Master Xuanluo was very pleased with Ivy's confidence. This clever girl had already surpassed him in martial arts—surely no one in the martial world would dare bully her now. He just hoped those two boys wouldn’t offend her, or else... Honestly, he didn’t even want to imagine the consequences.
The memories slammed to a stop. Ivy Shen shot her eyes open, flat on the grass—startling Lucian Vane, who nearly dropped the medicine pot in his rush over.
"Ivy, you’re up! Does anything still hurt?" Lucian Vane blurted, his voice all nerves and frantic energy.
Ivy glanced sideways at Lucian Vane—his face was a mess of cuts from the vines, but did he care? Not one bit. Ivy flashed a toothy grin. "Poison Serpent, time to bounce outta this valley!"
"Uh?" Lucian Vane blinked, totally thrown for a loop.
Ivy gave her tail a shake, and in an instant, her pale legs appeared. She stood up, her eyes sharp as swords, her voice suddenly cold. "I think the martial world has been peaceful long enough. It’s time to stir things up!"
Author’s note (for readers): The heroine’s about to level up—don’t worry, she’ll still have her adorable moments! (Meta-text, not part of main story.)