The Golden Blade King looked at The Fool, but it wasn’t really The Fool he was staring at—it was the person behind him. At some point, a hand had landed on The Fool’s shoulder, slender fingers revealed. Those five fingers seemed to gather all the moonlight in the sky and the beauty of the world, like crystal, like white jade, with a hazy glow shimmering around them.
The Fool didn’t turn around, but suddenly his chest felt icy cold. A thin, long mark ran across his chest—the very same cut that had torn his clothes moments ago—now frosted over and freezing.
“No wonder you boasted you could break an arm in three moves—the blade’s energy already seeped in. Guess the Golden Blade King’s reputation isn’t just for show.” A voice rang out, sounding at first like a playful, bright teenage girl, but with a hint of calm wisdom from years gone by. “But ten moves to kill? That’s just talk. Didn’t he nearly knock you senseless with one punch? Both sides take losses, so how do you know you’ll win for sure?”
“Hmph, Princess Flower Shifter, I’m not arguing with you.” The Golden Blade King raised his blade. “Those three—I’m taking them. Are we fighting, or are you backing off? Just say the word!”
“Ha! You blockhead Blade King, I’m here so we can at least have a war of words and give you a chance to catch your breath. If my sister were here, your head would’ve rolled already. What, am I too nice for you? Fine, I want to see how you break an arm in three moves.” Another hand landed on The Fool’s other shoulder, and a hazy moonlight shadow seemed to appear behind him. Then, his whole body started to freeze.
Whoosh—ice spread everywhere, and in an instant, The Fool’s eyebrows and hair frosted over, making him look like an ice sculpture. But The Fool didn’t seem bothered; he just lowered his head, lost in thought. That voice giggled and said, “Now he’s got internal energy too. Makes the fight fair.”
The Golden Blade King’s eyes narrowed—this was getting tricky. Just then, The Fool spoke up: “Head of Flower Shifting Palace?”
“Mm, that’s me.”
Suddenly, The Fool seemed to remember something, his eyes flashing: “Lianxing Yaoyue?”
“Never heard of her.”
The Fool scratched his head, puzzled. “Isn’t it supposed to be the Flower Shifting Palace at Embroidered Jade Valley?”
“Embroidered Jade Valley? Flower Shifting Palace?” The person behind him suddenly burst out laughing. “Great names, great names! All right, my new palace will be called the Flower Shifting Palace from now on. Starting today, I’m not just Princess Flower Shifter, I’m also Head of the Flower Shifting Palace! As for my sister, she’ll have to settle for being the Valley Mistress of Embroidered Jade Valley!” She giggled, utterly unfazed by the looming threat. With her laughter, it seemed a chilly breeze swept through, even scattering some of the Golden Blade King’s dark red world.
The Golden Blade King suddenly roared and strode forward, his blade swinging down as if to split the world in two.
“Ha! He’s mad now!” Those hands flashed and grabbed The Fool’s elbows from behind. “Come on, let me show you what real Flower God Seven Forms look like. Just tossing a petal isn’t enough to call it Falling Leaves Flying Flowers.”
In an instant, The Fool moved. No one knew if he was moving on his own, or if those jade-like hands were moving him. Either way, he suddenly sprang into action, rushing toward the Golden Blade King.
“Fool! Fool!” Fiona Fang came running back, panting, with a whole crowd of palace ladies in tow. But Fiona stopped dead, eyes wide. She couldn’t make out what was happening—just a clash of dark gold light and a flash of white glow, tangled and battling. No sound of blades clashing, but murderous intent and icy cold filled the air. She could barely see shadowy figures moving, but they were way too fast for her to follow.
From her perspective, it felt like the bloody world was cracking and twisting. Strange flowers and exotic grasses burst from the blood-red ground, thriving and beautiful beyond words.
Suddenly, Fiona’s vision went dark—someone had covered her eyes. “Don’t look. You’re way out of your league.”
Only then did Fiona snap out of it, suddenly feeling exhausted—worse than running for her life three days and nights straight. Her legs wobbled, and she collapsed into a soft embrace. Just before losing consciousness, she managed to mumble, “Save Fool…”
And then, her world went completely dark.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a carriage. She was used to riding in carriages, but this one was something else—spacious, luxurious, and smooth. The decorations alone would blow any country squire’s mind. Fiona Fang scrambled up and saw two people beside her.
One was Rachel Luo, dressed in beautiful new clothes, peacefully asleep. Ever since she’d been trapped in the bottle, she hadn’t had a proper rest—now she was finally in deep slumber.
The other wasn’t Fool, but a beautiful middle-aged woman, gazing at her with warm, loving eyes. Who knows how long she’d been watching over her. The moment Fiona saw her, she shivered all over, then burst into tears and threw herself into her arms. “Auntie! I finally found you, Auntie!”
“Lingji, you silly child, why didn’t you tell Auntie sooner?” The woman hugged Fiona Fang tightly, patting her with affection and shedding tears herself. “Your mother’s such a stubborn one—if you’d told me earlier, you wouldn’t have suffered so much!”
The two talked for quite a while before finally calming down.
“Lingji, you must thank the Princess properly this time. If not for her, who knows what you’d have gone through.”
“Princess? Which one?” Fiona Fang perked up, eyes sparkling. “The Embroidered Jade Princess or Princess Flower Shifter?”
“Princess Flower Shifter.”
“Wow!” Fiona Fang nearly jumped for joy. “Princess Flower Shifter! The strongest Princess Flower Shifter in the world!”
“Strongest in the world? Hardly. My sister’s stronger than me, at least.” A voice rang out, the curtain lifted, and a woman entered. Fiona Fang was stunned—she’d always thought of herself as a beauty, but suddenly felt a little self-conscious. It’s like the heavens poured every good thing into this woman. She wasn’t shimmering or radiating power now, just clearly visible—and even that was enough to take your breath away. She looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, like a blooming celestial flower, utterly enchanting.
"Hey, hey~~" The woman suddenly waved her hand in front of Fiona Fang’s eyes, smiling playfully. "Don’t space out—come back to life!"
"Ah, oh." Fiona Fang snapped out of it, then quickly knelt to give thanks. "Fiona Fang, your humble servant, thanks the Princess!"
"Enough, get up." The woman shot a playful glare at the middle-aged beauty, then lifted Fiona Fang up with a motion like picking up a chick. "Did Night Lily teach you that? She’s got a wicked sense of humor—didn’t tell you I hate people kneeling all the time. From now on, you don’t need to kneel."
Fiona Fang spaced out again. The person in front of her wasn’t like the rumors—not some lofty fairy, but real and down-to-earth. Her beauty was so dazzling, though, it was hard not to see her as a fairy. Thinking that, Fiona relaxed, stopped feeling self-conscious, and flashed a sunny smile: "Okay!"
Only then did Fiona Fang learn what had happened. After she fainted from watching the brutal fight, the Golden Blade King and Fool battled for more than thirty moves. In the end, the Golden Blade King fled wounded, and Princess Flower Shifter didn’t chase him.
"Fool drove off the Golden Blade King?!" Fiona Fang’s eyes nearly popped out. "Is he really that strong?"
"Your friend’s pretty interesting—totally surprised me. But drove him off? Ha, he doesn’t even have internal energy, and now he’s suffering!" Princess Flower Shifter glided outside. Fiona Fang hurried after her, only to see Fool lying on the carriage roof, covered in icy lines, like he’d just come out of a freezer. He stretched out in the sun, no pain on his face, but anyone could tell he wasn’t feeling great.
"Fool, hey, Fool!" She waved a hand in front of his face, but he didn’t react at all. Fiona Fang huffed, "There he goes again, spacing out."
"He’s no fool." Princess Flower Shifter wasn’t there, but her voice drifted over. "He’s actually really smart—smarter than most people, probably. He just looks foolish. He’s resting now. The Golden Blade King’s killing intent is no joke, so I had to freeze him for safety. To heal him, we’ll need my sister back at the palace. Once she gets involved, this little injury shouldn’t be a problem."
"Oh." Fiona Fang didn’t really get it and just nodded. But her aunt, Night Lily, couldn’t help but smile wryly. She’d watched the whole duel and knew exactly how skilled that man was. The secrets he carried might be just as deep as her niece’s.
This time, Princess Flower Shifter traveled light—her attendants were all skilled martial artists, each stronger than anyone from Phantom Shade Tower. So the journey was fast: in just three days, they crossed the border into the Flower Kingdom. During those three days, nothing happened—the Golden Blade King never showed up again, and Fool stayed sprawled on the carriage roof, as Princess Flower Shifter had specifically ordered.
He had to stay outside, so the cold inside him could carry the blade’s energy out and not clash with his own.
He lay there quietly for three days, staring at the sky and thinking. He couldn’t move or touch anything, so he stayed messy, but his eyes grew clearer and sharper—he didn’t look so foolish anymore.
Princess Flower Shifter didn’t show up again during those three days. Rachel Luo wanted to thank her but couldn’t find her, and Night Lily said everything would be settled at the palace. Both women were excited—Princess Flower Shifter was the Flower Kingdom’s guardian princess, so her palace must be the royal palace, right? But that wasn’t the case. Once they entered the Flower Kingdom, the road grew wilder and more remote, until they reached a desolate mountain and river. They boarded a boat at a small river and traveled upstream, finally entering a pitch-black tunnel.
The tunnel was deep and long, with dangling vines overhead—cold as snakes and liable to give you a fright. Just as the girls were getting nervous, the darkness opened up into a paradise. A valley ringed by mountains, jungles, and falling blossoms, with waterfalls in the distance. Where they got off the boat, a tall stone tablet read: “Fanyue Valley.” Princess Flower Shifter pointed and said, “Change that. From now on, it’s Embroidered Jade Valley.”
As the convoy moved deeper, there were no grand palaces—just charming little buildings, like a bunch of cozy cottages thrown together.
Night Lily explained to the girls, “The two princesses only recently started staying here. This is just a temporary palace.”
“But I want to stay here for good. From now on, this place is called Flower Shifting Palace.” Princess Flower Shifter waved her hand. “Lily, take Lingji and Miss Luo to rest.” Then she grabbed Fool and shot off toward the highest peak. “Sis, I brought you something fun!”