Adrian Night's father had always been ill, his life sustained by medicine for years. Everyone knew his passing was only a matter of time, but none of them wanted to face it. Now, hearing the news so suddenly, Adrian's steps faltered.
"Adrian..." Ivy Shen couldn't help but softly call out, supporting him with a worried look in her eyes.
"Ivy..." He choked on the words, unable to continue.
"Adrian, if you need to go, just go. I can take care of myself." Seeing his worry, Ivy quickly smiled to reassure him.
Adrian struggled to suppress his grief and forced a faint smile. "It's fine, Ivy, don't worry. Big Brother Adrian will go with you to the Martial Conference and protect you the whole time."
"Palace Master, if you don't go see the Old Master now, you might never get another chance!" Aiden burst into tears, his voice trembling. The Old Master kept muttering Adrian's name, longing to see him one last time.
"Enough!" Adrian interrupted Aiden, frowning. He wanted to go back and see his father, but Ivy's current state made him uneasy. And with Silver Consort, their greatest enemy, also attending—he knew he wasn't her match, but could buy time for Ivy to escape if needed. If he left now, who would protect her if danger arose? How could he possibly be at ease?
Seeing this, Ivy took his hand and led him forward. The four others behind them, sensing the mood, tactfully kept their distance. They assumed Ivy wanted to comfort him—but little did they know, this wasn't comfort at all, but a shocking revelation...
"Ivy..." Away from the group, standing on the hillside, Adrian looked at her in surprise.
"Adrian, I'm sorry I lied to you all. I had no choice. Go see your father—I know you've seen my martial arts, so don't worry about me. I'm sorry I can't go with you to pay respects; this moment is too important for me. I'm really sorry..." As she finished, she bowed her head in deep apology.
This time, she wouldn’t get to see her future father-in-law—not unless she ditched everything and ran to Ice Palace, which was even farther than Chu Kingdom. There was no way she could make it there and back before the tournament started, and her showdown with Song Zhijue depended on this Martial Conference. She just couldn’t leave.
"Xin'er." Adrian grabbed both her hands, eyes full of longing. "If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I’m sorry..."
"Dummy, we’ve all got missions, you know? Promise me one thing, okay?" She looked up at Adrian, dead serious.
"I promise!" Adrian nodded before Ivy could even finish. If it was her request, he’d agree to anything, no questions asked!
"Please give my greetings to your father for me. Stay by his side, make him happy on his last journey, okay? Don’t worry about me—I can totally take care of myself."
"Xin'er—" Adrian couldn’t help it; he pulled her into a hug, holding her close. He had a million things to say, but none of them made it out.
"I’ll wait for you, Adrian. I really will." She gave his back a light pat for reassurance, then let go and flashed him a cheeky smile. "Don’t worry, I’ll keep pretending to have amnesia. No one can get close to me that way!"
Adrian gently brushed her cheek and smiled. "Xin'er, I’ve thought it through. As long as you’re willing, I’ll accept those other brothers too. I know they all truly care about you. Such an amazing girl—no matter how much I love you, it’ll never be enough. And honestly, if having more husbands means you’ll be safer, why should I be jealous?"
"Idiot!" Ivy shot him a sweet smile, her eyes sparkling. This big dummy...
"Xin'er, promise me—stop pretending to be amnesiac, okay? Do you know how worried we’ve been? Not about you forgetting us, but about your health. You know Lucian? He’s been working nonstop every night, refining medicine to help you. Those days when he barely spoke? It’s not that he didn’t want to, he was just exhausted. The other night, when you had cramps, he stayed up all night, lantern in hand, climbing the mountain to pick herbs for you. The porridge you ate this morning had those herbs—he found them for you, even when he should’ve been sleeping." Adrian thought about how he’d helped Lucian search for herbs too, but compared to Lucian’s efforts, his own felt like nothing.
"Let's move!" Ivy ordered the group, then dove into the carriage. The wheels started rolling again, slowly but surely.
"Don't worry, Xin'er—they'll be fine," Liam said, seeing Ivy's silence and guessing she was worried. As he spoke, his hand unconsciously touched the bundle he carried, like it was super important.
Of course, Ivy didn't miss Liam's nervous little gesture. What the heck was in that bundle, anyway? Why was he so twitchy about it?!
But she didn't have time to play detective about Liam's bundle—her brain was spinning with bigger problems. Two major accidents in a row? So much for her master plan. She couldn't shake the feeling that more of her guys would get yanked away soon. Was someone pulling strings, or was it just bad luck?
Mount Hua.
After a long trek, they finally arrived at the tournament site: Mount Hua. And get this—it's literally twice as big as the Mount Hua Ivy knew back in the 21st century. She never imagined the serpent realm would have such a massive, otherworldly place. The competition venue was at the very peak, with a gigantic open space that could hold a hundred thousand people at once.
Below Mount Hua, it was all inns and merchant stalls. This place used to be pretty empty, but with all the tournaments every year, the crowds kept coming, so more and more shops and inns popped up. It was basically another Draken City now—except this one was packed with martial artists.
"Whoa, look at all these people!" Even standing at the base, you could see the huge swarm of folks up at the summit. And more kept pouring in from every direction. This tournament was a total magnet.
"Hey, wait up! Slow down, man!" A forty-something guy huffed and puffed behind a thirty-something dude, struggling to keep up.
"C'mon, Brother Wang, hurry up! If us storytellers don't catch the action, what are we gonna talk about later?" He doubled back, grabbed his buddy's hand, and dragged him forward at top speed.
"Wow, even the storytellers showed up for this!" Liam chuckled, watching the crowd. He could tell lots of people here didn't know martial arts at all—they were just here for the drama.
"There are so many people, I bet even the biggest inn is booked solid," Lucian said, eyeing the endless crowd.
"Heh, is that so?" Butterfly Rogue grinned, whipping out a few gold ingots. "With these babies, we'll have a room for sure!"
But she didn’t have the bandwidth to play detective over Liam’s package right now—her mind was spinning with bigger issues. Two major protectors gone, back-to-back? So much for her brilliant plan. She had this gut feeling: out of the four guys left, someone else was definitely going to get pulled away soon. Was it someone’s scheme, or just bad luck?
Mount Hua.
After a long trek, they finally made it to the competition site: Mount Hua. And get this—it's literally twice as big as the Mount Hua Ivy knew from the 21st century. Who knew the serpent realm’s turf would be this massive? The tournament ring was at the very peak, with a huge open space big enough for a hundred thousand people to crowd in and watch.
Below Mount Hua, it was all inns and merchant stalls. This place used to be pretty empty, but with all the tournaments every year, the crowds kept coming, so more and more shops and inns popped up. It was basically another Draken City now—except this one was packed with martial artists.
"Whoa, look at all these people!" Even standing at the base, you could see the huge swarm of folks up at the summit. And more kept pouring in from every direction. This tournament was a total magnet.
"Hey, wait up! Slow down, man!" A forty-something guy huffed and puffed behind a thirty-something dude, struggling to keep up.
"C'mon, Brother Wang, hurry up! If us storytellers don't catch the action, what are we gonna talk about later?" He doubled back, grabbed his buddy's hand, and dragged him forward at top speed.
"Wow, even the storytellers showed up for this!" Liam chuckled, watching the crowd. He could tell lots of people here didn't know martial arts at all—they were just here for the drama.
"There are so many people, I bet even the biggest inn is booked solid," Lucian said, eyeing the endless crowd.
"Heh, is that so?" Butterfly Rogue grinned, whipping out a few gold ingots. "With these babies, we'll have a room for sure!"
"What the heck, you spendthrift! You wanna drop that much cash just to stay at an inn? That's enough to buy the whole place!" Caleb exploded, his money-loving instincts kicking in at the sight of gold.
"Chill, Caleb, chill! I swiped these from somewhere else. If we run out, I'll just go swipe a few more!" Butterfly Rogue winked, like stealing was just another day at the office.
"Anything you swipe goes straight to Xin'er, and what's hers is ours, so you can't just blow it all!" Caleb scolded him, wagging a finger at Butterfly Rogue's bad habits.
Everyone stared at Caleb's money-guarding antics and couldn't help sighing. Yep, classic abacus man—show him some gold and he morphs into a whole new creature. Speechless!
"Hey, Caleb, hand over the gold already! If you stash the cash, where are we supposed to sleep?" Butterfly Rogue complained. This guy was impossible!
"Relax, I'll make sure you all have a place to stay," Caleb said, grabbing his sword as his eyes suddenly went sharp.
"Whoa, what are you planning?" Lucian frowned, suspicious.
"Simple. Kill a couple guests and we'll have rooms," Caleb replied, deadpan, like other people's lives didn't even matter.
Everyone freaked out—just to save money, he was ready to kill people? Psycho alert!
"Enough, quit arguing," Ivy said, turning to face them.
"Knock it off," Lucian glared at the two troublemakers. With Adrian gone, he was the new boss, and he had to keep these guys in line.
"Just follow me," Ivy said, striding into the bustling crowd. The rest hurried after her.
The whole street was packed—people everywhere, vendors shouting, brothels, gambling dens, street food, you name it.
Ivy led them through a winding little alley off the main drag, and suddenly they were facing a courtyard house surrounded by smaller homes—clearly where the market vendors lived. But this house was way fancier than the rest.
She knocked on the courtyard door, and soon an old man with a white beard appeared. He was stunned to see Ivy, then burst into happy tears. "Miss, you're back! You're really back!"
"Yep, I'm back, Grandpa Tong!" Ivy grinned, grabbing his hand and flashing her brightest smile.
"I'm just glad you're home, so glad... Grandpa missed you so much!" He sniffled, eyes suddenly wet.
"Grandpa Tong, what are you doing? Aren't you embarrassed?" Ivy teased, holding his hand and giggling.
The old man quickly wiped his tears. "No crying, no crying—I'm just happy!" But when he spotted the handsome guys behind Ivy, he looked puzzled. "Eh? Who are they?"
Ivy turned, flashed a grin, and introduced everyone: "Grandpa Tong, let me introduce you! This is Lucian Vane, my husband; this is Liam Willow, also my husband; this guy's Caleb Miles, just a passerby; and this one is Butterfly Rogue, a totally normal friend!" She beamed.