CONTENT WARNING
This chapter contains themes that some readers may find sensitive or unsettling, including complex family dynamics and taboo implications. These elements are integral to the plot and are portrayed as morally conflicted and taboo within the story's world. They are not endorsed or romanticized. Please proceed with care, and feel free to skip if this content is distressing. Your well-being is important. Thank you for engaging with the story thoughtfully.
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A melancholic melody drifted through the moonlit courtyard, each note laced with an unspoken yearning. Zhen Hua approached her son's chamber. Long Fei perched on his open window sill, leaning against the frame as his fingers glided elegantly over the jade flute, his eyes closed as he played.
"Fei'er." She let out a soft sigh, her gaze softening. He had been playing the same tune every night since the Legendary Healer vanished without a word.
Long Fei paused, lowering his flute. He turned to her and smiled sweetly. "Mother, you shouldn't be out this late. You'll catch a cold." He hopped off the window sill, plucked the outer cloak draped on his chair and handed it to her.
She stifled a grimace and forced a maternal smile as she accepted his gesture. That wretched word and the filial gaze were like daggers piercing her heart.
"You've grown distant toward me," she murmured, tilting her head. "Have I lost my place in your heart?" She reached for his face, searching his expression.
His eyes widened, and he immediately stepped back.
She let out a soft hum, her fingers drifting to fix his collar. But before she could lay a finger on him, he took another step back, then turned away, his shoulders slouched. "It's late, Mother. You should rest."
She reached for him again, then paused. She pulled back and clenched her hands under the cloak. She had always been able to control him. Yet now, his rejection was clear. Because of that woman he had invited to heal her.
She did not press further, instead smiling as she stepped back, feigning composure. "Yes, I suppose I should."
She turned, leaving behind only the faint scent of her perfume. As she walked down the hallway, the sound of the flute playing the melancholic melody haunted the palace.
***
In her chamber, Zhen Hua tossed the cloak onto a chair in disgust. She blew softly on a bamboo wolf whistle. Tracing her fingers along the intricately carved mural, her hand found the gold phoenix-shaped mechanism embedded in the wall. She twisted it.
With a faint click, the bookshelf slid aside, revealing a narrow passage. She stepped inside, her silk robes barely brushing against the cold stone as she descended the hidden staircase to the basement. The air grew heavy, with torches flickering along the underground hall.
At the bottom, Long Yan was waiting. He rushed to her, his hands on her shoulders. "Zhen Hua."
She glared at him as she brushed away his hands. "What happened?"
He remained silent, then took a deep breath.
"It isn't like you to act without my command," she seethed.
He clenched his jaw, his gaze cast down to the floor. "Remember how we used Elder Brother's cloak, to track him in the Ocean Kingdom?"
She nodded slowly, rubbing her temples in thought.
"I found his cloak on the Healer. She's a merfolk," he muttered.
Her expression darkened. "His cloak was wrapped around that silver-haired woman?"
Long Yan nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "She was my prisoner then. After she escaped, the Kraken appeared from nowhere and crushed my ship."
Silence stretched between them. The flickering torches cast eerie shadows against the stone walls.
Zhen Hua's lacquered nails dug into her palms as she contained her rising rage. So it was true. Long Fei, the immortal, had feelings for that wench. He has never offered his favorite cloak to anyone, not even her, in the entire Celestial Realm.
Her gaze turned glacial. An insidious knot coiled deep in her chest. That wretched siren. How dare she take what was hers!
She exhaled slowly, slipping her mask of elegance back into place. She stepped forward, her presence commanding. "You should have brought her to me," she said coolly. "Did you kill her?"
He shook his head, averting her gaze. "Ling Yue intervened."
"That blue demon is in the Mortal Realm? She's problematic. I'll find a way to get the sea witch back here alone," she murmured as she turned away. The dim firelight wavered as she ascended the steps, her shadow stretching long behind her.
***
The crackling of the fire filled the quiet night air, the scent of grilled fish wafting through the makeshift camp. Ling Yue crouched over the flames.
She sneezed suddenly, rubbed her nose, and muttered, "I bet Zhen Hua is plotting against me." She resumed turning the skewers with an irritated flick of her wrist.
Shui Yi sat across from her, her chin resting on her hands, brows furrowed, staring blankly at the campfire.
Ling Yue exhaled sharply and glared at the mermaid. "What part of 'over my dead body' did you not understand?"
"Huh?" said the mermaid. She shook her head out of her daze and gazed at the guardian.
The guardian tossed the skewer into the fire more forcefully. "Don't you understand who Zhen Hua is? She's the most dangerous immortal in all the realm."
The mermaid leaned her head against her knees, staring at the campfire. "But… she's his mother."
The guardian ran a hand down her face, exasperated. "She is the reincarnation of the Phoenix Empress," she enunciated as if explaining something painfully obvious to a child. "She practically attacked your kingdom. That's why the transitional realm we were in collapsed. You should have put a dagger in her heart, not heal her."
Shui Yi flinched, sadness clouding her gaze as she bit her lower lip. "Oh, that's not nice."
"That's all you have to say? 'Oh, that's not nice'? For Ocean's sake! Your home almost got destroyed. Where's the King of Merfolk's fury in you? He practically sent the Kraken to destroy the pirate ship that caught you.'"
"He did?" the mermaid princess perked up.
The guardian clamped her lips as she realized she may have said more than she should.
The mermaid princess scratched her cheek, looking sheepish. "Well… I mean, my father is pretty powerful. She failed anyway. Everything turned out in the end…"
"Shui Yi, I swear—" Ling Yue's eye twitched as she planted the skewer into the ground, the cooked fish wobbling.
"Okay, okay! I get it! She's evil and dangerous." The mermaid held up her hands in surrender.
The guardian folded her arms, still unconvinced. "You don't get it. She will kill you if she finds you."
"But why?"
"Because you exist."
"…That's not a good reason."
"She will think that you took my master away from her! Do you think a crazy woman like the Phoenix Empress, who had been chasing him for millennia is going to accept that he suddenly cares about some little mermaid? She'd gut you and grill you for dinner—if she doesn't roast you first with her crimson fire."
Shui Yi stared at Ling Yue for a long moment before leaning back, then wistfully smiled. "So Long Fei cares about me that much?"
"That's all you heard from all that?" The guardian glared at the mermaid, who shrugged with a wry grin.
Ling Yue's nostrils flared. "And what's up with you and Long Yan? You practically let him stab you. With all the training you've had, you should be on par with him."
"Who's Long Yan?"
"The angry man that I just saved you from."
"Oh... do you mean the pirate captain? I don't know why, but I just freeze up whenever I see him. Memories from that pirate ship keep flooding me."
"What?! He was the captain of that pirate ship? I should have harpooned him!" Ling Yue hissed, her blood boiling.
"So Long Yan is his name. Wait—Long? Don't tell me he's related to Long Fei."
"Yeah, they're sadly brothers." Ling Yue paced back and forth, her finger tapping on her chin. "Wait, he attacked you because he remembers you in the imperial garden... That means... neither of them drank the Amnesia Elixir."
"Who didn't drink the Amnesia Elixir?" said Shui Yi.
"Zhen Hua and Long Yan. I knew something was off when Master tenderly said she was the person he loved most. He would be mortified." It'll be a maelstrom when she returns to the Ocean Realm and reports everything to his primordial self.
"But she's his mother. Why wouldn't he care?"
"Trust me, if he had his immortal memories, they'd be mortal enemies. He practically destroyed those two for attacking the Ocean Kingdom."
"Oh my, poor Long Fei... That sounds terrible."
Ling Yue stood, dusting off her cloak. "Ah, forget it. I'm going to set up more traps around our mountain."
"Would you like any help?"
"Nah-uh. You'll probably make more work for me. Try not to drown while I'm gone."
Shui Yi waved her off. "Yes, I know. You won't let me live it down if I drowned a third time."
As Ling Yue disappeared into the night to set up more defenses, she turned her gaze back on her companion. Poor Shui Yi had no idea how cruel Fate could be.