Chapter 115

She had wasted quite a bit of time the night before, so it was already late when she fell asleep, and naturally, she woke up late as well. Mu Qian Tan opened her eyes to find bright daylight streaming through the window. There was no snow, and it did not look too cold outside, which put her in a good mood.

Except her arm felt a bit numb.

What was going on?

She tried to pull her hand free but failed. Something heavy weighed down on top of it. She sat up slightly, peered past the soft pillow, and saw that stupid dragon with her head resting on the edge of the bed, still asleep. Her cheek pressed against Mu Qian Tan’s arm, and her two hands gripped it like a hydraulic press, locking her in place without the slightest give.

“…” Mu Qian Tan recalled the events of the previous night. Her last memory was the dragon tucking her in, and then nothing.

So, this stupid dragon had been given a little leeway and opened the floodgates, taking full advantage by hugging nearly her entire arm to her chest?

She deserved a beating.

Mu Qian Tan pressed down on her head with her free hand and tried to yank her arm free, but she failed. With a sigh, she muttered, “What brute strength…”

She slapped her face a few times to wake her up and snapped, “Let go.”

Her sweet dream shattered abruptly. Shang Shan heard the slaps and suddenly opened her eyes. She licked her lips as if savoring the dream, then looked up. The sleepiness faded from her eyes as she belatedly registered the command. She loosened the arms that had locked the other woman tight. “Master.”

Mu Qian Tan rubbed her sore, numb shoulder and cursed her off casually. Shang Shan sat on the floor by the bed for a moment, then tugged at her hair. “Master, take another look at me.”

Parted by her hands, a pair of small horn buds peeked out from between the strands. The bruising had faded, the redness receded, and the impact injury had mostly healed. But overall, both horns were noticeably larger than they had been the night before. This growth rate was terrifying. In a few more days, her hair probably would not be able to hide them anymore.

“They got bigger,” Mu Qian Tan stated firmly. “You’re doomed.”

Sadness welled up in Shang Shan. “Master, I don’t want to die.”

Mu Qian Tan was about to keep stringing her along when she heard a strange rustling sound, like flesh scraping repeatedly against fabric. But there were no other living things in the room. She frowned in confusion. “What is that noise?”

Shang Shan’s eyes sparkled. “It’s me wagging my tail.”

The emergence of the horns signaled the growth of other traits as well, including the tail. It was probably a blue-gold fleshy strip similar to the horn buds, connected to her tailbone, and the swishing against her clothes produced that sound.

Seeing the woman’s utterly speechless expression, Shang Shan asked, “Do you want to see my tail?”

Who would want to see something like that? Mu Qian Tan refused. “No. Get lost.”

Shang Shan rubbed her butt. “It feels like it’s getting longer and longer. What should I do, Master?”

Blood flow gradually returned to Mu Qian Tan’s arm. She threw on her outer robe and headed to wash up, tossing back a barbed remark. “No way around it. Study some Spring Palace Diagrams to regulate yourself.”

She watched the woman’s slender back disappear into the private chamber. Shang Shan gathered up the Spring Palace Diagrams scattered on the floor, stuffed them into a cloth pouch, and planned to take them back to the sect for slow appreciation later. As her fingers brushed the meat-scented book cover, she recalled the sweet dream those slaps had shattered.

In the dream, the woman still had that cold face, but her skin was an unusual color, flushed pink as if steamed. She lay on the bed, arching her body. Her neck stretched long and slender, taut with beautiful lines. Her lips parted slightly, tasting of a fresh sweetness more intoxicating than wine. Her hands clutched at her own clothes, and with each motion, she revealed that expression—equal parts pain and overwhelmed ecstasy…

Just like that day deep in her memories at Cliff Mountain.

Heat rose to her cheeks. Called out to a few times, Shang Shan snapped out of it like waking from a dream. She saw the woman, freshly washed, standing by the bed, urging her with that disdainful look to hurry up and wash. With the Bu Yao pinned in her hair, the woman’s eyes and brows held a pallor utterly unlike the dream.

For some reason, Shang Shan felt a pang of loss.

Once they were both ready, they stepped outside. It was nearly noon. Shang Shan wore the wide-brimmed hat she had bought the day before, looking spaced out and lost in thought.

Mu Qian Tan glanced at the hat. She had not thought much of it when Shang Shan wore it yesterday, but now she understood—this stupid dragon had bought it to hide her horns, to keep them from being seen. The natural awareness of it meant the horns had been growing for some time.

The two headed straight to the dining area. There were few guests, mostly attendants waiting at the side. Qin He and Jiang Zhouyao sat inside, eating. Shang Shan waved to greet them but caught sight of someone else out of the corner of her eye. She quickly stopped and said respectfully, “Sorry, I was mean to you last night.”

The person she stopped was a maidservant—the same one who had come to inquire when Shang Shan had been thrown out of the room and burst into tears. Overwhelmed by emotion then, Shang Shan had snapped at her viciously. Thinking back now, she felt bad about it.

Her apology came smoothly, but the maidservant was flustered and honored.

From masters to guests, everyone bossed around the servants as a matter of course. No one realized when they were in the wrong, let alone apologized sincerely. Even normal conversation was rare. And this guest was so stunningly beautiful it was hard to look straight at her. The maidservant stammered for a good while before saying, “Y-You’re… too polite. No need.”

Even after direct interaction, Mu Qian Tan had already forgotten what the maidservant looked like. Only a freak like the Female Protagonist would remember. She glanced at the girl and sat down at the table.

After an exchange of polite greetings, the three ate in silence. Qin He clearly felt awkward. She said she was full and left on her own, then asked Shang Shan, “Why apologize? What happened?”

But then she spotted the fresh handprint on Shang Shan’s face. Qin He wanted to ask more but held back.

Why did her face always have new marks every morning? What exactly happened at night? Did she get beaten every day in Narrow Sea too? Yao’e Immortal was truly terrifying…

After seeing off the maidservant, Shang Shan slung an arm around Qin He’s shoulders with a grin. “It’s nothing. Never mind that. I have two of the funniest jokes in the world to tell you! The first one is…”

Mu Qian Tan ate half a fried egg. With the small knife, she cut into the yolk, scraping a sharp sound across the plate. She furrowed her brows, leaned back in her chair, and said to the side, “That little bastard let you off today.”

Not being dragged away first thing in the morning and able to eat breakfast properly here was no small feat.

At the mention, a ripple crossed Jiang Zhouyao’s calm expression. Her brows twitched but did not fully furrow. She just sighed. “She can be a bit mischievous.”

She said it breezily, but her look showed it had cost her no small effort. Mu Qian Tan chuckled lightly. Jiang Zhouyao smiled wryly. “Yao’e Immortal isn’t mocking me, is she?”

Mu Qian Tan replied, “Nope.”

After hearing the two jokes, Qin He watched the other laugh nonstop. She searched for the punchline in vain and sank into thought, a familiar weary look settling on her face. Shang Shan turned to her beaming. “Wanna laugh? I’ll tell Immortal a joke.”

Mu Qian Tan shoved her head away. “Are you a virus, spreading everywhere? Go to the side.”

After the meal, they headed out and ran into Fu Li right away. Her everyday attire was already lavish and elegant, but now she was dressed up even more. The white robe reaching her ankles draped along her figure, half of it cascading like flowing gold tassels, paired with a head full of gemstone hairpins—like a radiant exotic beauty stepping down from a mural.

She spun around, gold flowing like a goddess’s garb, exuding untamed youthful arrogance that cut sharp. Fu Li waved her hand, gleaming like a slab of fine gold herself. “Today is my birthday. Come to the Beast Arena this afternoon for the show.”

Shang Shan and Qin He exchanged a glance and exclaimed in unison, “Birthday?”

They had come at the invitation of a letter that only mentioned coming to play and attending Radiant Palace and Seton City events—no word of a birthday. Guessing now, that was probably the main purpose of the trip!

Shang Shan lifted her chin, furrowing her brows in an eight shape. “It’s your birthday, and you didn’t say anything! I don’t like you, but I’ll still prepare a gift. Otherwise, it’d be rude.”

Qin He said nothing, but her expression said the same.

Fu Li brushed it off. “I’m the daughter of Radiant Palace’s Palace Lord. Everything about me is a secret. What if I told you ahead and you blabbed to others? Not everyone qualifies to know. Besides, gifts?”

A disdainful look crossed her face. “I lack for nothing. Even the most precious things you send wouldn’t be worthy to present to me—they’d just gather dust in storage anyway. I don’t need that junk. Just come have fun!”

She said it with utter pride, nose practically to the sky. The attendants around her played along perfectly, chiming in with flattery. Qin He leveled her gaze, blank even in its flatness, and clapped for her. Shang Shan said outright, “I hate you.”

“Hate me if you want. People at the top get admired—and hated,” Fu Li said magnanimously, perhaps in a good mood. She circled behind them, threw an arm over each shoulder, and pushed forward. “Come on, to the Beast Arena. Afternoon’s all about the show.”

Radiant Palace was vast and labyrinthine, every area meticulously designed with artistry. Even ordinary corridor ceilings bore gorgeous murals that made one’s skin crawl just thinking of the workload.

The group strolled to a vast clearing carved out halfway up the mountainside. From there, distant pale snow-capped mountains rolled into view. Sunlight danced across the endless white expanse, growing brighter until staring directly filled the vision with glare.

A glance downward revealed a circular Beast Arena rising from the clearing.

Towering walls of finely polished stone, edges smoothed round; tiered outer walls; vast murals spanning wall to wall—all exuded a sense of sanctity.

The entire clearing housing the Beast Arena was paved in smooth marble slabs. Paths to the gates featured mosaics in varied colors: paintings, carriages, crowns, and more. People of obvious high birth entered amid clusters of attendants—likely Seton City residents.

Since they were all filing in, Fu Li did not rush. Blending with the crowd would not highlight her status, so she veered off, dragging the group to admire the wall murals. “Check this out!”

Before them loomed a massive mural so large they had to crane their necks to take it all in. The style was exquisitely detailed, though the content was not immediately clear. Fu Li glanced back discreetly and saw Jiang Zhouyao standing nearby. She cleared her throat and began to explain.

The mural depicted the Fu Clan’s rise to prominence.

Hundreds of years ago, Seton was just a small, rundown town. The people were penniless and starving, living worse than dogs. After a great disaster, the city teetered on the brink, with masses ready to flee. Then, an ancestor of the Fu Clan had a dream.

In it, a Double-Headed Great White Serpent came from afar, slithered through the town, entered the snow mountains, and looked back at the dream-walking Fu clansman trailing behind before vanishing into the peaks. The Fu man hurried after and entered a cave, discovering vast treasures. There the dream ended.

At first, he dismissed it as wishful thinking from poverty-stricken delusions. But the same dream repeated for days, and the pull toward the mountains grew stronger. Eventually, he told others.

He barely believed it himself, so convincing anyone to join him was hard. The townsfolk mocked the craftsman as delusional. He accepted reality and tried to forget, but the yearning for the snow mountains became unbearable, nearly driving him to Qi Deviation—he had to go.

One day, he could take it no longer. He cut a chunk of flesh from his arm and shared it with a dozen burly men, inviting them to the mountains and swearing a pact. If it was a wasted trip, he would kill himself and provide them a fresh, unrotted corpse to eat.

In those days, full bellies trumped all; the men agreed and went. Incredibly, they unearthed mineral treasures right where the double-headed white serpent had appeared in his dream!

From then on, Seton City boomed. The Fu Clan was hailed as heavenly emissaries. They took the Double-Headed Great White Serpent as their totem, controlling nearly all mine excavations. Over centuries, they became Seton City’s mightiest family.

After one mural, they circled to the next. This one needed no explanation to grasp: below roiled a sea of lava spewing heat waves; above loomed white snow mountains; in between stood a circular Grand Altar, radiating eerie red light outward.

“This is what we found in the mountains after our Fu Clan prospered,” Fu Li pointed at the Grand Altar. “There’s no altar in the whole world bigger or more majestic than this one. For it to appear here is simply heaven’s will! Every time our clansmen went down the mines, they sacrificed some animals to offer tribute to that legendary double-headed White Serpent, so nothing has ever gone wrong all these years.”

Shang Shan lay on Qin He’s shoulder, gazing at the Grand Altar. She noticed a Little Person on top of it and asked, “Who is that?”

Fu Li said, “That’s the shrine maiden presiding over the sacrifice.”

Shang Shan said, “I’ve never seen a shrine maiden before.”

Fu Li’s eyes flickered slightly as she changed the topic. “Heh, that’s not important. Let me ask you—have you ever seen a dragon?”