“Master, rest assured.
How could the couple capable of nurturing the next Flower King be ordinary?
This is all I can tell you.
If you wish to know more, then grow stronger as quickly as possible!”
Yun Qingxue stared intently at Yousu. “Is my mother the previous Flower King, Lan Xuechen?”
Yousu shook her head. “Master, many are waiting for the day you grow strong.
Do you know how many have sacrificed for your survival?
Live well, grow stronger! Only then will you be worthy of your parents and the countless clansmen who place their hopes in you!”
“I will grow stronger… Yousu, don’t worry… I will definitely become strong…”
Yun Qingxue gazed at the vast expanse of blooming red spider lilies before her. Because she was not yet strong enough, she had no right to know about her parents.
Because she was not yet strong enough, she could only be silently protected…
Because she was not yet strong enough, she could do nothing as Tong Yun killed Qian Dai while continuing to hunt her down, all while wielding power over the Flower and Wood Clan with impunity!
Yousu nodded. “Master has already found a great teacher. I only hope you will train diligently, so that strength will soon be within reach.
As long as you keep moving forward, many truths will gradually come to light.”
Yousu took Yun Qingxue’s hand and lightly touched her little finger, smiling. “Though Yousu and Lü Li cannot return to the Xuanling Continent to assist you, if you ever face mortal danger, we can still lend you our aid.”
Yun Qingxue looked down at her right hand. On the fingernail Yousu had touched, a small fiery-red pattern had appeared, as if delicately carved with crimson rouge—beautiful and mysterious.
She recognized it at once: this was Yousu’s mark, shaped like her spider lily form.
With this mark, Yousu would sense it if Yun Qingxue faced life-threatening danger.
If the mark faded, it meant Yousu was injured or in trouble.
If it vanished entirely, it meant Yousu was gone…
“You are one of those clansmen protecting me…
Yousu, though you won’t tell me who my birth parents are, thank you.
Don’t worry, I will strive. Just wait and see!” Yun Qingxue smiled at the mark.
Yousu smiled back. “I will wait and hope for that day. No matter when or how dire the circumstances, remember, Master—you are the hope of the entire Flower and Wood Clan…
The noble Flower King, our pride and hope!
You are the Flower King, and also the Flower King’s Decree! The supreme existence of our clan!”
Yousu gazed at Yun Qingxue with reverence, as if beholding the entirety of her faith. Her body began to fade, slowly vanishing into the sea of fiery-red spider lilies.
“Why do you say I am the Flower King’s Decree? Hasn’t it been missing for millennia?”
As Yousu neared disappearance, Yun Qingxue hurriedly asked.
But before her words fully left her lips, Yousu was gone.
Only her final whisper lingered in the air:
“When we sent you away, my magic was too depleted to recover. Forgive me, Flower King.
Grow strong, and you will find answers to all your questions…”
A cold, mournful wind of the underworld brushed past the blooming red spider lilies…
Lost in thought, Yun Qingxue returned to the Underworld King’s palace, only to sense an odd atmosphere.
Xiao Xiao’s face was flushed, her lips pouted, while Ming Di wore an enigmatic expression…
Yun Qingxue instinctively looked to Daise, who covered her mouth and giggled secretly.
Baffled, Yun Qingxue wondered—how had the mood shifted so strangely in the short time she’d met with Yousu?
“Xiao Xiao, what’s wrong?” Unable to decipher it, she turned to the source.
“Qingxue, how’s your magic training going?” Xiao Xiao countered instead.
What did the atmosphere have to do with her? Or her training?
Yun Qingxue was even more confused but nodded vaguely. “Making progress.”
“Can you beat Ming Di?” Xiao Xiao pressed.
Yun Qingxue glanced at the Underworld King, whose expression had shifted from enigmatic to amused.
“Well… we’re both dignified figures, not children, so… dignified people don’t fight casually…”
She sidestepped the question with a non-answer, neither admitting nor denying.
Of course she couldn’t defeat Ming Di now—she had that much self-awareness.
But as the Flower King, outright admitting weakness wasn’t just a personal embarrassment—it would shame her entire clan!
“Qingxue…” Xiao Xiao tugged her sleeve pitifully.
Yun Qingxue noticed Ming Di’s expression shift again, now deeply suggestive…
“Did you two argue?” she asked.
“No!”
“He bullied me!”
Their simultaneous, discordant replies came.
Yun Qingxue looked to Xiao Xiao first, awaiting her grievance.
Without hesitation, Xiao Xiao declared:
“Ming Di is unreasonable, domineering, and tyrannical! He ignores my rights and freedom! He tries to control my life! Qingxue, you must save me from his clutches!”
As she ranted, Yun Qingxue watched Ming Di’s face cycle through dramatic expressions…
Smiling, she said, “Xiao Xiao, marital spats always resolve themselves.”
“Who’s married to him?! I was tricked onto this pirate ship! Tricked! I want off!” Xiao Xiao roared.
Yun Qingxue watched Ming Di’s face darken entirely, suddenly feeling both helpless toward Xiao Xiao and deeply sympathetic toward him.
She wondered: what must it feel like to love someone so oblivious it made you want to strangle them—yet you couldn’t bring yourself to do it?
Though her interactions with Ming Di were brief, his subtle actions toward Xiao Xiao revealed genuine affection.
Xiao Xiao’s behavior, however… undoubtedly gave him that “want to strangle but can’t” feeling more than once.
Her friend was truly a unique talent…
That Xiao Xiao could provoke Ming Di so yet still live safely proved his love was real.
“Xiao Xiao…”
Just as Yun Qingxue found their dynamic amusing, Ming Di—now fully dark-faced—suddenly smiled brilliantly.
His voice dripped with tender, saccharine affection as he called her name.
Xiao Xiao “whooshed” behind Yun Qingxue with lightning speed.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage