Twisted Royal Family!

"..."

Ling Er fell silent, her playful energy dimming. Her steps slowed, her grip on his hand loosening slightly as she absorbed his words.

She had never considered what kind of place he had come from.

Su Xiaobai noticed the shift and, without saying a word, slowed his pace to match hers.

After ten minutes of walking, sweat began to bead on Ling Er's forehead. She wasn't used to such a long, tiring walk through the rough terrain.

Her breaths were growing shallow, though she tried to hide it.

"Let's stop there for a while," she suggested, her voice softer, almost embarrassed at her own weakness.

"Mm." Su Xiaobai nodded and, with a sigh, leaned against the trunk of a thick tree.

"Hah..." He sat down with a grunt, resting his back against the bark.

Ling Er stood hesitantly for a moment, before settling herself down a few inches away from him, using the tree for support as well.

A long silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant sounds of rustling leaves and their quiet breathing.

It was Ling Er who finally broke it, her face slightly flushed in awkwardness. "I'm... s-sorry about earlier…" she stammered, her fingers fumbling nervously in her lap. "I didn't mean to say your puppet was ugly… I was just scared… she's actually very beautiful…"

Su Xiaobai blinked, slightly taken aback by her apology.

His brow furrowed as he tried to recall the incident. 'Oh, Xiao Hei,' he thought. His doll-like puppet. It was hardly something he took offense to, but Ling Er's guilt was obvious.

"Oh," he nodded blankly, disinterested.

Ling Er's face flushed even more. She fidgeted with her hands, feeling small under his indifferent response.

Xiao Hei, after all, wasn't ugly at all.

In fact, once cleaned up, the puppet was unnervingly beautiful, stirring a strange feeling of protection even in her.

Maybe that's why she'd reacted so strongly earlier.

They sat in silence again until Su Xiaobai suddenly spoke,"That ribbon of yours, was it important?"

Ling Er glanced at him, sadness creeping into her features. She nodded. "Mm… It was. Very important."

Her voice faltered slightly. The ribbon wasn't just a weapon—it was a Soul-ranked item, something that could bond with her emotions, almost as if it had a life of its own.

Repairing it wouldn't be easy.

In fact, it might be impossible without the right resources. It wasn't just a tool; it was a part of her, something that had always been with her, feeling her hopes, her fears, her frustrations.

Su Xiaobai sighed deeply, wondering why he was bothering to talk so much with her.

Why did he care?

Was he so easily distracted?

He could — already feel that the distance between them had closed again, her body leaning closer against him, the warmth from her skin seeping into his.

He could feel her breath, slow and steady, mixing with the cool air of the forest night.

The heat between them grew.

For a brief moment, the temptation flickered in his mind—'should I…?'

But no. Su Xiaobai knew better.

To take something, to keep it, required a certain level of strength.

It was easy to gain something in a fleeting moment, but to keep it, to protect it?

That was a different story entirely.

Trying to distract himself, he chuckled and changed the subject. "When — I met your brother the first time," he started, his tone light, trying to forget the tension, "he was peeping on some women from the Xiantian Sect. Even after his Grandpa sealed his cultivation, the idiot was still getting into trouble. And of course, he got his ass beaten afterward. Hah!"

Ling Er's lips twitched, her ears reddening. "You know who that woman was?" she asked, her voice soft, as though the memory embarrassed her.

Su Xiaobai raised an eyebrow. "No. Who?"

Ling Er sighed, her face reddening even more. "One of the king's consorts."

"What?" Su Xiaobai's eyes widened in shock, his expression twisting as if he'd swallowed a bitter bug. "The King? You mean… your father?"

Ling Er nodded slightly, biting her lip.

Su Xiaobai blinked. "But… isn't he your brother? And she's…?"

Ling Er groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Yes... Welcome to my family."

Su Xiaobai let out a heavy breath, leaning back against the tree. 'Fucking hell, what kind of twisted mess is this royal family?'

Ling Er's bitter smile deepened as she began to explain, "She is called White Jade Sword. Six hundred years ago, it was my father who first fell in love with her. Back then, my brother hadn't even considered the crown. He was young, inexperienced, just another prince navigating the world. But everything changed when he laid eyes on her during one of his battles. Something inside him shifted. He became obsessed—obsessed with her, with the idea of having her. After that, he no longer cared about anything else but the throne. He made up his mind and, after a gruesome bloodbath, turned the capital red with the blood of his enemies. And when he finally claimed the crown, his first act was to send her a marriage proposal."

"Mm?" Su Xiaobai's curiosity was piqued. "Then what happened?"

Ling Er's smile grew grim. "She ignored it. But my father had already declared their engagement publicly, thinking her silence was a form of agreement. When he went to fetch her and bring her back to the palace, she… well, she beat him up." Her voice dropped, her tone heavy with both bitterness and irony.

"Pfft..."

Su Xiaobai struggled to contain himself, his lips twitching as he stifled a laugh, but it slipped out. "Hahaha... beaten up? By her?"

He certainly didn't expect that twist.

Ling Er nodded, her expression still dark.

Su Xiaobai's laughter quieted, his amusement replaced by contemplation. 'So that's the reason Grandpa Zhong was so strict with Wei Jun…' he thought.

"And your father still hasn't given up, has he?" he asked, seeing the shadow of that old obsession lingering in her eyes.

Ling Er's gaze dropped, her voice turning grim. "No. Even after all these years, he's still chasing after her. He won't stop until she's his." The bitterness in her words carried the weight of someone who had seen the consequences of that obsession play out over and over again.

"So what now?" Su Xiaobai asked, leaning back against the tree. "Your brother is caught in the same vicious cycle?"

Ling Er sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Probably. Anyone who spends too much time around her loses their mind eventually. Even a fortune teller once warned my father—said that she would bring catastrophe to him if he didn't stay away. But… no one listens."

Su Xiaobai shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

The story was tragic in a way he hadn't expected. "And you think Wei Jun is going down the same path? All for the crown?"

Ling Er's brow furrowed. "I don't know. She's far stronger than she appears. On paper, she's just an elder of the Xiantian Sect, but in reality, her power is much greater—likely on par with the first great official of the country."

Su Xiaobai nodded in recognition.