Dragon & Phoenix

MingHao hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Well… not right after you left, but sometime later, I noticed a lot of people visiting from other families. I don't know what they talked about, but after that… Mom started staying home more. She even… cooked for me. Can you believe that?"

MingYue let out a quiet sigh. This was one of the many reasons she had resented her brother in the past. Their mother had always been distant toward her but had showered MingHao with care.

MingHao, oblivious to her thoughts, continued. "But then, one night, we had dinner together—Mom, Dad, and me. They talked about something I didn't understand, but before the night ended, they told me this—'We're sorry… for not being good parents to you and your sister. If you ever see her again, tell her we're sorry.' The next morning, they were gone."

MingYue's mind spun. 'Uncle told me the patriarch killed Dad, and Mom ran off with the family's ancestral tablet. But if they told MingHao this before leaving… Then they must have known I was alive.' Her eyes sharpened. "You said Dad was acting weird, too. What do you mean?"

MingHao nodded. "You know how he always locked himself in the basement? Well, lately, he's been leaving the city a lot. I don't know why." Then, as if remembering something, he dug into his robes and pulled out two amulets. 

One was carved into the shape of a fiery phoenix, its surface shimmering like a ruby with an orange glow. The other was a flood dragon, made from a deep blue crystal, almost like sapphire. Their chains were crafted from jade, engraved with complex formations. MingYue frowned as she took them. 'Is Alex right? Does my family have some connection to the upper world?' The thought made her pause. Then, she shook her head. 'No way. I've been reading too many damn novels. There's no proof that some 'upper world' even exists. I should really stop connecting fiction to reality.'

MingHao watched her closely. He assumed she was thinking about their parents. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke again. "Sis, I know Uncle told you that Mom betrayed the family. That she sold you out for an elixir and ran away… His voice wavered. "I know I don't have the right to ask you this… but I don't think they would do that without a reason."

MingYue's gaze turned cold. She slowly looked at him. "Tell me, brat… What reason could possibly justify abandoning your own children?"

MingHao flinched slightly but didn't look away.

MingYue exhaled sharply. "Stop making excuses for them." Without another word, she took both pendants from his hands. She turned them over in her palms, examining them closely. The Fiery Phoenix pendant was a deep red crystal, glowing faintly like burning embers. The Flood Dragon pendant shimmered in hues of deep blue, radiating a cool energy. Both matched in hue despite their opposite colors. Their chains, made of carved jade, had tiny formations embedded into them. MingYue's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell Uncle about these?"

MingHao looked thoughtful for a second before answering. "The pendants? Or the story?"

"Both."

"Mom and Dad made me swear never to tell anyone but you." Then, he suddenly perked up. "Oh! I almost forgot— They told me never to take the pendant out in front of other people. I was supposed to hide it no matter what."

MingYue's fingers curled around the pendants. Her mind buzzed with more questions than answers. She turned to MingHao. "Was one of these meant for you?"

MingHao shook his head. "No. Mom said both are for you."

MingYue's brows furrowed. 'Both… for me?' She turned the pendants over in her palm, feeling the faint pulse of energy within them. 'Vesa, there are formations on these. Can you tell what they do?'

[They function similarly to a storage ring, Queen, but with heavy protections placed on them.I can sense a restriction—The seal is set to break only when your qi reaches the Heavenly Ascension stage.]

MingYue's lips twitched. That stage was far too distant for her. She wasn't about to wait that long. 'Can you break it now?'

[I can, but it would take a long time—and there's a risk of destroying whatever is inside. The formations will activate self-destruction if someone tampers with them incorrectly. But there is a workaround.Gather enough life force, and I can enhance a wisp of your qi to mimic that of a Heavenly Ascension cultivator. That should be enough to trick the seal into unlocking.]

MingYue's eyes narrowed. 'How much life force do you need?'

[Ten thousand.] 

She almost choked. 'Ten thousand? That's ridiculous. Can't you do it for… five thousand? Or maybe one thousand?' There was a long pause.

[Queen… this is not a flea market.]

MingYue scowled. Then, Vesa continued—

[Actually… I could have done it for less before. But I can't anymore. You should ask King about it later.]

MingYue frowned. 'Alex? What does he have to do with this?' She wanted to ask immediately, but now wasn't the time. Instead, she turned to MingHao. Her tone was firm. "Brat, don't tell Uncle I'm MingYue." 

MingHao opened his mouth to question her— But the look she gave him made him quickly shut up. He nodded reluctantly.

MingYue then walked toward the window, gazing at the bustling city. The Xueqi family's mansion sat in the center, towering over everything. She tilted her head slightly. "MingHao, what do you think of the Xueqi family?"

MingHao didn't hesitate. "Other than Uncle's family? I don't care about the rest."

MingYue's lips curved slightly. "Do you know where they are?" She had been keeping an eye on the city, yet she hadn't seen anyone from the main family. "I remember some of our cousins talking about them being at the ancestral ground."

MingYue's eyes narrowed. That confirmed her suspicions. She had asked Vesa to track her family, but their strongest member—the patriarch, a Nascent Soul cultivator—was nowhere to be found. If the Xueqi Family had ancestor-level cultivators, they wouldn't be beyond Golden Core or Spiritual Transformation at best.

After all, they were just a middle-class family on the outskirts of the continent. 'If they're inside the ancestral grounds… then it makes sense why they can't be detected.' MingYue let out a small chuckle.

MingHao blinked. "Sis?" 

She shook her head. 'Why is it always like this? Every protagonist in those novels comes from the smallest families, from the smallest countries, from the smallest continents—hell, even the smallest planets. Am I living in a cliché too?' She coughed and turned back to her brother. "Why are you staring at me like that, brat?"

MingHao raised a brow. "You were just laughing to yourself…"

MingYue ignored his comment. Instead, her expression turned serious. Her amber eyes flickered with cold determination. "I've decided, MingHao." She turned fully to face him. "I'm going to destroy the Xueqi Family."

MingHao froze.

"And you," she continued, "will be following me from now on. You're not going back to Uncle's side." MingHao's breath hitched.

His sister… Was serious. And for the first time, he realized— The MingYue he knew before was gone. This was someone else. Someone far more dangerous. And yet, He didn't feel afraid. He felt safe. Because this time… he wouldn't be left behind.