Elsewhere, Moonlit Sect disciples were bustling about, preparing for the wedding banquet scheduled for the next day.

  In a quiet courtyard, Herbert stood alone, holding Drake’s letter.

  To be honest, he and Drake were hardly friends. In their youth, they’d been rivals—nearly enemies. The st time Drake had visited Moonlit Sect, he’d left Herbert both humiliated and unsettled.

  So why send a letter now, after all these years? What was he up to?

  Herbert frowned, his expression complicated, and carefully broke the thunder seal.

  The next instant—

  BOOM!

  A deafening crack of thunder shook the courtyard, followed by Herbert’s startled scream. Disciples working nearby froze in arm.

  “Master!”

  “Master, are you alright?”

  Herbert scrambled to his feet, his hair standing on end, the faint scent of burnt fabric in the air. He smoothed his robes with trembling hands and gred at the gawking disciples.

  “What are you looking at? Get lost! Back to work!”

  They scattered instantly, though a few couldn’t suppress their smile.

  Timothy, however, didn’t ugh. He caught sight of the letter still in his master’s hand and immediately understood.

  Hmph. That woman again. Who would’ve thought she was Drake’s disciple?

  Herbert ignored him, staring down at the letter with a twitching face.

  The first line read: “I’m just trying to cheer you up. Don’t overthink it.”

  Herbert’s hand trembled. “Cheer me up? You old bastard!”

  But the next line froze him in pce.

  “I calcuted that your lifespan’s almost up. I’ve entered a Blood Qi Pill into the Sunspire auction. You’re welcome.”

  Herbert blinked. “…”

  A Blood Qi Pill?

  He hadn’t seen one of those in decades. Just a single pill could extend a cultivator’s life by a full century. For someone on the edge of death, it was worth more than spirit stones, worth more than pride.

  Drake’s timing was… suspiciously perfect.

  He clenched the letter, torn between gratitude and irritation.

  So the old bastard still has a few treasures tucked away, huh?

  If it was really going up for auction, the price would skyrocket instantly. Was Drake trying to help him—or fleece him?

  And it wasn’t like Drake needed the money. What was he pying at?

  Herbert sighed. The man had always been impossible to read.

  He gnced again at the end of the letter and frowned.

  The handwriting below had blurred, scorched by the lightning discharge from earlier.

  He groaned. “Damn it, that strike must’ve fried the rest of it…”

  A faint rustle came from outside the window.

  Inside, Lauren paused mid-stroke, setting her talisman brush aside. The room still smelled faintly of cinnabar and spirit ink.

  A soft knock followed.

  “Come in,” she said.

  The door opened—and just as she’d expected, Indiana stepped in.

  Lauren turned slightly, her tone calm but sharp. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Indiana said.

  Lauren smiled. “I’m here representing the Thunder Sect.”

  “Hey…” Indiana hesitated, her expression flickering with confusion. “Do you… really hate me?”

  “Yes,” Lauren said ftly. “I do.”

  “Why?” Indiana’s brows furrowed. “Even if I’m my father’s daughter from another woman, I can’t threaten your position. Even your mother doesn't hate me. Why do you have to hate me?”

  Lauren’s smile didn’t falter. “…” She said nothing.

  Indiana bit her lip. “You killed me once when we were little. And in the secret realm, you stole from me again. Don’t you think that’s going too far?”

  “Oh?” Lauren’s eyes glimmered with amusement, a faint curve tugging at her lips—cold, mocking.

  The casualness of it made Indiana’s chest tighten.

  “What does my parents’ mess have to do with me?” Indiana said, her voice trembling but stubborn. “I didn’t choose to be born. I didn’t ask for this. It’s not my fault.”

  Lauren tilted her head slightly. “Yeah,” she said softly. “You’re right.”

  Indiana froze. That wasn’t the answer she’d expected. The calm response, paired with that faintly mocking smile, felt like a sp.

  Her fists clenched, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. “I don’t want to be your enemy. Just… don’t interfere with my life anymore.”

  Lauren’s smile deepened. Slowly, she rose from her seat and walked toward her.

  They were roughly the same height, but Lauren’s presence filled the room, heavy and suffocating.

  When she stopped in front of Indiana, her gaze was cold as ice. “And what,” she asked softly, “if I insist?”

  “You…” Indiana stumbled a step backward. “Why are you like this?”

  Lauren’s smile vanished. Her voice dropped, low and sharp. “Get. Out.”

  That one look—dark with hatred, full of something ancient and venomous—made Indiana’s blood run cold.

  She didn’t understand it. She couldn’t.

  Why did Lauren hate her so much?

  She’d grown up despised—her mother a prostitute, her blood considered filthy by the Evercrest family. Her father had never accepted her, merely offered her scraps of pity.

  But what could she have done about it? She hadn’t chosen any of it.

  She’d also wanted to be born from Odessa’s womb.

  Indiana turned and fled, humiliation and anger burning in her chest.

  Lauren closed the door with a quiet click, her hand lingering against the wood. She stayed like that for several minutes, forcing her breathing to steady until her heart finally slowed.

  From her sleeve, Edmund slithered out, his tiny, dragon-shaped spirit body coiling around her fingers.

  “Want to kill her?” he asked casually, his tone far too light for the question.

  Lauren’s voice was calm, even. “Master told me not to cause trouble. Don’t talk nonsense.”

  “But you’re already thinking about it.”

  “I can control myself. I’m not stupid enough to make a move inside Moonlit Sect.”

  Without another word, she plucked him off the door, and he yelped.

  “Hey, easy! I’m just a wisp of spirit, remember? Not indestructible. Why are you squeezing me like that—are you angry?”

  Lauren set him down on the table and lit a Bright Light stone, its gentle glow filling the room.

  “Do you know about Memory Beads?” she asked suddenly.

  Edmund blinked. “Memory Beads? What do you want with those?”

  “They’re needed for the Substitute Talisman.”

  “You’re pnning to make a Substitute Talisman?”

  Lauren nodded. “I think it could come in handy.”

  Edmund tilted his head. “You know what those are used for, right? Usually by cultivators from the Upper Realm who sneak down here and don’t want Heaven’s Will to notice. They use them to trick it.”

  “Then they have plenty of uses,” Lauren said.

  Edmund stared at her for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. “You’re not wrong. But there aren’t any Memory Beads in this realm.”

  Lauren frowned. “What exactly are Memory Beads, then?”

  “Tears. Kraken tears,” Edmund said. “They can hold memories. That’s why they’re called Memory Beads.”

  Kraken?

  Lauren thought for a moment. “You mean Mermaids?”

  “Yes and no,” he replied. “Mermaids who ascend to the Upper Realm lose their tails and grow legs. That’s when they’re called Krakens.”