The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

As soon as he finished speaking, the morning bell rang again.

Chu Qingyue glanced at the Star-Picking Tower one last time, then turned and walked down the eaves step by step. Her red dress trailed over the green tiles, leaving faint watermarks that were quickly evaporated by the morning light.

In this life, you either gain something or you gain something after destruction.

There is no third option.

She is like a sword drawn from its sheath, beautiful and sharp, passionate in love and resolute in hate.

The sword's edge was aimed at that person, and also at herself.

This entanglement will not end until death, and perhaps even death cannot end it.

After all, she had already planned for the next life, and the life after that, and for all eternity.

————Inside a rustic bamboo house by the sea————

Si Chen sat up abruptly and looked around—bamboo walls, salty sea breeze, and the sound of waves crashing outside the window.

This is Zesheng's place.

That guy saved me again.

He immediately reached into his clothes.

The wedding dress was still there, neatly folded, close to her body, still warm and carrying a faint smell of blood—his blood, and perhaps… mixed with hers as well.

"Oh, so our ethereal and otherworldly Dao Lord Si Chen has finally awakened?"

A mocking voice came from behind.

A figure with deep blue hair and wearing a blue silk gauze dress swayed in.

The newcomer had exquisitely beautiful features, with eyebrows and eyes like a painting, and eyes that were naturally three parts water and seven parts liveliness. He was none other than the mermaid Ze Sheng—Si Chen's friend for more than three hundred years, and also the most gossipy and fearless person.

Merfolk have a unique characteristic: they only differentiate into different genders when they meet someone they truly love.

The bright red cinnabar dot between Ze Sheng's eyebrows is proof that it has not yet differentiated.

So Si Chen had long been used to seeing it sometimes dressed as a man, exuding heroic spirit, and sometimes dressed as a woman, naturally charming.

Zesheng leaned closer to the couch, his eyes shining like two pools of stars, his face clearly saying, "I want to hear the gossip."

"Si Chen, Si Chen, we've known each other for over three hundred years. Every year you come here to 'seclude' yourself for a few days, chat, and play chess, as regularly as the tides."

"I've already calculated the date of your next visit so I can prepare new tea."

"This is even better," it sighed dramatically, toying with a shimmering, luminous pearl between its fingertips.

"He disappeared for a full seven years!"

"Seven years! We merfolk may have long lifespans, but we can't wait that long."

Zesheng paced around him, the silk gauze swaying in a soft, graceful arc.

"Seven years have passed, and when we met again—tsk tsk, it almost turned my humble abode into charcoal."

"Those who know, they're just dodging a lightning tribulation; those who don't, they'd think some ancient ferocious beast had manifested here!"

Si Chen glanced at it indifferently.

That look was so cold it could freeze a sea fish to death.

He tried to circulate his spiritual energy and found that although his internal energy was still somewhat sluggish, it was basically smooth now, and although his foundation was damaged, it had been repaired.

Without a doubt, Zesheng must have used his natal mermaid pearl—each time that thing is used, it shortens one's lifespan by ten years.

"Thank you," he said in a hoarse voice. "I've just run into some trouble."

"A little trouble?" Ze Sheng sat cross-legged on the edge of the bamboo couch, propping his chin up with his hand, his face saying, "Keep making this up, I'm listening."

"Seventeen bolts of heavenly lightning, each one a purple bolt... Even a thousand-year-old demon in human form couldn't match the ferocity of your heavenly lightning. Daoist Sichen, what earth-shattering sins have you committed?"

"That Heaven wants to kill you so badly? Hmm?"

The merman looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes.

"I've known you for over three hundred years, and this is the first time I've seen you in such a sorry state. Your clothes are torn, you're covered in blood, and even in your unconscious state, you're still clutching a garment tightly..."

Its eyes lit up, as if it had discovered a new continent: "A wedding dress! A bright red wedding dress! The embroidery is exquisite, and the pattern is exactly the same as the nebula pattern on your purple robe!"

Ze Sheng leaned even closer, almost touching his face: "Daoist Si Chen, confess honestly—you've cultivated for four hundred years, it couldn't be the 'Secret Marriage Dao,' could it?"

Si Chen ignored it, got up, and cast a cleansing spell, removing all the filth from his body and restoring his aloof, otherworldly, and untainted appearance.

His face was still pale, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, revealing his current weakness.

"It's all in the past." He avoided the topic, changing the subject. "Thank you."

"Thank you too lightly." Ze Sheng raised an eyebrow, his long blue hair swaying slightly with the movement.

"Every time you use your natal pearl, it will shorten your lifespan by ten years. I had to go through a lot of trouble to repair your crumbling foundation. Otherwise, your four hundred years of foundation would have been destroyed, and you would have become an old mortal."

It blinked, looking completely innocent: "This godforsaken place hasn't seen a single living person in hundreds of years. It's so boring."

"So you should thank me for risking my life to save you, so you should tell me about your troubles and cheer me up."

Si Chen ignored it and instead lowered his head to touch the wedding dress in his arms. It was slightly damp, but still soft.

He avoided the topic, saying, "Clothes."

Zesheng magically produced a brand-new set of silk gauze from behind him—this time it was a men's style, a long robe with wide sleeves, embroidered with silver wave patterns that shimmered like real water ripples in the light, so beautiful as to be otherworldly.

Si Chen took it, channeled his spiritual energy into his fingers, and the clothes were put on automatically.

Dressed in blue with silver hair, standing by the bamboo window, the sea breeze blowing her clothes, she was like an immortal descending to earth, yet she possessed a more fragile quality than an immortal—like a god fallen to earth, like snow stained with blood, breathtakingly beautiful, yet heartbreakingly lonely.

Ze Sheng circled around her, clicking his tongue in admiration: "Blue clothes and silver hair, she's even more beautiful than us mermaids. If she went to the East Sea beauty pageant, she'd definitely win first place."

It suddenly became serious and lowered its voice: "I won't ask about anything else, but..."

His eyes blazed with gossip: "Who is 'Qingyue' that you called out in your sleep?"

"I counted, exactly thirty-seven times, not a single time more or less."

"I was idly counting the waves, and I just happened to write it down."

Si Chen paused slightly as he adjusted his sleeves, but did not speak.

"I've read your human storybooks," Ze Sheng said, becoming more and more excited.

"The names called out while unconscious are either enemies or lovers."

"Tell me about it, Si Chen?"

"For the sake of saving my life, tell me 'Qingyue' is your enemy, or...?"

It blinked, its eyes cunning as a fox: "Lover? Oh no, according to your mortal rules, after the wedding ceremony, you should call me... Madam?"

Si Chen's ears turned a barely perceptible red for a moment, but his tone remained as calm as a frozen lake: "Be careful what you say."

"Qingyue is a child I raised..."

"A child?!" Ze Sheng's voice suddenly rose, then quickly fell back down amidst the sound of the waves, turning into a murmur mixed with surprise and amusement.

"I measured the size of the wedding dress while you were unconscious—it fits perfectly, clearly made to your figure."

"And the pattern, the nebula, the sun and the moon, is exactly the same as the one on your purple robe."

It rested its chin on its hand, its smile carrying a profound meaning:

"Si Chen, you're raising a child... to the point where you have to go through a wedding ceremony with her and wear wedding clothes?"

Si Chen remained silent.

His gaze fell on the surging waves outside the window, the waves coming and going without end, just like the silent storm in his heart—the storm named "Chu Qingyue" that had turned his four hundred years of peace upside down.