The fire raged hard, a red tide licking up the entire tree tower.
Flames speared into the sky; smoke rolled like black waves; the blaze kept crawling outward.
The little red dragon huddled with four tiny monkeys, shivering like leaves in a winter gale. They’d scrambled to the east tree tower to welcome the “Dragon Knight” back. The monkeys were quick on bark and branch. No one expected the dragon’s fire trail to run so long and set the entire magic tree ablaze.
“Eek, eek, eek!”
The monkeys cried in despair. Fire had sealed every escape. The little red dragon could carry one. The other three would be roasted alive.
Just then, an orange-yellow figure cut through the flames like dawn through mist.
She was… the war-maid of flame, the maid of fire!
Kidding. Ji Wan’s presidential suite sat close to the blaze, so she reached it fast.
As a dragon of the East, Ji Wan’s body shrugged off heat like rain on lacquer. Her clothes weren’t so lucky. Fire nibbled and snapped, burning holes through ribbons and hem like moths through silk.
The mess didn’t look lewd; it looked like grit born in a storm.
“Everyone okay?”
Ji Wan stood tall inside the blaze. Through the smoke, her dragon eyes caught tremors like ripples on a pond—motion-sight sharp as a hawk’s.
“Eek, eek, eek!”
The little red dragon didn’t abandon the monkeys. She spread her body, trying to block the fire like a shield.
“Huh…? A little dragon…? And… four… huh!? What are these!”
Ji Wan froze at the sight of a shaking dragon and shivering monkeys.
“S-so cute!”
She sprinted, heart first, fear second. The fire roared, but the moment mattered. The dragon-blooded girl charged anyway.
“Waterflow! Waterflow!”
Unlike Western dragons bound to one school, Eastern dragons are kin to all elements. A firetruck-thick column of water roared forth, drenching the blaze with a silver river.
“Eek, eek, eek!”
“Woof, woof, woof!”
The little red dragon and the monkeys chirped and barked with glee, scampering toward Ji Wan through steam and ash.
“Hey! You’re dragonfolk. Don’t ‘woof’!”
Ji Wan swept her hand. A wide veil of mist rolled out, carving a clear path for monkeys and dragon.
“Meow, meow, meow!”
The little red dragon tilted her head and meowed in delight.
“…”
“Is anyone trapped inside?”
Yue Liuyi and Dixue arrived on the run, rain-slick hair and sharp eyes.
The blaze towered, so Yue Liuyi didn’t hesitate. Her magic flared like a moonline across water.
“Stellar… Moon Compass!”
At night, her Stellar Moon Compass shines like stars. By day, it shifts—like Dongfang Chen’s skyfire feathers—mirroring the element she calls.
In her girl-shape, Yue Liuyi’s resonance rises. The Rainbow Sanctuary hums rich with mana. LittleSnow stood beside her, a quiet blessing. With all that, the blue-haired girl’s Water Compass surged out with a stunning array.
“D-did it just start raining!”
Whoosh, whoosh—sheets of rain fell from the sky like a curtain pulled down. Heavy drops drummed leaf and timber, hissed on burning branches, and sizzled into smoke.
In moments, the raging fire guttered out, swallowed by rain.
“A-amazing!”
Ji Wan stared, awe bright as a lantern, eyes on Yue Liuyi.
“Ji Wan…? Your… clothes?”
“Huh…?”
Only then did the orange-haired girl truly see herself. The maid dress, charred by flame, now soaked, clung like wet silk on jade. It traced every curve like ink on rice paper.
Worse—each burned hole showed underwear and skin like snow glimpsed between bamboo.
“A-as a dragon maiden, I—I…”
Shock first. Disbelief next. Her face paled. Yue Liuyi’s smile slipped.
“I… I’ve shamed the dragon clan. I must die…”
Ji Wan turned and ran.
“Huh!?”
“Eek, eek, eek!”
She moved like wind off a cliff. No one reacted in time. She leapt, straight off the tree tower—hundreds of meters down.
In a blink, the orange-haired silhouette vanished into the green abyss.
The blue-haired girl rushed to the edge, heart spiking. She saw only scorched bark and broken branches. Nothing else.
“Ji Wan!”
Yue Liuyi never imagined Ji Wan would do that. Cold raced up her spine, then flooded her whole body.
“D-does this mean… Ji Wan is—”
“Little Moon, don’t panic!”
Dixue ran in and hugged the rain-soaked girl, warmth against chill. “Don’t forget. The Forest Fortress has a safety lattice. Any falling girl gets caught.”
“Huh…?”
“Good thing we grabbed the Sixth Princess’s sword earlier… Let’s head down a layer. We should find Ji Wan there.”
“Whew… thank goodness…”
…
…
Crisis passed. On a lower canopy of the magic tree, Yue Liuyi and Yue Dier found Ji Wan tangled in vines, safe and scowling.
“What are you doing—let me go! Let me jump! I’ve disgraced the royals. I’m not fit to live.”
Even bound by vines, Ji Wan still strained toward the edge, a storm trapped in green cords.
The magic tree’s vines held like iron woven with life. She couldn’t break free.
“Stop struggling. I asked Pinkie to reinforce them. Even a princess won’t snap these.”
“W-white Devil…? You won’t let me die? Let me go!”
At the sight of Dixue, the orange-haired girl shook harder, anger bright as embers.
“That’s a bit rude! But for Ji Wan’s good work today, I’ll let it slide.”
As if she’d planned for this, Dixue walked up cradling the little red dragon.
“Hrr!”
“That’s the—”
“Yep. She’s a newborn little dragon! If Ji Wan jumps, she’ll scar the red dragon’s memory with terror.”
“Huh…?”
“Her whole life might bend from that. Self-blame could twist her into a great evil dragon. If it ends like that… will Ji Wan still jump?”
“B-but… I look like… like a… a pr-prostitute! If word gets out, the royal family will…”
Her words tangled like threads in rain—sensitive, spiraling, lost.
“Then let it be a secret!”
Dixue pulled a fresh maid outfit from her pack and set it in front of Ji Wan, neat as new snow.
“Only Little Moon and I saw. If Ji Wan works enough shifts for us, we’ll keep our lips sealed.”
“Huh? LittleSnow, you’re tying it to work?”
“Mm! Her Highness surely wouldn’t accept charity for free. So… how about this deal?”
“Mm…”
Dixue’s offer sank in. Pride weighed one side. Something else weighed more.
Ji Wan looked at the little red dragon. Resolve lit like a lantern inside her chest.
“I—I understand… I won’t jump again. Please… keep this secret for me…?”
“Of course. No problem at all.”
