Under wind and snow sifted like ash, Xuanxiao watched blue light in the sky crash like waves, while her heart beat like trapped wings.

“Cough...” Linyue Yao dragged her frail frame from the ruins, a reed bent by storm.

“Huh? There’s actually someone here...” Her voice puffed white in the cold.

Xuanxiao spotted her and rushed to pull her free, swift as a swallow cutting snow.

“Auntie, are you alright? This place is a knife-edge. Please—”

“Xiaohan? Where... where did he—she—go?” Her words trembled like a lute-string in wind.

“Xiaohan? Uh... you mean the little girl in the sky? She’s safe for now, just stormy inside...” The answer flickered like a cautious lantern.

“What happened?” The question dropped like a stone into a frozen lake.

“Auntie, I think you shouldn’t wade into this river. You’re hurt too badly, you need treatment now.” Xuanxiao’s tone set like ice.

Linyue Yao met her eyes, calm as a deep well. “...I’m that child’s adoptive mother. I came to save her.”

“Ah? Auntie, you’re Tangxue’s former foster mother? My apologies—dust on a mirror.”

“Stop calling me Auntie. Keep that up and I really will get mad. Tell me what’s going on.” Her brows drew like a bow.

“Oh, okay.” Xuanxiao poured out all she knew, like uncorking starlight, even things Dreamsound hadn’t said.

“So Xiaohan really has countless threads tied to that Ice Deity? Seems my guess was right—an innate divine being...” Linyue Yao dipped her head, thoughts flowing like a quiet stream.

“Yeah. Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Xuanxiao of the Ice Dragon Clan, the envoy assigned to protect Tangxue.” Her words chimed like frost-bells.

“Tangxue... so that’s her name now?” The name tasted like snowmelt.

“Mm. Her full name is Qingsheng Tangxue—if you don’t fuss over the surname. Dreamsound’s family names are like maze-paths; saying them all is torture.” Xuanxiao’s laugh cracked like thin ice.

“Haha—cough, cough.” Linyue Yao’s chuckle broke to ash, like sparks spitting from embers.

“Are you alright, Auntie? I’ve got a few immortal herbs for healing. They’ll help like spring rain.” Xuanxiao lifted a glow like moonlight.

“I think if you said ‘Auntie’ a few fewer times, I’d feel better.” Linyue Yao shot her a pin-sharp look.

“Ah—haha...” Xuanxiao turned away, guilty as a fox in snow. Honestly, I’m older than you, she thought, a secret curling like smoke.

Linyue Yao stared at the herbs with hungry restraint, a starving traveler before a banquet. Instinct pulled like tide, but she held still.

She wiped the corner of her mouth and looked aside, as if turning from a bright fire.

“Hey? Linyue Yao—Auntie—you don’t need to be polite. To our clan, this kind of herb isn’t rare, like pebbles in a stream. You raised Tangxue for years in our stead and kept the waters calm. We owe you.” Xuanxiao’s smile warmed like winter sun.

“Don’t call me Auntie again!” Linyue Yao puffed her cheeks like a tiny bellows and carefully took the ice-blue sprig Xuanxiao offered—a stalk of Xuanjin Iceleaf.

This herb grows only atop far-northern peaks, a star clinging to a cold crown, often paired with another supreme spirit plant.

Its effect is single and pure: to knit wounds and mend flaws, like a weaver mending torn silk.

That was exactly what Linyue Yao needed, an arrow striking true.

She stowed most of the Xuanjin Iceleaf, kept a small sprig, and tasted it like sipping frost.

Its power showed at once, like dawn pushing back night. Xuanxiao had gathered these when the plane was whole, and for a human training long in a broken plane, the effect hit like thunder. One sprig restored most of Linyue Yao’s injuries.

Just then, two more figures stepped into the empty expanse, shadows crossing snow.

“You?!” The word snapped like ice.

“Why you?!” Another voice clashed like steel.

Three voices rang together, bells struck in unison.

“The former queen of the Duskmoon Empire and the current queen... why are you two in this city? Is your Blood Clan planning to seize it?” Xuanxiao’s gaze edged like a drawn blade.

Across from her, Yuqiu watched with equal chill, a crane and a cat circling.

“Forget why we’re here for a moment, Xuanxiao. You’re the clan leader’s daughter of the Ice Dragon Clan. You, in a human city—that’s the oddest snowflake in this storm.” Yuqiu’s voice slid like silk over ice.

“...Enough, you two. Let me talk.” Qianya lifted a hand like calming wind. “Xuanxiao, right? I patted your head once when you were small as a sapling. You probably don’t remember. I’m here because of a Vampire, but it fled like a bat into night, so I came out. And... I’m Tangxue’s friend. A close friend. She’s in trouble, and if I can help, I will.” Her words fell steady as rain on tiles.

“...” Xuanxiao studied Qianya, eyes like twin needles. If this was true, why was her memory blank as fresh snow?

“I don’t think we have time for tangles. If we don’t calm Tangxue soon, a real storm will break. Also—haven’t you noticed? Several powerful divine senses are racing here, spears through fog...” Qianya’s brow knotted like cord.

“...” Even the air held its breath, a lake before wind.

“But we can’t do much now. Dreamsound already went up. At most, we watch from the shore.” Xuanxiao’s helplessness sagged like wet cloth.

Suddenly, Qianya pressed her fingers to her temple, as if a bell rang in her skull. “Someone’s coming. Should I stop her? It’s the queen of the Radiant Empire...”

“The queen of the Radiant Empire? Bai Zhi?” Xuanxiao’s frown drew like twin wings. “She’s trouble. Don’t let her near Starfate City, or Tangxue’s mood will sink deeper.”

“Mm. If it’s that woman, it’s a thorny vine.” Yuqiu’s gaze went distant, like rain beyond the eaves.

“Why?” Only Linyue Yao, still outside the weave, spoke, her confusion like mist.

“Linyue Yao—Auntie—you don’t really know what kind of person Bai Zhi is, do you? She’s... ugh, forget it. Hard to sum up in one breath. Just know this—letting her near Tangxue won’t end well.” Xuanxiao waved it off, swatting gnats.

“I’ll stop her.” Qianya replied, then vanished like a snuffed candle.

“Hey! Why do all of you run so fast...” Xuanxiao’s complaint thinned like smoke.

“Former queen of the Duskmoon Empire, Your Majesty, you still haven’t said why you’re here.” Xuanxiao turned to Yuqiu, eyes narrowed like crescents.

“Me?” Yuqiu pointed at herself with a laugh, light as drifting petals. “I’m the principal of Heavenly Melody Academy. Isn’t it normal for a principal to be here?”

“I can vouch for that. I was the one who invited her to serve as principal of Heavenly Melody Academy...” A stranger’s voice bloomed beside them, a flower opening.

...

Didn’t expect this. Little Shengsheng’s strength grew like bamboo after rain. Before, she couldn’t even force me to use a hand. Dreamsound smiled bitterly inside, the taste like cold tea.

Right now, if I don’t get serious, I can’t rein in Qingsheng Tangxue at all. The truth pricked like sleet.

“...Old woman, I’ll settle accounts with you later! Don’t bother me now!” Tangxue shot Dreamsound a vicious glare, knife-bright, then vanished like blown snow.

Qing Feng Yuelian’s face was puzzled, a crane gazing at clouds. “Dreamsound, why did you come up? We agreed I’d be the one to make her stop...”

“Aunt,” Dreamsound said, holding urgency like a palm on a drum, “Xuanxiao just told me. Shengsheng’s situation is complicated. We absolutely can’t provoke her again. If this keeps up... she might be in danger.” Her warning fell like a bell in fog.

“...?” The question hung between them like a dangling moon.