"Little Tangxue, doesn’t this sword bite cold in your hand, like winter breath wrapped in steel?"

Tangxue shook her head, calm as a snowflake on still water. "No, Mom. Frostwhisper doesn’t affect me. It’s light, like a feather of ice. It feels easy."

Most other weapons were forged from rare metal, heavy as anchors sunk in a midnight sea.

"Right, Mom! Frostwhisper can turn into a person!" Tangxue burst out, eyes bright like stars scattered on tide.

"Show Mom again, Frostwhisper. Do it like you did for me."

Frostwhisper trembled, a thin shiver like reeds in frost, then obeyed and turned human before the others.

A white‑haired girl with a side ponytail stood there in a tailored dress, precise as moonlit lace. She appeared before Yaya.

Yaya flinched, a ripple through calm water. She had braced herself, yet it was her first time seeing a weapon bloom into human form. Suspicion about Tangxue’s origins deepened like a shadow under ice.

Frostwhisper dipped her head to Yaya, then flowed back into an ice sword, falling into Tangxue’s hand like a strip of cold moon.

"Eh!? Frostwhisper, why change back so fast, like a snowflake melting?"

"Tired." The voice was cold and flat, like wind on bare ice, brushing Tangxue’s ear.

Guilt pricked first, sharp as a thorn under the skin. She remembered that strained look and realized she’d pushed too hard.

"Sorry, Frostwhisper… I didn’t mean it."

Yaya studied Tangxue’s face, her gaze steady as a lighthouse in rain. Then she touched her right cheek, thinking.

"Tangxue, try another test with Frostwhisper. I want to see how much your combat has risen."

Tangxue froze for a beat, reluctance like a small cloud across her eyes, then she nodded.

Yaya recalled the last test and let out a breath, a sigh like foam fading on shore. Tangxue’s talent was fierce; give her a fitting weapon, and in seconds she became a storm. But endurance lagged. That storm lasted barely over ten seconds.

Frostwhisper stayed weak for reasons like currents you couldn’t read. Yaya tried to feed her energy, yet each attempt fell flat, like water poured into sand. Thankfully, Tangxue could still wield her, so they left it be.

Outside battle, Tangxue often called Frostwhisper out to show a face, like opening a window for light. Sometimes she made her play with Dreamsound. Sometimes she asked her to taste a dish like a snow‑tongue testing spice.

In short, for everything but fighting, Tangxue loved to have Frostwhisper help.

After lunch, Yaya called Tangxue into her room, the air quiet like a sea cave at dusk.

"Tangxue, do you want to go somewhere with Mom tomorrow?"

Tangxue saw that smiling look and felt a bad hunch rise, like a chill current under warm water.

"It’s not a weird place. I just want a checkup. Your power… I saw it in a book, like a sketch of winter. If true, it may tie you to the Ice Deity."

Frostwhisper’s name belonged to the Ice Deity’s blade, sister to the Sea God, like twin stars over one ocean. In Tangxue’s grip it felt like a toy, but no one could swear she wouldn’t grow and become the Ice Deity’s heir.

"Okay, if you really want to take me. But can we buy ice cream on the way back? I want some."

"Alright, alright." Yaya’s voice turned wry, like a smile under rain. "I’ll tell the maids to buy it for you."

Under the sea, ice cream was hard to buy. You had to swim up nearly a kilometer to an island, then pack it in special containers, or it melted like snow in salt wind. Ordinary folks couldn’t afford it.

"Mm!"

"Mom, can I come watch too?" Dreamsound peeked from behind the door, eyes like bells.

"Dreamsound, you should—forget it. If you want to come, come. But hear me first. No running, no grabbing anything, don’t stray ten meters from us. Or no snacks next time."

"Eh!?"

Weighing sweet against storm, Dreamsound held her curiosity and didn’t go. Led by Yaya, Tangxue headed to a hidden place in the palace, a path familiar as their own backyard.

Yaya had told only her parents. The test was her mother’s idea, a seed planted last night. Yaya took out the Nine‑Flower Crystal token her mother gave her, and set it into a stone pillar, careful as placing a pearl.

Light flashed like a fish’s scale, and they vanished from the spot.

"Ugh… so dizzy."

"First time with spatial jump feels like that." Yaya patted Tangxue’s shoulder, a steady hand like warm tide, then stepped first beneath a statue.

The silent hall was built of water‑blue nightglow stone, cool as moonlit depths. You couldn’t reach it except by teleport.

Here lay the Merfolk’s ancestral Divine Artifact, the Sea God Trident. The true name was lost in the tide of years, and the royal line had never truly used it.

Its real duty was to keep the ocean steady, like a great hand calming waves, so the sea wouldn’t suffer the apocalypse’s mana drought.

"Go touch that weapon. Let’s see if it reacts."

"Mm." Tangxue walked up obediently, quiet as snowfall, and gripped the weapon.

Yaya held her breath, the moment taut as a drawn bow. If the Trident responded, it meant royal blood or a bond with the Sea God. Either way, Yaya had reason to keep Tangxue close, like shelter over a flame.

The weapon only flashed once, a blink of light, then fell quiet.

Loss pricked Yaya’s eyes, faint as mist. It matched ordinary Merfolk heirs and only proved Tangxue was Merfolk, not royal.

"Are we done, Mom?"

"Mm. Let go."

Tangxue released her right hand. Nothing happened; silence pooled like still water.

Yaya watched her walking over and stilled, eyes narrowing like a hunter’s focus. She reached out and caught Tangxue’s right hand.

"Ow… that hurts!"

"Ah, sorry, Tangxue. I didn’t mean it." Her words were soft, but her attention fixed on the back of Tangxue’s hand, sharp as a blade.

Where Frostwhisper’s mark should have rested, a trident sigil pulsed, bright as a star. The aura screamed of the Sea God Trident’s power. Yaya drew in a cold breath.

A Divine Artifact… changing shape for Tangxue?

"Tangxue, try to activate the mark on your hand. Yes, that trident sigil."

Tangxue raised her right hand and followed Yaya’s words, intent like a flame under glass. The Trident on its stand blazed gold, then burst into motes of light gathering at her palm, like sunrise poured into snow.

"So heavy!"