Chapter 1 — The Seven-Colored Blood of Sorrow

I am the Ancient Seven-Colored Divine Blood, the concubine of the Dragon Palace Crown Prince. Three hundred years after my death, he finally remembered me. He descended upon the Divine Realm, intent on taking one of my pearls to save his primary wife. The little sea snail who guards my resting place is now aged and gray-haired. It said to the Crown Prince, "The one you wait for has been dead for three hundred years."

He let out a cold, sharp huff. "Just to avoid handing over the pearl, you dare to concoct such ridiculous excuses!" He commanded, "Tell her, once I have saved Yushu, I will take her back to the Dragon Palace." But as his gaze fell upon my eroded, skeletal remains, his expression turned cold and cruel. "Fine, it has only been three hundred years—have you really lost your nerve? You even gave birth to a child; if you refuse to show yourself, do not blame me for taking the pearl from this child instead."

The Divine Realm was shrouded in mist, with white snow falling incessantly. It was a punishment set by Don Hien; the snow had fallen for three hundred years without a moment’s respite. Where he stood, not a single snowflake touched his robes, a stark contrast to the frozen world around him. He stepped forward, blocking the path of the little sea snail and catching sight of the young girl trembling behind it. His lips curled into a faint, chilling smile. "Ah, she looks exactly like you... Luc Sung Tran is truly formidable. Even in a place as frigid as the Divine Realm, she managed to bear a child."

He lowered his voice, every word dripping with suppressed fury. "If I find out who dared to collude with her, I will make sure his soul is scattered into nothingness!" With that, a blade of condensed frost manifested in his hand, striking down toward the girl’s small hand. In an instant, a brilliant streak of seven-colored divine blood erupted from her tender palm, as vibrant as a lotus of blood. The child, Beibei, burst into sobs, her piercing cries echoing throughout the Divine Realm. Amidst the wailing, the seven-colored blood on her hand emitted a scent so sweet and intoxicating it was bone-chilling. He stared at the flowing blood, a madness flickering in his eyes. "Indeed... she is Luc Sung Tran’s daughter. If she will not meet me, then I have no choice but to take the pearl from her daughter!"

The little sea snail rushed toward Don Hien, its face stained with tears, its tiny frame shivering in the gale. "Crown Prince... the concubine... the concubine died three hundred years ago..." It stammered, but Don Hien knit his brows, his expression full of impatience. He spoke in a voice as cold as ice, "She possesses the Ancient Seven-Colored Divine Blood; to consume her blood is to achieve eternal life, and to consume her pearls is to cure all ailments. She has existed since the dawn of the heavens—how could she be dead? It is impossible!" His voice sharpened, part mockery and part rage. "You lie only because you heard Yushu is injured and you do not want her to save her, is that it?" He laughed thinly, his words cruel. "It is merely a pearl, not her life; does she not still have many left in her body?"

I drifted in the void, watching the scene unfold, my chest aching as if it were being torn apart. It was strange; I had been dead for over three hundred years, yet why could I still feel this agony? I felt such sorrow for the little sea snail, and for Beibei. The little sea snail crawled forward, spreading its arms to shield Beibei, its eyes rimmed with red. "Crown Prince... I do not lie to you... the concubine... she truly died three hundred years ago."

Don Hien let out a cold, indifferent laugh. "If what you say is true... then it is even more unforgivable." His eyes were masked by a layer of icy frost, filled with murderous intent as he lifted Beibei into the air. He looked up, his voice booming through the cavernous realm. "Luc Sung Tran! You have only one chance!"

"Luc Sung Tran, you have only one chance!" Don Hien’s voice, cold as ice, echoed through the Divine Realm. "If you still refuse to step out, I will take the pearl from your daughter!" He chuckled, his tone malicious. "After all, it is Seven-Colored Divine Blood—whose pearl I take makes no difference!"

Beibei hovered in mid-air, her small face flushed from suffocation, her throat emitting weak, sobbing sounds as she flailed her tiny hands in desperation. "You bad man! You big bad man!" Beibei tried to scream, her voice cracking, every word tearing through the silence. The little sea snail fell to its knees, trembling, its forehead striking the frozen ground with heavy thuds. "Crown Prince, I beg you... Beibei is just a child... please, spare her!" It wept, its pleas trembling like dead leaves in a storm.

Don Hien grunted, then loosened his grip. Beibei fell to the ground, her small body hitting the snow with a thud, gasping for air. He glanced at the little sea snail, his voice heavy with immense pressure. "Tell her... if she still refuses to appear, do not blame me for being heartless." His eyes flashed with a malice as deep as an abyss. "This child... she is my bloodline after all, naturally... she belongs to me." With those words, he swung his sleeves and turned to leave, his silhouette vanishing into the endless blizzard.

The little sea snail clutched Beibei to its chest, its small shoulders shaking, tears mingling with the snow until it could no longer speak. Beibei sobbed, her tear-filled eyes blinking. "Aunt Snail... he... who is he?" The little sea snail looked at the child, a flash of heartbreak in its eyes, and finally offered a bitter smile. "That person... is already in the past."

Watching them, my heart felt a piercing, suffocating pain. Don Hien, you... do you not even recognize your own flesh and blood? If he knew, if he understood who the "adulterer" he spoke of really was, I wondered what his face would look like. But then again—he never loved me. He never looked at me with true affection, so how could he ever fathom that Beibei was his daughter? Even if he knew... he would never admit that Beibei was his own child.

The little sea snail huddled with Beibei, scrambling to collect the scattered belongings in a panicked, hurried fashion. Seeing this, I breathed a long sigh. It still remembered my instructions. Before I died, I told it: No matter how difficult things become... you must run away. I looked at the little sea snail and bowed my head, an indescribable sadness rising within me. "Little sea snail... I am sorry... I have implicated you."

It reached out to touch the jade hairpin I had given it, a profound sense of longing crossing its eyes. "Concubine, this life of mine was given by you. Do not worry; no matter what happens, I will protect Beibei." Watching it scurry about, my heart sank, a wave of melancholy washing over me. It felt as if I were back in the time a century ago. Back then, the little sea snail’s lifespan was only two hundred years. When I met it, it was a lowly creature forced to do the most menial tasks at the bottom of the sea, ostracized and beaten until its body was covered in scars. That day, I slit my palm and fed it a few drops of my seven-colored blood. Its wounds healed, and its lifespan was extended. I kept it by my side, and from that moment, it held onto that kindness forever. A small act, yet it carved a place in its heart that lasted a lifetime. It often said, "The kindness of the concubine is something I, the little sea snail, could never repay, even if my bones were ground to dust."

Three hundred years ago, Don Hien imprisoned me in the Divine Realm to endure a penance of seclusion. It was the little sea snail that volunteered to come and watch over me. A single glance... stretching across three hundred years. Back then, I was still naive enough to think that Don Hien had long forgotten me. I thought that in death, I would find peace, and the ties would be severed. But I was wrong. Even after death, I could not find rest.

The little sea snail finished packing, quietly pulled Beibei into its arms, and slipped away. Before leaving, it glanced back in my direction, a sigh echoing in the cold wind, heavy with sorrow. Then, it gripped Beibei tightly and hurried off, each step weighed down by the storm. The jade hairpin I gave it... would protect the two of them for a short time. Hidden within that hairpin was the last fragment of my consciousness. It could shield them from pursuit, but only for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. As long as they crossed the boundaries of the North Sea, they would be safe. I had thought... that would be enough.