Chapter 2 — The Seven-Colored Blood of Sorrow

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out of the cave entrance, the small sea conch and her mother were immediately seized. Don Hien stood directly before them, his aura radiating a frigid, overwhelming martial intent. With a single wave of his hand, he forced the small conch and Bei Bei to their knees, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, rendered completely immobile. I stood beside them, a mere insubstantial phantom, screaming in a frenzy, "Don Hien! As the Crown Prince of the Northern Sea Dragon Palace, do you truly have the gall to bully a defenseless, minor creature? It is laughable! Do you still dare to call yourself a monarch who serves his people?" Alas, he could not hear my cries. A trace of despair slowly permeated the depths of my soul. I knew all too well how ruthless and cold-hearted Don Hien could be. I knew that if he struck, Bei Bei would never survive this calamity.

He looked down at them from his towering height, his eyes as icy as the frozen Northern Sea. "Are you... attempting to flee?" His voice was so cold it felt as though the very air had solidified. The small sea conch struggled to speak, her voice trembling, "N-no... we dare not... we dare not..." "Oh?" Don Hien’s lips curled into a smirk, half-mocking. "You dare not?" He surveyed the surroundings, his murderous intent slowly expanding. "You truly do not know when to accept kindness, preferring instead to taste the bitterness of punishment!"

Just as he raised his hand to further suppress them, Bei Bei suddenly broke free from the binding spell. The child lunged forward, opening her small mouth to bite down fiercely onto Don Hien’s leg. "You villain! You big, mean villain! You bully us! You are a terrible person!" My heart felt as if it were being crushed by an invisible hand, each sharp pang leaving me unable to breathe. "Bei Bei! No!" I shrieked, but my voice vanished into the wind. I knew Don Hien would kill her! Even though Bei Bei was his own flesh and blood, he would show no mercy, simply because she was born of me.

Don Hien had not anticipated such a sudden assault, and for a fleeting moment, he was caught off guard. His powerful leg was clamped firmly by those tiny teeth, leaving a mark where blood began to seep. His eyes suddenly grew cold to the point of absolute freezing. With a flick of his hand, he hoisted Bei Bei into mid-air. "You are just like your mother... courting death!" Bei Bei glared at him, her eyes red-rimmed yet fierce, grit-toothed as she spat out each word: "Do not... dare speak ill of my mother!"

The small sea conch was weeping uncontrollably, repeatedly slamming her head against the stone floor. The dull thuds echoed through the cave, her forehead bloodied and torn, flesh and gore mingling. Beside them, I drifted as a specter, burning with a frantic, agonizing helplessness. My chest was filled with an overwhelming, sky-high hatred: "Don Hien... you beast!" But I was powerless.

The small sea conch choked on her sobs, her voice trembling as she pleaded, "Your Highness... I beg you... spare Bei Bei..." Don Hien’s gaze darkened, and he tightened his grip, frigid mist swirling around his fingertips. "I have already said... that concubine... died three hundred years ago." He let out a cold laugh. "If she is dead, then so be it. I will simply use the child's pearl instead." His tone was casual, yet each word was as sharp and cold as a blade of ice piercing the soul. He watched Bei Bei struggling, his lips curling upward: "Even if the effect is slightly weaker, the sheer quantity will be enough to serve as a substitute."

Bei Bei was being strangled; her small face had turned a sickly purple, her breathing as faint as a fraying thread. In her panic, the small sea conch blurted out, her voice shattered by fear: "Crown Prince! Bei Bei... Bei Bei is your own daughter!" I turned my head in shock toward the sea conch. How did she know? I had never told her, nor had she ever asked about Bei Bei’s heritage. Could it be... had she guessed all along?

Don Hien furrowed his brow, offering a dry, icy laugh. "Hmph! To avoid saving Yu Shu, you invent all manner of lies!" He did not believe it. A current of pure, freezing yin energy erupted from his hand, instantly enveloping Bei Bei’s small arm. In a heartbeat, a thick layer of frost encased that soft, delicate wrist. Bei Bei shrieked in agony, the sound tearing through the space. Her fair, smooth skin began to bruise to a deep purple; blood flow was severed, and the injury grew increasingly dire.

Don Hien was a Water Dragon, whose inherent cultivation lay in the Laws of Ice and Snow. Once he struck, even a beast with high-level regenerative abilities would struggle to endure a single blow. Unless, of course, one carried the true bloodline of the Northern Sea Dragon race. But Bei Bei was a Seven-Colored Divine Clam! She had absolutely no means to resist such frigid force.

I recalled the events of three hundred years ago. Simply because Yu Shu had whispered, "I am jealous of the favor you receive," I was framed for poisoning her. For the sake of that woman’s smile, Don Hien had unhesitatingly utilized the Ice and Snow Divine Art to seal my entire body in ice. Afterward, he imprisoned me in the Divine Realm, forcing me to endure the punishment of "seclusion" for three hundred years. Now, the scene was repeating itself. He still did not believe me, he did not believe Bei Bei, and he was as cruel as he had been the day I was destroyed. It had taken me a hundred years just to melt the ice sealing my own body... but Bei Bei was just a child. Back then, she had not even been born when the cold energy in my womb froze her. Now, to endure such freezing force once more, how could she possibly survive?

Don Hien laughed coldly, the sound echoing through the Divine Realm like a crack of thunder in a winter night. "My own bloodline... cannot endure my own ice magic? How laughable!" His eyes then darkened, a razor-sharp coldness glinting in their depths: "Or perhaps... are you trying to force me to wear this cuckold’s hat?" A cuckold's hat? He thought Bei Bei was not his daughter... He suspected... he suspected I had been unfaithful... I was trembling with rage! Regardless of whether Don Hien admitted it or denied it, Bei Bei remained a Seven-Colored Divine Clam—that fact would never change! Don Hien, you are truly... pathetic in your stupidity!

He raised his head, his voice deep and cold, piercing the void as the frigid air spread throughout the Divine Realm: "Lu Sung Tran! I have changed my mind! I will give you one last chance! If you do not step out now... I will not only gouge out the child's pearl... I will keep her frozen in this Divine Realm for all eternity!"

The small sea conch scrambled forward, desperate to snatch Bei Bei from his grasp. But she was merely a minor sea spirit with meager strength; the moment she approached, she was struck by Don Hien’s freezing technique. In an instant, her entire body turned purple, trembling violently as she let out a piercing, agonizing scream: "Aah... aaaaa!" That sorrowful sound echoed throughout the Divine Realm, each note feeling like a sharp dagger stabbing into my heart.

Don Hien! I shuddered, my chest tightening as if sliced by a blade. I regretted it... I truly regretted it... I regretted believing your sweet lies back then... I regretted becoming your concubine... If I had not stepped into the Dragon Palace that day, Bei Bei would not have to suffer this torment now.

Don Hien finally withdrew his magic. But Bei Bei’s arm had been frozen until it was shattered and beyond repair. The child gritted her teeth in endurance, trying to crawl toward the small sea conch, using her own strength to tear at her wrist and let drops of seven-colored blood fall onto her mother’s wounded form. Only then did the pain subside. Bei Bei screamed in fury, her eyes brimming with tears yet filled with unyielding resolve: "You are a villain! Who are you anyway?! My mother is already dead, why can you not let her be?! My mother is dead! I am her daughter! If you have a grudge, come after me! Whatever resentment you hold against my mother, leave Aunt Conch out of it!"

Don Hien’s brows furrowed slightly; he moved his lips, but no words escaped. Perhaps... he did not want to admit that I, Lu Sung Tran, had once been the concubine of the Dragon Crown Prince. He had once told me, "You are the shame of my entire life."

The small sea conch lay on the ground, her face as pale as parchment. Though she no longer felt the pain that had knocked her unconscious, there was little life left in her. She struggled to push herself up, the fear in her eyes replaced by a cold, mocking emptiness. She raised her head, looking directly at Don Hien, and wore a calm, indifferent smile: "Crown Prince, were you not looking for the concubine? Then... please follow me."

Don Hien saw her final surrender and, assuming she had been terrified into submission, allowed his lips to curl into a mocking smirk: "If you had known it would come to this, why be so stubborn in the first place? To suffer so much... was it not all for naught?"