Star Dou Forest
Even at the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, daylight meant little.With trees so dense, their branches woven so tightly that the sun's rays barely touched the earth. The forest floor was a dim twilight even at noon, thick with mist and shadows.
Suddenly—
Whoosh—
A slender figure darted between two massive trees, moving with desperate speed.
The girl's long black hair streamed behind her like a dark ribbon, catching on brambles and low branches as she ran. Her expression remained icy, yet the tension in her shoulders betrayed the strain she was under. At the moment, a pair of feline ears twitched atop her head, while sharp claws extended from delicate fingers.
She was Zhu Zhuqing, the third daughter of the Zhu family.She was the fiancée of Dai Mubai, Second Prince of the Star Luo Empire.At the moment her Martial Soul—Hell Civet—was fully possessed, enhancing every movement. Despite being only twelve, her physique was already astonishing: lean, lithe, powerful, and dangerously beautiful.
But none of that mattered right now, because she was running for her life.
Swish!
A sharp arrow sliced through the air, brushing so close to Zhu Zhuqing's cheek that she felt its wind.
Her pupils contracted sharply.She made a split-second decision and veered right, her claws digging into the bark of a tree to pivot at a different angle.
But suddenly—
A soft, mocking voice came:
"My dear sister Zhuqing… where do you think you're running off to?"
Zhu Zhuqing froze.
From behind a tree stepped a girl who looked almost identical to her—similar facial features, similar figure .It was none other than her elder sister: Zhu Zhuyun.Behind her, a full squad of black-clad Soul Masters emerged.
Zhu Zhuqing's claws tightened, her breath sharp and uneven.
"Zhu Zhuyun… why can't you leave me alone?" she growled, her voice trembling with anger and exhaustion.
Zhuyun smirked, stepping closer, her every movement graceful and predatory.
"Because, little sister," she purred, "you running away means you still believe you can escape your fate."
Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé, Dai Mubai, had run from the royal palace five years ago.That single act threw Zhu Zhuqing's life into an unbearable limbo. As his betrothed, she was tied to his fate by the laws and customs of the Star Luo Empire. These traditions also bound the Dai and Zhu families together for generations. His disappearance didn't just bring shame. It made her a symbol of ridicule,
The servants in the Zhu manor never dared speak disrespectfully to her face, but Zhu Zhuqing could see it—those mocking glances, the whispered pity. She endured it with a cold face, but not without pain.
So she made her decision. If Dai Mubai had fled to Heaven Dou Empire, then she would follow. If her future truly hinged on him, she would confront it head-on. She refused to remain a decoration waiting for a destiny someone else wrote for her.
But she was not the only one who knew this.
Zhu Zhuyun watched her stubborn little sister with an expression that flickered between resignation and helpless affection.'My foolish, stubborn Zhuqing… I told you since childhood that we are destined to compete, that Star Luo's tradition of the throne demands rivalry between us. But even then, I never wished for harm to fall upon you.'
She could not speak her true thoughts aloud—doing so would be treasonous, undermining the prestige of the Dai family, especially in front of Dai Weisi's ever-present eyes. Dai Weisi was the elder Brother of Dai Mubai, against whom Dai Mubai had to compete for the throne.
The men trailing behind her, outwardly her own subordinates, were in reality loyal guards assigned by Dai Weisi. They were there not only to ensure she performed her duty… but also to ensure she did not overstep.
In truth, the "chase" Zhu Zhuqing felt so threatened by had never been a hunt.
It was protection disguised as pursuit.
Zhu Zhuyun had engineered it that way.Her sister was only twelve, with the determination to cross empires, and the courage to run into one of the most dangerous forests on the continent. Even the outskirts of Star Dou Forest were crawling with soul beasts of a hundred years or more. Any one of them could kill a seasoned adult, let alone a young girl still far from the peak of her potential.
Zhu Zhuyun clenched her fist behind her back.
'If Da Weisi and his people knew I simply let you go, they would accuse me of sabotaging the imperial succession. Yet if I openly escorted you, they would twist it into an accusation of rebellion.'
So she did the only thing she could.She feigned hostility to hide her sister's protection.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, could not see through the layers of politics, familial duty, and quiet desperation.
She shouted through clenched teeth, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and defiance:
"You will not be able to catch me!"
In her mind, survival until now had been her achievement alone—her endurance, her instincts, her refusal to surrender. Whatever fortune she encountered along the way, she credited to luck, not the invisible hands shielding her from the shadows.
Her black pupils sharpened.
"First Soul Skill: Hell Rush Stab!"
Her figure blurred.
Her speed doubled almost instantly, her body becoming a fleeting afterimage as she shot forward like a streak of dark lightning, disappearing into the thick shrubbery.
Zhu Zhuqing's breathing fell into a stable rhythm—she had used this technique many times throughout her escape, slipping away just long enough to create space and regain her footing.