Zhu Zhan stepped forward. His towering figure instantly cast a shadow that completely enveloped both Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing. The soul power fluctuations belonging to a top-tier expert surged outward like a tangible tide, compressing the air itself and causing even Lin Xia to feel his breathing slightly tighten.
"Where is the dignity of the Star Luo Imperial Family? Where are the rules of my Zhu family?"
Zhu Zhan's gaze finally locked onto Zhu Zhuqing's face. The coldness and disappointment within it were far more destructive than any verbal reprimand.
"The fate of the Netherworld Spirit Cat, how can it be treated as child's play!"
Lin Xia kept his eyes lowered, his attitude respectful yet not submissive.
"Uncle Zhu is right to teach us. The journey was long, and we failed to report it in time. That is indeed a grave mistake. Please punish me accordingly."
He cleverly avoided the core conflict of "fate," instead shifting the focus onto a procedural lapse.
Zhu Zhan's gaze lingered for a moment on the striking bloodstain at the corner of Zhu Zhuqing's mouth, and on her eyes that were fixed tightly on the ground, no longer avoiding anything, but also no longer showing fear.
There was no longer the usual timidity or emptiness in them. Instead, there was a kind of almost numb calmness and a faint, icy stubbornness that made him subtly uncomfortable.
This did not resemble the reaction of a six-year-old girl after being severely reprimanded.
His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. A trace of unease flickered in his heart, but it was quickly swallowed by even greater anger.
That uncontrollable feeling only made him more irritated.
"Hmph!"
Zhu Zhan let out a heavy cold snort. The sound rolled through the hall like muffled thunder, making everyone's hearts tremble.
His sharp, blade-like gaze swept across Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing again, finally settling on Zhu Zhuqing as his voice grew even colder.
"One month of confinement! Without my permission, you are not to step outside the West Courtyard even half a step! Reflect properly on your so-called 'fate'!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve violently. The wide robe stirred up a gust of wind, scattering dust from the floor. Then he strode away, his heavy boots striking the polished obsidian floor with dull, oppressive echoes, each step hammering into the hearts of those present.
Only when Zhu Zhan's figure disappeared completely into the deep corridor leading to the inner residence did the terrifying pressure that had blanketed the entire hall finally begin to recede like a tide.
A few pale-faced servants finally dared to breathe again, quietly retreating.
The vast hall was left in complete silence, with only Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing remaining.
Zhu Zhuqing still stood rigidly in place, her small body taut like a drawn bow.
The blood at the corner of her mouth had already dried into a dark red line.
Lin Xia turned and looked down at her.
Her long eyelashes trembled violently, like butterfly wings on the verge of breaking in a storm. Finally, she slowly lifted her gaze toward him.
In the depths of her clear black eyes, the previous emptiness and numbness had been replaced by something far more intense, a mixture of humiliation, pain, anger, and an almost obsessive desire to become stronger that had been completely ignited by Lin Xia's words.
That flame burned fiercely within her gaze, as if it might burst forth at any moment.
"Brother Lin Xia…"
Her voice was hoarse, still trembling from the aftermath, yet unusually clear.
"I am going back to the West Courtyard."
Zhu Zhuqing did not cry. She did not complain. She simply used all her strength to maintain that fragile, crumbling composure.
Lin Xia reached out his hand. This time, instead of ruffling her hair, he gently wiped the dried blood from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip, carrying a faint, reassuring warmth.
"Go."
Lin Xia's voice was low and calm, carrying a steadying power.
"Remember my words."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded firmly, her movement carrying a sense of resolve as if she had already cast everything aside.
She looked at Lin Xia one last time. Her gaze seemed to say: I will do it.
Then she turned around, straightening her slender yet unyielding back, and walked step by step steady and alone toward the West Courtyard, the place that symbolized punishment and solitude.
Her small figure looked so insignificant in the vast, cold hall, yet it carried an unbreakable resilience that made one's heart tremble.
Lin Xia watched her disappear into the shadowed corridor. A complex emotion flickered in his eyes before it was quickly replaced by calm, focused determination.
Without hesitation, he turned and moved swiftly and silently toward the deeper part of the residence, his own secluded corner of the estate, the small courtyard he had converted into a temporary workshop.
Time was running out.
With a soft "creak," the heavy wooden door opened, and a mixture of metallic dust, mineral fragments, and faint oil fragrance rushed out to meet him.
This was the most unremarkable corner of the Zhu estate. Several storage rooms that once held miscellaneous items had been cleared out by Lin Xia.
Now, the largest of them had been completely transformed.
A rough wooden workbench occupied the center of the room, scattered with all kinds of strange tools.
Various steel carving knives of different sizes glinted with a cold, sharp light.
A small but heavy anvil sat there like a mountain.
Files used for delicate polishing were neatly arranged.
And all around were minerals of different materials and hardness levels.
In the deepest, quietest courtyard of the Zhu estate, the heavy wooden door closed with a "creak," sealing away the last trace of outside noise and prying eyes.
Lin Xia slid the heavy bolt shut. With a click, it felt as though he had also locked away the heavy urgency in his heart.
The air was filled with metallic dust, mineral fragments, and a faint trace of oil, this was the unique scent of his temporary workshop, now carrying a suffocating sense of impending storm.
He strode toward the large wooden workbench in the center of the room.
The surface had already been cleared into a completely clean area. Several soul lamps embedded with non-elemental illumination crystals had been adjusted to optimal angles, casting a soft yet bright light that converged on the "main subject" that was about to be revealed.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xia carefully retrieved a precious item from his storage soul tool, an item that carried immense pressure and responsibility.
The Star Radiance Crown.
When the ancient, dignified crown forged from deep Starfall Iron was placed steadily onto a velvet-lined tray, the entire room seemed to brighten for an instant.
At the center of the crown was a gemstone about the size of a pigeon egg.
It was not dazzling in the conventional sense, but instead possessed a profound, restrained deep-blue hue, as if a fragment of the cosmic night sky had been condensed within it.
Within the gem, countless tiny points of light—fine as dust yet brilliant as stars flowed and rotated along an unfathomable trajectory, resembling a miniature spiral galaxy.
An indescribable wave of energy, pure, vast, and faintly distorting space itself pulsed subtly with the movement of those starlights, like the breathing of a sleeping dragon.
This energy was so pure, so ancient, that even being near it caused Lin Xia's soul power to react instinctively, accelerating its circulation and becoming more refined.
This was the power of star origin, an inheritance symbolizing the Star Luo Imperial Family.
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