The pain was so intense it felt like its very soul was convulsing. "You...you can't possibly use this method to make me willingly submit to you! Although I have made a pact with you, I will not be at your beck and call—!"

"Hmph, give up on that idea."

Zhuque wanted to raise her chin arrogantly, looking disdainful, but the music was like sharp thorns piercing her skin.

It hurts, it hurts so much it keeps twitching.

"You, you!"

"Oh, I thought Lord Suzaku was as tough as nails and couldn't feel pain." The music stopped abruptly, and the girl raised an eyebrow.

"You, you, you!"

The music was like a demonic sound; the pain didn't come from the body, but from the soul.

Liu Yue leaned back in her chair, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"etc!"

Zhuque's eyes widened as his gaze fell on the jade pendant at Liuyue's waist.

Hiss! It struggled to its feet and stumbled toward Jun Liuyue.

Liuyue paused slightly on the strings of the zither.

As she channeled her spiritual energy, Zhuque suddenly knelt down with a thud, asking, "Are you... are you the young master?"

Jun Liuyue: ?

With tears welling in her eyes, Suzaku's demeanor was a stark contrast to her previous unruly attitude. Then, she transformed into human form.

"Little master, you are the little master!"

Seeing this, Liu Yue, who was about to activate the power of the contract, was stunned for a moment, "What little master?"

"Is the jade pendant at your waist the Azure Dragon Jade?" Zhuque raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, you're only seventeen this year. Your father's name is Jun Jing. You don't know who your mother is, do you, young master?"

Zhuque looked at Liuyue expectantly with her pair of emerald eyes, awaiting her answer.

Yes, it must be!

She knew it—

That one in the Azure Dragon royal family is not the young master!

"Do you know who my mother is?" Liu Yue grasped the Azure Dragon Jade, recalling the words Old Master Jun had spoken.

This jade pendant is the only keepsake left by her mother.

"Your mother's name is Long Li." Zhuque held Liuyue's hand tightly. "She was an extraordinary woman. In her youth, she led an army to repel thousands of demons and saved tens of thousands of people!"

"So what? Didn't she still abandon me?" Liu Yue sneered, pulling her hand away from Zhu Que's grasp, her eyes filled with coldness.

"No, no, your mother had her reasons." Zhuque panicked. "If she could, Ali wouldn't have sent you away. It was just... at that time, circumstances forced her to..."

Zhuque hesitated, then lowered her eyes.

“Your mother and the current Empress Nalan Yao are actually the same person.” Zhuque sighed. “This may seem unbelievable, but it is the truth.”

“Back then, Nalan Yao was unknown and a notorious good-for-nothing in the Azure Dragon Capital. She was tortured to death, and before she died, she summoned your mother by sacrificing her soul. Ali promised to help her take revenge, but… when Ali achieved fame and success, a sorcerer appeared. With the sorcerer's help, Nalan Yao used evil magic to regain control of her body. The Nalan family also helped in this. To this day, your mother's whereabouts are unknown, and if I'm not mistaken…” Zhuque paused, looking deeply at Jun Liuyue, “Ali must have sent you away at the last moment… because if you had fallen into Nalan Yao's hands, you wouldn't have survived.”

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flickered in Jun Liuyue's usually indifferent eyes.

“Your mother never abandoned you. When she was pregnant with you, she often told me that she would definitely accompany you as you grew up and watch you get married, but in the end, things didn’t go as planned.”

As Zhuque spoke, tears streamed down her face. Although only a little over a decade had passed, it felt like an eternity to her.

"So, you're my mother's contracted beast?"

“That’s right.” Zhuque nodded: “Back then, I was bound by a contract with your mother. Your personality is really, really similar to your mother’s! How come I didn’t notice it at first?”

When Zhuque saw Jun Liuyue, she felt a sense of familiarity.

But—it's been so long, so long that it can't even remember.

"Back then, after your mother left, I broke my contract with Nalan Yao. It was also on that occasion that I was seriously injured and stayed in the Wuwang Mountains to recuperate, hoping that one day I could avenge Ali."

Zhuque clenched her fists. "All of Nalan Yao's achievements today are thanks to your mother..."

Thinking of this, Zhuque gritted her teeth in hatred. With Nalan Yao's strength, if it weren't for Ali and that sacrifice, she would have been dead long ago!

Despite being a willing sacrifice, Ah Li ended up dying and her soul dissipating.

Upon hearing this, Jun Liuyue's heart was filled with turmoil. She had thought that she was abandoned, which was why she had never known her mother's origins or even her name since childhood.

But she never expected the truth to be like this.

She suddenly remembered that day—

Why did that crazy old man from the Nalan family call her Ali the moment he saw her?

Was it because he saw his mother's shadow in her?

Betrayed by one's closest loved ones—

This pain is excruciating.

Without the help of the Nalan family, Nalan Yao might not have been able to regain her body so easily.

"Little master, if I saw you like this, I would be so happy." Zhuque wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. That's wonderful!

It always believed that the one in the Azure Dragon royal family was the bloodline left behind by its original master.

But her sinister appearance was very similar to Nalan Yao's.

She doesn't resemble her master at all. The girl in front of me is a carbon copy of her master!

"And what about Princess Feng Wan now?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should just be someone Nalan Yao found somewhere to take your place! Back then, when Master had Jun Jing take you away, you were still conscious!"

Zhuque said in a deep voice, "At that time, the master was engaged to the Azure Dragon Emperor, who was still a prince. Nalan Yao must have thought that the child in her womb was Feng Chenlan's, so she just found a child to take his place! Feng Wan is not Nalan Yao's bloodline at all."

"Hmph!" Zhuque sneered, "Feng Wan's talent is extremely poor. Over the years, without Nalan Yao's assistance with pills and some unorthodox cultivation techniques, she would never have achieved her current level of cultivation!"

Although he had only fought Feng Wan once, Zhuque had already seen through Feng Wan's true nature.

“Nalan Yao…” Liu Yue stroked her chin, a smile curving her lips.

No wonder -

The old man wanted to keep her in Tianyan forever.