NOVPUBRed Silk City…
Red Silk City basked under the early summer sun, the streets alive with the bustle of merchants, cultivators, and wandering adventurers. The Willow Tree Mansion, once a quiet place of cultivation, had slowly transformed into a vibrant hub of business.
Months had passed since Kent had left them to chase the distant and dangerous path of cultivation.
In his absence, the women he had trusted most continued their cultivation with tireless focus, refusing to waste a single moment. Each one held a private, unspoken promise deep in their heart—to become stronger, so that when Kent returned, they could stand beside him proudly.
Yet it wasn't just cultivation that filled their days.
Fatty Ben, the only male and Kent's trusted brother inside their small world, had taken a different path. His keen sense for opportunity and quick tongue made him a natural merchant.
In just a short few months, Fatty Ben had climbed the rungs of Red Silk City's local business circles, establishing himself as a rising figure, known for his honest dealings and bold investments.
He opened a small trading house attached to the Willow Tree Mansion, dealing in basic alchemy products, spiritual herbs, and minor talismans—all crafted with loving hands by Kent's women.
Inside the Willow Tree Mansion, the air was relaxed yet quietly charged with ambition.
Fatty Ben threw himself onto a leaning chair in the sunlit courtyard, sighing deeply with a satisfied grin. His round belly bounced slightly as he settled in, looking every bit like a successful, relaxed merchant.
His young wife approached gracefully, holding a cool drink in a jade cup. She placed it into his hand with a soft smile.
"You're working too hard again," she teased gently.
Ben laughed and took a long sip, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "How can I rest? If we don't make this mansion stronger, how can we welcome Boss Kent properly when he returns?"
On the side veranda, Sophia and Maya sat at a round stone table, their faces clouded with concern as they pored over a letter from the outside world. The news of dangerous movements in the Immortal World—the endless battles, betrayals, and schemes surrounding the Golden Heir Tournament—had reached even their peaceful corner of Red Silk City.
"I'm worried about him," Sophia said quietly, folding the letter. "It's been months. No news, no messages. What if…"
"Don't say it," Maya interrupted firmly, her hands tightening around her cup. "Kent is not someone who falls easily. He's stronger than we know."
The breeze stirred the willows around them, their slender leaves whispering gently.
Ben, overhearing them, pushed himself up with effort and strode over.
"You girls worry too much," he said, slapping his chest with an exaggerated thud. "Our Boss isn't the type to die quietly somewhere. He's probably beating the crap out of some genius right now."
Amelia nodded, her eyes warm with conviction. "Sister, Kent will come back. Maybe even stronger than before."
Sophia smiled faintly but still couldn't fully hide her fear.
Maya, noticing it, placed a hand over hers and squeezed lightly. "We have to believe in him. That's what he would want."
Ben puffed his chest. "Until then, we will keep this mansion alive. We'll make it famous across Red Silk City! When he comes back, he should find everything better than how he left it!"
Laughter broke out at Ben's dramatic proclamation, lifting the heavy mood slightly.
The afternoon light grew softer, casting golden halos around the courtyard.
Somewhere, Sophia played a light tune on a bamboo flute.
The Willow Tree Mansion continued to breathe, continued to grow, continued to hope—
waiting for the day when Kent would walk through its gates once again.
-
Red Silk City…
The proud King Family lived under siege — not by armies, but by isolation, hunger, and the slow strangling grip of Imperial edict.
Stripped of titles, wealth, and allies, the family was left to fend for themselves, growing their own food in patches of dry land, repairing crumbling walls with bare hands.
Once-grandeur halls were now filled with the scratch of hoes against the soil, the whisper of tattered robes, and the crackling of meager fires.
Emperor Kai's decree was cruel and absolute:
"Anyone caught aiding the King Family shall be treated as a traitor."
The entire city obeyed in fearful silence.
Yet not everyone bowed to tyranny.
Hidden by the cloak of night, moving like a wisp of mist, came Gu Ping — the one Kent had entrusted with their safety.
Gu Ping, a beast lady of unmatched stealth and cunning, slipped through alleys and rooftops with the ease of a shadow.
Her figure was lithe, her golden beast eyes sharp even in darkness. Beneath her hooded cloak, her tail wrapped tightly around her waist, concealed from human eyes.
In secret corners of the broken King estate, she met Patriarch King, handing over bags of spirit rice, healing herbs, mana-restoring roots—
supplies just enough to stave off the creeping hand of despair.
One night, under the half-moon, Patriarch King grasped her hand tightly.
"Miss Gu Ping... if you're discovered... even your beast clan may suffer…" he said, voice raw with guilt and gratitude.
Gu Ping gave a sharp, small smile, her beastly canines flashing briefly.
"For Kent," she whispered, "I would walk into the Emperor's own blade without blinking."
Her loyalty was bone-deep, a debt etched into her very blood.
Thanks to her secret efforts, the King Family endured—barely.
But Gu Ping knew it was only a matter of time.
Supplies were harder to sneak in. Guards prowled the city like hungry wolves. The Emperor's spies grew more numerous with each passing day.
Meanwhile, inside the mighty Imperial Palace, fury churned hotter than molten iron.
Emperor Kai, dressed in black-gold imperial robes, stood before his ministers with a face carved from rage.
His hands, clutching the dragon-headed armrests, trembled with barely contained hatred.
"Months have passed!"
His voice slammed into the trembling ministers like thunder.
"Months! Yet you still have no trace of my daughter or that damnable Kent!"
The ministers, kneeling so low their foreheads bled from the marble floor, dared not speak.
Search teams had scoured every inch of the surrounding forests.
Spies had infiltrated every village, every market.
Yet nothing. Kent and Princess Kaiya had disappeared like phantoms.
"Find them," Emperor Kai said, each word heavy with murderous intent.
"Or prepare for your families to suffer for your incompetence."
In the corner shadows, even the palace guards shivered.
