River clams dwell in shallow waters; no river clam can survive in the deep sea, let alone in the Ruoshui where even ten thousand demons cannot live.
When Su Su leaped into the Ruoshui, her clam shell began to dissolve.
Born as a demon fetus, the edges of her shell bore a delicate, beautiful pink hue. Yet as the pink melted into the Ruoshui, it resembled drops of agonizing tears.
That night, she had told Ming Ye, "I fear pain. Don’t let my shell shatter—it would hurt more than a mortal’s broken bones."
But when her shell truly began to dissolve bit by bit, she didn’t shed a single tear, instead widening her eyes to search for that dark-robed figure.
As her shell grew thinner, her tender foot accidentally touched the Ruoshui, sending tremors of pain through her.
Still, she pressed downward, recklessly descending.
For tens of thousands of years, the Flood Dragon had been powerful and handsome, yet his cultivation was lonely—he truly possessed nothing. Aloof and solitary, he was always alone. Even after falling into the Ruoshui, no one came to search for him immediately.
Though he cultivated immortality, Ming Ye was born with a Demon Body. Three days in the Ruoshui—how could it not be excruciating?
She didn’t know how many bones a human had, or how shattered they must be to render one speechless with pain.
By the time she embraced the dark-robed figure, her shell had worn down to a fragile layer. She opened her shell, clamped onto him, and carried him upward.
The Ruoshui held nothing—no algae, no fish, and no one to witness the Conch Princess weeping incessantly as she brought him to the surface.
In truth, Su Su wasn’t prone to crying. As Sang You had said, she was the unruly little princess of the Mohe River in her youth.
It was only after meeting Ming Ye that she began to have an endless stream of tears.
Back then, she didn’t yet understand that falling for a less-than-ideal man would make life so arduous, forever leaving her eyes brimming with tears.
The little clam spirit collapsed beside Ming Ye, her foot drenched in blood.
Her shell had turned nearly transparent; any mortal could shatter it with a gentle tap.
Contentedly, she clamped onto Ming Ye’s robes and dragged him away.
He guarded all living beings, yet they had forgotten the War God. But she would remember him forever—she had memorized the way he fought and would never betray him.
When she returned to the bamboo forest, the little earth immortals and mushroom demons had all fled.
The bamboo grove lay in ruins. A trail of blood stretched behind Su Su. After placing Ming Ye on the bed, she dragged herself to the water vat and submerged her body inside.
She didn’t know how long she slept.
Perhaps seven days, perhaps half a month—Su Su finally opened her eyes.
But Ming Ye on the bed still hadn’t awakened. He couldn’t even transform into his original form to heal, lying unconscious on the bed.
No one could withstand a strike from the Demon God. She felt immensely grateful that Ming Ye hadn’t perished immediately. Even falling into the Ruoshui was better than that.
She transferred the Spiritual Energy she had accumulated over the days to him, but their Spiritual Power was worlds apart—her efforts were but a drop in the bucket.
Undeterred, Su Su carried him to a spring to recuperate.
Ming Ye’s Cultivation was profound; in a place abundant with Spiritual Energy, he could slowly recover on his own.
He slumbered in the mortal realm’s Spirit Spring for seven years. Su Su stayed by his side all along, seizing opportunities to seek Spirit Medicine for his recovery. Sometimes she sang to him upon returning; other times, she tied his hair.
Though he didn’t speak or wake, his dark eyes tightly shut, for Su Su, these were the happiest seven years.
The War of Gods and Demons raged on, but they secluded themselves in a corner, undisturbed. Until the seventh year, he awoke.
It was a morning. She had gathered dew to feed him when she saw the man open his pitch-black pupils, gazing indifferently toward the forest.Su Su’s hand trembled, nearly spilling all the dew from the lotus leaf.
She knew he still disliked her because of the Sarira incident. Hastily, she formed a hand seal and transformed into a delicate-looking youth of sixteen or seventeen.
Smiling, Su Su walked over, trying to sound as natural as possible. “You’re finally awake.”
Ming Ye showed no reaction.
Su Su froze. Even when the handsome young form she had taken ran to his side, he gave no response.
She waved a hand in front of his eyes, but he didn’t even blink.
Her heart sank—the severe injuries and the Ruoshui had affected Ming Ye’s body, leaving him deprived of all five senses.
He had lost his hearing, smell, taste, and sight, even his sense of pain.
Worried as she was, she also breathed a sigh of relief and transformed back into herself.
She brought the lotus leaf to his lips and said gently, “Drink.”
When Ming Ye awoke, the world felt terrifyingly empty. Wary, he grabbed the wrist of the person approaching him, finding it slender and impossibly soft.
He gripped tightly, but instead of getting angry, she gently patted the back of his hand, signaling him not to be afraid.
She took his hand and wrote on his palm—
“I won’t hurt you. I’m just giving you water to drink.”
Though he had lost his senses, he could still activate his spiritual awareness. His Demon Body was unlike that of a human, so he felt the faint tickle on his palm.
Ming Ye recalled that during his years of slumber, someone had always been by his side. Sometimes her fingers would comb through his hair, carefully washing it for him.
He released her hand and drank the dew from the lotus leaf.
Ming Ye stepped out of the spiritual spring but couldn’t tell which way to go. A small hand tugged at his sleeve, pulling him in one direction.
He followed her in silence.
A True Lord without his five senses was worse off than an ordinary mortal.
He knew full well he still needed to recover.
But who was this person beside him?
Her frame was so small—she must be a woman.
His first thought was of Tian Huan. But Tian Huan resided in Shangqing, and this place didn’t feel like the Immortal Realm. Over the next few days, he discreetly explored his surroundings and realized he was in a tranquil bamboo grove.
It wasn’t Tian Huan. Suddenly, he thought of that clam spirit.
That clam spirit, born in the Mohe River, had such low Spiritual Power—she didn’t seem like someone capable of pulling him out of the Ruoshui. She didn’t have the ability.
And she… was so unruly.
Ming Ye held no favorable opinion of the Clam Tribe, and he disliked that little clam spirit with her impure heart.
Unable to guess her identity, he didn’t know how to treat her.
But she was exceedingly cheerful. Knowing he could perceive things in a simple way, she sometimes took him outside and let him touch the flowers in the grove.
Her soft fingertip traced on his palm—
“They’re very fragrant. When you recover, you’ll be able to smell them.”
Sometimes she would sneak honey from wild bees, only to get stung and cry softly.
Though he couldn’t see or hear, when she refused to hold his hand, he knew she had been stung.
The next time, the honey would be made into spiritual dew, and she would feed it to him as if nothing had happened.
A strange feeling stirred in his heart, soft yet suffocating. The next time she was about to leave, he grasped her hand. “Don’t go.”
She paused, instinctively pulling her hand back.
Just as Ming Ye thought she had left, something soft and light brushed against his face.
So faint and gentle it was almost imperceptible.
She hadn’t gone out after all—she was weaving in the courtyard.
Ming Ye curved his lips. So obedient…
As his recovery dragged on, he occasionally thought of the mist-shrouded Shangqing and the ongoing War of Gods and Demons.
He wondered how Shangqing was faring. Without him, could Tian Huan protect the Immortal Realm?But more often than not, he thought of her.
He knew she would lean against the window frame, boldly watching him. He sat cross-legged, the wind from outside blowing in, carrying the fragrance of her hair. Unaware, she thought she was being discreet.
He concealed the amusement in his eyes and pretended not to notice, focusing on his cultivation.
Sometimes she would deliberately move closer to him. Because Ming Ye couldn't see, he often bumped into her at first. With quick reflexes, he would always catch her in time after the collision.
But after it happened repeatedly, how could Ming Ye not understand?
He thought this bad habit was too improper and simply avoided her.
For the next few days, she looked quite dejected, lingering by his window for only a short while before leaving.
Ming Ye paused.
She was unhappy.
On one of the many days Su Su felt downcast, Ming Ye bumped into her again.
His lips accidentally brushed against her forehead.
She stared at him in a daze as she heard his cool voice say, "My apologies."
She covered her cheeks, stammering, "It's... it's alright."
The Conch Princess, her face flushed red, ran out of the bamboo grove and rolled several times in the clear spring.
Ming Ye sat cross-legged and gently touched his cold lips.
Su Su took care of him wholeheartedly, unaware that Ming Ye's five senses were gradually recovering. Slowly, he could hear sounds, smell the fresh scent of bamboo, and see hazy colors.
So she didn't know that after she went up the mountain to search for medicine, Ming Ye opened his eyes one morning and saw Tian Huan, who had come looking for him.
When Su Su returned carrying a basket of spirit medicine on her back, the small bamboo grove was already empty.
She stood frozen for a long time. A little wolf poked its head out from the bamboo basket.
Su Su ran around inside and out several times, even checking the spirit spring, but there was no trace of him.
The little wolf watched her running back and forth. On the way back, he had listened to this girl chattering incessantly about her True Lord, but upon arrival, he only saw a bewildered young girl searching everywhere.
Eventually, she grew tired from searching and sat under a tree. The little wolf thought she would cry, but instead, she remained very calm. She picked him up and said, "I originally thought you were a spirit beast and wanted to use you to nourish the Immortal Lord's health. Consider yourself lucky—I've healed your injuries. You should go home now."
She tied a completely useless knot around his hind leg, patted him, and told him to leave.
He let out a soft "awoo," hesitated for a moment, and then followed her.
She turned around to scare him: "Don't think clams don't eat meat. Let me tell you, I love eating meat."
He stared at her blankly.
Su Su kicked a nearby bamboo stalk and said resentfully, "Alright, fine, I really don't like eating meat."
She waited in the bamboo grove for three days, but Ming Ye never returned.
Holding the little wolf, she stood up and said, "He's not coming back. I should go to Mohe River."
She left all the spirit herbs for the little wolf, patted its head, and said, "After the War of Gods and Demons, nowhere is safe. I heard from a minor earth immortal that hiding in a cave is the safest. Take these things and find a place to stay. If you're lucky, you might even be able to shapeshift."
The little wolf glanced at her, then turned and ran away.
Su Su returned alone to Mohe River. Another decade had passed, and she had to ensure Mohe River's safety.
The War of Gods and Demons was now nearing its end.
It was said that the Demon God had died, and the remaining demonic beasts were about to be sealed in the abyss. For the Three Realms, this was good news.
Fortunately, Mohe River was not like the Immortal Realm—neither the gods nor the demons had any interest in it, so it was spared this time.
Her spiritual power was not what it used to be, and it took her half a month to rush back to Mohe River.
Mohe River was surrounded by immortal soldiers.Among the celestial soldiers were several familiar faces, and Su Su recognized them as soldiers from Shangqing.
The Mohe River had not flooded, yet a deathly aura spread across its surface.
Su Su stood frozen for a long moment before stumbling forward in a frantic rush.
While others might not have recognized Su Su, everyone from Shangqing knew her. Hesitating briefly, no one moved to stop her.
Su Su crouched down and picked up a dead piece of coral.
This had been her childhood toy in the Mohe River Palace. Staggering forward, she saw countless corpses of fish and shrimp.
Until...
She spotted a giant clam shell.
The clam lay stranded on the riverbank, its pale golden shell etched with shallow patterns carved by time. Once sturdy and beautiful, it now remained only as an empty husk.
Su Su tried to lift it but found she couldn't hold it properly.
Like a child who had done something wrong, she sobbed and cried out for Father King.
The celestial soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
A female immortal clad in battle armor stepped forward, covering her mouth with a light laugh. "Look, the ancient monster is dead, and this little creature from the mortal realm cries so pitifully."
Another similarly dressed female immortal chimed in, "Demonic beasts will always be demonic beasts, lacking any sense of righteousness. How dare a mere Mohe River harbor demonic creatures? They deserved to die."
"Without any real power, they still dared to proclaim themselves kings!" The female immortal stroked the white silk in her hand. "Couldn't even withstand a hundred strikes from Saintess Tian Huan's Brocade Mist Silk. What a waste of thousands of years of cultivation for this ancient monster."
Su Su set down the clam shell. She listened numbly to these familiar voices, not bothering to ask why, and leaped into the Mohe River.
The female immortal sneered in disgust, "How dare she jump into such filthy water? Truly fitting for someone from this place."
Another asked, "Should we capture her? The Saintess didn't specify whether to apprehend her or not."
"Let's capture her. The Saintess has finally found the True Lord—we can't let her cause trouble."
Despite their words, neither wanted to enter the river themselves, ordering the celestial soldiers to search for her in the Mohe River instead.
Su Su walked along the riverbed, the water rippling around her. She understood that whether the Mohe River flooded from now on no longer mattered.
The River Palace had been destroyed, everything in disarray. Her own palace had collapsed, and the pearl her Father King loved most lay shattered into pieces.
She coughed up a mouthful of blood, moving forward numbly. Digging through the ruins of her palace, she unearthed a beautiful white pearl.
As her fingers brushed over it, the pearl revealed everything that had happened before the River Palace was destroyed and her Father King was killed.
The scenes flowed like light. After watching, she closed her eyes.
Most Living Beings in the river couldn't shed tears, making it impossible to distinguish whether the phosphorescence shimmering at the corners of their eyes were tears or river water.
During the War of Gods and Demons, many Gods sacrificed themselves, and the remaining immortals began hunting down the remaining Demonic Beasts.
The Upper Clarity Immortal Realm also participated in this hunt. Arriving at the Mohe River and seeing the murky water vapor and pervasive Demonic Aura, they started capturing the river's spirits.
The King of the Clams angrily intervened.
The celestial soldiers hesitated greatly. "After all, the Mohe River is the home of Immortal Consort Sang Jiu. We should ask the Saintess how to handle this."
However, Tian Huan only sent two female immortals carrying her magical artifacts.
They conveyed the Saintess's words: "If the emperor's son breaks the law, he is punished the same as commoners. If the King of the Clams shelters demonic evils, he will not be spared."
Su Su picked up the pearl, thinking to herself that this was the first time she had ever hated someone so deeply.
If only Tian Huan had asked more questions—just a few more would have sufficed.
A few more questions, and she would have known that the filthy Mohe River and the soaring Demonic Aura were all because of her and Ming Ye.
Her brother had been right—she should never have saved those two people a century ago.She had never hated Ming Ye. He loved Tian Huan, and she did not blame him. His century of neglect, his three years of forgetting her, his silent departure from the bamboo forest—none of these were reasons for her hatred.
Yet today, she vaguely recalled that summer ten years ago, when she overheard the butterfly spirits whispering enviously—
"True Lord Ming Ye used the world's most beautiful brocade and mist to forge a life-protecting artifact for the Saintess, shielding her from all fiends. The leftover brocade was even woven into her Silk Mist Ribbon."
He had crafted the most exquisite spiritual artifact in the world for Tian Huan.
That very artifact later pierced through the body of the person she cared for most.
She had found him in the Mohe River, fallen in love with him along its banks, yet now, in this same Mohe River, she began to hate Tian Huan—and him along with her.
Ten years of guardianship had become a mockery.
Countless river clams lay dead, their pearls bursting from shattered shells until the riverbed was strewn with bloodstained pearls.
Su Su gathered them one by one.
She would go and kill Tian Huan.
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