Central Great Winter Forest — Jade Soul Lake

Surrounded by emerald Shadow of Silence Power, Liyu descended from the sky while carrying the little white wolf and landed beside the lake.

The magical beasts and nearby Abyss Demons immediately scattered in all directions after sensing the terrifying fluctuations of Shadow of Silence Power.

In an instant, the surroundings of Jade Soul Lake fell into an unusual tranquility.

This gray-haired little girl was naturally our adorable Liyu.

Normally, aside from occasionally flying over the Western Realm to put on a show, she spent most of her time in the east, accompanying Yumo.

She rarely came to the great lake region in the center.

The reason she had come today was partly because of her silly sister, partly because of White Yama, but more importantly because of the Child of Destiny!

That dangerous woman had attached herself to Mother, making Liyu extremely uneasy. She needed someone to help her think of a solution! And in the entire Great Winter Forest, the only one capable of helping her and quickly healing her foolish sister was this person who spent every day sleeping inside Jade Soul Lake.

This...

Looks like she still hasn't woken up?

Looking at the calm, rippleless blue lake surface, Liyu frowned.

She had flown over with such fanfare, and yet this girl still hadn't awakened?

At this rate, even if the Asumos Church invaded the forest one day, she probably wouldn't react at all...

Seriously...

So many things had happened outside.

The backyard was already on fire, and she was still sleeping.

Liyu rolled her eyes.

Afterward, her emerald eyes narrowed, and she stared seriously at the silent lake. Violent wind-attributed Shadow of Silence Power surged wildly around the gray-haired girl as emerald light gradually bloomed within her eyes.

'Sorry, but since you're still not awake, I'll just have to give you an extra-large alarm clock~'

Revealing a "kind" smile,

Liyu suddenly spread her wings!

"Shua!!"

Tens of thousands of emerald wind blades, carrying overwhelming momentum, blasted toward the center of the lake!

"Boom~~"

Accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion,

a violent detonation erupted in the middle of the lake!

Water splashed everywhere, countless aquatic magical beasts and unlucky Abyss Demons were sent flying into the sky, and a storm-like torrent rapidly spread in every direction!

In response, Liyu calmly wrapped her tiny body and the little white wolf in her arms with her wings.

She didn't want the new clothes Mother had chosen for her to get wet~

A few moments later,

after the "rain passed and the sky cleared," Liyu slowly opened her wings, and the dense aura of Shadow of Silence Power around her gradually flowed back into her body. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Then,

she quietly gazed at the turbulent center of the lake.

I refuse to believe it.

You're still not waking up after that?

And so,

Liyu silently waited for several minutes.

Until Jade Soul Lake had completely calmed down once more.

Yet the person she expected still hadn't appeared...

Liyu: ...

"That's too much!!! You can still keep sleeping after THAT?!"

Roaring in anger, Liyu launched another round of bombardment toward the lakeshore.

Violent waves of Shadow of Silence Power spread in all directions, causing the Abyss Demons within a hundred miles to tremble and prostrate themselves on the ground.

Only after this outburst,

did something deep within Jade Soul Lake finally answer Liyu.

A soft and slightly tired girl's voice slowly entered her ears:

"Liyu, little sister, what's wrong? You're in such a hurry... ahhwu~"

Accompanied by a yawn,

quiet blue-gold light slowly rippled across the center of Jade Soul Lake.

As the water churned and Shadow of Silence Power spread,

a blue figure gradually emerged from the lake and floated in midair.

She was a tall and slender girl with blue-gold gradient hair.

Her left eye resembled a gorgeous golden rose, while her right eye was a beautiful pale gold.

Her fresh and moving eyes seemed like water, yet carried a faint coldness, as though they could see through everything.

Her fingers were slender, her skin white and delicate with a rosy hue, as though water could be squeezed from it. Her vermilion lips smiled charmingly, and every movement resembled a dance. Her blue-gold hair hung all the way to her ankles.

Even though she had just emerged from the water, her hair still fluttered in the breeze, releasing a faint fragrance.

Not only was the blue-haired girl breathtakingly beautiful, but her figure was equally perfect.

Her full but perfectly proportioned chest, impossibly slender waist, rounded and graceful hips, and long legs were undoubtedly enough to captivate nearly any humanoid race.

Combined with the countless droplets floating around her and the continuously rippling blue-gold radiance, the scene formed a flawless masterpiece.

Moreover,

the girl who emerged from the lake was completely naked.

However,

her chest and secret place were concealed beneath blue-gold mist, making them impossible to see.

Yet,

sometimes what could not be seen only made things even more alluring.

If some shameless pervert with poor self-control were to witness this scene, they would probably bleed out through their nose and die...

Of course,

Liyu, who often dealt with this woman, felt absolutely nothing upon seeing the sight. In fact, seeing the two patches of mist over her chest and hips only made her somewhat speechless...

"So you've finally gotten out of bed, little sister Shuoyue~"

Liyu placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and spoke unhappily.

The blue-haired girl's full name was Fenghua Shuoyue.

Since the name was too long, Liyu simply called her Shuoyue.

And Shuoyue was the youngest among the Demon King-class Abyss Demons, bearing the title "Nightmare."

Although Shuoyue was a terrifying Demon King feared by countless forces across Anqieka Continent,

in Liyu's eyes,

she was simply a troublesome younger sister...

A sleepyhead who did nothing but sleep all day!

Hadn't she already slept for seven years straight?!

"Have you slept enough yet, little sister Shuoyue?"

Putting on her dignified big-sister attitude, Liyu aggressively demanded.

However,

facing her sister's intimidation, Shuoyue simply stretched lazily without a care.

Under Liyu's speechless gaze, she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Nope~ I originally planned to sleep for another ten years~"

"Sleep, sleep, sleep! Careful, or you'll turn into a pig..."

"No way~"

Shaking her head, Shuoyue slowly descended to the ground in a swirl of blue-gold Shadow of Silence Power and landed in front of Liyu.

"Liyu, big sister, you know I don't just sleep~ My consciousness has always been busy doing important things all across the continent~"

"Sigh, whatever. But you've slept for far too long this time."

"Enmmm, not really?"

Shuoyue casually twirled a lock of her beautiful blue-gold gradient hair.

Then her half-lidded eyes locked onto the little white wolf in Liyu's arms.

"Hm? Limo, big sister, why are you in dumb-dog mode again? Did something happen?"

Shuoyue sensed something was wrong and couldn't help asking.

In response,

Liyu sighed helplessly.

"Yeah, something happened. It's a long story."

"Hm? What happened?"

"We'll talk about Sister later. First, let me tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Mother transformed into a human."

"Oh... hmm?! Eh?! When did that happen?!"

"Enmmm, it's been a while."

In an instant, Shuoyue's expression changed drastically.

Her sleepy appearance vanished completely, and she immediately became fully awake.

Turning into a streak of blue-gold light, she rushed directly in front of Liyu and grabbed the gray-haired girl's shoulders.

Excited, thrilled, and carrying a trace of reproach, she said:

"T-This?! Something this important?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! Don't tell me you all wanted to monopolize Mommy's affection and deliberately kept it from me?!"

"Uh, how could that be..."

Liyu mercilessly flicked Shuoyue on the forehead.

"Calm down. I wanted to tell you before, but you kept sleeping. You couldn't hear anything I said."

"How unfair~"

Shuoyue dejectedly lowered her head.

However,

after a moment, she seemed to think of something and suddenly raised an eyebrow, looking at Liyu strangely.

"Then, if Mommy transforming wasn't enough to wake me up by force, why are you making such a huge fuss this time? Did something even more serious happen?"

"Yeah."

Liyu nodded slightly.

"W-What happened?"

"Mother brought back a girl from outside."

"A girl? Is that really worth all this fuss?"

"Not just any girl."

"It's the 'heroine.'"

"..."

The moment those words entered her ears, Shuoyue's pale golden eyes suddenly contracted, and a grave expression covered her beautiful face.

"...Looks like this really is a serious matter."