He dragged me toward the alchemy chamber.

“Young Master!” cried the oldest alchemist in the valley, his hair snow-white and face stricken with anguish. “You mustn’t! Forcing the spirit embryo out will destroy her flower soul, it will cost her life!”

Lucian shoved the elder aside, his temples throbbing. “I am the future of Medicine King Valley! It’s just a spirit embryo! Her body is strong enough, she can endure it!”

“You're mad!” I screamed, tears blurring my vision. The child inside me kicked violently, as if sensing death’s shadow.

“He’s moving!” I sobbed. “Lucian, he’s alive too!”

His hand froze above the array for a brief second. He looked at me. Pity flickered in his eyes.

For a moment, I hoped he might stop. But then he activated the array.

A golden light burst forth, blinding me. Agony tore through my abdomen, worse than slow torture. Piece by piece, the embryo was wrenched from me, fighting, resisting, clinging to life.

Blood poured like a river, soaking the array red. I writhed in agony, mouth spilling blood.

“Lucian…” I gasped, “you’ll regret this…” Darkness swallowed me whole.

When I awoke, the room reeked of elixirs. They had already refined my child into a pill. After taking it, Evelyn not only recovered, she had advanced in her cultivation.

She stood at the foot of my bed, her complexion glowing with vitality, like someone reborn.

I, on the other hand, was a hollow shell, too weak to even sit up.

“Isabelle,” she cooed, voice sweet enough to curdle blood, “Elder Thorne said that a flower soul body that’s carried a spirit embryo is an incredible tonic…”

She leaned in, greedily inhaling the scent of my body.

“Could you give me just a few more drops of your heart’s blood to stabilize my cultivation? It’d be such a waste to keep it all to yourself.”

I retched. Her expression darkened. She seized the jade bottle on my bedside and smashed it to the ground. Shards flew, slicing my cheek.

Then she picked up a sharp shard and pressed it against her own throat, shrieking hysterically.

“Isabelle! Why can’t you just tolerate me?! Why deny me this small favor?!”

“I’m dying and you’re still so selfish!”

“Help! Lucian! Isabelle is trying to kill me!”

Lucian burst into the room.

He gathered her into his arms, glaring at me.

“It’s just a drop of heart blood!” he shouted. “You’re a powerful flower spirit, why are you arguing with a sick girl?!”

Then he raised his sword and slashed open my chest. Blood dripped into a jade vial. I curled up, trembling from the pain. He moved to tend to my wound, but Evelyn clutched his sleeve, swaying weakly.

“Lucian… it hurts so much… I can’t go on…” She fainted in his arms. Without hesitation, he picked her up and left. Leaving me behind. Bleeding. Alone.

From the next room, I heard the gentle murmurs of his voice. He was comforting her. Protecting her. And I, like a used rag, was discarded without remorse. Only then did I see the truth.

Whenever a choice had to be made between me and Evelyn … I was always the one sacrificed. I used to believe he was a hero. The heir to Medicine King Valley. A man worthy of love. I was wrong.

I wanted to marry him, even when he kept rejecting me because of Evelyn. I never gave up.

But now, I’ve finally accepted the truth. My heart has completely died.

I tried to leave the valley many times, but was always turned away. His only telepathic response was cold and dismissive.

"Stop causing trouble. Evelyn’s spiritual energy is still unstable. She can't be separated from me."

I forced myself back to my quarters in the valley, listening to the Rain Pavilion.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard laughter, light, carefree, joyful. “Demon Bond, slow down, don’t bump into your mother!” Lucian’s voice was filled with rare tenderness. My heart clenched. Mother?

A pitch-black spirit beast with crimson eyes pounced forward, trailed by Evelyn’s soft, playful chiding.

“Lucian, Demon Bond is too naughty!” Her voice was light and sweet, nothing like someone sickly.

I stood frozen at the doorway, blood running cold. That very spot, where I had once mourned the child I lost, was now the playground of their beast.

My arrival silenced the room. Lucian’s expression instantly turned frigid. Evelyn covered her nose theatrically.

“Oh my! Sister Isabelle, why are you back? You just lost your spirit embryo, you’re cursed!”

Then she picked up a basin of foul-smelling black dog’s blood, used for exorcisms and dumped it on me. It soaked my hair and clothes, the rancid stench making my stomach churn.

The blood seeped into my unhealed wounds, sending waves of searing pain through my spirit body. I crouched on the ground, trembling. Lucian merely warned her.

“Evelyn, be careful. The floor’s wet, you might slip.”

Not a word of concern for me. Not even a glance. I tried to stand, shaking. But then Evelyn whined again.

“Lucian, Isabelle looks so terrifying. Demon Bond’s scared to come near her!” The black spirit beast was indeed cowering in a corner, its red eyes flickering with fear.

Lucian’s voice was stern when he addressed me, “Isabelle! Evelyn and Demon Bond will be staying here. You’ll be responsible for her daily needs and use your spiritual energy to nourish Demon Bond every day.”

I was stunned. This was my home.

“You must inspect Demon Bond’s waste every day,” he continued coldly. “If its spiritual energy is unstable, report immediately. Also, wash Evelyn’s ceremonial robes daily. Maintain the exact temperature of her medicinal baths. No mistakes. And...”

I cut him off. My voice was low, yet sharp like a blade, “Lucian, am I your fiancée? Or your hired spirit beast caretaker?”

Before the words even settled in the air, Evelyn let out a wail and grabbed the dagger from the table. She slashed her wrist dramatically.

“Wuwuwu... I’m such a burden... I shouldn’t exist... I’m dragging Lucian down...!”

Blood gushed from her wrist. Her face turned ghostly pale. Lucian rushed to her, snatching the dagger and pulling her into his arms.

“Evelyn! Are you insane?! Why would you hurt yourself like this?!”

Then, without hesitation, he slapped me.

A blast of spiritual energy struck my face, slamming me into the wall. My soul trembled.

He roared.

“Isabelle! Do you even have a heart? One word from you could kill her!”

Blood trickled from the corner of my lips as my cheek swelled. “I only asked one question…” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“One word is too much!” His eyes were full of hatred. “Look at you! you’re like a resentful ghost! You frighten Evelyn!”

He shoved me out the door. The autumn wind pierced through my thin clothes. And…

Bang!

The door slammed shut in my face.

From inside, I heard Lucian’s voice, soft and doting. “Don’t cry. Your Lucian is here.”

“Lucian... I’m scared...”

“Shh, don’t be. I’m here.”

Then came the sound of fabric rustling... labored breaths... the unmistakable rhythm of intimacy.

I leaned against the cold wall outside. The black dog’s blood on my body reeked. They were inside, on my bed, doing that.

I didn’t know how long I stood there. Eventually, the door opened.

Lucian appeared, disheveled. He looked down at me. “Evelyn is kind-hearted. Let me take you inside. Behave, recover and we can start over.”

“Start over?” I laughed. His expression darkened.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing at myself,” I said, meeting his eyes. “Lucian, do you really think I still want you?”

His face turned to stone. He slammed the door. It crushed my fingers. Crack. The pain was blinding. Blood poured from the mangled joints. I stared at my deformed fingers... and laughed again.

Seven years. Seven years... and now I saw his true face. From inside came Evelyn’s voice again.

“Lucian... will Sister Isabelle hold a grudge?”

“She dares?” he growled.

“If she shows you even a hint of disrespect, I’ll make her pay.”

That night, my spiritual energy surged and tore through my body. I was burning, shivering, like ants gnawed at my bones from the inside.

I dragged myself to the door and pounded on it with my last ounce of strength. “Lucian... give me a Rejuvenation Pill... please...”

The one who opened the door was Evelyn. Her face twisted with glee. “What are you screaming for? If you want to die, go far away! Don’t taint my home!”

Behind her, the black qilin lunged, knocking me down. Its claws raked across my chest, blood bursting forth.

Evelyn crouched beside me and whispered with a smile of triumph, “Do you know why my Demon Bond is so powerful? It loves spiritual energy.”

Then, with gleaming eyes, she said, “Guess where today’s spirit embryo ended up?”

A wave of hatred surged through me…so vast, it consumed my soul. My child. My child with Lucian. She fed it to that beast.

A strength born of fury surged within me. I grabbed her hair and slammed her into the wall. “Evelyn! I’ll kill you!”

She shrieked, “Lucian! Save me! Isabelle’s gone mad, she’s trying to kill me!”

Lucian burst out and kicked me in the chest. Crack. My ribs snapped. I coughed up blood, clutching his pants. “She… she fed our child… to that thing…”

He kicked me away in disgust. “It was just a worthless energy form. What’s the fuss?”

His voice was like ice. “If you hurt Evelyn, I’ll destroy you. Don’t mention this again, not once, not ten times, not a hundred. If Evelyn needs it, you give it.”

So he had known. He gave the remains of our child to Evelyn. That was the final blow. He dragged me to an abandoned barn and set a barrier. “Stay here. Reflect. You can come out once you’ve come to your senses.”

The door slammed shut. In the darkness, silence closed in. Blood soaked my lips. My spiritual energy turned against me, ravaging my meridians. This was how I died.

I was dying. Before my consciousness slipped into darkness, I used the last ounce of my strength to bite my fingertip and draw an ancient totem on the ground with my blood.

A summoning array. I crushed the engagement token, once meaningful, now hollow. Inside it, I had sealed a drop of life-giving blood from the moment of my birth. This was my final summoning. My final sacrifice.

"With my bloodline as the offering, I humbly welcome my master... Damien."

The ritual circle blazed to life, surging with a crimson glow. The entire Highmoor Valley quaked. Storm clouds swallowed the sky, casting the land into shadow. Streaks of violet lightning tore across the heavens. A suffocating force pressed down from above, heavy and dreadful, stealing the breath from every chest.

In the healing chamber, Evelyn clutched Lucian's sleeve, trembling. “Lucian, what’s happening?”

A moment later, the restraints over the storage barn shattered as a surge of overwhelming power tore through them. A man stepped out from the shadows, clad in a black trench coat, with silver hair and eyes glowing a deep, blood-red. Dark energy coiled around him like a living thing, oppressive, untamed and absolute. He ignored everyone else. His gaze locked onto me.

Without a word, he strode forward and gently picked me up. Seeing my body torn with wounds and my fingers mangled, his pupils narrowed sharply. Lifting his head, he swept a piercing glare toward Lucian and Evelyn.

“Who did this?”