Caidie's "Story"

After who knew how many silent apologies to her sister, Caidie took a deep breath. She straightened her back, and her aura suddenly surged. Bright light rekindled in her snake-like eyes.

Then, as if she had recalled some unbearably heavy memory, her shoulders sagged slightly, and she let out a long, weathered sigh.

"Ah—" The sigh dragged on, filled with utter helplessness.

Seeing Caidie's expression instantly shift into one of "the past was too painful to revisit," yet with a hint of "I can finally unburden myself," Cao Ying blinked her clear, wide eyes. Almost without thinking, she blurted out something she had heard somewhere before:

"Please begin your speech!"

Seeing that her "only" audience was so receptive, Caidie nodded in satisfaction and theatrically cleared her throat, looking as though she were about to step onto a stage before a vast crowd.

"Cough, cough—!" Her throat-clearing was especially loud, signaling the official start of an incomparably "sincere" speech—one that had been meticulously fabricated.

"Back then..." Caidie began in the tone of someone reminiscing about her glorious youth. Her gaze drifted into the distance, carrying just the right amount of wistfulness. "My talent was not inferior to my sister's in the slightest. In some areas, I was even better than her!"

She deliberately paused and secretly glanced at Cao Ying. Seeing the girl's little mouth part in surprise, she rejoiced inwardly. Then, an almost holy expression of "compassion" appeared on her face.

"But the biggest flaw I have is that I'm too soft-hearted, too kind!" She raised a hand to her chest, her tone growing heavy. "I saw how diligently my sister cultivated, yet she often grieved in secret because her progress was a little slow at the beginning. As her younger sister, seeing that truly hurt my heart!"

"To keep my sister from feeling inferior because her cultivation temporarily lagged behind, I, Caidie, made a difficult and noble decision!"

Cao Ying was completely engrossed and could not help leaning forward.

Seeing this, Caidie raised her voice, her tone filled with tragic determination. "That was—to voluntarily devote all my energy to the burdensome and trivial affairs of the Snake-People Tribe!"

"From then on, my life consisted of only two things every day: handling mountains of official business, and extremely 'brief' scraps of rest squeezed in wherever I could!"

"Cultivation? Something that required large stretches of time and a calm, focused mind was nothing but a luxury to me!"

As she spoke, she gestured extravagantly, as though invisible piles of documents truly stood before her like mountains.

"The result was obvious. Because I was overwhelmed with countless duties every day, I let my cultivation go to waste. Meanwhile, my sister cultivated without distraction and surpassed me from behind. Her cultivation quickly exceeded mine, leaving me far behind."

At the most crucial part, Caidie's voice instead grew low, carrying a trace of barely noticeable "choking up." "When the tribe had to choose the next Queen Medusa, I upheld the simple principle of 'she's my own sister—if I don't spoil her, who will?' and resolutely gave up the competition of my own accord."

"To avoid putting my sister in a difficult position, and to prevent the tribal elders from urging me to take the throne, I even used a secret technique that damaged my vitality. I 'fled' the Snake-People Holy City overnight, willingly leaving the queen's throne and boundless glory to my sister..."

As her words fell, Caidie turned at just the right moment and walked slowly to the window with slightly "heavy" steps. She lifted her head a little and gazed into a distant horizon that perhaps did not even exist outside.

The glow of the setting sun outlined her profile, tinged with loneliness and resolve. She created an atmosphere of sorrowful "hiding one's achievements and fame" so vividly that the air itself seemed filled with the grandeur of self-sacrifice.

By now, the simple-minded Cao Ying had been completely conquered by this dramatic tale filled with "deep sisterly affection" and "self-sacrifice."

She clasped her hands before her chest and lifted her little face. Tears of emotion shimmered in her eyes as she gazed worshipfully at that "great" figure by the window, her thoughts running wild:

"Oh my god! Sister Caidie silently sacrificed so much for her sister!"

"She gave up her talent, gave up her cultivation, and even gave up the queen's position! This is too moving, too selfless!"

"Sob, sob, sob... How could there be such a wonderful younger sister in this world? If only... if only I had such a loving little sister who doted on me and always thought of me..."

By the window, Caidie was doing her best to maintain her "sorrowfully gazing at the sky" pose. In truth, from the moment she had begun her "speech," she had quietly released a wisp of subtle Soul Power. Like an invisible thread, it clung tightly to Cao Ying, accurately catching every tiny change in her expression.

From initial surprise, to being moved in the middle, to her current near-blind admiration, every emotional response was entirely under Caidie's control.

The huge weight in Caidie's heart finally settled firmly into place, and a trace of smugness quietly rose within her.

"Ah, children really are easy to fool! One little story, and she's handled."

Then, without the slightest psychological burden, she silently said to her distant sister, "Sorry, my dear sister! To properly 'teach' little Cao Ying and make her cultivate obediently, I can only trouble you for now and portray you as someone who 'needs her younger sister's sacrifice and protection.'"

"Your sacrifice is worth it, so don't blame me!"

At the same time, Queen Medusa, far away in some unknown place, was handling official affairs when she suddenly sneezed several times in a row for no apparent reason.

"Achoo! Achoo—!"

She rubbed her slightly itchy nose. A rare trace of confusion and irritation appeared on her stunning face. "Strange. What is wrong with me? Why have I sneezed so many times in such a short while? With my cultivation as a Dou Emperor, catching a cold is absolutely impossible!"

She furrowed her beautiful brows and pondered inwardly, "Could it be... someone is talking about me behind my back? Could it be... Mr. Su?"

The moment that thought arose, Queen Medusa's heart inexplicably skipped a beat. A faint, imperceptible blush flashed across her cold and beautiful face. "No way... could he possibly have feelings for me..."

She began to lose focus slightly, her thoughts drifting toward directions that did not quite suit her status as a queen.

Yet no matter what, she could never have imagined that the one "affectionately" talking about her at that moment was not the mysterious Mr. Su, but her own younger sister—Caidie, who had no qualms about throwing her sister under the bus.

Inside Cao Ying's room, the atmosphere remained "moving."

"Sister Caidie, you... you're truly too great!" Cao Ying's voice was thick with tears. Clearly, she had yet to emerge from that "deeply touching" story.

"Of course I am!" Caidie turned around with the flow of the moment. The trace of "sadness" on her face instantly vanished, replaced by overwhelming "pride." She even vigorously patted her rather ample chest, producing soft thumping sounds. "Back then, I was the universally acknowledged star of hope for the entire tribe, the undisputed future number one of the Snake-People Tribe! This little sacrifice was nothing!"

She boasted without blushing or skipping a beat, as though the "tragic hero" from moments ago and the "proud peacock" before Cao Ying were one perfectly unified whole.

Seeing that the groundwork had been laid and the timing was perfect, Caidie abruptly changed the subject and returned to the main point. Her expression grew a little more serious, carrying the authority of a supervisor. "All right, all right, that's enough of the 'story.' Little Cao Ying, what should you be doing now?"

Cao Ying was still immersed in the halo of the "great younger sister" and did not react immediately.

Caidie "kindly" reminded her, "Cultivating, of course! If you don't hurry up and cultivate in peace, then when Young Master comes out and checks your progress, if he sees that you've fallen behind, I'll report it 'truthfully.'"

She deliberately emphasized the word "truthfully," then blinked slyly. "As for what methods Young Master might use to 'encourage' you then, I can't guarantee anything. I assume you don't want to taste Bamboo Shoot Fried Meat—the master's special version—again, right?"

The moment "master" and "Bamboo Shoot Fried Meat" were mentioned, Cao Ying shuddered. All her emotion and admiration were instantly replaced by a chill that rose from the depths of her heart.

Her master's strikes had been steady, precise, and ruthless. The memory left far too deep an impression on her. That was no joking matter.

"All right, all right, I'll go cultivate right now, right now!" Cao Ying's little face fell. She did not dare delay in the slightest and hurried obediently to the meditation cushion in the center of the room. She assumed a cultivation posture and tried hard to compose her mind.

After confirming that Cao Ying had entered a cultivation state, the seemingly empty space somewhere in the room rippled faintly.

A figure completely concealed within a spatial crack silently departed like Gui Mei.

The figure seemed to be holding an ancient-looking mirror, its edges carved with strange runes.

At that moment, the faint ripples of light on the mirror's surface, like waves upon water, slowly calmed. Everything that had happened in the room had clearly been recorded in full by this mirror with its special function.