A Caged Bird, When Will It Fly?

Meanwhile.

The diary's contents formed a clear image, revealing the figure of a young Qin Moyu.

From afar, the youth's features were refined, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, sharply defined contours, and deep black pupils that seemed to hold a tranquil sea of stars.

Yet from up close, his skin was fair and translucent, while his delicate brows and eyes appeared exceptionally soft. His brows resembled distant mountains dusted with dark hues, his eyes like rippling autumn waters. He was gentler and more captivating than most women in the world, like a beauty still waiting to bloom...

Handsome and soft in equal measure, he possessed looks irresistible to both men and women.

In modern terms, if Qin Moyu put on a white-stocking maid outfit, he would be a natural-born femboy.

The only pity was that beneath such exquisite features, eighteen was a little too old...

Soul Land One Ye Lingling: "So this is Qin Moyu, the higher-dimensional big shot behind the diary? Yanyan, what do you think?"

Soul Land One Dugu Yan: "I'm looking at him sitting down. He's very handsome."

Soul Land One Shui Yue'er: "He really is handsome! This big sister has fallen in love at first sight, ahhh!!!"

Soul Land One Shui Bing'er: "Foolish little sister, you're just lusting after his looks!"

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "A gentleman fair as jade, peerless beneath the heavens; amid the streets, a pure guest with jade for bones, one glance like a startled swan descending into mortal dust..."

Soul Land One Ye Lingling: "What a lovely poem, Princess Xue Ke. Such literary talent! Could it be that you've fallen for that young master Qin Moyu? Hehe~"

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "Mm... Father's health worsens by the day. Lately, he has been worrying over my marriage, seeking a suitable match for me in hopes that I can stay far away from the Imperial Family's struggles."

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "..."

Inside Qingke Palace of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

The gentle morning light shone over the room's silk draperies, while every furnishing in the hall was a lavish ornament of gold and jade.

Xue Ke sat alone before her dressing table, carefully combing her moon-white short hair. Her moon-white long dress made her figure appear frail, and the glazed mirror reflected the exquisite face of the young girl.

She held a thick diary in her arms, its pages remaining on the same page for a long time without turning.

The usually lively and adorable girl had complex emotions surging in her eyes.

The palace's splendor only made her slender figure seem lonelier. Though she was clearly within this magnificent bedchamber, she seemed trapped inside an exquisite cage...

After hesitating for a long while, Xue Ke finally gathered her courage and asked the question she had kept buried all night.

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "May I ask... my real eldest brother..."

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "He died. Ever since you were born, the Xue Qinghe you saw had always been me, from beginning to end..."

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "..."

The cold, blunt truth instantly shattered the last trace of hope in Xue Ke's heart, leaving behind only silence.

Qian Renxue's mind was exceptionally sharp. Both were fallen souls at the ends of the world, and their similar life experiences made her empathize deeply. She gently comforted the troubled little princess...

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "Don't worry, Little Sister Xue Ke. I understand how you feel. All these years, I have always treated you as my real little sister."

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "Though you no longer have an elder brother, you still have me. I can completely take your brother's place and cherish you, can't I?"

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "If you don't want to marry, I have ways to make those court officials forcing you into a marriage shut up for good. No one will dare dictate your life!"

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "Thank you, Big Brother..."

The warmth of their years together flooded into her heart. The barrier in Xue Ke's heart completely dissolved as she softly spoke that familiar, affectionate form of address.

Only yesterday had she learned through the diary of this secret that had been buried for years.

The real Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had died long ago. The gentle elder brother who had accompanied, protected, and indulged her since childhood had always been Qian Renxue, the young mistress of Spirit Hall.

After all those years spent together day and night, that considerate elder brother who had protected her in every matter—none of his tenderness and care had been false.

The conspiracy and scheming were real, but the sibling affection built over so many years was undoubtedly sincere and pure as well.

Pulled between the two, Xue Ke ultimately chose to let it go and silently accepted Qian Renxue as her elder brother.

To her, as long as her brother's affection came from the heart, she did not wish to investigate anything else further, nor did she have the ability to do so...

Behind the glamorous identity of a princess lay a fate in which she could not even decide her own marriage.

As a child of the Imperial Family, she had understood her responsibilities from the day she was born.

She was ultimately only a pawn in the game of imperial power, a bargaining chip in court politics. Faced with this destined arrangement, there was nothing she could do...

Soul Land One Ning Rongrong: "Little Sister Xue Ke, are you serious? But honestly, Qin Moyu's looks are unmatched, and his strength is unfathomable. Compared with those imperial princes who have nothing but status, he is simply heaven and earth apart from them."

Soul Land One Ning Rongrong: "More importantly, you possess a Diary Copy, so you can know what he is thinking at every moment. You do not need to worry whether his feelings are sincere or whether people are treacherous. No one can compare to that sense of security!"

So, she would know every thought in her husband's heart?

For a wife, that might be the greatest fortune...

Soul Land One Ning Rongrong: "Sister! You need to seize your future. If you keep delaying, Qin Moyu will be snatched away by some other girl."

Soul Land One Ning Rongrong: "I'm telling you, quite a few of the girls chatting here have the same idea, especially those lurkers who never speak. For all you know, they may have already begun secretly preparing to act!"

Ning Rongrong's sincere advice came entirely from her concern for Xue Ke, and also because she and Xue Ke had been close since childhood.

Among the upper three sects of Douluo Continent, the Clear Sky Sect had withdrawn from the world, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remained neutral, and only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had clearly taken a side by supporting the Heaven Dou Empire.

In truth, remaining neutral made one more likely to become a target. Every major force would be wary of you as an unpredictable neutral factor. Choosing neutrality rather than taking a side was actually more dangerous!

As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which had chosen a side, it not only gained the Heaven Dou Empire's protection, resources, and wealth, but also indirectly gained one fewer enemy and one more friend...

Diary Copy message interface.

Xue Ke pressed her red lips together. After hesitating again and again, she still candidly voiced an astonishing statement.

Soul Land One Xue Ke: "It's fine. I don't mind being the second wife..."

Soul Land One Ning Rongrong: "???"

Soul Land One Qian Renxue: "???"

Soul Land One Dugu Yan: "???"

The moment those words appeared, the entire message interface fell deathly silent. Then dense strings of question marks began flooding the screen madly.

The Diary Copy message section was bustling with conversation, but Qin Moyu knew nothing of it.

At that moment, he held the diary in his hands, his gaze settling on his now rather handsome face as a perfectly timed smile curled across his lips.

"Not bad. Compared to five years ago, I'm only about seventy-eight points handsome..." Qin Moyu quietly praised himself.

Though he could no longer remember what he had looked like five years ago...

Thanks to his martial soul awakening, his once-malnourished body had recovered under the nourishment of Innate Soul Power.

Not only that, but his appearance and temperament had been thoroughly elevated, creating the beauty he now possessed that could charm both men and women.

A martial soul could affect a person's appearance. Wasn't Tang San's handsome appearance the result of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul awakening and evolving into the Blue Silver Emperor...

[I don't know whether it's just my imagination, but I always feel like someone is peeping at my peerless beauty.]

All the women with Diary Copies: ...

He was that powerful, and he could even sense this?

Before everyone could recover, Qin Moyu's inner monologue refreshed once more.