News of the Ice Empress's breakthrough shook the Spirit Realm. A new Spirit Severing
Ancestor meant a shift in the balance of power. Invitations flooded the Floating
Fortress—banquets, alliances, challenges.
Su Mei accepted an invitation to the Grand Summit of the Ten Thousand Peaks. It was a
gathering of the realm's apex predators.
And she brought Li Wei.
Not as a husband. As an accessory. Like a rare purse or a unique pet.
The banquet was held on a cloud platform. Beings of immense power sat on thrones of light.
There was the Dragon King, a man with scales and horns. There was the Void Walker, a
shadow in a cloak.
And there was Su Mei, sitting on her throne of ice, pristine and gray.
Li Wei stood behind her chair. He wore formal robes, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was
mortal. He couldn't hide the smell of dust and blood that clung to him compared to the perfumed
ambrosia of the Immortals.
"Empress Su," the Dragon King rumbled, pouring wine that smelled like liquid starlight.
"Congratulations on your ascension. The Northern Region is yours."
"Acknowledged," Su Mei said, sipping her wine.
The Dragon King's golden eyes drifted to Li Wei. He sniffed the air.
"But tell me," the King sneered, a plume of smoke escaping his nostrils. "What is that thing
standing behind you? It smells of... decay. Is it a zombie servant?"
The table went quiet. The other Ancestors looked at Li Wei. Their gazes were heavy physical
weights. Li Wei felt his knees buckling under the pressure of their curiosity.
"He is my husband," Su Mei said. She didn't defend him. She just stated a fact.
Laughter erupted. It sounded like thunder.
"Husband?" The Void Walker cackled. "You? The Heartless Empress? You share your bed with
a mayfly? Does he not crumble when you touch him?"
"Perhaps she keeps him for... exotic tastes," a female Ancestor with snake hair giggled. "Some
prefer the fragility of mortals. It makes the breaking more satisfying."
"It is embarrassing," the Dragon King said, shaking his head. "A Spirit Severing Ancestor with a
mortal pet. It stains your Dao, Su Mei. It makes you look... sentimental. Weak."
Li Wei stood there, his head bowed, burning with shame. He wanted to disappear. He waited for
Su Mei to speak. To say, 'He is loyal.' To say, 'He is mine, watch your mouth.'
Su Mei placed her wine cup down. The sound was sharp.
"He is a legacy issue," she said calmly. "I am in the process of resolving it."
Li Wei flinched. Legacy issue.
"Resolve it now," the Dragon King challenged, throwing a dagger onto the table. "Cut the tie.
Prove your Dao is pure. Kill the pet, and we will drink to your glory."
Su Mei looked at the dagger. Then she looked at the Dragon King.
"You seek to command me?"
The temperature plummeted. The clouds beneath them froze solid.
"You think because I keep a mortal, I am weak?"
Su Mei raised a finger.
Grey Flash.
A beam of necrotic gray light shot from her finger. It ignored the Dragon King's scales. It ignored his defensive aura. It pierced his shoulder, instantly turning the flesh into gray dust.
The Dragon King roared in pain, clutching his dissolving arm.
"I keep him," Su Mei announced to the terrified table, "because I can. Because my power is
absolute. I can carry a mountain of trash and still crush you with one hand."
She stood up.
"Banquet over."
She grabbed Li Wei by the collar of his robes—like a sack of potatoes—and flew away.
She didn't speak until they landed back in the Fortress. She dropped him on the floor of the
main hall.
Li Wei scrambled up. "Su Mei... you defended me."
Su Mei turned on him. Her face was twisted in a rare expression of annoyance.
"Defended you?" She scoffed. "I defended my reputation. They mocked me because of you."
She paced the room. The gray energy flared around her.
"They were right. You are a stain. I walk into a room of gods, and they smell the dirt on you. You
make me look ridiculous."
She stopped pacing and looked at him with cold evaluation.
"I cannot take you outside anymore. You are a liability to my image."
"So what?" Li Wei asked, his voice hollow. "You lock me in the tower?"
"No," Su Mei said. "The tower is too close. People can still sense you."
She summoned a map of the Spirit Realm. She pointed to a desolate rock floating in the chaotic
void streams at the edge of the map.
"The Isle of Forgotten Time," she said. "It is isolated. No one goes there. I will build a formation.
You will live there."
"Exile?" Li Wei whispered. "You are exiling me?"
"It is for your safety," she lied—and for the first time, the lie was clumsy. She didn't care if he
believed it. "And for my peace of mind. I cannot rule the heavens while worrying if my husband
is embarrassing me at dinner."
"Su Mei, please," Li Wei fell to his knees. "Don't send me away. I'll stay in the room. I won't
make a sound. Just don't send me to the void."
"It is decided," Su Mei said, turning her back. "Pack your things, Li Wei. You leave in the
morning."
Li Wei watched her walk away. He realized the Dragon King hadn't killed him. The Dragon King
had done something worse. He had pointed out the dirt on the Empress's white robes. And the
Empress, obsessed with perfection, had decided to do the laundry.
[System Alert: Host Status Updated.] [New Role: The Secret Shame.] [Destination: The
Prison.]
Li Wei laughed, a broken, sobbing sound. "From husband... to luggage... to stain. What's next,
System? What's lower than a stain?"
[Answer: A Memory.]