That timid-looking girl was awfully familiar, but Madam Hua simply could not recall where she had seen her before.
She had been on this Spirit Island for nearly two hundred years, so if she had truly met her before, it would have been two centuries ago.
But judging by the girl's cultivation and appearance, she was clearly only a teenager at most — in other words, she hadn't even been born two hundred years ago. How could Madam Hua have possibly seen her before? Moreover, this girl's face and eyes… they gave her an inexplicably unpleasant feeling, remarkably similar to someone else she knew.
Madam Hua's beautiful eyes narrowed as she turned her gaze toward Lü Sanniang, who was hiding behind Yang Kai. Having apparently figured something out, she sneered: "Is hiding back there fun? Why don't you come out here!"
Lü Sanniang's body trembled at the words. There was no way she dared to step forward.
Seeing this, Madam Hua grew even more certain of her judgment. The corners of her lips curled upward as a smile spread across her face. "Sanniang, it's been over a decade — surely you haven't forgotten your own sister?"
Sanniang?
Yuan Wu blinked in surprise, glancing at Madam Hua. He quickly understood — Madam Hua actually knew this Lü Sanniang. His heart lurched. This was bad news. If Madam Hua and Lü Sanniang were on good terms, he might be the one in trouble.
But after observing Madam Hua's expression more carefully, Yuan Wu's heart settled again. This was clearly not the look of someone on friendly terms with Lü Sanniang — there was obviously some grudge between the two.
His eyes darting back and forth, Yuan Wu pretended not to understand and asked: "Madam knows her?"
Madam Hua let out a soft, cold laugh. "Knows her? Of course I know her. I spent over two hundred years as sisters with Sanniang on this island, and she was always so generously caring toward me — how could I possibly not know her?"
Yuan Wu grinned obsequiously. "What a coincidence."
He understood now. Madam Hua and Lü Sanniang must both have been kept women of the dragon clan on this island. And judging by Madam Hua's sour, passive-aggressive manner, the two of them had probably fought plenty of jealous battles back in the day. Women — it always came down to the same petty rivalries. Later on, Lü Sanniang was expelled from the dragon palace and ended up drifting through Half-Dragon City, while Madam Hua had remained behind. Now that enemies had crossed paths, Madam Hua was in no mood for pleasantries.
"Sanniang, aren't you going to come out and greet your sister? Why are you still hiding like this? Big sister has already spotted you."
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Lü Sanniang finally had no choice but to step out from behind Yang Kai, her head bowed low, her face filled with discomfort.
Madam Hua gave a light snort. The two women at her sides also spoke up in unison: "So it really is you!"
The two of them clearly knew Lü Sanniang as well, but owing to Madam Hua's attitude, they showed no warmth toward Lü Sanniang either. Every one of them stared at her with cold eyes, laced with a hint of contempt and schadenfreude.
Back when Lü Sanniang had still been on the island, she had enjoyed Fuchi's favor immensely. The Lü Sanniang of those days had held a status on this Spirit Island equal to what Madam Hua enjoyed now. Madam Hua had competed with her for two hundred years yet had always come up slightly short. Now the winds had shifted — Madam Hua had risen to the top, while Lü Sanniang had been ruthlessly cast aside. The victor takes all, the loser is nothing. There was no reason to show her any respect.
"Sister Hua… and my two younger sisters…" Lü Sanniang kept her head lowered, greeting them softly, her expression growing even more uneasy. If she had her way, she would never have come out at all, but Madam Hua had already guessed her identity, so hiding was pointless. Besides, today's matter needed to be resolved properly, or it would become a serious problem.
But looking at these faces — so familiar yet so alien — Lü Sanniang could not help but drift back to old memories. Her spirits sank.
"How dare you!" The woman holding the fish tank snapped sharply, glaring at Lü Sanniang. "Since when do you get to call us sisters? Why don't you take a look in the mirror and see what you've become? An exile — and you dare address us as sisters and sisters? The shamelessness is truly staggering."
The other woman said nothing, but her expression made the sentiment perfectly clear.
They had once been wary of Lü Sanniang because she had Fuchi's favor behind her. But now they were the ones in positions of power. In their eyes, Lü Sanniang was nothing more than a piece of rotting meat discarded by the dragon clan. And why would anyone be cautious around rotting meat?
Madam Hua smiled faintly, putting on an air of magnanimity. "Come now, come now. We've been sisters for so many years — there's no need to make things difficult for Sanniang."
Only after she spoke did the other woman hold her tongue.
Madam Hua assumed the posture of the victor, gazing down at Lü Sanniang from on high. "It's been over a decade, sister. Has life been treating you well?"
Lü Sanniang lightly pressed her red lips together and answered softly: "Thank you for your concern, sister. Sanniang is doing well enough."
Madam Hua nodded gently. "That's good to hear. Ah, when you left this island all those years ago, sister, you have no idea how heartbroken I was. I even went to Lord Fuchi and pleaded on your behalf, begging him to let you stay. But unfortunately, Lord Fuchi's mind was already made up, and there was nothing I could do. Please don't blame me for that, sister."
Lü Sanniang shook her head. "How could sister say such a thing? Sanniang has never blamed you."
Madam Hua chuckled. "I knew Sanniang was always the most reasonable one. No wonder you were the one who enjoyed Lord Fuchi's favor above all others back on this island. Thinking back to those days…" As she spoke, she kept glancing sideways at Lü Sanniang, and seeing the sorrowful look on her face, she felt deeply satisfied. She continued: "Back then, sister was so formidable — even I had to watch your every mood for cues. But who could have predicted that the heavens are so unpredictable? It truly is unfair."
Lü Sanniang stood there without a word. She knew perfectly well that Madam Hua was mocking her, but when you lived under someone else's roof, you had to bow your head. Besides, she had never been the type to engage in petty squabbles — she had been the same way back then, and she was the same way now.