The skylight was closed, all sounds ceased, and darkness thick as concentrated ink congealed into what seemed like a solid mass.

The person trapped in darkness was gradually surrounded by a sticky, stagnant atmosphere, like a body stuck in muddy swamp—the more one struggled, the faster one sank.

Heaven’s Prison, compared to the minor scheming, tearful joy, and warmth in Dragon Chapter Palace, was at this moment as cold and murderous as the night itself.

Qin Chang Ge lazily lay sprawled on the iron bed covered with straw.

Her hands pressed beneath her body, slowly making movements.

The second wave of assassination should come soon. Actually, if she pretended to be insane and followed the most normal procedure of banging her head against the wall until she died, the effect would probably be very good. But Qin Chang Ge extremely cherished herself and couldn’t bear to scrape even a tiny bit of skin off her precious head.

So she’d have to put in some effort.

Lying comfortably, the straw beneath her was thick, soft, resilient, and very much to her liking. The treatment wasn’t bad… Qin Chang Ge wondered suspiciously. This straw had a clear fragrance, was soft and warm, with a very comfortable feel. It seemed like Dragon Floss Grass from Red River. This stuff had low production, and such a big bundle was definitely worth much more than bedding. Was the prisoner treatment in Heaven’s Prison this luxurious? She didn’t remember making such regulations.

After thinking more, her hands making small movements suddenly stiffened.

Xiao Jue!

You’re testing me?

Qin Chang Ge’s little flame began rising whoosh whoosh whoosh… It’s fine if you test me, and I’m happy for your brain development progress, but since you’ve developed, why not develop completely? Do you really think a place like Heaven’s Prison can absolutely protect me?

Qin Chang Ge carefully recalled the minute details from court and despondently discovered that her son would probably really have to take the surname Xiao this time…

Sighing helplessly, Qin Chang Ge scratched the wall. One false step brings eternal regret—lost the son and damaged her reputation too…

…Hmm… why hasn’t anyone come yet?

Was this person slow? Or did they like making thorough preparations to deal with her?

Getting up, Qin Chang Ge decided to go all out and began drawing on the wall.

A map of Nanmin… crooked like an upside-down boot… densely forested… three-eyed serpent demons everywhere… large waves surging to drown the serpents… someone struggling and crying in the waves… scorpions, centipedes, and strange insects emerging from their open mouth…

Qin Chang Ge drew with simple yet eerie lines. The pattern wasn’t complex, yet it faintly carried a sense of murderous drums, as if the power to destroy the demon world was breeding in these concise lines, flickering and jumping as if about to break through the wall.

…If I haven’t guessed wrong… you super boss among the Nanmin Colored Gu remnants, if you can remain unmoved seeing this painting about the mystery of the Colored Gu sect’s destruction four years ago, about the life and death of so many of your Colored Gu people, then you’re not human—you’re Fan Paopao.

After finishing the drawing, Qin Chang Ge flicked her hand, tilted her head and giggled foolishly. The sound hit the walls and scattered everywhere, filling the room with sharp and eerie hehehe laughter that sounded quite creepy.

Then Qin Chang Ge climbed onto the bed, used straw to tie a circle, put one end around her neck and the other around the iron post at the head of the bed.

In the darkness, her figure slowly sat up at a right angle. The straw rope twisted, something was tightening, then the snow-white head covered in black hair slowly drooped down.

The night was silent, deep palace drums couldn’t penetrate this dark world.

…

The skylight overhead made no sound of being opened.

But suddenly, strangely, the outline of a hand slowly appeared.

Beautiful in shape and not large, with a gentle posture as if slowly immersing into water, the outline gradually became clear, then broke through and reached in.

But this wasn’t water—this was bright iron.

Bright iron could reflect light but was extremely hard. Ordinary blades couldn’t leave marks, yet now it was like mud, penetrated effortlessly by someone.

That hand passed through the bright iron skylight, gently curled, and with a smooth, natural gesture like painting a wall, casually turned.

The skylight, hard as refined iron, suddenly disappeared.

Then a figure, like a falling flower, drifted down leisurely.

As the figure floated down, countless fine threads spread around her body, light and graceful, like a monstrous giant red spider lily silently falling in the narrow cell.

Looking carefully, it was her long hair, reaching the ground, cascading like a black waterfall over her entire body. Though she clearly wore flamboyant red clothes, she appeared wrapped entirely in black.

She was very thin, her waist so slender it seemed a stronger wind could break it. Her posture was therefore very light, like Lingbo’s subtle steps raising dust from silk stockings. Her long hair fell down, shadowing half her face. The exposed half had eyes that seemed too narrow, a mouth that seemed too large, and skin that wasn’t quite snow-white but rather a flowing, crystalline amber color. Yet combined together, they created a startlingly charming effect. That allure seemed to swim around, silent and omnipresent, sneaking in with the wind to capture souls soundlessly. Those who saw her might not think she was beautiful at first glance, but couldn’t help looking a second time. On the second look, they’d suddenly realize they had already fallen under her infinitely bewitching beauty at first glance.

Yunhua was also beautiful, with somewhat similar charm, but compared to this woman, it was like a girl just learning coquetry compared to a courtesan who had rolled around pleasure quarters for years and bloomed just right—no comparison at all. This woman’s seductiveness was no longer in her appearance, but in her bones, spirit, hair, every detail of her entire body. That heart-stopping beauty could destroy a nation and topple the world.

She narrowed her eyes, carefully examining the hanged Qin Chang Ge, then looked around at the nonsense on the walls, her gaze particularly lingering on the drawing. After a while, she withdrew her gaze and very slowly took a step forward.

With this step, all her long hair suddenly rose up, and the other half of her face hidden by black hair was also revealed.

…Wu Yan, Mo Mu, night owl… charred, cracked, split skin that had lost its epidermis… facial features so tangled they couldn’t be distinguished… only a twisted flesh hole for a mouth… no terrifyingly disgusting words seemed adequate to describe the ugliness of this half face.

Half celestial beauty, half demon—extreme beauty and ugliness interwoven into a heart-stopping effect. Moonlight poured down from the destroyed skylight, shining on her face, then suddenly dimmed as if frightened and quickly avoiding her.

But she only walked slowly and contentedly forward.

Stopping in front of Qin Chang Ge, not rushing to look at her, she suddenly smiled and began singing softly.

Her voice was thin and not particularly beautiful, even half a beat slower than normal frequency, but every tone carried a unique charm, every rise and fall made one involuntarily concentrate to follow.

“…Morning dew, how easily it dries, when dew dries it falls again tomorrow morning, when people die and go away, when will they return…”

“Allium and Artemisia, whose family’s land, gathering souls of wise and foolish, how the ghost uncle urges, human life cannot hesitate…”

“Garlic Dew Song,” “Artemisia Li Song.”

Funeral songs with mournful and mysterious tones specifically for funerals, sung from her mouth with a somewhat mocking meaning.

She took another step forward.

This step seemed to be toward the left in front of Qin Chang Ge, but somehow suddenly went around behind her to above the iron bed.

Glancing sideways at Qin Chang Ge, she smiled in praise: “Good endurance…”

With a wave of her sleeve, her figure graceful as flying through the nine heavens, all the straw on the iron bed suddenly flew up. The light fragrance scattered, and in the spreading aroma, a simple yet intricate grass net unrolled with a whoosh!

The top of the net connected to the straw rope Qin Chang Ge used for hanging.

“Nine Palace Killing Formation… On this small iron bed, you actually managed to tie a Nine Palace Formation with straw rope. As long as I approach you, you pull the straw rope around your neck and I’ll fall into your trap… Really good, really interesting…”

The woman quietly looked at Qin Chang Ge, one foot suspended in air against the iron wall, her robes flowing as she looked down from above. The latter knew she had encountered a formidable enemy this time. Continuing to play dead would be idiotic. She slowly raised her head and grinned at her.

Fingers resting on the straw rope end, Qin Chang Ge smiled gently with ill intent.

“Praising this place for having no beauties, only getting a beauty with half-face makeup… tsk tsk… You look really unique… hmm, humans are born from human mothers, demons from demon mothers—and you? Forgive my poor eyesight, but may I ask which species’ offspring you are?”

“I’m born from my mother,” the woman actually didn’t get angry, only slowly said: “Like this makeup? Want to try it? I don’t mind personally doing your makeup.”

“I’m just a mortal, how dare I aspire to approach celestial beauties and demons?” Qin Chang Ge said solemnly. “You must have originally been a nine-heaven fairy, then accidentally slipped and fell down. Your left face hit the ground first, right?”

“Mm,” the woman smiled charmingly, “you guessed really accurately.”

…

Qin Chang Ge was so blocked she nearly fell backward, almost completely defeated.

Formidable… finally met someone as formidable and twisted as herself… but encountering her at this time? Too unlucky…

To be honest, the unqualified behavior of picking at people’s scars and talking nonsense was something Qin Chang Ge really disliked, but now there was no choice. If she didn’t stimulate her with words to make her approach and act rashly, she’d have no way to protect herself.

Unfortunately, the opponent had already seen through her plan and shut her down with a gesture.

Qin Chang Ge leaned heavily against the foot of the bed, bowing her head deeply and sighing.

“What else do you want to say?” The woman looked at her with interest. “Whether to lure me into the formation or delay time, I don’t plan to accommodate you.”

She shook both arms, and on her half-ghostly face, colored light flashed. Her full head of black silky hair suddenly stood straight up. Each strand of hair, like countless black demon snakes, twisted together, rearing up in midair, spitting, lying down, flexible as if alive. With whooshing sounds, they pierced into that Nine Palace grass net. After a series of snapping sounds, seven-colored sparks flashed continuously in the darkness. As the grass net rose with mist, the meridians were immediately picked apart. Hair and straw simultaneously turned to smoke and dust scattered in the darkness. In the pale gray mist, the light grass fragrance and the faint jasmine flower scent from her hair became even more intense.

Simultaneously, that woman gave a light whistle. Her remaining long hair whooshed open like a huge black umbrella behind her. Several black lights came like meteors, the thickest hair-snake lightning-fast pierced through the smoke, wrapping around Qin Chang Ge’s neck with snap-snap-snap sounds, quickly coiling several times. Several others firmly bound Qin Chang Ge’s hands and feet completely.

Sighing, Qin Chang Ge finally knew how this woman had entered. She practiced some unknown strange technique—each strand of hair was like a hand, more powerful than thousand-handed Guanyin, more formidable than Spider-Man. One move equaled ten people acting—what couldn’t be handled?

“Beauty…” that woman looked at Qin Chang Ge with pity, “I’ll send you to be a nine-heaven fairy. Remember, after going up, thank me, and help me ask whether my mother was human or demon. Also, don’t slip and fall face-first—that wouldn’t be good.”

She sympathetically shook her head slightly, tightening the hair rope.

“…Call Father Emperor?” Baozi stood chest out and belly forward on the pearls scattered all over Dragon Chapter Palace floor, tilting his head to look at Xiao Jue for a long while. First he put away the banknote he’d taken out, then after careful consideration for a long time, asked:

“Is there a red envelope?”

…

Xiao Jue stared at him, murmuring after a long while: “Look what kind of character he’s been taught to have…” then smiled broadly: “Yes.”

He first glanced at Yunhua on the couch, then at Chu Feihuan, mouthing words and making acupoint-pressing gestures. Chu Feihuan’s gaze swept over Yunhua’s face and silently said: “This woman has gu that specifically restrains men. You and I shouldn’t act personally now—let’s observe and wait.”

Xiao Jue nodded, took Baozi to the outer hall, pointed at the Xiliang map behind him: “All the rivers, mountains, subjects, products, and territories on this map are red envelopes Father Emperor gives you. Big enough?”

“Pfft!” Unexpectedly, Baozi completely looked down on it, shaking his head vigorously. “This map is too small… My mother uses maps of the entire Inner Continent for me to wipe my butt—today wiping Eastern Yan, tomorrow wiping Northern Wei… She says the whole world is between my buttocks, now that’s grand spirit.”

…

Laughing helplessly despite himself, Xiao Jue said to Chu Feihuan: “Though I don’t understand how she changed bodies—perhaps body-snatching? But this tone and character, in the whole world, look, could there be a second person?”

“Your Majesty, I don’t know what you’re happy about,” Chu Feihuan’s expression was gloomy. Not looking at him, he only said quietly in a low voice: “Are you happy because your squeezing strategy forced her to be trapped, forced me to bring the Crown Prince to reunite with you, so your family can be reunited and everyone happy?”

Stunned, his long eyebrows furrowing as he carefully examined Chu Feihuan, Xiao Jue said: “Master Chu, you’re the only person I know by her side. You were also familiar with me back then. What kind of person I am, you should know something. You shouldn’t say such things.”

“People change,” Chu Feihuan said indifferently. “No one is exempt.”

Anger flashed in his eyes, but his gaze immediately fell on Chu Feihuan’s legs. Xiao Jue’s eyes flickered as he forcibly suppressed his anger and slowly calmed down: “I know you’re dissatisfied, but rest assured, I’m just going with the flow. Since fake ones appeared, even making a fake son, how could her personality tolerate it? I didn’t expect she still wouldn’t speak, instead getting into a difficult position… Heaven’s Prison sounds scary, but actually it’s safest for her now. You know that place—no one can get in. What danger could she be in? I’ll personally go get her out immediately.”

“She has difficulties she can’t speak of—” Halfway through speaking, Chu Feihuan suddenly stopped, turning his head in shock. Under the candlelight his expression suddenly turned pale, staring intently at Xiao Jue and saying with difficulty: “You just said—going with the flow?”

“Hm?” Xiao Jue was startled by his expression. “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Cold sweat densely emerged from Chu Feihuan’s forehead as he said urgently: “Then you mean this fake empress being able to come to the golden hall wasn’t Your Majesty’s arrangement?”

“Why would I arrange this?” Xiao Jue was shocked. “I saw her and had doubts, so I had a sudden inspiration to pretend to believe her—what do you mean? Someone helped her come to court? Wasn’t it A’Chen?”

Hearing halfway, Chu Feihuan had already turned his wheelchair around abruptly, hurrying toward the hall exit without looking back: “This woman was arranged by Prince Zhao, but Chang Ge had already taken precautions against her before petitioning. She shouldn’t have appeared at the crucial moment, but she came. Our people reported that a group with extremely high and strange martial arts intervened with brilliant methods—I thought it was Your Majesty’s arrangement to trick out Chang Ge’s identity, so I wasn’t too worried. But you say you don’t know—this is terrible!”

Stunned, Xiao Jue immediately understood what Chu Feihuan meant. A third-party force or unknown enemy force had intervened, and their methods were superior. In other words:

Chang Ge was in danger!

Standing up swiftly, Xiao Jue ran toward the hall exit even faster than Chu Feihuan, shouting for the guard commander: “Xia Houjue!”

Before his shout ended, laughter suddenly came from the partition behind.

Clear and crisp, every sound pleasing, like jade beads striking silver bells, each note extremely beautiful in rhythm.

It was Yunhua on the imperial couch, who had been unconscious.

Her snow-colored sleeves spread wide. As Xiao Jue and Chu Feihuan turned simultaneously, like light clouds emerging from peaks, she flew out, laughing shrilly: “Too late… too late… the master teacher has personally come… she’s doomed.”

With a wave of her sleeve, raising a five-colored stinking wind, colorless mist suddenly revealed a pair of snow-white hands with sharp fingertips, reaching straight for Xiao Rong who was running at the back!

Little Baozi widened his eyes and cursed: “Damn sneak attack is shameful!” He grabbed the fake crown prince beside him to block!

Simultaneously, Xiao Jue shouted: “Fall!”

Startling wind and falling rain, brilliant light like silk.

A dazzling golden light suddenly soared from the imperial couch, fast as flowing lightning, swift beyond what eyes could discern. Though starting later, it arrived first, reaching Yunhua’s back in an instant!

Greatly shocked, she turned around abruptly. Yunhua desperately tried to twist her body, but unfortunately, in midair with her move already spent, how could she dodge in time?

“Ah!!!”

A scream, colored light suddenly withdrew, a large spray of fresh blood bloomed like cold plum blossoms, splashing across the cloud-mother stone floor in a harsh abstract painting.

In the scream, Yunhua fell straight down, landing in her own pool of blood at Xiao Baozi’s feet.

Baozi immediately jumped on her body, stomping viciously on her chest: “Sneak attack me? I’ll squeeze out your… what… silicone?”

Xiao Jue didn’t even bother looking at her, sneering coldly: “Take me for an idiot? You bring disaster on yourself!”

Chu Feihuan glanced at Yunhua: “Your Majesty should bring her to Heaven’s Prison. These people are probably in cahoots—she might be useful.”

Nodding, Xiao Jue waved his sleeve and shouted: “Xiahou! Take a group of guards to protect the Crown Prince! Everyone else accompanies me to Heaven’s Prison!”

The hair rope was tightening… air in her lungs gradually being compressed, suffocation… explosive chest pain… dizziness… darkness before her eyes… Qin Chang Ge struggled hard but couldn’t stop her thinking from gradually becoming fuzzy. In the chaos she began random thoughts… she was the first person to be strangled by hair, right? Who else had particularly special strangling experiences? Hmm… in her previous life, Emperor Yongli was strangled by Wu Sangui’s bowstring. The bowstring tightened zhizhi, the emperor moaned aiai… Look how vividly Master Wei described it. If Master Wei were here now, how would he describe her death? Hair tightening sisi, Ruiyi moaning momo…?

Momo…

Why was this knife so dull?… Why was this hair as hard as wild boar bristles?… When people are unlucky, even drinking cold water gets stuck in their teeth…

About to die… about to die… about… quick!

Whoosh!

A black light flashed, drawing a straight arc in the air. Qin Chang Ge’s right hand instantly broke free from restraints and flew up. Almost without time to think, she forcefully scraped the knife against the iron bed!

Friction created heat, sparks flew!

The dry straw immediately caught fire!

Grabbing the burning straw, Qin Chang Ge went to burn the hair!

This series of actions flowed together, quick as lightning!

Fire rose, illuminating the woman’s face finally showing surprise.

…Earlier that woman, unwilling to approach the iron bed where Qin Chang Ge had done something, fearing she had other methods, had been standing far away with one foot on the iron wall, only using her flexible hair like arms to kill Qin Chang Ge. She was confident in her supreme martial arts and had infused true power into the hair binding Qin Chang Ge’s neck. Someone without internal power like Qin Chang Ge couldn’t cut it even with a knife, so seeing Qin Chang Ge’s blade flash up, she only smiled mockingly and remained unmoved as a mountain.

She didn’t expect this unreasonable Qin Chang Ge to not take the old path of cutting hair but turn to burning it. Where did her hair have fire protection? Especially since she always applied hair oil for smoothness and easy use.

Qin Chang Ge had known what to do the moment she smelled the jasmine flower scent on her hair!

How could she not have weapons when coming to petition? When entering Heaven’s Prison, Xiao Jue had deliberately gone easy and didn’t allow anyone to search her. When carving on the wall, she deliberately used her fingernails to paralyze the opponent and not let them know she had weapons.

When that woman appeared, she knew the opponent who could perform group killing was extraordinary. Moreover, that woman was shrewd and formidable, not inferior to herself. So she leaned heavily against the iron bed, triggering a pre-installed mechanism behind her. The spring moved, and a small knife immediately slid down from her wide sleeve’s shoulder into her palm.

She turned her palm backward, gripping the knife in her palm with the blade facing out. When the opponent’s hair bound her hand, it was binding the blade.

When her neck was being strangled, she pressed tightly against the iron bed, using the friction between the blade and iron bed to slowly cut the hair binding her hand.

When the hair moved and alerted that woman, she deliberately pretended to struggle desperately, her whole body shaking.

Hair broke! Knife rose! Struck iron! Sparks flew!

Oil caught fire, burning very quickly.

Almost instantly, the hair binding her neck was burned through. As soon as breathing was free, Qin Chang Ge couldn’t care about her neck being burned too or her legs still being bound. She rolled sideways, first burning through the hair binding her right hand. At this time wind suddenly stopped—that woman had rushed close.

The iron room was only about one zhang square. Qin Chang Ge had nowhere to roll, so she simply stopped dodging, lay on the ground, stretched out her hand, the blade pointing straight at the opponent’s half-ugly face, shouting: “It’s not a burn!”

The wind sound suddenly stopped!

That woman’s hand suspended in front of Qin Chang Ge’s forehead, only about an inch away. Her gaze changing as she looked at her, she slowly said: “How do you know it’s not a burn?”

With a gentle smile, enduring the splitting headache, Qin Chang Ge reached out to pinch that twisted half-ghostly face, then suddenly supported herself on both hands and leaped backward, shouting:

“Feihuan! Xiao Jue! I can’t take it anymore! Whichever of you—if you don’t appear now, you’re out of the game for life!”